Homesick

Today I've had a busy day. I've been all around Willenhall and Walsall chasing Post Offices that have a biometric reader that works. It all sounds a little odd, but while I have everything else going on, I'm also in the middle of a citizenship process. Although born and raised in the UK, because my parents weren't married I'm not a British citizen! It's caused me few problems really, but I've been thinking about having dual citizenship for a while, so earlier this year I went for it.
In the meantime though I've been thinking a lot about my 'home country' of New Zealand. I've lived there a couple of times, but I alway end up back in the UK. That doesn't stop me daydreaming about returning though, particularly as a lot of my family are over there, and most importantly my sister and Mum. I miss them most, of course.
Looks like it will be at least another couple of years before I get to go back now though, what with my passport situation and more importantly for money flow, the house! So I thought I'd just post a few pics of the country as an excuse for me to look back through the photos I've taken over there the last two trips :x Hope you enjoy them too.

















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Project Wednesday ~Mallorca Travel Journal

Well, a couple of weeks ago I said I'd give you a peak into my Mallorca travel journal, so here we are x] I'm so bad at keeping up with travel journals as I either get back into the room exhausted or find the TV being on too distracting. I also don't want to be antisocial to write about what a great time I'm having hanging out with everyone...

I got this travel journal from my sister who sent it to me from NZ. How cute? x3 It was really well organised too, already containing a pocket for extras and sections for things to pack, stuff to do before we leave and at the back, mini review spots for bars, shopping areas and cafes. Oh a few pages to keep addresses too so I know who to send postcards to x3

I decided to use this book for both my week long Spanish-island trips I took last year, so the first half was for my Mallorca holiday with Face's family. Every page had really nice but muted backgrounds to keep things interesting, and the first couple of pages sets I only wrote on. I'd taken my instax mini with me too though, so those pictures got included in the journal more often than not, like this one of the view from our hotel room.

  I'm always on the lookout for things to include to add something different to the pages and although I usually will keep anything, this time I was aiming for a slimmer journal so I stuck to things that weren't so bulky. The monster/mallorca sticker I got from a souvenir shop but I also have a thing for keeping receipts, particularly if they are in another language or have the shop (or in this case, restaurant) name at the top. On this one I even wrote who had what!

This is something I really enjoying doing for travel journals but almost never find the time- little sketches! This page had a prompt for sketching so I had the excuse to sit and do it while Face watched TV one afternoon/evening. I sat on the balcony of our hotel and just doodled the view. I've never been good at realism so true to my style, it looks a little cartoony. As you can see, I also didn't get a chance to finish my sketch, but I think I got the more interesting part in, of the harbour :]

I also cut up a few leaflets from places we had visited to include more pictures for interest and context. On this page I also stuck in Face & I's mini tren tickets after a ride we took which toured us all around Porto Cristo and some other nearby beaches.
I did quite a few more pages than this, but I think these were the most interesting ones. Quite a few of the others were just text, but even just now I got caught up reading as I tried to type this, so I guess that works for me!
I did most of this while I was in Mallorca, not bad for me! I admit though I had to complete it when I got back :x On the other hand, I still have my Japanese travel journal sitting on my desk waiting to be completed...I always need more time for craft! So I didn't do a bad job to get this one all done before I went off on my next trip.
Do you like to keep travel journals?



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This Time Last Year ~September 2014 Mallorca Holiday

Last year was a year of trips away, which was pretty good as my passport was so close to expiry and I still haven't got too far in replacing it :/ So I can look back on this holiday at least.

I went away with Face's family to Porto Cristo, Mallorca. I understood they were the kind of family who enjoyed sitting around the complex pool and just soaking up the sun, but we actually did quite a bit, something I'm much more used to! After all, if you don't come back off a holiday needing another holiday, you're doing something wrong! Okay, well it didn't quite come to that but I was happy with getting lots of photos of our corner of the island :]

We explored the town a few times, some of the streets were very much a Spanish holiday town, which of course I enjoyed getting shots of x3 This street led up to a small church, and also has a couple of really cute corner shops x3

As you may expect from the name, Porto Cristo has a pretty large port, another great place for pics for me x3 Not living anywhere near the sea in the UK either, it's always really fun to wander ports and the like and it really boosts the feeling of holiday to hear the water lapping on the shore & boat sides.

A couple of days rather than using our legs we caught the 'mini tren', a small land train that tootled you around the town and to a bunch of nearby beaches. It was a great little mooch to see a little out of the town and get some views, like of this beautiful blue sea and the cliffs!

