Mahiki Madness!

On Friday, Heather (whose blog can be found here), my friend Natalia and I made our weekend plans and decided to party out the week at Mahiki, Mayfair. With a little bit of networking, we managed to get free entry and free drinks. This made our night even more enticing and worth the all nighter we would be having, until the first train home in the morning.

Natalia, Myself and Heather

To describe Mahiki in one word, I would have to say exotic! Its Polynesian, Hawaiian theme makes the drinks even more exciting, and because of where the club is, it’s even more expensive! Pina Colada’s are placed in pineapple’s and you can buy a bottle of Dom for an eye watering £11,0000. 

That’s not all though, you never know who you’re going to be partying next to. The evening we went, there were one of the girls from Little Mix with the Daily Mail paparazzi flying round! The story of this can be found here.

On the journey up to London.

Even though I enjoyed Mahiki, I definitely enjoyed the events after. After happily devouring a Mcdonalds and sobering up, we all made our way to the Embankment to get on a boris bike and make our way back to Fenchurch Street.

Take note, we tied our heels to our bike and put on our flats!

After taking about ten minutes to work out how to rent a bike, we made our way, passing towering figures such as the London Eye and rode along the river Thames. We saw the sun rise over the Shard and saw the Tower of London in the morning light.

Once at Coopers row, we docked the bikes and caught the 05.10 train back to Leigh on Sea. Once we were back at mine at around 06.00, we all went straight to bed!

We had such a great evening and I 100% would do it again in the near future.

Have you ever had an exciting night out?

Kirsty 

xx

The Silent City, Mdina

It's a lovely Saturday morning in Malta, and I've been here now a week with my mum. We had a friend come to visit and so we paraded around the island, showing her the sights and scenery of the best places in Malta. She was only here for three days and so my mum and I had to choose the most interesting places we think she would like.

We visited the Silent City, located in Mdina on the first day.

The gate to the front of the Silent City.

Historically, Mdina was established by the Romans. Melita (meaning Honey) was divided into two. The citadel was known as Mdina (the city) and the rest of the area was the village of Rabat (the suburbs). These two names are still used today. Mdina at one point in history was the most desirable place to live in Malta, not only because it was the capital, but because it was one of the highest places on the island. It's fertile land at its base provided food, and it was easy to defend for those who would try to attack.

The city wall, at the entrance of Mdina.

When the Order of the Knights arrived in Malta in 1530, they settled in Marsa, diminishing the importance of Mdina, as they were left undisturbed. When Valletta was built and became the new capital of Malta in 1571, Mdina became known as the 'Old City'. The term 'the Silent City' became prominent and the name is still kept today because no vehicles are allowed beyond the city walls, barring the residents, who are given chosen areas to park their cars. The narrow streets and alleyways make the city so picturesque and personally, I love to wander around the city for hours. It is so small and there is little here, consisting of only restaurants, churches, monasteries, tourist shops, and houses. All of this is protected by a dry moat and city wall that surrounds the area.

The beautiful alleyways, full of history.

The vicinity of this area is packed full of so much history, and the panoramic views are something to envy. All three of us loved it, and I took lots of photos!

A lot of these alleyways are only big enough for horse and carriage.

One of the beautiful churches inside Mdina.

St Agatha's Chapel dates back to 1410. This chapel was damaged in the earthquake of 1693.
Restoration of this chapel is ongoing as it is so old.

The panoramic view from the city walls.

We stopped by here for a drink, it was getting very hot!

The Cathedral is one of Mdina's Baroque cathedral, dedicated to St Paul and shares the title
of Co-Catherdral with St John's in Valletta. It was erected between 1697 and 1702 after the
earthquake destroyed the original.

I had the most lovely morning here. It is definitely a place to admire and muse upon. I will be returning there soon.

What cities have you visited that are very old and boast a lot of history?

Kirsty 

xxx

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