Croatia 2015

I went to the beautiful Croatia  at the end of June with my madre. Unfortunately she wasn't so keen on my plan to make a quick pit-stop at Hideout festival on the way (still my ultimate festival goal) but it was a great trip nonetheless.

We stayed on an island called Lopud, one of more than 1000 islands that line Croatia's coast. It makes up one of the three Elaphiti Islands and is accessible via boat from Dubrovnik. In fact, Lopud is so small that the hotel we stayed in is the only hotel on the island so it's great for those who love the quiet life. However, there were many activities still such as jet skiing, kayaking and a range of walking trails that allow you to explore the island in all its glory. We took a coastal path that brought you to the top of the cliffs and allowed you to see the beautiful crystal blue water of the Adriatic sea. We also hauled ourselves up a LOT  of steps to reach the castle ruins that stood at the top of the highest point of the island. The view was incredible, particularly as we went in the evening so the sun was beginning to set. When were climbing the last few steps we also came across a gang of goats (trust me, there a lot scarier than the goats of Vine), almost turning around for fear of being charged but I'm very glad we didn't. I found a huge hole in the ground at the ruins, barely just avoiding falling into it, which I can only imagine would have been some sort of dungeon back in the day. It was very creepy. There were also ruins of an old church and monastery dating way back to the ninth century.

On one of the last days we visited the ancient city of Dubrovnik, known as the "Pearl of the Adriatic".  The first thing I noticed was the cats of Dubrovnik, sauntering about and sitting wherever they pleased. They were clearly used to tourists stroking them as they didn't bat an eyelid at all the attention they received. For a reasonable price visitors are permitted to walk the 1.2 miles of the city walls that encircle the Old Town. It gives you a great panoramic view of the whole of the Old Town and the sea. When you visit Dubrovnik you can't miss the fact that it is the setting of King's Landing, the mythical land in Game of Thrones. It has become the biggest selling point for the city, attracting Game of Thrones fans the world over. Unfortunately, I'm still on season 2 so I wasn't too familiar with the specific scenes that were filmed there but I made sure to take my fair share of photos for future reference.

For something a little different, we also decided to check out the exhibition War Photo Limited that we overheard an Australian tour guide raving about to his group. It displays war and conflict photojournalism and was really insightful. I learned so much about the city's turbulent history, a history that is much more recent than I had expected; you can even find bullet holes in many of the city's buildings, over 50% of which had to be restored after the Yugoslav war. There was also a feature on the Ukraine riots at the time we visited and there is an upcoming exhibition on the violence in Congo in Autumn that I would love to check out. If you ever visit the city I would definitely advise you to go and visit the exhibition which permanently houses the feature on Dubrovnik and the Yugoslav war to learn about its past. Plus it provides some much needed air con.

So a big thumbs up to Croatia from me. Next time I will definitely be going for Hideout though.

PARKLIFE 2015

Main Stage • MK MK MK • Crowd ft. wired guy • Me and Liverpool Liz <3

A little late post on my time at Parklife! Living in the city centre, Heaton Park was a short tram / Parklife party bus ride away and the i n c r e d i b l e line-up was unmissable, how could I say no?

My personal highlights included MK and Duke Dumont. MK's set was at an out-of-the-way stage down a long road lined with trees. It was pretty spectacular especially when he span "My Head Is A Jungle". However, I was a little disappointed that he didn't play more of his popular remixes, it was more of a hardcore house set without prominent melodies or lyrics. Duke Dumont was incredible. We started out on the crowded outskirts of the tent but before the set had finished we had managed to tactically manoeuvre ourselves to the middle of the crowd, which was surprisingly spacious. He played all his hits ("I Got U" was BANGIN') and also included some floor fillers which I loved.

A new DJ I discovered at the festival was Hannah Wants. I hadn't really listened to her much before but her set was insanely good, playing so many old school tracks such as "Little Bit Of Luck" and "Do You Really Like It" ~is it is it wicked~. We were all pleasantly surprised by the set that Karen Harding performed too and left with a major girl crush.

