Hayley Lately // October 2019

Welcome back to Hayley Lately. Each month, this is where I chat about my life and what I’ve been up to. Keep reading to discover the book I couldn’t put down, my new favourite show and the best things I ate this month #priorities.

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LIFE LATELY

My last Hayley Lately update came to you from Tallinn. From there I caught the ferry to Helsinki, which only took two hours – one of my shortest journeys so far! Finland became my 40th country, but I felt like my time there could have been better. The weather didn’t really budge above 1 degree and there was even snow one afternoon! I saw the main sights though, ate some good food (always) and did a lot of trip planning in the comfort of my hostel’s cosy common area. I’ll be back, Helsinki… in summer. 

From Helsinki I flew to London via Copenhagen. It felt so good to be back in the UK and I really enjoyed spending an extended amount of time in London this trip. Although I couldn’t live there (too busy for me), I’d happily return every couple of years for the rest of my life. This trip I visited three museums, did a spot of shopping, saw two musicals (Waitress and Mamma Mia), did a day trip to Oxford and spent time wandering around areas like East London, Soho and Knightsbridge. Oh, and I bought a replacement camera because mine died 😐.

Between London visits I spent four nights down in Plymouth with my dad’s cousin and her family, who I hadn’t seen since I was 18. The weather didn’t cooperate too much, but we still visited Dartmoor National Park, Dartmouth and went for a walk along the water in Plymouth when the sun shone on the final afternoon. It was nice to just chill for a few days and reset. My next stop was York, which is such a beautiful and historic town. It’s the perfect place to spend a weekend as the town centre is quite compact.

My final UK stop was Edinburgh. I totally fell in love with the city two years ago, and it’s safe to say my feelings haven’t changed. This time I visited a few new places like Dean’s Village and Leith. I also got up just after sunrise one morning and the city was just glowing – it was a sight to see. I spent one day on a West Highlands Tour with Rabbie’s Tours as well, which just made me want to do a Scottish road trip. 

After a quick pitstop in London, it was back to mainland Europe. I took the bus from London to Bruges, which went in the Eurotunnel. THAT was a new experience! Bruges is a very beautiful but very busy city. After two nights there it was onto a new destination – Ghent. Unfortunately, this is also where I got struck down with a stomach bug, so I didn’t get to do a lot of sightseeing. Instead, I finished booking my trip, slept and watched a lot of TV. This brings us to our final destination for October… Brussels! I honestly can’t believe I was in Helsinki at the beginning of the month. That already feels like forever ago.

EATING LATELY

I didn’t have too many bad meals this month. I also ate quite a few croissants for breakfast and Tesco pasta meals for dinner. In Helsinki, I found myself at an all-you-can-eat Mexican lunch buffet, which is basically my dream meal. Then in London, I had some really good meals at both the Brick Lane and Borough Markets. 

In York, there was a cake stall at Shambles Market with the best pastries EVER. I tried an epic meringue one afternoon and then went back for a Maltesers Tiffin the next day to enjoy as my train snack. Tiffins are a new discovery for me but man, I could eat one every day. In Edinburgh, I thoroughly enjoyed the Nutella French toast at Mimi’s Bakehouse.

BLOGGING LATELY

I’ve started at least five different blog posts this month, so I hope to get at least one of them published soon! But in October I only got two blog posts live: a 24-hour guide to Stockholm and a list of all the things you should know before travelling around Australia.

READING LATELY

Surprisingly, I powered through a lot of books this month (I’ll be hitting 50 books for the year in November). I highly recommend Mix Tape (I received an advanced copy to review through NetGalley), which is a romance novel set in both Adelaide and the UK. It flashes between the past and present, as two former teenage sweethearts reconnect decades later. You can pre-order it now, as it isn’t being released until January. Another romance novel I really enjoyed was Passion on Park Avenue. It’s about a woman with a secret, who falls in love with the person she least expects to. It’s the first book in a series about this woman and her friends, so you know what I’ll be digging into in the future!

WATCHING LATELY

I started and finished The Politician on Netflix this month, which is kind of strange, funny and addictive all at once. I also finished the final season of Jane the Virgin and I’m sad it’s over – what a great show! If you haven’t watched it yet, I couldn’t recommend it more. That was about it until I got sick, when I caught up on the new seasons of my favourite cop shows (S.W.A.T, FBI, Chicago PD…). I know, I’m addicted. 

Can you believe that I’ll be publishing my next update from Magnetic Island? November is going to be a whirlwind month! My last few weeks in Europe will include stops in Germany and Austria, before I fly out of Athens. After a couple of days in Singapore (one of my favourite places), I fly to the Gold Coast and will be catching up with my brother and his family before returning home. I hope you’ll continue to follow along on Facebook and Instagram!

See you next month!