I am currently writing my dissertation for my final year at university and need some help with my questionnaire responses!
If I pop the link below please if you have 20 minutes to spare I would love it if you could fill out my dissertation questionnaire and Brads dissertation questionnaire as well!
My dissertation is for those aged 18-24 and is looking into the concept of what motivates those who are in generation Y to visited Dark Tourism sites still to this day! I should take you no more then 8-10 minutes to complete and I WOULD APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH THANK U!
Dark tourism are sites related to death, suffering and the macabre. Examples of these are Auschwitz, 9/11 memorial, any graveyard or world war memorial, even the Anne Frank house is a dark tourism site.
Brads questionnaire is about disruptive brands and their Tone’s of Voice. He is using Dacia, the car manufacturing company, as a case study. What is a disruptive brand? these are brands and businesses that are transforming industries with a highly customer-centric approach to product/ service development!
“Disruption isn’t just doing things in a different way which doesn’t resonate or go any further – it’s about changing the game.” – James Kirkham, CFO, Copa90
Ya girl is finally back and blogging after travelling to Sri Lanka with my university for an edu-vacational trip! There will be plenty to come in terms of blog posts and my experience as it was like no other experience I have ever had in my life. One thing I’m certain of is now I’m back I just want to be constantly travelling! Not long Jessie not long.
So I’m back and ready with the Boss Babe Tag!
Below are 13 questions picked and chosen by the wonderful Bri (LellowBC), us gal bloggers came together and put forward a load of questions for the tag and here we are!
You can find all the girls links below my questions!
What made you want to start a blog?
I really enjoyed writing when I was younger so its always been a huge passion of mine. I then started university to study tourism and that is where my SECOND travel passion started, so why not put the two things I love most together? And here we are!
What is your favourite post you’ve created?
I love writing all of them but its definitely got to be the one on the Budapest street art around the city, such beautiful pieces of artwork to reminisce and Ill also be getting a tattoo of a particular piece of artwork from there as well so I enjoy the anticipation of that!
Where in the world are you from?
I am from the East of the UK, Seaside towns and PROPER fish and chips. Don’t even question me about it.
What country is at the top of your bucket list?
Thailand and the Philippines are right at the top of my list due to the culture and FOOD! Bring me those blue seas please.
What is your fave way to relax at the end of the day?
My favourite way to wind down is with a good book and a cup of tea. I recently finished reading Cinder, a rewritten and revamped fantasy version of Cinderella. I HIGHLY would recommend!! Its an amazing book!
How did you come up with your blog name?
With a spelling mistake along the way! I wanted something travel-ish and ideally wanted Wanderer but it was taken for the URL, but I still try and utilise Wanderer on my blog just not with the URL! So I see myself as a wonderer about everything and traveller generally, so hopefully it fits!
Biggest goal as a blogger?
One day I’d love be endorsed and paid to travel for a company or whoever, I just want to travel and write my blog and make a living why is that SO HARD.
What is the one thing you hope people will get from visiting your site?
Where to go when visiting particular places! I know I haven’t been EVERYWHERE but i try my hardest to collate everywhere we went and when we went there, especially spending money and how expensive a place is as well! That way they feel well advised informally by me before going away anywhere!
What advice would you give beginner bloggers?
PROMOTE YOUR BLOG EVERYWHERE YOU WANT EVEN IF YOU’RE NERVOUS AS HELL. FUCK what other people think of it, its your passion, its your MUSE. EMBRACE THE BLOG and blog to do YOU. I have anxiety so when it came to promoting my blog publicly and those who have bullied me or put me down seeing my work? yeah terrifying you can forget it no thank you. GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MIND. You can do it, you can smash it, you can follow your dreams. And if a boss ass blog post is where its at? DO IT AND DO IT WITH GRACE AND KICK-ASS ATTITUDE.
What are some of your hobbies?
I love to go to the gym on the regulars, I also love to surf as well although down where I live there is not much surf knocking about so you definitely have to go elsewhere. Minus the obvious travelling and writing I also enjoy scrap booking, ALOT. I finally completed my scrap book I started in 2014!
Where is your #1 fave place to eat?
So judge me but I love me some frankie and benny’s. Cheap and cheerful all the way.
What is your fave part about being an influencer?
I don’t think I would ever class myself as an influencer, nor has anyone ever called me an influencer. So to reach that level of success through my blog would mean a lot.
This is just how high we hiked!
What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
Probably what I did about 2 weeks ago and climbed Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, a Buddhist pilgrimage route! We started walking up the mountain at about 2:15am and made it 100 meters from the top by 5:30 in the morning to watch the sun rise over the mountains of Sri Lanka. It was absolutely phenomenal and I will never forget it. Neither will my legs as I couldn’t physically stop on the way down.