Unfortunately I haven't got over the fact that I missed FKA twigs and we also didn't arrive early enough for Fuse ODG which was a shame because the sunny weather would have been a perfect match for his afro beats. Nonetheless, we did have the BEST pulled pork and nacho cheese fries ever that day.

Also, after my boyfriend showed me a video of DJ EZ's set I am now obsessed and truly gutted that I didn't see him. Granted, Duke Dumont was amazing (they were on at the same time, the downfall of festivals) but DJ EZ would have provided that little bit of hip hop and grime to the festival that I thought was lacking with all the dance and electronic DJs.

So I would highly recommend Parklife to anyone who is thinking about going. There's no camping, amazing artists and a great choice of food. However, alcohol and food is about £5 a pop so if you're planning on spending there, you better save up! Also, as a side note, there was a lot of dilated pupils walking around. So be prepared for the wiredness.

A List Of All The Shows I Have Watched During First Year

Degree in Procrastination anyone?

• BREAKING BAD
• BROOKLYN NINE-NINE
• DEXTER
• FRESH MEAT The most accurate portrayal of all freshers everywhere.
• GAME OF THRONES
• LES REVENANTS Great for all those learning French, and not just some rubbish soap opera that your GCSE teacher recommends!
• LUTHER I FECKING LOVE IDRIS ELBA
• MISFITS When Robert Sheehan left, I was out.
• MOCK THE WEEK
• ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK The moment when tampons were used to make headpieces for the Christmas show in season 2 is hilarious.
• PRETTY LITTLE LIARS With the knowledge that this show is into its sixth series and still going, I don't think I can carry out this rigmarole any longer than series 3.
• PRISON BREAK Sucre is my Spanish spice for life.
• RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE
• THE FALL Way better than 50 shades.
• TOP BOY
• 90210

The next series I'm planning on watching include Gossip Girl, Peaky Blinders and literally all of the TED talks episodes. But please do tell me your faves and I'll definitely add them to my ever growing list!

Lille

I went to Lille with the French Society from university this weekend and it was quite fabulous. I was expecting it to be a rather traditional, old city but I was pleasantly surprised by the lively, vibrant life that was bustling about there.

We started the weekend off watching the rugby with a beer in a cosy pub. It was great to have us 'rosbifs' sat next to frenchies when our teams were competing against each other. We also grabbed a bite (I had a burger of course) to line our stomachs for the night ahead. After a drink at a different pub we commenced the night at La Plage, a really cool tiki bar that had such good dancehall-type music and even had sand covering the floors. The barmen were very lively (one of them a little too affectionate) and of course us Anglais were hanging around like barflys, living up to our reputation. The cocktails were too good to miss though. We then went on to club Smile which to me was typically European in the sense that a song would play for about 30 seconds then the remix would hit and it would change to an equally electro dance pop anthem. But it was a great time given that there were poles and platforms that we all took full advantage of.

The day after we spent time exploring the city, visiting the main square and Vieux Lille which I loved as there were so many winding roads complete with the beautiful architecture that you can only find in France. It was there that I also found the love of my life in a brasserie but I'm still not over him so I won't go on about that for too long...

That evening we had a giant group meal (there were about sixty of us) at La Chicorée, a lovely restaurant situated in the main square. I, of course, had another burger (which even had a hash brown in!) and was hardly surprised by the look on the waiter's face when I stated that I wanted it très bien cuit. You know how they like it to be practically alive on the plate. To wind down afterwards a few of us then went to watch The Kingsman in a cinema right by where we were staying. I thought it would have been dubbed in French but I read along with the subtitles instead to learn some new words. The film is bloody brilliant by the way and I would highly recommend giving it a watch. Oh and the French accent is way sexier when someone is whispering it in the cinema. I was having a good listen to the conversation of the people behind me.

To finish off our trip on the Monday we went out in style by paying a visit to a lovely crêperie called La Regalade. Leaving Lille and knowing we had to face a ten hour coach journey back to Manchester was a little disheartening but I knew a service station McDonalds was on the horizon. We were also treated to a gorgeous sunset on the ferry so that helped a lot.

If anyone else has been to Lille before I would love to know what you got up to!

