Being away from home can be tough sometimes. Before I left, I was worried about so many little things like living alone, dealing with the cold weather, being in a foreign country in general - but all those things haven't phased me since I've been here. The hardest part of it all is being away from the people you love, and that you're used to seeing every day for the past few years of your life. I obviously miss my friends and family a lot, but needless to say, I found it extremely hard to be away from my boyfriend for so long as we've never gone more than two weeks without seeing each other.

So my friend and I decided to book a surprise flight home and spend a few days there. It also happened to be both my mum and my dad's birthdays in the week I was there which was obviously even more special. I basically spent a few days enjoying sunny Malta and spending as much time as possible with people I hadn't seen in two months. It was obviously amazing seeing my boyfriend and getting to spend some quality time with him.

I must admit, it was a bit weird going back home though. It was weird because I now refer to my house in Coventry as my 'home', so being back in Malta felt like I was just on a short vacation. I'm curious to see what it feels like when I go back to Malta for good - I'm expecting a very bittersweet feeling but I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Fun fact about me: out of all the places I've visited until now, Dublin is by far my absolute favourite city. I've been there four times till now and I'm going again next summer which I'm already super excited about! So when the opportunity came to spend the weekend in Dublin, I obviously jumped on it. I mean, catching up with one of my best friends, seeing Bastille live, my favourite city - how could I say no?

We went to watch Bastille live at the 3 Arena which was beyond incredible. Both my friend and I already saw Bastille live earlier this year but they were so good that we just couldn't resist going to see them again. It was truly an amazing concert, they are so talented and Dan's voice is ridiculously perfect in my opinion. We were really close to the stage too which is always a good thing (especially since I'm literally 5"2.) If you ever get the opportunity to see them - do not think twice about it.

I enjoyed this trip because it was completely different to the other times I've visited Dublin. It was much less of a touristic visit. We spent most of our time in cute cafes and simply walking around admiring the beauty of the city. Since our friend lives there, he obviously knows the city well and took us to some of the best places. We only spent two days there but they were extremely relaxed and served as a short break from our normal daily lives. 

Seeing as Birmingham is only a ten minute train away from Coventry, my friend and I thought we should spend a day there. We got on the train quite early in the morning so we would have lots of time to go round the city without being rushed.

The first place we went to was Cadbury World as we had both heard so many great stuff about it; and I mean, who wouldn't want to spend the day surrounded by chocolate? It was actually so interesting to see and also so much fun. I think it's perfect for literally anyone no matter what age you are. We also got lots of free chocolate so that was a lovely bonus!! I loved the fact that the whole area in which Cadbury World is found has bits and pieces painted purple, from as soon as you get off the train! I thought that was such a cute touch and made the whole environment so much better.

We then headed to the BullRing shopping centre (which I had no idea was so huge) and had lunch at Jamie's Italian which obviously is never a bad idea. We went round a few shops and tried our best not to spend all our money, until we finally decided to head back home. 

It was such a lovely, relaxed day and I definitely want to visit Birmingham a few more times before I head back home for good. From what I saw, it seems like quite a nice city, and the face that it's so close to where I live at the moment gives me all the more reason to visit!

For those of you that don't know, Erasmus is an opportunity given by Universities for students to go study abroad for a semester or two. This year, I have been accepted on Erasmus to study at Coventry University for the first semester. I have now been here for a bit over two weeks, and so far I have been loving it.

I have been lucky enough to get chosen in the same University as my best friend, so that is definitely makes the experience so much better for me. We are living in a house with two other guys whom we didn't know before, but thankfully we've all been getting along really well! The house is pretty nice, especially in terms of student accommodation. We have a big kitchen, a great living room, and lots of storage space in our rooms.

Until now, we have been slowly getting used to the city. It's quite a small city; everything is close together and basically in walking distance, which is good. It has actually been quite sunny here in the UK since we've been here. And I must admit, I've been loving taking in the last few bits of sun until it disappears completely!

We have had one week of lectures which all seem quite interesting and very different to our Maltese lectures. I haven't figured out whether it's because of the lecturer, the students, or the content of the study units; although it's probably a mixture of everything.

Since we aren't living in student accommodation, it's a bit harder for us to meet new people and make new friends. We have one Maltese friend here so we have been meeting her and her roommates whenever we go out. But it's pretty hard for us to go out and actually meet new people who are willing to stick around (most of the time all we get is a few drunk guys trying to flirt with us), but we'll just give it time!

So far, living independently has been great. We have somehow succeeded at cooking meals every day (we have obviously messed up many times, but practice makes perfect!) Cleaning isn't too bad either, especially when you don't let things accumulate for a long time. Overall, I'd say the whole experience is pretty damn great. The only downside is being away from my boyfriend. In four years, we have never been away from each other for such a long time. It's definitely hard, but we're making it work. Video chats are basically our best friend now.

