Reasons behind... (UPDATED)

* * * Before I start I'd just like to highlight the lack of my usual 'PREVIOUS/NEXT BLOG' starter. I've decided that this puts too much pressure on my posting and essentially takes away the inspiration and spontaneity behind my content. I hope you all understand <3 * * *

Many years ago, back when I first started this blog, I started an (incomplete) list of top 10 countries I wished to visit. Since I feel that I've developed as a traveller and as a writer since then, I wanted to update this list and explain the appeal of each destination. For reference, below is the original list:

1.New Zealand
2.Canada (visited April 2017)
3.Russia
4.UAE - specifically Dubai
5.Croatia
6.Brazil
7.Australia
8.Turkey
9.Thailand
10.Japan

You'll most likely notice that this list is fairly cliché when it comes to typical (and most of the time, overrated) travel destinations. Some places such as UAE, Australia and Thailand have now very much been struck from my 'priority' list however I have not by any means dismissed them completely as future trip inspiration! I think the reason I did remove these three was mainly due to their 'over-exposure' on the virtual travel-sphere. I found this particularly daunting, putting me off scheduling any of those types of trips in the near(ish) future.

Instead, my newly developed list is as followed:

1.New Zealand
2.Russia
3.Peru
4.Croatia
5.Japan
6.Brazil
7.Iceland
8.Turkey
9.Turkmenistan
10.Philippines

You may notice that a few countries have drastically increased their priory rating whereas others are very new, and maybe surprising, additions.

Reasons behind...

New Zealand

• I love driving and NZ is famous for its road trip potential.
• I'm a huge Tolkien fan and being able to visit Hobbiton and maybe even take an organised set tour, or follow my own, would be a dream come true!
• It's supposed to be extremely similar in atmosphere and scenery (as in, green rolling hills and hidden lakes) to Wales which my mum's family is from and where I'm currently living as a student.
• I've never been to Oceania/Australasia and it's on my Bucket List to visit every continent.
• I would like to experience immersion into the history of a nomadic culture.

Russia

• DISCLAIMER: I was supposed to go to Russia last summer as the main port for my 18th Birthday cruise however unforeseen storm conditions meant that our ship was unable to dock in St. Petersburg. This has only increased my desire to visit this beautiful country and, at the moment, we plan to repeat the same cruise (with perhaps a slightly altered itinerary) when I graduate in summer 2022.
• Architecture - the fact that even Russia's underground system is world famous for its beauty sets the standard.
• Ballet - I, along with many other young girls (and boys), attended ballet class for several years and, although I didn't always enjoy myself, my love and respect for dance and choreography means that I wouldn't feel right visiting such a ballet orientated country without seeing the art in action.

Peru

• My 'back-up' plan! I don't know for sure if every generation did this as they completed their GCSEs/A Levels but my friends and I were obsessed with creating back up plans. Of course there were the classics: stripper, drug dealer, etc. but my classic reply turned into "alpaca farmer in Peru". If anyone has read my study blog - www.yoirevised.blogspot.com- then you'll have some understanding of this already as its title is "The Antidote to Alpaca Farming".
• Peru is one of the easiest and safest Latin American countries to visit and to do so would also help me to complete part of my Bucket List because, due to the small country count within it, South America is a continent that I wish to 'complete' in my lifetime.
• Mythology, history and culture - Since the Easter I was 12 when I went on a trip to Egypt with my parents, I have been committed to studying Ancient History. After slogging through A Levels I managed to secure myself a spot studying it with joint honours in Italian at Cardiff University where I am now finishing my first year. I am OBSESSED with EVERYTHING 'ancient' and death and burial culture has become a particular interest of late. This furthers my eagerness to escape to Peru because I know that Incan, Mayan and Aztec burial cultures are some of the most fascinating.

Croatia

• Nature - Do yourself a favour (or maybe not so much if you have raging travel fever) and google Krka national park. One look at those waterfalls and you should understand the appeal.
• Once again, Ancient History comes into this. I'm sure Croatia, particularly Dubrovnik, might appeal to many people due to the filming locations of Game of Thrones. Personally I'm not a fan of the series and have only seen two episodes BUT part of my appeal does stem from a fandom - Percy Jackson, or, more specifically, Heroes of Olympus by the myth master himself, Rick Riordan. Diocletian's Palace in Split features in this spin off series and also happens to have been built by one of my favourite Roman Emperors to study.

Japan

• Skiing!
• Last summer I got a chance to visit Tallinn in Estonia and it was one of the strangest experiences of my life. I now like to think of it as the city of many faces because on an hour drive out of the city I went from a medieval town to the "Plattenbau" styled buildings associated with 20th century Russian influence and East Germany, followed by a fairytale like forest and, eventually, a strip of fishing beach with beautiful woven huts and stone beaches. From what I've heard (and seen online) of Japan, the countries are similar in this respect.
• Food - over the past few years I've developed an intense appreciation for ramen and other items of Japanese cuisine which of course contributes to my appeal. This being said, I still don't eat seafood so unfortunately I won't be able to appreciate the authenticity of Japanese street market.

