As I type this I’m cosily sat in my adorable little hotel room right in the centre of Bath…

I decided to take a little time and visit Bath, but not on a whim... A very last minute meeting cropped up and so opted to book an extra night at my hotel to make the most of a 3.5 hour train ride, and to do some sight-seeing. I’m a born and raised Bristol girl at heart, but there’s something magical about Bath. This is my first real visit and I’ve done nothing but wander around and around and around. I was enchanted before I even stepped onto the Bath Spa platform.

The people are far friendlier than you’ll find in the depths of Cornwall; the Cornish tend to take a little time to warm up to a new person, but the lovelies in Bath were straight in with the chit chat. As I grew up learning this chit chat mentality and it was such a refreshing change, everyone smiles at everyone, nearby people will join in on conversations, it's just all around friendly. My taxi driver was so lovely and even wished me a lovely trip – but he was a little disappointed that I wasn’t there for the shopping or the Vodkas.

I can however say that I was in no way enchanted with my choice of hotel. What an idiot. Before I even stepped into the doorway of the hotel the un-uniformed chap on reception was opening the door for me in the most awkward way (I had to clamber under his awkwardly positioned arm), whilst attempting to light his cigarette. Fabulous first impressions got worse when I was asked to take a seat in the ‘lounge’ whilst they finished preparing my room. Crikey. I honestly couldn’t take a seat anywhere, and not for the lack of spare seats – there was not a single other soul in the entire hotel. Nearly all of the overly worn leather sofas were torn in multiple places, the carpet was torn, the closest coffee table was thoroughly damaged, the bar was closed, and there was no way I was going to magically obtain the cuppa that I desperately needed. Ding ding ding, alarm bells.

Funnily enough I asked to see the room before I paid and fully committed. I had reserved the room on Booking.com, and so knew there would be a hefty cancellation charge. Either way, key in hand, off I went to inspect the room. Peeking at the stairs was bad enough. Everything was dirty, everything was beyond unkempt, and being a lone travelling lady I really didn’t want to hang around. I did check the room, and it was furnished with a double bed and a single bed. Why? I’m one person. Picture an oldy-worldy hospital room; basic beds, big bright and basic windows, medical-white walls… no thanks. I didn’t physically step one foot into the room before I appeared in reception and waved good bye. The chap on reception didn’t even try to fight it, and even waived the cancellation fee. Winner.

I was already booking a far nicer, and perfectly positioned (though a little more expensive) hotel before I even left the first. Do not ever book the Redcar Hotel in Bath. Do not. No. I didn’t even stop to take photos, I just ran. You couldn’t Bridget Jones my life any more if you tried, everyone I've subsequently mentioned the Redcar Hotel to recoils in genuine shock and fear.

Taxi booked and I was on my way to the Harington’s Hotel, right in the heart of Bath’s centre. My room at my new hotel wouldn’t be ready until 2pm, but I also had a meeting elsewhere in Bath at 2pm. Thankfully the wonderful staff immediately let me change in the toilets downstairs and stored my bags in their luggage room. One cuppa later and I was ready to jump into my taxi – and funnily enough it happened to be the same taxi driver that had dropped me off at the hotel. 

Meeting finished and I decided to walk back to the hotel, which surprisingly wasn’t too far, and it was beautifully scenic. I really really am in love with Bath. Everything is just so pristine and historical.

When I got back to the hotel I was given the official tour, received my room key, and was escorted to my room, where I was hugely surprised to find that the staff had already placed my bags… all the way up an incredibly long, winding, flight of stairs. I was on the very top floor. I’m easily pleased, but this was just above and beyond in my eyes and I was hugely thrilled. There was even a hot water bottle ready and waiting on the bed. What a dream.

Quick outfit change back into casual wear and booties and I was out the door on the hunt for my first meal of the day… at around 3.30pm. I kid you not. This wasn’t an easy feat either; I must admit, if you don’t know where you’re going in Bath it is a little difficult to locate any restaurants – Google Maps wasn’t much help. I did wander by Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths a multitude of times though, and they were a rewarding sight. By 5.30pm (yes, that’s right, two hours of me waltzing around in search of a restaurant and only finding takeaways, coffee shops, or fast food) I stumbled upon a little gem – All Bar One; a lovely little bar that boasted a fabulous little menu. Chicken Pad Thai ordered and I was sitting down to my first ever meal alone in a restaurant. Eep. Honestly I wasn’t as startled by it as I thought I would be and this pleasantly surprised me. I didn't even consider the other people in the restaurant as I tucked into my yummy meal. I was more bored than anything, the signal was so poor and I couldn’t connect to their wifi, but I am so so proud of myself. I overcame a little irrational worry, and now I know that I can happily go out alone to eat. You know, so long as there’s wifi/4G.

