That Time I Kind of Travelled the World Part 5: Milan

I remember the dive in the Taxi from our apartment in Rome to the train station very clearly, the driver hardly spoke any English and he was listening to an Italian radio station. Neither mum, my grandma nor I speak Italian so of course we had no idea what they were saying on the radio however the driver could not stop laughing and was getting really embarrassed and trying to hold it in which in turn, made my mum laugh and then me and then my grandma. All three of us laughing but not knowing the joke but it was probably the most memorable thing about Rome which is hard to believe because of all the great things you go there to see yet I remember that the most but I think that those things are really special to remember from holidays and also in everyday life. "The little things" as some people like to say.

All I can say about Milan was WOW. Actually, I'm going to say more than that; SHOPPING, SHOPPING, SHOPPING! The hotel that we stayed in was on the same road (just down 15 minutes or so, it was a long road) as the biggest shopping section in all of Milan of course I wondered aimlessly in and out of designer shops in total awe knowing that I would never be able to afford 5000 euros for a pair of shoes but just being in the same room as the designer brands I read about in magazines made me feel special. Wacky, I know but everything was uber gorgey mc gorgeous and I fell in love with a city! As well as the very, Very, VERY highend shops there were also some very reasonable shops still influenced by the designer shops around them offering very stylish clothing at a price more to my liking. I had never been to a H&M before or Bershka but these shops became two of my favourites very quickly. Even quicker was the money leaving my wallet...

I turned 17 in  Milan and it will be a birthday I will never forget. We went on a city tour and ended up seeing Leonardo De Vinci's 'The Last Supper' and for an art lover, this was very special to me. Our tour guide was very opinionated (but in a good was) and made the tour very fun so a very big thank you goes to the French man, living in Italy giving English guided tours. Also thank you to the Chinese lady that worked at my new favourite restaurant (because you go to Italy to eat Chinese food right?) who remembered us all three days we went there and for giving me a green tea ice-cream with a candle in it. Even the food in Milan was fancy with little birds and roses carved out of carrot.

I definitely recommend Milan as a place to visit and I will definitely be going back. I definitely did not have enough time there at all as there was just so much to see and do!

That Time I Kind of Travelled the World Part 4: Rome

The next stop was Rome and I super excited. Mum decided that we would just walk to our apartment from the train station because we were staying near the coliseum and how hard would that be to find?
A lot harder than expected... However we did find the Coliseum eventually and my jaw hit the floor, it was magnificent! So we lugged our HUGE suitcases down to the Coliseum and while mum tried to figure out what direction our apartment was in, I stood there staring at this huge structure in total awe, not helping at all. We found our apartment and it was the funkiest little place, it was very modern which contrasted with the city of ruins that stood outside with a white wooden floor, modern furniture and very trendy art. Rome was a beautiful city and unfortunately I wasn't doing well, on the second night our tourist-y adventures and sight-seeing were put to a hold and our third day consisted of my lying ill on the couch watching old movies with badly dubbed Italian over the top. I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked in Rome but it gives me a good excuse to go back. I feel like the night atmosphere would be terrific and the fast pace of the city was really endearing.

P.S I SWEAR I didn't wear the same outfit every single day it was just that I only had two jackets, one scarf and one beanie (the other one was lost in action on a train somewhere along the way -R.I.P) everything underneath was changed and washed :)

I can't wait to go back to Rome so I can continue exploring it's beautiful history.

That Time I Kind of Travelled the World Part 3: Venice

On the train from Paris to Venice I saw snow in the Alps for the very first time in my life and unfortuneately, that was the only time I did see snow (appart from flying soap missiles in Harry Potter but that's another story). The countryside was breathtaking (and not just because of how cold I realised it actually was here) but as we tooted on in (I don't know how else to explain train movement) to Venice and the land turned to water I couldn't believe what I was seeing as boats went by my window. This was the fourth country (If you counted Australia) I had been in in four dayys!

I fell in love with Venice and looking through my diary I am getting major withdrawals. Looking through my diary has also made it harder or me to pick which part of Venice I should share with you. My favourite memories are probably just getting lost in the streets, watching boats go past from my balcony. See the men on gondalas duck as they go under the bridge and experiences the peoples culture. I visited there seafood markets and there grocery stores and staed opposite a highschool. It was a lot of fun just experiencing life as a local (just getting a little more lost than they do). I took about a bajillion photos so I hope you enjoy the spam:

I know that is a lot of photos but trust me, there were a lot more. I tried to really capture everyday life there and not just the tourist attractions because I think it is so important when travelling to try and understand and experience the culture of the places that you go to. (Look at me sounding all worldly and know-all-y after my first holiday...) So I hope I portrayed that in these photos and I hope whoever stumbles across these likes them :) 

Toodles!! *Virtual HUGs*

That Time I Kind of Travelled the World Part 2: Paris.

Things went from good to GREAT when our plane rolled in and I saw that it too was covered in that fabulous pink cat (Hello Kitty for those who are just tuning in). We were travelling in styling! Rhings went from GREAT to EXCELLENTTAE when I discovered the Hello Kitty soaps, food, serviettes, aprons and even toliet paper that filled the plane. I even smuggled one of the 'Hello Kitty' pillow covers out when we arrived in Paris. And when I say SMUGGLED I mean I waited patiently until everyone else had left the plane to politely ask if there was any possibility that I could keep the pillow case that they were going to chuck out anyway.

