Night Out =)

After having a pretty crappy day at work a really fancied getting dressed up, having a few drinks and having a bit of a dance...and who other to turn to but...

BETH!!!!

So after a 5 minute call of persuasion she came over, had the CD "guilty pleasures" blaring out of the speakers, a few glasses of apple vodka and lemonade and lots of make up, straightening and gossiping we were ready to hit the town =)

Unfortuantely, i didnt take any other pictures but trust me it was a fun night out!!
VIVE LES SOIREES ENTRE FILLES!!!

The University Of Buckingham

On the 20th April it was the open day at Buckingham University giving me the opportunity of having a look around the place and have a wonder around town.

The university itself was extremely small but was set in such an idyllic part of the country it was hard not too fall in love with it. It was also a beautiful day which added to the magic and beauty of it!

This was about three quarters of the uiversity so as you can see it was very small!

We went to get some food from the canteen and came across this little area which was right next to this building!



It was absolutely gorgeous, and it was just a shame i didnt have more time to spend taking more and better pictures...

 Once we'd had a look around the university and spoken to some of the professors we decided to have a little drive to the centre of Buckingham and see what it was like...and just like the surroundings of the university it was picturesque!

Unfortunately I wont be going to this university even though it was very tempting just for its surroundings! It was one where everyone went around calling their mums "Mummy" and having everything handed to them on a silver platter (including the extra tution fees they charged on top of the normal ones as they are an "independant" university) what was nice however, was that even though I'm not from that kind of background, I still managed to get a place there! So HAHA!

Alton Towers

During the holidays me and the lovely boyfriend decided to go to Alton Towers as we had two for one tickets from WHSmiths ;)

Quentin had never been before but i had seen lots of things about it on the TV, we werent sure when we got up that day whether we were going to go or not because it was very grey and it looked like it was about to pour it down with rain!

We decided to go anyway and definitely made the right choice!!! It was practically empty!! So we managed to go on all the big rides...VERY HAPPY!!!

The first ride we went on was oblivion, MY FAVOURITE.

And Quentin loved it too =)
What a good start to the day! I didn't take many pictures of the rides as i didnt think they were coming out good which was a shame as you can see this one looks ok.

Waiting in the queue wasnt as boring as you'd think as we didnt have to wait for too long...

After that we went on a few different rides, including THE LOG FLUME, which we slightly regretted as it was a little cold! I ended up walking around for a few hours looking like i'd wet myself!!
Also Quentin had failed to mention to me that I had black make up all around my eyes...very classy!

Another ride i managed to take a picture of was NEMISIS

The pink water looked brilliant and reminded me of my step mum Trish as it was the first ride i ever went on and it was with her =)

Overall, we had a gorgeous day, sitting at the front of every ride, coming home with lots of sweets, a cute cuddly toy and happy hearts!

Definitely a day I won't be forgetting in a hurry!!

A little drive =)

On a nice sunny day beth and I ended up going for a nice little drive, we dropped off her little sister then ended up playing a little singstar, singing...badly...to our favourite songs!!

I LOVE MY BEST FRIEND

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME IN LONDON =D

Waking up in London on my birthday didnt start off so well...
The room was really stuffy meaning i had a really sore throat...not good! We had to get up quite early for the breakfast and to catch the train.
We ate our breakfast got ready and made our way back to Euston station a bit early so we could chill out and have a coffee and wait for our train tranquillement.

We went to a "pub" that was inthe station but was on the first floor meaning we could overlook everything that was going on, French Man bought me a nice coffee and we sat and chatted about everything and nothing. At that moment in time, I suddenly felt so loved and lucky. I think it was the whole feeling of the two days in London that just made me feel like we were a real team in a world of strangers which I loved. Just before we went to the trainwe stopped at WHSmiths and got ourselves some KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS!!! I had the lemon meringue and quentin had the chocolate dream. Recently we've started watching Dexter, whom i've fallen in love with, and we've both got very addicted to it, we're onto the 4th season now. But anyway, my point is that Dexter always buys a box of krispy creme doughnuts for when he goes to work so we've nicknamed then DEXTER DOUGHNUTS!

My Doughnut =D

When it was time we went to our train and found ourselves some nice seats, again we chatted and laughed....oh how we laughed!!! I can honestly say it will be a moment that i wont forget in a hurry, people must of thought we were two french mentalists laughing till we cried =)

Us on the train

When we got back to stone my best friend asked me if we'd like her to come and pick us up from the station, which i was very greatful for considering my feet were in so much pain thanks to the continuous walking we did the day before.

