Grandad comes to London!

Last week my Grandaddy came to visit me in London, all the way from Liverpool. He is pretty bad at making decisions and adamantly stood by his suggestion, 'Whatever you want to do Em' regardless of my objection that, seeing as I live in London, I can do whatever I want whenever I want, so it'd probably be best for him to choose and eventually we came to a bit of a stalemate and decided to just wing it a bit, which makes for a nice post full of advice for those tourists who are a little more disorganised.

We started off with a  lunch of scrummy fish and chips at the Shakespeare's Head, a Wetherspoon pub on Kingsway near Holborn station, which I often frequent with the German lot from uni and would highly recommend. Next, we decided to wander down to Aldwych to visit my uni, walk along Waterloo Bridge (which in my opinion, is the best view of London you can get, day or night) and over to South Bank, as my Grandad loves his shows and it's always a safe bet for street performers. Sure enough we came across a group of Jamaican dancers/acrobats/contortionists who were really quite good. Seriously, the ways in which they could twist their bodies were pretty crazy! It also made a nice change from street magicians, not that they aren't talented, it's just that they are everywhere in London and as a resident it's nice to see something a little different from time to time.

This little girl was the cutest.

Sometimes it's easy to forget how certain times of year are super busy in this city, making a wander down the Thames a little more difficult than I originally anticipated, so we took a bit of a breather for a few touristy pictures.

A sneaky Grandad-being-pensive-in-the-sunshine pic

This looks like I was trying to be arty but in actual fact I literally couldn't fit any more of it in the frame...

Em and Grandad selfie, with a cheeky Big Ben photobomb.

On our eventual escape from the utter madness of South Bank, we hopped on the 453* bus to Oxford Circus. As I was after a game for a birthday party, we decided to have a gander in Hamley's toy store. As far as I can remember, it was my first visit and both Grandad and I got a little too excited by everything that was going on. My broody levels literally sky-rocketed. Of all the cool toys to buy however, I ended up buying ID twister (please don't judge me). They literally put those boys faces on EVERYTHING these days.

Clearly I love my friends very much to go through with buying this.

The rest of the afternoon was spent bumbling around Oxford Street for various things before heading back home for some home cooked sausage and mash. However, not before stopping off at Paul to grab some scrummy cream cakes for desert (FYI, their chocolate éclair is to die for). By 6.30pm we were all done and dusted and ready to accompany Grandad back to the train station; it just goes to show how much you can fit into a day when visiting London and still successfully have a lovely time. I even had time in the evening to head to The Barbican Cinema (which is always £5 on tuesdays for students, worth checking out!) with Gordon and Joe to watch Noah. 

*When travelling around London, though the tube seems the obvious choice, I can't recommend buses enough. They literally go everywhere and most of them are 24 hour AND they're much cheaper than the tube. It's honestly no more difficult then getting a grasp of the tube system.*

Josh is HOW OLD?!

Someway, somehow, my ickle baby brother is turning EIGHTEEN today. Which is crazy. Especially because I categorically banned him from doing this, along with kissing girls and growing taller than me. It appears however, that there are some things older sisters don't have control over. Luckily though there are a few things I still have power to do and since it's your eighteenth, I feel as though it is only right for me to use that old favourite sister quality of publicly embarrassing you in front of all your friends by being super soppy. So happy birthday little bro and here's why you're an Ordinary Incredible.

Those infamous and widely envied Storey-photogenic qualities shining through.

When you were little you were - let's not kid ourselves here -  a bit of a monster and rather quick to anger, lash out and just generally cause havoc. You used to drive me and Rach INSANE with all your antics of throwing chairs down the stairs and getting lairy if we didn't put your favourite show on, but that didn't stop us jumping into older sister mode any time anyone fancied saying a bad word about you. Plus when you were really little, I can't deny you were quite cute with your famous 'funny face' you used to always pull and that Thunderbirds outfit that you refused to take off for pretty much the entirety of your childhood.

Look how sweet you were before you grew up and got all ugly.

All of that now though is such a distant memory, it's almost as if it was in another lifetime. I think there are many others that would agree that you have grown up into an almost entirely different person, so calm and collected now and with more common sense than possibly our entire family put together (though I'm not sure how difficult that is!). With a rather complicated upbringing and eclectic set of male role models you've managed to grow into your own person and really establish who you want to be, which is a difficult feat for anyone to accomplish, regardless of anything else. Plus you have that really inspiring drive and dedication for creativity unlike that of anyone else I've ever met. You always with a new project to show me, be it to do with your artistic or musical ventures, which make me really look forward to seeing what you're going to achieve in the future.

I'm not gonna lie, this picture still boggles me.

You never entirely lost that cheek though and certainly not your love for general banter, normally involving playing me and Rach off each other in the battle of, 'Whose the better older sister?' (which is me, by the way) and I love that we've all developed a similar, very British sense of humour of just taking the piss out of each other at any opportunity. I think it's great that I can boast that my little brother is, 'genuinely hilarious', even if I am the butt of your jokes half the time...

