Tag: Barcelona

Summer Flashback – Shooting A TV Commercial In Madrid

It’s crazy to think that this time last year I was spending part of my summer in Barcelona sharing a model house with three awesome girls and this time this year I’ve now bought a house with my boyfriend and we are spending our time getting stuck into D.I.Y whilst we renovate it from scratch!

So much can change in a year and I’m so happy with what I did both last summer and what I’m doing now. I do love to look back on old memories though and it’s a funny old thing with modelling/acting work, as often you can’t actually share pictures of what you’re doing whilst you’re doing it because sometimes it takes a while before the images are published or the film/commercial comes out. So whilst I’m reminiscing, I thought I’d share some behind the scenes of one of the jobs I was booked on last year whilst staying in Barcelona…

I was sent to Madrid for four days to shoot a commercial and videos for the Sony Xperia Z3 phones. I was put up in a hotel with two other actors who I actually met back in Barcelona at my casting and I was in the room next door to the girl who I had the same shooting schedule as, which was convenient plus we got on really well.

The days were long (as with most commercials) but I had such a laugh working with the five other main guys in the ad. They were even nice enough to speak in English in front of me a lot of the time (as unfortunately I can’t speak Spanish). Shoots/filming days are always 10x better when you get on and can have a laugh with the people you’re working with. It also a bonus when you’re working in a fabulous location too and on this particular job there were a few…

I loved the architecture in Madrid. There are so many grand/fabulous buildings, it was fun being able to see some of the city whilst we weren’t filming.

One of the days filming was spent at this beautiful location (I forget the exact name) by a fresh water river.

We had this stunning rooftop view of Madrid on another day. The views of Madrid were amazing but by the afternoon it sure did get hot – we went through a lot of ice lollies and bottled water that day.

I had a fun four days of filming with these guys

Finally it was time to head back to Barcelona – Madrid Atocha railway station was pretty cool as it had a mini forest/jungle in the middle of it.

Here’s one of the Sony Xperia videos I featured in here:

And you can check out the full commercial here:

Samio x

July 17, 2015
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
‘PATATAS BRAVAS’ – Back in Barcelona

This weekend I was in Barcelona again visiting my friend, Lydia. It’s only a month since my last trip and this time my friend Chan came over with me so that we could celebrate her Birthday weekend.

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March 4, 2013
Barcelona

This weekend I went to Barcelona. One of my best friends, Lydia, who I have known most of my life, recently moved over there. It was her birthday on Friday and so I thought what better excuse to take a trip there for the weekend.

Although I’ve visited Spain many times it was my first time in Barcelona and I couldn’t wait to get out there and see the sights and enjoy some great food and wine with a dear friend.

For the trip I had to pack strategically, as I was only taking hand luggage (I know how brave am I). Something, which many will know, is a hard task for me as I’m the girl who takes a suitcase to stop somewhere for one night. Luckily enough though, I managed to fit everything I needed in my small black case and to below the hand luggage max weight of 10 kgs… Most of the stuff I had in there was black, as the colour seems to have invaded my wardrobe as of late, something which I am in the process of changing! Having mostly black clothing in my case helped though, because I knew with little room, at least everything I was taking should work together as outfits. It gave me the opportunity to mix and match if need be. I managed to limit myself to three pairs of footwear (An arduous task for myself); I packed a pair of plane black wedge shoes for the evenings, my funky zebra print vans for the day and I wore my Underground wedges to travel in.

Although I was only there for two nights we managed to fit a lot in and Lydia was every so kind enough to make an itinerary of the weekends events. She sent it to me before I went so I was able to pack appropriately.

On the Friday I was up at 4am and in a taxi to the airport by 5am. I wanted to be comfy and warm for my journey so I travelled over in my black Underground wedges, black leggings, baggy long sleeved skull top, a black hoodie (previously my boyfriend’s, now mine!) and my leather bomber jacket. The day before I had also made a new black clutch bag for my travels, from my brand Pearls & Lipstick (Website is opening soon). I put an extra pocket in this design, which perfectly fits my passport. I also wanted something that I could use throughout my trip, as I needed to travel light. The size and design of the bag meant I was able to use it throughout the weekend and with it being black it also went with everything. I made it to fit my mini Ipad, coin purse, travel documents, passport and also a book and any other small bits if need be. This is the first bag I’ve made in this particular design, and as I’m happy with the result I shall be making more to sell ready for when the site is open.

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January 29, 2013