George The Poet

I was introduced to the world of spoken poetry a while back but all I really found was American performers who come across quite strongly and a little extravagant. I'm not saying that I'm shunning this kind of melodramatic performance but I was pleased to find a more subdued British poet that performs to music. So I've recently become a lil bit obsessed with George The Poet. The first piece of work I heard was his latest release, Cat D, and I was pretty much enchanted from the first rhyme. He provides quite a refreshing rap style, based around poetry more than anything. His clever rhyming patterns and combination of words clearly show his intellect, being a politics, psychology and sociology graduate from Cambridge, and so unsurprisingly his work often provides a social commentary with roots in political and social issues.

His EP, The Chicken & The Egg, is also a tough but mesmerising listen that I would definitely recommend. Also, the Jack Steadman remix of Cat D is sick as so I'll put that down thurrrr. It's no wonder he was nominated for Brit's Critic's Choice Award this year (which he totally should have won). I'm just pissed that I discovered him just after he had performed in Manchester.

If you're interested some more, George The Poet's collection of poetry Search Party is out now.

 

Modern Day Prehistoric

Stumbled across these two pictures and thought it was such a great way of representing nature and the way in which the Earth is built by it's former inhabitants. Das all.

Fear Doesn't Shut You Down, It Wakes You Up

I got the dvd Divergent for Christmas and it was great. Mainly because of Theo James. But then I watched it again two days later (did I already say I was a fan?) and started crushin' on badman Eric. Big time. FurtherMORE, Jai Courtney who plays the character is Australian. I know, contain yourselves ladiez.

He also stars in Unbroken which looks amazing. Aaand if you want to love him anymore, here is his interview with Esquire from last month (from which the above pictures were extracted) and here is his interview with Elle, also accompanied by some very handsome images.

But back to Divergent, a big draw for the film is also its soundtrack which is complete with a lacing of synthesisers to reflect the futuristic setting of the film. My top picks are I Need You / M83, Waiting Game / Banks, Dead In The Water / Ellie Goulding.

Insurgent, the sequel, is out in March, woo! More Jai Courtney!

19 Things I Learned From My First Semester @ Uni

Whaddup, it's me again! I think I'm going to start getting back into this thing. Will it last? Who knows but I have three posts in me head already so let's go from there. Here's what I've learned from my first half of first year:

1 Aldi is the best part of the week

2 Everyone is an alcoholic!

3 The north / south divide is real

4 From the Midlands? Yeah we have to choose one or the other (no matter how geographically impossible)

5 Netflix on 'in the background' does not exist, as you realise two hours later that you've only written one and a half sentences but managed to watch three episodes of Prison Break

6 Be prepared to remember a shitload of names

7 Super noodles are a food group

8 Food thievery is a real problem and whoever the fuck it is holds no prisoners

9 Number eight was a touchy subject

10 The term 'windmilling' has taken on a whole new, graphic meaning

11 Uni actually involves a load of work

12 You would be surprised by the ninja moves you are capable of when the club promoters appear on campus

13 No one cares what you look like (especially when you roll up for 9am lectures)

14 Urban Outfitters and Topshop are a thing of the past

15 The thought of getting up at 8am five days a week ever again is inconceivable

16 Girls' kitchens are so much more disgusting than boys' kitchens

17 You will become an expert procrastinator (and consequently will have navigatated every deep dark corner of YouTube)

18 Sacrificing food for alcohol is smart economics, not a first class ticket to Alcoholics Anonymous

19 Say YES to everything

Austria

At the end of July my mother and I went to Austria for a week. We had previously been five years ago and stayed on a lake, so we stuck to what we knew and did the same again but this time at Fuschlsee, a crystal blue aqua coloured dream near to the city of Salzburg. 