Brazil

• Brazil is also in South America so of course gets me one step closer to my 'completion' of the continent.
• This beautiful country has so much diversity, from the festivals of Rio, to the cascading sheets of Iguazu falls. I just can't wait to experience the biggest country in SA.

Iceland

• The contrast between the towering glaciers and volcanic, black sand beaches is absolutely stunning in photos and must be a magical scene to witness in person.
• There are so many adventure activities available so you can see this fantastic island from every perspective.

Turkey

• Obviously, Turkey is currently the only official country to have its capital city recognised by two continents (Asia and Europe). Although borders are essentially political, the concept of stepping into what we think of as a different culture where it is actually the same city is such a paradoxical thought.
• AGAIN, I have to mention Ancient History. Turkey, particularly the Ionian coast, has experienced invasion and annexing from practically all of the Empires and expansional regions in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Area. The layers of Greek, Roman, Macedonian, Arabic, Persian, and so many more cultures just makes for a mismatch of historical influence that I can't wait to explore.

Turkmenistan

• First off, the 'five stans' are so underrated in terms of 'worthy visitation' and most people, even experience travellers, tend to avoid them due to needs for invitation letters and occasionally pre-organised tours. I believe that the 'five stans' truly represent a side to Asia as a continent that destroys the stigma of 'backpacker worthy' South East Asia and portrays a truly raw image of architecture, trade and landscape.
• In the middle of the dessert, scientists found a pit of gas seemingly doing nothing. They set it alight in 1971 thinking that it would burn itself out but 48 years later its been labelled as the Gate to Hell or the Darvaza gas crater and has become a popular tourist attraction.

Philippines

• From what I've heard, watched and read, the Philippines are some of the least touched areas of South East Asia by tourists. Although it is by no means an 'underrated destination', its magical potential for budgeters and expensive hotel types is immeasurable.
• I've always been a fan of water sports, particularly kayaking, so the vlogs showing trips by boat or raft weaving through the rocky mini islands are so attractive to me as an adventure traveller. I just believe that the Philippines could provide me with some of those 'once in a lifetime' wonders.

Some honourable mentions that were near misses of my top list are:

• Mexico
• Faroe Islands
• Thailand
• Romania
• Taiwan
• Norway

If anyone would like to know any details about these then please feel free to comment and I'll respond as soon as I can. :-)

That's enough procrastinating for me now!

This is Jemma, signing off x

PREVIOUS BLOG: 1/4/18
NEXT BLOG: 19/6/18

Hey all,

So I didn't post as promised however my A Levels are literally in media res right now so I'm using that as an excuse. I'm here to update everyone on how I will be coming out with a series on this blog all about interrail which will explain how I planned, top tips, etc. It will also include a day-by-day account of what we get up to on our trip as well as some advice surrounding the Scandanavian cruise I'm also due to go on.

In other exciting news, I'm gonna get my YouTube up and running - finally!!! This will hopefully have some videos on each place we visit (I won't have enough camera space to do a day-by-day blog) in addition to some more indepth top tips videos such as 'What's in my rucksack?'.

I hope you guys will be as excited as I am to branch out onto this new platform in order to give a more dynamic outlook to my current material. Rest assured that I won't abandon blogging because I love reading other travel blog posts so now how helpful they can be... also I really enjoy the act of writing over filming at the moment (mainly due to the fact I've barely held a camera in my life so vlogging should be.... an interesting experience).

I will update this blog after my exams are over (Tuesday, 19th of June) and hopefully will have my first YouTube video up before I go away on 4 days after.

See ya soon!!!!
Jem ~ signing off ~

Travel Favourites - Beginning of 2018

PREVIOUS BLOG: 27/3/18
NEXT BLOG: 4/6/18

Hi guys!!

Look at me actually blogging when I said I would!!

So I've done a travel favourites post once before (check it out here) and I have to say that it's one of my best entries to this blog! I thought I'd start off the year (... in march) with a few things I've been loving to do with travel.

Social Media
So, when it comes to Social Media, there are a few travellers that I have been loving from across the blogging, vlogging and instagramming scenes!
I think I'll have to start with my most recent obsession which is The Bucket List Family! This is a family of 5 (Calihan Gee being the most recent addition - January this year!) who have been travelling the world, practically non-stop, since August 2015 (coincidentally when I posted my last Travel Favourites). They've been to roughly 50 countries and have been a huge inspiration to me in the past few months, not only as digital nomad but also as parents (obviously I have a few years left before I take on that adventure but its amazing to see how the Gee's handle raising kids on the road)! They've opened my eyes up to a broader world of travel that I'm even more eager to explore and I can't recommend their videos enough. After a short break since their son Cali was born, The Bucket List Family are actually posting their 101st weekly vlog today so make sure you check that out!

