Stratford-upon-Avon

Hey guys,

I know I haven’t posted anything in a while but I’ve been quite busy. Last weekend I went with a big group of people to Stratford-upon-Avon. I was preparing the night before for this day trip as we had to meet and leave quite early in the morning. We met in London and took a coach to Stratford-upon-Avon which arrived there by about 11 am. I met a couple eau pars and sat next to them on the bus. I quickly made friends with the one eau par and spent the day in Stratford-upon-Avon exploring with her.

When we got to Stratford-upon-Avon the group walked through the city and saw the birth house of Shakespeare, the theatre, a church, and many more iconic sights. The weather wasn’t always in our favour as it would hail on and off but for the most part it was nice weather and so nice to see all of these buildings and landscapes. It was great to get out of London for the day for a change of scenery.

Around 1:30 the group split up for lunch and to have some time our own to explore. During this time my new friend and I went into Shakespeare’s birth house and walked through the house and garden. We were lucky that when we had lunch it was raining but once we were done and ready to go and explore the weather held up for us. We explored the town a bit and went into Shakespeare’s birth house but did not have enough time to see any of the other houses which was somewhat disappointing but we thought that we may just have to come back again to see the rest.

Near the end of our day trip we saw a shop which sold many Harry Potter items. In this shop you were able to send Hogwarts acceptance letters as well as other letters from either Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic. We also spotted a Peter Rabbit store which brought back fond memories.

Around 5 pm we all got back on the bus to London, which was longer than I think leaving London took, my new friend and I sat next to a guy from Spain who we started talking to a bit. Coming back into London we arrived around 8 pm near Piccadilly Circus and the group was then going to go out to the pub. My new friend and I both headed to the tube station though as she had to meet with other friends and I had to be up early the next day to meet with some people. 

I think all in all Stratford-upon-Avon was a great place to visit and has so much history that you need more than a day to explore all of it. I do wish though that we had a car to go out and see more of the houses as only 3 of the 5 (I think) are in walking distance and the others are just outside of Stratford-upon-Avon. It was so lovely to just get out of London for the day and see something completely new that you wouldn’t see otherwise. It was an experience I will never forget and hey I made a new friend out of it.

Ashley xx.

100 Happy Days (Day 31 – 40)

Day 31: Talking to my cousin, sister, and mom

Day 32: Waking up to a good dream

Day 33: Talking to my mom and sister

Day 34: Making red velvet cupcakes and booking an upcoming trip

Day 35: Talking to two of my cousins

Day 36: Going for a run

Day 37: Purchasing a Sleek pallet and a new nail polish

Day 38: Making cookies and preparing for a trip the next day

Day 39: Going to Stratford-upon-Avon and making a new friend

Day 40: Seeing my cousin and getting to see and explore more of London

100 Happy Days (21 – 30)

Day 21: Talking to my cousin over FaceTime

Day 22: Going to Brownies and talking to my mom and sister

Day 23: Looking into booking a trip with my sister and cousin

Day 24: Making red velvet pancakes with cream cheese icing 

Day 25: Waking up to an awesome dream

Day 26: Going to Greggs and getting a cheese and onion pasty

Day 27: Making plans to go to a concert with my sister and friend in the summer

Day 28: Talking to my mom, sister, cousin, and uncle

Day 29: Going geocaching with GirlGuides

Day 30: Making fries and mac and cheese for dinner

Travelling

Hey guys,

So this post is going to be a little bit different from my others as it is not really an update on what I have done last week or my 100 Happy Days. I thought I would talk a little about travel. I think its something we all want to do if not now then some day. We all get the travel bug at one point. Recently I have been looking at going to a few different places both for a couple days and for almost a month. I have also been watching a show called “Departure” which has inspired me to see more. Through looking into these different trips I have learned quite a lot.

The first thing I have learnt is that even though everybody says travel in Europe is fairly cheap once you are in Europe it is not. I guess it is cheaper than flying in North America but it still adds up. I am planning 3 different trips right now and all are in Europe but because I do not have a job right now I am left trying to budget my money as best I can. The way I am going about budgeting is probably not the best way to but it was the first thing I thought of and I am still looking into budgeting in a better way. For now I am just not going to buy anything unless I truly need it, like food and my utilities. As I look through different destinations I have found that it is sometimes cheaper to purchase your flight and hotel together though an airline rather than pay for a plane ticket then still need to look for accommodations. I have also learned that although the train seems like a cheaper option it isn’t always. The one truly important thing I have learnt is to SAVE!!!

The next thing I have learnt is to always always clear your cookies. Whether you are just glancing at different locations or have your heart set on somewhere you are always going to check the prices before you book. The more you look at a location or a plane ticket you want the higher the prices are going to go. All airline websites are like that and even websites like SkyScanner do that as well. You can look as much as you want but unless you clear your cookies after you look then next time the prices will be higher.

