Adventures ft. the Atlantic

I'm sitting on my bed at almost midnight trying to find the perfect words to open this blog post about possibly best weekend I've had in a while and all I can think of are the lack of words in my dictionary to describe any of my experiences.

I could go on and on about the 9 hour traffic filled car ride from Manchester to Cornwall that drained my life out of me and how I spent most of it analysing the contents in people's caravans and cars driving along with us on the motorway, the rolls of toilet paper visible from their back seats, the Nike hiking trainers, the pissed off and bored siblings in the backseat hitting each other with their empty Capri Sun juice cartons, the sleepy 6 year old girl (I'm assuming she's 6...she looked around 6) trying to keep herself awake by poking her ugly looking teddy bear that clearly needed a wash or the granddad in major need of botox with the huge headphones nodding his head as he tried to speed ahead. 

But instead, I'm going to jump straight into talking about Cornwall... (you thought...)

We stayed in this super cute B and B called Elysian Fields in a small town near Helston. If you'd been driving to get to Cornwall for as long as it ended up taking my family (almost 9 hours), you definitely wanted to spend the night in a B and B that was going to give you the best. 

We woke up bright and early the next day to be greeted to the ugliest of days I've seen in a while. The mist was incredibly discouraging considering it looked like limbo which ever way you looked. I literally couldn't make out what was on the other side of the road because of the mist. Then came the rain and so my friends and I (there were 2 other families that we were there with who we are very good friends with) sat down to try and find places to go to nearby. After getting over the fact that the wifi and internet connection there was horrible, we managed to find 4 good places within 30 minute drives of each other near Helston to go to. We decided the rain wasn't going to stop us despite the Goggle results for the 'top 10 things to do in Cornwall when it rains' being rather discouraging (with number 10 very blatantly telling us to stay indoors and watch DVDs).

Our first stop was a small town called St Ives. It was about a half hour drive from our B and B and we got there in no time, parking our cars and heading straight down to the beach. I've been to the beach very few times in my life but after this trip, I finally understand why so many people enjoy spending time at the beach. For me, it wasn't the idea of stripping down to a bikini or beach shorts or even building sandcastles (you can tell my references are minimalistic and only driven from stereotypical movie scenes and tumblr pictures); it was simply squealing every time I felt the incredibly cold and still somewhat equally as exhilaratingly fresh Atlantic water under my bare feet every time the time came in. 

There was something amazing about simply watching the water roll in back and forth in front of your eyes and look out as far as you could to realise you were at the edge of an ocean that went on for miles and miles. The fact that I was a tiny speck of dust stood on a beach when the waters before me vasted out to entire continents and places I'd never been to. What I loved the most about the beach was the mindset it'd put me in and I thank St Ives with all the might in my feeble heart for that. 

We walked along the beach for what seemed like hours before finally climbing up a few stairs to get to all the rocks surrounded the coast. My feet were already covered in wet sand and I'd long ditched my shoes anyway and so I braved walking across the rocks with my mum as far as I could. It was my first try and I was too much of a wimp to go too far but my mum climbed all the way out near the water. 

Only googling the map of St Ives do I now realise the beach we went to was the smallest beach in St Ives. Porthgwidden Beach. I've even circled it on the picture below for your convenience.

We only spent around 2 hours there but looking at the map, it makes sense that next time I visit Cornwall (which I hope to do for sure real soon), I have to convince my parents to stay there much longer than 2 hours. I especially wanted to make my through the shops in the town because there seemed to be tons of art shops that we drove past that I never got to go to. One downside, the roads were incredibly narrow and big cars would have a hard time manoeuvring around, but as soon as you got to the beach, every struggle in your life really seemed worth it.

Our next stop was a place called Botallack. By the time we got there from St Ives, the rain really wasn't playing in our favour and so we didn't get to spend as much time there are we wanted to. My friend who's a huge fan of the BBC series, Poldark, wanted to visit the mines in Botallack but the area was all sealed off and we didn't do much there other than sulk in the rain and overlook the fields that needed some serious trimming. The entrance to the mine said it was 'private' and despite the scenery looking somewhat welcoming, the weather really did ruin the whole vibe. Some may call it a 'Cornish catastrophe'...and by some, I mean me. 