Fuschlsee (first three images) • My long lost tan • Selfie? • The cable cars that take you to the top of the Zwolferhorn • Me twatting out on top of a mountain • Paragliders preparing for lift off • Salzburg • The motherland: Mozart's House • I repeat, the tan • Pretty lamplights in the town

Being fresh (or rather the complete opposite) off the plane from Zakynthos, I was a little taken aback by the tranquillity of the area. Nonetheless, it didn't take long for me to appreciate the scenery. The lake has a trail all the way around its perimeter so the picturesque view is never far. Every so often we would come across a little alcoved 'beach' that that the locals had already found. And let me tell you, Austrians love a good lake when the sun shines. Situated just on the outskirts of the Alps, I was also able to take in the view from a higher vantage point on top of a mountain; specifically the Zwolferhorn that overlooks Wolfgangsee (a lake named after Mozart). There are five lakes all within close proximity so a short bus ride will take you from one to the other in no time. However, this journey can be easily complicated with the addition of two Brits trying to speak German with no knowledge of the language whatsoever: enter me and my mum. Like the well cultured people that we are, we used good ol' Google Translate to ask for our tickets. We were practically locals. Now, learning phrases is all well and good until the bus driver turns to you and asks "Kind oder ein Erwachsener?". Yeah, I had no idea either.

Measuring 1522m high, we took a cable car to the top of the Zwolfer, after successfully making it on the bus. It slowly ascended out of the trees and you could see the lake open up in front of you. At the top, there are various trails that we walked along to get a view from all directions. The most fascinating thing in my opinion was the paragliders. The sunny, docile conditions were perfect so it was hardly surprising the amount of daredevils that were taking off from the top. I have to say, aside from the perennial fear of falling to your death, it did look pretty peaceful to be swirling around up there.

We also visited Salzburg. The city's architecture displays such a majestic history, it reminded me a lot of the Piazza dei Signori in Verona. I was really excited to see Mozart's birthplace; it's very location in the city has inspired a burgeoning music student population. Whilst the history of the city was fascinating, there was something else that had captured my mind: GIANT CHOCOLATE PRETZELS. There was a bustling food market that sold all sorts of wonders. Every so often you'd walk past someone with brown chocolate smears over their face and you just knew what they had been up to.

All in all it was a lovely trip. On our final post-food bonanza stroll in Fuschl, we were treated to a youth orchestra from England playing in one of the squares. It reminded me of when I used to play, even though I never went on tour. Furthermore, we were lucky to only have two days when the weather turned stormy. I remember one early evening sitting on a lounger by the lake reading and slowly the grey clouds rolled in. You could see everyone preparing by putting on their clothes one by one. As soon as the first drop of rain hit, everyone darted. It was pretty comical actually. When it wasn't raining, however, the sunset over the water was unreal.

Tango En Vogue

There's one thing I love more than ASAP Rocky and that's ASAP Rocky with Chanel Iman. Posing in various dance stances, the couple are looking gorgeous in Vogue's September issue. In a world where "get money, fuck bitches" is the ubiquitous message propagated through much of the music we hear, these two are helping upkeep the standard set by Jay Z and Beyonce and publicly showing their unity and loyalty to one another (whilst looking mighty fine in the process). Preach.

Success Is Liking Yourself, Liking What You Do And Liking How You Do It

SO I'm pissing off to university in three weeks! Eeeeep. After much deliberation on the whole 'gap year' thang and much confusion about what the hell I was going to study, I have finally accepted my place at Manchester and I am (surprisingly) really excited.

I think the main reason I wanted a gap year was due to the financial aspect of university but with a year off to 'travel' I would have spent any money I earned on that anyway. Plus I will have much longer holidays to do things. To be honest, the excitement that I would have found travelling is easily found with the prospect of meeting a bunch of new people and exploring the city of Manchester! Whatsmore, I get to spend six months in a French-speaking country and six months in a Spanish-speaking country in my third year which I can't wait for. Hopefully by that time I'll be able to hold a somewhat normal conversation as opposed to discussing Europe's immigration policies and the death penalty.. Whatever happens in the next few years, I think we should all remember the wise words of Ms Angelou:
"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it."

I'm currently writing out my never ending list of things that I need to take but, judging by the size of it, I am yet to realise that I can't take my whole bedroom with me. I think I've also forgotten that they do actually have shops in Manchester. If you're either at uni and have any tips for us freshers or if you're a newbie first year like me, I'd love to hear your take on the whole university topic. If anyone is going to Manchester that would be even better!