Literally 5 minutes walk from our hotel was a large cave system, so of course we had to go check it out too! They were pretty extensive and it took us about an hour to wander around, even with guides pushing us along (I dawdled at the back getting photos...). At the end there was a massive cave with a lake and they put on a show with a few small lit up boats with orchestral-style music. It was really pretty.

On our last day we caught the market in the town, it was a good end to our holiday :]
I can't wait till I can get away again, although I think even a UK holiday would be fine for me right now! Have you been to Mallorca? Where did you stay? I would've loved to see the capital, but I'm happy with what we did get to see ^^



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Project Wednesday ~Future Map Projects

I love maps! The colours, details and most of all what they represent! I don't have many items at the moment with maps on actually, but I plan to decorate with them when I'm settled into the new house ^^; I'm hoping to make them myself, so I've been mooching around the internets for inspiration. Here's what I've come up with~


Etsy via Pinterest This one is super simple, although this example pic isn't so great XD I'm thinking what would be really cool would be a copy of the house key set in front of a map of the area, it could just be that simple or have something like 'our home' written on it. I think it would be really cute, but I am a little wary that it may make my housekey a little too accessible? Or am I just worrying too much? :x

 
Amazon This idea has been on my mind since I saw the wooden stag head in a shop last christmas :] I thought it was a really good idea, and since then I guess a lot of other people do too as they're all over the internet now, in many, many different patterns! However, although I like stags I've really had more of a thing for ram's skulls recently, particularly as tattoos so when I saw that you can get a ram's head version...well, lets just say it came together x3 I'd probably buy some map paper from Paperchase if not online and cover the pieces myself before assembling it.


Etsy I think this would be a simple one to do as well, the hardest part would be deciding what the three hearts were to represent! This one is kind of based around marriage, but I think you could also do childhood homes and the current house, or maybe even holiday destinations. As it's kind of small I think it would be good by the entrance, just something small to decorate with :3


The Cupcake Architect I've seen this one around pinterest so much it feels kinda old, but I've never actually seen one in someones home. I really like this one of the UK that I found on The Cupcake Architect's blog, and I think one of just my home county would also be pretty cool, although not sure even many people from Shropshire would recognise it by silhouette alone. I don't think people in the UK are quite as county-proud as those in the USA! The world map ones are good too, and I would maybe like to make one of those as a feature of a room, with photos taken in some of the stringed countries included too.


Not on the High Street Another easy one, only complicated by having to find somewhere that'll print local maps cheaply XD I'm not sure where exactly I'd put a map set like this, but I don't think I'll be getting it from NotHS, where it's £89!
Ahhh, I'm so inspired! Are you big on maps or do you prefer different patterns? I'll be sure to let you know if any of my plans based on these come to fruition xD



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Exploring Odaiba, Tokyo

Still passportless, still dreaming of travel. Particularly prominent in my mind is our trip to Tokyo last year, and how much I want to go back!
I thought I would tell you a little about what there is to see in and around Tokyo, maybe you'll see why it keeps playing on my mind, or maybe it'll encourage you to go too!
Japan was a big leap for me for travel. Although I've been wanting to go for a long time, I was really afraid of the language barrier. When we finally booked to go I was still really afraid, but with Face encouraging me I was even more keen to go. As it turns out Tokyo is such a high traffic area for tourists and foreign business men I really had nothing to worry about, I even had a couple of people apologise to me for not being able to put their english across to me clearly enough for me to fully understand. I was like, are you kidding?! I'm in your country, with zero language skills and YOU'RE apologising to ME?
So today I thought I'd tell you about what we found to do in Odaiba, a popular small island for couples to go as there's so much light entertainment.

We caught the subway, a huge help in our touring about as there were english maps available and the ticket machines can be changed to English so you know where you're booking a ticket to! They are also as prompt as they are famous for and most run every 10/15 minutes :] While we waited we checked out some nearby vending machines anyway XD

First thing we did when off the subway was go find Joyopolis, a large arcade run by Sega. You need to buy special token and then you can use those to play on some of the big games, like a drifting racing game Face had a go on where he actually had to get into a car to play! It moved to go with the game which was pretty cool x3 I'm not big into arcades, but I went into a horror shooter with Face where we were sat in a cart and had to shoot at zombies on the screen as we 'traveled' around the game. I didn't do very well but I had fun XD We also played on things I find more enjoyable, like this complicated version of air hockey, which since playing here I've also seen in numerous places across the UK XD

Across from Joyopolis is a large shopping area which also has more vintage arcades. I played a few rounds of pinball over there and we had a good mooch around the souvenir shops, I could've bought so much! I managed to limit myself to a couple of keyrings and some tabi socks XD