The stupid mist didn't make it any better and I concluded Botallack to be my least favourite place of all the one's I'd been to. Only now do I realise, we went to the wrong place and this is what Botallack is really supposed to look like...

Land's End was our 3rd spot to visit for the day. If you've heard anything about Cornwall or the South West coast of England, you've heard of Land's End. In plain terms, it the the western most point of England. It's famous for...being the western most point of England. That's about it...

Personally, I wasn't all to fond of the tourist place thingy they had around the place. There wasn't really much to do other than take a picture with the Land's End signpost and going to the First and Last House.

By the time we looked around the tourist centre, everyone was so hungry we didn't collectively spend more than 30 minutes there.

Here's a note for any future Cornwall visitors, if you're hungry, don't put off eating for the next place you're going to and then the next because it makes you very groggy and not want to look around and enjoy the scenery. The tourist centre didn't have a restaurant that did fish and chips which is what we wanted to eat for lunch and so we drove about 5 minutes back the way we came and had lunch at this super amazing chippy. The fish was great and so was the complimentary orange juice that we got.

Our last stop for the day was a place called Porthgwarra.

To say I was exhausted was an understatement and yet driving down the ridiculously steep and narrow roads towards the cove in Porthgwarra will be something that I'll remember for a very long time. We drove past huge houses that were more or less just balanced on or being supported by a random rock on cliffs. Then there were houses hidden in between huge trees and I just thought how serene and yet dangerous living a life here would be. The rather alive and 18 year naive part of me contemplated the prospect of mystery and adventure and ambiguity living in the middle of nowhere would give me and then there was the realistic and sane part of me that just began panic about the idea of me dying inside my house because it would take a rescue plane about 50 hours to find my damn house.

I know. I'm very cheerful!

Porthgwarra was a particular favourite destination of my friend's because Poldark was also filmed there. The view we had of the beach was incredible...once we'd trekked down the incredibly steep and slippery (because it'd been raining) path to get down to the cove.

I'm no Da Vinci

For as long as I can remember, there's been one thing in my life that I've always been passionate about. When I say passionate, I don't just mean low-key obsessed with or something that I've talked about loads; I mean the kind you dream about day and night from the age of 3 and still secretly wish for it to come true at 18. 

Art.

Not the Da Vinci or Picasso kind. 

Just plain and simple drawing and sketching. 

Nevertheless, as much as I'd like to think I've kept my dream alive, I haven't been through nearly as many 2B, 4B, 6B and 8B pencils in my life as I'd like to have done. Alike so many cultures, I've been brought up in one where being a doctor, lawyer or engineer are the only 3 acceptable choices you make in life to be somebody and anybody. Growing up in a western and more open minded country like England, I've always challenged these cultural views and yet at 18, I find myself waiting to go to university to study one of the 3 'desired professions' after all. 

God works in mysterious ways, I'm a firm believer of that. 

Just last week, I was waiting to hear back from a company I was looking to do an industrial placement with for my gap year before going to university next year and much to my dismay, they rejected me (not because I wasn't good enough or anything but due to a few personal circumstances I'd rather not go into detail about). I was very upset as you can imagine. Getting into university next year suddenly began to look very very hard considering I wasn't going to have anything to show in regards to what I did during my gap year. But then I suddenly came across the idea of possibly going into a little business of my own that would involve selling my pile of artwork I've been working on over the past few years. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier or why my brain decided this was the right time to think this up. Whatever it was, I'm  a firm believer in fate and I feel like this was kind of destined.
I'm thankful when I say I think I've finally come up with my own unique style of drawings I enjoy doing. I don't draw faces when I draw and I enjoy working with pens. I also like sketching in heavy detail and doing a lot of shading with my ordinary pens. I like complexity within simplicity in art and well, in the last week I've made myself two separate outlets to sell my works online. Starting this business has given me a new awakening and I get up every morning wondering who else liked my art and what they commented saying. I've been drawing more and more and coming up with ideas to expand my skills and items I can create.
I understand simply sketching and uploading my art to be made into prints isn't going the extra mile. I've recently been watching tutorials on editing softwares and figuring things out for myself to go that little bit further. I feel like anyone can make the most out of the worst of situations if they put their mind to it and no matter how far away you think you are from pursuing what you intend on doing in your heart, it's never going to be unreachable.
Perseverance, hardwork, dedication all seem like really big words on paper but it really is as simple as sticking by what you believe and being patient for the right outcomes.
For anyone that is possibly interested in purchasing prints of my art work, I'll put the links at the bottom of this post. Here are a few of my sketches I'm selling. It's most One Direction fan art (sorry if you're not into that) but I'm taking requests on new things to draw.

