My weekend in Oxford

Hey bloggers,

I have been so busy recently, I finally have the time to sit down and write about the weekend. I have just spent in Oxford with my friend Jack. Because I've finished uni so early at Glasgow, compared to the English universities, I decided to make the most of it and catch the train from Leigh-on-Sea to Oxford.

I didn't know what to expect in Oxford, but en route, it really was a nightmare to get there. Upon arrival at Paddington, I was told on the train that it was cancelled as a man had jumped in front of a train at Twyford. Despite this horrid news, I had to get off and was really annoyed as Jack had planned to attend a 'formal' at the Trinity College, one of the colleges amongst the others at the University of Oxford. He wanted me to experience of the more posh side to Oxford and its traditions!

Luckily, I arrived JUST in time, with only minutes to get changed and then made our way to dinner.

Jack and I at dinner.

After this, we made our way to drinks that were being held by the Cherwell News. The newspaper that Jack writes for, before making our way back to the room to sleep before the activities next day! The next day we went to walk around the different colleges. Here's me at Trinity College in the day:

And then we booked a punt with Christchurch as Jack attends there (YES! The university where Harry Potter was filmed in the Great Hall!!) 

Punting down Cherwell River.

Jack and I.

Jack punting at the back of the boat.

I had such a great time, as we played music down the river and relaxed in the afternoon sun. 

Afterwards, we made our way to the Great Hall for dinner with Matt, another school friend who attends Balliol. 

Outside the Great Hall where Harry Potter was filmed.

I was definitely thinking of returning, as I made my home on Sunday. Oxford itself is such a small city and we were able to walk all around it. It was surrounded by tourists as they walked around the city looking at the picturesque scenery of the ancient buildings standing that are now owned the university.

Did you do anything nice this Bank Holiday weekend?

Kirsty

xxx

Santorini

Following my last blog post, the ship sailed from Turkey and headed to the picturesque island of Santorini. We arrived at 7AM, and unfortunately, we awoke to cloud. Once on the boat to take us to the island (as this island has no port and so the ship is tendered), it started to rain.

Our ship from the boat, so majestic.

Brandon and I had decided to take a tour on this day with Thomson. So we were the first off the ship. Despite the overcast weather, we were determined not to let it ruin our day. Firstly, we visited the tranquil Oia village, where celebrities tend to hideaway in the summer months to catch the glorious sun rays and wandered around for two hours.

Oia is a village, built upon the cliff and, leading down to the sea, villa's are cut into the rock to make the beautiful getaway spots that most of us dream we were on the days we're stuck in lectures or in the office!

Oia Village.

After wandering around and seeing some lovely shops, I found a book shop, which to much disappointment was closed. 

Such a unique shop, surrounded by souvenir shops.

We then stopped in a coffee shop overlooking all the beautiful sun houses I dream of owning! Here, I wrote my postcard to my nan.

The swimming pools are to DIE for! I am so jealous of anyone who spends the night here.

We had to meet the tour guide back at the church in the middle of the square. It is chalk white and looks stunning when standing against the blue sky.

Wouldn't it be a dream to get married here?

We then made our way to Santos Winery. They gave the group a tour of the winery. Although, it was obvious that most of us had come for the wine and olives they provided us with. We were here for around an hour. I had glass after glass, tasting a white, red, and a dessert wine. I enjoyed the white the most! The sun came out for this part of the tour and it was lovely to sit on the verandah and watch the world go by and watch the boats come into the Cyclades.

Santos Winery.

A picture before leaving.

After this, we returned to Thira, and we were given a coupon to get the cable car back down to the port. Once we spent some time in Thira, the capital of Santorini, Brandon and I made our way back down back to the ship. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the ship, tanning and listening to Top Men on deck. 

Truly, a marvellous and memorable day.

Have you ever been to Santorini?

Kirsty 

xxx

Just gone for a cruise!

So recently I haven't been too punctual in keeping my aim of posting at least every two weeks. Excuse my lack of posting but I actually managed to get an AMAZING deal with Thomson to go on a cruise last minute. It was the 'Ancient Affair' itinerary. It departed Cyprus and then made its way to Marmaris and Alanya in Turkey, then onto Santorini in Greece and then to Ashdod in Israel. The cruise was exceptional and I chose it because it stopped off at Santorini and more importantly, Ashdod. This was the gateway to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Bethlehem. All of which I visited. 

I'm going to break my blogging posts up as the post will be too long but I shall start with the first leg, consisting with the ports of Turkey.

After boarding the Thomson Spirit, Brandon and I made our way to our room and unpacked.

Brandon standing by our enormous ship.

The first port of call was Alanya and we didn't plan anything with the ship to do anything so we got off and had a walk around. 

It was really a picturesque place and a lovely day.

Once walking round the town, we made our way through the bazaars full of clothing, bags and shoes! It was really very very tempting. Brandon and I then walked towards the castle. We realised there were two ways of getting up to it, and naturally, Brandon chose the complex way up!

The stairs up to the castle.

The view from the top!

I would definitely recommend doing this in Alanya and to not do the tour with the ship. We had a great day, and the weather was perfect so it wasn't too hot to climb!

The viewing point at the top.

That evening we joined in with the ship's entertainment and played bingo. Despite not winning we still had a laugh. We set sail for the next port which was to be Marmaris.

We got to Marmaris around 8am, and we chose to get off the ship at around 11am as we weren't leaving until 7pm that evening. 

The ship stops on the opposite side to where the Old Town is. There is a lovely walk round from the terminal through the Marmaris Marina. I loved this as the walk was interesting looking at all the yachts that were tied up there! The walk was around 15-20 minutes.

Lots of yachts all from the USA to New Zealand! 

It was a beautiful day, but we decided that we would try to go to a Turkish Bath. We managed to find a ticket booth, and there we got an amazing bargain for £10, which included the transfer from the ticket booth to the hotel and back. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, it was a relaxing place, which included the sauna, hamman, and then an oil massage. 

With lots of time to spare after the Turkish Bath, we continued to walk along the promenade and again went through the parade of shops, there we both picked up a bargain or two. Haggling and paying in sterling, which the shopkeepers seemed to prefer!

A photo to finish the end of the day in Marmaris.

We decided not to go to Marmaris Castle because we had visited Alanya fort the day before, but I would recommend stopping by the Castle as at dinner, a few people mentioned the lovely views from the top.

I would definitely return to Turkey. In some ways, I preferred Alanya to Marmaris because I felt the latter had a more rivera and european style to it. Whereas, Alanya still felt very Turkish. However, I would also go back to Marmaris!

Have you visited either places? What did you do there?

Kirsty 

xxx