Travel Diary: Day 4, Alesund

The second place the ship docked at was Alesund, which was a lovely, pretty place. Again. like the day before, we woke up early and went up to the top deck in order to marvel at the scenery and practise our photography skills, followed by seeking out a table by the window and savouring our breakfast along with the view. This time we decided to set of a little later, and allowed ourselves a bit of extra time to sleep after breakfast in order to feel slightly more refreshed as we explored Alesund.

Alesund was a very beautiful place, surrounded by large mountains and glistening lakes. We spent a lot of time walking around admiring the area and taking photos of the scenery. It was pretty amazing to be able to walk around a town where you shops and other attractions but you also have a phenomenal view. Most of our trip consisted of walking around and taking in the place, which was nice but a bit tiring.

When we got back on the ship we did what we'd been doing at every port stop which was rush up to the buffet in order to fill up on unlimited food. We planned on watching 'The Theory of Everything' in our stateroom, as it was available on the entertainment system (the ships had pretty good TVs in the cabins, with shows and movies available to watch at whatever time you wanted). However, I was so exhausted from all the late nights and the early mornings that I was completely unable to keep my eyes open and as a result became overwhelmed with sleep and drifted off for a few hours (which is very unlike me- I never sleep during the day, I can barely even sleep at night when I'm supposed to). In between naps we went up to try some of the afternoon tea that was being served in the buffet, as I really like scones with cream and jam. We then quickly returned to sleeping, before getting ready for an earlier dinner in order to have more time to sleep as we had a tour the next day that we had to wake up early for.

Travel Diary: Day 3 Stavanger

Today would be the first day in port. We docked in Stavanger at around 7:00 am in the morning, though we woke up a little bit earlier in order to watch the ship arrive at the port as we knew the scenery in the area would be particularly beautiful. I forced myself out of bed at 6:00 am when my alarm went off, fighting off my instinct to just shut my eyes, roll over and go back to sleep. I dressed quickly and we went right up to the 18th deck, as we would get the best view from there. As this was a perfect opportunity to take some brilliant photos, I made it a point to take the camera with me, and spent a fair amount of time snapping away at the scenery. Since we looked somewhat decent, and we were pretty close to the buffet, we decided to grab some breakfast, taking special care to nab a table by the window in order to savour the scenery while eating. We then returned to our cabins to finish preparing before we went out to explore the area.

With cruises, the majority of the time you can simply walk of the ship and into the town you've arrived at, so as soon as we had disembarked we were able to begin looking around. We started by walking up some pretty cobbled streets with a relatively steep incline- quite a work out considering the time of day! Luckily, this did also mean that we had the opportunity to burn off some of the food we'd over-consumed. We then made our way down to a beautiful park, where we sat and enjoyed the scenery for a short while. After relaxing briefly at the park, we headed over to a museum. However, as it turned out that you had to pay to enter (the cost of living is particularly high in Norway, which meant that everything, including entry to the museum, was ridiculously expensive) we didn't actually go inside. We did make good use of the free WiFi that we discovered the museum offered, however. Following this brief stint at the museum we ambled through more cobbled streets, checking out the shops that lined them and snapping away like nobody's business. Finally, we ended up at a cute little market area which offered trinkets, souvenirs and fluffy rugs, hats etc., many of which were made from reindeer skin. At this point we were pretty exhausted from the hours of walking, and our tummies were starting to rumble so, with the ship in sight, we thought it was just about time that we headed back and rushed over to the buffet. 

After lunch had finished, the others went off to watch 'The Jungle Book' at 3:00 pm in the cinema on board. I debated going, but ultimately decided to stay back as my hair was due a wash, dry and straighten, which takes me hours, so I really needed to use the time available to do that. Three hours later (I'm not exaggerating, though I did take a pretty long, hot shower) and my hair was all straight and nice and ready to go.

Having looked at the menu in the restaurant we decided that there wasn't anything that really caught our attention, so we thought that this time we'd opt for a more casual meal and check out the buffet instead. I enjoyed having dinner at the buffet a lot! It was nice and relaxed, and we managed to get a table with a view of the sea, which helped add to the atmosphere. They were serving east Asian food in the buffet, and everything was so delicious. About an hour after we'd finished eating, we watched a show that was being performed in the on board theatre. The show was pretty spectacular- it involved pulsing lights and catchy, modern music brought to life with amazing voices and breathtaking dance moves, all set against an illuminated background. The whole theatre was alive and buzzing. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The day was finished off with another fantastic sleep, worn out and exhausted after a long day of walking and sightseeing.

Travel Diary: Day 2 At Sea

I set my alarm for 8:00 am- I wanted to wake up early in order to make the most of every minute on the ship. Unfortunately, we did lose an hour as the clocks had been moved forward in order to match Norwegian time. This resulted in a little bit of a scramble to get ready for breakfast before the buffet closed, as what we thought was 8:00 am actually turned out to be 9:00 am (the buffet closed for breakfast at 10). I was especially keen to see what they had to offer, though I felt slightly disappointed as I felt the options were somewhat more limited in comparison to other cruises I've been on. I didn't let that stop me from enjoying my breakfast, however!