All Bar One is conveniently situated just a few feet from Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths, so Pad Thai finished I decided to wander by one last time – and the Abbey was beautifully lit. What a lovely sight. The Roman Baths had just closed, but did have picturesque lamps framing it. A great little detour back to the hotel.

After the worst night’s sleep I think I’ve ever had, I was up bright and early to be the first through the doors at the Roman Baths. I really wanted to do a little photo-shoot whilst I was in Bath and so tripod in hand I walked the short walk to the baths ready for their 9.30am opening. I was hoping to beat all of the other tourists so that I would feel far less embarrassed setting up a tripod to take snaps of myself, but as soon as I walked over to the ticket desk I noticed a great big red cross next to a photo of a tripod. Why oh why they don’t let you use tripods I do not know, because I instead had to be hugely creative and utilise the ruins of the baths themselves – which surely is far worse than using a tripod? Who knows. Either way, I did it. No others in sight I managed to set up some fabulous shots and run into frame with time to pose.

I’m really proud of myself for this. A second mini-worry overcome. I was so nervous to prop up a tripod and pose for my own photos, but I was prepared to just do it (do it for the blog). I wanted those shots. I mostly wanted them so that I could practice a little more with Lightroom (and to have some fab travel shots for Instagram). It’s always so awkward or difficult to get photos of yourself, especially when you travel on your own. A selfie stick is great but it doesn't always give you those brilliant Instagramable travel shots that you want. But there I was, braving up and running back and forth from camera to frame, posing and waiting patiently. Even when a few others started wandering around I ignored them, but did notice that they didn’t even bat an eyelid. I’ve now started to feel so much more comfortable knowing that I can do this all on my own. Of course I'd be far more confident with someone I know nearby, but this little solo practice is great because I’ll be tripoding it up big time in Iceland over Christmas. 

Baths shoot done and I decided to go for a long stroll around the brilliantly autumnal Parade Gardens. The colours of the leaves were just incredible, and the views of the river were beautiful. I did have a very brief look at the park on my first day in Bath, but dusk was dawning and I was on the hunt for dinner, so I went back on my second day for a real mooch around. I’m so glad I did, the colours of the trees in the daylight were something else, and leaves were perfectly scattered around the floor of the gardens like a beautiful autumnal blanket. I did stop on a number of tucked away benches to really take in the sights. You can spend so much time looking through the lens of a camera that you often forget to look up, and it’s always well worth using your own two eyes.

After a quick, and utterly regrettable, Costa hot choc pit stop I headed back in the direction of the Roman Baths. Bath Abbey is right next door, and it is definitely worth a peek inside. The architecture outside is simply stunning, and inside the roofing is just as wonderful. Don’t think Sistine Chapel and beautiful hand painted artworks, think incredible stone work and enormously tall stain-glass windows. There are endless labyrinths of beautiful floor vents that radiate warmth. When you think of churches or cathedrals you often think of wrapping up as warm as possible, but it was like walking into a very welcome wall of heat. The walls were plastered in history, with wonderfully detailed stone plaques mourning, remembering, and paying homage to a variety of men and women from history. If you're an architecture buff you'll absolutely love wandering around Bath Abbey, and (like me) if you're not - you'll still appreciate looking up at it's incredibly high ceilings in awe.

A little more sight-seeing on route, I decided to head back to the haven of my hotel, grab my laptop from my room, and park myself in a comfy armchair in the lounge area just offset from the hotel’s reception. A perfect spot, my little armchair was perched in the window; but even with lots of lovely people watching to be done I got to work checking all of the photos I’d taken throughout the day and having a little play on Lightroom. Before I knew it 6pm had arrived. This time I would be prepared for dinner, no two hour long wandering around hunting for something to eat. I decided on Miller & Carter, and wow what a choice.

Miller & Carter turned out to be a pretty fancy steakhouse, and was only a short walk from my hotel. I appeared in the doorway and was immediately greeted by a hostess who advised me that the restaurant was fully booked – eep! I think she took pity on a single girl dining out on her own so she propped me in a tucked-away booth by the bar and happily took my order. I blended in so well with the surroundings; their colour scheme is deep deep brown and burgundy… and there I was, sat in the most perfectly matching burgundy jumper, black skinny jeans, and deep brown boots. Oops.

