Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cities. Show all posts

Monday, 15 December 2014

21 Before 21: Film Premier

21 things
Let me tell you something about sleeping on the streets of London; it is not nearly as fun as it sounds. Maybe one day a good friend of yours will propose such an idea, and you’ll think to yourself “oh what an experience that will be.” You’ll pack a bunch of snacks, throw on your warmest sweater and pay the extraneous price east coast rails offers for a last minute ticket down south and before you know it you’ll be getting off at Kings cross and boarding a bus to Leicester Square full of excitement. But the externalities of such an idea will quickly sneak up on you. Where does one pee? And sure, you’ve told yourself that you are a Canadian, you’ve experienced weather in the negative forties and snow to your knees and yet, you’ve never been this cold. This teeth clattering, feel it in your bones kind of cold. And as the night ranges on, from 1 am in the morning till 6 pm the next day you constantly remind yourself that you’re here for a reason.

Ages ago, in the earliest stages of my blogging I outlined my bucket list. I listed 21 things I aimed to do before I turned 21 and I am glad to say I have officially been to a film premier. Ever heard of a minor film series known as “The Hobbit". I was in Leicester Square for its world premier two weeks ago. Now I’m going to be honest, I’ve never seen a Hobbit film. In fact I only ever watched the Lord of the Rings because my father was quite obsessed with it. But my friend is a major Tolkien fan and had expressed her interest in camping out in London to go to the premier. And, like I’ve said, I believed it would be an interesting experience so I offered to accompany her if she was serious in going. She was, apparently I was too. Now I’ve always known the LOTR series to be popular, but it wasn’t until I was surrounded my two thousand fans that I realized how popular it truly was. Leicester Square was over crowded, smelt of urine and absolutely freezing cold. And yet, when I was lucky enough to find myself pressed directly against the barrier making eye contact with Ian McKellen and having Jed Brophy laugh at a joke I made, I realized it was all worth it.

I will say, Hobbit fans are very committed. 

A home made Smaug costume. 


This is my good friend Diana having a nap and attempting to bare the cold. 
People really liked this poster, I didn't get it, I assume it has something to with the series but seeing as I'd never read the book nor seen the film.

This was the a dictionary containing all the characters of the film series, my goal was to get the actors to sign on the character they play. 


This Jed Brophy, whom I mentioned before. I said I made him laugh. What happened was, I was getting him to sign the Tolkien Dictionary and he was a bit confused and asked to see the cover. He said he thought I'd asked him to sign the bible, I told him he could sign that too if he liked. 

This is Jed's signature



This is Adam Brown, he's arguably the sweetest person I'd ever encountered. As I said before, I wanted him to sign on top of the character in which he played. He  signed on the wrong spot and quickly realized it. He then apologized and I jokingly said "you could draw an arrow!" to which he obliged! 
Ian moved around a lot which made it difficult to get a good shot of him. But he did sign my book and he smiled at me and I loved it. I mean I'm not a fan of The LOTR series but I love X-Men!










Ian McKellen's signature no big deal.



Let me tell you something about sleeping on the streets of London; it can be exceptionally rewarding.

Thursday, 20 November 2014

21: Edinburgh

Ages ago I listed the 21 Cities I'd most like to visit during my year abroad. However with the realization that my months remaining in Europe are depleting as are my funds the reality of visiting all these cities appears to be unlikely. Nevertheless I do intend on seeing as many of these cities as possible. So, to finally get the ball rolling I spent last weekend visiting the closest of the twenty-one cities, I ventured on a two and half hour car ride north and arrived in Edinburgh. During my short trip to Scotland, Edinburgh quickly became my favourite city in the UK. Not only is it beautiful, but the people were amazing. I have absolutely no complaints. 

Autumn is certainly the best time of year for travelling.

 As much as I love the scots I can't say that they are the classiest of people.
 I hate myself for having chipped nail polish in this picture. 
 If there is one thing to know about me, it is that I love Harry Potter. So, obviously a trip to Edinburgh would not be complete without having lunch in the "birth place," of Harry Potter. Honestly, the food wasn't any different than most cafe's but it had a great view of the castle. Plus, if it's good enough for JK it's good enough for me.
 
 I was visiting Edinburgh with a huge Scotch fan, so the opportunity to go on a minor "Scotch Whisky," Tour could not be passed up. 
Prior to this trip I've never really been a Scotch person. In fact I basically hated it. During my weekend in Scotland however, I drank so much, learned so much and returned with so much Scotch that I know consider myself a Scotch appreciator. 
 I stayed at Castle Rock Hostel (photographed above) and had a wonderful stay. All of the other guests as well as the staff were phenomenal. If you are visiting Edinburgh I would recommend it, it is affordable and has a great location.
Also, whilst in Scotland I visited the highlands and went a bit mad in the Scottish National Museum so stay tuned for those!

xoxo




Monday, 20 October 2014

Lake District

I've recently learned that taking a break from routine is necessary in staying sane. There's just something about escaping.  That's not to say my life has been particularly routine in the last few months. I mean, five weeks ago I was living in my parents home in Milton, Ontario. Three weeks ago I was couch surfing in London, England. Now I am dividing my time between classes, travelling and nights out in the North of England. Life appears to be ever changing yet somethings don't seem to ever change. Those "things," in my experience are my thoughts; I'm in a weird state of everywhere. My thoughts are always on home, my friends and family and yet my body continues to relish in the beauty and experience that is my exchange. It's strange to think that although I've left and I don't get to see the faces I once saw everyday, those faces still continue to laugh or frown amongst one another. Thankfully, I was able to busy myself from my strange thoughts by heading to North Western England, visiting the famous "Lake District." As much as a cliche as it is, being around a large body of water is such a peaceful experience. Setting sail on the largest body of water in the United Kingdom as the autumnal leaves changed, while the sky was a dull but comforting grey and the birds sang and the leaves whistled was an absolutely enriching experience. 



Windermere was both a beautiful town and an impressive body of water. The Lake District really allowed me to extract myself from my superficial issues and enjoy everything nature has to offer. Thank you for being such a beautiful and therapeutic place.

xoxo

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