Bristol Open Day

If we ignore my Year 10 visit to Exeter's Campus and my 'for the yolo' tour around Bournemouth Uni (no offence to anyone who goes there, it's just not got the best reputation for my courses..or many others...), Bristol Uni was my first so-called 'proper' open day I've ever been to.
I stayed over at Kasetty's* house the night before and had an early rise the next morning to drive all the way to Bristol in time for my 10 o'clock talk. My first impression was that it was a lovely city. As we drove through, I noticed the wonderful architecture, the diversity of the people, and most of all, the Banksy work. I think that if I were to apply to Bristol Uni, the city would be a big reason which would sway my decision. I did really like the talk given for Modern Foreign Languages (what I hope to read at university), but after the talk was over, I got the chance to really explore and look around.
Being a city uni, I had to trek quite a bit to get from one department to another. I'm sure that after a few weeks being there, I would get used to this, but it was quite tiring for a first-timer such as me. After looking around the Student Union (which has undergone refurbishments), Kasetty and I had a little tour of the city. There was a huge range of shops and little cafeterias (including a vegan bar which pleased K no end) - I would have really enjoyed spending a weekend looking around. I remember going to the Old Vic to see Jane Eyre with my friend Grace* a couple of years ago and I really liked the layout of the theatre, so if that's what you're into I would recommend seeing a performance there one day. 

Above is a picture from one of the quirky vintage shops Kasetty and I visited. I'm really disappointed that I can't recall the name of it, but it was along the main street heading towards Waitrose (wow, good one Mél). Anyway, this little boutique was by far the best shop that we visited. The downstairs part of it was a caféteria whilst the upstairs consisted of a mix of a bookshop, vintage clothes shop, and all round need-to-have goodies. The whole place gave off a young feel and I could have spent hours roaming around and spending more money than I own...

Another place we visited was the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. I dragged my friend in here because a) I love art b) I love finding meanings to bland pictures and c) it was free. I'm fun to spend time with, I promise... My favourite floor was the second floor with all the art pieces where I finally got to see Noah's Ark by Jan Griffier the Elder which was a wonderful experience for me and I greatly enjoyed it.

If you're also considering Bristol Uni as one of your options, please don't hesitate to comment in the section below - I'd love to know what you thought of it!





* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

My First (proper) Time At Aruba

For those who thought that this would be a holiday post about the island off the Caribbean sea - sorry, I deceived y'all. Aruba is a restaurant/beach club overlooking Bournemouth beach and pier. I believe it's open to all ages up until around 8-9pm when it turns into an over 18 club, but up until then, it's a nice place to chill and drink over-priced drinks whilst looking out to sea.
The reason I said that this was my first so-called 'proper' time here was because I had previously gone there once before with my Spanish Class but we were all so intimidated by the over-crowded bar that we didn't order anything. We had walked up the stairs, sat on the sofas for 10 mins in a confused and flustered manner, then sneaked out in pairs to not look too suspicious and in case anyone realised that we had not ordered anything... I'm ashamed to say that this was less than 3 months ago.
Thankfully, this time was a little less awkward. It was my close friend Mae's* 18th birthday and we had booked a table in the far corner overlooking the sea (which I thought was kind of pointless as it was already dark when we had arrived and the doors let in an unwanted draft..but this was besides the point).

Above is a picture of my Aruba Caeser Salad with anchovies & Parmesan cheese, Crisp Cos lettuce with seasoned croutons (£8.95). I also got a cheeky bit of shredded chicken on top for an extra two quid, but I was quite disappointed in this as you can see it was just dumped on top of my salad very ungracefully. I would have preferred it to look a little nicer, and my friends' salads (Summer Salad, £9.95) weren't that aesthetically pleasing either. And, yes, we are those annoying white girls that go out to restaurants to eat and order salads. 


We stayed on a bit after we finished our meal and gossiped over Mae's birthday cake (first photo). Whilst at our table, this balloon artist came over and after some of my friends rudely questioned how much he would charge us for his unwanted service and sexual innuendos, he produced a lady bug headband for Mae! I asked him about himself and he said that Aruba paid him (and not us - phew), and that he used to just make balloon shapes as his 'party trick' but his friends encouraged him to start charging people as his skills developed and he became more proficient. At first, he dismissed their comments as he never really believed that anyone would pay for them, but then when he started to charge a small fee, his name got passed around and how he goes to different bars and clubs around Bournemouth. I really like finding out how people got into the jobs that they are in, and Balloon-Guy is just one example of someone who managed to turn his passion into a business!





*All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened 

Jet Pack Blues

It hasn't even been a week but I'm already nostalgic about France. I miss the country air, the scenery, and my best friend. She's off to uni this year and as I'm probably not returning to that area of France again, we may not ever meet again like goddamn vegans (Tyler please, this isn't the time).

I thought it would be nice to share with you some of the beautiful views I saw during my summer in France. They range from local lakes to the views across the valley - enjoy!

Our little village from the mountain top

View across the valley from a chambre d'hote

The lake of Puivert

Puivert Castle

Views from blackberry picking

Les Trois Piques

Another blackberry picking view

View from our veranda

Forest 

Le Toucan

When driving back to England, I had the opportunity to stop off and have a little walk around the town of Saint-Lo. I really like how friendly the people are in the North of France, and everything seems very clean. By searching on TripAdvisor, the Toucan had received very good reviews and my parents and I ventured there to try it out. It's a crèperie and therefore their dishes are based around pancakes, however they appeared to use a different batter for their main meals (a thick, savoury batter) to their deserts (a lighter, more delicate batter). Just the look of these photos make me want to go back!