Another social media travelling account I've been loving is @jetlagmonthly on instagram. This couple have been visiting a country per month since June 2017 and gramming their favourite snaps from all over. There adventures so far have included:
o JUNE - FRANCE
 - Paris
 - Stassburg
 - Brittany
 - Corsica
 - Lyon
 - Tahiti
 - Lille
 - Hossegor
 - Etretat
 - Martinique
 - Guadeloupe
o JULY - ITALY
 - Rome
 - Sardinia
 - Milan
 - Venice
 - Positano
 - Florence
 - Pisa
 - Sicily
 - Cinque Terre
 - Amalfi
o AUGUST - GREECE
 - Athens
 - Kefalonia
 - Chalkidiki
 - Zakinthos
 - Mykonos
 - Ios
 - Santorini
o SEPTEMBER - SPAIN
 - Barcelona
 - Majorca
 - Alicante
 - Valencia
 - Ibiza
 - Madrid
 - Canary Islands
o OCTOBER - THAILAND
 - Ko Samui
 - Rayavadee
 - Phi Phi
 - Chiang Mai
 - Phuket
 - Krabi
 - Khao Sok National Park
 - Koh Tao
 - Ubon Ratchathani
 - Phang Nga
o NOVEMBER - SCOTLAND
 - Edinburgh
 - Isle of Skye
 - Loch Maree
 - Glenfinnan
 - Kilchurn, Craigievar, Invernay & Eilean Donan castles
 - Glasgow
 - Aberdeen
 - Perthshire
o DECEMBER - NORWAY
 - Lofoten
 - Lovatnet
 - Henningsvaer
 - Senja
 - Tromso
 - Sandnes
 - Bithorn
o JANUARY - RUSSIA
 - Moscow
 - Saint Petersburg
 - Pyatigorsk
 - Siberia
 - Yalta
 - Kamchatka Penninsula
o FEBRUARY - SWEDEN
 - Stockholm
 - Halmstad
 - Jukkasjaervi
 - Vaermlands Laen
o MARCH - CANADA
 - Quebec
 - Toronto
 - Banff National Park
 - Montreal
This form of travel interests me so much as they get to explore entire countries rather than just places and their feed showcases not only their own photography but a lot of work from underrated photographers native to the places they've visited!

My final favourite from this category is the luxury travel blog of Chris and Danika who have been digital nomads since March 2014. Although their travel style (luxury hotels & cities) isn't exactly my idea of 'perfect' travel, their blog has been extremely helpful for me when planning my month's interrail around Europe. Not only do they post about packing tips but they also create travel guides from all the places they've visited which I've found extremely interesting to click through!

Accessories
I've since discovered that this item is pretty pricey but it seems a really cool idea. The 'Ultimate Travel Cup' (by hypebargains.com) contains a comb & a mirror as well as a cup to hold your toothbrush / toothpaste, a compartment for a hand towel or other products and two liquid dispensers for shampoo or moisturiser or conditioner etc. I've currently just ordered this product and will leave a review once I've received it that I will link here!

Travel Sites
Basically I've made this category so I can rave about interrail. It's a fantastic idea for backpackers to save money with mass travel and I've been studying this website for almost 3 years whilst planning my month around Europe. Soon, I will be writing a post about my experience with the interrail site and how I planned my trip so look out for that!

This is only the beginning of 2018 so I'm sure I'll make some more travel favourites throughout the coming year but here's just a quick insight into what I've been loving recently.

See you within the next two weeks for another post (I'm on a roll here!!)
Jemma x

My Plans - 2018

PREVIOUS BLOG: 27/3/18
NEXT BLOG: 1/4/18

Heyyyyyy

Long time no see.

HA just playing - two blog posts in one night? new year, new me do I hear you say?
Ok yes I am aware its April this week and yes I am aware that I may have hibernated for like 2 1/2 years but the point is that I'm back and I'm ready to... attack? Yes.. attack the blogging scene once again!

This year, as I mentioned in my last post, is a big one for me on the travelling side. I've already been on a week trip with my boyfriend (HI ALI!!!) in February half-term (more info on that coming soon) and have got a hell of a lot planned for the rest of the year, mainly a month interrailing, a Scandanavian cruise and some christmas markets!

Over the Christmas holidays, I visited Cologne for a few days to experience the markets and they were amazing!!! I'm planning a post soon summing up that trip but I have to say that the best part was that my German improved a ton - even if my navigating skills went downhill a bit (stay tuned to hear more on this in the next month or so!!). My german classmates and me loved that trip so much that we're planning to make it an annual tradition and follow on from it this year with Vienna! On top of that, my mum got jealous of my Cologne experience so me, her and some family friends - one being Emma who loved Cologne when she visited and wants to see it at Christamas time - are planning on revisiting this year... whoever claimed that the Uni winter break was for meeting deadlines and revising for end of semester exams?

My other two big travel plans for this year are a little more on the epic side. I'll most likely go into more detail in later posts but for now, here's a summary of each trip with a basic city/country-based itinerary:

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE READ MY BLOG: all of the countries and places I've included below are going to count towards my 'country-game' count (with the exception of Hungary). I know with a cruise its not technically sticking to the rules as I only have an overnight stay in Stockholm and St Petersberg but my mum, the God and overriding ruler of the game - has allowed me to make some exceptions considering this cruise is to celebrate my 18th Birthday!