But wow, Miller & Carter was the right choice. Honestly, I have never had food quite like it. My main was beautifully braised beef that was perfectly placed on top of silky mashed potatoes, with a side of lightly-cooked seasonal veg and crispy onion – all covered in the best gravy I think I’ve ever had. I treated myself to a strawberry and prosecco sorbet teamed with a raspberry and white chocolate meringue, rhubarb and rose curd, and a handful of fresh raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. This was of course all accompanied by a fabulous raspberry vodka and strawberry puree cocktail – shaken with apple juice, lemon, and sugar… and boy was it amazing. It came in the cutest little shaker jar filled with ice and a lovely cocktail glass adorned with two single raspberries. What a dream meal. Honestly! Well worth every penny, and what a brilliant dinner to (almost) complete my trip.

Dinner done and it was straight back to the hotel to blog away. My sister will be popping up from Bristol tomorrow morning to see me, and then that will be my Bath trip all at an end. I don’t want to leave. I am absolutely in love with this beautiful, historical, city. Can’t I just stay forever! There will be plenty more snaps on my Instagram account, so if you aren't following do head over and keep your eyes peeled - @perfectlyclaudia

Have you visited Bath? Or somewhere similar? Leave me a comment below and let me know all about it.

Claudia xo

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Just 84 days to go and I’ll be off again…

…and if you’ve worked that out, you’ll have realised that I’ll be away for Christmas. Another exciting and incredible adventure awaits, this time to the very snowy, very cold, isle of Iceland.

I’m hugely excited for this trip, but a little apprehensive and nervous at the same time. I was so ready for Norway, and so excited to be arriving at the first destination. I think when you meet a group of people on a trip who become family, you feel a little nervous going away on another organised trip without them. I am definitely having thoughts of ‘wish you were here’ already, and there’s still three months to go before I have to start packing bags. I know I’ll be fine. I’m really hoping and wishing that this trip will be filled with people who are just as amazing. I mean, they won’t be as incredible as my original travel family, but they can still be fabulous.

I’m setting off on another Topdeck trip, this time it’s their ‘Iceland Explorer’ adventure, you can find all the details here. Now, the trip is called a ‘4 day’ trip, but when you start to look at the itinerary in detail you realise it barely passes as a 2 day trip.

Day 1 is arrival day, where we make our own way to the hotel between 2pm – 5pm to meet and greet with the rest of our group. Day 2 sounds fabulous, and is a trip to the infamous blue lagoon, followed by a (fingers crossed) northern lights excursion. Day 3 is either a free day around Reykjavik or an optional (extra cash required) trip around the Golden Circle and Gullfoss Falls with a night out to finish it off. Day 4 is a farewell breakfast at 10am and nothing more. Not quite a 4 day adventure is it. Disappointing.

So, as I’ll already be in Iceland I decided to add on two extra days to my adventure, both filled with two 11 hour expeditions. Yes. Please.

Now, I’m not the kind of girl you would look at and immediately think ‘adventure’. I wear a full face of makeup on an almost daily basis, I try my very best to make my hair presentable, and I wouldn’t be digging around in the garden without gloves on. The guys at work all jest that they could never see me backpacking, girls have made comments about it, and yet I’ve backpacked around Thailand on my own, I’ve now done Scandinavia, and next up are the biggest expeditions I’ll have ever embarked on – the glaciers of Iceland.

My first additional day will be filled with waterfall adventures, a lengthy trek across one of Iceland’s biggest glaciers (thee glacier in Game of Thrones might I add), views of volcanic landscapes, and all ending with a walk along Iceland’s amazing black beaches. My second additional day is again filled with waterfalls, but also comes the day where I’ll be climbing and winding my way through glaciers – not just scraping the surface, and it all finishes with another opportunity to see the wonder that are the northern lights.

The big part to this story is that day 2 happens to be Christmas Eve, which makes day 3 Christmas day. Oh yes. Snow for Christmas. This could possibly be the main reason as to why I’m worrying about the group I’ll be with, I’m hugely hoping that they’re a brilliant bunch and that we can seriously enjoy the festive season together with lots of laughs and late night chats. If no-one starts a snowball fight, I am on the case. At the very least it’ll be an ice breaker (no pun intended).

This trip is going to be an awful lot colder than my adventure around Scandinavia (you can read all about that here), with temperatures due to be in the minus’. Thermals are a must, and luckily I have some rearing to go, along with my pink boots (oh yes!), and newly acquired matching pink hat. I am such a knitwear fiend, so I’ll have absolutely no trouble in packing for this trip. I’m going to try and pack light, but when you love all of your cardigans and jumpers the battle to pick the best items begins.

Whilst the travel to and from the airport seems to be a lot smoother this time around, I’ve had a lot of trouble with the booking of the trip and additional nights. Wow. Topdeck have very sadly let me down on this one; after confirming they’d booked my boxing day night at the hotel (and I’d paid for it), a week later they emailed to advise they had declined booking my extra night. By this point I’d already booked the night of the 27^th with the hotel and the two full day excursions. I was now roomless for one night. Exciting.