Here are the other beautiful ladies who helped put these questions together; get over to their sites and gives these wonderful girls some love!
So after a year of life and editing every now and then, finally an Iceland film roll was born…
With the help of my wonderful man Brad we put together this wonderful video of me and my friend Jess and all that we did in Iceland, 2018!
It was a really amazing trip, we did so much in such a short time and it was a great laugh with Jess, I will never forget the experience so you can find the video in the link below!
I am going to start posting film rolls of my trips whenever I go away so next up will be Norway and then Sri Lanka when I get back! It won’t be frequently updated but you’re welcome to subscribe to the channel if you wish to see what is to come!
Budapest was trip intended for drink, and drink we certainly did whilst we were out there. I gained about two stone just in beer alone. Budapest is particularly well known for its RUIN BARS.
We made sure that we went to plenty of them whilst we were staying. 8 Ruin bars to be correct, thats nearly 1 a day!
So our first stop as we ventured into Budapest centre for the first time was a place called Baross Sport. I think at this point we just wanted to find somewhere that wasn’t Mcdonald’s that would sell us a panini and a pint. We were successful at Baross, its not exactly somewhere I would hype and rave about how great it is but it was perfect for what we needed, a quick snack, nothing special and a pint, THE FIRST PINT OF THE
Say cheese!
HOLIDAY THOUGHT. So shout out to Baross Sport nearby the train station for supplying us with our first pint of many, the rest of the day we proceeded to get very drunk.
From Baross we moved onto a place called Pub 7. We sat outside alongside the path and I enjoyed possibly one of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted (which is insulting for Brad as he is a mixologist but we can let it slide). It was nice and reasonably priced, only downside was it being beside a main road. Other than that I would recommend for a brief pit stop for sure!
NOW we found the ruin bar I’d been suggested that we go to before we got to Buda by complete accident. We were just walking along the streets and saw the entry to Szimpla Kert. Hands down one of the coolest ruin bars we went too (minus Instant but we shall get to that). It had multiple different rooms, one being a small quirky trinket shop, one being a seating area with TV’s all over the room and fairy lights, there was graffiti all over the bathrooms of people who have come and gone and a huge bar and separate wine bar!
Another seating area out the back and then if you venture upstairs you can eat during the day and in the night it becomes an extended addition to the bar! Totally awesome place with a great vibes as well, the drinks are at a good price too, good music and a small dance floor even at the back completely hidden away, it was a great place and we went back a couple of times when we went out because the ruin bars are just so enjoyable. They’re also full of tourists, of course, so its good to mingle as well!
The following day on our adventures we wandered right to the Chain bridge and the centre of Budapest, rather parched we decided to go for a drink in a waterside bar called Raqpart. It was situated right on the Danube with dec chairs down by the edge of the water if you wanted to sit by the Danube. The veranda itself was covered but open so you could still enjoy the weather and a drink, it was a really stylish place and probably pops off in the night time. It also serves food as well but we weren’t there to eat. Again really reasonably priced, nothing too extortionate!
Raqpart
Another Ruin Bar for your lists is Udverrom 21. This one was just as funky looking as Szimpla but not as large! We stopped in here for a pint after another busy day sightseeing and it was really sweet. It was long in length and above the bar area were stairs to another smoking area. Naturally I wanted to head up there, sorry boys, so the decision was made. Although it was also surrounded but hostel bedrooms it was open air meaning we could smoke in the ruin bar as well!
Ruin bar number 3 is Fuge Udvar & Play, cheap drinks and more music and games! This one was also really long and thin and whilst we were there there was also a pub crawl so we were able to make a friend or two again whilst we were there! Although the toilets here were something out of a horror movie, shall not forget that!
Doboz was the funkiest ruin bar to get into, two huge floor to ceiling metal doors and a bloke out the front. I don’t know how much entry was because it was me and the 3 lads and they let me for free!? ladies get in free apparently, nothing like a good bit of sexism eh! As you walked through the doors there was a huge metal sculpture of a demon with red glowing eyes hugging the tree, its massive! Its a huge open space with some tables and a dance floor around the tree, its a really good atmosphere as well all themed Red and black for what I can only assume accommodates the demon on the tree!
Luca & I in Instant after bumping into each other!