Scandanavian Cruise
 - Bruges, Belgium
 - Copenhagen, Denmark
 - Stockholm, Sweden
 - Tallinn, Estonia
 - St. Petersburg, Russia
 - Berlin (Warnermunde), Germany

Interrail - 1 month
 - Paris, France
 - Barcelona, Spain
 - Nice, France
 - Bordighera, Italy
 - Rome, Italy
 - San Biase, Italy (Abruzzo - my house!!)
 - Venice, Italy
 - Vienna, Austria
 - Budapest, Hungary
 - Prague, Czech Republic
 - Frankfurt, Germany
 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

All VERY exciting!!! (Geez I sound like my mother...)
In all seriousness though, it feels great to be blogging again and I am very much looking forward to immortalising the amazing memories I make this year on this platform.

Stay tuned for updates on plans, tips and other travelly things (I'm so professional)
Jem x ~signing off~

Where have I been? Procrastinating. (Warning: Waffling Updates / False (most likely) Admin Promises)

PREVIOUS BLOG: 3/9/15 (almost 3 years? disgraceful Jemma...)
NEXT BLOG: 27/3/18

Yo Yo Yo...

So hey... I totally haven't been away for like... ever.... pfft.... nooooo.

A N Y W A Y - for anyone who actually reads this blog (I doubt any of you actually are still here after this long a gap) you will know that I tend to make promises of posts and not deliver. In my defense my laptop blocked Blogger... and it blocks my internet a lot of the time because it poses a 'threat'. At the moment my laptop's supposed security is a 'threat' to my A Level revision as well as, it seems, my blogging.

With my lame excuses out of the way, I am planning on getting this page up and running again. In the summer I'm travelling for just over 1 1/2 months and in that time I will be visiting over 15 countries - what a way to celebrate acing, failing or simply passing my A Level huh? (or a way of destressing before actually getting to the dreaded 'results day'). I will try my hardest to post at least one entry on this blog for every country but I'm ambitiously hoping for more. A lot of this will depend on whether I can find a good internet connection - my hopes are that I can use my long train journies for this. I've also considered filming at least some of my travels so if I make that decision, I will link the appropriate channel on this blog!

There are several things I feel like I need to update this blog on in terms of my travel plans. I've become obsessed with some more travel bloggers, been on a few cool excursions and discovered more facts about countries and territories around the world (see what did I tell you? procrastination.)

I will post a less boring post than this tonight, just to get the ball rolling again,and I hope that I can provide a good enough reason for you guys to stick around a little longer.

(Sorry for my terrible blogging skills... my 2 1/2 year absence seems to have left me a little rusty)

Update you soon! (TONIGHT!!! BECAUSE I AM ORGANISED!!!)
Jem x

August Travel favourites 2015

PREVIOUS BLOG: 24/8/15

NEXT BLOG: 27/3/18

So on my "nerd" blog, for want of a better name, I decided to combine a haul with a favourites post about a recent YouTube convention I went to called Summer in the City. Whilst I was writing it, my mind expanded and I started thinking about how I could commandeer that post idea and adapt it for this blog. Eventually I worked it out so below there be my top 5 travel favourites of August 2015! Enjoy.

1) Country
      This holiday I went to Italy for 2 1/2 weeks, visiting both the Amalfi and Abruzzan coasts! I go to Italy annually because my family owns a house on the East coast but this year we spent the first 5 days of our trip in Sorrento, exploring the local tourist attractions such as Pompeii and the aisle of Capri (these will be talked about more in my Travel Italy series - coming soon). This was a great new experience that allowed us to further explore a country that we as a family love.

2) Reading material
      I have three for this particular subject: the first being a book that all of us read on our kindles whilst abroad called 'The girl on the train'. I've only recently got into murder mystery/thriller types of books but seeing as I guessed the murderer in the first few chapters (#almostnotquitespoiler) I think that my brain enjoys the challenge not just in the literary sense but also logically.
      The second is a bit different because it is a magazine! Now I've never really been a constant magazine reader who gets every issue and reads thoroughly from cover to cover but that changed on the plane journey. Before we'd left I'd persuaded my dad to buy me an edition of the Lonely planet traveller which I'd spied in Tescos. He'd complained at first, insisting that it would be a waste of money because I'd never read it but eventually he caved. Part of me thought that my Dad might be right and I wouldn't ever get the time to read it so to prove him wrong I decided to use it as calming material during take off (having not yet found my holiday book) and that's the moment I got hooked! All the stories are so interesting and the photography absolutely inspiring. When I got back from holiday I purchased the next copy and it was just as good as the first. Now all I have to do is work on getting my parents to pay for a monthly subscription so I don't have to trek to Tesco every time.
      The third is another book, yet this is of the horror genre by world-famous author Stephen King. Under the dome is good simply because of the scale of characters contrasted with the short time span the actual story takes up. King completely enveloped me into his story, engrossing me with the characters and their well-being. In over 800 pages he manages to tell a tale of 5 traumatic days where the population of a small American town decreases drastically from more than 2000 to as little as 25. I usually don't read horror however this particular literary masterpiece has changed my view on the genre and hopefully I will explore more of King's work (blogging whilst I go on Obsessions, Review and OTPs - link below) in the near future.

