Reflection

        But if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing’s changed at all?

        One of my favorite Bastille songs plays in my head as I sit down in my Hollywood, California apartment, it’s been a frustrating day and I decide that instead of accompanying my friend to an album release party I am going to sit on my ass in my bed with a glass of pinot noir and reflect. Fuck it, as my fabulous friend Ryan Mclaughlin would say- make that glass of pinot a double.

       I sit down at my laptop with every intention of doing nothing but watching the Carrie Diaries on Hulu and drowning my sorrows in wine when I open my browser window to Facebook. In the upper left hand corner of my profile screen there’s a new little bubble that says “See your 2013 year in review”. Intrigued, I click the button to see a photo collage of my most memorable moments of 2013. At this moment I remembered that almost exactly one year ago I had made a list in my phone of goals for 2013; I scramble to find my phone which is lost somewhere in the abyss that is my bedroom (I have put off putting away my clean laundry for about….um….let’s go with 5 days…oops) and open the note. It read:

• Take more risks
• Chase your acting dreams
• Read more novels
• Move to Los Angeles
• Travel the world
• Keep a journal
• Take your vitamins everyday
• Stop dating idiots

I giggle a little, with the exception of that last one I think I actually did a pretty great job at doing what I set forth to do in 2013 & it has changed my life completely.

        When I think about where I was exactly one year ago, I barely recognize that person. Who is this girl that could hardly think outside of her little Scottsdale bubble? In my wildest dreams I never would have thought that I would be where I am today in only a year.

         2013 got off to a rocky start for me. If I’m being totally candid here I was stuck in a toxic friendship with a man that, while I love whole heartedly, was basically ruining my life. Ok, that was an exaggeration but in all truthfulness it is very hard to find who you are as a person and learn to love yourself when you are constantly trying to bring someone else out of their dark hole. Eventually you just get sucked into the hole with them and you both just live there in the darkness enabling one another. One of the hardest lessons that I have had to learn this year is that not everyone is meant to be in your life forever if someone does not make your quality of life better they need to be removed. Be it temporarily or permanently I am learning to only spend my precious time with people who make me the best version of myself. It’s getting easier as the days pass but this year I have actually cut out a few people that I honestly thought would be lifelong friends. It’s been bittersweet.

       In a miraculous moment of self-awareness I saw the spiral that I was stuck in in Arizona and decided that I wanted to take 6 months off to find myself and travel. I accepted a job as a live in au pair in the United Kingdom and enrolled in the Art University of Bournemouth to study interior design and braced myself for what I hoped would be the best 6 months of my life.

      Nothing could have prepared me for those 6 months. Those of you who have read this blog/online journal have read about my tantalizing adventures throughout Europe, going to super clubs in Ibiza, attending live sex shows in Amsterdam, sipping champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the list goes on! What you don’t know is how deeply the people that I met along the way changed my perspective on life. In fact, I’m not even 100% sure that they are aware of how much they have done for me most likely without even knowing it. So I am going to take a moment to personally thank these incredible individuals.

• Abby, Lola-May, & Olivia Rawlings- Thank you for being my family the entire time that I was in Europe. Thank you for challenging me, for testing my patience, and loving me whole heartedly. Abby specifically- thank you for being my friend, my sister, and the best boss I’ve ever had, I miss our wine nights that turned into tequila shots in the kitchen nights and I wish you all the best in life! I can not wait to visit again and I can not wait to see the beautiful people that your children grow up to be!
• Charlotte- You are the most inspirational woman I have ever met. Your positive attitude in the face of adversity is nothing short of admirable and I can only hope that some of you has rubbed off on me!
• Kelly & Vicky- You ladies are little balls of fun!! I don’t know what I would have done in Bournemouth without you! From boating adventures to cockling you ladies always showed me the utmost kindness and hospitality!
• Ana- Bacanal Great Gatsby Party. Enough said. I could not have asked for a better mate to share that weekend with!!
• Whitney Aviles- Girllllllll shoot. We both live in LA now so you already know I adore your crazy ass, BUT I will publicly thank you for everything you did for me when I could not hang in IBIZA aka the island of the sirens aka hell.
• Jules- Thank you for making Uni fun, I miss our beach and towne center dates!
• Kari-Anne Habbershaw- I don't even know where to start with you!! I can not believe that I sat next to you on a flight from Stockholm to London and we became literally the best of friends. From Wimbledon to hotel room service, Bruce Springstein (that was beyond random), getting lost on night buses, Oxford Circus penthouses, randomly getting a couple into a fight we have just shared so many moments that no one else would understand, people probably think we are bat shit crazy when we are together and I wouldn't have it any other way.
• To James, Aaron, David, Joel, Antony, Mabey, and David Pinguello you boys were all a BLAST to be around thank you for making Europe crazy fun!