My Etsy store (for art prints that I'll be packaging and sending off myself)

My RedBubble store (for phone cases, notebooks, journals, travel mugs, cushions etc)

'Inside Out'

When I started this blog, I didn't know how I felt about wanting to do book reviews or movie reviews but after watching one of Disney's latest masterpieces, Inside Out, I have been itching to talk about it to anyone and everyone that will listen. So on the contrary to a previous post I wrote about how Old Disney was so much better (I still stick by that), Disney Pixar seems to have outdone themselves once more. Maybe it's because it was my first time watching the movie and not enough people have watched it yet to class it as being overrated that made it so special for me. It might also have to do with the fact that there were no major songs in the movie that distracted from the plot that intrigued me. 

So aside from the fact that Inside Out animators and creators already had a major leg up above Nina and the Neurons (a British show for kids on Cbeebies that I'm not even sure they air anymore), the opening scene in the movie with 'Joy' could not have been done more beautifully. 

Every aspect and concept of the movie was so well thought so and so colourful and vivid, it genuinely made me wonder about what on Earth goes up in our brains. Without giving much away, the movie entails the idea that our brain contains a HQ (central nervous system if you must for all the biologist freaks out there) and it's controlled by 5 emotions, Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger, who on a day to day basis drive everything in us from our first laugh to the sass we give our parents. The very thought that's gone into figuring out how the emotions would look like on screen and uplifting things like our long term memory store and subconscious is so well done in the film. It's a perfect coming of age film that has in no way gone out of its way to be 'extra' per say. It flowed so eloquently and I wouldn't mind watching it again and again. 

Though some concepts might be ahead of the kids who this movie is aimed for, it most definitely has the scope for an even better sequel. 

One of my favourite parts in particular had to be the imaginary boyfriend in Riley's (the main character) imagination who looked a little too much like Harry Styles for my liking. What with the messy brown side swept curly hair, the skinny jeans, the brown boots and the good looks, I couldn't help but wonder what my brain would look like according to Inside Out animators. 

Aspects of personality development and friendship and family bonds as well as dreams and nightmares and our 'train of thought' and 'brain freezes' in the literal sense were all touched upon and I've just been so overwhelmed by this film, I can't stop playing the scenes in my head. It even touched upon those God damn annoying tunes that get stuck in our head for days on end and how we forget so many memories from when we we're babies. If anything, you should watch this movie for the light psychology knowledge without the textbooks and case studies. It's genius.

Unlike most Disney movies which are very keen to stress the importance of imagination, Inside Out suggests that leaving your imagination behind is a sign of growing up. I'm not entirely sure about that part in the film but I guess it's a way of authenticating as well as telling children that life isn't over if your thoughts about fairy princesses and rainbow unicorns are lost.

I laughed and cried watching this movie and I don't for once think it's a movie only for children. If you were unsure about this movie, you need to stop whatever you're doing and go and watch it. It's truly and completely worth it. 

Road-tripping part 2

So after spending the afternoon and evening at Stratford, we headed off to Bristol where we stayed the night at some sort of distant relative's apartment. I'm not sure how I'm related to her, I mean. You know how it is when you're travelling? You meet family you never know you had. Mind you, the car journey this time was seemingly much more relaxed. My sister and I had finally worked out the best way to divide the space between us and sit ourselves in a way that we were both comfortable (after I pushed her feet off her lap enough times for her to understand it wasn't acceptable). Long car journeys are in no way easy on one's arse either. I also found that out the hard way. Seriously, to anyone embarking on a long car journey, whatever you do, do not forget some form of cushioning. Car windows are also not a good place to rest your head to sleep against.
Back to the trip, according to my plan, we were supposed to head to London the next morning but given that the weather was so so beautifully disgusting, we decided a change to our trip was in order. Shit happens, people. Sometimes, you're starved off your dream of the cringy London tour for the trillionth time because the weather decides to be your enemy.
Regardless, we decided to spend the day in Bristol, knowing the rain would stop eventually. And so I switched to my list of things to do in Bristol instead - yes, I had lists for every prospective city we were going to.
First on my list for Bristol was Clevedon Pier. If you must know, it's been a dream place of mine to go to because One Direction may or may not have filmed the music video for their song You and I.