 

Stepping out into the cool, crisp air and feeling the cold for the first time (well appart from in TAIPEI but it was nowhere near as cold there as it was in Paris) was so refreshing. I liked the way my breath foggered the air when I laughed. I laughed when I heard two men talking in French because it was then when I realised I had really made it, that it wasn't just a dream, THIS WAS REAL LIFE BABY. I tried tso hard to keep my eyes open in the taxi on the way to the city. The plan was to check in our luggage at the train station for the day and then spend the hours before we had to get on the overnight train to Venice at he Lourve.

 

"Let;s just go for a walk and see whre we end up" was probably not the best thing my mum could have said that day in Paris. However I enjoyed getting lost in those foreign streets even if we never even made it to the Lourve. Although, I stuck out like a sore thumb in my bright orange jacket an baggy keans. Nobody told me they wore everything skin tight and jet black. THEY WERE FASHIONABLE THOUGH AND OHMYGOD I DON'T EVEN CARE IF I SOUND CREEPY BY SAYING THAT PEOPLE WATCHING IN PARIS WAS AWESOME BECAUSE I DONT EVEN CARE EVERYONE WAS SO AMAZING LOOKING AND COOOOOOOOOOL.

That Time I Kind of Travelled the World Part 1: Taipei

We were in the car on our way to our famous 'meeting place' -a small Chinese resturant that does the best banquets in town- to catch up with my grandparents where we would do the old switcheroo. It was going to be me, my mum and my grandma going on what would be the greatest holiday yet!

 

I chose to do what I normally do in the car, just listen to the music and stare out of the window pretending to be in a heart-felt movie scen or music video as I stared out dramatically into the distance. That was until a little whisper broke my focus. "It says that your ticket must match your passpot name exactly, they won't let Amehka on the plane." My ticket had been printed with the wrong name on it.

 

After any unsuccesful phone calls we change course for the International Airport and my stomach grumbled in protest. After much protest, heart-felt sob stories, stomped feet, large hand-gestures and fluttering of the eyelashes, the asian man by the name of Jimmy made a 'comment' on my online ticket explaining that I was also known as this name and he reassured us that we "SHOULD BE" fine to get to Paris (that was where we were heading but with a stop-over in Taipei first). Coming home was another story... Jimmy was a top bloke. One day I want to be like Jimmy #JimmyforPresident.

 

On the plane to Taipei I got stuck with had the pleasure of sitting next to mum and my grandma (ma) goto stuck with "Nancy," an Asian lady who decided to adopt and look after my grandma, even blessing her for safe travels.

 

Once we arrivd we headed into the city. Ofcourse, the first place in Taipei we had to go was Starbucks where I had my first green tea cream frappecino which was amazeballs!! It was at this time that I decided it might have been just a little too cold outside for just a t-shirt and jeans as EVERYONE that walked past the window we were sitting in had more layers then an onion (Or an Ogre)

 

Before we had left Australia I had asked mym if it was cold in Taipei at this time of the year but she had assured me that it was just as hot as Australia. ao I just wore my Starwars T-shirt and my new Mink-Pink jeans. Little did I know that it was the middle of winter until I saw everyone walking around in dozens of layers. But where were all of my warm clothes? Getting loaded onto the next plane... Despite this, we headed off to a temple, chattering teeth and all.

 

Here are the photos from my very first day in another country. I was in love with Taipei and so excited to come back in just over a month!~

 Once it started to get dark we headed back to the airport where we enjoeyed the best dumplings and free wifi! I noticed that our boarding passes were covered in 'Hello Kitty" themed cartoons amd when we got to our gate I saw that so was everything else from the plastic seats to the themed playground that mum would let her almost 17-year-old daughter on. I mean what's with that?

 

LURVE LURVE LURVE TAIPEI and I hope you sort-of maybe thought this post was alright. TOODLES!

School's Out For Summer~School's Out For Ever

Although school wasn't blown to pieces (someone please tell me they understand the Alice Cooper reference), I did graduate which is just as good in my humble opinion. While most normal teenagers haul ass to the beloved Gold Coast for Schoolies week, three of my friends and I decided to try something different and chose a quiet spot to go camping. Another reason might have been that I wasn't allowed to go to the Gold Coast and I didn't have the money anyway BUT it did turn out to be an awesome week. We swam in the river everyday and ate toasted marshmellows every night. We had a pretty hectic game of Truth or Dare one night and I absolutely owned the UNO competition (well, I owned the UNO cards we were using anway). I almost stood on a snake, there were spiders the size of my hand, a turkey ate my food AND we took selfies with deers. I slept on a yogo matt for the week and can I just say 1/10 DO NOT RECOMMEND! One thing I do reccomend however is henna art. My friend and I bought some DIY henna art when we went into town one day and as a result, I spent hours drawing all of my arms and legs, I was happy with the results and posted some photos, so I would like to hear what you think of my slightly below average artistic skills. We also ended up making friends with some other schoolies kids that had the same idea as us so we had a little party each night with loud music and laser lights. I took my camera but silly me didn't charge it so it died after only a couple of days. However here are some of the photos we did manage to take:

Sorry if it's a lot of photos and not a lot of talk. It was so long ago now and I know I have to improve the quality of the writing in my posts but for the moment, I am just trying to catch up and sitll have a heap of things to post! I hope you enjoyed the chill vibes of this post.

Don't forget to follow my little blog because I would love to get some followers (pleasE) *BEGS*