3) Place to relax
      Pretentious moment coming up - I love to read my kindle in a deckchair on the roof terrace of my Italian country house… That sounds so much better than it is I promise you! I mean I do love it and it is so cool that we have the house but it isn't a glamourous villa or anything amazingly fancy. In fact it's kind of a tip but it's liveable in and who cares about the state of the accommodation when you're only an half an hour drive from the picturesque Adriatic coast (which I actually prefer over Amalfi surprisingly). Most of my down time during this particular holiday involved reading/sunbathing of some kind whether it be on the roof terrace or at the beach although the best moment was waking up early and watching the sun rise over the distant ocean - a view only possible from that high vantage point!

4) Purchase
      Slightly unorthodox for me personally as a holiday buy, my favourite purchase is in fact an article of clothing. Usually I hate shopping! I can't deal with keeping up with fashions and to be honest, if my friends are going to judge me because I'd rather wear jogging bottoms and flip flops round the house than a unsuitably short mini skirt and 12 inch stiletto heels then screw them and their so called friendship because to put it shortly… I simply can't be bothered. Anyway, the actual item in question is a beautiful black and white striped, strapless jumpsuit with baggy pockets and cling ankle legs. I think it would look so cool at a house party and I think its a year round wear due to it being strapless yet long legged and sleeved. Hopefully I will wear it soon and put up a picture on one of my blogs.

5) Photo opportunity
      Here are my five top photos I took on this trip and a little explanation for each one:

Taken whilst looking over a roof balcony situated
in the grounds of the Sorrento museum!

Taken in the ruins of Pompeii. It was an impulse shot that I took to contrast the pink of the blossoms with the ancient styled masonry.

Taken whilst walking to dinner  from our hotel just
outside Sorrento centre. I absolutely love taking
pictures of Sunsets and the shadowy effects they correct.

Taken whilst looking over the coastal road from
Sorrento's main plaza. There were stairs going down
the cliff face that led onto this road.

Taken whilst waiting for our train back to Sorrento from Pompeii. This train was going in the opposite direction towards Napoli (Naples) and I thought that the shot would perfectly capture the abstract nature of Italian street culture.

Thank you all for bearing with me and all my half posts teasing proper reading material; hopefully this monster of an entry makes up for at least a small part of that. Similar entry was posted to reasonswhyiamanerd.blogspot.co.uk if you'd like to check that out.

If you would like to see more of my Italian photography look out for the beginning of my Travel Italy series coming in October/November time and make sure to like my page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/jemmagoldtravels/ or just search Journey with Jemma. Also head over to instagram or twitter to get more updates on new blog posts and other exciting things!!!

See you soon, Jem xx

Travel Italy series - beginning soon...

PREVIOUS BLOG: 11/3/15

NEXT BLOG: 3/9/15

This is just a short announcement letting you guys know that soon I will be publishing the first post of a series I'm calling 'Travel Italy'. I love Italy so much and have been almost every year since I was 5. I have been to many a different region/city/coast and believe that I have obtained some useful information regarding tourism vs native appreciation, some of the best beaches in Chieti, Abruzzo and recommendations for finding the best restaurants! In this series I also hope to inspire others with the joy Italy has given me and encourage those interested to not only focus on how many places you've visited but how well one knows each one.

My absence as always has been long and I thank all those who have stood by. Please check out what I would describe as my "nerd" blog which should hopefully be seeing weekly posts from now into the future. All my travel vibes through the remainder of the summer. Jemma x.

PS. If any of you would like to check me out on social media please read below:

Instagram - @torri_leigh.jgt

Twitter - @jemmagoldtravel

"Nerd" blog - reasonswhyiamanerd.blogspot.com

(I am planning to start a Facebook page and possibly a YouTube channel in the near future)

Apologies for February blogging failure

PREVIOUS BLOG: 7/2/15

NEXT BLOG: 24/8/15

Ok so this is a quick announcement to apologise for the complete and utter failure which was the february blogging challenge. I also apologise for my absence from my other blog; reasonswhyiamanerd.blogspot.co.uk !!!

Basically Blogger has decided to not work on my laptop so I have been having issues with uploading, editing and well... pretty much everything really (in case you're wondering this is being posted from my mum's laptop). Chances are you will still get all the posts that were promised but they will have to be uploaded randomly until I can sort the issue out with my computer. I will have to transfer images for the DAY 8 post I was next due to post before the website crashed onto this drive so I would expect the next post within two weeks (I also have three science and a french exam coming up). I can post weekly on my other (nerd) blog however so go check it out if you're interested!

OK so thanks for bearing with me on this situation,

Jemma x

Birthday Celebrations - DAY 7

PREVIOUS BLOG: 6/2/15

NEXT BLOG: 8/2/15

Thought I'd do a little bit about my birthday and the celebrations I've had:

Last Saturday I had a sleepover with a few of my friends where we watched a film called "the delivery man" and we had fish and chips for dinner.

The next morning everyone except from my friend Emma went home early because she was coming with me to get a hamster which was one of my presents. We got a male, satin, short-haired Syrian and named him Sirius after Sirius black (check out reasonswhyiamanerd.blogspot.co.uk for more information on him). My family then came round for a buffet meal and I had ice slice for my cake which is a welsh family recipe.

My actual birthday was on Wednesday. We went out for dinner in the evening and I got a lot of cool stuff from my school friends and family including a Kacey Musgraves CD, Abduction and a university of Mordor hoodie!