Instant was the sHIT. It had an underground Techno bunker and a DnB room and then a main dance floor where one side was smoking and the other wasn’t and you had to pay 50p to have some toilet roll if you wanted to go, It was fucking awesome. We stayed out until 5am I’m pretty sure that night, it was amazing. Drinks were decent and the music was sick, and I even bumped into once of my old school friends in there, of all the places hey! He was also there for BudaFest with his friends which was sick. I ended up spending half the night in the techno bunker because it was just too good not too, a night to remember for sure, HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Alcatraz Bar was an outside bar area nearby where we were staying, we had a couple of quiet drinks there as I think we were all very wounded from the night before. But determined to at least have a drink we sat in the summer warmth and had a couple of bevs, it wasn’t anything special but just really lovely to actually sit somewhere quiet for once.
Raktar Beach was a bar we found VERY unexpectedly. Situated almost as soon as you step foot on to Margaret Island, Budapest on your left hand side. We were drawn to this pub because we could hear the baseline from the street before we could see anything. It was about 2 in the afternoon at this point so we were intrigued and in need of a drink before exploring Margaret Island. We walked down into this white open bar where these lads where playing house and techno on a set of decks an that was that. Pretty sure we all had about 2-3 drinks each just enjoying the music and the sun before we went anywhere else. It was awesome.
EAT THEM BREADSTICKS
Our next stop on our long walk back from Margaret island was a place called Publin, an IRISH PUB HOW OUTLANDISH, not. I bought some breadsticks and moaned about my feet as per usual. As its just your average Irish pub I certainly won’t be dwelling on this one but worth the visit if you just want a quick drink and some English.
Koleves Kert was a real cute ruin bar that Brad and I went too after date night and was shortly going by the boys after their visit to the casino! This was a my favourite bar as it was just so beautiful, it had hammocks and the tree’s were hanging between the seats and you had to beware the falling fresh fruit! It had a lovely atmosphere and was a really lovely place to drink.
Finally, we went to a bar called Kertem. A really beautiful park bar situated in the large community park where Budapest zoo can be found and the castle also! It had great music, there were DOGS EVERYWHERE. It was a dream come true, and the food was really really nice as well, it was a lovely place to relax as the sun went down!
Akvarium and Otkert are two of the main clubs/ruin bars as they are right in the centre of Buda! These were also the two clubs that BudaFEST was held at so I will go into detail in my Budapest posts instead about these places, trust me, they’re amazing and not one to miss.
So as you can tell, there was a lot of drinking this holiday.
I almost died and I salute the boys because they smashed it harder than I did and I thought I was dying.
So up next? BudaFEST! Where the fun REALLY starts.
The Budapest sights are ENDLESS and that is what I loved about Buda, its such a small place but there is so much to be done and so much to see. I had a brief idea of everything I wanted to do and see before we headed away and I was so happy as we managed to see everything on my list and more!
Now I understand that Budapest is split into two, Buda and Pest. I have a sheer habit of just referring to the whole country as Buda, its quick and easy right? So if you see that I’ve written about a particular sight in a particular place of Budapest, but its in Pest and I’ve stated Buda, I promise its just me being awkward. I WILL TRY MY BEST to make sure I distinguish which part of Budapest the site is in properly!
Buda and Pest are split into two by the Danube river! With Buda to the left on the Danube and Pest to the right!
So where to start?
Going day by day would take absolutely yonks so I’m just going to go by each sight we went to see and our time there. If there was anything that I loved about the sights of Budapest was the architecture of the city. So many beautiful buildings and the STREET ART. There is some serious artistic talent in Budapest, Ill be doing a blog post solely on the street art!
So the best site to start with was the Synagogue as it was the site we lived closest too! Dohany Street Synagogue sits just outside the inner city With a Museum, Cemetery and Holocaust museum inside the walls! The building itself is absolutely beautiful, the architectural structure of the building and the beautiful patterns on the outside and inside of the building make it a wonderful sight as you walk through the streets. Unfortunately we didn’t to head inside but It gives me a real good reason to go back to Budapest! Especially as I LOVE dark tourism, so knowing there was a Holocaust museum inside and I didn’t go in and pay respect and gain information on the museum makes me want to go back, and I said I would never go back.
So a little more central to Budapest is the BEAUTIFUL building of St Stephen’s Basilica. A Roman Catholic church with regular concert events and open to the public with a small donation upon entry and the inside beholds the most beautiful sculptures, gold and artwork a place of worship has to offer.
The atmosphere was very wholesome and warm, It was a really beautiful building. I really wanted to head to the top of the Church as they have a spire where you can see over the whole of Budapest but we just could not figure out how to get up there! An experience for another time I think. The building is also home to a large square situated directly outside the church where people can gather to eat and sit and admire the beautiful view. Not to mention have the obligatory pictures taken in front of it!
One stop on our trip was a visit to the Danube. Naturally to get to the Castle and Bastion we needed to cross over the iconic Chain Bridge that crosses from Buda to Pest over the Danube! Now myself I have seen the Danube before when I visited Vienna so it was pretty cool to be able to say that I’ve now seen the river in two different countries! so the Szechenyi Bridge was pretty funky, the view of the castle and Pest side of the river was absolutely wonderful to look at especially as you walked over to that side of the bridge!
