The Guts to Travel
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Destinations
    • Australia

      Things to do in Coffs Harbour and Coffs…

      February 28, 2018

      Australia

      How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the…

      February 10, 2018

      Australia

      How to Do Fraser Island in 1 Day

      January 14, 2018

      Australia

      Christmas on the Coast

      December 30, 2017

      Australia

      Down time & good friends

      December 22, 2017

  • Travel Tips
    • COOKING

      How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the…

      February 10, 2018

      COOKING

      6 Tips for Flying Long Haul (when you…

      December 7, 2017

      COOKING

      5 Tips for the Anxious Traveler

      March 18, 2017

      COOKING

      40,000 Feet Up

      March 16, 2017

  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Destinations
    • Australia

      Things to do in Coffs Harbour and Coffs…

      February 28, 2018

      Australia

      How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the…

      February 10, 2018

      Australia

      How to Do Fraser Island in 1 Day

      January 14, 2018

      Australia

      Christmas on the Coast

      December 30, 2017

      Australia

      Down time & good friends

      December 22, 2017

  • Travel Tips
    • COOKING

      How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the…

      February 10, 2018

      COOKING

      6 Tips for Flying Long Haul (when you…

      December 7, 2017

      COOKING

      5 Tips for the Anxious Traveler

      March 18, 2017

      COOKING

      40,000 Feet Up

      March 16, 2017

  • Contact Me

The Guts to Travel

My positive experience of mental illness recovery with food and exercise. And life in between.

Monthly Archives

December 2017

    Christmas on the Coast
    Australia

    Christmas on the Coast

    written by Rachael Watson

    I woke up on Christmas morning with the sun blazing through the curtains in my bedroom. It was around 6:30am and already 28 degrees. Now, I’ve spent Christmas in Australia before, but I was in Sydney, it was dull and overcast and cold (well, around 22 degrees, which is cold here!). So this was pretty awesome.

    It’s one of those bucket list things for me. Christmas at the beach. So that’s exactly what I intended to do.

    My Christmas photo!

    At home in Scotland, we always spend Christmas together as a family – myself, my Mum, my mum’s partner John, my sister Katie, my brother in law Angelos, my niece Thea and this year they have the addition of Teddy – the crazy labradoodle. I’ve gotta say that although I was quite literally ‘living the dream’ this year with a hot, sunny Christmas Day at the beach – I missed my family, I missed our wee traditions, I missed a lot of things! Everybody kept telling me how lucky I was – SO many times, but the reality is that being away from your family at Christmas time really isn’t quite as easy as it looks!

    With that being said, it is safe to say that Christmas was still very much a family affair for me. With my incredible friend Carmen, her husband Jeff and Carmen’s family, I couldn’t help but feel very much part of their Christmas celebrations. We started our Christmas Day with a delicious breakfast at Leone & Ian’s house after opening presents. I am overwhelmed by the Owen family’s generosity – I am now at least 5kg heavier than I was when I arrived in Australia due to the volume of M&Ms and Haigh’s chocolate I have consumed (not to mention the amazing gluten free Tim Tams that Carmen found for me!). But that’s okay, because I was also gifted a gift card for Kunara Organics (my favourite shop on the Sunshine Coast), so I can balance that out again with some delicious healthy food hehe!

    Christmas Breakfast

    Carmen and Jeff went to spend the day with Jeff’s family whilst I headed to King’s Beach for a few hours to tick that Christmas on the beach bucket list item off my list! The beach was HEAVING, the buzz was incredible! There were huge families having BBQs, swimming, singing, playing music – I almost felt part of the party! It was far too hot to be lying out in the full sun, so I found an area of shade and lay and read my book for a while. The sun is seriously too strong to be deliberately lying out in it right now – unless you have a skin cancer wish!

    It was time to head home and get showered and ready for dinner. I had prepared a yummy veggie dish to take with us to Carmen’s parent’s house to go with our dinner – sprouts, cranberries and pecans all roasted together with pumpkin – it was yum! We had a feast of delicious meats, potatoes, veggies and amazing ice cream cake for dessert. Oh, and not forgetting copious amounts of chocolate and sweets. Ah well, it’s only one day of the year and you’ve gotta enjoy yourself – right!?

    My gluten free Tim Tams!

    I am incredibly grateful to my wonderful friends and ‘adopted family’ here on the Sunshine Coast for including me as part of their family on Christmas Day. It was most definitely the best Aussie Christmas ever and I really hope that one day I can return their generosity by showing them a right guid Scottish Christmas!

    Carmen & I – token cracker party hat!

     

     

    December 30, 2017 0 comment
    0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
  • Australia

    Down time & good friends

    by Rachael Watson December 22, 2017

    I’ve had a busy few days of moving from one place to another. After leaving Brisbane I made my way to stay with Scottish ex-pat friends in Helensvale, which is a town…

    1 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
  • AustraliaFeatured

    The story so far…

    by Rachael Watson December 17, 2017

    I’ve been ‘on the road’ for pretty much two weeks now so I thought I was long overdue an update, if not for those following the blog then for my own sanity,…

    0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
  • COOKING

    6 Tips for Flying Long Haul (when you have anxiety)

    by Rachael Watson December 7, 2017

    Having recently flown long haul from Glasgow to Brisbane – I thought I would write a quick post on how I prepare for, and survive a long haul flight as an anxious…

    1 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • Happy and sad at the same time?
  • My first week at University
  • Things to do in Coffs Harbour and Coffs Coast
  • How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the road
  • How to Do Fraser Island in 1 Day

Archives

  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017

Categories

  • Australia
  • COOKING
  • Featured
  • Mental Health
  • New Zealand
  • TRAVEL
  • Uncategorized
  • University Life

About Me

About Me

Rachael Watson

Hi, I'm Rachael! I'm writing this blog as one of my self-help tools and if it helps others too, then that's an added bonus. Using food and fitness, I hope to overcome anxiety and depression and live an outstanding ordinary life. Oh, and I love to travel.

Keep in touch

Facebook Instagram Email

On Instagram

No images found!
Try some other hashtag or username

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

Follow Me

Penci Design

Recent Posts

  • Happy and sad at the same time?

    October 31, 2018
  • My first week at University

    September 20, 2018
  • Things to do in Coffs Harbour and Coffs Coast

    February 28, 2018
  • How to Stay Fit and Healthy on the road

    February 10, 2018
  • How to Do Fraser Island in 1 Day

    January 14, 2018

Categories

  • COOKING (4)
  • Featured (12)
  • Mental Health (1)
  • TRAVEL (19)
    • Australia (18)
    • New Zealand (1)
  • Uncategorized (1)
  • University Life (1)

About Me

About Me

Hi there, I'm Rachael. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had itchy feet. At the age of 33 now, I have decided that I can’t let me health issues continue to suppress my lust for travel, so I decided to start this blog as a means of writing about travel through the eyes of someone with mental and physical health conditions that can sometimes hold me back.

Popular Posts

  • 1

    6 Tips for Flying Long Haul (when you have anxiety)

    December 7, 2017
  • 2

    40,000 Feet Up

    March 16, 2017
  • 3

    5 Tips for the Anxious Traveler

    March 18, 2017
Promotion Image

DESTINATIONS

Promotion Image

TRAVEL TIPS

follow me on instagram

No images found!
Try some other hashtag or username

LATEST TRAVEL TIPS

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Email

@2017 - The Guts to Travel. All Right Reserved.


Back To Top