So in my journey for control of my anxiety and making up all the time I've lost to it, I've started a sort of bucket list. There are many thing I've missed over the years, and many crazy little ideas that pop into my head only to be lost. This list is my way of ensuring I experience as much as possible in as little time as possible. It has a deadline yes, because I want to have a set point to look back and smile at how much I've done. And because I'm challenging myself. And also because yes, a lot of these experiences are best done when young and single with few commitments, so I am racing the clock a little here. Although there is a deadline, there is not an ending to this list. Anything I haven't achieve in the next 12-18 months will be going on to my next list, whether that be another short time list, or more of a 'things to do before I die' style list I don't yet know. I'm just kind of going with it right now.
I'll be amending and adding things to this as I go along, so as well as posting it as an actual post, I'll be adding it as a page on my blog so you guys can go back and check how it is going at any time. If you have any suggestions for this list, feel free to leave them in a comment for me, I'd love to see them! Anything in bold green has been accomplished, woo hoo!
1. Go on an all out, expensive shopping spree.
2. Brave a spa - day. Maybe even combine it with shopping, hair styling, nails and other luxuries. Make a weekend of it.
3. Go zorbing.
4. Go horseriding (and not whinge in fear the whole time this time around!)
5. Experience Halloween in the USA.
6. Sleep under the stars on the beach.
7. Go to a drive in movie.
8. Experience New Years Eve in Times Square, New York.
9. Finally take my mum to see Cirque du Soleil after 10 years of her saying she wants to see it.
10. Celebrate St Patricks Day in Ireland.
11. Learn to speak another language.
12. Meet a celebrity idol or YouTuber.
13. Drive a supercar.
14. Scubadive, even though I am petrified of the sea and fish being in the water with me. See tropical fish and the pretty parts of the sea.
15. Go to Vidcon.
16. Go to Playlist Live.
17. Go to Comic con.
18. Drive Route 66/go on a real American road trip.
19. Drink a cocktail from a coconut.
20. Succeed on Youtube and Blogging.
21. Volunteer as a zombie in 2.8 hours later (and experience the free night as a player).
22. Go for a weekend to Isle of Wight and revisit the places I missed when I lived there.
23. Go paintballing after the trauma of my first paintballing experience.
24. Go to London Gaming Con and geek out for a solid weekend.
25. Bungee jump for charity despite my horrific fear of heights.
26. Confront as many fears as possible (in case you hadn't noticed that theme yet).
27. Travel alone.
28. Ride a scooter around Rome (get my motorcycle licence) [firstly finally pass my car driving test!]
29. Go shopping in Milan (stop being so tight and buy something posh and expensive!)
30. Go to London Fashion Week (or better yet get invited due to Blog or Youtube success!! See point 20)
31. Work out regularly/tone up/be happy with my figure.
32. Go to V festival luxury camping.
33. Finally go to Fright Nights at Thorpe Park, and confront the mazes that make me wee a little just from the adverts!
34. Go to a football match all facepainted up and cheer even though I don't know what's going on!
35. Get a guy friend to come along and explain football.
36. Host a Christmas party/get together for my all my closest friends.
37. Host Halloween with people who equally enjoy it! (The opposite of anyone in my family! :P)
38. Purchase several different gaming consoles and work on my own collection of games.
Wednesday 27 November 2013
Thursday 21 November 2013
Barcelona Day Three: Selfie Saturday.
This morning I woke up with the hangover from hell. How I managed to crawl down to the common area in time for breakfast I have no idea, but I literally only made it by about 15 minutes. And even then, I didn't manage to eat much. I pretty much just lounged around feeling sorry for myself until the boys appeared. I had promised the night before to save them some breakfast, but having barely made it myself I didn't get time to scrape up food for them. Fortunately, they felt as bad as I did so no one was much in the mood to eat anyway.
We sorted out our tickets for Sagrada Familia, which turned out to be more than a little bit of a faff, and then headed to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies. I hadn't bothered to track this place down yet, but I'm so glad the guys showed me where it was as I ended up getting many a sweet treat there, and much cheap wine for the evening ;) Admittedly some of it was shit, turns out I know very little about wine especially when all the labels are in Spanish, but some of it was alright! Either way, it was cheap and we all got drunk so mission accomplished.
With my lovely new friends as tour guides, I found this day much less stressful than trying to navigate the metro and the streets by myself, not once having to stop to ask for directions. I must admit exploring was much more fun when I could just follow someone else while snapping away on my camera. We got there slightly earlier than our slot, and the fresh air had worked it's magic in curing us enough to have an appetite. Instead of looking out for something super cultural, the guys prompty found a subway. And I have to say, good call! We sat down for lunch in a small park opposite the cathedral, and even though it seemed to be inhabited by a horrifying amount of fearless pigeons, I got through the experience more or less unscathed. By this point, Matt had started a hilarious mission of the day known only as Selfie Saturday. This involves being incredibly vein and taking pictures of yourself everywhere you go, while the rest of the group photobomb you in the background. Maybe you had to be there to appreciate it, but I have to tell you this is one of my fondest memories of being in Barcelona as it only got funnier as the day went on and by the evening we were in stitches trying to take the final photo. If Matt ever posts a blog of these pictures, I will be sure to share it. If not, maybe I can persuade him to do a guest post here ;)
The Sagrada Familia was incredible and easily the most beautiful place I've ever been. The atmosphere in there was indescribably peaceful, and there was a real sense of faith that I've not felt in any other religious building before. Of course, visiting somewhere like this with a group of architecture students definitely gave it a fresh perspective, but for me it was all about feeling the most connected I have felt to my faith since I decided to become Catholic. Don't get me wrong, I still am a very pick and choose Catholic with my own opinions and beliefs, but that doesn't change the fact that in my heart I am connected to my faith.
The Sagrada Familia is where I experienced my strongest connection yet, and I truly hope this is something I get to experience again in my lifetime. I felt honoured to have the opportunity to pray in this breathtaking place of worship, and I could not thank God enough for turning my life so far around. The girl I was merely 12 months from now would never have dreamed of going on such an adventure and would certainly not have visited a cathedral to pray. I like to think of myself as living proof that you never know what is just around the corner for your life.