Ok sorry for the gush fest I just wanted to let the aforementioned awesome human beings know that they are loved and appreciated.

      Since returning to the states from Europe I have since moved to Los Angeles, which I’m sure all of you know by now. It’s been about 4 months now and there have been many ups and downs already. This is a tough town (I will be writing another segment about how no one in LA is actually dating so stay tuned for that), everyone is busy, selfish, gorgeous, and slightly crazy. I’m still adjusting and for the most part loving every second of it!

With all that said a new year is about to begin and I have lots of new projects coming up including a theatre show with TreStage theater in which I play a badass super hero, and dating spoof videos with the very amazing David Wygant so stay tuned for those!! I’m also working on setting up a Vlog channel on youtube (that is if my awesome parental units come through with a MacBook Pro for Christmas--- COME ON ROB AND DONNA I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER!!) If 2013 was my year of growth than 2014 will be my year for success! I can feel it in my bones!

I would love to hear some of your goals for 2014, feel free to share in the comments below!

Happy Holiday & God bless!!

All the world's a stage...

          Marilyn Monroe once said " Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you $1000 for a kiss and 50 cents for your soul", so who in their right mind would choose to move here? Well, ME for one. I recently chose to pick up my life (once again) & move to tinsel town and try my hardest to create the life I have always wanted. If you knew me as a child you know how badly I've always wanted this. From being on stage in dance to creating a fake album with my elementary school band the Red Hots (that consisted of myself, Kelley McCall and a kareoke machine my mother bought me), Hollywood has always been in my sights. I have always been the goofy one out of my siblings and always demanded to be the center of attention (sorry Sara and David- having me as a little sis must have been a pain in the ass.) Once I even made a picture frame that said "Academy Award winner: Laura Barrett" and in it is a picture of me with those stupid 90's dry curlers in my hair doing the goofiest kissy face you've ever seen. I was 6.

After a dance recital with my older sister Sara.

Performing during a cruise to Bermuda with my family when i was 8 (nice pigtails kid.)

Fake pouting for the camera in my 90's grunge gear. 

Performing as Minnie Mouse!

My Family thought it would be fun to put me on top of an air conditioning unit and do my best "Marilyn" impression... I was 3.

            It has been a while since I have taken the time to sit down and write about what is going on in my life. So I will start with a quick update from where I left off. For my friends and family that read this to keep up to date with my travels and overall hectic lifestyle (mainly my grandpa & aunts and uncles that are constantly asking for updates), I apologize, I suck. It has just been quite the crazy ride since I returned to the states!

       As most of you know, I returned to Scottsdale at the beginning of this past July. I spent the first couple of days hiding out with a close friend and didn't even really tell anyone other than my immediate family that I was back in the states. Now, for those of you who know me that is probably pretty surprising in itself. Me? Stay off of social media and not announce my return for DAYS?! Ha, not very typical of my social-media addicted self. However, I had some really mixed emotions about returning to America, a large part of me yearned to try to find an under the table serving job in London and live out my days surrounded by men with manners, cockney accents, and switch my coffee addiction for a love of tea and crumpets. I left two beautiful little girls that I had truly come to love, their parents who had truly become my friends, and many other people who had impacted me in ways that they may never truly even know. I was leaving behind this whole other life I had created for myself, one that my friends in the US may never know anything about.

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Pit stop in Chicago with my cousin Carly before heading back to Phoenix!

Luckily I was home JUST in time for the birth of my beautiful niece Adalyn and got to meet this adorable baby girl on her first day on this Earth. So for that I am thankful beyond measure!

      The 2 months I spent back in Scottsdale were difficult to say the least. I felt as if my outlook on life had changed so drastically yet nothing in Arizona had changed- with the exception of a couple new bars opening. Everyone I knew was still stuck in the cycle that is Scottsdale, Arizona. Don't get me wrong Scottsdale is a beautiful city with great people in it whom I adore, albeit there is not much variety in things to explore. I fell back into my old patterns with my friends and that is when i KNEW that moving to Los Angeles was 100% the right decision for my life.



