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

Dublin has always been one of my favourite places in the world. This is the third time that I have been there and every time I go I learn to appreciate its beauty even more. My best friend and I travelled to Dublin because we had tickets to go see my favourite band - 5 Seconds of Summer - live in concert. We decided to spend almost a whole week there so we could experience Dublin to the full.

We visited places such as the Leprechaun Museum and the Guinness Experience which were both so interesting and so much fun. We obviously shopped.. a lot. I was actually amazed at myself for not buying much makeup, however I did go a bit crazy in Forever 21 (best shop ever). We also met up with a friend of ours who lives there which was great because we got to catch up with him and he also showed us a few places which we had never even heard of! The food was amazing everywhere we went, and the Irish people are all so nice! However, I think my favourite thing about Dublin is just walking around the city - across the bridge and around all the traditional bars, hearing live Irish music playing from almost every corner - it's something so simple yet so amazing.

It was very cold, it literally hailed on one day. We did get lucky in the last two days as the sun actually came out and the weather was actually quite nice! Although I am used to very hot and sunny Maltese weather, so I always freeze when I go to countries like this. But we just wrapped ourselves up in warm clothes and we were fine!



  

I had never been to Dublin on my own before, so this time I actually had to figure out where we were going and pay a lot of attention to certain details that I never took notice of before. Going abroad without someone to guide you may be difficult, but it is definitely a great experience. I always tell people that Dublin is a place that you must visit one time or another. I think it's a mixture of the buildings, the environment, the people and the atmosphere in general that makes me love it so much.

xo