After playing jointly the hyped up tourist and the astounded Catholic, we decided to head over to Las Ramblas in search of a few others from architecture group. This time I took in a little more of the area, now that I wasn't stressed to hell, lost and desperate to find someone who spoke English well enough to help me! Including the cultural wonder that is McDonalds [thanks guys ;)] which it turns out is even more packed in Spain than at home. While the guys ate, we were sitting near probably the largest single group of pigeons I have ever seen in my life. They looked like a sea of pigeons, they moved together and covered an entire square. Fortunately we were just far away enough that I would have enough time to throw myself onto the floor and scream like a lunatic if they did all take off, but I can't claim to have been particularly cool about it. Still, I stayed and I didn't cry or faint in panic so that makes me proud. It's the small victories in life sometimes.
Having decided that we were not going to be able to find the others, we wondered around Barri Gotic for a while eventually making it to a museum where a whole bunch of young people of varying skill levels were making the most of the smooth level ground as an improvised skate park. It was a pretty cool setting right outside a super modern building, and I would have taken a few snaps had I not been sooo ready for an afternoon siesta. I did take an awesome shot of what the streets of Barri Gotic where like though, the only shot of that area I remembered to take it turns out!
We all headed back to the hostel for a quick siesta before another epic night of drinking. I woke up with plenty of time to spare this time, and got a shower, change of clothes, and even had time to go over to the supermarket to stock up on wine, and pastries. You know, the essentials. I had dinner at the hostel again, this time enchiladas which wasn't bad, but would have been much better if I had any skill whatever in wrapping them. I pretty much just ate chilli on an open wrap, with a knife and fork haha. This is where I met the lovely Hayley, who was kind enough to not only look after my stuff while I gathered my meal, but also let me sit with her as we were both all alone! We had a great chat and I felt like I had an awesome bond with her, so gutted she's all the way on the other side of the world :( [Wish we'd had more time girl!]. For having only just met, we actually had a DM [Deep and Meaningful, learnt indirectly through Mike from the Aussies Brandon and Cam, love this and definitely bought it home to use in England!]
That night was seriously awesome, but in a bittersweet way as it was the last night I would spend with my holiday family. Much, much alcohol was drunk and many a silly event occurred [ahem, looking at you Will for repeatedly telling me in a surprised voice that you had no socks on!] but it was all in good fun and I laughed my way through all of it. I took some of my favourite pictures of the trip that night, and for me it's strange as I pictured myself going out to enjoy the nightlife for at least most of my evenings, but it turned out the most fun for me was staying in with some cheap wine. Just goes to show you can never plan these things! Thanks again boys for making my trip so memorable and accepting me into yours! :)
I went to bed that night actually feeling quite sad as I knew tomorrow I would have to say goodbye, but even so it was wonderful to spend so much time laughing in such wonderful company. I was beginning to learn that no matter how much you plan, where you go or how amazing a trip you imagine, it's the people that make it memorable.
Puddy <3
P.S I found one of the many collectable Space Invaders spread around the city!!
We sorted out our tickets for Sagrada Familia, which turned out to be more than a little bit of a faff, and then headed to the local supermarket to stock up on supplies. I hadn't bothered to track this place down yet, but I'm so glad the guys showed me where it was as I ended up getting many a sweet treat there, and much cheap wine for the evening ;) Admittedly some of it was shit, turns out I know very little about wine especially when all the labels are in Spanish, but some of it was alright! Either way, it was cheap and we all got drunk so mission accomplished.
With my lovely new friends as tour guides, I found this day much less stressful than trying to navigate the metro and the streets by myself, not once having to stop to ask for directions. I must admit exploring was much more fun when I could just follow someone else while snapping away on my camera. We got there slightly earlier than our slot, and the fresh air had worked it's magic in curing us enough to have an appetite. Instead of looking out for something super cultural, the guys prompty found a subway. And I have to say, good call! We sat down for lunch in a small park opposite the cathedral, and even though it seemed to be inhabited by a horrifying amount of fearless pigeons, I got through the experience more or less unscathed. By this point, Matt had started a hilarious mission of the day known only as Selfie Saturday. This involves being incredibly vein and taking pictures of yourself everywhere you go, while the rest of the group photobomb you in the background. Maybe you had to be there to appreciate it, but I have to tell you this is one of my fondest memories of being in Barcelona as it only got funnier as the day went on and by the evening we were in stitches trying to take the final photo. If Matt ever posts a blog of these pictures, I will be sure to share it. If not, maybe I can persuade him to do a guest post here ;)
Matt lining the guys up for a selfie
The Sagrada Familia was incredible and easily the most beautiful place I've ever been. The atmosphere in there was indescribably peaceful, and there was a real sense of faith that I've not felt in any other religious building before. Of course, visiting somewhere like this with a group of architecture students definitely gave it a fresh perspective, but for me it was all about feeling the most connected I have felt to my faith since I decided to become Catholic. Don't get me wrong, I still am a very pick and choose Catholic with my own opinions and beliefs, but that doesn't change the fact that in my heart I am connected to my faith.
The Sagrada Familia is where I experienced my strongest connection yet, and I truly hope this is something I get to experience again in my lifetime. I felt honoured to have the opportunity to pray in this breathtaking place of worship, and I could not thank God enough for turning my life so far around. The girl I was merely 12 months from now would never have dreamed of going on such an adventure and would certainly not have visited a cathedral to pray. I like to think of myself as living proof that you never know what is just around the corner for your life.
After playing jointly the hyped up tourist and the astounded Catholic, we decided to head over to Las Ramblas in search of a few others from architecture group. This time I took in a little more of the area, now that I wasn't stressed to hell, lost and desperate to find someone who spoke English well enough to help me! Including the cultural wonder that is McDonalds [thanks guys ;)] which it turns out is even more packed in Spain than at home. While the guys ate, we were sitting near probably the largest single group of pigeons I have ever seen in my life. They looked like a sea of pigeons, they moved together and covered an entire square. Fortunately we were just far away enough that I would have enough time to throw myself onto the floor and scream like a lunatic if they did all take off, but I can't claim to have been particularly cool about it. Still, I stayed and I didn't cry or faint in panic so that makes me proud. It's the small victories in life sometimes.
Outside the Sagrada Familia with my little adopted family :)
Having decided that we were not going to be able to find the others, we wondered around Barri Gotic for a while eventually making it to a museum where a whole bunch of young people of varying skill levels were making the most of the smooth level ground as an improvised skate park. It was a pretty cool setting right outside a super modern building, and I would have taken a few snaps had I not been sooo ready for an afternoon siesta. I did take an awesome shot of what the streets of Barri Gotic where like though, the only shot of that area I remembered to take it turns out!