After a bit of a rant at Topdeck they kindly offered to comp the difference between the room I initially paid them for and the £40 more expensive room that I ended up having to book. I’ve luckily discussed this with the hotel who have kindly advised I can remain in the same room for the entire duration of my trip. Phew. I don’t love the idea of waking up beyond bright and early (well, maybe not bright – less than 4 hours of daylight) just to leave my luggage in reception whilst I adventure out and about on the ice.

Anyway. Issue resolved and I’m now awaiting my room refund with open arms. Because I am poor. Very very poor. Oops.

And breathe. I can now focus on the trip, though the issue and hassle of the rooms has left a bit of a dampened mood on the trip - and before I’ve even set off. I’m attempting to be positive, am tightly cross my fingers that there are no further mishaps, and am definitely starting to mentally planning which of my cardigans will be making the cut.

Some good news is that I won’t be requiring the assistance of my giant rucksack as we’ll be staying in the same hotel for the entire trip. I’ll need a day bag for all of the excursions, and so my smaller grey rucksack (read about it here) will be back in action. I found it perfectly ideal for day trips and for general use on the coach, I’m really pleased with my choice. It wasn’t cumbersome, it fit everything I needed it to fit, and there were plenty of pockets on the front for lots of easy access to smaller items. The one and only thing I would fault it for is the lack of a large internal pocket on the back wall of the bag. This would have been ideal for storing travel documents and my passport, instead these had to mix in with all the other large items and snacks.

After seeing everyone with portable phone battery on my Scandinavia trip I took the plunge and ordered one for myself. Naturally it’s rose gold, to match my phone of course. Though they weren’t entirely necessary in Scandinavia, as we had charging ports on the coach and sockets in every room, I don’t want to risk running low on battery during any of the rather lengthy excursions around Iceland. Not to be a sheep, but it really is a sensible idea. I’d hate to be out and about snapping pics here and there and then suddenly realise I’m so low on battery that I can’t use my phone anymore. I will be taking my bridge camera, but as I’ll be on planned expeditions sometimes a quick snap is easier on a phone.  I’m in two minds about buying a light-weight tripod to take with me, but as the scenery is so amazing it would be great to take some fabulous Instagram-worthy photos. I’ll test out the portable battery on my travels and report back.

Claudia xo

I am back from my travels with lots of fabulous memories and tales…

I honestly can't believe that I've been home for almost three weeks already, that’s hugely heart-breaking. I found it just as heart-breaking to write this piece, but I did smile and giggle at all of the silly moments I remembered along the way. My aim was to get a blog post out the Friday I got home, but unfortunately fate had other ideas. We’ll get to that later.

The entire trip was just amazing, from start to finish, even though I was in writhing pain (no joke, on the floor, attractive) for almost half of it. The ‘Scenic Scandi’ tour run by Topdeck really was scenic, the sights were stunningly beautiful. From fjords that went on forever to wild reindeer within reaching distance. It was the most amazing trip I’ve taken, and I’m so beyond glad that I took the plunge and booked it. I learnt a lot along the way, that I am so much stronger than I imagined, that you always meet the most amazing people when you least expect it, and that I can still laugh all night long.

I really did try so hard to keep a travel diary, but I was having so much fun that I didn’t have the time to spare. I finally tried to catch up on day 3 but the boys were on their way to tear me away from my pen because I wasn’t living it up with them. Oops! But I guess that’s the sign of an amazing trip, when you don’t have the spare time to take notes. So let me tell you all about it… and the Londoner, the Kiwi, the Ozzie, and the American. My brilliant Topdeck family.

DAY 1 & DAY 2

Day one and day two blend together a little too well. I think the exhaustion of the travelling to reach the first campsite along with the excitement (maybe the endless rum and cokes) had something to do with it.

After a gruelling over-night bus ride from Cornwall to Bristol to London I finally made it to the airport for a very early morning flight to Oslo, Norway. One of the guys from my Topdeck tour was due to land just 25 minutes after I did, so we agreed to meet up at the airport and head to the first campsite together. The fun definitely began from the moment we met. Que the Londoner. I won’t bore you with the details of our ridiculous task of trying to find our first camp site, but one train ride and one painfully expensive taxi ride later we finally made it. Bags dropped off, back in another painfully expensive taxi, and hunger pangs were sated right in the middle of Oslo's port. We had perfect views of the bustling port, enormous fjord, large ferries, and mountainous terrain whilst we cheersed our first very expensive holiday beers.

