Saturday 23 March 2013

sweden


A very long time ago (a month and a week), I took a trip to Sweden to see Hugo. I forgot to blog about it.

We packed a lot into the week I was there. 

Half our days were spent cooking in the kitchen, watching copious amounts of Peep Show and being in each others' company. The other half we went and explored.

We took a boat out to the small islands off the coats of Gothenburg where its as if people live in a completely different world. One with cute, tiny little houses, spectacular views, so much snow it feels like you live in a black and white land, and strange half-moped-half-car machines which trundle along contentedly.

We hopped on a train and travelled across the whole of the country to Stockholm. It's surprising how different the atmosphere was in this city compared to Gothenburg. It seemed so much more alive somehow. We stayed in a boat hotel. In a boat! With a view through our porthole of Gamla Stan and the Town Hall. We somehow managed to cover the whole of Stockholm by foot (so it seemed). We ate reindeer steak, we drank in a Viking Bar, we trekked up through the snow to the highest point we could find to get a good picture out across the city. 

We sat and snuggled - cosy and warm on a huge sofa in a coffee shop. We drank cocktails in a Sky Bar overlooking the city at night. We took a few hours out from walking in the snowy Djurgården to discover the huge pirate-like ship in the Vasa museum. We travelled on the metro, hoping to find this amazing artwork on its walls, but mostly to no avail... We returned to Gothenburg very content and refreshed by this change of scenery.

1-4. Walking around Styrsö, the island off Gothenburg, wondering if we were the only people there...
5. Sunset in Stockholm
6. The old town. Gamla Stan.
7. The most beautiful and impressive building. The Nordic Museum in Djurgården.
8. Educational Vasa trip.

9. On the way back to our Boatel.

variations on a theme of night time


There is something calming about Parma. I don't know if it's the eerie quiet the City seems to emanate - only occasionally bursting into life and always when you least expect it - or the sense of being at home that I'm beginning to feel.

Either way, the silence seems to envelope you. 
Making your thoughts swirl around loudly in your head. 
Your heartbeat ever so slightly slowing 
as if to accompany the mysterious lone bird 
chirping away at three in the morning. 
No one at all is about. 

The houses stand so silently 
you wonder if anyone is in them at all. 
Though you are all alone, 
the darkness wraps you in its arms.

The pictures above were taken by drunk me, on the cycle home after a night out. The effect was created by holding my camera in one hand, pressing the shutter and cycling down the path, steering with the other. Drunk me was very proud.


day trips



I am a sucker for a day trip. There's something about waking up stupidly early and hopping on a (very cheap - thank you Italy) train to a new place. About getting off the train, finding a map and making a plan for the day. Wandering around an unfamiliar city, soaking up the sights and smells and looking out for any strange regional traditions - like eating squid ink pasta without making it look like you've been wearing black lipstick.... - there must be a way to do this! And then, when you feel like you've exhausted the city of your presence, hopping back on a train and revelling in a day well-spent.

As I've said before, it matters who you go with. It makes all the difference in the world in discovering the magic of a place. Of having it stick in your memory. I love exploring places with Hugo. A thing we're just discovering together. His determination to make the most of a place, his careful planning yet at the same time his eagerness to stray from the well-trodden touristic path. And our mutual love of food. When he came to visit recently, I made sure we had time to day trip.

The two places we went to see were both familiar to me - having lived in Florence for a month and Venice for a week (at the age of sixteen, singing in the local Venetian churches), but both completely new to him. I felt like this gave us the best of both worlds - my knowledge of  which direction to head in and his fresh intake on all things we saw.

I had such a lovely time, it made me sad he was leaving. But it seems every time we meet up, this bug for travel is growing. We always talk excitedly about where to go next.

Next week Prague.

Friday 22 March 2013

a sunny day


1. The first time the sun's shown his face in weeks, he makes himself known as I'm leaving the Conservatorio.
2. I really loved the artwork on this poster - it's a shame the music doesn't match up.
3/4. After her being cooped up with an illness for far too long, Ellie and I go exploring in the Citadella.
5/6. A refreshing drink on the bridge with a view of the mountains in the background as we reminisce about Summer Holidays spent in France, and the prospect of returning.
7. Years of old adverts on a noticeboard.
8. A gift from Ellie's mum (thanks Janine!), and the first reminder that Easter is only round the corner.
9. One very happy German kid with her milka.

Friday 8 March 2013

no more state of indifference

A word of advice:

Don't just sit there in apathy.

Since the day I arrived here in Italy, I've been trying to make it my mission to get out, to see things, to discover amazing new places.

And sometimes it's really difficult to drag yourself out of bed to do that.

But I want to get everything I possibly can out of this year abroad, even on top of a heavy schedule of some totally amazing lessons. I don't want people to ask me about it later in life like:

"OH so you lived in Italy for a year? That must have been pretty cool!"

and for my reply to be:

"Yeah... I guess. I just lazed about all the time and didn't really do much..."

Don't sit there in apathy.

September was spent bustling around the streets of Florence - my first truly independent experience. Sometimes to even further afield: Siena, Pisa, Fiesole... 

Then October I was back home. In England. For a fleeting few days. My Dad and I, in that time, did so much amazing stuff. Galleries, walks, delicious food, crazy pub gardens with pet chickens running about...




