Bristol - Kooky Town

    We spent all of 3 days in Bristol and with the use of Tesco clubcard vouchers we were able to stay in a fancy hotel, by the river. However, I would have never paid full price for the hotel room, as it wasn't worth it's £150 plus price tag, even if it did have a TV in the bathroom.
    Bristol was different, it was kooky, individual and fascinating. The steep gradient of Park Street added to the unusual character. With the cathedral at the bottom, the university at the top and Cabot Tower just a short walk up a side road, the street was penned in by beautiful pieces of architecture that could challenge any city. There was even a Banksy on one of the buildings. It may have been vandalised but not even the blue spots of paint affected it. There were handfuls of individual owned shops, the majority were borderline kooky and some drowned in their own kookiness. I may not be of the fashionable breed but it was nice to walk round a shop that I wouldn't see in another city, another chain.
 


I was a huge fan of the £2 bookshop. Something that I couldn't quite believe at first. Surely every book wasn't just £2, yet they were and I managed to restrain myself to just the one book. The shops may have been independent but the restaurants weren't. However, I'll never say no to a meal at Nando's or Ask.
    There was plenty more to Bristol than Park Street, such as the harbour, with it's bars and restaurants, and the square with it's fountains. Also the modern area by the harbour was not to be missed, with new apartments, restaurants and an artistic square with statues of famous Bristolians and a mirrored ball that reminded me of the Bean in Chicago.
     Bristol is an English city not to be missed, there's enough shops, art and culture to keep you busy for much longer than 3 days.


 

5 of the best cities to visit

New York City, USA

Even though a part of me didn't want to like New York because of how much the Americans glorify the city, especially since 9/11, I couldn't help but love the place.
Nowhere is too out of the way in Manhattan with such a well connected underground we were only a couple of blocks away from a station. I loved everything about the city, from the awesome views visible from Rockefeller Center, Times Square and the Staten Island ferry, to the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street.
When I visited Ground Zero, it was only a few months away from completion, but it looked like it was going to be the king of all memorials and the US of A love a good memorial.
Central Park was less like a park than I had hoped. With a big road running through the middle of it and the majority of the grass areas fenced off with limited points of entry, it created a more controlled feel to the park, rather than the natural haven that it's made out to be.
However, this didn't dampen my opinion of New York, I loved the the typical Manhattan Chinese takeaway round the corner from our hotel, as well as the independent stores that littered the streets. I didn't mind waiting for a train in the subway because it meant I could marvel at the intricate construction while trains weaved in and out on lines that seemed to appear from nowhere.

Rome, Italy

I have a keen interest in everything Roman, so visiting Rome was always going to be a must. Although there were bad points about the city, such as the poor driving and general rudeness of the inhabitants, I couldn't help but love it. I think only in Rome I would be shoved onto a train on the underground by an impatient nun. I also saw a nun texting, which was a surreal thing to witness.
Nevertheless, I loved Rome. The architecture was astounding. To see so many ancient buildings still standing, such as the Pantheon, which is in impeccable condition, to the buildings of ancient Rome that still stand in their crumbled state in the old city. I took a tour bus that dropped me off at the Colosseum, and when it came into view I couldn't believe how big it was and how it dominated the landscape. Pity I wasn't allowed to walk centre stage though, at least I was able to do it in Assassin's Creed...

Chicago, USA

I immediately liked Chicago the moment I arrived. There was a vibe I got from the city that I loved. The diversity of the city is what makes it into my top 5, pushing Washington DC out. Even though Washington was awesome with all the memorials, White House and incredible architecture, Chicago had everything a city  could have. It's like someone created the city and couldn't quite decide what they wanted, so decided to have a bit of everything!
Chicago has shopping centres and awesome architecture, especially along the magnificent mile, which is a mile long stretch of shops. There is also a pier, which displays wonderful views of the city, and a river, which has water taxis running alongside the diverse high rises which make for good sightseeing. Lincoln Park Zoo can keep you busy for the most part of a day and Chicago even has a beach! So, whatever type of person you are- a shopper, sunbather, animal lover, architecture buff or food enthusiast then Chicago will deliver.

Paris, France

An old favourite and a cliche candidate for this top 5. However, I've been to Paris twice and don't feel like it can be left out. The entire city appears to be designed like it is an artistic structure all of it's own, with many roads leading in the same direction meeting at the Arche de Triomphe. I love that many of the buildings are of the same design, much like Turin with its slated rooftops. Paris is a must see, even if you aren't a romantic. With structures like the Eiffel Tower, museums such as the Louvre and enough history to keep you occupied for a month, broken up with countless numbers of cafes and patisseries, Paris cannot be missed.

Bath, England

Many cities could have taken this last spot, but I felt I should be slightly faithful to my country and give the last spot to Bath. In my opinion it fits the criteria I look for in a great city. The city has a lot of history, such as the Jane Eyre museum, where I even bought a bookmark, which I thought was rather fitting. It has architecture that rivals Rome, but then again some of the architecture is actually Roman..such as the Roman Baths, which was quite costly to get into, but was well worth it. I wanted to strip and dive into the hot bath, until I saw the colour of the water and the greenish tinge put me off the idea. Bath is well known for it's great shopping, and is littered with many restaurants and cafes, which like Paris breaks up the sightseeing. I only spent two days in Bath, and with it being my favourite English city I'd like to return someday.

Wwoofing Eh?

"Wwoofing Eh?" was the reaction I received from most Canadians while I was over there for four months. From everyone else - before and after the trip - I received confused silence or comments on how a dog communicates.
However, it is simply a way in which a cash strapped person can travel a country for a length of time, and "contribute" to a farm or garden, in which they will work 4-6 hours a day and 4-5 days a week. In return the wwoofer will be given food, a bed and possibly be shown around the local area.

My plan was simple; to spend four months wwoofing my way across Canada, from Toronto to Vancouver Island (missing out Quebec, because, well, I couldn't be bothered to learn any French)
As well as my aforementioned poorness, I had many reasons to why I wanted to wwoof, such as learning how to farm, gardening techniques and to understand a different way of life to my own. To my dismay, my first wwoofing experience was not quite what I was hoping for: on a farm in eastern Ontario with a volatile woman, a dozen cats and a deaf alsatian, I realised the two weeks I had planned to stay at the farm were too long to contemplate.
I travelled for over two months across Canada, before meeting up with my mum, who had been travelling the world for five months.
I found myself working through sixteen feet of snow and in the scorching temperatures of the Canadian desert. I slept on a school bus, began eating plants and experienced life like I never had before.
So...wwoofing...nothing to do with dogs.