A Trip to Norwich

I was born and bred in Norwich, so yesterday it seemed truly odd going into the city I pop into most days for tedious tasks, this time with a big fat camera around my neck. However, since the boyfriend was still down I wanted to show him my fair city in all its glory, which meant turning into a bit of a tourist myself!

When we first got there I wasn't entirely sure where to begin. I don't know if this is just me, but when it comes to showing non-hometown friends around where I live I always go blank and forget anywhere and everywhere that might appeal to an outsider. When I'm on my own I tend to dash round the shops in the city centre as quickly as possible and head off home! However, I was surprised how pretty the city centre is when you stop for a minute. The castle is right by the shops, and looks pretty spectacular on the hilltop. The royal arcade (in the pictures below) is also crammed full of amazing shops, mostly independent and deliciously quirky. A top pick of mine is "Macarons & More" - I'm not even a huge fan of macarons, and I have a lot of time for that shop.

We then walked along my favourite part of the city, which is Elm Hill. It's very quintessentially British, with cobbled roads and mismatched buildings. It's definitely the sort of place where you have no idea what little shops could be lurking there. It's still city centre, but a bit off the beaten track so usually pretty quiet :)

Perfect for a Saturday stroll in the afternoon sun. 

The last place I insist that people HAVE to see is the Cathedral. The Cathedral itself is obviously mightily impressive, but for me it's the grounds that make it so special. Norwich does pretty well for its greenery - there's lovely gardens at Chapelfield and the Castle, to name just a couple of big'uns. But there's something very peaceful about the Cathedral close, especially if you walk all the way down & sit by the river. I have lots of fantastic memories of picnics & sunbathing sessions there with friends over the years, and I decided to add to my memory bank this time by forcing the boy to take selfies with me ;)

(Yes, I must confess that afternoon we became those people, but don't worry there weren't any kissing ones!)

Naturally, all that posing made us pretty thirsty so there was only one place to go - The Belgian Monk.

The Belgian Monk is definitely my favourite pub in Norwich, its brilliance means it is usually packed but since it was quite early we were able to get a table rather than awkwardly holding our drinks in the corner (I am not one of those people that looks cool leaning against bars). 

The beer selection in there is AMAZING. I'm not a huge fan of regular beer but their fruit beer selection seriously cannot be rivalled. I opted for my poison of choice aka cherry beer. Which is almost better than attending a party with Beyonce. Almost.

I would have loved to stay in Norwich sightseeing longer but after all that I was completely pooped. I'm hoping another friend will come to stay soon so I can take them around and find places that I've missed!

Have you been to Norwich, or any of the places I've mentioned? I'd love to hear where you like to go most!

:)

Once upon a time in Cambridge

Since I have a visitor in the form of my gentleman friend down in the magical land of East Anglia, I decided I should show him all the delights that the south of England has to offer! I have a LOT of time for Cambridge, so I thought I would take him there. It's about an hour long drive from where I live (or an hour and a half if you're like me and get hopelessly lost.. twice) so Cambridge is the perfect place to go for a day trip treat!

The weather wasn't exactly on our side, but luckily Cambridge is so pretty that having a wander round the town would be fun even if it was pouring :) although you do have to watch your step very carefully to avoid being mown down by a bicycle!

The town itself isn't what I'd call huge, but it does have a select bunch of really nice shops :) we had a potter round the John Lewis, where I fell in love with a rangemaster oven... sadly I don't have £2000, or (perhaps more importantly!) my own house yet, so for the time being at least I had to say my farewells. Cambridge also has a really cool marketplace which I love having a nose around. I am a big fan of the contrast of the super chic and the retro that there is in the town!

Since I had the new camera round my neck like a true tourist, I felt it just wouldn't be right if I didn't put it to use and reinforce the stereotype ;). Fortunately you don't have to look far for good photo opportunities, as several of the colleges are bang in the centre and they are invariably BEAUTIFUL. I only wish my brain had been jazzy enough to allow me to study at one. :(

Then it was time for the obligatory wander down to the river. We umm-ed and ahh-ed about punting, but since the sky was looking a bit threatening we decided to keep to the land. However, that is not to say that the weather put us off getting ice cream ;).