       Fast forward to September 1st, 2013. I had packed everything that I possibly could into my car, had my friend Brandon load about 1000 songs onto my iPhone, grabbed myself a pumpkin spice latte, and hit the open road; taking the i10 freeway west to Los Angeles & I haven't looked back.

     I got to LA in a shockingly fast 4 1/2 hours (sorry mom, at least I didn't get a ticket, oops) and pulled up to my new apartment- which I had never been to- to meet my new roommate- who I had only spoken to through texts and facebook. Thankfully, you will not be seeing me on the news as one of those girls who was duped by a fake craigslist ad and murdered. Turns out my roommate Leticia is not only a real person- she's an awesome person and the apartment is super cute & reasonably priced.

     Then came time to find a job, go to open casting calls, auditions, and try my best to make enough money to stay in Los Angeles. Thankfully I am one of those lucky people who secured agency representation before even moving to this city, yet another thing that I am thanking God for. The rumors about this city however, are in fact, true. Gas is extortionate ($5.09 at Olympic and Fairfax?!?!-- remind me not to run out of gas near Beverly Hills!), traffic is ridiculous, you'll pay double what you paid in your hometown for an apartment that is half as nice, and even a simple juice will run you about $9.  Finding a steady job took a while, the good news for me is that I already have an incredible group of talented young friends who live in this city and were willing to help me find one and buy me a beer every now and then when I was feeling down on my luck! Rodney, Amanda, Renee, Rachel, Jake, Erin, Whitney, Abril, Amber, Haley Lauren, Lindsey & Savanna- you are my saviors, thank you for keeping me sane.

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Myself, Haley, and Amanda at No Vacancy

Rachel and I at a LAFW event at Box Eight!

     In the last month I have not only found a serving job, a job assisting a wedding planner (which most of you know is what I actually went to school for), I have also been booked on TWO television shows. For those of you who don't know much about the entertainment industry, that. is. HUGE. Many people move to LA with big dreams and it takes not months, but YEARS to get a paying acting job. Now, neither of these gigs are going to catapult me into stardom over night but regardless they were real live, paying acting work on actual Hollywood sets and I could not be more thankful to be so lucky!!

    So far I am in love with this city. I spend an hour getting ready, then an hour in traffic, just to spend 10 minutes with casting directors & half the time be told that I am not what they are looking for, but I love it. You have to have a VERY thick skin for this business and know that when a director says you are "Not what they are looking for" it does not mean you are ugly or a no-talent wanna-be. They are not insulting you. They just have a very specific image in their mind of what the character you are auditioning for looks and sounds like and unfortunately today, that just was not you. Life goes on.

    In the past month that I have been out here I have encountered nothing but supportive, driven people who for the most part want the same thing I do- to be successful doing something that they are passionate about. Whether they are in LA for acting, fashion, event planning, music, etc, everyone here has BIG dreams and no one is willing to settle. I love surrounding myself with people like that. It just makes my days so much better.

     Things I am still getting used to:

* Paparazzi - this is a weird thing to me... Obviously, I don't live under a rock, I know that paps exist, but seeing them outside a bar or restaurant waiting to see someone famous is weird. There are even sometimes paparazzi outside of the bible study I have been attending due to the fact that certain "young Hollywood" people attend. It is strange and they are creepy. Ew. Go. Away.

* Traffic- I'm sure I've already mentioned this because LA traffic (along with laundry and doing my own hair) is my nemesis. It took my friend Rachel and I 40 minutes to get from my apartment to Beverly Hills during rush hour. That is only a 4.5 mile drive. Seriously, if you're driving LA give yourself 10 minutes per mile and 20 minutes to find parking. I wish I was kidding.

* Seeing/Meeting famous people everywhere- Ok, I shouldn't really be admitting this because everyone in LA claims to be so "used to" this. I call BULL SHIT. Granted, I am not running up to every person I recognize from TV and asking for a photo and their autograph, that would be rude and probably ruin my acting career before it ever even starts. But, running into people from your favorite bands and favorite shows or sports teams on a regular is... awesome? weird? interesting?. These are people I admire, people that have accomplished the very thing that I myself am trying to accomplish. Of course I am intrigued by them! I won't go into detail about who I've met and where because 1. I'm not an entertainment reporter and 2. Everyone deserves their privacy, but this is something that I am still getting used to- and frankly I think anyone who claims otherwise is a liar.

