A big hello and welcome to my first blog entry everyone!

A little bit about me….

I´m Lola, a bubbly 27 year old originally from a town called South Shields. It´s about seven miles from the bright buzzing city of Newcastle in the north east of England. The journey takes me a hefty nine hours on a coach to get home from Oxford. My hometown is right on the coast and has the best fish and chips on Earth. Although it’s blessed with wickedly rainy days and can be a little bit ´rough round the edges´, the beaches are lovely and the people are super friendly. There’s no place like home, right?

You're probably wondering how I ended up with the Spanish name Lola, being a typical ´born and bred´ northern English lass. My real name is Louise but in the summer of 2010, just before I started University, I lived in Spain where I got the name. I wanted a new adventure so packed my bags and booked a one way flight to Barcelona with no real plans or accommodation booked. I just went. This spontaneous characteristic of mine is one you will get to know... I like to take risks and my non-stop absolute passion is travel and discovering new places. My passion is travel...

Granada

I spent two weeks making my way down the eastern coast of Spain, checking out the gorgeous architecture and culture of awesome cities like Barcelona, Valencia and Alicante. I fell in love with yummy tapas and enjoyed taking a dip in the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Then, on a bus towards Malaga, I got talking to a friendly English girl and mentioned I wanted to go to one more city before flying home, as this is all my budget could afford. She told me to go to Granada instead, saying how gorgeous it was and it had much more to offer than Malaga. So, with no internet, phone, or real plans, I took her advice and got off at Granada instead.


I found a pretty little guesthouse nestled in the hills overlooking the magnificent Alhambra Palace. I ended up staying here for five weeks, helping out in exchange for accommodation, where the locals called me Lola as a nickname. I explored cosy caves, wicked waterfalls and stunning scenery and made memories with people from all corners of the earth. I tried the most delicious cuisine from around the world, listened to flamenco music every night on the terrace and learned how to speak Spanish. I can easily say this was one of the best and most unforgettable summers of my life.

Travel has provided me with so many great experiences and interesting stories to tell, which I'd love to share with you along the way. One thing you may not know is that Geordies (people from the Newcastle area) love to tell stories!

A little bit about my studies…

I'm currently a final year student at Brookes studying International hospitality and tourism management. I chose this course because I am so passionate about people and traveling the world. I want to inspire people to see all the amazing things out there. Brookes was my number one choice not only because of its sound reputation, high graduate employment rate and location but because it´s number one in the UK for this particular course. Degrees cost a lot of money and take time therefore I wanted to pick the best out there and Brookes was, and still is, just that.

Canada and Australia...

Nita Lake Lodge

I chose a ´sandwich course´ as it enabled me to have a break from studies and go on a one year work placement. This feature appealed to me because of my need to travel, adventurous nature and thirst for knowledge and new experiences. I went to work in a gorgeous boutique hotel (Nita Lake Lodge) in Whistler, a buzzing ski resort about 1.5 hours north of Vancouver in Canada. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking and bursting with out-of-this-world nature and wildlife. I had the most awesome year there, where I learned a lot about hospitality and myself.

On exchange in Australia

I also chose to go on exchange to Australia in the first semester of 2013, an unmissable opportunity in my opinion. I saw wild stingrays, dolphins and baby sharks. I played volleyball and sunbathed on tropical beaches. I drank ice cold beers with new friends while watching the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. These kind of experiences just aren't available here and Western Australia really is a breath-taking place. The staff at Brookes were really helpful and supportive from start to finish and without them it wouldn't have been possible.

Sunset over Perth, Western Australia

I had such an amazing five months on exchange and it helped me prepare for my final year at Brookes. Because of a fantastic scholarship, I didn't have to work for the first time and my study skills were also drastically improved. I came back more confident with referencing, research methods and essay writing skills. Even though my studies have felt like a rollercoaster at times, I enjoy the challenge and the rewards being a student brings. No-one said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. I’m prepared to work hard and aspire to get that 2:1 if possible. I will let you know in June 2014! As I always say: work hard, play harder, right?

Torredembarra

So, I wrote this first blog from Torredembarra in Spain as I'm visiting my boyfriend and his family for a few weeks. It´s an absolutely gorgeous seaside town about one hour south of Barcelona. We just had a huge fiesta and lots of delicious food for New Year and now it´s back to writing my final year dissertation!

Exploring Oxford with my boyfriend

A big thank-you for reading! Maybe the next ones won´t be written from such exotic places, but Oxford is such an awesome city and I’d love to share all the reasons why with you (as well as some secret spots and unique tips about student life).

 Adios!

 Lola