While in Sicily I read Albina Hume's book "Miss Fortune." It is a memoir of her life which starts in a small village in Ukraine and ends with her meeting John Hume and moving to South Africa. 

Her story is incredibly powerful, and I think it's very brave and inspiring that she wrote a book to tell her story. I don't want to re-tell her story here because I won't do it justice, and you should all go read it yourself.

The book was written originally in English, which is Albina's 3rd language. That is impressive in itself, but it's beautifully written. It reads like a story, and is simple to follow. This makes it hard to put down, and you could easily read it over a weekend. 

The book tackles some really important issues that Albina has faced throughout her life. She has really had an incredible journey. The book largely follows her quest for love and marriage, and the trials she faces along the way. 

Despite a host of difficulties, there is a happy ending in South Africa with now-husband John Hume. I have met both of them before and they're both lovely people. John Hume is the world's largest rhino breeder, and the end of the book briefly discusses how he has a passion for breeding endangered animals in order to repopulate them. 

It is hard to write about this book without giving too much away. I really recommend reading it - it was a good holiday read. There are so many surprises in it and it's a remarkable memoir. I know this is a short post as I don't want to give much away, but I wanted to write this to bring some attention to the book as it really does deserve it. 

I just got back from spending a week in Sicily, and had an incredible time. I went as my cousin's +1, with another cousin and his partner, and their two friends and their partners. It was a great group and we had an incredible villa. We had a fair few days at the villa by the pool, relaxing enjoying the sun. The weather was hot, roughly 28-31°C. We stayed near Agrigento but had rented cars so I'm going to write about some of the stuff we did. 

1. Mt Etna. 

The past few days I have been touring around London with a friend I made volunteering in South Africa who lives in Norway. She came to visit and see the sights. I've lived near London my whole life and I absolutely adore it as a city, and so I showed Amalie around (with a bit of help from Google Maps). 

We spent 3 days in the city, and packed quite a lot in! On day 1 we went to the Churchill War Rooms, which is somewhere I had never been. I really recommend this; they provide an audioguide included with your ticket which takes you through room-by-room explaining what everything is and it's significance. It even plays recordings of real people. The war rooms are a set of underground rooms where Churchill and his war cabinet made decisions during World War Two. It was interesting and easy to follow, and definitely worth a visit. 

The war rooms are just round the corner from Westminster and Buckingham Palace and so after we were finished there we walked around, visiting Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey. London is a beautiful city and these are must-sees for any tourist!

On Day 2 we had booked a short boat trip on the River Thames. The boat was a "city cruise" I think and lasted about 45 minutes, going from the Eye past Tower Bridge and back again. The commentary was very informative (certainly knew more than I did which Amalie was probably thankful for!) It's also a great part of London and we saw so much from the boat: parliament, the globe, the shard, the 'walkie-talkie' building, the Tower of London, and passed under all the bridges along the way including Tower Bridge and the Millennium Bridge. 

After we got off the boat we went on the London Eye. The London Eye should be top of everyone's list when visiting the city. It's awesome. It only lasts 30minutes or so but the view is incredible. Although the weather wasn't great that day, it was clear and so we could see for miles. We had booked a ticket which included both, which I really recommend doing if you're planning a trip to the Eye as it wasn't much more expensive and is a great way to see more of the area. 

After walking across the Millennium Bridge to China Town for lunch, we went to the Tower of London. This is another cool place to visit, especially if you're interested in the history of the city, or want to see the Crown Jewels! Once home, I took Amalie to a good old English pub! 

On the third day in London we did some shopping on Oxford Street, and walked around Trafalgar Square. We took a selfie with one of the large lion statues, as we met volunteering with lions, it seemed appropriate! We had fish and chips for dinner - an english delicacy! 

I had a great few days in London, and got to visit places I hadn't been in years myself! I always say one of the best things about international volunteering is all the people you meet, and getting to see Amalie again was so exciting. I look forward to visiting her in Norway, and all my other friends all over the world.