Arran' 10

My group of friends and I decided to do something to mark the fact that we had finally finished school. Due to lack of funds and Christine owning a house in Arran, we decided to travel there to stay for a week. I was looking forward to spending time with my friends but i had doubts about Arran. I imagined it to be quite boring. We travelled by train, then a ferry to get to the small island. My first thoughts about the island, I found it dreary. Christine's cottage was about ten minutes bus journey from the centre of Arran. We arrived at a cute, traditional cottage about 15 metres from the beach. It was painted black and white, which blended in finely with its surroundings. Due to the bland village, I was surprised that Arran would produce such lovely houses. The cottage continued to surprise me, with its quirky features. A rickety old staircase, which would support only one of us, led up into big rooms invaded by the light and had a generous view of the beach. The cottage had no television but instead offered a cupboard full of boardgames. Heated only by a fire, the cottage often became cold, but a huge supply of rugs over the years kept us warm. The biggest surprise from the cottage came from its back garden. It had a waterfall.

An old wooden ledge allowed us to get right under the waterfall. It wasn't a very wet day when i took this photo, but when it rains very hard the waterfall runs for quite a while. It was very pretty and again, i was very taken aback. I did not expect to see a waterfall in Arran, especially in a back garden. I also soon discovered that the community is very close and they really heavily on each other, e.g 999 services don't come for half an hour so having a good neighbour is handy. Despite my initial feelings towards Arran, it grew on me and I was sad to leave it.

Reference

www.arranphotography.net

Georgia' 09

Late last year, I participated in an American Exchange. The American student stayed with me for two weeks during June' 09 and then I visited her in October' 09. This exchange programme is very popular within my school and is often hard to get a place. In total, there was 22 places. I was lucky enough to secure a place, after various interviews. My exchange partner was called Amelia Blair. Amelia was a typical deep- southern girl. She had the broad dialect and was often difficult to understand. It was different to the accents in other parts of American, such as New York. Despite the differences between us, we bonded very quickly and became close friends. So by the time i visited Georgia in October, we had quite a strong friendship. 

The plane lasted around 8 hours. We all had to wear blue tops to stand out from the crowds, which us feel like primary school kids. Once we arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, we travelled to Jefferson, Georgia in a yellow school bus. I found out later that the Americans called it the "Yellow Cheese Bus" for some reason.

Our itinerary was full and I hardly got the time to appreciate the southern hospitality. Day were full with visits the local tourist attractions. As coke was invented in Atlanta, we visited the "World of Coke". This was fantastic and the attraction included a taste of all the coke produces in the world. My favourite visit was the days we spent at the school. I had been to American before but hardly experienced American life. I felt like I was in a typical American movie. Small-town America is portrayed correctly in the movies. Classes were easy going with most of the attention directed at sports and extra-cirruclum activities. Due to this we spent a lot of time supporting the Jefferson Dragons (football team) at their local games. It was great atmosphere unlike the feeling of dislike at the football games in Scotland. We also visited Atlanta to see some baseball and experienced the same atmosphere. 

When our iterney was free, I was given typical southern food from Amelia's mum. Which i enjoyed but found some of their food strange. Different versions of our own food e.g, the scones in Georgia were savoury and taken with a meal which consisted mainly of gravy. 

I was lucky to participate in this exchange and made some great friends. Friends in which i still keep in contact with. In June of this year, I re-visited Amelia in Georgia and was treated with the same hospitality. Southern- Americans truly are as generous and welcoming as their portrayal in the movie, "Steel Magnolias".

Barca'10

My friend, Roisin, and I visited Barcelona this summer to experience there famous fiesta's. With its spectacular street decorations and innovative sculptures, we visited the fiesta close to Sagrada Familia. This was very handy as it was a short distance from where we stayed- at Roisin's aunty's. It was a small, traditional Spanish home above her fruit and veg shop. Streaming away from her flat, typical windy Spanish streets led to all sorts of things. Vintage and unusual shops, cafe's, parks. Generally the atmosphere felt relaxed. It was a huge contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Passeig de Gra'cia. I liked this new perspective to Barcelona. I think that this is why the Catalunya's decided to host a fiesta amongst these fine streets. This particular fiesta lasted around a week and included activities such as an outdoor cinema and traditional Spanish dancing. Each street was decorated depending on the chosen theme:

These themes included Cartoons, Moulin Rouge and make-believe characters. It was very creative and inspiring. Clearly a lot of effort was put into the decorations. The decorated streets ranged for almost a quarter of a mile in each direction. The designs were created by local youth organisations and primary schools. 

There was a clear distinction between the fiesta during the day and during the night. Suddenly the street were lit with hanging lanterns and each stage was used to its upmost capacity, showing off new bands continuously. It was also packed with people, making it difficult to move but allowed us to socialise with the local people. 

I feel that fiesta's are well known for the night life. But this particular fiesta included everyone. Beginning from the people who came up with the interesting themes and then, them who embellished the streets. Day-time activities included family events and loud night-time activities generally appealed to the hardcore. 

Travel Proposal: Interail 2011

My plan next year is to travel using the Interail and this is my travel proposal. I have started off with some basic travel research about the European Inter-rail.

