When you stay in one place for a while, it’s easy to get bored of your surroundings, no matter how exciting they were to begin with. However, when you step outside the library on the rare occasion you do have some time off, stop spending it moping around in your room, watching Netflix as you scroll through a travel-bombarded Instagram feed. Instead, get out and see the city with a fresh pair of eyes, from a tourist’s point of view!
1. Check out new cafes
Leave the Costa club card at home and venture out into your local area to get a taster for something new. The Pudding Pantry do amazing hot chocolates, decadently topped with a mound of cream and sauce, whilst the White Rabbit Teahouse serves coffee and cake in a wonderland-themed setting, complete with adorable bunting decoration. Were you to find any of these treats abroad, it would be all over Instagram in no time!
2. Turn off your mobile data
We’re all far too obsessed with our phones, so switch off your 3G and live in the moment, just like you would if you were on holiday. Find your way around a new part of town using a good old-fashioned map, personal instinct, or maybe, just maybe, you could ask a local to show you the way! You never know what you may stumble upon in the process.
3. Check out the history
Wherever you live, the chances are there’s some local attraction you’ve managed to overlook when caught up in the fast pace of life. Slow down and take a trip to Wollaton Hall, where scenes from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ movie were shot, or keep your eye out for free entry events at Nottingham Castle, which dates back to the 17th century.
4. Show someone around
Invite your parents or a friend from home up for the weekend and show them your favourite city spots, taking on the role of tour guide! This will help you start to feel enthusiastic about where you live again as you introduce them to the places you now think of as home, keen to present it in the best possible light and leave them wanting to come back for more.
5. Go for a walk around the lake
When you first arrived at university, you probably found yourself marveling atour beautiful green campus. However, tackling Portland Hill daily may have left you cursing the natural landscape rather than appreciating it. Take some time to stroll around the lake in Highfields and take in the wildlife, before popping into Lakeside Arts Centre café for an afternoon treat.
6. Explore a different route
Avoid the usual 34 and 36 city loop buses and find a new way into the centre of Nottingham. Whether you choose to go on foot (this may help justify the inevitable coffee shop trip at the end of it), ride a bike or just check out the tram – this change of scenery may be all you need to start appreciating what’s around you again.
7. Take cheesy stereotypical photos
Jump in the air in the courtyard looking back on the Trent Building; pull your best Robin Hood pose by the statue; pose by the road signs for Maid Marian Way…you get the ‘picture’! Sometimes, all you need to turn something ordinary into something memorable is a change in perspective.
8. Save up for a fancy meal
Try saving up so you can try something a little more upmarket once in a while. Seeing a new menu, eating in a new environment and not having to flash that NUS card at the end will transform your dining experience, even if it’s just for one night. Check out TripAdvisor for reviews of where’s best, and maybe add a review at the end to complete the tourist vibe!
Enjoy exploring!
Edited by Sarah Holmes
Image sources:
http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/asset64611-.html
http://www2cas.gsu.edu/3288.html
http://www.kinnemaniac.com/2012/07/23/batmans-crib-inside-woolaton-hall-the-real-life-wayne-manor/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurants-g186356-c8-Nottingham_Nottinghamshire_England.html