Thursday, November 24, 2011

Winchester, Norway and lots of school in between!

School has recently been kicking my behind and I was drowning in work right before the past weekend.

I had my mom and Robert visiting me in the beginning of November, which was very nice, and that gave me some time to both explore restaurants and be a tourist. We went to Santo Lounge again and tried the tapas they offer, which turned out to be Delicious!


When my mom went to the hairdresser later the same day, me and Robert explored the city "behind the scenes" and strolled through the Old Town. Here we found a real local pub that we came back to, with great atmosphere, great people and great beer and food! I drank Guinness again for the second time of my life, the first time not liking it (when I was in Ireland), but this time I was sold. The pub is called The Duke Of Wellington.


Guiness.

We we're also lucky to experience the celebration of Guy Fawkes Day, which we did right after the pub visit. There was lots of people and fireworks!

Guy Fawkes day!

On the Sunday we took a field trip to Winchester after being recommended to go there. Winchester is a very small city, but with a lot of great atmosphere and soul. I really liked it here - different architecture, different shops and also great food.. We ate lunch at Maison Blanc where they serve French couisine. Lovely!

Winchester high street.

Even further down than in the picture below, there was a marked out in the street, and you could buy so many nice things, many of which was vintage and antique furniture.

Winchester high street.

After having mom and Robert over, I had a lot of school to do before going home to Trondheim to Lars for a weekend. I was really looking forward to this and it was only around two weeks before travelling home, but those days felt sooo much more than that!

I had to hand in my first project early because I was going away, so I sat up until the wee hours of the last 4-5 nights there to get it done. Luckily I got done in time for my hand-in last Thursday, so that I could breathe and start to look forward to my trip back home to Lars!

I left for London and Marianne that Thursday and stayed the night there, before I got up veeeery early again to catch my plane at 9am over at Gatwick Airport. It was nice to spend a little time with Marianne again, it's been a long time since I saw her last and it's always fun!

The weekend in Trondheim I don't have any documentation of, only my plane and transport tickets. This is because all me and Lars did was just spending quality time together, laying on the couch watcing A Modern Family and other stuff, taking strolls in the city centre, and we also did a little bit of Christmas shopping!

It was unbelievably great to be in my own home together with him once again, and now we both just simply can't wait to get back to Sykkylven for Christmas!

I'm leaving December 16th, and I looking forward to it so much!!

So that's it for this time, again. Now I'm gonna to be working very hard on my essay on consumerism which is due Dec 13th, and the new project which is also a competition - YIDA, Young Interior Designer Awards!! I'm extremely excited for this one, as I've got tons of ideas for what I want to do already! I won't spoil it yet, as the hand-in is in January, but maybe I'll give you some hints in the near future.

Here's the brief:



You can catch some of the hints in my personal inspiration blog on Tumblr:
vichaa's inspirations

I post stuff here all the time, everything from design to music to art.
Stay tuned.

- vic -





Saturday, November 12, 2011

Bristol, 21.-23. October - Street art and Katy B!

Hellooo there!
I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything new recently. I can't seem to remember to write a post whenever I finally have time for it!

So what's been going on.. Well, last time I mentioned I was going to Bristol to meet a friend and to go to a Katy B concert. So; - Bristol blew me away, in every way. First off; the city is so vibrant, it's crazy. I mostly feel like this because of All the street art that's over there. I learned that Banksy, the street artist, is from Bristol, so no wonder the city was packed with graffiti from top to toe.

From the street right below high street and all the shops.
I believe there was a graffiti competition here between the best street artists in Europe,
so all you see is their work.

It was really great to see my friend Therese again as I haven't seen her since the summer! We lived in a hostel while there, or, I lived in two and she in the same one all her stay, and I checked in at her hostel for my second night. It was very hard to get a place to sleep there, some place decent at the least (female dorm...), since the season obviously wasn't over. (That's what the lady in one of the receptions said).

We walked around the city centre mostly and down by the harbourside. It was _so_ nice to relax for a while together with Therese, and the atmosphere was so much different than in Southampton. First of all you could feel the culture really swiping over you, and second the city centre had a lot more to offer than back south. Third, I remember live guitar and keyboard music in the streets while sitting on a bench, just listening and enjoing life. Oh Bristol, I liked you!

I visited the city from Friday to Sunday, and the second day we took a stroll uptown and walked into a a memorable street, Stokes Croft, where magic happens. I mean, not really, but I just felt so at home and so inspired here! This area of the city is very shabby and not particularly pretty, with, I guess, a lot of garbage laying around randomly. But here you could see more of the original street art part of Bristol - the origins. Here's another of my slideshows starting with street art in the city centre to the shabby neighbourhood of Strokes Croft.



I have to mention a café both me and Therese fell in love with in Stokes Craft. Café Kino. This was just a little café hidden on a corner, but a charming place with with lovely ambience, good cappuchinos and lovely home-made kake! We sat there for like an hour, just mezmerized by the street and the people. Artists, retros and simply the core of craft in Bristol. Loved it!

Café Kino on the end of this block.


We took strolls down the hight street and of course payed Cabot Circus a visit - that place is huuuge! We enjoyed Costa coffees and the beautiful weather on a bench in the street while listening to the rythms from a guitar and a keyboard. Oh yes life was good in Bristol, but about to get better.



One of our favourite shops - Urban Outfitters!
I miss that from the US!!

In the evening on Saturday was the long anticipated Katy B concert! Before the concert, we ate dinner in a local irish pub, right by the Bristol O2 Academy, before queuing at 6pm. The doors were to open at 7pm, and we were lucky to be one of the first to get in to the academy, with a long queue forming behind us.


Exciting girls!!

We got in and were lucky again to get some nice places amost in front and almost in the middle, before the scene. Before Katy, there was a line-up with different artists, among them DJ Zinc and P Money, which were both _amazing_!! P Money joined Katy on stage later as well, backing her up on some of her songs. 

When Katy B herself came on stage the atmosphere got Electric, Energic and just Magic! I loved every second of it. And Katy turned out, not only, to be the most down-to-earth person you can meet, as we thought she would be, but she also sang as amazing as we had anticipated ever since we first started listening to her music. 

Here's two clips from the concert - first a clip from Katy's song Whiches Brew, next Perfect Stranger (a featuring Magnetic Man (he wasn't there)):




Katy said herself that she makes music that just makes you feel good, and her tunes are a blend of R&B, dubstep, electronica, pop and house. The whole night we danced to the music along with her and just had an great time.

We checked out some nightlife in Brisol as well, and fell in love with a bar on the harbourside called, guess what, No. 1 Harbourside! A small bar, packed with people, good music and good beer. I absolutely recommend it to everyone visiting Bristol in the future.

Goind down the harbourside.

Sunday me and Therese parted although we really didn't want to. Unfortunately I had school waiting, but Therese was lucky enouth to stay in this great city for a few more days. We're definitely go back together some other time.

That's all about Bristol folks, next awaits a family visit from Norway and a nice little trip to Winchester!

- vic -