Tag: Travel

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
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
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.

(more…)

January 29, 2013