21 Before 21: Getting on a Plane Alone

Hi! Remember me? I genuinely don't know how I got so out of hand in posting but I certainly am still alive. Alright, let us jump right into this. 

I once posted my a series of things I hoped to accomplish before turning twenty-one , essentially a series of things I intend to do whilst in Europe. One of the first things I both thought of and achieved was getting on a plane alone. So, about a month ago sans mummy and daddy, I took my first flight alone for my first ever trip to continental Europe. I travelled to meet my dear friends  Luana and Angela in Milan. 

The actual act of travelling wasn't difficult, Ryanair has a simple online check in system so grabbing your boarding pass takes only a few seconds. Plus I travelled with only hand luggage which takes away the stress of gathering your things at baggage claims. Also, most of the airports I encountered had a designated queue for "Non-EU Citizen," and they tend to have significantly shorter queues. It's like getting an international queue jump.   

None of us travellers were too keen on staying at a hostel so we opted for renting an apartment for the weekend which I'd strongly recommend. It wasn't significantly more expensive than a hostel and had a great location and view. 

 

By far the best thing about Milan was the food. I can not describe how amazing everything I had to eat that weekend was. If I could move to Italy and eat pizza's and pasta's and drink glorious glasses of Pinot Grigio everyday for the rest of my life I surely would. I also would surely weight 300 pounds. 

 Unfortunately, aside from shopping and eating Milan really doesn't have much to offer. Alright, not entirely true I will say the nightlife in Milan was amazing and there are bits of exciting architecture, with the major attraction being the Duomo

In fairness, this is one of the most beautiful Cathedrals I have ever seen and I've seen many Cathedrals. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get into the Cathedral as my skirt was deemed "too short," So if you are going to go to Milan and intend on seeing the Duomo, I'd recommend pants or an overcoat. 

 If the best part of Milan is the food, then the worst part has to be the people. Yes, I recognize that this is a huge statement and is likely an inaccurate representation (no all Milanese) I did encounter some creepy men and had my phone stolen, so that kind of sucked. Still, I have to admit I really did enjoy my trip but that may have more to do with the company than with the location. 

Ultimately, my final verdict would be: 

If travelling for any reason other than Fashion week, let Milan be a short stop where you do some shopping and take a picture with the cathedral (hopefully you'll even get to see the inside) then venture onto better parts of Italy. Also, keep your phone hidden at all times.

xoxo

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.

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