From City to Sea - Auckland Locals Travel Guide

Travelling to a new place is always so exciting, for myself it is actually probably one of my favorite things to do! Scouring the internet to find the best spots of the city and quickly building up anticipation of what it is going to be like. However my latest trip to Auckland wasn’t exactly like this.. On this trip I was lucky enough to be staying with a local, which in my opinion is every travelers dream! Although google searching and spending hours on trip adviser is great fun, there is something so special about experiencing places with someone who knows the in’s and out’s of the area.

Take this for example; you are in a new place, walking down the street, phone in hand, directions light up your screen and you are set on destination that google says is ‘highly recommended’. Don’t me wrong, it probably is great, but compare that to this scenario. You are walking down the street, phone in bag, talking to your local guide about the numerous times they came to this spot as a kid and created all these memories. You then arrive at the destination feeling somehow already connected to it as your guide takes you to their favorite look out spot. You then adventure and discover new areas, creating new memories with your local. Doesn’t this sound so much better?

Now that I have set the scene for you, here is what we got up to in Auckland, New Zealand - Locals edition!

Firstly, I must introduce you to my local guide Holly! Holly and I wet to University together and she is my go to adventure buddy! Our first day was all about exploring the central city, we caught the ferry in and walked around the viaduct. Out of the whole CBD the viaduct was by far my favorite part, I love being by the water and feeling those beachy urban summer vacations vibes. The atmosphere in this area is great, scattered with a number of great bars and restaurants. Towards the end there is even a section with a great play ground and relaxing area. Not to far from the viaduct is a small urban shopping area called Britomart, also with some lovely spots to eat and shops to wondering around. Here’s what I captured from this day..

Cityscape from the ferry

Cute places to eat/drink

Enjoy some lunch at Holly’s favorite place on the viaduct - North Park

Exploring some industrial structures

Great views of the sky tower

AMONA - great cocktail bar and bakery

Milse - an amazing ice cream desert spot in Britomart

After exploring the city we made out way back to the North shore to go and enjoy one of Holly’s favorite beaches that she grew up going to every day in the summer time - Cheltenham beach!

Cheltenham beach, perfect view of

The following we ventured out of the city to a spot called Goat Island, a beach with great snorkeling and gorgeous scenery! Along the way we stopped in for a coffee in a lovely suburb called Matakana. Apparently this is becoming a locals hot spot and a lot of families are moving out to this lovely, my rural area.

Fueled up by coffee and ready to go we made our way to Goat Island. Its a perfect spot to spend the day, you can hire snorkels and flippers if you dont have your own, swim for hours and explore the rock pools!

To finish off this great day Holly took my to a local wharf in her area where we watched the sun go down over the city and went swimming, the best way to end the day.

Into my third and final full day in the Auckland we set out on another day mission. This time to the west coast where we visited the infamous Piha beach! This beach in an iconic New Zealand beach, it even had a Tv show about it, so we HAD to go there!

Pro money saving tip - always pack snacks!

While out on the west coast Holly also took my to a beautiful waterfall called Karekare falls! I absolutely loved it there, the nature was stunning and it felt like we were in a tropical jungle! Obviously we had to make the most of this, so we did a fun photoshoot in the bushes and we loved it!

I absolutely loved this trip, being able to put my phone down and actually be shown around the city was amazing. I discovered places I never would have through my phone, and learnt so much about what its like to be a local in the big city. If you have the opportunity to meet with a local you must! I promise you the things you will experience and the memories you will make will be well worth it! Thank you so much to Holly for being my tour guide and I look forward to my more adventures like this in the future!

WHERE TO STAY IN BARCELONA // BLACKSWAN HOSTEL BARCELONA

Looking for a place to stay in Barcelona? Look no further! On my last trip to this amazing city I was lucky enough to stay at the Blackswan hostel, and I am here to tell you how it made my trip amazing, and how it could do the same for you! 

If you've read my last post about all the fun things to do in Barcelona then you already know about how amazing this city! However being a traveler my self and in particular a solo traveler I know that even though a city has a lot of offer a big part of your experience comes from where you stay. Personally my accommodation option of choose is always hostels, they are the best and easiest way to meet new friends that will explore the city with you and I often find that choosing the right hostel can make or break my experience in a place. 

