Category: Travel

My time in Ypres, Belgium

The Sunday before last I headed to London to catch the Eurostar to Belgium. It was my first time traveling on the Eurostar and my first time visiting Belgium, so I was rather excited.

I took this trip as I was one of the 35 young people, out of others from The UK, Germany and Denmark, who had been selected to take part in the Make Film, Make History project with The Imperial War Museum and in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut (Germany), Mosede Fort (Denmark) and Chocolate Films (London).

The three day trip was spent in Ypres. Between attending workshops, we were took on tours of the place, as well as having time to roam around freely, whilst we took it upon ourselves to spend the evenings productively, sampling the Belgian beer.

I’d never before seen such a clean and quiet town. I had remarked early on in the trip how it felt like a show town and then later I found out that the whole of Ypres had been destroyed during The First World War, then rebuilt again afterwards to look the same. It was quite a beautiful place to explore but I must say it did have a sort of eerie calm about the place. Maybe I’m just more attuned to a busy bustling city. Either way, I really enjoyed my time there and actually felt like one extra day on the trip would have been nice. I was certainly in great company and I’m happy to say that the whole group got on really well and we had such a laugh together.

In Flanders Frields Museum

Menin Gate Mamorial entrance

The names of over fifty thousand missing soldiers who were killed in Ypres during World War I, marked on the walls of the Menin Gate Memorial

Menin Gate Memorial

St Martin’s Cathedral

A view of the Cathedral from Astrid Park

Buildings along Surmont De Volsbergestraat

The Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate Mamorial, which takes place every night at 8Pm

Il Gusto D’Italia Waffles and Ice Cream shop

Some of the guys from the group waiting for their Belgian waffles and ice cream before heading home

My delicious Belgian waffle with Nutella spread and Snickers ice cream

Overlooking Astrid Park

I always love exploring parts of Europe that I’ve never been to before. It’s certainly got me eager to plan my next trip. Which European city or town would you love to visit?

May 6, 2015
A Day Trip To York

Just when I was starting to get pangs of the Barcelona blues, my faith in England was restored with a day trip to York with the loved one and friends… Don’t get me wrong, I love my hometown and I love living in it but after returning home to two weeks of predominantly wet and windy days, the city never looked so grey. So on Friday, the boyfriend and I took a train and went to York for the day. My boyfriend’s best friend and his girlfriend were over from Malaysia, so we met with them at the train station before heading for breakfast at Bill’s restaurant. It was full English breakfasts all round, opting for a Bill`s breakfast each to set us all up for the day.

I’d been to York as a child but it had been years since I had last visited there, so it was nice to go back and enjoy the wonders of the city once again. York is such a charming and quirky city, known for its rich heritage, medieval buildings and of course, York Minster, so it’s so easy to fall for its charm and lose yourself imagining the bygone times whilst learning the story’s the city has to tell. We spent hours wandering around and of course taking our time on the famous Shambles; weaving in and out of shops, taking pictures and generally being tourists as well as popping in the odd, old fashioned boozer, where at times I even went as far as to swap my red wine for an ale (York really did affect me).

Later in the afternoon we went to York Dungeon, again I’d been there as a child but a lot had changed since I was younger and it really was a lot of fun even to go back as a big kid! After we did a spot of shopping, I treated myself to some new and much needed eye makeup brushes and picked up a couple of new pieces from Mango. Our last stop was York’s most haunted pub, The Golden Fleece, unfortunately/fortunately (whichever way you want to look at it), we had no ghostly encounters this time, however we found out they have rooms in which you can stay, so it could be good fun for a potential mini break next time.

We said our goodbyes and got our separate trains home, my boyfriend and I heading back to Manchester. On the train we decided to have a few vinos which spurred an importune night out once we got off the train in Manchester. It’s not the first time my spontaneity has led to me going on a night out carrying a backpack and wearing day clothes but I hadn’t imagined that our day trip to York would end in dancing the night away, which overall resulted in Friday being pretty much awesome.

Samio x

August 18, 2014
My Month in Barcelona

I don’t even know where to start with this blog post. So much happened in a month, it’s hard to detail it all down. So without the elegance of a detailed account I’ll be concise to cut a long story short… I went to Barcelona to model at the end of June; intentionally I went for two weeks but ended up staying a month. This was my fourth time in Barcelona but my first time I’d gone there to work. I booked a couple of really fun commercials whilst I was out there, one which took me to Madrid to film for 4 days, where I worked with some really cool people and had so much fun.