The gorgeous little streets of Barri Gotic
We all headed back to the hostel for a quick siesta before another epic night of drinking. I woke up with plenty of time to spare this time, and got a shower, change of clothes, and even had time to go over to the supermarket to stock up on wine, and pastries. You know, the essentials. I had dinner at the hostel again, this time enchiladas which wasn't bad, but would have been much better if I had any skill whatever in wrapping them. I pretty much just ate chilli on an open wrap, with a knife and fork haha. This is where I met the lovely Hayley, who was kind enough to not only look after my stuff while I gathered my meal, but also let me sit with her as we were both all alone! We had a great chat and I felt like I had an awesome bond with her, so gutted she's all the way on the other side of the world :( [Wish we'd had more time girl!]. For having only just met, we actually had a DM [Deep and Meaningful, learnt indirectly through Mike from the Aussies Brandon and Cam, love this and definitely bought it home to use in England!]
Trying to take Matt's last selfie of the day as his phone couldn't handle the dark!
That night was seriously awesome, but in a bittersweet way as it was the last night I would spend with my holiday family. Much, much alcohol was drunk and many a silly event occurred [ahem, looking at you Will for repeatedly telling me in a surprised voice that you had no socks on!] but it was all in good fun and I laughed my way through all of it. I took some of my favourite pictures of the trip that night, and for me it's strange as I pictured myself going out to enjoy the nightlife for at least most of my evenings, but it turned out the most fun for me was staying in with some cheap wine. Just goes to show you can never plan these things! Thanks again boys for making my trip so memorable and accepting me into yours! :)
Puddy <3
P.S I found one of the many collectable Space Invaders spread around the city!!
Sunday 17 November 2013
Barcelona Day Two: Solo exploration.
Today I woke up in a shared room of a hostel. Fortunately the other two girls were already up and we all snuck around trying not to wake the very drunk guy who reappeared at some point during the night (thank the earplugs, I heard nothing!). I got ready and hurried downstairs for breakfast. The selection was awesome, we had lots of fresh real Spanish chorizo (yummy!) which was more than little bit exciting for me as I love it. I know, I have a simple mind. I loaded up my plate and joined the girls on the sofa. They were chatting to an American guy called Mike about where to go on his travels across Europe, and to be honest I didn't really feel like I had any input into the conversation as it was my first real experience of travelling. So I just sat and listened to their conversation while I ate my breakfast.
Once breakfast was over and everyone went their own separate ways, I finished packing my stuff up and got out my list of attractions I wanted to see. I chose to primarily head for Park Guell and also stop at a tourist information point as I was interested in the tour bus as I thought it would be pretty cool to film my journey around Barcelona. When I got to tourist information, they told me it was like 40 euros or something ridiculous, and I had only budgeted around 100 euros spending money for the whole trip, so that idea went straight out the window! Instead I decided to go straight to Park Guell as I wasn't sure how much time that would take, and then to re-consult my list after.
I took the tube to the designated stop, and then just followed the occasional tourist friendly sign to the Park. I noticed I was starting to go up a rather steep hill, and have to admit I was a little worried for my lack of fitness. All of a sudden, I turned into a street of only stairs, and dead in the middle right outside in the open, were endless steep escalators. It seems so bizarre! On the way up, I saw my car! Or another one rather not mine, but still it was very exciting.
After a surprisingly long journey upwards, I finally reached the entrance to Park Guell, which actually had me walk a little further upwards. I emerged from the fenced area and the view literally took my breath away. I don't think I realised quite how high up I had gone, and I certainly didn't research enough into the park to know it was on a mountain. I could see the whole of Barcelona! I've never seen anything like it with own eyes, and the feeling up there was indescribably serene. It was especially strange for me as I am sickly afraid of heights, and it was yet another thing I never would of thought I would be able to do. I'm so glad I didn't know about it advance, as maybe I would have thought twice about going, and then I would have missed all of this.
Park Guell itself was also very beautiful, with lots of wonderful artwork, however I have to say the views of the city from the highest point were definitely the best part of the attraction. I got to the very top of the mountain and saw a very rickety looking stone column, maybe 2 metres wide with several crosses, and people standing on it.
Usually, my brain would absolutely deny me the right to go anywhere near it, but I was still running on my "I am superwoman" adrenaline for getting to Barcelona alone, and I didn't even think twice before getting up there with my camera. The view was incredible, the air was fresh and it was so much warmer than England has been for a long time. Up there, I felt like I could do anything. I think being up there, on that tiny wobbly column looking over the whole of Barcelona clicked something in my brain that has lasted even to now. But we'll come back to that in my final post ;) I took a few snaps and a lovely British couple took a picture of me which I was very thankful for.
I got down into the park, paid my fee and marvelled at the awesome Gaudi sculptures and buildings. While I was there, I found these bizarre sellers. They laid all their stock out on these big white sheets, which I didn't really get at first. This one dude even had a whole bunch of earrings displayed on an umbrella! Later I understood when a cop came past and they quickly turned the sheet into a bag and ran up the mountain to avoid him! Well not even ran, maybe fast walked at most. It was so weird, the cop could easily have arrested them if he wanted, but he just stood there and watched them run off. Then ten minutes later or so he would do the same again! I totally thought he was messing with them, but mum points out it may just be his job to move them on, rather than going through the effort of arresting them. I have to admit, I didn't stay in the actual monumental area for long, just enough to get shots of everything and by then I was hungry, hot and kind of done with the mountain. I know, I'm so cultural.
Anyway, I headed down the mountain and got thoroughly lost looking for the Metro. I asked for directions to the Gothic Quarter, as although I had written it on my list of places to go, and given the Spanish translations, I had provided myself with no directions and address to it. I got off at the stop I had been advised, and got my first view of Las Ramblas, the main tourist strip.