Straight from the get go I felt comfortable and safe at the Blackswan hostel Barcelona. I arrived in the morning and were greeted by there helpful and friendly staff who welcomed me and stored my bags  for the day until I was able to fully check it. Once checked in I got to settle into my modern and fresh room and was really impressed with how clean and spacious the space felt. The whole hostel has such a warm and groovy vibe and the atmosphere was great! 

Food at the hostel
Another amazing thing that they do is have free dinners most night of the week! All you have to do is sign up at reception and you have yourself a free meal cooked by one of the volunteers! Not only are there free meals but they even have a paella class a couple nights of the week. Food is such a community activity here and getting to experience and learn about some of the most classic Spanish foods is something that really makes Blackswan stand out! Also the kitchen was amazing and open for anyone to cook their own meals or enjoy the free breakfasts they put out every morning.

Unique Experiences 
One of my favorite activities I got involved in was a salsa and bachata dance class! We were taken out to a small locals bar where two instructors came and taught us the basic steps of both salsa and bachata, two things that I have never done before but can definitely say it is one of the highlights of my trip! Another cool activity that they hosted every night was a pub crawl followed by free entrance to a club! This was great, as a solo traveler it is often quite hard to get to experience the night life so having the opportunity to get to go out and enjoy these things so amazing. You get to make so many new friends and are taken around with one of the hostel volunteers who are always so much fun and will walk home with you after the night! 

Facilities 
In terms of the facilities, I was thoroughly impressed with the high quality modern design. The sleeping space was large and comfortable, with sturdy bunk beds that even had personal privacy curtains on every bed as we as a small shelf, light, USB outlet and a charging points all in your own personal space. This was an absolute luxury and I slept so well! The bathrooms were very clean and had plenty showers and toilets, not to mention the a separate set just for girls! With one main common area down stair and a second upstairs there is plenty of space and I found myself spending a free time hanging out here as it was a very social area.

If you arnt convinced yet then I don't know what more I can say! Blackswan has it all, they helped make my time in Barcelona amazing, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND staying with them on your trip too!  

Book Here 

TRAVEL BLOG // BARCELONA // SPAIN

Bars, beaches and amazing architecture Barcelona has something for every one and I highly recommend everyone visit's at some point in there life! I only had a short 4 days in this buzzy city but from thriving markets to lazy beach days this city went above and beyond my expectations.
     
Arriving early in the morning on the flixbus I went straight to my hostel to check in my bags and start exploring. Even on a Sunday this city is certainly alive and going so it was no issue finding things to do! Being a solo traveler I often worry about getting bored or lonely but in a place like Barcelona loneliness is very easily overcome. With minimal effort you can make amazing new friends, whether this be by just talking to other tourist when visiting popular sights or the best way is staying in a hostel. Hostels are the best and easiest way to meet people and make friends that will often can make your experience so much better. However choosing the right one can be hard! On this trip I had the pleasure of staying at the Blackswan hostel where I spent three nights and had the most amazing experiences. The team at Blackswan go above and beyond to make your time at the hostel and in Barcelona great. They host different events every day and pub crawls every night and I would highly recommend this hostel. If you are interested in hearing all about my experience at Blackswan Barcelona check out my other post, 'Where to stay in Barcelona // Blackswan Hostel'.

After fully checking into my room I instantly made a friend and we ventured down to the explore the main beach Barceloneta. Barcelona is such a big city and a lot of things are quite spread out so I would highly recommend getting 'T-Ten' public transport card, that is ten euros for ten trips and will save you a lot of money. Trust me, in the heat you don't want to be walking absolutely everywhere! So we caught the bus to the beach and were instantly hit with the infectious lively atmosphere of the local come tourist vacationers tanning, swimming, drinking and playing beach sports! The main beach Barceloneta is the hub of beach life in Barcelona and really lives up to all you could imagine, however if you are looking for a quieter spot to really relax and swim I would recommend heading out to some of the other beaches that are not so central and crowded. 

Just along from the beautiful Barceloneta beach you can also find the port area, where there are some great restaurants and lunch spots where you can sit, eat and watch the boats come in. 