I always took England for granted - missed the home comforts but didn't really give much thought to the tiny little independent island which I call home and sometimes so desperately long for.

How rich our culture is! 

How lucky we are to get to see most of it for free!

How easy it is to make a day trip to somewhere and lose yourself in a strange city.

Don't sit there in apathy!!

Get out - explore!

Be proud of your Great Britain and enjoy all it has to offer.

Don't take for granted the sensational history, amazing architecture, and even the cosy little coffee houses.

Take England and make it yours.


Thursday 7 March 2013

what a difference a friend makes

When living so far away from family, friends and your other half, you come the conclusion that you are all on your own. So desperately willing to make yourself feel better but not always knowing how. Despite the new and exciting friends who with you do new and exciting things, there is just something so utterly lonely about a year abroad.

It's up to you to get yourself motivated for the rest of the day. Up to you to conquer the small problems other people may not even notice, be they with language skills, or even working out if you're in the right place at the right time.

It's up to you to cheer yourself up when you're sad. To push yourself to eat properly, remind yourself your fridge does not refill itself and nor does your bank account, and to remember that it's okay to be homesick. And also okay to not be.

As this huge realisation began to dawn on me on a particularly cold and dull day, I got a message from my friend Fiona asking for a spontaneous visit to the two girls from the same secondary who so luckily ended up living not only in the same town, but as neighbours.


This boost of energy that she brought with her left us staying up chatting into the small hours of the night, discussing past events, future wishes and present discoveries. All forms of music, art, theatre and dance.



When we weren't drinking tea, sipping on spumante, or trying out the local delicacies, we were bounding about the place, with or without a bicycle, always with a camera at hand, always chatting - with so much in our lives to catch up on.


Being with these two girls, my friends from home, made me take a whole new perspective on things. Made me feel more confident in myself to share our weaknesses - say them out loud - and know that even if there was no easy solution, there would always be support.

I truly felt myself for the first time in a while, and felt I could skip about and sing songs from Les Miserables at the top of our voices, and have the courage to go into shops I'd never dared enter before.

Parma was refreshed in my eyes by Fiona's visit; its huge long streets and mish mash of old and new somehow taking on a new beauty.


Now the question is whether I will manage to keep myself as uplifted as I was over the past few days. As Fiona left, I began to draw up a list in my head of all the small things I could achieve with relative ease, but that would still make me feel happy and proud.

I am determined to stick to it. This time.

As for the girl with the ice cream who spontaneously took a plane out to Italy, who claims her life is dull - it most certainly is not!





Sunday 3 March 2013

roman holiday

Just when the chill in the air and the constant bad weather was beginning to slowly suck out my soul, by a stroke of good luck my exam-less exam week coincided with Dawn and Toby's half term. So plans were made, flights were booked and out they flew to see me.

I was so thrilled to hear they were coming, knowing we were in for a really fun week. What with me and Dawn having spent some years away from home at University and me never really managing to stay in one place for longer than a week, it's felt like I haven't been able to get to know them in the recent years. In fact it was such a shock to see my brother so tall, and hear him speak of such grown-up things (sometimes)! Equally hearing my sister speak about her full-time job, her colleagues and her grown-up friends.

Where have the years gone?! 

But as we were reunited at the airport, not all that much had changed, and our conversations were still as stupid and hilarious as ever.



After an afternoon in a café in Parma doing not much in particular, followed by a questionable but delicious meal of Horse-meat Gnocchi (a sort of haphazard "let's put everything together and see what happens" kind of meal), we struggled out of bed the next day and took the five hour long train to Rome.

We spent three fantastic days and two early nights in this beautiful city being as touristy as we could possibly manage and taking photos of anything and everything, as well as fitting in plenty of time for some wonderful food - pasta, pizza and gelato artigianale.

Our first day was spent rushing round the vatican then enjoying the sun and sunshine so much we strolled towards the castle and had a peek around.







After a nice dinner, an embarrassingly early night (where we stumbled upon Harry Potter 7 in Italian on the TV) and a nice lie-in, we were up and out with the mission of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum right at the top of our to-do list.

First stop, breakfast:


An interesting moment was when Dawn asked for a fork and it came in a glass of water... and I was pretty sure I'd mastered most of the customs here!



The Colosseum absolutely blew us away and we whiled away several hours enjoying all the other amazing structures planted all around us. 



We headed to the Spanish steps just in time to see a marvellous sunset.



We gobbled up a gelato in Piazza Navona, one from one of my favourite places - Grom. Eco-friendly and totally delicious. We asked the very lovely man behind the counter to take an extremely touristy photo of us.


The next day, having decided that we'd seen everything we wanted to see apart from the Pantheon, we took a leisurely stroll into the city centre via a coffee shop for a delicious breakfast and headed to the last attraction on our list.


And thus we concluded our fling with Rome. We headed back to the station tired but happy, and ever so much looking forward to the five hour train journey back...

It was so wonderful seeing my family here in Italy - for both of them it was their first time. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a free week than with the people I love!

Here's us in the Colosseum and in the lift up to our hostel (which was so small we often had trouble closing the door...)



Come again soon!