Clevedon Pier was a 30 minute drive from my cousin's apartment we were staying in. The minute we got near the pier, the air was already 50 times clearer and freezing as hell. None of that matter though because the view just at first glance was so breathtaking. The water just seemed to go on forever and one look at the pier and I began squealing like a two year old. The entry fee to go onto the pier was surprisingly very cheap too. The day was already looking up you see. I was already practically jumping on the spot while my dad paid for us to get on the pier and so he let slip to the lady at the till that I was a One Direction fan. She laughed and told me about the plaque the boys had on the pier - it's worth noting that she was incredibly friendly too. I thanked her and left my family behind and literally ran past the scaffolding (they were making an extended tourist information bit at the front) to the pier.

So the pier is pretty long. Like it's huge. When you first step on it, you don't notice but the minute you look down at your feet and realise there's nothing under the huge planks of wood but water, it shakes you a little. Also, walking in a straight line along the pier proved to be more difficult than I thought it would. I kept thinking I'd trip over but it was all good. There weren't a lot of people up and down the pier and the few people that were there were only fishing.

Every time I looked up, the sky was truly surreal.
The wind however, I could live without. My hair was all over the place and the wind didn't even wait long enough between each blow for me to fix it. The next time I go, I most certainly will remember to tie my hair back super tight. Nonetheless, I wouldn't exchange the feeling I had walking up and down the pier for anything. Especially when my sister and I did the whole trek and were unsuccessful in being about to locate the One Direction plaque. I was disappointed to say the least seeing as they were the reason I went there. Some of the other plaques people had put on were so cute, they almost brought tears to my eyes. There were cute ones and goofy ones and heartbreaking ones.
I never did get around to asking the lady at the entrance how much it was to have a plaque put on the pier but I imagine the size and the number of letters you put on definitely mattered.

You could tell which ones were new because they were still gold and shiny whereas the older ones looked a little too vintage to be even classed as being from this century.
So back to my bizarre account of the day, eventually, after rushing back to the lady at the entrance and having her show me where the plaque for One Direction was, I managed to locate it.

Their plaque looked a little too dirty for my liking but then I realised I probably wasn't the first strange person to have driven all the way to Clevedon from Manchester just to take a picture of that pier and that there were many before me who'd done just the same.
After taking one last look back at the pier, we left Clevedon and headed to a place called Weston-super-mare. Considering the fact that I haven't been to a beach since I was like 3, Weston-super-mare was a pretty big deal for me. It'd been raining earlier in the day like I'd mentioned but by the time we got there, the sky was clear and pretty sunny. We walked along the beach (ran more like) and did the usual writing our names in the sand, screaming at the sea pointlessly and constantly looking out for the seagulls flying over our heads in fear of them doing what they do best.

We had lunch at McDonald's after that and finally headed off towards London but only to spend the night there.
Believe it or not, I managed to get halfway through that book I'd dreaded having to read just the day before because I realised I had a fabulous day and winding down with a book is exactly what I needed.
Our trip didn't go exactly the way we planned it but I wouldn't have asked for a better alternative than our day in Bristol. We drove around so much and managed to see so much of the city, I was truly left in awe of the whole experience.

If there's one thing this journey has taught me, it's to be open to changes and be as free minded as you can possibly be. I've met so many new people during this trip not to mention different types of people. I've learned an incredible amount about myself as well as those around me. I've learned to be a lot more thankful about what I have and be happy for what others have that I may not.
If I were to do this trip again, or a different road trip in fact, I don't think I'd do it any differently apart from possibly travelling in a bigger car with a little more leg room. It was just one of those trips where I didn't even have my earphones in for half the time to 'slip away from reality' or whatever because after 5/6 songs, even the different drum beats and lyrically approved 'na na na's and 'yeah yeah yeah's got a little repetitive.
I'd rather be imagining myself with my future and equally as strange husband living in that deserted cottage we'd passed on the motorway on the way to London over generic pop music anyday.
Here's to making each and every trip you ever go on in life count.