If you travelling on a budget and don't want to spend too much on a meal at the water front, another great option is to grab a bite at one of the local markets and taking it down to a nice spot by the port or on the beach! When I was there there was a lovely market going on near both the port and the beach and had some amazing local for super affordable prices! Finding a market in Barcelona is not hard and I would definitely recommend researching whats on when you are there (its always changing!).

Apart from pop up markets there are also some great weekly or even daily markets that draw in the crowds with there amazing food and boutique gifts/jewelry. My favorite market was la boqueria Barcelona, it is a food market and it does not disappoint! This undercover market has a wide range of food from snacks to full meals and surely has something for everyone.  This market is very popular and can be very busy so I would recommend not going in peak hours to avoid busy crowds, but 100% worth a visit! 

Another amazing thing about Barcelona is of course Antoni Gaudí and his amazing architecture. The locals of Barcelona are extremely proud of the Gaudí's works that are scattered around the city and you must visit some of them! Pro-tip; If you plan to go into the buildings/park I advise you to book tickets ahead of time online as this will save you waiting in long cues and maybe even save you a few dollars. However for those travelling on a budgetand don't want to fork out money on these kinds of activities, but still want to learn and experience some for the culture/history, a great thing to do is a free walking tour (work on tips). Through the Blackswan hostel they organize walking tours everyday morning and afternoon, both in the Gothic quarters and an Antoni Gaudí tour. The Gaudí tour takes you through his main buildings excluding Park Guell. The quides are friendly and knowledgeable and know all there is to know about the history of Gaudí and his story. They lead a great tour and are more than happy to answer all questions! I really enjoyed my tour and learnt so much! 

Although you see the majority of Gaudí's most famous works in the free tour what is not included is Park Guell. All for good reason though, the park is located a bus ride out of the central city and if you are going to head out there I suggest that you plan for it. It is not very far away but if you don't want to pay to see and enter the sculptures you can actually see then for free! If you arrive at the park before 8am when the restricted entry begins then you are free to just explore the park with no fee! 

Barcelona during the day is beautiful and there is so much culture and life that surrounds and engages the city. But as the night falls somehow it manages to become even more alive, pub crawls and salsa classes are what filled up most most of nights in this lively city. Being a solo traveler it can sometimes be hard to enjoy the nightlife in cities by yourself, purely due to safety reasons. But on this trip that was certainly not the case! Thanks to the making Blackswan hostel that hostels pub crawls and salsa class during the evenings/nights this meant I was able to make new friends and enjoy the night life stress free! See more about the events with Blackswan in this post! 

Barcelona is an amazing city with so much to see and do, I absolutely loved my time there are can not wait for they day when I get to come back and experience it all over again! 

ZERO EXPECTATIONS - TÜBINGEN, GERMANY

Something that I have learnt so quickly from travelling is that sometimes the most beautiful places are those off the beaten track. So often you get caught up in these big cities and don't even realize that its only a very small part of a much larger country. When you are travelling alone and are relying on buses, trains and planes to get you around the place it can be so easy to miss these hidden gems. Through out my journey I have meet so many people form all over the world and it seems when you ask them where they are from its always the same sentence... 'well you see.. I'm from a small town' and then they go on to tell you which big city it is close to. And this all makes perfect sense, of course I'm not going to know the name of the small town that they live in so obviously the bigger town it a much better bet. However while I've been in Europe I've made it my mission to visit as many friends that I can and get the chance to see these small towns that otherwise I would have never even thought about. 

Which brings me to the town I'm going to tell you about today. This small University town is one other the cutest most fairy tale like places I have seen in a long time. It is the small town of Tübingen, located just under and hour from Stuttgart, Germany. One of my close friends studies at the University here and I was lucky enough to go and visit her. I think the best thing about this was trip was that I had zero expectations of this town, the sole purpose of this trip was just to see my friend but this town was so much more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! 

I mean just look at it!

The first day we spent just enjoying each others company and she showed me around the main part of the town. The heart of this place is definitely the river main river where you can ride on gorgeous gondolas or sit on the wall and enjoy an ice-cream from one of the many gelato shops. 