First meal done and we met up with another two Topdeckers (que the Kiwi) who had spent the previous day wandering around Oslo. Old Norway met new Norway in so many areas, with lovely little old buildings tucked away between huge modern works and museums, along with a very randomly placed pebbly beach right in the city. It felt like Switzerland had gotten a very modern upgrade, but it definitely felt like Europe. The port itself was incredibly vibrant, with lots of food trucks, and live street music. We stopped to have a look at a surprisingly positioned yet very popular pebble beach, situated between two very modern museums. The water was cool, though the pebbles were a challenge.

A few hours of wandering and we stopped to wait for another Topdecker to catch up with us before we all made our way back to the campsite to meet the rest of our two-week Topdeck family. We spent the evening getting to know each other, but mostly sitting with the guys on the decking of the fabulous wooden chalets that would be our home for the next two nights. Que the American. 

After our first Topdeck dinner and a quick introduction around the camp, we learnt that there was a fairly large lake a mere 10 minute walk from our campsite. We all sauntered over to take in the scenery, and it was perfect. A picturesque landscape with only a few other people around, and lots of little ducklings. Being our first night everyone headed to bed at a reasonable time.

Day two brought our first group breakfast, que the Ozzie, and also our first day on the Topdeck coach. The itinerary for today was a self-led wander around Oslo’s centre, but on the way we stopped at a very strange sculpture museum (Gustav Vigeland's life long works), and a handful of quick optional visits to three museums. Out of the three museums we decided to visit the Viking museum, which housed some of Norway's best-kept Viking vessels. There sadly wasn't an overwhelming amount to see in the museum, but not to worry as we happily made our own entertainment by 'exhibiting' the exhibits. A game of Cards Against Humanity and some hot drinks salvaged the museum woes, and my mini Topdeck family began to form.

Finally reaching Oslo’s city we explored it together, an incredible 23,000 steps of exploring to be exact. We started by having lunch in the very green Palace grounds before watching the change of the Royal Guard, we wandered around a local fortress and climbed onto cannons for hilarious photos (choosing to ignore the ‘do not climb onto the cannons’ signs), we walked even further to see the incredibly modern opera house, stopped for some fresh gelato, clambered onto some randomly positioned lion statues for more photos, and eventually headed back to the campsite for the largest pizzas I’ve ever seen.

My little group of 5 made our way back to the beautiful lake with some of our other Topdeck friends. A few of the group dared to swim as the rest of us sat on the jetty taking in the scenery. Card games were a great staple for the first week of our trip, though this evening it did attract some unwanted attention from the strangest Norwegian man we’ve ever met. After his drunken and somewhat offensive behaviour became a little too hilarious for the boys we headed back to the campsite where everyone was already in bed. We had curfews at the campsites, but my little crew completely ignored those at every site. Everyone else was in bed by 10pm whilst we were still going strong until somewhere between 1am-3am each night. Cards Against Humanity, Ring of Fire, and any other ridiculous games we could come up with really did take over. Our laughter together had just begun. 

DAY 3 & DAY 4

Day three took us on our journey to Lillehammer, where we stopped at the winter Olympic bobsledding track. As frightening as it was we did get to race on the Olympic track. The Ozzie and I, along with our Topdeck leader and chef, were gifted with the blessing of going first. The boys made sure we had a hefty push down the track. Thanks boys. It was the craziest and strangest experience, incredible G-force at 164 miles per hour. Trying to sit upright was a hardship, and we were so thankful for the helmets, but what an experience - to be able to say you've bobsled along a Winter Olympic course.

The views on the drive from stop to stop were just incredible. Think mountains, think waterfalls, it was all just as beautiful as I had expected. The entire first week provided us with beautiful picturesque views. The mountains were incredibly high and their waterfalls met beautifully blue rushing rivers and lakes. 

Excitement of bobsledding over and we headed to Åndalsnes and my favourite campsite of the trip. We stayed here for two nights, and the jealously of the boys' rooms began. Somehow they always managed to best us with far larger and more accommodating rooms.  The breath-taking snow-topped mountains that landscaped our chalets and the enormous flowing river we were bunked next to made up for it, and so did our hilarious curfew-breaking antics.

Day four’s very early start led us to Trollstigen and Troll Pass. Troll Pass consists of eleven scarily tight turns along and up the side of a mountain. The group assured me that the views were lovely, as I closed my eyes and snapped away with my phone. Fears of peering over a sharp edge aside, it was magical to see an enormous waterfall run the whole way down the mountain we were ever-climbing.

We began to see a little more snow on the mountain tops from here onward, and after a quick mini-ferry ride we reached Geiranger-fjord, We had a very quick wander around a pretty little town, revitalising with hot drinks and pastries, before heading onto our fjord cruise. Simply amazing.

