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!

Vacationing in Vienna

Back in November, when my travel blues were setting in hard, I started looking around the internet for cheap flights to literally anywhere. It's easy to find if you just put a little effort in. Check skyscanner, easyjet and Ryanair for the cheapest flights from England to Europe and also flying from London Gatwick makes it a lot cheaper.

The cheapest? Vienna.

So that's where I went.

The Girl Who Travels

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.

As I'm not able to travel as much as I want at the moment I've decided to feature girls I have met travelling and their experience of it in the mean time. Watch this space!

modified from the original 'Girl who Travels' article

To New Adventures...

I have now been at university for a whole semester, three months to be exact. And with all the changes and having assignments again I just haven't really thought about blogging.

To say I was scared to come down to Falmouth is an understatement. After having a whole year of moving around constantly I didn't know how I'd feel being in one place and having to get back to the real world. I'd have to adapt myself to being around the same people all the time and having to do work again and having to do adult things like budgeting and laundry.

But somehow, I've made it work.

Oh My Goodness Ontario

You know what the best thing about travelling is?

When you see someone you met in one country in another!

Which is exactly what I did on my way home from San Fransisco; I took a de tour to Canada to see my friend Alexis whom I met in Byron Bay, Australia. I only had a week with her but she was incredible and sorted out this whole road trip around Ontario!

"Sunny" San Franciscooo

Before even heading to California I knew I had to try and get up to San Fransisco whilst I was there so, when camp was all over, myself and another girl got the Megabus for seven hours - twenty dollars each though - to North California.

Considering how hot and sunny the south was we were really not prepared for the north - it was freezing! The main thing keeping me warm was the sun burn I had sustained when I was in Malibu.

The Most Magical Day

I hadn't been to a Disneyland since I was five years old and still scared of all the characters wearing the costume heads. So being in California for a whole summer meant I couldn't not go. 

We literally got to the park for opening and managed to get on four or five rides without queues which was a blessing. It also meant being absolutely exhausted by the end of the day!

The City of Angels

When camp finished for the summer myself and some friends decided to have a week in LA to really get to see everything touristy. We stayed in Santa Monica which is a really nice hub to travel to and from and also has so many bars and restaurants and the pier to go to on an evening.

In that week we had though we literally did everything we possibly could!

Larking around Griffith

On our first weekend down the mountain and actually in LA itself we were so relieved that we could relax that we didn't actually do too much. After we visited Grand Central Market in Downtown LA we then headed over to Griffith Park where we road the carousal, hiked around the abandoned zoo and then went to the observatory for sunset.

Grand Central Market | Downtown LA

I always love finding food markets and places off the beaten track to eat. So when Grand Central Market popped up in one of Ben Brown's vlogs and I saw how amazing it looked I had to go.

A Weekend in Santa Monica

On our first weekend off from Camp training, the rest of the Brits and myself headed down the mountain to stay in Santa Monica for the fourth of July weekend. It was only for a few nights but I tried to do as much as possible in such a short space of time!

Why I Hate The Middle Seat.

I'm sure so many people share my aversion to the middle seat but there's just something about it that really gets me.

Recently, all of my flights have been taken alone as I was backpacking solo around the southern hemisphere and now on my way to California. And out of the 15 flights I've been on this year I could say that on 3 of them tops I had a window seat.

Women In The Film Industry

As a woman who is dreaming of being a part of one of the biggest and most difficult industries I feel like I need to address the gender bias that is still a major thing in the film industry. For me, this came to light when I came across an article about the difference in pay for the female and male actors in the film American Hustle, way back in 2014, and then it was highlighted again in Jack Howard's recent video with Jodie Foster.
I mean I already had a vague idea that there were more men in this industry but, after doing some research, I didn’t realise how major the difference actually was.

I'm Leaving Again! | Camp America

I have been planning my gap year for well over two years and three things were always certain: 

I wanted to go to Australia  ✔️

I didn't want to spend much time at home  ✔️ 

and I wanted to work with Camp America  ✔️

Now the time has come to head off to America! I will be spending the next two months in the glorious state of California working up on a Girls Scout Camp in the mountains near Big Bear!

10 Photos That Will Make You Want To Travel New Zealand

Hukka Falls

New Zealand with its awe-inspiring natural beauty and the vastly different landscapes of the North and South Islands, how can you not want to travel it?

I had the privilege of travelling this beautiful country in Janurary/February and these are my favourite  landscape photos from my time there. If at least one of them doesn't make you want to go there then I don't know what will!

Being A Solo Female Traveller At Eighteen

In January I hopped on a plane to the other side of the world for four months. All on my own.

When I was away I did meet a lot of people who were older than me that said "oh I couldn't do what you're doing when I was eighteen" and a lot of people saying "you're so brave" but for me I was always going to go travelling before I went to University so I couldn't always understand what they were talking about. And I also met plenty of people my own age - some in pairs, some solo - that had the same mindset so we clicked instantly, which is a pretty cool feeling.

So this post is my experience of being solo, a girl and only eighteen on the other side of the globe.