Hayley Lately // November 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

What. A. Month. I began November in Brussels, where I ate a lot of delicious food. I also went on a day trip to Antwerp, which was (unfortunately) my least favourite destination in Belgium. Bruges and Ghent were a lot prettier in my professional opinion 😉. My next destination was Heidelberg, a totally underrated destination in Germany. It was definitely the quietest place I visited tourist-wise, but I really enjoyed my time there. I took it easy and spent my time blogging, taking photos, eating good food (always) and watching TV.

From Heidelberg I headed to Salzburg, which was another surprisingly beautiful place. It’s most well-known as the filming location for The Sound of Music. I did a day trip from Salzburg to Hallstatt and all I can say is WOW. I knew it was going to be breathtaking from the photos I had seen, but it honestly exceeded my expectations.

After Salzburg, I headed back across the border to Munich. To be honest, Munich didn’t blow me away. For me, it just didn’t have that something special. But what was special was my day trip to Innsbruck (yes, I went back to Austria). It was just as breathtaking (and cold) as Hallstatt. Austria really surprised me this month and is now firmly one of my favourite countries – who would’ve thought?

From Munich I flew to Athens, which was my final destination in Europe. I didn’t really know what to expect in Athens, but it’s a really interesting city. It’s a lot more modern than I thought it would be, with hundreds of restaurants and food options everywhere. I also couldn’t get over all of the ancient sites everywhere. I did a fantastic walking tour while there and spent a lot of time wandering around the streets of Plaka. Another day I did a Greek Islands Full Day Cruise, thanks to Tinggly. A blog post is upcoming, but Hydra was my favourite!

A 10.5-hour flight later and I arrived in Singapore, one of my favourite places. During my time there I ate all of the noodles, did some shopping, saw the light show at Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay, and wandered around Chinatown.

Then I flew back to Australia and landed on the Gold Coast, to spend a few days with my brother and his family. My adorable niece is growing up so fast and getting cuter by the day. My final destination was a quick overnight stop in Brisbane, before I returned home to Townsville – four months and 15 countries later! Life hasn’t slowed down since my return either, as I’ve been busy moving into my new one-bedroom apartment in the city. I’m so excited to have my own space after living with housemates for 10 years.

EATING LATELY

In Hallstatt, there was a small stall selling these things called foam rolls. The tube-like pastries were filled with the fluffiest cream, it was heavenly. Speaking of sweets, you have to try loukoumades in Athens. The store, Lukumades sells the dough balls with delicious toppings and ice cream – my ideal dessert, basically. I also love the food in Singapore. There’s food courts, restaurants and hawker centres everywhere, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad meal.

BLOGGING LATELY

I was on a blogging roll this month! If you missed any of my fantastically wonderful blog posts (😉), I wrote about my day trip to Oxford from London, a list of my travel essentials, a mini travel guide to Heidelberg that includes a lot of pretty photos, and a behind-the-scenes look at how I made money blogging this year.

READING LATELY

I finished another four books in November (I’m on a roll). My favourite was One Week ‘Til Christmas (it’s $1.99 on Kindle), which is by an Australian author. It’s about an Australian travel writer who spends the week before Christmas in London. Basically, it was written for me and I loved it. It will transport you to London at Christmastime.

WATCHING LATELY

In November, I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix – finally. I get the hype now. It’s totally not what I was expecting but I binged the first season in two bus rides. I also may have started watching a couple of Hallmark Christmas movies. But don’t worry, I haven’t gone too crazy… yet!

I don’t think things will be slowing down in December, as I move in, attempt to find a job and enjoy Christmas in the tropics. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and I will see you in the New Year for my next Hayley Lately update 👋🏻.