The final one was today when I went to the cinema to see Big hero 6 with my cousin because he couldn't make last Sunday. I cried so much but freaked out when Fall out Boy's "Immortals" played and also when I heard Danisnotonfire's and Amazingphil's roles. It was a great night and I recommend the film to any age group.

I rushed this post again... So no pictures, apologies, however tomorrow after my paintballing I vow to write a few up in advance so I'm not writing any more at 11:30 at night. See you tomorrow readers, ta ta x

Reasons behind... Turkey #8 - DAY 6

PREVIOUS BLOG: 5/2/15
NEXT BLOG: 7/2/15

Welcome to Day 6 and #8 of my reasons for countdown! Today I'll be talking to you about why I have an interest in Turkey. First of all it's the only country in the world which has a city in two continents. I've never been to Asia so I think going to Istanbul would be a good first experience of that continent.

Turkey is also home to 2 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world; the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. As a hopeful classics student, the ancient wonders fascinate me and I would love to visit a country that contains two of them. One of the sites is also a temple for the Greek maiden goddess of the hunt/moon Artemis, who is important to my culture through my religion beliefs of ancient Greco-Roman mythology.

Finally, my close friends have visited Turkey yearly for almost a decade now and they say it is one of their favourite countries to visit along with France and America. This makes me curious to experience the sites, tourism and culture of this country and was probably my earliest influence to wanting to visit it.


Thanks all for reading. Those who were disappointed with yesterday's tiny/terrible post I apologise and hope this made for better reading material. Next post tomorrow and will be about Birthday celebrations of my 15th Birthday, see you then x

Reasons behind... Thailand #9 - DAY 5

PREVIOUS BLOG: 4/2/15
NEXT BLOG: 6/2/15

When I first thought of the idea to explain my reasons behind my top 10 bucket list countries, Thailand was one of those I knew I would struggle with. It's not that I can't think of reasons more so that they're to vague for me to scribe.

One of my main influences is ThatcherJoe, a youtuber who travelled there a few years ago and was actually my inspiration to start this blog. He went on a toured trip that took him round all the major sites in Thailand and he also experienced the night culture. This is what I inspire to do when I go out there.


Sorry this one was short but had to write it really quickly this morning. See you tomorrow for another post!

Travelling through the years, part 1 - DAY 4 (My Birthday)

November 2005

PREVIOUS BLOG: 3/2/15
NEXT BLOG: 5/2/15

Without a doubt the most magical holiday of my childhood was going to search for Santa in Lapland, Finland. It was a fantastic opportunity and is one of my fondest memories!

We went for around 5 days where I made a friend called Charlie (sadly we lost contact), met all the elves (Tricky Dicky, Noisy Nod, Speedy Sam and my favourite Snowy Bowy) along with Mr and Mrs Claus and generally having the time of my life sledging, skiing, making an ice darlek, going on a skiido and having reindeer and husky sledge rides.

Snowy Bowy

Speedy Sam

My top memory of the trip (apart from meeting Santa obviously) was when Noisy Nod put a snowball down my mum's back. It was hilarious and we have it on video somewhere so the moment can last forever!

When we finally got to meet Santa he read my letter where I'd said I wanted a Cinderella dress and some rollerskates. He gave me my present and low and behold I was transformed into a miniature Disney princess pictures of which, if I say so myself, are adorable!!




IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Anyway guys that is part 1 of my three part 'travelling through the years' series. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you tomorrow for Day 5 of my February blogging challenge.

Charlie!

Reasons behind... Japan #10 - DAY 3

PREVIOUS BLOG: 2/2/15
NEXT BLOG: 4/2/15


The main reason Japan is on my list is that it is home to some of the most beautiful and unique architecture in the world. It is also famous for its supreme modernism and magical botanical gardens which are meant to be stunning.

I am not so interested in the history of the country as such as the events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki sadden me to the extent that I couldn't bring myself to visit the sights myself, yet I do see the appeal others might feel. I also have no wish to visit any fish markets as I hate sea food although I know that is what Tokyo is probably most famous for.

Another major reason is that it's the home of anime and manga which has become my life in the last month, ever since my friend got me addicted to SAO (check out the article on my nerd blog http://reasonswhyiamanerd.blogspot.co.uk/). The big towns are supposed to be full of billboards showing all kinds of anime related stuff and I just think visiting where the obsession originated from would be magical!

So that's a quick run down on the reasoning behind #10 of my country bucket list countdown and I'll see you guys tomorrow with another day of my blogging challenge xx

My 2014 Summer Holidays, part 1 - DAY 2

Date of event: 17- 31 July 2014

PREVIOUS BLOG:1/2/15
NEXT BLOG: 3/2/15

People mentioned in this post:
Alex
Charley
Emily
Emily (tt)
Finley
Jamie

The first two weeks of my summer holidays were filled with my Italian friend, Emily. She came to stay for two weeks to improve her English and to hang out with me. We'd organised the trip a year previously and despite only have meeting a few times Emily and I got on really well and grew really close over the course of her visit. In fact I still miss her now and it's been half a year!

