Becca might actually be one of my favourite people in the world! She was one of the first people I met when I got to New Zealand and we bonded over the fact that I stopped in her town of Fleet for dinner on my way to the airport!  

When I met Becca she was on a similar trip to me i.e New Zealand, Australia & Bali but had a longer time frame in Australia. This meant that we were off and on together on Kiwi Experience before flying to Melbourne together. Since then she's come to visit me and then we went to Vienna together in January!

I love how Becca literally wants to travel everywhere and is up for pretty much everything! She's absolutely crazy at the same time as being the most calming person to be around (until her purse gets stolen in Vienna and she has to cancel all her cards!). Her instagram is actually goals and massively inspires my own travels.

Where did we meet?

We met at a bus stop in the most boring city of them all - Auckland, New Zealand!

What does travel mean to you?

Travel is everything new. Newfound freedom, new experiences, new friends, new places. It's all about change for me; I get itchy feet if I stay at home for too long! There's so much to explore and I get bored so quickly if I'm not out there trying something different and keeping busy.

How do you cope with being away from home?

I rarely stop when I'm travelling so I don't often have time to miss home! But I do make sure that I touch base with everyone back home every now and then. It swings both ways: it's nice when my friends and family message me to see how I'm doing, but I try to make the effort too!

Which was your favourite country or place you visited?

New Zealand will always have my heart. Specifically Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world! I have a real thing for lakes and mountains, which is also what I loved about Canada too. But New Zealand was where I made the best travel friends that I've stayed in contact with and met up with time and time again!

Where is the place you just have to go back to?

I have quite a few friends all dotted around Australia now, so I'd really love to go back there and visit them all. I also never explored the centre or much of the west coast, so that's something I'd like to do in the next couple of years.

What has travel given you?

It's made me more outgoing as a person, because I'm constantly meeting new people every day. I'm also way more chilled out than I was a couple of years ago. I'm a huge planner, but I've definitely learnt to be more spontaneous and not sweat the small stuff if something doesn't quite go to plan! I WILL BE OKAY! I WILL NOT DIE!

What is your must pack item?

A microfibre towel! It's honestly the best thing I've ever bought and they should give me shares in the company for the amount I promote them to everyone! They pack up so small, dry freakishly fast and never smell, so you can use them for the shower, beach, as a blanket, ANYTHING!

Where next?

I'm currently doing a 3 month trip around North America and my next stop is the big old US of A! I'll be hitting up loads of national parks between Seattle and Las Vegas, before heading over to the east coast to visit Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC. I'm finishing off my trip with Chicago and San Francisco. It's going to be action-packed for sure!

She's the one with the messy hair coloured by the sun;

The one who's skin holds her stories in scars and tan lines;

The one who is up for anything, the more extreme the better.

The one who is fresh faced and beautiful;

The one who'd rather be in flip flops than heels;

the one who is strong minded and can hold her own;

The one who can adapt to any situation;

The one who loves life with all its ups and downs.

We are the ones who are stuck between two worlds;

A world we don't know how to navigate properly anymore and a world where we feel the most alive.

We are nomads. We belong to no city. We belong to no one.

Film Review | Jackie **

What do we remember about Jackie Kennedy? On the one hand, a poised lady who was always camera ready; a style icon and an elegant figure at the President’s side. Or on the other, a vision of shock pink scrambling across the back of a limousine whilst her husband lay dying.

Jackie positions us in the days immediately following the assassination of her husband (Philipson) as the iconic First Lady (Portman) battles with her grief and her determination to ensure a legacy she thinks he deserves. However, for what is one of the most tragic moments in recent American history this film came off as quite bland. 

The narrative timeline jumps between various sub plots within the main story which makes it seem confused. The flashbacks to the time before the assassination, when she is with her husband or giving a tour of the White House, are necessary to build her character background but when they appear often felt sporadic and stuck out like a sore thumb rather than cohesive to the story as well as. 

It was hard to remember that the ‘main story’ or the story that isn’t taking place in flashbacks, only spans across a couple of days. The film actually begins a few weeks later when Jackie has invited a reporter to her house to interview her about the assassination. She is very blunt with him and will only allow him to print quotes she approves of. This not only highlights the stock she put in her public image of being a well put together lady but also how controlling she has to be over every aspect of JFK’s legacy.

"I never wanted fame, I just became a Kennedy"

The cinematography (Stéphane Fontaine) of the film draws parallels to that of a Wes Anderson; Portman is often framed in the centre of the shot, static and the only focus, which could be to show how closely she was watched. But instead of Anderson’s complete colour palette, Larraín uses Jackie’s costume as a pop of colour across many scenes including the iconic blood stained pink Chanel suit. The use of real news footage blended so well within the narrative and visual structure that it was probably the best feature of the whole film. Along with the occasional appearance of John Hurt as the sympathising vicar.

The main problem with this supposedly intimate biopic is Natalie Portman’s portrayal. Her adoption of a breathy tone and expressionless features is frustrating and doesn’t invite the audience to empathise with her character. Her performance is stiff and her portrayal gives the impression that Jackie Kennedy was wasteful and rude, rather than one of the most loved First Ladies of the United States. 

Jackie ultimately places too much stock in trying to stand out from other biopics by using flashbacks to tell the main narrative which has resulted in an awkward, disconnected feeling.

Berlin Film Festival

Back in February, I got the opportunity to skip Uni for a week and go run around Berlin for the sole purpose of watching films!
Absolute heaven.

This was my first time in Germany (even though I studied German for five years) and I fell in love with the city and the atmosphere so quickly.

I saw some amazing, weird and wonderful films and the locations were stunning!!

10 Photos That Will Make You Want To Travel Australia

Saltwater Swimming Pools, Sydney

Australia really is one of my favourite places on earth. It has always been in my head as somewhere I wanted to go and possibly live someday. 

So when I 'd saved up enough to travel there last February/March I was absolutely ecstatic! I decided to do the typical backpacker route from Melbourne to Cairns but I have also included a few pictures from friends who have inspired me to travel even more of Oz!

The Girl Who Travels: Alexis

The first girl I'm featuring is Alexis, who is from Canada and was also eighteen/nineteen when she was travelling. When I met her she was on a trip where she had lived in Melbourne for a few months, travelled to Tasmania and was on the way up the West Coast of Australia with her friend Deanna who was still in Australia when I reunited with Lex in Canada.

I love how Alexis is so bubbly and up for anything and is the loveliest person, her and Dea were the people I needed when I met them. I hope this comes across in the questions I asked her!