Thursday 2 November 2017

We're all muddling through

I live a life that 90% of the time is the same routine.

Eat. Sleep. Work. Repeat.

And sure I have my hobbies, I perform poetry, I write, I fit in the odd event here and there if I am not already too exhausted by the time I have spent at work. I long to get out of this place. I long to travel.

For a while now I have had the feeling of "I need to get out" every now and then I will find myself stuck in the same routine I have been living in for the past year and think "I need to get out". I am not yet sure what it is I am trying to escape from, I don't know if leaving this city will help, I know I have always felt so much better and healthier when I am travelling. I think it reminds you that the world is so big and in comparison the problems that I have are actually rather small.

The thing is I could travel, we all could, if we weren't so scared. I am 'settled'. I have a job and get reminded daily by my friends at university how hard it is to find a job these days and how 'lucky' I am. Deep down I know I am lucky to be in the positon I am in at the age I'm at. I have plenty of days of leave I could take which I could spend exploring a new country or visiting a new city but I know for that I have to be brave enough to go alone.

I hope to document all the places I go and all the experiences I have on this blog and hope that my journey, whatever that may be will inspire you to live your best life.

J x

Monday 4 September 2017

Road trip to Edinburgh!

Hi Guys!

I have just finished an amazing but very busy week travelling from Lincolnshire, England to Edinburgh. We started by stopping for two nights in Newcastle which is a beautiful city with a very vibrant nightlife, before we made our way down to Edinburgh for three nights. Stopping for a coastal walk at Berwick-on-Tweed along the way.




We spent our first night in Newcastle relaxing after a long journey. However, we did manage to see quite a bit as we explored the local area. We visited a couple of art galleries and went down to take a some photos of Millennium Bridge. There was also a market on which we had fun browsing all the crafty goods! 


On our second day in Newcastle we took an open top hop on, hop off bus. This allowed to explore more of the city where we visited the museum and some of the local parks. We then went for cocktails at The Botanist which features a lovely rooftop bar before heading for a meal for the evening. 



After two nights in Newcastle we began to head for Edinburgh. Pictured above is the view from a lovely coastal walk we went on at Berwick on Tweed, somewhere we actually happened to find by accident! We then went for a hot chocolate at the local cafĂ© before continuing with our trip up to Edinburgh. 


Because did you even go to Scotland if you didn't take a border photo




I could fill this post with pictures of Edinburgh all day long but I will limit myself. Edinburgh is a beautiful Scottish city, everyone I met was so helpful and friendly, helping us with directions and telling us what bus to catch. Even the waiters and waitresses wanted to know our story! We headed to the castle on the first day which could quite easily be the best castle I have visited. Not only is it filled with history, with various buildings to explore but it also provides some lovely views across the city. It's definitely very easy to spend a whole day there! 

We also went to the stunning Botanic Gardens during our visit which is filled with an array of flowers and wildlife, we saw a numerous amount of squirrels and birds and they have some gorgeous glasshouses that you can explore for a small fee. My favourite part was the Chinese Garden which was such a unique area and really made the gardens stand out. There's definitely something for everyone and it's easy to catch a bus to! 

One of the best things I noticed about Edinburgh was the transport! It is absolutely filled with buses that run everywhere and anywhere for what seems like 24/7. They are so efficient and we never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus. With a day ticket costing as little as £4, this definitely makes it to best way to get around the city - the drivers are also extremely helpful so if like us you don't know where you're going, they'll give you a shout when you need to get off for your stop! 


Both Newcastle and Edinburgh are cities that I cannot wait to return to! I had an amazing trip which I feel very lucky to of been able to experience.

J x




Sunday 13 August 2017

How to spend a weekend in Dublin!

I have just got back from a lovely weekend in Dublin with one of my best friends and whilst we had an absolute blast, we also learnt a lot about what to do when visiting the area, some things to possibly avoid and of course, the dreaded tourist traps, how we fell into them and how you don't have to!


First off, I feel as though it is important to say that Dublin is a beautiful city and one which we both agreed we would definitely go back to, we'd just do some things a little bit differently next time.

We got the bus from the airport and stayed in the Temple Bar area which I found out after arriving back is seen as one of the biggest tourist traps in Dublin. You're looking at paying six or seven euros for a pint, which is a little bit on the steep side. We even found ourselves paying 2 euros for a can of coke in some places. We was warned that Dublin was an expensive city but was gutted to learn that if we had ventured a little bit further out it could have been cheaper.


Although a statement of the typical tourist, I did feel that the open top bus tour which was hop on, hop off was one of the best things that we did during our visit. We both were classed as students so it was slightly cheaper for us but even without a student card (or being under 17) it is still great value for money, particularly if you haven't been to the area before. We found out about where everything was in Dublin, even managed to get some discounts on the booklet that came with the tour and had a very busy day exploring the various areas (I think the last bus for us was about 7pm so we managed to see a lot in the 24 hours the ticket was valid for) definitely a great experience for exploring the area and was also something that was recommended to us prior to visiting. We used the DoDublin bus tour but there are so many around the area to choose from.

Whilst there we also visited the natural history museum and the art gallery is positioned right next door which makes it very convenient to do both in one trip and we also visited the castle. We managed to pack a lot into our two day trip before heading for our flight back to England and I honestly can't wait to head back and hopefully explore more of Ireland at the same time too!




Jess x


Wednesday 12 July 2017

Negative thoughts won't find perfection

I feel as though the title of this post is an important message. We spend so long thinking "I wish I could do this", so many people have the desire to change their life but they just don't know how. I believe the key to a happy life is not only about the satisfaction of reaching your goals such as getting a new job or travelling to a new place but also about being happy and content with what you already have in existence.
I've been single for a little while now and at first I hated it. I'd just got out of a long term relationship and it felt pretty lonely having nobody there. However now I feel at one of the happiest points I have ever been. I've achieved so much in such a short space of time just by working on myself and being the best version of me I can be.
The sooner we realise how short life is, the sooner we can truly live. We waste time worrying about things that may never happen or things that don't matter when really we should be out there living and grasping every opportunity.
The only person that can change your life is you.

