TRAVEL | bristol

Bristol is and will continue to be one of my favourite cities. There is just so much about it to like about it including, but not limited to, it's gorgeous parks, great food (head to St. Nicholas Market for the best selection), breathtaking views, and buzzing nightlife.

Furthermore, I learned a lot of new things about myself I hadn't known before. Including the fact that I might actually be more of a morning person than I thought, or that I do like being outdoors, and exercising--or better yet, exercising outdoors! Back at home you'd never catch me suggesting to do any of those things. Waking up early...to work out? Are you kidding?? (My friends can vouch for that, just ask them)

But in Bristol my daily schedule began to look something like this: wake up early, head to breakfast, go for a long walk, light lunch, jogging in the afternoon, hang out at Brandon hill until sunset, dinner/hangout with hostel friends.

Rinse, lather, repeat. Being healthy never felt so good :)

My hostel in Bristol also made a world of difference. After a smaller party hostel in Bath, it was a bit of a relief to move to somewhere bit more spacious. I met a couple colourful characters during my stay including a lady who claimed she was a prophet. When we first met she told me a story of a time she predicted her neighbour's pregnancy, which allegedly came true. After that story I decided not to ask her to read my fortune lest it turn out to be something I didn't want to know haha.

Another guest was a 96 year old woman that, according to the hostel regulars, owns a huge lavender farm in Portugal and she would show up in Bristol every few months and stay for a few days and then heads back to run her farm. Every time I saw her she was always having a chat with someone new--I wish I had a chance to meet her as well, imagine the stories she would tell!

I also find that scouting for shooting locations from a television series or movie is one of the best ways to see a city. Skins was and still is one of my absolute favourite shows to date, and the whole series was set right here in Bristol. It was really easy to google a list of shooting locations and use it as a basis for my exploring. And while I'm on the subject of google--thank god for google maps (& GPS tracking) or else I never would have been able to find most of these places.

And of course let's not forget good ol' fashioned recommendations via word of mouth. Stokes Croft (pictured below) was recommended by a friend (Hi Kei!) who's currently studying in Bristol. This was a whole new neighbourhood I hadn't explored before and would have completely missed it if he hadn't pointed it out. Personally, I had never been biggest fan of street art, but I am learning to appreciate it. And I did see some early Banksy pieces in Stokes Croft, which is pretty darn cool, especially since, at the time of my visit, talk of Banksy's newly opened exhibition, Dismaland, virtually broke the internet. 

TRAVEL | bath

My stay at Bath was brief but memorable. I had planned to visit the city for the longest time but had missed the chance to do so the last time in Europe. As Bath is a fairly small city, I felt as if I had already completed tour of the city's major sites in a day, which left a lot of time for just wandering the streets for hours on end. My favorite activity.

Visiting the Roman Baths was also a great experience. What made the tour go from good to great was that Bill Bryson, a personal hero of mine, provided some narration on the free audio guide. If you haven't read his books documenting his travels around Europe/UK then please pick one up at your local bookstore! He's hilarious.

PLACES | british museum

When musuem spaces are just as beautiful as the artifacts it holds

TRAVEL | back to london

Falling behind on blogging already. London was about 4 cities ago and I had just managed to finished editing all the photos today. Guess this is what happens when you're having fun.

London was just as good as I had remembered. Since I've basically visited all the spots I've had bookmarked the last time I was in town, I didn't have too much planned to see, which worked out for me because I was kind of beat from Edinburgh. It's also worth mentioning that I got extremely lucky this time in London--a tube strike was scheduled on the day I was supposed to arrive, however the whole event was suspended the night before. High fives all around!

As much as I loved my hostel from my last trip, I thought it'd be interesting to switch it up a little. This time I checked into Wombats London. I stayed at their other chains in Munich and Vienna in 2013 and was always very impressed with their facilities. And as expected, I had a great time. I was placed in the highest floor, which had a breathtaking view of Southern London

I was lucky enough to have been in the city to see the { Charles Pétillon } installation in Covent Garden. When it launched, almost every one on my facebook dashboard was posting about it, and I'm not going to lie I felt a small sense of smug satisfaction that I got to see it in person.

I also took a brief break from London and hopped on a train with Thomas to Rye for a short day trip out of the city. This little town, located in South Sussex, was recommended by a friend whom had just visited the day before. She showed me some photos that morning and I was sold.

Ok back to London

No trip to London is complete without a stop over at { Borough Market } & { Columbia Flower Market }. 

Living 20 mins by foot from Borough Market was like a dream come true. Wake up at 9 and get there by 10, which in my opinion is the perfect time to visit because all the vendors have set up, but all the tourists haven't arrived yet. 

TRAVEL | hampsted heath photo diary

You don't find parks like these anywhere else. England has some of my favourite parks in the world (Brandon Hill, Hyde Park etc.) - they're all so tranquil and melancholic. They're the only place where I feel true contentment and where I actually feel myself firmly rooted in the present.

I spent the last hours of my epic Eurotrip at Hampstead Heath, taking in the greenery and saying my final goodbyes to London. And as sappy as it sounds, I really can't imagine spending my last afternoon anywhere else.