The next day we planned to do a walk in the morning to a chapel on the hill. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the sun was so hot, but thankfully the walking is very much through forestry so we were protect most of the way. When we arrived at the Chapel I was blown away with how gorgeous it was, placed perfectly on the hill surrounded by small vineyards, it's honestly like a page out of a fairy tale, absolutely stunning.. 

TIPS FOR THE PERFECT WEEKEND IN LONDON!

So since I've been in Europe I've found myself spending hours on end search flights to everywhere on Skyscanner. I basically just type in where I am and select 'Everywhere' and see where the cheapest place is to get to! Sometimes its crazy cheap and it makes it so easy to be spontaneous and travel to places for just a few days. 

A few months ago my friends and I got cheap flights to London. London is one of those bucket list places where everyone wants to visit at some point in there life. So after our trip to Ireland we got on a good old Ryan Air flight to London! Will just a short 2 nights in the city and so much to see the weekend was full of sight seeing. 

TIP # 1
HOW TO AVOID THE CROWDS

You know the saying 'the early bird gets the worm', well when in London I highly recommend you apply this strategy. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to get up at the crack of dawn and go for a run while the sun rises.. It just means that if you want to enjoy a bit of the city with out the company of thousands of tourists then its definitely worth getting up slightly early than usually, and heading out to do some sight seeing before the rush. This way you get to enjoy your favorite sites with a bit less of a crowd, and I think no one could ever complain about that. You can always find a park at lunch time and have a nap to recharge the batteries if the early morning is taking that much of a toll on you!

Tip # 2
BUDGET TIP

So if you didn't know already London is in no way a budget friendly city.. Everything is going to cost you something and probably a lot more the you expect. Now I truly know the temptation of eating out all the time, and as nice as it can be the cost of breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack here and there adds up very fast! So as you've probably heard many times before, go to the supermarket and buy some cheap food that you can chuck together and take with you while you're on the go. Id recommend to do this for breakfast and dinner, if you do want to eat out I'd advice you do that for lunch, generally its is a cheaper meal.  I would also highly recommend enjoying your snacks in a park, London is full of lovely parks in the city! 

Tip # 3
TRAVELLING AROUND THE CITY

Now if you are anything like me you would agree that jumping on and off the underground can be pretty stressful.. But it also a bit of fun, so if you want to use the underground service during your stay you can by an Oyster card. You can get this each station and you simply just load money onto the card and scan away. At the end of the trip you can claim back the money that you have left if there is any, but be aware that I think this may be a bit of a process.. I had two friends try but gave up because the amount of money left wasn't worth all the hassle. Although I'm sure if you do really want it back the person at the desk can help. If you don't think its worth buying one of these cards you can also use any contactless card (paywave) to scan through the gates. Another point to add is that if you don't mind walking you can get to most of the main attractions by foot. Obviously it is a bit weather dependent but if you can I'd recommend just walking around, you'll also see so much more of the city this way. 

JUST ENJOY IT

It so easy to become that person that complains about it being so crowd and busy, well as a matter of fact we are there to see the exact some things. So make the most the the experience, embrace the crowds and don't let them get you down. The busy city atmosphere is one of the things that makes this city so special, and if that's your thing you are going to love it. Even if big cities really aren't your thing I'd still say you should give London a shot, its just got an amazing feeling and I think everyone should see it at some point. 

SOMETIMES YOU'VE GOT TO JUMP THE BARRIER - CLIFFS OF MOHER, IRELAND

Type Ireland into trip adviser and the most popular attraction is The Cliffs of Moher and let me just start by saying they are probably one of my favorite places. Now, I'm going to be completely honest and say that this actually kind of annoys me.. I always like to think of myself as an adventurous being who loves to find hidden gems and discover places for myself. Its that feeling that you get when you discover a 'secret' place and its like you are the only person that gets to experience it - honestly its magical. But I always find it so hard to get that same feeling visiting places swarming with tourist! And yes it is extremely ironic, a tourist complaining about tourists - but its true. Places that used to be so special and exclusive are now being capitalized and exploited to the stage where there magic is stripped from them. However despite the fact that I had to pay a fee to see this natural wonder, somehow I was still able to feel a special kind of magic. Actually Ireland seems to have an amazing way of retaining the raw beauty of places with out completely destroying them! Maybe its because I was there in the shoulder season and missed the rush of tourists? Or maybe its because I didn't really stick to the barriers..? But what ever the case this place really does have something special and it is 100% must do when you visit Ireland!