We had a day at sea, which was great as it provided us with some vital time to relax before we got down to exploring the ports. We decided to use some of this time to explore the ship in greater detail. Cruise ships are pretty big and this one looked amazing- it's such a fresh, modern ship, and I really love the decor. We started with a bit of window shopping, as there are a fair few shops on board, before seeking out the bars and lounges.

We then headed up for a bit of lunch  at the buffet (again, I can't remember what I ate, though it definitely involved chips), before heading to a talk in the theatre on the latter two ports we'd be visiting and the tours of these ports that we had booked (or could book, though most of them were sold out). We booked a tour afterwards (which was amazing, I'll discuss it more in another post), that involved visiting a church and what's known as the 'troll wall.'

The dress code for the evening was formal, so we got ready a bit earlier than we normally would, in order to allow enough time to get suitably ready. I usually enjoy getting ready to go out, but when you feel like you've managed to double your body weight you've eaten so much it's not quite as much fun. However, it was nice seeing all the other passengers looking so amazing in their formal wear. There was also an amazing atmosphere in the atrium, partly because everyone was dressed up, but also because they were serving free drinks (which included sparkling wine, whiskey, gin and tonic, red wine and orange juice), which is enough to put any normal person in a good mood (isn't anything that's free?)

I had been particularly looking forward to dinner that night because I had seen the menu before hand and it looked amazing. It included lobster that came in a delicious creamy sauce (which was so delicious; it was honestly the best dish I had in the restaurant) and prosecco soaked strawberries (which could have done with a stronger prosecco flavour). Our meal was rounded off with some champagne truffles, which were delicious, although I didn't quite have room for them after my lavish meal (I did make every effort to make that room, though I wish I could have enjoyed them on an emptier stomach).

We went for a quick wander round the ship, just to see what it was like a night time and to check out what was going on, though we quickly retired to our cabins for the night in order to prepare for an early morning and an inevitably tiring trip around Stavanger.

Travel Diary: Day 1, Southampton

I think it would be pretty awesome to be a travel writer, or having a travel blog. Unfortunately, I don't have the means to carry out the travelling part regularly enough to generate enough interesting content. Since I've (somewhat) recently returned from a week long holiday I thought it might be fun to dabble in a little bit of travel blogging and document my little journey on this blog. It probably won't be as exciting as your average travel diary but I hope that it's enjoyable nevertheless.

I'll start by giving you a bit of background on the holiday and describing my first day. We went on a cruise round the Norwegian fjords, on a ship called Britannia (one of P&O's ships). Again, this probably sets it apart from other travel blogs as I don't think there are many people out that blog about cruises.

After loading up the car with all our luggage we drove down to Southampton on a hot, sunny Saturday afternoon, where out ship would be waiting in the port, all ready for us to board. Seeing as we arrived a little later than we were supposed to we didn't have to wait at all. We collected out cruise cards, breezed through security and boarded the ship. That's the great thing about cruises, your holiday starts almost immediately. We briefly visited our cabins to check them out, then dashed up to the buffet as we were starving and in desperate need of a meal. I can't remember specifically what I ate but I know that it involved a lot of chips (I love chips), and an amazing tasting trifle. I had vowed to try everything, and worrying about gaining weight was banished. It's not everyday that you have access to lots of delicious food whenever you want it, plus it is only a week. Eating is also a huge part of what makes going on a cruise so much fun.

After that we returned to the cabin, where I panicked as my luggage hadn't turned up, even though everyone else's had (they bring your luggage straight to your room). I have to admit, this made me pretty anxious, and I was on edge for the whole safety demonstration. Luckily, when I returned to my cabin afterwards it had arrived. We then went up to the top deck to watch the sail away. The atmosphere was buzzing, as everyone was getting into the holiday mood. We relaxed on some sofas, and I had (and thoroughly enjoyed) a strawberry and lime cider.

Dinner time crept up on us, so soon after the sail away had finished we went to the cabin to get ready, as there 's a dress code in the restaurant. Once ready, we went to the restaurant only to find there was a bit of a wait (which actually happened every night, a bit of a problem with freedom dining). We were given a pager that would alert us when a table was available, so we went off and sat by a window with a view of the sea. The wait wasn't too bad as we'd massively over indulged at lunch, so it provided us with the opportunity to overindulge yet again. Eventually, our pager started buzzing and we made our way to the restaurant. The service was quick and we ate our dinner quickly (I had a goat's cheese soup for starter, skate, potatoes and veg for main and a mango and kiwi pavlova for dessert). After eating we returned to our cabins, where we promptly passed out after, high on the excitement of being on holiday and full to bursting after stuffing our faces, in what are probably some of the comfiest beds in the world.