This has to be one of my favourite days from the fifteen day trip. An hour’s ride along the fjords showed us beautiful mountain ranges topped with snow and dripping with waterfall after waterfall. The tour really was living up to its scenic promises. We stopped at a beautiful spot for lunch, right at the bottom of a stream that flowed out into the fjord we had just travelled along, with a waterfall crashing away above it. We stopped for a few photos with the waterfall before clambering back onto the coach.

A quick stop at Trollstigen on the way back to test how cold the waters were and we began to descend down Trolls Pass, much to my excitement. More closed eyes from me.

Back at the campsite for one of the most brilliant nights filled with laughter. Me and my little crew were still gathered together, with a whole lot of Finlandian Vodka. Curfew tonight was 11pm, and even after being told off by a very upset woman I think we made it to roughly 3am before sneaking back into our own chalets.

DAY 5 & DAY 6

Day five we sadly had to leave the Åndalsnes campsite behind us and head to Trondheim and its beautiful Old Town. We briefly wandered around the Nidaros church gardens before stopping on a floating bar for some pretty darn expensive draft beers. The Old Town was small but lovely, so tidy, so vibrant, and so colourful. If you've visited Copenhagen, think individually coloured buildings along the rivers. This is exactly how Trondheim's Old Town was. 

Back onto the coach and we headed for Hell. Oh yes, there really is a place called Hell in Norway, with it's very own Hollywood mimicking sign. We stopped there for some candid shots and even sent ourselves postcards, stamped from Hell. The boys by now (the Londoner, the Kiwi, and the American) had grown accustomed to ‘boy band’ shots, and so naturally we had to make sure they got the perfect Hell shot for their soon-to-drop album. I'm sure they ended up with a full photo-shoot by the end of the trip.

After a few stops at supermarkets, and the finding of some very questionable ice cream flavours, we finally arrived at our next temporary home, Koa Camping. The scenery was wonderful. The campsite was on the edge of a large fjord, and facing the perfect direction to watch the sun travel the whole stretch of the sky.

A few competitive games done and dinner out of the way, a few of us gathered to spend the evening playing Viking chess. It made for such a great ice breaker around the group, we were getting violent (though he says it was an accident… tactics…), dancing ridiculously to put each other off, and just laughing all evening long. Curfew dawned and all of our Topdeck friends vanished into their rooms, leaving our little group of five to get back to what we clearly did best on this trip – laugh all night long. By this point we’d reached 24 hour daylight territory, which made it very dangerous to gage what time of day or evening or night it really was. We thought 3am was actually 7pm, and at that point we decided to call it a night and sneak back to our chalets.

Day six was a fairly relaxing day, and I honestly struggled to recall much of it. At our new temporary home the boys were again just two or three doors down from us. A lake ran around the site and so we all took advantage of the warm weather and headed over for a sunbathe and a swim. Sadly as soon as we got there the sun vanished behind never-ending cloud and so sunbathing was out of the question. I never did get to make use of my band new bikini. Heading back to our chalets we did see that Viking chess was back on the cards and so we watched that for a little while whilst sitting around our chalets having a few more beers and evening chit chats. A quick walk around the campsite and we all turned in for the night.

DAY 7 & DAY 8

Day seven took us on a 6km trek to and from Svartisen glacier. The terrain was a bit up and down, lots of jumping, a little climbing, but eventually we made it to the glacier. The pink hiking boots really came in handy today. The glacier itself really was something to see, but sadly the rain began and we couldn’t make it all the way over to touch it. It was an incredible collection of pure blue ice. The views to and from the glacier were just as amazing, with a hidden waterfall appearing from within the rocks. Brave enough to get close I did manage to have a taste, and as well as being fairly chilly it was beautifully fresh.

On from the glacier we visited the Arctic Polar Circle. I was pretty excited for this little stop, but did expect  more snow than we found. The main thing is that we did indeed find some. Que a dodgy message from the Kiwi who was trying to lure us outside to an ambush in the form of a snow-ball attack. Thankfully the Ozzie and I managed to avoid it by walking in the wrong direction. We still found our snow though, after trekking through a little foliage, and snapped our own ‘girl band’ shot for a change - sorry boys. 

When made it to camp and pure excitement made its way around the group. We had personal showers and toilets inside our chalets. So far spent the week walking to and from communal showers and toilets, which is fine, it was doable, we all managed it, but oh it was pure bliss to have personal showers. Each chalet even had cute little attic rooms for a third and fourth roomie.