She came to the house and asked me to check that she hadnt forgotten her lipstick in my room, which i found odd, but when i walked in she'd laid out lots of balloons, a little present, card and a fancy dress outfit she'd made for me for my birthday outting the next day. It was amazing!!! I love nice suprises like that, especially when i have no idea about them!

After that French Man said that he'd cook me whatever i wanted for my brithday and all i fancied was a lovely steak and chips along with the amazing blue cheese sauce he does. (its amazing). So we went to the shops to get all the things we needed and then came back and chilled out.
My brother was with us so the three of us ate all together whilst listening to music and drinking some nice red wine...

After a few drinks we ended up searching songs that we loved on YouTube and laughing and singing along. It was a lovely end to a great birthday.

Drinking the apero...Brandy and Coke...Yum!

My Little Brother

No one would take my picture so I took one of myself...VERY COOL

My parents, who were on holiday in France came home that night and gave me my present and we all had a catch up, mind you, i'd had quite a lot to drink so it was me blabbering on and on  =p

Just remember...
Birthdays aren't about the presents and the material things...Its about being with the people you love, enjoying yourself and feeling like the most special person in the world even if it is just for that one day!

LONDON BABY!!!! 30th March

that was the day of my interview with the very intimidating westminster university, we had already organised to stay in london for the night as it ended up actually being cheaper! we were up at arfound 7am as the train was leaving stone at 9am, we had a nice little walk to the station from my house as it was silly to drive and leave the car when it was only a leisurely half hour walk. once we got on the train it was ti'me to have a nap and relax as it was going to be a very long 3 hour journey.

the french man had made sandwiches...if you can call them that...consisting of hot dog sausages, mustard, salad and tortilla's...interesting combination to say the least!!

once we had arrived in london we got ourselves some tube tickets and made our way from euston station to oxford circus, once we were there we started walking towards the university that only happened to be a 2 minute walk. once we got there we went to the reception and i explained that i was there for a journalism interview...but disaster...i was at the wrong campus!!! the one i needed to be at was at least half an hour away, i rang them from the building i was at letting them know i was at the wrong place and we jumped onto the first bus that went to marylebone tube station. whilst on the bus i felt so disappointed in myself...the only opportunity i had to prove myself was ruined by my own silly mistake!

we eventually got to marylebone station and got onto the first tube, it was then a half hour journey to harrow, where i was supposed to be...
i must have looked a right state as i was sitting on the train crying my eyes out and speaking in french...i honestly felt like giving up, i'd already given a bad first i'mpression so why continue. the worst thing was i had worried so much about my physical appearance that morning, making sure that my hair and make up was just perfect and now the make up was running half way down my face and my hair had had a lovely 'rain wash' thanks to the beautiful weather...(sarcasm if you couldn't tell)
eventually we found our way to the university and that's where french man left me to do my thing. i walked into the room of the interview where they were just finishing off (it was a group interview) and i felt like breaking down again. only, as i walked in the interviewer said not to worry and that he would speak to me after we'd had the tour of the campus and that it would be fine....finally my day was turning out a little better!!

the university, i must say disappointed me a little when i first saw it as it looked old and unlooked after but once we were inside it was another world.


 it was exactly as i had hoped, with all its macs and latest technology and big study rooms. and best of all....a huge library!! my heaven!!! it was three floors high and juts filled with books and people studying...somewhere i knew i would be spending a lot of ti'me in.

The University the first time i saw it

What I saw afterwards...

eventually it was ti'me for my interview which i again, became nervous about but when i met the interviewer he told me someone else had turned up later than me!! i was so pleased because it meant that i wouldn't be on my own. i went and sat down with her whilst we waited for hi'm to come to us. she was a really nice girl who was with me so i automatically felt at ease, however, as soon as the interview began i got worried. this was was clever, i mean, very clever and clearly knew her stuff when it came to journalism. he asked us to talk about ourselves a little and just had an interview. he seemed quite happy but i definitely wasn't feeling the same.

once the interview was finished i rang french man up and i re told hi'm everything that happened, at least now it was over and done with and we could go and do some visiting. firstly we had to stop off at our hotel to drop off our bags which was back in the centre of westminster. honestly, the hotel was awful, but for 40 pounds i'm not one to complain.

The Hotel, from the outside it looks nice, but inside was horrible!

we started walking around trying to find the monuments but we kept walking and walking just finding rows and rows of streets that began to just look the same. we were both fed up so we decided to stop at a spanish tapas bar and have a few drinks...two pints and two rfounds of tapas later we both felt a little bit tipsy...definitely the best way to be when exploring london....and decided to have a walk and see where we ended up.

after a walk past westminster cathedral and past different shops and cafes we eventually found what we were looking for!! we found the london eye, big ben and the houses of parliament! perfect!!!

