Bonjour Paris x

Ah Paris... you always create interesting memories don't you?

 I have visited this city three times now but this was my first time without my parents, so you could say my experience was just a little bit different. Don't worry though, I wasn't on my own. My friend Sarah met up with me in London and after a few days of walking around London we caught the Eurostar across the channel so we could spend a few days walking around Paris. I had rented an apartment in the 10th Arrondissement so we could save money on food and it was quite a fun way to imagine what it would be like to live in Paris. Our apartment was a short walk away from the metro, which we quickly mastered and we were then only about ten stops from central Paris. This was Sarah's first trip to Paris so we went to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame and everywhere in between and along the Seine. I always find that Paris is an odd city. It's a truly beautiful city and is known for romance, however it feels a bit sold out. You can't go 50 meters without someone trying to sell you miniature eiffel towers or selfie sticks and it's not uncommon for you to catch a whiff of urine. It often feels like someone is always trying to trick you into giving you their money. That being said the architecture of Paris is beautiful, the history is interesting and the art is wonderful. Oh and the Laduree macarons are divine! And they bring you one step closer to living out your Blair Waldorf fantasy. Paris is just one of those places that if she's able to, every girl should visit at least once in their lifetime. 

I feel truly grateful that I've been able to visit this iconic city more than once and hopefully I'll be able to visit again xx 

Scotland Part Two | Highlands

Okay so where I last left off the bro and I were in Edinburgh. Well from there we hired a car and drove up to the highlands and towards Fort William. The highlands quickly became my favourite part of Scotland and I'm sorry England but Scotland is much prettier than you. We spent three days driving around the loch's and mountains, exploring waterfalls and taking lots of pictures. We went to Ben Nevis, Glen Etive, Eilean Donan Castle and everywhere in between. Even though the weather was near perfect whilst we were in the highlands the mountain freshness was invigorating after being in big cities. 

We also saw some film locations from James Bond and Harry Potter. This was really exciting because I didn't know any specific places where Harry Potter was filmed, except the Jacobite Train, and we just kinda found them by accident. The 007 locations on the other hand were scouted out by Mikey and some serious James Bond posing was done. 

On the last day we did one of the Ben Nevis walks to a waterfall. It was super cool as it was in a valley up in the mountain with a pretty meadow. To get closer to the waterfall we had to walk across a tight rope that went over a river, which was so much fun and I felt like a total pro at it compared to some of the other tourists haha. After the highlands we headed to Glasgow, our last Scotland stop, but I didn't really take any pics there as whilst it's cool it isn't really photogenic. But maybe that's just my opinion haha xx 

Scotland Part One | Edinburgh

After Reading festival Mike and I hung out in London for a few days before heading up North to Edinburgh. This was both of our first time to Scotland and I couldn't help but fall in love with Edinburgh's dramatic architecture, the history and it's influence on literature such as Harry Potter. I kept feeling like I was at Hogwarts as I walked through the city. Mike and I even checked out a few of the places that directly influenced to book series such as the graveyard where J.K Rowling got the names for characters such as Tom Riddle, James Potter and McGonagall. 

We also checked out the Edinburgh Castle, Monument Hill and we climbed Arthurs Seat. Needless to say we did a lot of walking and which I believe is the best way to see a city. I find it's the only way I am really able to get a proper feel for it. I had a great time in Edinburgh and it helped that we were lucky enough to have near perfect weather. Something we were told rarely happens in Scotland. 

Reading Festival

 MmmmKay. So I haven't really posted in a while. I've been to busy going to music festivals, chilling in London and cruising around Scotland, but not like on an actual cruise if ya know what I mean. Anyway so at the end of August I left my pub job in Oxford so I could go travelling with my brother Michael. The first stop was Reading Festival. We both love the Libertines and couldn't resist the opportunity to see them live. To make it even better I also got to see the Mini Mansions rocking out in their fantastic suits, unfortunately their set got cut a little short but they were great to watch. We also saw Kendrick Lamar and Jamie T on the main stage and two relatively unknown bands called Spring King and Gengahr who were both pretty cool.

But my fave had to be the Lib's. It was amazing to see such an infamous band and to hear songs like 'I get along' and 'Don't look back into the sun' live. Michael and I have watched so many of their performances on youtube so it was insane to finally see Pete and Carl live whilst standing in the middle of a flare dotted crowd. 

The songs I heard at Reading are now filled with memories and they are just so much more precious to me and I think this is why it is so great to go and hear music live. 

Who have you seen live? xx