Weekly Update!

Leather Trousers, a Hidden Gem & Cute Animals!

After a restful weekend away in Brighton, I was feeling very chilled out this week, and the lovely weather only added to this. On Tuesday I went into Altrincham with my friend Emily, for a mooch around the shops, and we stopped for a drink in a little cafe. I got some leather trousers/ leggings from River Island that were only £10 reduced from £30, which I was really chuffed with as I have been looking for some new trousers for a while- I seem to live in jeans at the moment. In the evening I tried out a new gym that has opened near me. Though it is fairly small, it is super cheap at just £10 per month, and the machines are all brand spanking new. I loved getting back into my usual routine of working out, and I'm sure my figure will thank me for it too!

I spent Wednesday adjusting my CV and looking around at various jobs, some of which I applied to. I got an unpaid writers position at a new online publication called Candid, that goes live at midnight tonight. I am going to be writing one article a week on fashion, film or music that will be put onto the website, which is great experience for me, as well as adding to my portfolio of work. In the evening I went out with my sister and the girls we went to Benicassim with. We started at one of the girl's houses, and then moved on to Wetherspoons in Altrincham before getting a minibus into Manchester to go to Factory. It was a fun and very late night, but it was great to see everyone I had been on holiday with again.

Thursday and Friday were fairly tame days, with a couple of shifts at work, and after another gym session on Saturday I drove to Crewe to see Chris for the weekend. We sat in the sun for most of the day

on Saturday, before going for a meal in Chester. We had looked online for somewhere a bit different to eat, and found Fiesta Havana, a Latin American restaurant that looked really cool. It is on the main street, and is down some steps so it appears to be in an old wine cellar. They had some brilliant deals on, so we had 3 tapas dishes for £8 to share for a starter, fajitas for main which were BOGOF and desserts were 2 for 1 as well! We got battered white fish, chicken in a cream and sherry sauce and deep fried king prawns as our tapas, and then I had waffle and brownies for my dessert, and Chris had orange and chocolate cheesecake. Even a bottle of wine was only £7.95, so despite Chris driving, we got the house red which I polished off once Chris had his one glass!

On Sunday we had a massive lie in, and then went for a last minute look around Reaseheath College, which has a maize maze, a little farm and a zoo. We didn't have enough time to do the maze or zoo, but we spent a while walking around and looking at all the farm animals, including some very cute alpacas, and some rather noisy donkeys! We'll definitely be heading back to complete the visit at some point over the summer.

Benicassim 2011

Days 4- 5

The first performance we wandered into the arena to see was Paulo Nutini, who I must admit, I know a few songs by but I'm not a massive fan of. He was a good easy to listen to warm up act, and got us all in the mood for the more upbeat acts that followed. Plan B was next, followed by The Streets, again both of whom I'm not too fussed over. However, the atmosphere for Mike Skinner et al was electric, and I was surprised at how crazy the fans went!

Afterwards we went over to the other stage where Chase and Status were finishing their set. I kind of regretted not seeing more of them, as they were amazing live, and I realised how many of their tunes I love! Once they had finished up, I saw a couple by Pendulum, and Jack Beats who were awesome, but by then it was gone 3am and I was knackered and had lost the majority of the group, so wandered back to my tent. I had just got into bed when I heard everyone returning, so ended up sat back outside having another couple of drinks- might as well make the most of it!

On Friday we had another quiet day by the tents, and then a few of us went for a meal in a little Italian in town. I had a Big Ben pizza (no idea why it was called that!) which had bacon, onions, ham and olives on and was great after eating mainly bread and cheese for the past few days. We then went back to start drinking before the bands started that evening. The night started with Brandon Flowers, who I thoroughly enjoyed, as he did quite a few Killers tracks, who I saw when I last went to Beni so it seemed fitting. After him there was a slight break so I went back to the tent to change my top and have a quick drink. I ended up staying there longer than I intended though, as our neighbours were there still so I sat

with them and completely lost track of time. I ended up missing Elbow which was a bit of an annoyance, as I saw them last time and they were my highlight. I made it back in time to see The Strokes though, who were one of the main acts I was excited for this year. They weren't as great as I'd hoped, but I am definitely glad to have seen them. After them it was Friendly Fires who put on a fabulous performance, and it kept everyone lively despite the late slot they had. It meant that we were all well up for continuing the party once we got back to our tent, and I eventually went to sleep at gone 7am! (see next week's post for continuation)

Benicassim 2011

Days 1- 4

Two weeks ago I went with my sister and nine of her friends to Benicassim in Spain for the annual music festival they hold there. I went in 2009 with two of my own friends and loved it, so after doing Glastonbury last year I decided this year was the time to go back.