Side note - I may have jumped the fence and walked along the edge of the cliff, however in my defense I just wanted to experience the rawness of this place and it wasn't THAT windy.. also check out these epic shots! (I do not encourage this to any one and will not be held responsible for any silly business on the edge on the cliff!). 

From the moment I walked up to the first viewpoint I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It just seemed unreal, these giant jaw dropping cliffs were right there in front of me and they looked just like they did on my Iphone when I found this place. There is a part of the track where the barrier ends and a sign informs you that from this point on, it is no longer part of the protected area and you may continue at your own risk. This was the point when I felt I could really take it all in and it finally became real, its when the comfort blanket is taken away and its just you and your surroundings. I finally felt like I was no longer just looking at the picture I had already seen, now I was in the moment! You are in touch with all your senses and it's in your hands to decided where your path leads you. Now I don't want you to get the wrong idea, it's not some skinny little tight rope you are walking on, its actually a decent 5 meter wide area at thinnest and in fact some areas there is a whole paddock! And its not about standing right on the edge and toying with gravity, just being able to not feel as if you are at the zoo!

It may be the inner adrenaline junkie in me talking when I say that pushing the limits is when I feel the most alive and if I could feel just one feeling for the rest of my life, it would be this! 

THE CHAINSMOKERS BROUGHT US TO BERLIN

So about a week ago one of my friends discovered fairly cheap tickets to the Chainsmokers concert in East Berlin, and us being the spontaneous humans that we are one week before the concert we booked the tickets and off we for a weekend adventure! Arriving in Berlin on Saturday morning I was so excited for my first experience in Germany, it felt like I was living in a dream. Until I was very abruptly woken by the task of jumping on and off trains/trams and buses... it truly is a fine art and reading and remembering names of places that look like they belong in some Dr Seuss book is extremely dificult! If it wasn't for my amazing German travel buddy I don't think I would have made it to half the places that we did! Actually reflecting on this trip I am amazed with how much we were able to fit into 3 days...

Straight into action we spent the first two days doing the most typical tourist activities like visiting Brandenburger Tor, the Parliament building, presidents house, Siegessaule (victory column), Check point Charlie and Museum Island. Every location exceeded my expectations and it was amazing to see such important places and buildings up close and be able to feel the power that they held. And of course take some of the most iconic photos ever...

These places were amazing but out of everything that we did (excluding the concert - ill get to that later) there were two moments that really stood out to me. The first was on Sunday morning, I had planned to get up early because I wanted to catch the sunrise but I forgot to set my alarm and only woke up at 8 am.. still determine to go for a walk I went off with just my camera and my phone on 10%. We were staying at the Baxpax hostel which is actually in the perfect location of travelers and I would highly recommend, right next door is the Berlin river so this is where my walk started. It was freezing, but on this brisk Sunday morning I learnt a very important traveling lesson.. Sunday mornings = no swarming tourist around the city hot spots so actually my walk was super peaceful. I journeyed along the river leading towards Museum Island, the sun was shining and it was just so nice being by myself in a new place where there is so much to explore. Just a week ago I would have never thought I would be sitting river side in Berlin in that moment. I love being spontaneous and never regret it when I am, its just that initial push out side of your comfort zone that opens up so many doors.

After hours and hours spent walking and exploring it was finally time for the Chainsmokers concert, the actually reason we came to Berlin and let me to be the first to tell you.. they did not disappoint! We were lucky enough to get such a good spot in the crowd only a few rows from the front and somehow managed to not be completely squashed while danced the evening away, their energy was infectious and we really did have so much fun! Being surrounded by people that are just so happy to be in this moment watching two brothers living their dream is something special and I hope to find myself on many more spontaneous adventures like this in the near future.