And that concluded our visit to Cambridge for the day! :(

I will definitely go back again as soon as I can, I do love it so. <3

If anyone has any recommendations of good places to visit when I'm next there (especially food places as I must say we were lazy and opted for a quick Subway!) then I'd absolutely love to hear them :)

General week chit-chat

This post isn't a particularly exciting or even particularly well thought out one, but I just wanted to share what I've been up to over the past few days which has stopped me posting :)

Saturday & Sunday 

I worked ALL DAY BOTH DAYS. I work in a residential home for young people with special needs and challenging behaviours which I absolutely love love love, but after two full-on days I was quite ready for a hot chocolate and bed.

Monday

Even though it was my day off I got up early & went into Norwich, the city nearest to where I live (I'm a country bumpkin through and through) with my mother bear. The main reason I wanted to go into Norwich was to make a cheeky purchase of a new camera (!). I decided I didn't want anything too fancy, because quite frankly I would NOT know how to use it, and they can be a lot of money to spend on something whose buttons and knobs would bamboozle a camera newbie. After talking to the sales assistant in John Lewis, who was so lovely and helpful, I decided that a bridge camera was probably the most suitable option for me at the moment, and opted for the Samsung WB1100F. I haven't really had a proper chance to play with my new toy so my opinions are on hold so far! But I particularly liked the fact it had a Wi-Fi connection so I could put pictures on my laptop easily, so get ready for some very picture-heavy blog posts. ;)

After making my very exciting purchase, we went for lunch. We have a bit of a tradition, and always go to the same place - a burger joint called Captain America's. If anyone is ever in Norwich I'd definitely recommend paying it a visit, if you like all things 60's and USA then it's almost certainly for you! We also had a mooch round some of the charity shops. There is a huge British Heart Foundation store that was full of furniture, and I fell a bit in love with a gorgeous dresser. Sadly I drive a Nissan Micra, not a van, so we said our goodbyes. 

Since we were in the city and had both read the book, my mum and I decided then to go and see The Fault in Our Stars. It was so, SO good, and definitely lived up to the book! We both cried our eyes out, as did everyone in the cinema. After the film ended we went to the toilets to get some tissues, and saw at least 10 other people from that screening doing the same haha.

Tuesday

I had work again on Tuesday, so a fair bit of my day was taken up with paperwork and other such delights. However, in the evening I went back into the city and met up with my gorgeous friend Sara. After pondering long and hard about where to go for dinner (our friendship is partly based on how much we hate decisions!) we decided to go to T.G.I's round the corner. We both had ribs and a bottomless coke, and it was DELICIOUS. Even more lovely was when we finished off the evening with Earl Grey tea and catch ups back in Sara's flat. Dinner and chats is definitely my idea of a perfect evening.

Wednesday 

Yesterday I woke up early and made a start at Sorting My Bedroom. Since my boyfriend was coming down from Leeds to stay that evening, I felt I couldn't leave it in the state it was currently in (I honestly can't express the horrorful state. Even I must admit it was VILE). So armed with bin bags and boxes, I enlisted the help of my dad and got cracking. There's definitely still heaps and heaps to do and sort, but at least now I don't have to perform an elegant deer-like leap to get across to my desk. 

After a morning of "sorting", I was thoroughly ready for a break, so I went on over to my friend Anna's house. Since she goes to Uni away as well I only get to see her in holidays :( she is definitely one of the most lovely and funny friends I have, so it was great to see her and catch up with her :) especially when it's over a mini-milk.

After I left my boyfriend told me his train would be late, I popped over to my friend Josh's house to see him. Our tradition when we see each other goes as follows: I pick Josh up from his house, we go to Tesco's, buy some salted microwave popcorn, Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream, and chocolate fudge brownie Frijj milkshake. We then take our feast back to his house, and put on a horror film. The only change to our tradition last night was that Josh had already been to Tesco and had the goods already ;) what a good boy *pat on head for Josh*. After scrutinising IMDB for horrors (most of which at least one of us had seen - the good ones anyway!) we decided to go for A Serbian Film, which neither of us had seen. I had to leave to pick up my fella from the station before it ended, but it was HORRIBLE. I'm tempted to google the ending, but quite frankly I don't think I even want to know where that film was leading. Is it possible to un-see things?!