I wondered around for an hour looking for a specific restaurant that was on the guide hostel world had emailed me, as it said I could get a meal for 1 euro. After asking for directions easily 10 times and being sent in every other direction, I eventually did find the place and was relieved to find an English waitress/bartender. It turns out they did not have 1 euro meals, but at this point I was way too exhausted to give a damn, so I settled for a good old English lasagne and a beer. I know beer at lunch, what a loser but hey I'm on holiday. After my meal I went and introduced myself to a nice group of English students who were lovely enough to let me tag along with them for a few hours. If you guys are reading, you are totally awesome and thanks for letting me crash your trip! After a few hours of wondering around with them, and being shown the Gothic cathedral (and finally actually making it to the Gothic Quarter, which I forgot to take photos or video of in the end!) I headed back to the hostel.
I needed to be back before 5 to book on to Tapas night and after the amount of faffing around just to find somewhere to eat already today, I was more than ready to just come downstairs and be served a meal. I went back to my room and had a quick siesta. Or not so quick. I overslept majorly and had to rush all of my getting ready, even going down for food with wet hair! While I was relaxing in my room, two new guys arrived from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, David and Andre who were both lovely and bless them tried their best to converse with me in English!! During this trip I must admit regret that I didn't bother to learn even a little bit of Spanish! Live and learn I guess.
I went back downstairs to meet some people and ended up stumbling onto some free to use computers in the back corner of the communal area, which was very exciting. I wrote my mum a long email about my adventures and checked Facebook. I happened to find my room mate Lina on the pc beside me which was awesome luck :) I decided at this point that I would go on the bar crawl as I didn't know anyone yet and this seemed wise, so I ran back up to the room for a quick costume change (sorry for scaring you David and Andre for my whirlwind of energy as I tried to pick a dress!). I went back downstairs and Lina introduced me to a few guys out in the terrace, Cam and Brendon [Who was a model and I must say VERY nice to look at as well as talk to ;)] from Australia, and Alex the guy from our room who I finally got a chance to actually meet. They were all really lovely and great company. The terrace shuts at 11 and I then got introduced (I actually can't remember how, maybe one of you can remember?) to a bunch of students from Bristol. These guys became my travel family and I can't tell you how much they made my trip!! Shoutout to the boys Will, Greg, Ellis, and Matt (Hi guys!!).
We gathered all the alcohol we could find and spent the night making as much as noise as possible and just generally getting in trouble. I felt a little overdressed in a tiny dress and big heels, so ran back upstairs to change back into my leggings and shirt. At this point, another new room mate arrived, Peter from America :) I had a quick chat with him before hurrying back downstairs. As I remember, I wouldn't let the boys go to bed until 4.30am!! By this time we were the last people on the sofas in the communal areas, and the guys from bar crawl arrived home and joined us. Here I first got to properly know Mike, and we talked about Walking Dead while he teased my accent. Instant friendship right there! He called me mystical as I asked "So Mike, where are you going on your journey?" telling me that I sounded like something from Lord of the Rings!! I don't think I'll ever forget that :) The guys very graciously invited me to join them on their trip to the Sagrada Familia the next day, which was already one of the places on my list, and as I had enjoyed their company so much I snapped up the offer!
Peter and I stumbled back up to the room for some much needed sleep and I went to bed smiling for the first time in a long while :) I'm still smiling now!
Puddy <3
Once breakfast was over and everyone went their own separate ways, I finished packing my stuff up and got out my list of attractions I wanted to see. I chose to primarily head for Park Guell and also stop at a tourist information point as I was interested in the tour bus as I thought it would be pretty cool to film my journey around Barcelona. When I got to tourist information, they told me it was like 40 euros or something ridiculous, and I had only budgeted around 100 euros spending money for the whole trip, so that idea went straight out the window! Instead I decided to go straight to Park Guell as I wasn't sure how much time that would take, and then to re-consult my list after.
I took the tube to the designated stop, and then just followed the occasional tourist friendly sign to the Park. I noticed I was starting to go up a rather steep hill, and have to admit I was a little worried for my lack of fitness. All of a sudden, I turned into a street of only stairs, and dead in the middle right outside in the open, were endless steep escalators. It seems so bizarre! On the way up, I saw my car! Or another one rather not mine, but still it was very exciting.
After a surprisingly long journey upwards, I finally reached the entrance to Park Guell, which actually had me walk a little further upwards. I emerged from the fenced area and the view literally took my breath away. I don't think I realised quite how high up I had gone, and I certainly didn't research enough into the park to know it was on a mountain. I could see the whole of Barcelona! I've never seen anything like it with own eyes, and the feeling up there was indescribably serene. It was especially strange for me as I am sickly afraid of heights, and it was yet another thing I never would of thought I would be able to do. I'm so glad I didn't know about it advance, as maybe I would have thought twice about going, and then I would have missed all of this.
Park Guell itself was also very beautiful, with lots of wonderful artwork, however I have to say the views of the city from the highest point were definitely the best part of the attraction. I got to the very top of the mountain and saw a very rickety looking stone column, maybe 2 metres wide with several crosses, and people standing on it.
Usually, my brain would absolutely deny me the right to go anywhere near it, but I was still running on my "I am superwoman" adrenaline for getting to Barcelona alone, and I didn't even think twice before getting up there with my camera. The view was incredible, the air was fresh and it was so much warmer than England has been for a long time. Up there, I felt like I could do anything. I think being up there, on that tiny wobbly column looking over the whole of Barcelona clicked something in my brain that has lasted even to now. But we'll come back to that in my final post ;) I took a few snaps and a lovely British couple took a picture of me which I was very thankful for.
I got down into the park, paid my fee and marvelled at the awesome Gaudi sculptures and buildings. While I was there, I found these bizarre sellers. They laid all their stock out on these big white sheets, which I didn't really get at first. This one dude even had a whole bunch of earrings displayed on an umbrella! Later I understood when a cop came past and they quickly turned the sheet into a bag and ran up the mountain to avoid him! Well not even ran, maybe fast walked at most. It was so weird, the cop could easily have arrested them if he wanted, but he just stood there and watched them run off. Then ten minutes later or so he would do the same again! I totally thought he was messing with them, but mum points out it may just be his job to move them on, rather than going through the effort of arresting them. I have to admit, I didn't stay in the actual monumental area for long, just enough to get shots of everything and by then I was hungry, hot and kind of done with the mountain. I know, I'm so cultural.
Anyway, I headed down the mountain and got thoroughly lost looking for the Metro. I asked for directions to the Gothic Quarter, as although I had written it on my list of places to go, and given the Spanish translations, I had provided myself with no directions and address to it. I got off at the stop I had been advised, and got my first view of Las Ramblas, the main tourist strip.