We went out then to save spending all our time in the shops, and went to find some food. Because it is an entertainment place there are a lot of fast food places, and terrible as it is, we had to try a Japanese McDonalds! I'm sure we were judged as we were in there but there is something about foreign Maccies tht you just have to try them and see if they are any better! As it turns out, it was better than UK McD's XD
From there we wandered on and found a small version of the Statue of Liberty in the bay that overlooks the rainbow bridge! Very random! We took a few shots then went to see what this strange shaped building was all about... v

It was the head office for a TV company, but they had built it as a tourist attraction too as you could go into the ball piece and look out over Odaiba and the city beyond the harbour. It was quite interesting and if I remember, not too expensive for a lookout point. We sent a while wandering around there as there was a little leaflet stamping game for kids that I was determined to complete for the journal I was doing :x

When we left the weather was starting to cloud over even further and it was making the day seem a little dark, I was starting to get afraid that we would miss seeing everything as it was getting late. However, as we wandered round the back of one of the blocks of buildings we came across a candle sculpture and then this massive 'life size' Gundam statue! It's a popular feature of Odaiba and lots of people were getting their pics taken with it. Nearby was a shop for everything Gundam, but we didn't go in, instead wandering down the front to find 'MegaWeb' which turned out to be a car museum! Just Face's thing XD It was free to get in and we even got to sit in a Delorean and see some drift cars.

Further down the front was another huge arcade, this one was completely massive! Face was enthralled and while I played for a while and explored the gatcha machines, I was soon overtaken by jetlag and napped next to Face while he was on a winning streak on some huge 2p-type machine. He had a go on some grabber machines before we left and eventually won some snacks for us XD

As we left I got some shots of this impressive ferris wheel which had light patterns that changed constantly. We would've had a go, but it was getting a little chilly and we weren't sure when our last subway train was, as it was already 10pm! We certainly managed to fill a day around Odaiba and probably could've again, it's definitely a must see when going to Tokyo x3
Did you like my little rundown of exploring Odaiba? Would you like to see more of what we did around Tokyo? Let me know x3



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5 Places I Need to Go (that I've not been before)

I love travelling. There's nothing like it for new experiences, photo opportunities and generally finding out that there's more to the world than your own front garden.
The longer I go on without a passport the more my wanderlust grows. I'm having hassle applying for a new passport and the longer I see no travel in my future the more my subconscious thinks of destinations abroad- to the point where the other day moving to Japan for a year seemed like a super-awesome idea until I remembered I can't speak Japanese and have no way to make money while I'm there x.X
But, when I do get a passport again, these places are definitely at the top of the list of places I need to see with my own eyes:

• Vietnam
I love Asian culture and this one has been high on my list for a few years now. Having been to Thailand, I imagine it to be fairly similar, but I know there would be plenty to see that I wouldn't have imagined, weirdly what first brought it to my attention as a destination I really wanted to see was a Top Gear Special! I particularly want to see the floating markets and the more rural areas, like smaller villages. Ha Long Bay is high on the 'to see' list too, preferably by canoe. I imagine that the best way to see Vietnam is by moped, as the weather is so hot and humid you would appreciate the breeze as you rode slowly through the country...*drifts into daydream*


• Iceland
This one is actually relatively new to the list, and I'm not really sure what made me first notice it last year. But even though I may've been late to the Iceland fan-club, I'm no less enthusiastic for it! I really want to see all the volcanic areas it has to offer, and in turn, all the thermally heated pools! I just love the idea of being sat in beautifully tempuratured water while looking at the snow on the ground all around. I know Iceland has much more to offer though, and I'd enjoy the scenery most of all I think, so many chances to take some awesome vista photos. Talking of photos, another thing I'd like to experience are the Northern Lights, and the chance to get do my best at capturing them on film. I've never seen the aurora and I've heard it's a good place to go to at least try to catch it!


• Singapore
Back to Asia, Singapore perhaps doesn't belong on this list as I actually have kind of been there, but I've never really seen any of it because it's only ever been for stop-offs! I think I need to at least spend a few days here next time I'm flying somewhere else though so I can actually experience it! I'd love most of all to swim at the pool at the Marina Bay Sands complex, made up of 3 massive buildings with a boat-like structure balanced on the top, it looks pretty amazing, though I'm not sure I could get Face to join in as he doesn't like swimming or heights XD There are plenty of other things to see though, like the Singapore Flyer, a massive tourist ferris wheel slightly larger than the London eye, or maybe if we fancy staying more grounded we could go see the waterfront 'Super Trees' in the evening x3


• Hawaii
Is somewhere I'd particularly like to go with Dad. We both dream of seeing the volcanoes and lava. I understand that they aren't going to let tourists too close to it but we would certainly have a go XD Hawaii is probably the only place in America that really draws me, and it's perhaps because it isn't really all too close to America :x The sandy beaches appeal too, I'm sure the sea is warm too, and eve if it's not, it's enough that there is a lot of sunshine to revel in. Like Ibiza, it's a small island on the map but we would find so much to do there if we rented a car and went for a tour about. I'd really like to learn more about Hawaii and it's history too.