• Possible Dates:

I break up from University around the end of May 2011. I have to move out by the beginning of June. Possibly work the entire month of June to gather the last bit of money before i leave.  So, i intend to travel from the beginning of July right through to the end of July/ early August. 

• Cost:

There is a variety of Inter-rail tickets on offer. I am a youth since i am under twenty-six, so there is a discount available. Twenty-two days continuous travel is £249. One month continuous travel is £325. These are the possible time periods I hope to be away for. I have worked out that on average it is cheaper per day by forty-eight pence, to travel for a full month rather than twenty-two days. 

• Accommodation:

I defiantly want to stay at hostels throughout Europe to keep the cost of my trip to a minimum. Also the money that can be saved staying in cheap accommodation can be used elsewhere. 

• Where to go:

When my father was younger he travelled using the inter-rail. I have referred to his journey  for ideas and inspiration on where to go. This is his travel route:

However, due to lack of money he had to cut his journey short and return home after Italy. This  was initially one months worth of travelling. I personally feel it was a bit ambitious within the time limit. I think i will travel to less countries but will be able to experience the culture because i will have more time in each country. This is my proposed route:

       

I have tried to pick my route so that I travel in a circle-like motion. This is because i do no want to waste time and double back on myself. I especially want to visit Berlin, Germany as I have never been before and I used to learn the language. So i will allow myself at least five days there. I would like to see the Reichstag as the architecture designed by Norman Foster, has created  a prominent German symbol. The Holocaust Memorial is something I plan to visit. I have been to Auschwitz and have seen the Polish way of dealing with the war. I would be interested to see Germany's reaction through the memorial. My brother recently went to Berlin and brought me back an interesting collage painted by a contemporary artist Alex Rodin. I would quite like to see more of his work in and around the city which is paints. From there, the Czech Republic appeals to me because i know nothing about the country. This is my chance to find out about it. Austria will be my next stop. I have been to Austria before to highland dance but did not see much of its attractions so i would quite like to revisit Vienna to experience more of its culture. St Peters church is a must. I have that the interior is breath-taking compared to its exterior. I struggle to see the outside and inside can be in such contrast. After Austria, i intend to travel through Switzerland to arrive in Italy. As i have been to Florence, Bologna and Venice before i would like to explore Milan, therefore stay at the top of Italy. Apart from shopping, i would like to visit the Santa Maria della Grazie and experience local Italian flea markets at Fiera di Senigallia. From there, I would travel through France to Spain. Barcelona is one of my favourite cities and cannot be forgotten on this tour. Paris would be my final stop and then home.

Paris 2010.

Recently, I have just finished my second assignment named "Analysis of Precedent" project.  We were given a house to break down and analysis every aspect of that particular house. My group and I were given "La Maison Latapie" designed by the architects Anne Lacaton and Jean Philippe.  

"Maison Latapie" front view

"Maison Latapie" back view

This house is built in Floirac, France. In the summer I spent two weeks in Paris with my good friend Caitlin. Studying this house and where it was situated reminded me of my summer.  The design of this house is very different from what i have seen before, very much like most of the architecture in Paris for example, the Notre Dame and the Paris Opera house. Those two weeks were entirely enjoyable with new experiences. We stayed in the Ibis Hotel- Porte De Clichy. It was very well located with only around three metro stops to the centre of Paris. The metro system in Paris was very confusing. With so many lines and changes, we got lost quite a few times. One time the door shut with me in the train and Caitlin stuck on the platform! Eventually we began to get used to the crazy system and were able to find outr way around without taking a detour. I found out when i came back that Paris has one of the busiest metro systems with over 300 stations. So i think we did extremly well since we are both used to the Glasgow Subway system, which travels in a clockwise circle and has only fifeteen stops. We did most of the tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Musee de'Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, River Seine and the Louvre. The Louvre was one of my favourite trips. The sheer scale of the museum is extraordinary and the number of art pieces is amazing. The outside is just as spectacular as the inside. The pyramid (as seen in the middle picture) which juts outs is in complete contrast with the traditional architecture of the museum. There are mixed reviews of the pyramid but i feel it reminds us of how far art and architecture has come. Despite my different opinions of "Maison Latapie" I was pleased that I was able to study this building because it reminded me of my time in Paris.

18th Birthday!!

It was my 18th Birthday on the 24th of September. I was so excited to turn 18 and become Devon McCrea instead of stealing various other identities like Bethany Howit. I chose not to go home to Helensburgh, Glasgow on my birthday but stay here, in Heathfield, Dundee. My friends and i experienced Dundee's nightlife and had a very enjoyable night. 

Cicley, Rachel, me, Ross and Rhiannon on my 18th.

Reflecting back on my birthday, I remember feeling certain that my life would tramatically change once I had turned that pivotal age of 18. It has not. I feel that the anticipation around turning eighteen is built up and that the actual day is a slight anti-climax. Along with turning eighteen, i feel that there is automatically more responsibilities given. It also makes you more accountable for your actions therefore a lot more pressure is felt. I think a lot more is expected of me since i have turned eighteen and I hope to live up to those expectations despite the stress. Aswell as moving away from home, i find it hard to deal with the independence and act like a mature eighteen year old. People expect others to become more adult-like once they have turned eighteen but I think that being eighteen has not automatically turned me into an adult, only time and experience will.