Malta Malta Malta!

What a huuuge couple of weeks! And I can't help but feel that it's only just the beginning. Having been away for two weeks on two separate holidays I was proud of myself for making it through relatively unscathed after lots and lots of partying and was looking forward to a bit of a rest and getting back to normal life. Then, it hit me. It's summer, there's no such thing as normal life! The sun came out this week and my head is already spinning. Plans are being made to cram as many concerts, parties and events into every waking minute for the next 3 months. I am not going to be getting much rest for awhile, I just can't afford to risk missing any little bit of the summer!

Here are few snaps from the trip to Malta. It's such an interesting place, a real mix of British, Mediterranean and Moorish influences. The capital, Valetta is filled with history, and the people are really proud to tell you about it. The weather is obviously pretty perfect, it was my first dose of summer in a year, and my first ever swim in the Med!

I just got back from four days of fun in the sun in Malta, and would love to tell you guys more about it but our flight was delayed by four hours (!!) on the way home which left me time to do little more than eat, sleep and pack for my next trip to Scotland tomorrow. Yikes, I really need to get to bed. See you soon, xoxo

caerdydd

So apparently we took a disappointing number of photos in Cardiff! Here are a few of the least crappy ones. We stayed near the Cardiff Bay area which has been undergoing a bit of zjujjing up recently, but we were told there was a really dodgy area nearby, so we felt right at home - a city just doesn't feel right to me anymore if there's no risk of a mugging or stabbing.

There is the Opera House-thingy that looks like a beetlebum; and the Welsh Assembly which is quite cool looking, but reminds me of wasps nests and I'm a bit unsure of it's purpose; and another ye olde arcade which housed a lovely boutique called Seren.

deck the halls

I've never been to Cardiff before, but had a fine time exploring it over the Christmas holiday. The shopping is great, with everything you'd expect of a larger city, but I especially liked the old arcades where you can get away from the crowds and find something a little different to the usual high street fare in a handful of boutiques. I miss boutiques when I'm shopping in London. I'm sure there are heaps, but you just have to know where they are. Plus they usually stock labels I much admire but cannot actually afford to buy, which is sometimes a very fun kind of shopping, but sometimes just depressing, you know?

This shirt and the studded beret are a couple of things I treated myself to when I got paid for the first time in 9 months!!! Wes rang me to tell me the money had gone into our account when I was in Topshop doing some Christmas shopping. It was truly fate.

Beret: Urban Outfitters; Shirt: Topshop; Singlet: Gap; Jeans: Lee; Boots: who knows?

pah-rah-pah-pum-pum

I'd better post about Christmas before the New Year takes hold and That Special Day In December becomes relegated to a distant memory. Well, I had a wonderful Orphan's Christmas in Cardiff with great company, even better food and a Wii! Presents were plentiful, sometimes too much so as you can see by my lovely pjs from Wes. 'It said size twelve on the hanger!!' he insisted again and again. My most favouritest present was my fluffy white Muji bathrobe: so cosy, I wish it was acceptable to wear them for more than the five minutes between showering and getting dressed. Much more. Like all day.

We established that The Little Drummer Boy is all our boys' favourite carol. I don't think I have a fave as I actually really hate them. Does Wham count as a carol?

Bar-hopping across the Adriatic

This was not your average holiday. My average holiday usually consists of much activity planning and hectic sight-seeing and city exploration, making the most of every minute of holiday goodness. I don't usually like to lie still on a beach and do nothing. But this was something entirely new. Sailing for most of the day, jumping off the side of the boat for swims, getting fed waaay too much for lunch everyday, then a few hours of exploring a new port each afternoon before settling in for dinner and drinks. One week and we felt like the rest of the world didn't exist. Of course, holidaying with a bunch of (mostly) Australians meant the liver was not going to escape unscathed. Luckily, we were in the right place. We got to drink in the most gorgeous and idyllic settings. People have been known to use the phrase 'best bar in the world' to describe these places. We really didn't take many photos of the week, and these probably don't really do them justice, but trust alot of fun was had.

In case you desperately needed a cocktail but also had a bag of dirty laundry? Zagreb.

This bar (see the little cluster of umbrellas) on the outside of the ancient Roman walls of Dubrovnik was reached through an inconspicuos hole in the wall. No signs. No name. So cool.

You can jump off the rocks into the water then enjoy a glass of wine while watching the sunset over the Adriatic.

Sometimes beer drinking was so urgent one couldn't even wait to get to the bar and had to start drinking while sitting on the roof of the ferry!

My personal favourite, the Half-Tower bar in Korcula, at the top of an ancient stone tower.

People go up via this ladder. Drinks go up via a pulley system on the outside of the tower.

And the view of the sunset was pretty amazing too!

Viciously, she sleeps

Wow, I have been in London for a few days now and it is completely surreal. In some ways it feels like I never left, and yet my friends have so many stories of the stuff we missed out on :-(
Off to Croatia tomorrow, VERY early but very excited! Hopefully might be able to post from some internet cafe or something, but I'm not getting my hopes up. But of course I will have heaps of fabulous photos to show everyone when I get back!
I am incredibly jetlagged as I write this and have a headache along with occasional sea-sickness (what the?)!

Sorry for the lack of photos but I forgot to take any when I saw all my friends, I was a bit overwhelmed!