Well, there you go friends and fam- a quick little update on my life in LA and my return from my European adventure. I will try to be better about writing from here on out! Xx & God bless.

A Midsomer night's dream.

Midsummer, summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Whatever you want to call it in Sweden it's a much bigger deal than it is pretty much anywhere else in the world. So I decided to make my way to Stockholm to enjoy the cultural festivities. 

My flight was out of stansted airport which to my dismay was much more difficult to get to from Bournemouth than anticipated, so I decided to take the coach into central London for the evening to enjoy dinner and drinks with some friends instead of taking the random 9 hour journey direct from Bournemouth which involved switching coaches 3 times. No thank you. 

I arrived in London around 6:30 to meet Aaron (friend from Paris and Bournemouth blogs) and we headed to his new place near brick lane. After quickly freshening up we headed out to brick lane for some of their infamous curry dishes. On the way we stopped at a little Bangladesh dessert bar where we tried 6 different kinds of sweets all of which were delicious, however I still have zero idea how to explain what they tasted like! 

The theme of random food continued as we sat down for our curry meal, we decided to try anything on the menu that sounded completely unrecognisable and run with it, starting with some crispy wafer thing and dips that I couldn't even explain if I wanted to. One was a pink powder that tasted somewhat like a coconut, the other was yellow and I could definitely taste some cilantro, the other was pink and it almost tasted like Chinese duck sauce. Although those descriptions are really a total understatement of flavours. Next we had chicken and lamb korma which was absolutely delicious and my favorite chili naan. 

After all the food we were super stuffed and headed back to Aaron's to grab a jacket where we ran into his flat mate Joel and had some drinks, discussed English literature, fifty shades of grey, American politics, gun control, random Australian poets, and world war 2. Quite a heady evening, and I loved every second of it! 

Later Aaron and I went to a super funky cocktail bar on the corner or brick lane and ordered a couple of old fashioners and talked the night away before I had to catch a taxi to Victoria station at 3 am to make my way to Stansted airport. The taxi arrived late, was super rude, barely spoke English, and I found myself running after the coach like a crazy person. Luckily I made it on and off to stansted I went. 

Arriving at stansted was once again, hectic. No one knew where they were supposed to be going, no one seemed to know how to get through security with ease, it was like traveling amateur hour. Seriously people, liquids have to be under 100 ml, take your shoes off, and don't be a dick to the security agents, it's really not that difficult. I digress. Once down at the gate everyone waited in a massive queue outside in the rain to get on the plane, oh Ryanair you really are my nemesis. This is why proper airlines assign seats and call you up in groups. Even easyjet manages to do that and they are cheaper than Ryanair.

Anyway, we arrived in Stockholm 20 minutes early and while waiting for the bus to Stockholm city from skavsta airport I made friends with some awesome girls from Taiwan who were staying in a hostel near to my hotel. We chatted for the coach ride into the city and exchanged numbers with plans to do a boat tour the next day. 

Once I got to the bus station I really should have hopped on the tunnelbana and gone to gamla stan and walked to my hotel, BUT I was on 1 hour of sleep and I was not confident in my abilities to navigate the underground with luggage I such a state, so I paid for an extortionately priced taxi that took me straight to the door of the Hilton Honors Club Stockholm Slussen. BIG step up from the hostels I have been staying in! Don't get me wrong- hostels are amazing, the people you get to share your traveling experience with end up as life long friends and there is no more economical way to see the world, however my mom had originally planned on coming on this particular adventure with me, which meant that the room at the Hilton was already reserved. Who am I to punch a gift horse in the mouth?? 

Due to my mother being the ultimate badass and a gold Honors club member (she owns a timeshare in NYC which tends to rack up the Hilton bonus points) not only do I get to stay there for free, charge 5 star meals to the Hilton account, and have a room on a floor where you have to put a key into the elevator- I also got to check in 3 hours early, my first glass of wine was free, and they brought me a big box of Swedish chocolates. Which by the way are better than Belgian chocolate- with hints of cinnamon. Amazing. 

After arriving I relaxed, took a nap, had a snack, you know, tried to get myself together for all the walking and sightseeing that was to come. 

Once I was ready I ventured out into gamla stan which is full of cafes, coffee shops, boutiques, art galleries, AND the royal palace. Unlike England apparently in Sweden you can actually enter the royal palace... Explore where kings and queens used to live (and some royals still do) and this palace puts Buckingham palace to shame!! Gold fixtures everywhere, intricate paintings and statues, absolutely incredible I could have wandered around there for hours (and I probably did).