One of the sites that we saw was something that I find really interesting and will stay with me as Dark Tourism is something I am studying at University. We saw the Shoes Memorial along the Danube. The shoes along the Danube represents remembering the Jews and when they were brutally murdered by the fascists and their arrow cross militia men during the second world war. It was a really simple but moving memorial. The shoes had been draped in jewelry and people had left flowers beside certain pairs maybe signifying a connection. Such a beautiful place for a beautiful memorial, it brings you back to the now and is a small reminder to be respectful when viewing things like such.
When I went to Buda I saw two of the most phenomenal and beautiful architectural buildings I’ve seen so far on my travels! The first one was the Hungarian Parliamentbuilding. As you can imagine it is definitely impressive. Beautiful cream and red colors with large spires and castle like turrets. It was really something. We also got to see the changing of the guard outside of the building. Their marching was so unusual and nothing like traditional army marching here in the UK! The best way to explain it would be for you to go and see it for yourself!
The second beautiful building we saw was one I have been DYING to go too so I am SO happy that we got to see the Fisherman’s Bastion! It was at the top of my must see list for Budapest because of the sheer beauty, history, views and the pictures duh. The stone fortress was beautiful marble with some lovely views over Budapest and the Danube. The stairs were so grand walking down and up and it also holds the statue of St Stephen in between the walls to also walk around. It was easily one of my favorite places we visited. Although to get to the higher tiers you do have to pay a small fee but I feel that is totally up to personal preference. You can see exactly the same on the lower tiers. There is also a wonderful cafe inside the walls of the Bastion as well, Imagine the view whilst sipping a cuppa!
Whilst we were crossing the Chain Bridge I mentioned above, we walked towards the hill to head up to Budapest Castle. Before we got to the castle up a fun old walk, which totally could’ve been done on the path, where we tried our luck at walking up the side of the hill instead of sticking to the path, surprisingly it worked and we made it all the way up! We totally could’ve taken the funicular but it would’ve taken forever to queue, we also saw the Zero Kilometer Stone as well before we headed up the hill. That is where all the distances are accurately measured from in Budapest! So at the top of the hill here was another impressive building to tick of the list. Inside of the castle is the Budapest history museum and around the castle are the amazing Budapest views!
So I realized that this post was REALLY LONG, So I have decided to split up the trip! So tune in for Sweating even MORE Budapest sights a little later on in the week where there will be another blog post on the sights we saw as I really am only halfway through on telling you all the things we did! 10 days is a long time to do things!
So here are my Top 10 Things to remember when heading back to uni or you’re starting unversity fresh!
I’ve just moved into my new flat for my final year of university, 4 years! My Lord, it’s been absolutely awesome though. I wouldnt change anything about it. I am just excited to graduate now!
I was supposed to post this blog post a little earlier but alas from my flight from Budapest my ears didn’t pop properly. So now I have an ear infection and a lil bit of vertigo because of it, so I’m more dizzy than I am concious!
But I’ve percevered today! Especially as I start my new Job tomorrow too. So today I’ve got shit done, including this post for you all! Can spend my whole week wallowing in self pity.
So WITHOUT further ado, here are my Top 10 Things to Remember When starting or Going back to University!
Get Organised – folders, stationary, books, your time table. Know it learn it live by it. I always find that being organised makes everything SO much easier! Plus when you go into a lecture or start doing coursework or seminar work and you’re organised it’s just that much easier to get started and get your head down! Something which at Uni can be quite a challenge due to there being a lot of distractions.
Do Not Panic – I had to swear by this saying in first year. Just do not panic. It is solvable, you can do it. Even if it’s something you’ve never come across before, don’t panic about it. Uni is probably one of the most relaxed but also the most stressful places, but you do not need to panic. Help is always at hand.
Be Positive, Be You – it’s the best you can be! I know a lot of people go back to uni or start uni thinking “oh Lord this isn’t for me” and do you know, if it isn’t for you? That’s no problem! But as I have said in a previous blog post, university is what you make of it! If you go into the experience being a negative Nelly, like I did, it doesn’t feel like it gets better. I considered dropping out. Now I look back and think why I thought that I will never know. Like I said, it’s what you make of it.
Keep on making friends / Make friends & socialise! – You are quite literally THROWN into this at uni. Your flatmates are ideally your first point of contact. I don’t know about anyone else, but my friends I made at University are my friends for life. No matter how far apart we all are, because we are all from literal opposite ends of the country. They will always be my faves! Now I’m back for my final year, most of my friends are graduating next week (couldn’t be more proud!!!) And then they are all moving away, so I’ve got to remember how to make friends again. But your whole life you’re making friends so it won’t take too long!