Whilst staying in Barcelona I shared a flat in my agency with four other models; Maria from Spain (who was also my roomie), Natalia from Slovakia and Tara from L.A. The four of us all became really close and formed the type of friendship you don’t find everyday. Collectively we named ourselves the Cheeky Chicas (as you do) and stayed up most nights chatting into the early hours about anything and everything and giggling like school girls… We also had some pretty amazing nights out too not to mention our many adventures between castings and work during the day.

I also got to see lots of one of my oldest best friends, Lydia, who lives in Barcelona, with whom I did lots of catching up, eating and wine drinking. All in all my month in Barcelona was amazing, I met some really cool people, went to some really fun parties, worked some awesome jobs and made some amazing new friends.

Samio x

August 10, 2014
Secret Garden

One of my favourite parts of Barcelona has to be Montjuïc. Beautiful gardens, amazing views and the tranquility of being hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona’s busy centre… Okay so it’s a mean feat to climb this mountain like hill but once at the top, you’re generously rewarded with the most fabulous settings. This of course makes Montjuïc the perfect place to take pictures and for me to do a long over due blog update.

This was my third time up Montjuïc, (the first being in January last year) and although I knew the park was big I had no idea of the full scale of it until trekking up and around it in the blazing heat. My friend and I were some what inappropriately dressed for such an adventure (for which we received a few odd looks) but as a result I was more than satisfied with the shots from this post, as the settings were perfect!

What I wore: Top – Bershka, Necklace – H&M, Pants/Trousers – Zara, Sandals – River Island, Bag – Zara.

Samio x

July 5, 2014
Barcelona La Mercè

This weekend I was back in Barcelona. Once again I was visiting my close friend Lydia and this time I took my boyfriend along for the trip. Barcelona’s annual La Mercè street party festival was on, so it was a perfect time to visit.

– The fabulous view from my friend’s roof terrace.

We arrived Friday evening and after excited hellos followed by a few drinks at my friend’s apartment, we headed out for steak and creamy potatoes. Once again I got to enjoy the amazing steak, at the place I’d told my boyfriend so much about. He had to agree it was the beast steak ever… After our gorgeous meal, we decided to relive our youth by heading to the fun fair. I forgot how much fun rides were! We stayed until around 2am, bounding around like big kids from one ride to the next until the place began to close. Eventually we headed back and sat drinking and chatting on the roof terrace until the early hours.

Needless to say, on Saturday we didn’t get the early start we had planned. After a much needed lie in, we headed to Federal for breakfast, where they do amazing breakfast muffins (just what we needed).

After breakfast we went to Sagrada Família so my boyfriend could see it and get some touristy snaps. We spent the rest of the afternoon being tourists round the city, something I still haven’t tired of in Barcelona. We lounged around for a while in bar by the port and then took my boyfriend to the Champagneria so he could see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately it was even busier than my pervious visit so we were unable to stay long but it was nice to go back and enjoy some food and bubbly in the hustle bustle.

On Saturday evening the original plan had been to go out for food and then go to watch the fireworks by the beach. But as we sat on the roof terrace drinking and chatting it got later and in the end we decided we had a perfect spot to view the fireworks from where we were instead. So we ordered pizza, drank and watched the fireworks before finally going out to enjoy the night life of La Mercie festival.

Sunday was our final full day. We’d had another night that had lasted into the early hours and so after another morning of sleeping in, once we were ready we went straight for lunch. We sat in the sun drinking cava and eating tapas, a perfect Sunday if you ask me. Later we went to Park Güell and then to Montjuïc to join in with more street party festivities. The day seemed to quickly blend into the evening and we were back at Lydia’s for a quick change and drinks, then back out again. The last evening went by like a blur and before we knew it, my boyfriend and I were stumbling in at 6am not long followed by my friend and her boyfriend.

On Monday it was time to fly home. With lack of sleep and a sore head I must say Monday was a struggle. After what felt like an entire day of travelling, I was finally home and crawling into bed. Despite felling hungover and slight exhausted, after a long weekend of fun, I can once again say I had an amazing time in Barcelona. It was my third and final trip there this year, visiting one of my best friends in a city I now love. No doubt I’ll be back again sometime in 2014.

Samio x

September 25, 2013
😀 is for Düsseldorf

The weekend before last I headed to Dusseldorf for the weekend. It was my second time visiting Germany and my first time visiting Dusseldorf and I loved it! The nightlife was amazing and to say we partied the nights away is an understatement. We managed to fit in some sight seeing too and I got to visit the fabulous pink palace, Schloss Benrath.

Samio x

August 30, 2013