I wondered around for an hour looking for a specific restaurant that was on the guide hostel world had emailed me, as it said I could get a meal for 1 euro. After asking for directions easily 10 times and being sent in every other direction, I eventually did find the place and was relieved to find an English waitress/bartender. It turns out they did not have 1 euro meals, but at this point I was way too exhausted to give a damn, so I settled for a good old English lasagne and a beer. I know beer at lunch, what a loser but hey I'm on holiday. After my meal I went and introduced myself to a nice group of English students who were lovely enough to let me tag along with them for a few hours. If you guys are reading, you are totally awesome and thanks for letting me crash your trip! After a few hours of wondering around with them, and being shown the Gothic cathedral (and finally actually making it to the Gothic Quarter, which I forgot to take photos or video of in the end!) I headed back to the hostel.
I needed to be back before 5 to book on to Tapas night and after the amount of faffing around just to find somewhere to eat already today, I was more than ready to just come downstairs and be served a meal. I went back to my room and had a quick siesta. Or not so quick. I overslept majorly and had to rush all of my getting ready, even going down for food with wet hair! While I was relaxing in my room, two new guys arrived from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, David and Andre who were both lovely and bless them tried their best to converse with me in English!! During this trip I must admit regret that I didn't bother to learn even a little bit of Spanish! Live and learn I guess.
I went back downstairs to meet some people and ended up stumbling onto some free to use computers in the back corner of the communal area, which was very exciting. I wrote my mum a long email about my adventures and checked Facebook. I happened to find my room mate Lina on the pc beside me which was awesome luck :) I decided at this point that I would go on the bar crawl as I didn't know anyone yet and this seemed wise, so I ran back up to the room for a quick costume change (sorry for scaring you David and Andre for my whirlwind of energy as I tried to pick a dress!). I went back downstairs and Lina introduced me to a few guys out in the terrace, Cam and Brendon [Who was a model and I must say VERY nice to look at as well as talk to ;)] from Australia, and Alex the guy from our room who I finally got a chance to actually meet. They were all really lovely and great company. The terrace shuts at 11 and I then got introduced (I actually can't remember how, maybe one of you can remember?) to a bunch of students from Bristol. These guys became my travel family and I can't tell you how much they made my trip!! Shoutout to the boys Will, Greg, Ellis, and Matt (Hi guys!!).
We gathered all the alcohol we could find and spent the night making as much as noise as possible and just generally getting in trouble. I felt a little overdressed in a tiny dress and big heels, so ran back upstairs to change back into my leggings and shirt. At this point, another new room mate arrived, Peter from America :) I had a quick chat with him before hurrying back downstairs. As I remember, I wouldn't let the boys go to bed until 4.30am!! By this time we were the last people on the sofas in the communal areas, and the guys from bar crawl arrived home and joined us. Here I first got to properly know Mike, and we talked about Walking Dead while he teased my accent. Instant friendship right there! He called me mystical as I asked "So Mike, where are you going on your journey?" telling me that I sounded like something from Lord of the Rings!! I don't think I'll ever forget that :) The guys very graciously invited me to join them on their trip to the Sagrada Familia the next day, which was already one of the places on my list, and as I had enjoyed their company so much I snapped up the offer!
Peter and I stumbled back up to the room for some much needed sleep and I went to bed smiling for the first time in a long while :) I'm still smiling now!
Puddy <3
Saturday 16 November 2013
Barcelona Day One: Heading to Barcelona.
** Hi guys, this post is from Thursday 5th November, the day I left for Barcelona. I didn't arrive there until really late, so I only have one or two photos, however these is some footage so keep an eye out on my last Barcelona post for a link to my vlog :) **
It's adventure time! Today is kind of a big deal, I'm taking a huge step towards dealing with my anxiety. Today, I fly to Barcelona for a four night trip completely by myself. My 16 year old self would be jumping for joy and shouting for more time, but the person I am now is terrified. I've never been great with flying, last year I had a full on panic attack and then I was travelling with my family. I've also never travelled alone, I'm not even great at being alone in my own home town without feeling nervous, so at this moment I'm starting to think I may have completely lost my mind by booking this trip. I start my day with a trip to my doctors to collect a prescription for some Diazepam (Valium in America) to help me through not only the flight there and back, but just in case I have problems sleeping or just generally coping throughout the trip. I struggled to sleep last year, even though I was in a very fancy hotel with my whole family, so I feel better knowing I am prepared.
I'm frantic as I try to make my last preparations before my friend Amy arrives to drive me to the airport. I have to run to the local store to pick up a bunch of things I've suddenly realised I have, but can't take with me as I share them with my family, such as shampoo and conditioner. I pack my flight bag with 2 new books I've bought especially for the trip, you can never be too prepared. I then fill it with food. I didn't realise when I booked my flight that I was going to be on a plane during dinner time, meaning I won't get to eat from 2pm when I leave for the airport, to 11.30pm when I arrive in my hostel if I am to stay on budget. I begin to realise that the budget is unlikely to last.
Amy arrives and I feel strange as I say goodbye to my dad and we pack my stuff into her car. I'm really nervous the whole way to the airport and although we mostly chatted about work and casual stuff, I have a strong feeling of impending doom. I try to distract myself by filming some of the journey, but when I switch on my camera I realise I've left the memory card in my laptop at home! We're nearly there at this point and there's no way I have time to go back, so I have to plan to buy a new one at the airport. £20 for another memory card, argh! I had planned on picking up an extra in case I filled up the first, but this doesn't help me now as my original card is at home.
I stop for dinner at a Weatherspoons express in the airport and start my book. I take some shots of the airport and beginning of my journey, but it isn't long before I end up running out of distractions and just sit in front of the screen waiting for my gate to be announced. I have a chat with my mum on the phone, and stayed on to her right up to my gate. When I eventually got onto the plane, I had prebooked my seat, extra leg room to make me less claustrophobic in the hope that will ease my nervous, but then also the window seat, which I usually avoid like the plague, because I want to film take off and landing. Thank God for medication! I sit next to a nice Spanish couple who sleep a lot of the flight. I daren't sleep as I worry about sleeping when I get there. I'm surprisingly calm for the whole flight, even take off and landing where I usually freak.