Budget! – DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON STUPID SHIT. If you don’t need it don’t buy it. I was a PRO at buying unnecessary things and my overdraft was my best friend. Don’t be me. Plan your food shops and like I said if you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Only take set amounts of money our with on nights out, don’t get happy clappy with your contactless because it will happen and you will wake up the next morning wondering if you bought a horse.
Don’t forget a home comfort – For me, when I move Into a new place I have got to have a little home comfort that makes me think of being back in my home town. For me it’s a small hanging sign that says; “Life’s A Beach” as I live by the beach! It’s followed me to every house all 4 years so far and will continue to do so!
Uni help services are your friend – if you are struggling with your work your lecturers are there to help you. Reach out to them. If you are struggling with your mental health the university health centre and welfare will help you. Reach out to them. If you’re Struggling to find rescources for your essays the library staff will help you. Reach out to them. You have a larger issue you want to discuss with the university. REACH OUT, they will not hesitate at all to help you with any of your needs!
Vodka isn’t the answer, but it’s worth a shot – This one speaks for itself really, GET ON THE SESH. But that does also bring us to our next point;
Learn your limits – I don’t think I need to say to much here other than don’t be that friend who needs to get their stomach pumped.
Enjoy it! – Uni is an awesome place, a huge step into adult life and responsibilities with a little bit of heavy drinking on the side! Uni will always be the best years of my life, I don’t doubt it for a second. I mean until I get married n have babies but that’s a looooong time coming. Enjoy your time, you’ll be there for a while! Why do anything else BUT enjoy it?!
So these are the My Top 10 Tips! I hope they give some sort of help and insight into the joys of getting back too or starting university!
So this impromptu day out was really nice because we were in London AAAAALL day.
We had stayed overnight at Hilton Kensington which was actually really lovely. The view from out room was overlooking Shepherds Bush Westfields, which is just as impressive if not more than the one in Stratford. We did but the looks of things used to have a balcony for the room, but the door was bolted shut which made me incredibly sad. But none the less it was a great stay with of course a cracking breakfast in the morning as well, all you can eat, absolutely amazing when you’re tired and hungover.
Once we had laid in bed an extra 3 hours after breakfast after our late check out at 2 we decided to go and join my friends Sami & Boris just around the corner from our hotel in a place called Holland Park.
Its a really large park in Kensington, right near Notting Hill, with cafes and restaurants. Whilst we were there, there was even a small music concert happening at the venue in the middle of Holland Park. Even though we didn’t go around the entire park I am pretty sure it had a Botanical Garden section as well.
We chilled for a bit in the summer sun with the world cup on Sami’s speaker in the background. Typically I sat on chewing gum so I had to fucking change as well, but theres a whole other blog post about that here!
Once we had had enough of the football we decided we wanted to go for a wander an myself, I knew we were near Portobello Road! Naturally my inner Disney came out and Bed-knobs and Broomsticks ‘Portobello Road’ Swirled around my head even when we arrived at the road itself.
‘Portobello Road, Portobello Road Street where the riches of ages are stowed Anything and everything a chap can unload Is sold off the barrow in Portabello Road You’ll find what you want in the Portabello Road’
It took us about 15 minutes to walk and we weren’t disappointed. We arrived to a busker singing in the street with his guitar and market stalls all the way up the road. First we headed upwards to find myself so damn clothes to change into after sitting in chewing gum. We found a dress stall and I purchased a really lovely summer dress!
As we headed down the road the houses were all pastel colours and it was exactly how I had seen it in all the pictures. The stalls held things like old jewellery and vintage items to fruit and veg! It was just an array of everything and anything you could’ve needed. The street art or graffiti was also really cool. I did wonder if Banksy had been around the area and I did search for something even on google, but alas nothing. But the street art was still really funky.
There was a pub also running along side the market and Brad and I could hear this voice. We were Instantly drawn to where this music and the singing was coming from. A woman was singing with a jazz band in this pub! We went inside just to listen to her sing, and it appeared so did the rest of the pub as when she finished performing everyone just fizzled out of the pub! She had Talent for sure.
Once we had called it a day at Portobello Road we headed back to Westfields at Shepherds Bush so we could head to the theatre!! We stopped via to have a browse at all the shops but we were just passing by really.
We arrived at an area nearby Covent Garden so we could attend ‘School of Rock‘ at Drury Lane Theatre. At first we had to get some grub as our hangovers were catching up with us. We had been at my Hilton Leaving do the night before at The Loop Bar in London, it was a great night out but the club really wasn’t my cup of tea. And FAR to expensive as well. I know it was central London but it really wasn’t worth all the hype.
