A Sense of Home - July Travel Link Up

This month's travel linkup topic is Home.

It got me thinking as to what makes a place feel like home to me.

Although a lot of people have connections with the physical place, home to me has more to do with the people and the sense of belonging you get.

I love the Adelaide sceneries, the Hills, the beaches, the wineries, the most important thing about is the people that I love and who love me. My family and most of my friends are back in Adelaide, and when I go home, they are always there to support me and share in experiences.

I can say the same for the people I meet in London. Being an Antipodean in London, a lot of us have the same values - making the most of life, visiting new places, experiencing new cultures and foods, learning history of places we've never even heard about before.

I have made a great group of friends here in London, who I have shared many new experiences with.

Home is a sense of belonging.

How to link up your post

Just pop your post up over the first week of the month (the 1st - 7th July 2016) and add it to the link up widget found on Angie's, Jessi's or Polly's blogs.

No real rules – just check out some of the other cool bloggers; tweet a few of the posts out to your followers that you think they will love and make a few comments here and there.

Royal Ascot Races - June 2016

As some may know, I have returned to the lively city that is my second home - London.

Even before I had arranged to come back on my second visa (thankyou British grandparents!) my London friends were sending me links and invitations to some great events happening in the UK this Summer.

The main event we booked was the Grand Finale Day of the Royal Ascot Races on June 18th.

We secured tickets through the tour company Fanatics which got us tickets into the Windsor Enclosure, travel to and from the race track and a bottle of bubbly to share on the way!

We had a group of 6 girls and as we had departed so early for the racetrack we arrived early enough to secure a table under a marquee. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit hit and miss, but at least it didn't rain!

Me, Tanita, Cara, Georgina, Becca and Hanna.

We got to see a couple of familiar faces, one right in our marquee and the other trotting past us in a fancy carriage.

Her Maj racing down the track

A Bride-to-Be brought this handsome devil along

While we may have been more concerned with the drinking, eating and men in suits, we did manage to put a few bets on. Cara, with help from Uncle George up in Scotland, was in charge of placing our collective bets -  GBP2 each way.

We did pretty well, coming in with 40 quid on the 3rd race - enough to get us a jug of Pimms and secure our next bet. The last 2 races had no return, but we had our Pimms so we were pretty pleased.

We finished the day off returning to London with a sing along on the bus.

The Details

Royal Ascot Races

Started in 1611 by Queen Anne, the Royal Ascot Races run over 5 days and are a major event on the British social calendar.

Ticket prices start from £27, depending on the day and enclosure you choose.

This year we paid around £60pp for our ticket through Fanatics.

Time Flies

Today is my last full day of work. After tomorrow's half day that will be the end of my time working during this stint of my stay in the United Kingdom. 

As an Australian, aged between 18 - 30 I am lucky enough to qualify for a Tier 5 Working Holiday Visa. 

The visa entitles you to work and live in the United Kingdom for a period of two years. You are also able to leave and enter the country multiple times. 

In the last two years I have been able to travel to 19 different countries and many more cities. I've had the opportunity to skydive in the Swiss Alps, hot air balloon over Cappodoccia, tubing in Turkey, experience an ANZAC Dawn Service on the Gallipoli Peninsula, see The Backstreet Boys in London's Hyde Park, ride a camel in Tunisia, be a supporter at the first Invictus Games and visit Auschwitz Death Camp in Poland.

I've also had the chance to live on both the east and west sides of London and try my hand at a few different jobs, from call centres, waitressing and bar tending to live in care work.

With my last 3 days of my 2 year stint in the UK I will be (finally) stepping on to the tourist trap that is the London Eye and catching up with friends - not to mention packing! So much packing!

On Tuesday morning I start out on another adventure, exploring the sights of Salzburg and Germany before spending just under a month in Asia before stepping my feet back on Australian soil!