When my feet started to ache I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and get dinner where I had the most incredible meal I've had since I've been in Europe (including the fabulous foie gras and duck I had in Paris) at a restaurant called Eken which just so happened to be connected to my hotel! i started with seared scallops and grilled cucumber with a spicy cucumber purée, followed by veal, fried asparagus, and lemon chili butter. Melt in your mouth amazing!! Even the couple next to me was raving about the chef to no end! 

Next I was deciding between going out and staying in and where to go?! Traveling alone can sometimes be off in the sense that you don't want to end up in a crazy club, you want to find a place where it's normal to sit at a bar, have a drink, and chat with total strangers, but truthfully it is already 8:30 and the sun isn't even setting yet, I'm not quite sure what time people even go out here its so light SO late! During midsummer the sundowner set until midnight, and it rises by 4 am, so strange. 

I decided to mosey down to sodermalm and see what it had to offer, it was much closer to my hotel than I expected and I found a bunch of cool bars, I opted to go into the "Victoria" pub and ended up making friends with a group of Swedish guys Jo were lovely, we then hopped over to Patrick's bar where I was convinced to try the best beer I've her had:::: staropramen ; say that ten times fast. Oddly enough Patrick's plays American country music so I felt right at home!! I did however find it a bit hard to interact with the Swedish because while they do speak perfect English, unlike the Dutch they still speak Swedish to each other fully knowing you can't understand them. On a side note, I now think Swedish is the most fascinating language in the world; or at least Europe. The fact that I couldn't even pronounce half of their words if I tried intrigues me. They literally have letters that don't exist in the English or Romance languages that produce sounds that my tongue is just not trained to make. 

After Patrick's I headed to enke the bar/restaurant attached to my hotel and made some friends and sipped champagne and enjoyed the evening with my new friends!

The next morning I joined a hop on hop off boat tour and found my way to skansen which is much larger than I expected and I'm not sure how to explain it, it may as well be a city within itself. It looks like it popped out of a fairy tale! I couldn't dream up a more beautiful place! I stopped at cafe pettisan for some delicious pastries where a woman in traditional Swedish attire served me the most DELICIOuS rhubard pie with vanilla sauce and another pastry which was equally delicious but I'm not sure what it was exactly I would guess almond coffee cake but that doesn't quite describe it. That vanilla sauce though, I could bathe in it. So freaking good. I did giggle to myself a bit when I noticed that this super cute little cafe was playing Swedish house mafia though, didn't quite fit but I guess it's technically Swedish music haha. 

Following my mini brunch I wandered around skansen kind of aimlessly and found a large group of people folk dancing in a circle to traditional Swedish folk songs! Incredible! I snapped a few photos and quickly joined in the fun, the singer was shouting instructions to the dance though I could not understand them. Next I meandered over to the zoo, followed by the aquarium, the theatre, explored everything skansen had to offer. It was so beautiful I could I have spent days there, but I hopped back on the canal bus and went to explore the national museum, the boat hostel, and some shops. I was pleased to see that the boat hostel has a lively bar on the deck and pool that is open to the public, i made a mental note to go back the next day to check it out. 

Once my legs were aching I headed back to my hotel and ordered room service, a herring plate (which was awful but not because of the preparation I just discovered I don't like herring), and Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes which were fab. Since I was running low on cash and totally nackered I decided to stay in put on my big fluffy hotel robe and watch some movies in my hotel while watching the sun go down over the canal from my hotel window. Relaxation at it's finest. 

Early the next day I went downstairs for the complimentary hotel breakfast and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't just croissants and cereal. You could choose anything from scrambled eggs to meatballs, assorted cheeses, herring again (yuck), pastries, Danishes, and every kind of juice imaginable. A girl could get used to that. Since I was running low on money and didn't want to spend it on food I piled up my plate so I had energy for the days activities, then went upstairs to get ready for the day. 

Next I walked 2.3 miles to Langholmsbadet city beach just on the outskirts of Stockholm city where locals go to swim in the super clean Swedish water, unfortunately I did not pack a bathing suit and Sweden is not one of the places in Europe where people swim naked so I was stuck laying in the sand and reading my book. Rough life. The beach was stunning and as always so were the people, seriously is everyone in Stockholm completely stunning?!? What is up with that?? I find myself at a loss for words every time a Swedish man attempts to speak to me (and completely flattered when they assume I speak Swedish). 