So we headed to the Prince of Wales pub just around the corner from the theatre. It was a really lovely pub and we just had some typical pub grub to share. I waked highly recommend it if you’re in that area.
We entered Drury Lane Theatre with a full stomach and it was wonderful, we were seated in the bottom circle right in the middle where we had a clear view of the stage! Literally we could not have had any better seats if we had tried, and only at £70 each a seat!
NOW I LOVE MUSICALS. Also spoiler alert so If you plan on seeing ‘School Of Rock‘ do not read ahead!! I was nervous for Brad because I wasn’t too sure how he would enjoy it. Luckily it is a comedy also so I know he would like it, so my fingers were crossed.
I was in luck, once we got to the interval both myself and Brad were thoroughly impressed. Not only was the musical amazing, but the TALENT. ALL of the younger children in the show played their own instruments and sang beautifully. Even the gent who played Dewy was SO talented. I was just impressed from the get go to be honest.
I was a little bit sad because I was totally ready for the song ‘STEP OFF‘, but instead we got something even better, a song called ‘Stick it to the man’ which was Just as catchy and sang absolutely brilliantly.
I was just overall impressed with the entire experience and musical as a whole. Big thank you to my mum as it was a late 21st birthday present and Brad enjoyed himself too which was a bonus!
ALLLLLL I was thinking was Jesus Christ I have done an entire year working at Wembley and I have NEVER been to an event in the Wembley Stadium! Yeah, I’ve done a Stadium Tour but that is CERTAINLY not the same as seeing someone live or a football game.
I went to a boxing event in the SSE Arena before, which you can read about here, but never the stadium. I was actually having this conversation with Brad as well.
Well, as it happened. The following day I get a phone call from Brad from work;
“Fancy going to see Taylor Swift at Wembley Stadium?”
OBVIOUSLY I wasn’t going to say no. Brad had managed to get some tickets from his workplace!!
It’s a little different to our usual Techno gigs at Fabric, but shit why the hell not! Tay Tay has some bangers anyway, Look What You Made Me Do is my JAM.
So June 23rd of we went to see T-Swizzle at her Reputation Tour!
It was a group of us from Brads workplace and even some of Brads family! We were pretty high up on the stands, and if you’re afraid of heights or get vertigo its probably best you don’t ever book these seats.
Regardless of where the seats were it was still a great view. You could just feel the atmosphere around you it AMAZING. People singing, screaming, chilling out, drinking, parents just sat wondering why they had to come, it was a great atmosphere throughout the whole show.
The stadium Itself was nearly full but not quite and upon arrival you’re given a ‘Present from Taylor’. Its a small wristband! BEST Idea’s ever as far as we were concerned. The wristbands lit up as the music played, flashing different colours too the beat around the entire stadium. All these different light up patterns spread around the stadium as she sang and it was amazing to watch!
The bracelets themselves didn’t stop flashing until two days after the gig. I thought they may have died the further away we got from the stadium but to our surprise they lasted!
The stage itself was huge with two protruding T’s into the audience, of course. BUT HAVING ONE STAGE WAS TOO BASIC. No, she had 3 and a LOT of blow up snakes to go with it. SLAY.
Her support acts were Camila Cabello and Charlie XCX, although we missed Charlie XCX which isn’t the end of the world, Camila Cabello was Phenomenal. The girl is just effortless in all that she does.
The show itself was amazing, Im going to post the set list below for you guys as well!
But personally, the BEST part about the entire show was without a shadow of a doubt, who she brought out mid set.
She said that she wanted the whole stadium to sing, a song that was well known and would get everyone going. Boy she wasn’t lying, she sat at that piano and BAM, Angels, ROBBIE WILLIAMS APPEARED.
This was like a childhood dream and the fact I got to see Robbie Williams perform Angels live was just the icing on the cake. It couldn’t possibly have gotten any better than that.
ALL in all, it was an amazing night. I have Bradders to thank for the tickets, and Taylor Swift to thank for the experience. I wish I could do it all over again!
Until the next gig Wembley!
SET LIST – TAYLOR SWIFT REPUTATION TOUR 2018
1. “…Ready For It?” 2. “I Did Something Bad” 3. “Gorgeous” 4. “Style” 5. “Love Story” 6. “You Belong With Me” 7. “Look What You Made Me Do” 8. “End Game” 9. “King of My Heart” 10. “Delicate” 11. “Shake It Off” 12. “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” 13. “All Too Well” 14. “Blank Space” 15. “Dress” 16. “Bad Blood” 17. “Should’ve Said No” 18. “Don’t Blame Me” 19. “Long Live” 20. “New Year’s Day” 21. “Getaway Car” 22. “Call It What You Want” 23. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” 24. “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”
Naturally I’ve been incredibly late with my bucket list posts purely because I’ve been to Iceland so apologies!