Unfortunately here’s where my bad news comes in.  Mere hours after reaching this luxurious location, alongside another beautiful lake, I was rolling around on the bathroom floor in sheer agony with constant vomiting. At around 1am I found myself climbing into a taxi with my amazing Ozzie roomie and our Topdeck tour leader. I don’t remember the taxi ride to or from the clinic, I was out cold. I think I was at the clinic for around an hour, but within minutes had had a blood test, an anti-sickness injection, and was on a drip for severe dehydration. Hello kidney stones. That dealt with, we were back in our room before I knew it - because I again couldn't remember the entire taxi journey. Wonderful roomie no.3 was just fabulous and she was already up and waiting to make sure I was ok. At this point I must say an incredibly enormous thank you to all of those girls who stood around me trying to help and make me feel better whilst I very attractively rolled around in my pjs on the wet bathroom floor - vet and all.

Day eight was a very hazy coach ride for me, and I slept through most of it curled up along the back seats. Eventually we reached our next next chalet stop where on today's itinerary was the very cold polar-plunge challenge. I must admit, after a quick peek at the rushing rapids I am fairly glad I couldn't dive in. After shimmying to our beautiful chalets and crawling onto the sofa, I did get to hear everyone else jumping in. If you do ever attempt the polar-plunge challenge, do take care where you jump in and in which direction you intend to swim to sure. Luckily our American was a fully trained lifeguard and saved the day. 

After being tucked in on the sofa I did unfortunately miss a marsh-mallow roasting this night, it was a little too far for me to wander to with my kidney pain levels changing constantly. I do love a good marshmallow, but I also love a double bed - and as this was the only one we saw for the entire trip I made the most of it. 

DAY 9 & DAY 10

Day nine saw a lot of pain killers and a lot of trying to get comfortable at the front of the coach. Barely being able to walk I missed out on the polar zoo, which was a little disappointing, but as it was raining everyone insisted that they saw hardly any animals emerge. My crew of four even video called me from the zoo so that I could see the reindeer. What better travel buddies could a girl wish for?!

We did make it to our next campsite in style though as we got to watch the whole Dirty Dancing movie on the coach. Up until now the coach had been a great experience, we’d gotten to see so much amazing scenery, we'd watched a few movies together, we all caught up on much needed sleep, we had a lot of laughs, and we played the odd card game. I did try my best to stay with my group, but unfortunately for me the back of the coach was constantly causing me great pain, so I reluctantly had to abandon ship and move to the front, all alone. Sob sob. 

We reached our next two-night home, and important things first - we all jumped at the chance to do some laundry. After a week of delving deep into rucksacks it was perfect timing for some clean clothes. One downside was that we were all scattered so far away from each other at this site. A handful of the girls, my Ozzie roomie and I were all in a large block together with just one shower and one toilet between us. All of the fellas were a road-crossing away on the other side of the campsite. 

Day ten was exciting as it brought our expedition to see the midnight sun, though I wasn’t quite sure if I’d make the two hour coach ride to Nordkapp to see it. But I persevered; I did not come all this way to miss out now. Thermals on and we headed off to view the sun that doesn’t set. On the way we had our first glimpses of wild reindeer and it was just fabulous! They were scattered along the landscape. I was really looking forward to seeing wild reindeer, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to on more than one occasion. 

Nordkapp was the highest point to see the sun that never sets, and so many people gather a this point in readiness for midnight where you get to watch the barely-sunset as the sun kisses the horizon and rises again. Thankfully the weather stayed somewhat clear and we took some amazing silhouette photos with the midnight sun as our backdrop before all jumping back onto the coach and making our way back to our beds for the night.

DAY 11 & DAY 12

Day eleven we said goodbye to Norway but hello to Finland, and hello to so many more wild reindeer. Being at the front of the coach (and yay, with company) I got to see reindeer running and crossing in front of us.

When you think of reindeer you of course think of Santa, and Santa’s village was our next stop. Thankfully after a good rest on the bus I was feeling a little better and was able to walk around - that’s a big bonus. Sadly we didn’t get much time to explore the village but we did make it there just in time to meet Santa himself. I can imagine that the village is simply magical at Christmas, and there are chalets you can stay in overnight. If I'm visiting Lapland in their winter months I would love to revisit Santa and his Christmas village whilst the snow is falling. 

We reached tonight’s rooms and after a little lay down I felt so much better. Though we had now given up the beauty of chalets and traded that for hostels, we were living in luxury with showers and toilets in our rooms. A quick costume change and we made our way out to a little riverside park for a few drinks and to take in the scenery, with a few unsuspecting members of our Topdeck family joining us. Viking chess, I’m telling you, it brings people together.

The weather was a little cooler in Finland and so we didn't sit around the lakeside for long. Heading back to the hostel some of our group retired to their rooms whilst the rest of us regular troopers carried on chatting away. Most of our evenings were spent sat around chatting and laughing, and these kinds of nights made for some fabulous memories. The giant mosquitos however weren't much fun.

