Travel with me: Malta!

(All pictures taken by me unless stated)
Those who have read some of my previous posts will know that I had a trip to Malta coming up, it was 20th - 27th March and it was awesome!❤ 

I hadn't been out of the country since visiting Jamaica in August 2011 (View post here) so it was lovely to get out of the country and visit somewhere new even if it was for uni haha,

I went with my Tourism class (& also a geography class but they stayed in another hotel so we only saw them at the airport) and we all had a laugh, the reason we went was for our Residential field course module where we have to do three presentations on different places in Malta.

For the first half of the trip we took the coach each day to lots of different places to get inspiration, find ideas and do research, the second half was mainly relaxing in the hotel or going for wanders then doing the presentations (found out at the end of the trip my group got a 2:1 woop!!)

(Pictures ranging from the Golden Bay to Cocktails in Gozo, Nutella ice cream in Valletta- the capital and the streets of Mdina)

(Churches, roof of the hotel, inside a Maltese university- bottom left & more)

The hotel we stayed in was called the Maritim Antonine Hotel and was 4* (Thanks uni!) It was a beautiful location and had various aspects for four stardom but some parts seemed a bit lower (especially the unwanted visit from ants in our room *shudders*)...now before you throw virtual bricks at me I am NOT complaining haha, we had a lovely stay and who can complain when we didn't have to pay lol



Malta itself was different to how I expected! The strong influences of various cultures were beautiful! From the Greek styled roof tops to the thin Italian streets and also North African influences.

(Top right is a flat ceiling in a church painted to look like a dome! Amazing!)

Highlights!

• The ice cream! - Trust my first point to be on food lol but the local ice cream really was lovely, they have such a broad range of flavours! From chewing gum to Nutella! haha

• The food! - Everything is so cheap and cheerful in Malta, in the supermarkets AND in the restaurants and cafe's...loved it! This "Sandwich" set me back only €3.50 and was so tasty!... →

• Going for wanders! - I can be a person who likes their own space sometimes, not in a rude way! But I loved taking my time and going through all the quaint shops and going around the streets looking at the houses, was so nice :')

• Gozo! - Gozo is another island near Malta, it's still apart of Malta but the people like to be called Gozians instead of Maltese, it only costed around €4.60 for a return ferry trip and it was such a nice place! and   food and drink are soo cheap there! (Malta is cheap too but Gozo just topped it!...life of a bargain hunter haha) We done some surveys and had lunch and a few drinks, was a great place to relax.

The Blue Grotto :') (Picture from Google)

• The people! - Where ever you go people normally say "the locals are nice" etc but in Malta they really are! So friendly and welcoming, even got a hug on the way home haha!

• The Blue Grotto!- This was one of my faaavourite places in Malta! So beautiful! My phone died so I didn't get to take any pics but will upload one from Google...

Sorry this post was so picture heavy but trust me it took me ages to get down to even this many haha!

Malta isn't always a tourist hotspot and it was quiet when we went (off peak season) but that added to the beauty and I would go back in a heartbeat :')

Thanks Malta for your great food, great people, great history & the sunshine I have craved ❤

God Bless

Nay

xx

How to not be (completely) broke at uni

(Note: talking to myself as much as anyone here haha!)

We've all been there, that blissful moment when the figure in your bank account reads higher than it's ever read in its entire time of being open and you get that text confirming......."Student.Loan.Has.Dropped"

You immediately think of all the possibilities! Louis Vuitton belts! Peruvian weaves! trips to raves across the country! Dominoes every single day of the week! enough Indomie noodles to make a yellow brick road to uni!!! The look on your face kind of resembles......

The options are endless!!.......or so you think......

Now it may seem weird me being a 1st year 2nd term student writing a 'guide' on how not to be broke but as my family can tell you i've been brokeeeeeee at uni and I have now seen the mountain tops and have gotten a smidge better ( it's progress :P lol!) just thought i'd share a few things that have helped me.

Tip 1: Remind your self how long the money needs to last for

It may be awesome going to every single gathering/party/restaurant trip that arises but you have to remind yourself if an event comes up at the end of the month YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT. Kind of blunt but true, why not hold movie nights indoors or go to some free entry events, that way you can go to the theme park trips and holidays away everyone talks about towards the end of the term! :)

Tip 2: Cook!!


Sounds crazy but it can be so easy to forget about having meals whilst at uni, there's so much to do and so many places to be that grabbing something fast for breakfast (if you remember to have it that is) will sustain you until the massive take away you have for dinner lol. All the take aways add up thus leaving your purse/wallet crying.
Cooking meals and taking lunches with you to uni is so much better because it may not save you time but will save you money in the long run. If you think...how much can you buy at Asda with that £15 which was just spent at Nando's lol. Make your own chicken and have the left overs for lunch :D  but please  remember to wash it :P

Tip 3: Save on transport


There are so many times when grabbing a cab can seem like the easiest option....and it probably is haha! Just think though the £6 to get to uni or town can easily be replaced by a £1.10 bus ride or a 30 minute walk :)
The only time I'd say getting a cab is the greatest option is after dark, saving money is not worth your safety <3

There's probably many more tips but the bottom line is basically think before you spend...do you really need TWO dresses in H&M? (Yes:P)....can I walk the journey I need to go?

                                                          Treat yourself but not too much ;)

                           
                                                                           God bless
                                                                              Nay :)
                                                                                xx