Emily came on a school day which is unfortunate for her as she had to tag along to my lessons. She didn't seem to mind however and enjoyed meeting my friends and practicing her English. The first weekend she stayed; she watched me perform the musical 13 with Theatretrain, joined me in celebrating my Auntie's 60th and most importantly was introduced to the infamous app 'Flappy Bird' which of course she ended up

hating with a passion.

The following Wednesday, the last day of term, we went into town with my friends Alex, Charley and Finley where we watched How to Train your Dragon 2 in the cinema. It was a great film and I have to admit I cried. After that we wondered around town where we bumped into Emily (tt) and Jamie from Theatretrain. Alex, Finley and Charley left so we hung round with them until finally we decided we should head home.

The next day was really warm for England so we decided we were going to go swimming in the river. It turns out most of my year had had the same idea so we hung out with them for the most part of the day; jumping off of the bank and swimming over to the island in the middle of the river. It was awesome although Emily admitted it was a bit different from the Mediterranean temperature wise!





The second and final weekend we went down to Exmouth to stay with my Auntie and Uncle in their new apartment and had a great time going out on my Uncle's boat, walking around Exmouth town and trying to push each other into the cold sea when walking down by the seafront. All in all it was a fantastic way to end Emily's visit but it didn't change the fact that we stayed up until the early hours of the morning the last few days before she went home to make the most of our time together.




Anyway, the time came when she had to leave and yes I did cry but I know I'll see her again this summer and we can make more amazing memories together!!!




This was part 1 of 3 of my 2014 Summer holidays blog series and day 2 of the daily blogging challenge. Stay tuned throughout February for the rest of this series plus much more.... See you tomorrow x

February blogging challenge - DAY 1

PREVIOUS BLOG: 16/1/15
NEXT BLOG: 2/2/15

Hey guys and welcome to the blogging challenge that will kill my social life. Now as you guys know, I started this blog way back in May 2014, wrote 8 posts then disappeared for half a year. Now I'm back for 2015 and I'm going to make it up to you by blogging daily throughout February (picked simply because it's the shortest month).

The issue with this challenge is that my Birthday happens to be in February, in 3 days in fact so that's going to make it quite difficult for me to write every day. So instead of limiting myself to February for writing I drafted some posts in January so I could keep up with my life, school work and this. That was also when I came up with the idea for this challenge.

Some of the posts you might expect are 8 days worth of German exchange, my day out in oxford, some more plans surrounding my bucket list, a brief recap of my summer holiday in Scotland and lots more!!!


I hope you'll enjoy my apology as it were for being a bad blogger. Please comment if you have a request for a blog. See you tomorrow for day 2 of the February blogging challenge. Ta Ta for now x

My Bucket List

PREVIOUS BLOG: 11/1/15

NEXT BLOG: 1/2/15

 

Here you go, a surprise post to make up for the 6 month absence.

 

I was looking through the files on my computer the other day and found this bucket list that I made half way through 2014. I know you're probably thinking I'm too young to be writing a bucket list but I disagree. There is no reason why you shouldn't make a list of what you want to achieve and experience in your life, no matter how young you are. Anyway I narrowed down the list and here are some I thought I could experience and blog about on this site.

(Some of them have dates that I will be aiming to achieve them)

 

• Visit 5 continents

• Go to

- New Zealand

- Canada (2016)

- Russia (2015?)

- Dubai (2017/2018)

- Croatia

- Brazil

- Australia

- Turkey

- Thailand

- Japan

• Visit tolkien's house (2015)
• Visit tolkien's grave (2015)
• Visit hobbiton
• Go on the Lotr set tour
• See the seven wonders of the ancient world
• Visit the Parthenon in Athens
• Go to the island in Llangorse lake
• Go to a festival in Rio di janero
• Touch the equator
• Go on a cruise

 

 

 

My aim is to complete all of these by 2025, 10 years time so I will be reposting an updated list every year in January as a sort of New Years ritual. Hope you guys are as excitied for this as I am. All my New Year positives, byeeeeee x

Oh and here's a festive doggy to mark the occasion!!!

Oh I almost forgot, I've got an extra special surprise for February so get excited for that and I'll see you then!

The Country Game

PREVIOUS BLOG: 26/6/14

NEXT BLOG: 16/1/15
 

 First I want to apologise greatly for the fact that I haven't posted since last July. I remember saying that I would post about my holiday to Scotland and Germany which I didn't do so I might write some short blog posts in the near future explaining what happened on those trips. In the meanwhile here are some teaser photos and a bit about myself.

I have travelled quite a lot in my life, even though I'm only 14. In my family we have a game to see who can go to the most countries and although technically I have been to 19 the rules of the game say that you must of spent at least one night there so Belgium, Luxembourg, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican City don't really count! Here is a list of the 19 countries:

Antigua and Barbuda

Austria

Belgium

Cyprus

Egypt

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Italy

Luxembourg

Portugal

San Marino

Scotland

Spain

Switzerland

United States

Vatican City State (Holy See)

Wales

 

In future blog posts I may write a bit more on my experiences in these countries. Something to look forward too! The next blog update you should look out for is my Oxford Birthday day trip which will be posted sometime towards the end of February. Be aware that I may post before then to make up for the my last few months of blogging silence. See you soon!