When I get off the plane it's not quite as warm as I expected, and I'm actually a little chilly but I hop on to the coach transfer to the airport. I ask a few nice English speaking people where they are staying but none of them are staying at my hostel. I collect my case and head out in search of the train station. I feel a little twinge of panic as I realise I can't read any of the signs and none of them have an obvious train sign. I head for the exit and right outside is a bus to Barcelona city centre. I have directions to the hostel by bus or train, so I jump on and accept the change of plan. I arrive in the city centre and muddle my way to the nearest metro station, getting confused on the simplest of things like how to buy a ticket and how to get through the barriers. Everything is so different!
My directions say to get off at Diagonal and the hostel is a 2 minute walk. However they don't mention that the metro station has 5 different exits, all of which are about 2 blocks apart from each other, and I can't even find an exit anyway as all the signs are in Spanish! I stop several people asking how to get out.
I end up coming out of the wrong exit and have to walk 20 minutes to find something even close to my hostel address. I cross the road, anticipating that the number of my hostel is the other side of the street, but I can't find number 116. I walk the stretch several times following the numbers, but 116 isn't there. Across the road, partially boarded up, I see a sign cas[BOARD]cia. I am looking for Casa Gracia. I run across the road with my case, which is now killing me to pull with all muscles aching and sweat pouring from me. This building is definitely a hostel, but it's all boarded up and I suddenly realise the sign says its sold.
I can't explain the level of panic I felt. My stomach flips, my heart starts pounding, and I think I might vomit, faint and burst into tears at the same time. Oh my god, it doesn't exist. It's sold. There's no hostel. I have nowhere to sleep! I take a deep breath and force myself to check the other side of the road again. I am adamant that I will find this place. All the even numbers are on the other side so it has to be there. I check each doorway more closely. It's only on checking the intercom system on the third door that I see a tiny little piece of paper that says Casa Gracia. I could scream I am so happy.
I burst in and drag my case beside me with ease in the relief. I quickly check my phone, it's 11.30. I told my mum I would be at the hostel by 10.30 at the latest. She has text me saying she hopes it's not too expensive to text in Spain, but that's she's emailed the hostel to ask if I have arrived, where am I? Shit. I approach the lift and my stomach drops. It looks about 100 years old and I don't even understand the buttons. I press every button and stand there for a while, but nothing happens. I decide it is easier to just drag my case up the spiral staircase, some guests tell me it is only one floor to reception. I freak the hell out of the receptionists with my utter relief to see them.
I check into my room, and someone is in the bed I was assigned. She tells me someone is in her bed. I'm pretty happy to settle anywhere, hell I'm just happy to have a bed! I'm introduced to my two room mates, Lina from Berlin and Jamie from California. I'm so glad it's just girls, but it's a 6 person room so I'm aware more people could arrive any time. I'm told there is a boy staying in our room too, but no one has seen him yet. He dumped his stuff while the girls where out and hasn't been seen all day. He swings by briefly to collect something but doesn't say hi. I email my mum to fill her in and reassure her that I am still alive. I don't sleep very well that night so take diazepam, but am super glad I decided to buy earplugs at the airport last minute.
It's the beginning of an awesome adventure, and I feel invincible as I realise I am here, by myself, in a hostel! Jamie tells me I am superwoman for facing my anxiety and coming here. I feel like it.
Puddy <3
It's adventure time! Today is kind of a big deal, I'm taking a huge step towards dealing with my anxiety. Today, I fly to Barcelona for a four night trip completely by myself. My 16 year old self would be jumping for joy and shouting for more time, but the person I am now is terrified. I've never been great with flying, last year I had a full on panic attack and then I was travelling with my family. I've also never travelled alone, I'm not even great at being alone in my own home town without feeling nervous, so at this moment I'm starting to think I may have completely lost my mind by booking this trip. I start my day with a trip to my doctors to collect a prescription for some Diazepam (Valium in America) to help me through not only the flight there and back, but just in case I have problems sleeping or just generally coping throughout the trip. I struggled to sleep last year, even though I was in a very fancy hotel with my whole family, so I feel better knowing I am prepared.
I'm frantic as I try to make my last preparations before my friend Amy arrives to drive me to the airport. I have to run to the local store to pick up a bunch of things I've suddenly realised I have, but can't take with me as I share them with my family, such as shampoo and conditioner. I pack my flight bag with 2 new books I've bought especially for the trip, you can never be too prepared. I then fill it with food. I didn't realise when I booked my flight that I was going to be on a plane during dinner time, meaning I won't get to eat from 2pm when I leave for the airport, to 11.30pm when I arrive in my hostel if I am to stay on budget. I begin to realise that the budget is unlikely to last.
Amy arrives and I feel strange as I say goodbye to my dad and we pack my stuff into her car. I'm really nervous the whole way to the airport and although we mostly chatted about work and casual stuff, I have a strong feeling of impending doom. I try to distract myself by filming some of the journey, but when I switch on my camera I realise I've left the memory card in my laptop at home! We're nearly there at this point and there's no way I have time to go back, so I have to plan to buy a new one at the airport. £20 for another memory card, argh! I had planned on picking up an extra in case I filled up the first, but this doesn't help me now as my original card is at home.
I stop for dinner at a Weatherspoons express in the airport and start my book. I take some shots of the airport and beginning of my journey, but it isn't long before I end up running out of distractions and just sit in front of the screen waiting for my gate to be announced. I have a chat with my mum on the phone, and stayed on to her right up to my gate. When I eventually got onto the plane, I had prebooked my seat, extra leg room to make me less claustrophobic in the hope that will ease my nervous, but then also the window seat, which I usually avoid like the plague, because I want to film take off and landing. Thank God for medication! I sit next to a nice Spanish couple who sleep a lot of the flight. I daren't sleep as I worry about sleeping when I get there. I'm surprisingly calm for the whole flight, even take off and landing where I usually freak.
Landing in Barcelona - sadly at this point I hadn't worked out how to focus my camera yet!
When I get off the plane it's not quite as warm as I expected, and I'm actually a little chilly but I hop on to the coach transfer to the airport. I ask a few nice English speaking people where they are staying but none of them are staying at my hostel. I collect my case and head out in search of the train station. I feel a little twinge of panic as I realise I can't read any of the signs and none of them have an obvious train sign. I head for the exit and right outside is a bus to Barcelona city centre. I have directions to the hostel by bus or train, so I jump on and accept the change of plan. I arrive in the city centre and muddle my way to the nearest metro station, getting confused on the simplest of things like how to buy a ticket and how to get through the barriers. Everything is so different!