Thursday

Aaaaand that brings us to today, folks! Ben is currently fast asleep still so I left him to his fly-catching and snuck back to my laptop to write this. I'm not sure what we're doing this weekend yet (today I have the second half of root canal treatment so I think fun might have to be postponed until tomorrow, boo hiss). Whatever we end up doing though, I'll be sure to christen my new camera ;)

Camp America & travelling the USA

So this blog post is about 10 months too late, but since I didn't have a blog back then.. this post will have all the benefits of hindsight ;).

Last summer on the 21st of June I packed my bags and headed off to the sunny US of A for 3 months. I had applied to do Camp America and was lucky enough to have been quickly offered a place at a camp for children with Special Needs in New Jersey, about an hour on the bus from the bright lights of New York City! 

First off, for anyone thinking about doing Camp America my advice would definitely be DO IT! I will be honest and say it isn't all fun and games - by the end of the 10 weeks I was practically collapsing with tiredness, the close-knit environment is sadly prone to being a bit gossipy and bitchy, and I basically didn't feel clean for 2 months. But the pro's so, so outweigh the cons. You get to spend every day in the sun, make some amazing memories with some amazing kids, and gain a bunch of best friends you get to hang out with every day (I even met my boyfriend there and it'll be our first anniversary on Sunday, n'aww). 

Me & my friend on a Camp trip :)

A few of my best friends from Camp at our staff party (I'm the one 2nd from right)

After Camp finished, a group of us decided to go travelling round the States for a couple of weeks! I say that like we were really cool and just pitched up in different cities on a whim - we actually planned it with military precision about a month before, but shhhhhhh ;)

Boston

First off we hopped aboard a bus from NYC to Massachusetts for a few days. I LOVED me some Boston, it was so beautiful and really reminded me of being in England, especially with names like Cambridge! We went to Harvard which was amazing, it was early September when we were there so all the Freshman were being welcomed, I was so jealous. Literally everyone seemed to be arriving in glossy black 4x4s with tinted windows. We also checked out all the touristy stuff like a huuuuge aquarium, and of course Fenway Park where the Red Sox play. I know ZIP about baseball, but I absolutely loved the tour anyway so I'd definitely recommend it to anyone! We also went on a mad rampage for a Cheesecake Factory and got a taxi to the outskirts of Boston to satisfy our love for the red velvet ;). In fact, the only downside of the Boston experience was when we rang up 3 Dunkin' Donuts to see if they had any birthday cake donuts left, and NONE of them did... shame on you Boston (I STILL haven't had one!)

Obligatory selfie ;) (I'm the one in the middle)

New York

When we left Boston (sob) we headed back to New York and spent a few days in the Big Apple :) because Manhattan is seriously draining on the purse we stayed out in Brooklyn. It was about half an hour on the subway into the city, but we shared an iPod and had Lana Del Rey on repeat so that was fine ;). The area we stayed wasn't the most glam, but our hostel was awesome and we met some lovely people there. Aside from being big Sex and the City ladies and shopping on 5th Avenue ;) we made sure we did the touristy things too! Ground zero was really moving, and the ferry to Staten Island was cracking. But my favourite experiences were quite ordinary, getting slices of pizza in Times Square. I'd wanted to go to NYC ever since I first saw Friends, and it definitely didn't disappoint!

                                     

Coney Island, this place is SERIOUSLY cool, any city that has a beach gets a thumbs up from me - especally one with a wonder wheel ;)

                                       

                                       

Phantom of the Opera on Broadway!!! It was INCREDIBLE

 

Brooklyn Bridge is beautiful :)

Houston, Texas

After New York we met up with some more friends at the airport and headed on down to Texas! It was so so hot, my fair English skin didn't know what to think. We stayed in a really cute little area, and it was definitely our favourite hostel experience. We did LOADS in just a few days: the main priority was naturally NASA (the geek in me thought this was the main priority anyway) which was unbelievable and I'm so glad I've seen it. We went to a zoo and took selfies with meercats, went to a baseball game (not the Yankees admittedly, but there WAS an onscreen proposal so that was unbeatable) and went to the famous Sundance cinema. Everyone was so friendly in Texas, and it was actually my favourite place we went by far. My only criticism would be that we ended up having to spend a small fortune in taxis, as Houston isn't really built for the pedestrian visitor and public transport wasn't fantastic - but luckily our hostel was so cheap that it didn't matter quite so much.