I have also learnt the importance of a plan. If you want to go anywhere it is probably best to look into activities before you go. Some places you can go and just wing it and others you may need to book in advance. For instance if you want to go to Alhambra in Spain you most definitely need to book that in advance as the lines are huge and they only let so many people in. It is also important to plan not only your activities but your transportation. In my case I am not able to rent a car so I need to plan ahead for when I arrive in a new place. I will be needing a shuttle or a taxi to get to my hotel or hostel or where ever I choose to stay. I will also be needing to book a taxi ahead of time to get me from my house to the airport. If like me you are unable to rent a car then you also want to plan ahead and book a hotel that is near city centre so that you don’t have to take a cab in and out of the city every time you go out. It is also nice to look into the city before hand to look into what you would like to do there whether it need booking or not. For instance maybe there are some hidden gems in the city that you would never have found out otherwise.

Lastly I have found out you can’t plan everything. As much as I would love to have a 100% concrete plan that I stick to there is no way that is possible. Sometimes you just need to let go and wing it and have fun. You can’t always guarantee that everything will go according to plan and as much as you plan and research you also need to allow some leeway.

I’m sure as I continue to look into and book my different trips I will be learning many more tips and tricks when it comes to travelling. If you want to know more about what I learn when planning trips as well as going on them then let me know. I will defiantly tell you about my trips as I go on them and will post pictures.

If you have any other suggestions about travelling around Europe please let me know as they will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Ashley xx.

100 Happy Days (Days 11-20)

Day 11: Meeting a lady, who was very funny, in the Bahamas

Day 12: Having lifeguards ask if my sister and I were twins

Day 13: Swimming with dolphins

Day 14: Getting Tim Hortons

Day 15: Going to GirlGuides

Day 16: Getting to FaceTime my mom and sister

Day 17: Getting a facial and having my nails done

Day 18: Spending the day with my cousin (seeing the Natural History Museum (seeing the Wildlife Photographer of the Year) and getting dinner)

Day 19: Booking a day trip (as well it was Harry Styles’ 21st birthday)

Day 20: Successfully taking the bus to Asda and back for the first time by myself

Bahama’s trip and this week

Hi guys,

So I just came back from a family trip this week so I haven’t had a chance to post anything. I went on a trip to the Bahama’s Paradise Island. I flew to Toronto for one night and met my family there and we all flew to the Bahamas together. It was super nice weather, +27 C. We got to go on all the waterslides, lazy rivers, and the pools. It was so much fun! The last day we woke up early and my sister and I got to swim with dolphins! At first I was nervous as I had seen so many things about whales and other sea creatures, but once you got in the water with them they are so cute. There were three dolphins in with us; a mommy, 9 years old, and her baby, 9 months old, and another dolphin to help the mommy out. We got to hug the dolphins, kiss them, swim with them, give them a high five, and have them push us forward by our feet. It was a lot of fun and I would defiantly do it again if I got the chance.

They told us that about 8 of these dolphins, they have 24 and soon 25 as one is pregnant, came from Louisiana after the hurricane hit. The dolphins were moved to the Bahamas and rehomed in the Dolphin Cay. We got to spend about an hour with the dolphins and now I just love dolphins and understand why people love to watch them, work with them, and just spend time with them in general. I am really not sure what I was ever scared of to begin with.

The Bahamas was a lot of fun though I was grateful that I got to spend time with my family again. Of course I was sad having to leave them but I know I will see them again soon and I have things to look forward to doing in London. My sister and I also took some night pictures and sunset pictures, as she had to do it for her photography class.

When I came back to London I was so exhausted from a day of traveling. I took a nap and went to GirlGuides later that evening which was fun. I had tons of energy at the beginning and by the end of GirlGuides I was exhausted. This week I also went to the London School of Beauty and got a facial as flying does something to my skin. It was fun and inexpensive as you have a student working on you. Yesterday I spent the day with my cousin and we went to the Natural History Museum and saw the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Those pictures were amazing. We also saw the dinosaur exhibit as well as the rest of the museum. After that we went out for dinner and I went home and he went to play basketball. It was quiet cold out but we had a lot of fun. It was a long fun day though that we will definitely have to do something like that again.

Anyways I will probably be posting my next 10 days of 100 Happy Days fairly soon and I will update you on more later.

Ashley x.

100 Happy Days

Hi guys,

So as I promised every 10 days I will share my “100 Happy Days” with you guys. Sorry this is a bit late but I just got back from my holiday which I will make a separate post on tomorrow.

Day 1: Getting a ride home to the train station from Girl guides

Day 2: Waking up to texts from family and friends

Day 3: Having my new shoes delivered

Day 4: Skypeing with my cousins and sister

Day 5: Baking cookies and working out

Day 6: Knowing my dog is doing better after she was sick

Day 7: Talking to my mom and sister over FaceTime

Day 8: Having a huge bed to sleep in and being back in Canada

Day 9: Seeing my family and having Tim Hortons

Day 10: Being proud of myself for going down the Mayan temple water slide