After the beach I made my way to this bar which is located on an old ship (so cool) where I met some new friends for a drink and then called it a night. 

The following morning I had to check out of the hotel, afterwards I decided to see pretty much every museum I hadn't seen yet; the ABBA museum, the SPRIT museum, the vasa museum, etc, Sweden is loaded with unique museums! 

My personal favorite was the absolut vodka exhibit at the spirit museum. Where I also learned about sweden's very conflicting rules regarding alcohol, which I found fascinating. Did you know that in Sweden you can drink at a bar at 18 but you can not purchase it from a liquor store until you are 21? Sort of a smart move if you ask me- in a bar the bartender should be watching to see how much you have had and ensure that you are not super over served- and if you manage to get to drunk they can ensure that you get a safe taxi home. 

So that was the end of my midsomer journey, a great mix of lively and peaceful!

Eivissa Sirens

  Last week I hopped a flight to the one and only Ibiza. I had been warned by just about everyone to "be careful" & "Ibiza is the number one clubbing destination in the world, seriously watch your back", "people get robbed in Ibiza", & "it's a very seedy place"... These comments were an understatement. An egregious understatement.

   The ridiculous journey started right from the airport, after trying to check in online and print my boarding pass which Ryanair requires you to do before arriving at the airport the website told me that due to the fact that I'm not an EU member I would need to check in at the ticket counter in order to get my boarding pass. Normally this would have seemed fishy to me but I was flying out of Bournemouth airport which is so small I just assumed they had a different process for international travellers. Wrong. I swear they should rename me murphy because as usual anything that can go wrong, will. Ryanair made me pay £70 to print me a boarding pass... That's almost $125. Fuck me. 

    Making a decision not to let this set back ruin my beachy holiday I ate the cost and went through security, and watched the party unfold right before my eyes at the terminal. Everyone was at the airport bar doing shots of tequila, chugging beer and spirits and yelling loudly. Since I was alone and my friends were flying to Ibiza from another airport I popped my headphones in, ordered myself a cider and kept to myself. That didn't last long. 

Once aboard the plane things got crazy, this flight may have well been a flying party bus, people were blasting music, dancing in the aisles, going up to the drink and food cart as if it was a proper bar in a nightclub. I chatted with everyone around me, made some friends, drank a little, laughed a lot and before you know it we were there! 

  

   I shared a taxi to San Antonio with some people who were also heading in that direction and made my way to my hotel, Hotel Gran Sol- Calle Soledad 49 Balearic Islas, Ibiza, Spain. 

   The hotel was much better than I had expected for the price I was paying, big granite bar, super nice pool, meters from the beach, private balcony, private bathroom, and key card entry. This may sound standard to you if you've never left the states but believe me, in Europe that is luxury! 

I settled in, changed, and went to the hotel bar for a caipirinha. I turned on my phone at the bar and received a text from my friend Rosie (see earlier blog to hear all about some good times with Rosie in London) who was supposed to be meeting me at the hotel shortly since her flight from East Midlands got in much later than mine. Next bit of bad news: Rosie missed her flight... And wasn't going to make it... At all. Panic set in for a second thinking that I would be lost in Ibiza alone for the next 5 days. Until I remembered that Rosie's friend Whitney was supposed to be joining us the next afternoon. I asked Rosie if Whitney would still be coming and was delighted to hear that she was, however since Rosie was our only mutual friend I hadn't bothered to get any of this girls information. I didn't know what she looked like, her nationality, last name, or anything! Will she be fun? Does she want to party or does she want to relax? How is she going to find the hotel? The whole thing was nervous-making!! 

   I decided to let fate take control of my week and let things happen naturally. I talked to some girls in the hotel bar, had some drinks and went down to the west end with one of them for some fun. 

    I'm not sure how to really explain the west end other than to say that it's sort of like the British version of rocky point, Mexico on crack, with a nice yacht harbour. Cheap drinks everywhere, people offering you tickets to the super clubs, and loads of 19 year olds partying.  

   We got 2 drinks each, 2 shots each, and a pitcher of Long Island ice tea, for €5 each. Um... Bargain! 

   The booze started flowing freely, the chatter got crazy, made friends with some Scottish guys, danced a bit, and got a little taste of Ibiza. I headed back to my hotel probably around 3 am (which is early for Ibiza), sat on my balcony skylit a good friend from home and watched the sunrise. 