I am back and I have about 4-5 London Bucket list posts to do for you lot so don’t worry!
So Brad and I headed out on the 5th of November, Bonfire Night, to Wembley!
Just moving to London meant that we weren’t sure what was happening for bonfire night anywhere! But I love fireworks so naturally I wanted to do something.
I was at work on shift until 6pm which is always a nice bonus as I’m always usually working late. The Lobby of the hotel is all glass so I could see a commotion outside and it made me wonder if Wembley Park did its own fireworks!
Lowe and behold, they did!! What could be better than watching fireworks over Wembley Stadium? I actually managed to somehow speak to the organiser of the fireworks which was a nice touch and he confirmed with me that at 7pm there would be SOMETHING which was better than nothing.
So I called my man and he met me in Wembley where we watched the street entertainment that was also there consisting of light up men with drums and their funky dance routines! It was awesome to watch them dance and play back and forth.
I didn’t stray to far from work as We headed up to the 9th floor Sky Bar on the top of the hotel! So up to the 9th floor for the view of the fireworks and the stadium! What could be better!? It really was something lovely, so if you ever find yourself in Wembley on Bonfire Night head to the Hilton!
Now New Years for me this year was nothing shy of awesome which makes a drastic change to my New Years last year which was absolutely horrendous.
New years eve we just stayed in drinking and chilling out at a friends flat in central London which was lovely and relaxing after Brad and I got back from Winter Wonderland (which is written below!), it was also so nice to have New Years of work as typically I was working Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing day.
It was New Years Day that the party really started.
Tobacco Docks.
There was an absolutely huge all day rave at Tobacco Docks in London, and I had never been to Tobacco Docks before, so why not?
The Line up was pure Techno and House starting at 12:30pm and ending at 10:30pm, We arrived at about 4pm and what I didn’t realise was the size of the Venue.
Tobacco Docks is unreal. There were 2 floors and at least 3 different rooms all with different types of music. The main room was pure deep techno house, There was a second room just across the way from this room where the music was a lot more upbeat, and then there was The Car Park, because it was quite literally in the car park beneath the venue.
The Car Park was the filthiest room with the best music, it was unbearable warm but with a baseline and music like that, I couldn’t care less.
When you match your phone case.
We ended up leaving at 10, so even though we arrived after the start time I’d say we stuck it out for a pretty decent amount of time.
Plus there is NOTHING better than being wasted on the tube, its like a whole new comical experience. The rest of the evening was spent with more drinks and eventually ending the night at 2am.
I had work the following day and was a shell of a woman I’m sure you can imagine but I would absolutely one hundred percent go back there for another event hands down. You wouldn’t even need to ask me.
New Years Day was spent at Winter Wonderland with my man!
Now they upped the game of Winter Wonderland this year as there was even more security and even more queues to get in. But it was just as wonderful although if you go without booking anything or not really taking any money then its an interesting one.
We didn’t have a game plan, I just knew I wanted Mould Wine and Something festive. So the two of us queued up before being bag searched, and then we were all systems go!
Naturally I was straight for the booze, My wine kept my hands warm as we had a wonder around the entirety of winter wonderland. Because but didn’t actually book anything, nor did we have any change, we couldn’t really go on anything, but the rides all looked awesome and so did all the German sausage stalls, entertainment and the music was so festive!
(Sorry Brad)
We sat down in a German Drinking Area and ate some Churros with hot chocolate to dip it into, it was lovely and although by the end of the day I was freezing it was enjoyable.
We watched people Ice skating as we hadn’t booked and It really does make you realise if you don’t book it is very very limited on things to do. Of course there are rides which you don’t have to book for but everything else like Santa’s Grotto and Ice Skating was all pre-booked!
You live and you learn,
Guess that means I’ll have to go again next year! What a Shame!
When we arrived it was at 0. IT IS FREEZING. Well not freezing, but it is incredibly bone chillingly cold, especially the wind. The main reason it’s so cold I actually think is because of the wind! It was -9 on the evening we went out to see the Northern Lights, and -7 the day we went too the Golden Circle Tour. It appeared that that closer to the city you were the warmer it was, and the further out of Reykjavik you were the colder it was due to so much open land and the wind. WRAP UP SO WARM, And don’t only take Adidas Gazelles with you, they will not protect your feet from the cold. Lesson Learnt.
Icelandic Krona is very confusing.