NASA

New Orleans

Our last stop was New Orleans! I was only able to stay a couple of nights and only really got one full day here, as sadly I had to jet home to start Uni :( but we definitely made the most of our day! In the morning we headed out to see some alligators. My favourite was called Brokejaw Betty because she likes to get into lots of scrapes, I figured she had some character ;) the bus we got out to the swamps was good because the driver almost acted as a tour guide, pointing out the site where there was a voodoo graveyard. Apparently if you go there you can curse people, naughty naughty. He also recommended the best places for bread and butter pudding in town, if only I liked the stuff :(.

In the evening we headed out to Bourbon street where all the jazz music was. The bars were all amazing, and the music was so good! I didn't even think I LIKED jazz until I went there. If only I could have stayed for longer!

SO, that concludes my brief reminisce of my travels last year :).

I would recommend going round the States to ANYONE, it was so much fun and I had the best 2 weeks I think I have ever had. I think if I'm ever lucky enough to go back I'd love to go round the west coast, and see San Francisco and LA, and of course the grand canyon :).

Has anyone else been travelling round the USA to the same places, or got any tips for travelling the West Coast? I'd love to hear them!

Moving out & my new bedroom!

This last weekend may have only been a few days but to me it felt about a week. It was one of those weekends where everything seemed to go wrong! 

I went up to Manchester on Friday to pack up my room in my old student house in the suburbs of Manchester, ready to move to a brand spanking new flat in the city centre ;) The plan was reasonably straightforward: spend the weekend packing up, then on Monday I would go and collect the keys from the agent at 11am, then get back to my house ready to meet my "man with a van" I'd sought out who was helping me move at 1pm. How naive and optimistic I was!

As I was on the loooong train up to Manchester from Norfolk on the Friday my housemate-to-be phoned me in a panic, saying the estate agents weren't allowing her to sign the contracts, and therefore I would be unable to pick up my key on Monday (she would be at work on Monday, and I couldn't pick up my keys until she had signed the contract...). After a stressful 12 hours, thank goodness it got sorted and she was allowed to sign the following morning, so I carried on the laborious process of packing up my room ready for my removal van at 1pm on Monday. Why on earth I feel the need to have 3 sets of fairy lights and an ornamental sewing machine in a Uni room is quite beyond me, but there we go!

So all packed up, on the morning of Monday I went into town for my 11 o'clock appointment to collect my keys. But when I got there I was told that they had my appointment written down for 1pm, so the agents were still doing the inventory at my new flat so I couldn't collect my key! Despite me meekly protesting that I needed to go home to meet my man with a van (I am the sort that would tell a waitress my food was delicious even if it was still not defrosted - aka, rubbish complainer) I agreed to hang around for an hour by which time I was assured thee inventory should be done and the key ready. However, after going back to the agent after an hour AND A HALF, I got told that there was a delay so someone would meet me at the flat at 2pm. So I pelted it back to my old house where the removal van was waiting for me. Luckily the guy helping me was LOVELY, we got packed up super speedy and we were on our way from the suburbs to the big city! We got to the flat in good time and parked up outside, however as time went on and it got more and more past 2 I started getting anxious and decided to call the agents. A very snotty woman told me she had no idea where I would have got the idea that someone would meet me at the apartment, and that "that would never happen". Feeling waves of panic I insisted they were, so she went to check and when she came back to the phone she told me the guy with the key HAD been there but had now left and would be back in 10 minutes. When he finally got there he gave me my key but said he didn't know any of the codes (there are 3 codes you have to get through before you even get to my front door, that is some boss security). So I then had to run and grab a poor unassuming boy then entering the building.

5 trips in the lift later (moving into a flat is NO JOKE) all my belongings were lugged up to my new home on the second floor. I gave myself no time to relax though, as I was desperate to get my new bedroom looking like home!

Sorry the images are rubbish quality, I just took some very quick snaps on my phone as I was rushing out :)

But I'm pretty proud of how I managed to use the space, it was a much smaller bedroom than the one I had in my house before so I to be quite creative with how I stored everything!

Let me know your thoughts & ideas :) I'd LOVE any suggestions!