My directions say to get off at Diagonal and the hostel is a 2 minute walk. However they don't mention that the metro station has 5 different exits, all of which are about 2 blocks apart from each other, and I can't even find an exit anyway as all the signs are in Spanish! I stop several people asking how to get out.
The buttons in the lift of the Metro - where is exit?!
I can't explain the level of panic I felt. My stomach flips, my heart starts pounding, and I think I might vomit, faint and burst into tears at the same time. Oh my god, it doesn't exist. It's sold. There's no hostel. I have nowhere to sleep! I take a deep breath and force myself to check the other side of the road again. I am adamant that I will find this place. All the even numbers are on the other side so it has to be there. I check each doorway more closely. It's only on checking the intercom system on the third door that I see a tiny little piece of paper that says Casa Gracia. I could scream I am so happy.
I burst in and drag my case beside me with ease in the relief. I quickly check my phone, it's 11.30. I told my mum I would be at the hostel by 10.30 at the latest. She has text me saying she hopes it's not too expensive to text in Spain, but that's she's emailed the hostel to ask if I have arrived, where am I? Shit. I approach the lift and my stomach drops. It looks about 100 years old and I don't even understand the buttons. I press every button and stand there for a while, but nothing happens. I decide it is easier to just drag my case up the spiral staircase, some guests tell me it is only one floor to reception. I freak the hell out of the receptionists with my utter relief to see them.
I check into my room, and someone is in the bed I was assigned. She tells me someone is in her bed. I'm pretty happy to settle anywhere, hell I'm just happy to have a bed! I'm introduced to my two room mates, Lina from Berlin and Jamie from California. I'm so glad it's just girls, but it's a 6 person room so I'm aware more people could arrive any time. I'm told there is a boy staying in our room too, but no one has seen him yet. He dumped his stuff while the girls where out and hasn't been seen all day. He swings by briefly to collect something but doesn't say hi. I email my mum to fill her in and reassure her that I am still alive. I don't sleep very well that night so take diazepam, but am super glad I decided to buy earplugs at the airport last minute.
It's the beginning of an awesome adventure, and I feel invincible as I realise I am here, by myself, in a hostel! Jamie tells me I am superwoman for facing my anxiety and coming here. I feel like it.
Puddy <3
Thursday 14 November 2013
Better late than never....
**Running a little late, but I'm going to write these travel blogs day by day as if I am experiencing them now, as so much happened I don't want to cram it all into one post, I want to share it all!! Internet was an issue while travelling, especially as I didn't have a laptop or tablet or anything to take, so it was either shared computer or phone, and neither of those felt like blogging material. Lesson learned, for future travels buy a new laptop. Anyway, more on that later...**
London is an awesome place, but I could never live there. As someone who spends her whole life being late, or in a hurry, or stressed because I have forgotten something, I know how much it sucks to be on the go 24/7. And yet people in London seem to have that times 10. Everything seems to run in a way that makes these little stresses so much more likely to occur. Trains get delayed, there is always traffic, everywhere is busy, people are rude. As a tourist, London is beautiful. But man if I had to live there every day I'd be arrested for assault (at minimum) in no time at all.
So the trip was originally planned as a surprise for my mums birthday, but due to some unforeseen family circumstances it had to be delayed. Better late than never, nearly a whole month after her birthday we made it into London, with a plan to see as much as possible before the main aim of the trip: to take my mummy to see Les Miserables for the first time in ten years. As a little background for you, my mum has been saying how much she would love to get back to see the show for as long as I can remember, but has never been one for spending money on herself. This year with my first sign of financial stability, I decided it was time to set that right.
We started the day pretty chill in our pj's, working out which tube stations we needed for each attraction, whether it was easier to drive or train there, and where we wanted to go. We "popped in" to the local shops to run a few errands for my looming trip to Barcelona because, as per usual with me, I had left everything to the last minute. That ended up taking a lot more time than we originally planned, and we ended up rushing to a local restaurant for a budget lunch before hitting the city. We sped down to the train station in my little yellow bumble bee car and had to run across the bridge to make it for the train, with me puffing on my inhaler the whole way. We made it by minutes, just ordering all our complicated tickets in time, and headed to the main station in our area. We changed over in Reading, and had to run the through the old station, sprint to the nearest guard to ask which platform we needed, then run all the way through the new part of the station, right down to the platform just to miss our train by about 30 seconds.
After watching our train pull away without us, we had some time to stand on the platform and catch our breath (which for me sounds like much like a seal dying, slowly). We did end up getting on a rather swish train in the end though so it worked out for the best. Before we knew it we were in London, and mum was getting her first experience in many years of the tube, with my complete guidance as she followed looking very bemused. She was pretty nervous at the speed and noise of the trains, but I have to say she was way more chill than I was expecting! We beelined straight for the theatre box office and collected our tickets so that we could relax the rest of the day safe in the knowledge that we were ready to attend.
The next stop for us was of course the famous Oxford Street. We wanted to check out the super sized versions of many of our favourite shops, but mainly I'll be honest, we were there for the giant Primark. We swung in a couple of places, including HMV as "This is the End" was finally released (if you haven't seen this already I highly recommend it) and Miss Selfridge where I found the most beautiful dress ever with a hefty price tag of £100. Needless to say, I came home without it. If you're in the area, I would definitely recommend dropping into Miss Selfridge at the moment, as not only do they currently have a great selection of party dresses, but many have a stunning and detailed vintage design, some 20s Downtown Abbey style, some flapper dresses and some big 50s style, but all uniquely gorgeous (and expensive! Be warned). We also swung into the Disney Store because the Oxford street is awesome and has many photo opportunities. That and I'm a big Disney fangirl, deal with it.