We arrived at around 2pm on Monday 11th July, and pitched our tents before wandering down to the beach to soak up some sun. After a couple of hours, we headed back to camp, stopping for some wine in a little bar down a side street. That evening we stayed by our tents and played some drinking games to mark our first night before hitting the sack relatively early.

The following day we returned to the beach for a full day of sunbathing and sea. Once we had got back to camp in the evening and made ourselves pretty, we went into town. The boys from home that we had arranged to meet up with arrived that day so we decided to go for a communal meal. We ate in an amazing tapas bar, where we had no idea what we were ordering as it was all in Spanish. We made some good choices though, as we had mussels, two types of paella, bacon and cheese croquets, calamari, squid tentacles, tuna and potato salad and some battered prawns that were literally the biggest I have ever seen. Afterwards we went to a bar that was serving pints of mojito for 6 euros, and they were soo good! We stayed there for quite a while, and then went to a club near the arena called Harlem Lounge, that played some absolute tunes and was free entry. I left at 3am as I was really tired, but everyone else stayed around until 5am and had a really good night.

The following day we were all feeling a little worse for wear, but after trekking back to the beach, we collapsed and slept in the sun for the majority of the day to re-cooperate. That evening we made friends with our neighbours, including a pair who had a paddling pool, and we got to know each other while playing some more drinking games. We were introduced to the amazing game that is Dead Man, where the unlucky candidate has to go and stand in a specified place with their head down and is not allowed to talk to anyone until they are relieved of their duties. Typically I was first, and the camp I invaded proceeded to pick me up and throw me in the air, so it was hard to keep a straight face!

On Thursday the excess drinking and lack of sleep was really getting the better of me (and I was horribly sunburnt), so while everyone else went to the waterpark, I stayed at camp with two of the girls and chilled out for the day. In the afternoon we wandered into town for some late lunch, and stopped in a bar with a lovely sun terrace outside. I had a bacon and brie baguette and some iced tea, which perked me right up ready for the start of the musical festivities that evening! (see next post for continuation).

Weekly Update!

A Thai 21st & Brighton Wedding Bells! (postponed from yesterday)

On Thursday it was my friend Lydia's 21st birthday, so after having a few drinks at her house, we went into Manchester for a meal at Ning, a Thai restaurant in the Northern Quarter. They had an offer where it was £13.95 for a starter, main course and side dish, so most of us ordered that, and a few of us shared a bottle of wine, though it was quite pricey as even the house was £15.95.

I had seafood spring rolls to begin with, followed by seafood pad thai which was gorgeous, and chock full of calamari and king prawns. As my main was noodle based, I chose prawn crackers for a side, which came with an assortment of different sauces to dip them in. The restaurant was all decked out in bright pink and black and looked very classy, but unfortunately the service let it down a little. The food was tip-top though, so I would go back again. After we had finished our meal we went for a few drinks in Bluu, before getting a minibus home.

On Friday I packed my bag and got ready to go to Brighton for the weekend for a family wedding. I picked Chris up from the station at 10pm, and we set off the following morning at 7am as my parents and grandpa had to be there to attend the ceremony at 2pm. While they were there, we had a wander around the city and did a spot of shopping, though we came back empty-handed. I was surprised at how big the place was, and how many different areas there were, one minute you'd be eating cockles on the pier, and the next you'd be surrounded by swanky bars and high end shops, then turn a corner and it felt like Camden!

We sauntered back to our hotel to get changed ready for the evening do at around 6pm, and then got a taxi to the Hotel Du Vin where it was being held. The venue was lovely, although the prices stung a little! Everyone looked gorgeous, especially the bride, who wore a low backed floor length silk dress that was very flattering. There were little cones of fish and chips for food

which I thought was nice and quirky, and they had a carrot-cake cupcake tower for the wedding cake- yum! We stayed until just gone midnight, and then went back to our hotel as we were knackered after such an early start!

On Sunday after a lie in and a freshen up, we walked onto the pier again and stopped in a cafe for a drink with the bridal party. It was nice to have a proper catch up with everyone, and throughout the day the 8 of us left wandered around a few bars and pubs and had some drinks. In the evening we went to a little Italian

called Sofia's, where we shared some bread and olives for a starter and then got some main courses. I had a chicken, sweetcorn and onion pizza and my mum got a Greek salad and we shared the two which was a nice compromise. Chris had a pizza with full mussels and king prawns on, it was very impressive! We had shots of grappa with our bill, and then went back to the bride and groom's hotel for a night cap. Then we bundled into a taxi home and fell to sleep ready for an early drive home. An awesome weekend!