• Dubai
I'm a little cautious about Dubai as I'm not really sure about the decency laws there, as I've heard the Arab states are very hot on that kind of thing. And I would be very hot if I had to wear trousers or a long skirt everywhere while looking about a country about 30 degrees hotter than I'm used to! I think with a little more research though I would enjoy Dubai a lot though. It has the (currently) tallest building in the world, and as I've already mentioned, I'm rather a sucker for going up high! I would also love to check out some of the other famous buildings, as Dubai is known for it's architecture, so I would quite happily be able to tour about getting photos! Of course, being right next to the ocean is an advantage too, and seeing that man-made island shaped like a palm tree. That would be amazing to see with my own eyes!

What do you think? Do these places appeal to you, or do you have a different top five? Let me know!



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Disclaimer: Yes, I ganked all these images from Google Images. Trust me, if I had my own images to put here I totally would! However, if one of these is your photo and you don't want me using it, let me know and I'll take it straight down ^^; Vietnam - Hawaii - Dubai - Iceland - Singapore

Project Wednesday ~Smashbook Video

Well, you all knew it was coming...the video to my Thai Smashbook travel journal XD The eagle-eyed of you may've noticed that this has been up nearly 3 weeks now! I can't believe myself that it's taken me this long to post it up here.
I don't really have a lot to say about it that I haven't already written in the previous completion post, or whiffled about in the video itself. I thought I would talk through this video to sort of explain my processes and and where certain things came from...but I sort of went off on a tangent throughout to explain more about the holiday itself, oops! If you have any questions feel free to leave them here or in the comments on youtube, I'll reply either way ^^
So this is probably the last you'll be seeing of this smashbook in quite some time, aren't you glad I'll stop going on about it now?



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Tiki Tour ~Aberystwyth

Another week I'm not going to do a catch-up, but that's because I really didn't take many pictures this week or get up to much. Dad was away for the later part of the week and we had the house to ourselves. Face has got to enjoy it as he has the week off work, but it's just made me lazier, if that's possible! I've spent most my free time in bed, playing pokemon or just dossing with Face. But I still had to go to work every day, fail!
I thought I would focus on writing about Tuesday as that was the most interesting day this week and we got up to quite a bit! It was Dad's birthday and we'd decided as the weather was going to be good to go to the beach! I'd planned on driving, but something was niggling at the back of my mind...and when I checked, I'd run out of MOT. Oops! Dad had to drive all the way as unfortunately I'm not on his insurance but once he brought his mind around to it he was okay about it :3

We arrived in Aberystwyth about 1.30 and parked in town. We first went for a wander up the promenade then moved onto the beach. The weather was beautiful and we had a good time skipping stones into the barely flowing sea. We sat around for a while absorbing the heat and then realised that the time on the parking was up so Dad nipped back to the car and moved it then came back for us two, just in time to stop us napping against a large rock XD

It was starting to get really warm then so we moved into the arcade on the pier for some classic beach 2p slottie games! We'd collected some 2ps at home so we had to see how long our share would last. Dad managed to keep his going for quite some time, whereas me and Face lost ours pretty quickly. I had my eye on a fish keyring though that Face helped me win so we got something out of it XD

Once we'd all lost our 2ps we were getting pretty hungry so although we considered proper fish and chips from a chippy that was particularly good last time we were here, we thought Face might get sunstroke if he spent any more time in the sun (he's terrible with heat) so we moved onto the local Wetherspoons, which is in a big victorian train station which is pretty cool x3 And guess what we all decided to get? ...Fish and Chips! Aha. Even though you would expect spoons fish and chips not to be able to match up to a seaside chippy, they really outdid themselves and it was all really tasty. And to think I nearly had pasta...at the beach! What was I thinking? ;p

The heat of the day had died off just a little by the time we left and we popped by a Poundland for some sweets for pudding then went back to the beach and played rock throwing games by making targets from piles of rocks then having to knock them down. Simple things! We did that for a couple of hours in between dossing and eventually the weather cooled and we thought it was about time to get moving before Dad felt too tired to drive all the way back.

We had a great day and I think Dad really enjoyed his birthday. I'm so glad I could finally drag Face out on one of our daytrips too, I really like it when we all go out x3 What's your favourite thing to do at the beach? Although we don't usually spend much time on the sand I think this time was a bit of an exception and we all had a good time because of it!



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