January Favourites

January has left us and takes with it one of the most memorable, incredible and valuable months I’ve ever experienced. For all of January I was overseas studying at the European Institute of Design in Florence, Italy! I had an amazing time embarking on that journey and the trip is something I’ll take with me forever. I thought I’d dedicate my entire January Favourites to it, because instead of trying out new makeup or discovering new tv shows to watch, I was going on day trips to different Italian cities every weekend, tasting some of the best food, and creating amazing memories with new friends. If you enjoy this post please give it a “like“, and let’s crack on with the monthly favourites!

Overcoming My Fears

Whenever someone would ask me if I was super duper excited to leave for my trip, my response was always something along the lines of “yeah totally but I’m also so nervous about everything hahah! :)”  I am a worrier. I fret about everything, from the possibility of my luggage getting lost, to my bag getting stolen, to how I would deal with homesickness. But I pushed through it all and went through all the procedures to put this trip into place, and the whole thing was made so much easier considering one of my best friends from university, Natalie, was coming with me and doing the same course. Long story short and 30 days later, we survived! Everyone told me I would be fine, that I would be having too much fun to miss home, and that I would be supported – turns out they were all right! I’m so proud of myself for going through with this trip, for seeing the oppourtunity and taking it, and for pushing through any fear that could have held me back.

Making New Friends

One of my favourite aspects of this overseas trip was the fact that I was able to make so many new friends! Special shoutout to Michelle, Lauren, Monique, Nicole, Erin and of course my home slice Natalie for making the trip so memorable! From going on a gondola ride through Venice, to seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to visiting the Pitti Palace and the Gucci Garden, to all of our incredible dinners and lunches out (no matter how flammable they were), to all our squished taxi rides over bumpy cobblestones and everything in between, I now have so many one of a kind memories to look back on!

Living In Another City

The only other time I’ve gone overseas before was when I was little and went to America for around two weeks with my family. We visited LA, New York, California and were even able to go to Disneyland! However, for this trip I spent a full three weeks just in Florence and I loved how I was able to get such an insight into the city! I loved how familiar the streets became, I loved how we had the time to try out all the restaurants we wanted to (and go back a second or third time!) and I loved that incredible locations like the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio became regular sights on our walks to and from university every day! I now fully understand why people prefer to stay in one place for longer when travelling as it completely changes your experience.

Visiting Different Places

I’m finally back in Brisbane, and while I’ve been home for less than a day, I already miss the concept of being able to hop on a train this weekend and spend the day in another Italian city! Before my course started I spent time in Rome, during my three week trip I was able to spend ‘A Day In Pisa‘ and visit Venice (blog post on that coming soon!), and during the last week of January which moved into this month, I visited both Paris and London (but more on that in my February Favourites!) I love that fact that I was able to see so many places and experience them, even if it was only for a short while in some locations! It’s been so exciting and I’ve learnt so much, so now I can’t wait for where I’ll visit, or even revisit, next!

So that’s just a slice of what made January so special! I’ll never be able to properly pack a full 30 days into one post, but I hope this gave an insight into how much I’ll cherish this past month! I have so many exciting travel related blog posts coming up which I’m so eager to get started on, so this isn’t the last time I’ll write about my overseas adventures.

What’s something you loved throughout January? Leave me a comment below, I’d love to know! Also don’t forget to give this post a “like” if you enjoyed it!

All the love,

INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | BLOGLOVIN’ | TWITTER | TUMBLR