Day twelve was another long travel day, and I really had to do some soul searching to remember this evening and night. Sadly I was in a fair amount of pain by the time we reached today’s hostel and ended up laying in the sun on the grass to ease my kidneys whilst everyone had the welcome speech - presumably why I can't remember arriving at this hostel.

Tonight was the first night we’d noticed the darkness had crept back in. All of a sudden it was black outside and we were all miffed as to how it had finally gone dark for the first time in days without any of us noticing. We'd missed dusk entirely. There wasn't much to see around the hostel and so none of us really ventured out this evening. Still in a fair bit of pain one of my long-standing roomies and I boycotted the over-indulgent alcohol activities and chatted away for hours in our room whilst attempting to watch a little Harry Potter on the iPad - with a few drunken intruders, all in good humour of course.

DAY 13 & DAY 14 & DAY 15

Day thirteen brought us to Helsinki where we stopped at the Sibelius Monument for some very random snaps before a quick peek around a church carved directly into a rock. Other than a staff member 'shhhhhing' us a lot over the tannoy (we hadn’t even said anything yet) it was a fairly interesting sight to see. There was even a small trickle of water running down one of the internal walls, which pooled at the bottom and drained away.

Our hostel tonight was a little ‘hospital’ themed. The corridors looked like the interior of a ship, and the beds were very clinical. Creepy. I wouldn't say it was my favourite accommodation, but being the penultimate night of our trip it was one of our best evenings. Me and my four nearest and dearest were together for the whole evening wandering around Helsinki together, laughing over dinner, and working out how on earth to get to some of the most random bars we could find. We jumped on two trams, followed a whole lot of Google mapping, and eventually made it to our first Finnish bar. 

Our second Finnish bar was a little more notable, with a bear skin plastered along the wall. It was such a manly bar that they didn’t even serve oj here and so I was out of the game entirely, but it was definitely worth the walk as it was an experience in itself. A few drinks later and we all caught trams back to the centre of Helsinki where there were a lot more bars and clubs, so naturally we bi-passed all of these and headed to a very randomly placed Boston Sports bar. As you do. We loved it so much that we spent the rest of the night there. The guys played poker, my Ozzie girl and I had a bit of a dance, and the laughs kept going. The vibes were great all evening long, with so many jokes that are still on-going between our group. It was a perfect end to our penultimate night.

Day fourteen was very sadly our last main day and night together. Our two hour ferry ride to Tallin, Estonia was of course laden with opportunities for entertainment. The ferry itself was enormous, and draped in mirrors from top to bottom. After a quick lunch and a brief sighting of the decks, the duty-free section was next. The sea was fairly choppy and so to save us from falling around the boat we conga’d our way around, a brilliant solution... we were certainly entertained.

Our last night was spent in a hotel, woo hoo, but of course being the last hotel the boys had to best us yet again and were given a roomy apartment for five. We did have our very own showers and toilets though, hello luxury. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Tallin, our trip leader did take us on a short walk around the old medieval town, but an extra day would've been a great opportunity to explore it fully. Our entire Topdeck crew headed into the old town of Tallin for a very questionable meal and an equally questionable mid-meal show before beginning our very organised bar crawl.

After long night of dancing, and me dragging our trip leader onto the DJ stage in the club, everyone started dwindling back to the hotel. As the boys were being sick at 3.30am I felt that was enough for me and so I also snuck back to the hotel and headed for bed. My Ozzie roomie had already long headed back to the room as she was due up at 6.30am to catch her flight home. It was our very last night rooming together. I made sure to wake up bright and early to say goodbye to her, truly sad times! It was so very strange to come home and not have her and our third roomie with me all the time. I now wake up with no-one to shout good morning at.

Day fifteen was our time to wake up, say goodbye, and head to the airport. The saddest of days. I was already awake from waving off my Ozzie girl and so met my Londoner, my Kiwi, and my American in the hotel's reception. We all piled into a taxi together before heading off to the airport. We said huge goodbyes to the Londoner and the Kiwi first before the American finally left me too. It’s incredibly sad and lonely when you’re the last one standing, waiting hours for your (very questionable) flight home, after days and days of spending almost 24 hours with the group of people you've just waved off. Eventually my time came and my flight was ready for me. Scenic Scandi tour, it was time to say goodbye. 

I spent the two weeks with the most incredible group of people, people who I hope will continue be a part of my life in any which way. In fact, they can’t get rid of me now, we’re family for life. It’s definitely the people who make the trip. The laughs, moments, and memories I had and made with them are so much more valuable than the trip itself and I am beyond grateful. I honestly couldn't explain half of the entertaining moments we all had together, but they are moments I'll certainly treasure forever. What a perfect Topdeck family!

Claudia xo