Product Recommendation: Aveeno

As someone who suffers from terrible eczema and skin so dry it could rival the Sahara desert, moisturising is vital to maintaining the skin, keeping it healthy and just generally feeling comfortable. However, finding a decent moisturiser that soothes my skin without leaving it feeling heavy and slimey was incredibly difficult.

Until I found Aveeno.

A few years ago, I was researching remedies for eczema, when I came across a post discussing Aveeno, and the effect it had on someone's eczema. Seeing this, I decided to research Aveeno further, and discovered lots of glowing reviews, which encouraged me to try it for myself, and it just amazed me.

I would like to emphasise that it did not clear up my eczema- I have yet to find a way to eradicate it, unfortunately. However, it has made living with eczema much easier. It makes my skin feel like it has actually been moisturised, leaving soft and smooth. It also brings great relief when suffering from terrible dryness. As I said, most other moisturisers that I'd tried left my skin feeling pretty disgusting (they did nothing to help with the itchiness and would just peel off, resulting in my skin remaining very dry), so it's been great having something that's compatible with my skin. It also lasts for ages, which is a major bonus.

I would really recommend Aveeno to everyone (and I think, having seen what a lot of other people have to say about it, there are many other people who would), especially people with very dry skin and even more so people who suffer from eczema. It's such a great  product.

Ways To Relieve Stress

Stress can have a detrimental effect on our health, and can be responsible for or contribute to the worsening of multiple health conditions. Therefore, it's important to try and keep your stress levels as low as you can. Sometimes it can be difficult to do this, as high stress situations are sometimes unavoidable (e.g. important exams, which pretty much always cause a lot of stress), and in these cases it helps to have something that relieves some of this stress and presents you with an opportunity to properly relax and unwind for a bit. I've decided to make a list of things that help with stress (some of these are things that help me, but I haven't tried all of these) in the hopes of inspiring people and perhaps providing them with some ideas (though I'm sure there are hundreds of posts like this out there). I'm also hoping this post will provide me with some ideas for myself (seeing as I'm basically permanently stressed).

• Pamper yourself- I suppose the definition of pampering yourself would vary from person to person, but it could be anything from running yourself a hot bath filled with bubbles and putting on a face mask and some relaxing music, lighting candles and pouring yourself a large glass of wine to just painting your nails or changing you bed sheets. I have to say, it's not one I've indulged in much personally.
• Indulge in a spot of binge watching. Netflix is particularly good for this
• Eat/drink something that you really enjoy, they're called treats for a reason
• Bake or cook something- I've found that cooking can actually be quite good for easing stress (though it can also get stressful at times, it really depends on your mindset on the day)
• Make a playlist of songs you enjoy or that make you happy or have good memories attached
• Read a book you really enjoy. This could be something new or a book you've read a dozen times.
• Actually, read anything- a magazine, a blog, some online articles
• Sit outside, particularly on a sunny day
• Try an adult colouring book
• Try some yoga, or perhaps meditation
• Exercise, but make sure that it is exercise that you enjoy and will make you feel good. I have to say, I haven't always found exercise effective (at least not in the way people make it out to be)
• Invest in a lava lamp, it's pretty soothing to watch the wax float around, plus it gives your room a cosy glow
• Make a blanket fort
• Hang fairy lights
• Get straight into your comfiest pyjamas
• Light some scented candles
• Go for a walk, especially in a calm soothing area where there's lots of nice scenery (if you're lucky enough to live close enough to anywhere like this)
• Go for a drive
• Pop bubble wrap
• Window shop
• Prepare a picnic and sit a nice park or scenic area
• Spend time with a pet

Here's a picture of my lava lamp and fairy lights to soothe and (hopefully) inspire you.

I've tried to come up with as many ideas as I can, though I'm sure there are many more! I might make another post (or posts) like this if I think of a few more ideas, I like the idea of having a bunch of posts with a ton of ideas on stress relief. 

Blog Update

I have to be honest, I haven't been doing so well in regards to leading a healthier lifestyle and, as a result, my blog has suffered. I'm just a little bit ashamed of how little I've posted in the last month or so! I'm trying to get my diet back on track, as well as managing to work at least a bit of exercise in, so I'm hoping that I will be posting more regularly about these things pretty soon. In the mean time, I'll try writing about a few other things, just to keep this blog alive. I want to stick to the theme as much as possible, but I also want these posts to reflect my lifestyle, so I don't want to post anything that focuses on a healthy lifestyle when mine isn't (plus, in my opinion. it's more difficult to write about these things when you're not practising them anyway).

I also wanted to add that as I approach the beginning of university again, I want to write about a few things related to university, some of it to help myself and some of it to help others.

Anyway, I hope to post again soon, though I have no idea what about!