J x

Sunday 18 June 2017

Olly Murs at Market Rasen!

Hey Guys!

So this is a slightly delayed post as I did see Olly Murs in Market Rasen quite some time ago now! However I thought it would still be a good experience to document on the blog!

For Christmas I got my mum tickets for ladies day at Market Rasen where Olly Murs was going to be performing in the evening. We had all been excited for months!
We went down early to enjoy some of the racing but unfortunately for that period the weather wasn't on our side! We wasn't very lucky on the betting side of things either but we all kept our smiles on and had a good time



 
Olly put on an amazing performance in the evening, barely stopping for breath throughout the two hour show! I loved getting all dressed up and being able to experience the day with my lovely family! I can't wait to see who's going to be performing next year!
 
J x
 

Sunday 4 June 2017

My very first Cruise Ship experience!

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven't been around on here in a while, things have been very busy, chaotic and messy in my personal life but I'm trying to get things back on track now and this blog is the start of doing that.

On Thursday I got back from spending a week on one of the best holidays I've had, it was my first experience of being on a cruise ship and it was one that I won't be forgetting, it left me wanting to go back!

We flew into Malta where we boarded the beautiful Oceana ship, through P&O Cruises. I'd definitely recommend this company for a first time cruise, everyone is so friendly, the staff are incredibly helpful and work harder than any hotel I've ever been in and perhaps an important factor for some of you, the drinks are reasonably priced! We didn't see much of Malta itself but it looks to me like a beautiful place and somewhere I would love to return to and explore more of.

After that first day we sailed to Corsica where we got off the boat and went for a short train ride around the island, this was a lovely little trip to get us off the ship and we was able to explore at our leisure! We carried on through France for the next couple days, being able to explore Nice and Cannes where the Cannes Film Festival was taking place (we wasn't lucky enough to spot any celebs but the atmosphere was amazing).


 
We then moved on to Italy, exploring Florence and Pisa on the first day and then Rome on the second. The temperature rose significantly into the 30s when we got to Italy which made it incredibly hot, however it's no secret that Italy is renowned for it's ice cream, which we thoroughly enjoyed!
 




 
 
Overall we all really enjoyed this trip and have already started looking at another cruise for next year!!

Would I go again? In a heartbeat
 
 
J x
 

Monday 1 May 2017

The Tinder Generation

Tinder is something that everyone has an opinion on, good or bad. Personally, I've noticed a massive generation gap when it comes to talking about apps like these, the younger generation see it as a new and exciting way to meet people, it's convenient and easy whereas the older generation see it as a dangerous and 'desperate' way to meet people.
I've been using Tinder now for just a couple weeks after coming out of a long term relationship. I know many of my friends use Tinder and some have even found relationships on there (shocking, I know). No, I am not using it just for sex or casual hook-ups, neither am I using it to find 'the one'. If I'm honest, I like many of the people on Tinder do not have a clue why I am on it. More than anything I see it as helping with my self-esteem by talking to new people, however ironic that sounds.

I don't know how long I'll be on Tinder, I still haven't worked out if it's really for me but it's definitely a new experience and new adventures are what I'm all about.

J x

Friday 31 March 2017

Getting into History at York Castle Museum

History has never been a strong point of mine. I always got on well with my history teacher but ever since I stated that the Battle of Hastings was in 1166, he advised me not to take it at GCSE level.

Despite this, I have always had an interest in museums. I've been several times to the museums in Lincoln and will try and explore the museums when I am in a new place. Me and my mum were lucky enough to get invited along to York Castle Museum while we were in York and it is honestly worth a visit. I was really surprised at how interactive the museum was and how much time you can spend there!

 
 
 

 I really appreciated how detailed some of the displays were, the museum had carefully thought of every element from the era that they were trying to convey and they had been done to an exceptionally high standard.








 
 
 
At the time of our visit there was also an exhibition called 'Shaping the body', I found this a really powerful exhibition and seeing the way that our style and our lives had changed to keep up with the ever-changing trends was really interesting. There were also aspects where people were invited to talk about their own bodies and how they saw themselves, some people talked about how they felt confident with their body whilst others talked about some of the issues that they'd faced. As I dealt with a  curvature of the spine at a young age and faced a lot of body confidence issues because of this, this sent a really powerful message to me that we should never be ashamed and always be proud of our bodies.
 










 
 
 
Another aspect of the museum I enjoyed was when we went into the outside world and explored all the shops, although we was indoors, the cobbles and the tall ceiling made it feel as though we were outside and even in that time period.
 
 









 
 
 
 
I am personally a big fan of vintage signs and managed to see a lot of these throughout the museum and perhaps got a little bit addicted to taking photos!
 
 






 
We then headed through to the prison side of the museum which was a very interactive approach and stories of inmates were projected onto the walls of the cells which I thought added a very realistic element and made the exhibition feel very real.
 





 
It made me realise how different our prisons are today and how uncomfortable that bed must have been!
 
 
We then finally headed through to the eccentric 60s exhibition which was filled with vibrant colours and activity, it was one of my favourite exhibitions in the museum (It had a pink shop!) and was a great way to end a lovely day out.
 



 
 
 
 
Thank you again to York Castle Museum for a great day out! Starting tomorrow the museum has a brand new scrumptious exhibition called Chocolate: York's Sweet Past which you can read more about here.
 
To find out more about the museum, visit their website or follow them on social media using Facebook or Twitter.
 
 
J x