Saturday 20 August 2011

Probably the best holiday in my life

I went to Cyprus for a week with three friends at the beginning of August. I normally do a lot of preparation before a holiday: buy a guidebook, plan roughly each day, I even look into restaurants and bars I could go to. This time, I didn't even know the name of the town we were going to. We got a half-price deal on the internet so I expected a cheap hotel with horrible food. But when we got there, OMG it was amazing! A huge resort with a big swimming pool, slides and bars around it, right on the beach as well. The restaurant was overlooking the see and we could either sit outside or inside. There was a great selection of very tasty food and they would put out these very funky decorations, like flowers made out of a vegetable or fruit. The waiters were very friendly and helpful but, for some reason, always informed us when they had a day off lol. Although the resort was very good and we were quite happy to just chill over there, we also managed to visit some places and do a few things for my blog :).
The best day there was when we took a boat trip. On that day I managed to do a few things which I can cross off my list. When we stopped to swim in the sea, some guys started jumping off the ship into the water. It was quite high up and apparently, according to one of my companions, I had a sparkle in my eye and so I was convinced I wanted to do it too. So I went up there and scared like hell jumped off the second deck. Then I did it again with one of my friends only that time I managed to land on my bum and that was pretty painful for a while.
We then decided to go parasailing. We did it in pairs and were towed behind a speedboat while attached to a parachute. The views were breathtaking and I felt very free, relaxed and happy up there. After that, two of us decided to go jet skiing. I had tried it before but on a lake and since then always wanted to do it on open water where I could go full speed. So I did and it was awesome! I discovered I love adrenaline rush.
One day we went to Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus. It is divided into a Turkish and Greek part and you can cross the boarder on your passport. On the last day we decided to go hiking up a mountain to visit ruins of a castle. It was very hot and only two of us made it to the top but the views were definitely worth the effort. Later that day, we took another boat trip to watch the sunset. It was very beautiful.
We also went out a few times in the nearby town, Kyrenia. My personal favourite was the first night out when all of us looking glamorous smoked shisha, drunk local beer, chatted and laughed while sitting in an open air bar. It was all fab until one of us decided to get disgusting shots which she couldn't handle herself lol. We called it a sex and the city experience. We also went to an open air night club which was up a hill overlooking the sea. Great fun!
The whole holiday can be described as amazing, exciting and unforgettable. The sun makes me very happy and I started thinking that maybe I should live in a hotter country.

Tuesday 12 July 2011

An end is just another chance for a beginning

The title is something I came up with when I was cleaning today. I’m sure somebody had already said it but I like to think I’m the author of this philosophical thought :).

To start with, I have to admit I failed a little bit last month by not cooking anything new but I have good intentions to fix it. I’m going to cook with my Spanish teacher on Saturday while chatting in Spanish and English. It should be fun.

On the other hand, I managed to do a new activity when I was in Copenhagen mid June. I was challenged to try a gyro drop. When I saw that huge tower with seats which are lifted to the top before being released and falling towards the ground, my natural reaction was to refuse such ‘pleasure’. However, number 1 on my list is: ‘say ‘yes’ to all sorts of activities proposed to me even if they seem a bit scary at first.’ So I did it and it was scary but exciting at the same time and I’m glad I hadn’t chickened out. After that I watched Aqua live and I have to say ‘Barbie plastic is fantastic’:)!

Copenhagen is an expensive but picturesque city with friendly and good looking people who speak amazing English. I couldn’t help but smile when I was walking down very charming streets and canal with many funky pubs and cafés. In one of them I counted I’ve visited 15 countries - not too bad but I’m hungry for some more. There are also quite a few galleries and museums to visit. I found three things amusing:
1. Danish people seem to think that if you have to walk to a place for 15 minutes it is veeerryyy faaar and they advise you to take public transport.
2. Their favourite mean of transport is a bicycle. The Danes leave them in the street UNLOCKED and nobody takes them! I couldn’t believe my eyes!
3. The weather is more changable than in England. It would suddenly shower for 2 minutes and then the sun would come out, another shower and sun and so on. It was quite a surprise each time.
All in all, I had a great time and I definitely recommend the city to anyone who likes a bit of culture, fun and relaxation.