I'll hopefully be posting many more updates on my Erasmus experience, but I'm sure it's going to be a great one. If you have any tips for living abroad, please enlighten me! I always love hearing other people's experiences :) Also, if anyone is studying at Coventry University too, let me know!

xo

Earlier this month I went to Sziget - a festival in Budapest - which was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Apart from all the artists and fun things we got to do over there, one of my favourite parts of the festival was dressing up everyday and basically being covered in glitter for a whole week. So these are a few of the outfits and makeup looks I wore during the festival. I hope you like them!

 xo

Two years ago I discovered a band called 5 Seconds of Summer, and I have basically been in love with them ever since. I love their music, their personalities, and they have brought so much happiness into my life over the past two years. When they announced their tour last year, I immediately bought a ticket for their Dublin show, and I was well prepared to go see them by myself. However, my friend then decided to come along with me even though she's not a huge fan of theirs like I am (she does like most of their songs though).

So on the day of the concert, we headed off to the arena after lunch and got there at around 4pm. We waited in line for 2 hours which was a good time in my opinion as there weren't that many people in front of us, and when we went inside we ended up next to girls who had been there for soundcheck so they had definitely been waiting for much longer than us. I wouldn't have minded going an hour or two earlier as I'm sure we would have been much closer to the barrier, but it always depends on the specific show and country you're in. My friend and I actually bought a blanket from Primark and took it with us as it was freezing. It literally hailed while we were waiting in line, and we are not used to such cold weather considering that we live in sunny Malta!

The doors opened at 6pm, and the first act came on at 7.30pm. 5SOS had two opening acts - Jessarae and Don Broco. I had never heard of either of them before but I loved them, they were both amazing! 5SOS came on at about 8.30pm and finished at about 10.30pm. Needless to say, these were probably the best two hours of my life. As I said before, we were very close to the stage so I could see them very well. I was on Michael's side which was honestly a blessing, but you can't really go wrong no matter whose side you're on! I'm also convinced that me and Luke made eye contact twice (although it's very hard to tell when you're in that situation) - but at the time it felt like he was staring into my soul.

My favourite song live was probably Jet Black Heart - it's one of my favourite songs of theirs and I love the meaning behind it. I love how they change the opening of the song when they sing it live, and obviously being on Michael's side was a bonus for this song in particular. The fan project also happened during this song, which made the atmosphere even more amazing. I also loved Outer Space and Vapor (but that's probably cause they're two of my favourite songs), and I may or may not have shed a tear during Amnesia and Beside You (it's cruel that they play them right after each other - so cruel).

By the end of the night my whole body was aching. I spent the entire concert on my tip-toes because I'm very short and I couldn't see well otherwise. There were a few people who were pushing for no reason which was a bit annoying, but I feel like this happened mostly before 5sos came on. This could also be because when 5sos were performing, I didn't care about anything else apart from them haha. After the concert finished, we went straight to the merchandise stand and I bought a t-shirt (with the concert dates at the back) and four small posters of the boys (which I'm obsessed with).

It may sound like I'm exaggerating to some people, but seeing them perform live was the best thing that has happened to me this year. I had a rough few months at the beginning of this year and I wasn't in a good place - I was unhappy and nothing could motivate me. Seeing 5SOS live was an experience that I just can't explain, and it made me so happy - not just in that moment, but even until today. Sometimes all you need is to get away from your normal life and daily routine for just a bit, and do something that makes you so unbelievably happy. So this is a reminder to people - never make fun or someone who has a great love for a band/artist, or for anything really (whether it's makeup, sports, music, art..) because that could be the source of their happiness. Now enjoy the photos..

If you've read my previous blog post, you would know that my best friend and I travelled to Dublin for a week at the end of last month. However, we did leave Dublin on one day and booked a tour to the Cliffs of Moher.

We found many different options for a tour to the cliffs, but we decided to choose the Paddywagon tours as we thought they offered the best price and the best itinerary (and it was a great choice!) There were three different pick up spots that you could choose, and one of them was just round the corner from our hotel. The bus left at about 8am and we had about a 2 hour drive until our next stop.

The views from the bus were incredibly beautiful, and we were so lucky because it was a really nice sunny day.. which isn't that common in Ireland! We saw many amazing places such as the Dunguaire Castle, Corcomroe Abbey, and also the 'mini cliffs'. We then stopped for lunch in Doolin where they offered some amazing food, and finally headed off to the Cliffs of Moher!

The cliffs were nothing short of magical. We walked along the pathway where we had such a beautiful view, and took about a hundred photos until we got a good one because the wind kept getting in the way! It was just nice to stop and appreciate how breathtaking our world can be. (Fun fact: some scenes from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Leap Year were filmed at these cliffs!) We then had a hot chocolate at the cafeteria there and also bought a few souvenirs, and at about 5pm we started heading back to Dublin.

This tour does take up a whole day but it is so worth it. If you visit Dublin or anywhere else in Ireland you should definitely look into taking a trip to the Cliffs of Moher if you have the time. I would also highly recommend the Paddywagon tours; our bus driver was so friendly and funny, and their service in general was excellent. It is definitely a unique experience and you don't get the chance to see such incredible views every day! 

xo