   Early that next afternoon the phone in my hotel room rang, I answered to hear an American woman on the other end introducing herself as the one and only Whitney! I gave her our room number and let her know I'd stay at the hotel and wait for her to get there. I was so thrilled that she was American! I got up, showered, got ready for the day and anxiously awaited her arrival. 

    Once Whitney got there the party STARTED. This girl and I instantly bonded, talking hair and make up, long journeys to Ibiza, Rosie not making it, surprised that we were both American!! 

  After some celebratory ciders at the hotel bar and a quick bite to eat we hopped in a taxi to the opening of the zoo project party, with absolutely no idea what we were in for. 

   This party was EPIC, literally held in an abandoned zoo people were painted like animals, acting like animals, dancing their asses off, swimming in the pool, running around, watching the dancers and we happily joined in got our faces painted and went WILD. 

    Once zoo ended we hopped on a random party bus which transported us straight to the door of sankeys, a club in Ibiza town with crazy rooms, light up ceilings, a movie theatre room??, and tons of people, where we made friends with some girls name Molly, Mandy, and Jessica. Whitney and I probably lost each other a thousand times but she kept finding me -- most likely because I was still wearing my neon bikini from the day and had body paint like a snake. Sloppy. After about 13 hours of these shenanigans we went to bora bora beach to watch the sunrise. Amazing. Until I realised my phone and debit card were gone. Fuck my life. 

  We headed back to sankeys to see if anyone had found anything but the place was so massive I think we both knew it was futile, and my phone was most likely snatched by the person I asked to snap a photo of me and my new friends & just walked away. Whatever douche, enjoy the iPhone 5 with the shattered screen that's been reported stolen so you can't even use the wifi. Good thing I have 2 iPhones asshole. 

   Needless to say, the next morning was a struggle. All aboard the struggle bus, to struggle street, in struggle city. & guess what? You can't drink the tap water. Not because of parasites or what not like in Mexico, but because it is full on SALT water, there is so much salt in Ibiza's mineral rich rocky cliffs they haven't been able to figure out how to remove it from the water. You can't even boil it out. 

  So We nursed our hangovers at our hotel with some delicious paella and sangria (and about 2 gallons of water) by the pool then headed to the beach. Now Ibiza has some of the most stunning beaches in the world, big cliffs, seriously blue water, and the sun felt like it was always shining. Not to mention- everyone is naked. Totally and completely butt ass naked laying in the sand and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Whitney and I opted for topless instead of totally nude, hey why not? No tan lines, hello. We swam, rested, and enjoyed the scenery. 

    Once we freshened up and got some food we went down to the west end to buy tickets for disclosure at space (I was very lucky that Whitney is American since I was able to transfer funds from my account into hers, leaving whoever happened to find my debit card unable to use it-- although I'm sure I just left it at the bar). Once purchased we went down to the beach at cafe mambo to mix and mingle and watch the fire show! 

 Later we took the bus to space for disclosure, cut the queue like total assholes, and got right inside the club. We took it relatively easy compared to the night before (even running into some friends from zoo/sankeys who exclaimed "Laura how are you?! You're looking less messy!!"-- hahaha luckily I don't embarrass easily). 

We rocked, we rolled, ran into Molly, Mandy, and Jessica again, we enjoyed the giant neon heads, and we called it a night. Unfortunately for us, I think everyone called it a night at the same time. We had to fight hard for seats on the bus back to San Antonio, but we did it, and home we went! 

The next morning was much less of a struggle, we had sorted out our water situation, we were up at a decent hour, and my mother had sent us more money (thank you mom I'm very thankful that you're such a badass), so we got our bikinis on, bought some tickets to a boat party, and went down to cafe mambo for brunch. We explored the shops, tried on goofy t shirts, bought them, then headed to the docks for our boat party only to find out it was cancelled. I am telling you I have the worst luck!!! We did however get our money back and use it to find a different boat party that was an hour later and off into the sea we went. Dancing, loving life, making friends, goofing off. SO much fun! 

  Afterwards we stopped for dinner and I ate probably 20 pounds of food before we went to freshen up for the one the only opening party at privilege Ibiza with Dash Berlin and ARMIN VAN BUUREN aka the #1 DJ in the world aka my favorite person, ever. 