Its not actually so bad, but at the same time it is awfully confusing. Its all done in the thousands, like 1000 Krona is worth £7. The exchange rate is absolutely horrendous and everything in Iceland is still expensive. But its all absolutely worth the expense and the confusing currency. The currency realistically actually makes sense due to the pay and life in Reykjavik, for us visitors it seems high but for anyone who is living and working there it is completely normal and not to highly priced at all.
Getting around using just a map is refreshing.
Although we had out phones and we could use them just as if we were in the UK we were given a map by Blazej at the desk when we checked into our hostel! So we used that to get around the centre and it was wonderfully easy and nice to not really have to use google maps either! I usually live off an application on my phone called City Mapper which is really good but it was so nice for the two of us to figure out where we were on the map and find our way!
The Northern Lights is a normal and unexciting experience for those who live in Iceland.
You forget that if you live in Iceland the Northern Lights is a pretty bog standard thing. You can see them over the ocean from the seafront in the city if you’re lucky so you don’t really have to go on trips to see it, but if its not your usual occurrence then its a pretty big deal. After talking with some man at our hostel we discovered that he can watch the lights most nights from his hot tub in his back garden. I’m a little jealous if you ask me.
Turns out, they don’t eat whale as much as we thought.
After wanted to try whale when we were out there as I had heard it was something they eat, I was very wrong. Turns out only 1.2% of the population of Iceland actually eat whale meat!! And its the same with Shark (which smells, bad). They only hunt it quite frequently, but the end result is not actually eating it!
Coffee in Iceland is incredibly popular, Tea is not (And they drink it without milk????).
If I wanted a good cup of tea it was a struggle and asking for milk in my tea seemed to be absolutely mortifying. The tea usually tastes quite herbal, I had one tea with a hint of lavender and it was wonderful, probably my favourite one out of them all. We were told that a majority of people live off coffee and it is a lot more popular so I can understand why you wouldn’t bother with good tea.
Folk Tales are very strongly upheld and told to generations still to this day.
The woman on our Golden Circle tour informed us of folk tales like ‘The Hidden Woman’ who appeared to a woman and told her she was pregnant and what to name her baby for good blessings and it is still happening to this day. There was also another folk tale of the night trolls, or just the trolls. Men who have had a spell cast on them and they have been enchanted to the caves and only human contact after 3 days of the spell can break it, but they are so hideous from the troll transformation people do not go near them, so the spell is never broken and these men disappear
Driving looks very similar to the UK, although not so easy with the snow.
It seems so easy! Almost exactly like the UK of course just the other side of the road, the signs are in kilometres and there is a lot of snow. SO ACTUALLY nothing like the UK at all. But it was somewhere where I felt I could drive quite comfortably if there was no snow! But another thing was the snow.
If it snows in the UK, Everything comes to a standstill. Couple of centimetres in Iceland? No problem mate, busses, trains, schools, work, all still open and all roads clear as normal!
It smells of rotten eggs (Sulphur) a lot of the time.
The hot water is straight from the ground, so it smells a lot like the Sulphur or rotten eggs. If you run the water for a while it kind of disappears, but as our hostel told us, its just something you have to accept! And it was very easy to accept it, although there was one morning where we had left our window open through the night and my god when we woke up in the morning I couldn’t workout if a rat had died in the room or if it was just the sulphur.
The water in Iceland is the purest water I have ever drank in my life.
Once you leave the water to run and separate the sulphur the after is the most cold and refreshing water you have ever tasted. It took me to move up north to university to realise that yes, water tastes different everywhere. In Lincoln, the water is rank, in London, its lovely, in Iceland? Its better. Its just really fresh, like drinking something straight out of a refrigerated bottle.
Now I understand that Budapest is split into two, Buda and Pest. I have a sheer habit of just referring to the whole country as Buda, its quick and easy right? So if you see that I’ve written about a particular sight in a particular place of Budapest, but its in Pest and I’ve stated Buda, I promise its just me being awkward. I 
So the best site to start with was the Synagogue as it was the site we lived closest too! 
funicular but it would’ve taken forever to queue, we also saw the 
Don’t forget a home comfort
Its a really large park in Kensington, right near Notting Hill, with cafes and restaurants. Whilst we were there, there was even a small music concert happening at the venue in the middle of Holland Park. Even though we didn’t go around the entire park I am pretty sure it had a Botanical Garden section as well.
There was a pub also running along side the market and Brad and I could hear this voice. We were Instantly drawn to where this music and the singing was coming from. A woman was singing with a jazz band in this pub! We went inside just to listen to her sing, and it appeared so did the rest of the pub as when she finished performing everyone just fizzled out of the pub! She had Talent for sure.
OBVIOUSLY I wasn’t going to say no. Brad had managed to get some tickets from his workplace!! 