We trekked for hours down this street (literally, we had to stop at John Lewis for some tea and everything) taking in the sights in search of Primark. We even stumbled across Selfridges with it's world famous window designs, and had to get a few snaps of that. However I must say I was way more impressed with John Lewis's creative animal designs and took many a picture of those. Anyway, we finally made it to Primark but were already knackered, it was packed as office hours had finished, and we were running out of time so it was kind of a hurried trip. I still managed to find a few gems though. Maybe in a week or so I will show you some of my recent winter and work wardrobe purchases ;)
We stopped off at John Lewis again for another pot of tea, and to rest our little legs quickly before realising that, you guessed it, we were going to be late for the theatre if we didn't move like now. We again had to run the whole way to the tube station, barely made the train, then had to run from the station to the theatre itself. We made it with minutes to spare and dropped off our huge shopping bags in the cloakroom. Thank god we did. We had front row centre seats in the dress circle (expensive but very worth it, best view in the house and the actors feel within touching distance) and I'm sure we both remembered these seats having more leg room. After a frantic day, we had been looking forward to lying right back in our seats to relax, but it was similar to the leg room on a plane (good practise for me I guess!). If you do book these seats, I advice to travel light or like us drop your shopping in the cloakroom, it's only £1 per item.
The view was spectacular and the show blew us both away, even though it was our 3rd time each. The actors that played Valjean (Daniel Koek) and Fantine (Na-Young Jeon) this season were incredible, I think the best we've ever actually seen. We laughed, we cried and we applaused until our arms hurt. We haven't stopped singing the songs or raving about the show since.
Anyway, I had a fantastic time with my mum. I was a little gutted we ran out of time to go to Camden, as I wanted her to experience the awesomeness that is the Camden food court, and would have loved to shock her with the characters that fill the area haha! I guess there's always next time ;)
Moral of the trip: things may not always go to plan, but sometimes life has a more memorable experience in mind for you.
Puddy <3
London is an awesome place, but I could never live there. As someone who spends her whole life being late, or in a hurry, or stressed because I have forgotten something, I know how much it sucks to be on the go 24/7. And yet people in London seem to have that times 10. Everything seems to run in a way that makes these little stresses so much more likely to occur. Trains get delayed, there is always traffic, everywhere is busy, people are rude. As a tourist, London is beautiful. But man if I had to live there every day I'd be arrested for assault (at minimum) in no time at all.
So the trip was originally planned as a surprise for my mums birthday, but due to some unforeseen family circumstances it had to be delayed. Better late than never, nearly a whole month after her birthday we made it into London, with a plan to see as much as possible before the main aim of the trip: to take my mummy to see Les Miserables for the first time in ten years. As a little background for you, my mum has been saying how much she would love to get back to see the show for as long as I can remember, but has never been one for spending money on herself. This year with my first sign of financial stability, I decided it was time to set that right.
We started the day pretty chill in our pj's, working out which tube stations we needed for each attraction, whether it was easier to drive or train there, and where we wanted to go. We "popped in" to the local shops to run a few errands for my looming trip to Barcelona because, as per usual with me, I had left everything to the last minute. That ended up taking a lot more time than we originally planned, and we ended up rushing to a local restaurant for a budget lunch before hitting the city. We sped down to the train station in my little yellow bumble bee car and had to run across the bridge to make it for the train, with me puffing on my inhaler the whole way. We made it by minutes, just ordering all our complicated tickets in time, and headed to the main station in our area. We changed over in Reading, and had to run the through the old station, sprint to the nearest guard to ask which platform we needed, then run all the way through the new part of the station, right down to the platform just to miss our train by about 30 seconds.
After watching our train pull away without us, we had some time to stand on the platform and catch our breath (which for me sounds like much like a seal dying, slowly). We did end up getting on a rather swish train in the end though so it worked out for the best. Before we knew it we were in London, and mum was getting her first experience in many years of the tube, with my complete guidance as she followed looking very bemused. She was pretty nervous at the speed and noise of the trains, but I have to say she was way more chill than I was expecting! We beelined straight for the theatre box office and collected our tickets so that we could relax the rest of the day safe in the knowledge that we were ready to attend.
The next stop for us was of course the famous Oxford Street. We wanted to check out the super sized versions of many of our favourite shops, but mainly I'll be honest, we were there for the giant Primark. We swung in a couple of places, including HMV as "This is the End" was finally released (if you haven't seen this already I highly recommend it) and Miss Selfridge where I found the most beautiful dress ever with a hefty price tag of £100. Needless to say, I came home without it. If you're in the area, I would definitely recommend dropping into Miss Selfridge at the moment, as not only do they currently have a great selection of party dresses, but many have a stunning and detailed vintage design, some 20s Downtown Abbey style, some flapper dresses and some big 50s style, but all uniquely gorgeous (and expensive! Be warned). We also swung into the Disney Store because the Oxford street is awesome and has many photo opportunities. That and I'm a big Disney fangirl, deal with it.
We trekked for hours down this street (literally, we had to stop at John Lewis for some tea and everything) taking in the sights in search of Primark. We even stumbled across Selfridges with it's world famous window designs, and had to get a few snaps of that. However I must say I was way more impressed with John Lewis's creative animal designs and took many a picture of those. Anyway, we finally made it to Primark but were already knackered, it was packed as office hours had finished, and we were running out of time so it was kind of a hurried trip. I still managed to find a few gems though. Maybe in a week or so I will show you some of my recent winter and work wardrobe purchases ;)
We stopped off at John Lewis again for another pot of tea, and to rest our little legs quickly before realising that, you guessed it, we were going to be late for the theatre if we didn't move like now. We again had to run the whole way to the tube station, barely made the train, then had to run from the station to the theatre itself. We made it with minutes to spare and dropped off our huge shopping bags in the cloakroom. Thank god we did. We had front row centre seats in the dress circle (expensive but very worth it, best view in the house and the actors feel within touching distance) and I'm sure we both remembered these seats having more leg room. After a frantic day, we had been looking forward to lying right back in our seats to relax, but it was similar to the leg room on a plane (good practise for me I guess!). If you do book these seats, I advice to travel light or like us drop your shopping in the cloakroom, it's only £1 per item.
The view was spectacular and the show blew us both away, even though it was our 3rd time each. The actors that played Valjean (Daniel Koek) and Fantine (Na-Young Jeon) this season were incredible, I think the best we've ever actually seen. We laughed, we cried and we applaused until our arms hurt. We haven't stopped singing the songs or raving about the show since.
Anyway, I had a fantastic time with my mum. I was a little gutted we ran out of time to go to Camden, as I wanted her to experience the awesomeness that is the Camden food court, and would have loved to shock her with the characters that fill the area haha! I guess there's always next time ;)
Moral of the trip: things may not always go to plan, but sometimes life has a more memorable experience in mind for you.
Puddy <3
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