When I was in Denmark, I started reading ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro. I finished it last Friday and watched the film afterwards. I liked both. The book because it is, obviously, more detailed and for that reason the relations between characters seem deeper but I cried on the film. I thought the whole idea was very clever and interesting. Sometimes I watch films, look at pictures or photos, read books and I’m happy to discover that people still manage to come up with something innovative. Another film that has moved me recently is ‘Blue Valentine’ and, as it says on the cover, anyone who has ever been in love should watch it.

I used to play volleyball in the past and have recently started again. I’ve forgotten how much fun it is, especially on sand. I’ve got a huge painful bruise on my right arm ,which looks like I had some serious domestic violence going on, but that shouldn’t discourage me.

I’ve booked another holiday and I’m off with my three gorgeous girlfriends in the first week of August to enjoy Cyprus. I’m very excited about it!

Tuesday 14 June 2011

In my panic mode

I've again decided to write on a day which involves number 4. I wonder whether it means anything. Today is 14th June. It was my mum's birthday yesterday and when I called her with some wishes she was very curious to hear what new life changing ideas I've had this week. The place I've come up with recently, Dubai, she wasn't even quite sure where it was. However, she was very much pleased to hear I'd be earning nice tax free salary.

Why am I in my panic mode? Well, I have my little stages before big changes. First, I'm very enthusiastic and actively look into things. That one smoothly goes into my second stage where I get a bit carried away and obsessed. That's why the idea of going to Australia and more recently Dubai. That's not all though. About two weeks ago one of my friends, innocently and in good faith, forwarded me a few websites about round the world trips. OMG! I spent hours looking into different options and calculating how much I would need to have to go on one of those. I couldn't sleep and twice, during the week, I woke up at 8.10am (I work at 8.30am). I was amazed that both times I managed to shower and put some face on in 15 minutes! A quick cycle was a good exercise too. So I'm still in that stage where I have 1 million ideas every week and it's not very productive, I don't think, so I'm panicking. Soon enough, hopefully, I will move to the stage where I sit on my lovely bum and actually start sorting things out.

On a different note, I'm reading a book that was recommended to me by one of my friends 'Slim for Life' by Jason Vale. I have to say that at first I was really interested in reading about different foods that are bad for me and how I've been brainwashed into believing I enjoy eating them. Apparently, after I've read the whole book, I'll never want to eat chocolate and crisps. That's not going to happen now as I unfortunately got bored reading it and won't probably last till the end. Jason repeats himself frequently which is not good for my short attention span, therefore I'll have to start reading a different book for this month.

When I started writing today I thought I didn't have much to say but it is not too bad. This Friday I'm going to Copenhagen for the weekend so hopefully I'll have something interesting to write about when I come back. Denmark is one of the countries I intend to visit in my exiting year. At least two more to go :).

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Apparently I like number 4

Today is the 24th of May and I have to say I have had pretty eventful three weeks.
I was in Poland two weeks ago and I told my sister about the idea of making this year ‘my year’ to which she replied: ‘But every year should be your year’! Very true but I have to start somewhere :).
While in Poland I started reading one of the books I got for my birthday ‘Down Under’ by Bill Bryson. I’ve learned that Australia is a very welcoming place: ‘It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world’s ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures -the funnel-web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis stick and stonefish-are the most lethal of their type in the world.’ Not to mention sharks and crocodiles of course! However, all this information to my mum’s obvious disappointment, made me want to go there even more. My uncle generously informed her that it’ll cost a lot of money to have my dead body imported form Australia. I haven’t finished reading it yet but I’m planning to do so this coming Bank Holiday weekend and that will be my book for this month.
I’ve also managed, to some of my friends’ delight, cook a new dish. On Sunday I looked through the cooking books I’ve got (past birthday presents mainly) and I decided to make cannelloni from ‘The Food of the Mediterranean’. It was delish and I was really proud of myself as a result.
I keep jogging and I normally do 7k (4 miles) although I tend to do 10k (6 miles) at weekends. I’ve discovered that jogging is a very good way of releasing my stress. It surprises me how far and fast I can run just after someone decides to get on my nerves.
All the best to my friends Anna and Matt who got married on the 14th of May! I had the pleasure to wear a pink dress and great honour to be one of the bridesmaids (loyal to my list, I keep disappointing my family and the society in this matter).
That’s not all from the first month of my exciting year but it’s either too personal or not related to my list so I think I’ll leave it as it is for today.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