A makeover for the boudoir

I'm definitely one of those people who really struggles with cleaning out their room. I don't just mean because I'm lazy and messy - I definitely am, both of those things, but it's not JUST because of those unfortunate characteristics that I regrettably embody. It's mostly because I am a gigantic hoarder, and I really struggle with throwing things away. I'm hugely sentimental about inanimate objects, and even clothes - I have T-shirts that I haven't worn since I was 6 (which my now-21 year old body would DEFINITELY reject if I try to put them on) but I refuse to throw out because my Grandad bought them for me when we went to Belgium. I realise it's silly, but I fear that T-shirt with the teddy bears on probably will never leave my possession.

Now, that is all well and good, but now I'm home from Uni I have found myself trapped in a 15-year-old me's bedroom because I've never thrown anything out, and slowly a pile of old junk and new is filling up my floor to a state where even I struggle with being in my room. In order to avoid any further injuries - I've already tripped over my still-unpacked suitcase from uni and given my shin a thwack on the door - it's time to do something.

As well as having a big old clear up and restocking the local Oxfam, I thought it'd be the perfect time to give my room a bit of a makeover. Each year at Uni I have absolutely loved moving into a new room each year, and getting creative with my space. I've been looking up some room design ideas on Google images, and decided I really love these styles:

They're a bit different - the first two are more shabby chic, and the bottom one is more based around the wood. I love elements of both though, and am going to have to get my thinking cap on around how I can bring in my favourite parts of both styles! My current furniture in my bedroom is heavily pine based, so at the moment I'm thinking I'll keep with my furniture (partly due to having a look on the John Lewis website and nearly fainting at the cost of a new wardrobe) but maybe try and accessorise with vintage and shabby chic ornaments and wall art :) it's going to be a looooooong process, but I'll upload photos when I've done! Phew.

Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas! 

The Fault in Our Stars - book review

I’m quite late on the bandwagon, and I must confess I’d only heard about “The Fault in Our Stars” through Twitter. Sorry, English Literature A-Level. But I saw the book for £4 in Asda, and knowing that I had a long train journey the next day (coming home from Uni means a trip from Manchester to Norwich – done it more times than I can count, and I swear it gets longer every time!) I bought it.

I flicked open the front cover on a bench outside the supermarket as I was waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up, and even from the first couple of pages I was absolutely, utterly, completely hooked. The story follows Hazel, a 16 year old girl who has cancer that will inevitably be terminal, but whose life is being prolonged by a treatment called Phalaxifor (a drug that I deeply regret to say is fictional). At the wish of her mother, she attends a support group for young people with cancer, where she meets Isaac and his friend, Augustus. She and Augustus fast form a bond that continues throughout the book, as their lives and relationships progress.

Everything I’d seen about ‘The Fault in Our Stars joked about the necessity of having 5 boxes of Kleenex in arms reach at all times whilst reading it. I was definitely no exception to this rule – I did in fact have to put it to the side whilst on the train because my face began turning unattractively red and blotchy, and I’m afraid my British nature doesn’t allow for any form of public emotion. It IS an incredibly emotional book; however the sadness of the story isn’t what stood out to me, not really. Unlike many other books I’ve read of the same ‘theme’, I felt very much as if I was reading the story of young people who happened to have cancer, rather than a story of cancer patients. By this I mean, the characters were fascinating ones, and the story would have been just as compelling without that tragic element. Hazel is bright, passionate and intelligent, and very much lives her life as a normal teenager. Refreshingly, not a teenager that seems to be “rebelling” – just one who enjoys going to the mall, watching marathons of America’s Next Top Model, and above all, reading. When Isaac loses his sight completely due to his eye cancer (sorry, spoiler alert!) he appears much more upset about being dumped by his girlfriend. And Augustus is probably one of the most charming, generous and charismatic young men I’ve ever had the pleasure to read about.

This isn’t to imply that John Green sugar coats the story – without giving ANYTHING away, he doesn’t, and things that I wished hadn’t happened, happened. He remains startlingly frank and realistic until the end of the book, and I think that’s what I love most about it. The development of relationships was extremely touching, most notably for me between Hazel and her parents, and of course with Augustus. The book isn’t written to be mushy, or overly sentimental – just very real, and I think it’s that realism that draws you into the story and leaves you feeling truly happy to be alive. 

9.5/10 and a pat on the head for you, Mr Green. I can't wait to see if the movie lives up to the book!