We met some amazing guys on the bus there and arrived at the biggest club in the world, with the hottest go go dancers , most expensive drinks €19 for red bull vodka ARE you kidding?!!? That's like $40!!! Ew. Decided to stay sober at that very moment. The music was enough for me that night anyway! 

Indescribable. Amazing. Life changing. 

So that was that, my flight left the next day and I arrived back to England, thirsty, tired, and sore. 

One thing I will tell you about Ibiza is that it is literally Hell, the devil has taken over and his sirens are out and about to play and suck out your soul. There are gorgeous women everywhere offering you jobs, telling you to stay on the island. There are people who have came there and never left. Even Whitney decided to stay another week (girlllllllll you better leave that island eventually!!! I don't wanna hear stories about you running a gypsy cab ring and slanging pills to 19 year olds okay? Haha) 

If I could offer you any advice about Ibiza here is what I know: 

* Buy your water on a side of town that is not touristy and buy a LOT of it. Shit is like liquid gold down there. 

* don't ask someone you don't know to take a photo of you with your phone

* pay for things in cash, leave the debit card at home 

* you most certainly CAN get lost in Ibiza forever. 

* don't even bother bringing heels 

* it IS glamorous, but it is also dangerous

* everyone is British- learn the difference between a Nordi, Scottish, Irish, Posh, Manchester, London, or Southern accent or you will be offending bitches left and right. 

* don't lose your friends

* take the free buses 

* always remember, this is not Miami, Vegas, cancun, LA, New York, or any other party destination. This is IBIZA and it will eat you alive.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. - MarkTwain

" All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men [women], for they may act on their dreams with open eyes to make them possible. " - T.E. Lawrence.

As I enter the last month of my stay in Europe I have found myself with quite a lot of time on my hands to explore. My nannying job has ended and being that I'm still studying at AUB I decided to rent the room I live in for the last few weeks of my stay. With the extra time on my hands I started doing more research into all the things I could see and do on the south coast of England!

If you know me at all you know that I've always had my head in the clouds. I'm the type of person who honestly believes in mermaids and fairies purely because no one can prove to me that they DON'T exist. I constantly have my head in a book and I basically live in my own little world of fiction; and that's exactly how I like it.
So imagine my surprise when I find that some of the authors of my favorite literary works were from Dorset, the county in which Bournemouth lies!

Some of the most revered names in English literature are linked with Dorset including but not limited to Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, T.E. Lawrence, and Mary Shelley. So this past week or so I have been visiting all the sites that inspired some of my favorite novels (including my absolute favorite 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles')!!

On Monday I took a drive down to Lulworth, where 'Tess' lived and made my way down to Durdle Door and Lulworth cove and immediately I could see that it was definitely the kind of place that would inspire great works of literature. I could stay down there for hours. Sea side castles, thatched cottages, Thomas Hardy's house, and the incredibly stunning Jurassic coast. I stayed down at Durdle Door for hours, soaking up the sunshine, reading, and enjoying the view. I can't even explain the beauty so you'll just have to check out the photos and see for yourself!

My next mini- adventure was a trip to see Mary Shelley's grave at St. Peter's church in Bournemouth town center, I have attended mass at this church twice since I've been here (Easter and Pentacost Sunday), and had no idea that she was buried in the cemetery at the church. Frankenstein is one of my favorite horror stories, and I feel so blessed to be able to stand in the church she attended let alone visit her grave! I'm actually quite sad that I won't be here in October to attend the Mary Shelley festival!

After the literature-based adventures I spent a lot of time at the local beaches with friends Bournemouth beach, sandbanks, Branksome chine; enjoying sunshine and cocktails!

This past week was also chock full of random adventures including seeing the great gatsby at the cinema, windsurfing, paddle boarding, boating, dancing the night away with some friends in town from London, eating a hotel breakfast where I was convinced to eat black pudding (clotted sheep's blood), and finally cockling in the bay after the tide went out in Sandbanks, and tonight searching for recipes and cooking up the cockles we gathered!

I'm loving having the freedom to explore Dorset and participate in activities I normally wouldn't have tried on my own! I may even take up paddle boarding when I move to California!

I can't wait to see what the next couple weeks have in store, it's all going by so quickly, I can't believe I have been here for four months already!

I'm starting to miss home a bit, but there are so many things I will miss about England/Europe.

One thing is for sure: I won't be satisfied until I've seen the whole world, I am addicted to traveling the world and meeting new people while learning about their customs!

Here are some photos from my adventures in the last week or so!

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