Scotland (Day 2)

Date of event: Sunday 15th June 2014

PREVIOUS BLOG: 25/6/14
NEXT BLOG: 11/1/15

People mentioned in this post:
Aaron
Andy (Sharon's husband)
Dad
Emma
Jemma
Katherine (Lauren's mum)
Lauren
Mum
Zoe

Surprisingly I managed to wake up on my own which is strange for me as I'm generally not a morning person. However I did sleep in the car on the way and on the way back from the village where the event was taking place so I wasn't entirely invincible. When we got there we met up with Katherine and Lauren and the rest of their group before the former along with mum got on the bus to prepare for the event.

Lauren's mum was passing the baton to mine which was cool so my dad and I tagged along with their group to a local coffee shop where we practically camped out for the next two hours. I was glad Lauren was there because Emma and Zoe weren't coming up until later so it was nice to talk to someone my age whilst we waited for 10am. Despite having only met her twice before, after spending

time with her that day

I felt like I'd known her a

lot longer.

When finally the runners were dropped of at there places we'd decided that I would run up with Lauren alongside Katherine and then she would run with me alongside my mum. Katherine walked so although it was uphill it was just a jog to keep in front and take pictures but when my mum was running we had to keep sprinting ahead in order to take some decent shots which by the end was quite tiring. Sharon, Andy and the kids were there as well so they ran with us and it all got live streamed which was quite funny.

After we'd finished and gone back to the cafe for a drink we said goodbye to Katherine, Lauren and the rest of their group before heading back to the house. When we got back we played catch (which may sound lane but was pretty funny) before Zoe and I decided to walk into town. Kirkintilloch is hardly a town really but it has a few shops which I remembered being really nice the last time I'd been so we went. Emma was already there buying food for her silver DofE practice expedition so we stalked her and her friends for a bit for a laugh before going shopping. I bought sweets and a cute white crop top which I'd been wanting for ages.

We then then walked back via the park. We stayed there for ages, doing acrobatics, taking photos and messing around before we realised that we needed to head back before a VERY late lunch. After we'd eaten and attempted to play a game outside (there was an argument between rounders and football) it was time to pack and head off to the airport. The flight home was uneventful although I tried to update my blog posts and failed so ended up just reading the whole time.



That's the end of my Scotland blog guys, hope you enjoyed. I'm writing these posts quite a while after the trip so some details may have been left out but I'm sure it'll be accurate enough.

Scotland (Day 1)

Date of event: Saturday 14th June 2014

PREVIOUS BLOG: 21/6/14
NEXT BLOG: 26/6/14

People mentioned in this post:
Aaron
Andy (Sharon's husband)
Dad
Emma
Jemma
Mum
Zoe

First of all let me explain to you why I am going to Scotland for only two days. My mum helps out with a lot of charity events at her work and last year was voted as an ambassador for the Reading women of achievement. In result of this her name was put in a draw for potential baton bearers in the Queen's baton relay for the Commonwealth Games. As it so happens her name along with 9 others were drawn out. So that brings us round to this weekend in which the event was taking place in a small town near Edinburgh.

Dad and I met mum at the airport ready to catch our evening flight. It was delayed though so we bought some chocolate to eat whilst we waited. During the journey I procrastinated terribly, meaning to finish my 1D concert blog post and yet distracting myself constantly (that's what to blame for my late updates). When we got there we hoped in a hire car which my mum wasn't entirely sure how to drive (reassuring) and headed off to my mum's best friend from sixth form, Sharon's house where we were staying the night.

When we got there everything flew by in a blur as I caught up with Aaron and the girls; Emma and Zoe who I hadn't seen in forever and ate pizza and before I knew it I was crashed in there room after going to bed at about 1:30am. We had to get up at 6 on Sunday! It was going to be a long day.



Again super sorry it's late but I'm just going to have to upload when I'm in Germany which wasn't my initial plan but is going to be the only way I'll be able to keep on top of it all. I'll see you all soon hopefully, goodnight.

1D concert, Day in the Life (2)

Date of event: Sunday 8th June 2014

PREVIOUS BLOG: 13/6/14
NEXT BLOG: 25/6/14

People mentioned in this post:
Diane (Mum)
Emma (Emz)
Jemma

We picked Emz up around two and drove to Sainsbury's where we were going to catch a coach to Wembley. Our coach set off early and although we all got split up it was an enjoyable journey, I mostly read and listened to music. On arrival we were told the position of the coach before we set off in search of food.

The last time we'd all been to Wembley was when we watched the Dancing on Ice tour in the arena. When we came for that we had found a homemade burger restaurant at the back of the shopping centre which was near the venue. We decided to go there for tea and as we had expected it had a marginally smaller queue than the other restaurants.

After food we headed into the stadium to take our seats and wait for the support act (5SOS) to come on. When they did the screaming was deafening, I knew they were popular but it was almost as loud as the scream for one direction when they followed onto the stage just over an hour later.

The concert finished at about 10:30 but we didn't get home until 2 in the morning. I was really tired but had had fun.



I really enjoyed the concert and I know this is a weak post but I thought it would be nice to blog about evenings out as well as travels! Let me know if you agree. Also I'm so very sorry it's late I've been distracted with personal issues but I'll try and get back on track with my updating for you.