3 days in is gorgeous city was just enough time to take it in and see some iconic sights, but it so easy to be overwhelmed by the crowds and fast space city life. Berlin is one of those places that has always interested me but I have never thought through planning a trip there. You see I'm the kind of girl that loves fresh air, mountains, beaches and space and Berlin doesn't really fit this target group... But in saying that I did have an amazing time on this trip and that feeling you get when you are standing at the base of this grand monument that stands with such greatest and power - there's really just nothing else like it. 
Watch this Space....never stop smiling

A DAY IN AMSTERDAM

A day in Amsterdam... where do I even begin! This City is absolutely Beautiful - stunning historic buildings weaved between hundreds of canals, one day was definitely not enough. We arrived at the central train station around 9:45 am and set off to the city center - with no plan we were slightly lost on what to do and where to start but quickly found a walking tour and decided to tag along. Despite extremely cold weather the sun was shining and we were on our way to our first stop of the tour in the Red Light district. Now this was not a sight that I had intend to see on my visit to Amsterdam but nevertheless we strolled through the narrow streets at 11 am, I kept my head facing forward and managed to make it out reasonably unscathed! The next few stops on the tour consisted of some historic buildings and insightful facts from our guide as we worked our way through this maze of a city. I would highly recommend doing a walking tour, we were able to site see and learn some new facts with minimal effort as well as get a good general understanding of Amsterdam.  

After some lunch in a local dutch cafe I meet up with some of my friends from New Zealand and we made our way to the canals. Jam packed with other tourists we set off for an hour on the water, we got to see a lot of the city from the comfort of our seats while our enthusiastic guide kept the spirits high with some joyful music and dancing. A canal cruise is such a typical thing to do in Amsterdam but all for good reason, even if you don't have the luxury of having a private boat it is totally worth it in my opinion. 

Next stop of the day took us the the Rijksmuseum and the icon 'I amsterdam' sign, which on the weekend you are incredible lucky to just get one letter to yourself! Of course we had to get a photo in front of the sign, however we decided against visiting the museum. I think museum's can be great but personally I'd rather spend my money else where - so on we went for a freezing cold walk through the city and settled on a drink at a dutch bar. Quality time was spent playing cards and backgammon, the perfect way to spend our last few hours in this gorgeous city! Though I feel like we achieved a lot in this short day I know that I will definitely be back here when the weather is slightly warmer to venture further!

KIWI LEARNING TO FLY - STUDY ABROAD

At the beginning of 2017 I did what every YouTube obsessed, wonder-lusting millennial does and wrote myself a list of new years resolutions. Work out more, eat healthier and do more of what makes me happy, but once I passed my basic ‘white girl’ list needs I actually dove a little deeper and noted goals that I would actively implement into my daily life. One of these goals was to challenge myself more, I was bored of living in the comfort zone and have noticed over the years that the moments when I feel most alive are when my heart is racing and I give myself a genuine challenge. So, I am proud to say that 8 months ago I began my biggest challenge yet and signed up to study abroad!

So here I am 8 months later sitting in my new home in Eindhoven, Netherlands - 18,500 km away from home for 5 1/2 months! If that’s not a challenge I don’t know what is….
I have been here for almost two weeks now and I feel settled and ready to tackle this challenge. Leading up to this trip I was incredibly excited but as it get closer I definitely began to get very anxious about it, all the things that I couldn’t predict started getting to me and I was questioning why I was leaving everything thing that I knew so well. But being the person that I am I instinctively pushed those feelings aside and focused on the task ahead, I knew that everything was lined up I was going to live out my dream to travel.
Getting on the plane my heart was racing and my emotions where at an all time high, I was excited about getting there but sad about leave – lets just say I was very confused in the feelings department! After a 12 hour flight to Hong Kong I was absolutely exhausted, I knew it was going to be boring, but my gosh I was not prepared for it to be THAT boring… and I was only half way! A quick stop in Hong Kong and then an even more boring 13 hour flight lead me to Amsterdam. I arrived at 6 am and was so excited to see some familiar faces. I was lucky enough to have some friends kindly pick me up from the airport and we drove to the city of Eindhoven where I am living studying for the next half year! Jet lagged but determine to stay awake I was thrown into Dutch culture and ready to experience anything and everything!

I have not been here for long but I am so excited for everything that I have ahead of me. Life is too short to live the same mundane routine, experiences are what make you who you are – if you aren’t pushing yourself then you aren’t living up to your true potential.

Need more motivation? Check out Yes Theory they inspire me everyday!

Aimee Jules x