May the 4th be with me!

Apparently it’s Star Wars Day today. I can’t remember watching the films but everyone talks a lot about Princess Leia and how sexy she is. I think I’ll have to add watching them to my list, just to have my own opinion about her lol.

I had a very nice 5 days birthday celebration! I can’t be that old if I survived that! (just about though). As I mentioned before, I was not that ecstatic about my birthday this year but thanks to my friends it was great fun and I can even use some of the events for my list.

On Sunday the 1st of May 2011 at 10.00 I was picked up and driven to a place somewhere in Dorset. We looked at my blog on the way there and everyone was very excited that I couldn’t say ‘no’ to what we were going to do that afternoon. I was blindfolded about 10 minutes before we reached the destination and all I could hear was: ‘Oh my God I didn’t know it was that big!’, ‘It looks scary!’, ‘Oh, look a white horse!!! No prince though, sorry Ola’. Imagine how I felt about my list then! It turned out to be zorbing (recreation of rolling downhill in an orb, generally made of transparent plastic). It was so much fun!!! I laughed and screamed all the way down. I even have a video from the water one. The party in the evening was great too and some of the presents I got I can use for my list.
All in all, I had a very good start of my exciting year and I have to thank all the people involved. I’m a very lucky person :).

Saturday 30 April 2011

My Exciting 30th Birthday Year!

Some time ago I started dreading my 30th birthday. I don’t’ feel thirty and luckily enough I don’t look it either:). At first I thought that doing something crazy would set me free. First, I wanted to get a tattoo but I’d probably faint before the needle even touched my skin. Then I thought of skydiving. This is something I still want to do but not necessarily over Gosport. Next was buying a jet ski… well, that was just ridiculous!

So on Easter Sunday (24th April 2011) in the evening, as I was looking into visa for Australia, I had this brilliant idea that I’ll celebrate my birthday all year! This is going to be my year!

I started thinking of the things I’ve wanted to do for a while now but often found an excuse not to. I’ve also decided to start writing this blog as this is something I’ve never done, have been convinced I can’t do and above all want to do in order to keep tract of all the things I manage to accomplish from 1st May 2011 until 1st May 2012. Below is the list, the order is random.

Things to do when I’m 30:
1. Say ‘yes’ to all sorts of activities proposed to me even if they seem a bit scary at first.
2. Try different activities that sound exciting but I haven’t done them because I was worried about the money.
3. Worry less about what other people think/feel and just do what the hell I want! On the other hand say ‘no’ to things I don’t feel comfortable doing. As a result smile more and cry less (laughing and crying is ok).
4. Recognise the artistic side of me and start designing/making jewellery or clothes in my free time. Stop thinking I’m not good enough to do it.
5. Travel to at least three different countries and write about it. Stop thinking I can’t write.
6. Live in a different country for at least 3 months.
7. Keep jogging and do at least a half marathon.
8. Have courage to have fun until ‘my prince on a white horse’ arrives.
9. Try working somewhere else.
10. Go out less and focus on crossing off the points from my list.
11. Keep disappointing the society and my family in regards to husbands and children. I still have time to decide when and how many of them I wish to have.
12. Sleep less, do more.
13. Read at least a book per month, not a TEFL one!
14. Cook at least one new dish every month.
15. Start writing a blog to make sure I actually do these things.

The last one has become the first. That is probably enough for one day!

Happy 30th Birthday Year to me:)!!!