Tuesday 19 February 2013

That City Barcelona

I want to travel. Have done since I was 12 years old. Its the goal I try to orientate all of my activities around to accommodate.

As I've grown up, however, my idea of traveling has been changed. Molded and shaped by my experiences. The time scale on which I want to travel has changed, why I want to travel has changed, how I plan on traveling has changed, where I want to travel has changed, and how much money I need to travel the way I want to has changed.

In the last year especially (since around May 2012) traveling has become more of a foreign thought- although still my goal in life currently. I left school, completing only 5 years of high school, and not achieving my level best grades because academic achievements, by that point, weren't what I wanted. Leaving school and getting a job came in rather close succession and I thought that was it. I was making money, and thus well on my way to traveling the world. Again I proved to myself I was still ignorant to the world.

Money, or at least the amount of money I am trying to attain takes a bloody long time to acquire. Especially in a minimum pay, part time job. But more than that was causing my enthusiasm for traveling to dull. My job is lonely, I have less contact with old friends, even less contact with school friends, I wasn't of age to go to places I would find easiest to meet friends close to home. Then winter came. Making hitching harder because there is less day light, traveling around Scotland is harder because if I get stuck I cant just weather the night as its far too cold. So I felt stuck. I felt like I should be closer to my goal and yet I was getting further away.

However, in January 2013 my parents, along with my grandparents and an aunt, decided to spend some of their money on a trip to the 2nd best restaurant in the world, which is in Barcelona. It turns out January is not the most desirable time to travel to Barcelona, so accommodation is cheap and flights cheaper. And so I got an invite. Not to the restaurant, but to Barcelona.

My photos aren't similar. They are edited differently (and badly- one day i'll invest in a proper editing system) because the city was so diverse I couldn't create a single visual link the whole way through...


The city demands you to look up. 




To witness architecture so beautiful every building could be from a painting. 


A city of culture.


A food culture that far succeeds any i have ever seen.



Even in the park you could pick your own oranges from the tress. 


 Filled with all sorts of artists.


All corners are filled. Alleyways my mere arm span wide, with Narnian like entrances and buildings that look to be falling in on each other. Filled with drugs, good food, book shops and people- both suspicious and superbly friendly



I remembered I want to see the people who live in all these places. I want to understand their happiness and accumulate all their ideas to create my own. I remembered why I want to travel.



I didnt document the trip as much as i had planned to. I was too busy seeing it. But i was happy with a few images to capture the memories of a city that gave me back my traveling bug. 







Thursday 14 February 2013

To a future valentine.



This song shall be played at my wedding. 





P.S.
I am not a fan of Valentines day. Apparently I am not a fan of many celebrated occasions. It makes it near impossible to find a nice place to eat dinner without reservations on the 14th of February.




I'm not very good at New Years.

Don't get me wrong I love the event. Ceilidhs are a, not so secret, love of mine. A tradition I have participated in every year (save one particularly odd new year) since I was a child. This year I attended two!



 I also enjoy New Year's reputation of being a "new start". I read in a book once, that every cell in the human body is renewed every 6 months, meaning you basically have a new body every 6 months, meaning we have the opportunity to "recreate" or change ourselves every 6 months. Now i'm not sure this fact is accurate, but as I have previously stated: if I enjoy believing a 'lie' and it impacts positively on my mindset I have no problem letting myself believe it. I digress... So I appreciate improving my life and making positive changes, and i understand as weird human animals we enjoy the encouragement of events and dates and designated times to change. However, i struggle with the deadline. I suck at deadlines. I also suck at change. Thus I try and achieve change by making myself accountable to people- cue blog. Also i encourage myself with change by taking it slowly and giving myself props to make it easier and more enjoyable- cue calendar and map.




This is my poster calendar. Its the calendar i have wished to own for 3 years. It is also incredibly difficult to find if, like me, you can't keep up with how quickly new year comes and goes thus you find yourself in February when every shop has sold out of calendars. I finally acquired this one online and am now hoping it helps me to stop double booking myself.



On my search for my poster calendar i came across this world map for £2.50!! Its bigger than me! I like maps. This is another item i have been in search of, since i was 12 years old, in fact. My current goal in life is to travel the world. This 'prop' shall help encourage and focus me... i hope.



So here is to starting my year, perhaps a little late, aiming to be a more organised and reliable person and focused on achieving my dream.





Friday 8 February 2013

Tonight I went to a book signing of sorts.

We were greeted with a signed copy of "The Fault in Our Stars", entertained by a writer and his brother who played some songs, and then charmed when two american brothers who, mildly, resemble the Reid brothers singing 500 miles. Most enjoyable. 



I wrote John Green a thank you note as i figure we are both better at reading than talking. 
And how else can you tell a stranger you are grateful for their work and respect them in less than 13 seconds of face time?



Although i hope to do proper posts, with purpose and points of interest, i do also hope to use this as a place to record the things i do. 
Forgive me.