Westminster Abbey

Again, Westminster

BIG BEN!

I love this picture because i think it captures the vibrancy and fast pace of London

Houses of Parliament

Me under Big Ben

The partner under Big Ben

A bit of a blurry picture =S

we walked along the river thames and started to get a little hungry...as it was my birthday the next day french man decided to treat me to whatever i wanted and there was only one thing on my mind. delicious sushi prepared by real sushi chefs....where better to find them in england than in london?? so we decided to carry on walking and go down different streets that looked like they had restaurants and see if we could find anything, but street and street was disappointment after disappointment. we got to a busy area (still have no idea where it was) where there was a band playing and had a real upbeat vibe, i told the french man that i didn't mind if i didn't get to eat sushi we might as well just go to a restaurant and just have some food any where.

we made one last effort to try and find a sushi bar close to defeat and look what we came across!!!!!

CHINA TOWN!!!!

and guess what was in china town??? a real japanese restaurant serving sushi!!!

unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the food but i promise you it was a real feast!! i had never seen anything like it and i eaten things that i had no clue of what i was eating...we think one thing was octopus...but i'm not sure...and i'm happy not finding out, all i know was that it was beautiful...

after the lovely meal we made  our way back eventually and collapsed to bed. tired, full but extremely happy with my day that seemed to have started off so badly...


All i could do was just hope....

the lesson to learn from this is, EXPLORE!!! You  never know what you will find!! But wear good shoes!

Bisous

The First Blog

I guess this is where I introduce a little about myself (I won't go into too much detail as it could get a little long winded)

Firstly, I am Steph, currently living in the Midlands in a quaint little town about 45 minutes from Birmingham. It's nice enough, it could be worse, but like a lot of places, it could be better...
I am an A level student in my last year studying English Literature/Language, Media Studies and French, i am aspiring to go to university in the next year and am a bit undecided between to different universities. I'd like to go into journalism so that is the course i have applied for, and hopefully will be the job i will be doing in three years time. I am actually 3 years behind as for those years I could not decide what i wanted to do, I stayed on at my high school at the sixth form and hated it,n the next school year I went to live in France for a year, which I can honestly say was the best year of my life, along with spending time with my beautiful family (more info later) I met a wonderful French man (yes, they are just as romantic as in the films)and had the chance to make my french that little bit better (I was already fluent but managed to get up to date lingo etc.). I didnt actually want to leave France but had to for my studies as I am quite academic, the French man came with me and here we are back in England and I've finally managed to reach the second year of A levels!

A little fact about myself, I am half french and I love it. In fact, I wish I was a little more French, the sophisticated, laid back way approach to life is not only one that is seen when you go on holiday but is actually a way of life. My mother is french (thus why I am half french) my father is English and throughout my life gone back and forth between England and France and quite honestly I wouldnt change it for the world, at the end of the day it has made me who I am, and I could be a lot worse. Now my parents are seperated and both remarried, my mother still lives in England and my father now live in France along with my two little sisters who I adore. Along with these two little munchkins I also have a brother who is two years younger than me.

I have a part time job working in a superstore chain which honestly is not what I want to be doing after 2012! But it passes the time for now and gets me money to do the things I want.

I love my music, there isnt a specific genre i am more fond of I just love having it on and having someone singing to me, thanks to my Dad I have quite a wide knowledge of music (especially 80's) and know what I like. I also love to watch films, I am a huge film buff, I can sit all day watching film after film after film, theres something about being drawn into that world which just makes me feel great. I also enjoy food, I don't mean that I am a fatty boom boom! I enjoy food, the French man is a chef which makes him that little bit more special, I try anything and most of the time love everything.
I have friends, like everyone, but i can name them all on one hand the ones that i know i can count on, and i'm sure if most people really think about it, they are in the same position. When i mean someone you can count on, i dont mean the ones that will take you out everyday of the week getting you drunk and having a laugh (of course, they are fun friends to have. I'm on about the ones that do all that fun stuff with you, but also know you well, they know when theres something wrong and are the first one at the scene to make you feel that little bit better.

So there you go, just a little introduction of myself, from now I will just be updating what is happening in my ife and introducing the varied characters that feature in the play that is my life.
Any questions are welcome, or simply anyone who wants a chat, I'll be here most days and will be happy to receive a little hello =)