Aw, we scrub up OK don't we?

Basically Josh, thank-you for being amazing and I can truly say that I am so proud to be your older sister and not only that, to call you one of my best friends. I feel as though I've only scratched the surface on why you are an Ordinary Incredible (well, the ordinary bit might be debatable) but I'm a tad scared that I might inflate your head a little too much if I carry on any longer. So to even the score a little bit, here's fancy-pants to put you in your place:

Grandma Shepherd

Like everyone else I've been through both good and bad times, but one aspect of my life I certainly cannot complain about it my family. I'd write about them all on here if I could, but I have an absolutely huge family so that would take forever. So I'll have to be a bit choosy.

My Grandma's life story is one that I don't know much about. I know she grew up in Manchester (Moss Side to be exact) with three siblings and at one point decided she wanted to be a nun, but then my Grandad came along and ruined all that. Then they got married, had my two uncles and my mum in St Anne's before moving permanently to their house in Preston, in which my Grandma still lives in 47 years on. And to be honest I know little more than that, which is why me and my siblings bought her a book for Christmas called 'To me from you', a pretty journal with space for her to write her life story for us to read. I'm super excited to read it, as the older I get, the more I understand how much the older generation have to share with us and I have this funny feeling that Grandma has some absolute corkers to tell.

However, what I do know about you, Grandma, is what has happened in my life time. That you somehow helped your three children raise your THIRTEEN grandchildren, having us round for dinner every week and helping us all with homework and school art projects. You and Grandad were always the first port of call should one of us fall ill, picking us up from school and tucking us up in the spare double bed with a glass of fizzy water and plenty of Calpol. There was even the time when my sister fell over and got carpet burn on her forehead and was getting loads of sympathy, so I got all jealous and rubbed my head on the carpet so we'd be matching, and despite being reprimanded you still tucked me into the adjacent bed and played doctors and nurses with us. Then there's all the costumes and dresses and jumpers that you've made for us over the years, a skill which I am thrilled to have inherited, and the copious amounts of encouragement we've always received in any aspect of our lives that you've believed we could succeed in.

In the past few years you've had a difficult time as Grandad fell ill. As a team, you'd always been the rock of the family and even as Grandad's Alzheimer's took over,  you still managed to keep it together. We couldn't go round as much anymore, but still visited a lot and tried to help in whatever way we could. There's no 'right way' to deal with what happened to Grandad, but I know for a fact that although he couldn't say it to you at the time, he's now looking down, immensely proud of everything you did for him and for the rest of the family. The kind of strength it must have taken you to get through that time is one I will always aspire to have.

I'll never forget the time you turned up to my 21st birthday party dressed as the Queen of Hearts. Despite the difficult year, somehow you still managed to uphold the Shepherd tradition of being the life and soul of the party. I know Grandad would have been crying with laughter. Generally, the rule is that you're not supposed to outshine the birthday girl but I think I can let you off considering how amazing your costume was, seriously I was SO impressed.

There's so much more I could say. But basically Grandma, I think you're flipping awesome. I hope that one day, I can have the strength, integrity and gentle nature that you have. You're such an ordinary incredible but are so humble about it, I think it is far too often overlooked. So here's to you and everything you stand for. I love you millions!

Failing At My Bucket List

I'm heading back to uni next week so I thought I'd do a little 'review of my summer' post for ya'll and myself, to see how I got on.

On rereading my 'Summer To-Do List' post I realise that I've actually not done a whole lot in the way of what I set out to do. But then sticking to the plan has never really been my thing I suppose.

Unfortunately I still don't know how to say that really long welsh town name, but I'll work on it I promise. Also I don't actually own any cinnamon/am a massive scaredy cat so haven't plucked up the courage to do the cinnamon challenge yet. Furthermore I've watched loads of films and read a fair few books but I don't think any are actually in the 'top 100'. Typical. Oh and I haven't bought any of my uni books yet and have done very little work on my language skills. Wowzers, even for me that is an impressively epic fail.

I realise I've been rather lax on the vlogging front too. I did say it was just an experiment, so maybe I'll pick it up again once I'm more established in London, since at the moment I'm backwards and forwards between there and Preston almost every week. I am currently working on a proper long one though, of all the bits and pieces from my travels that I filmed over summer, so I'll try and get that up here ASAP.

HOWEVER, I did manage to fulfil a few of my goals, the main one being on Friday night, by having my big 21st birthday party :) thanks again to all the wonderful people who made it so special. And yes it was Alice in Wonderland themed and yes I had my face painted. Got a problem with that?

With Dad and Grandad, the three generations of Storeys. Love love love :)

The fam. I love this picture although we all look kinda possessed. If anyone knows how to fix that I'd be extremely grateful!

As a birthday present my lovely older sister bought me two tickets to see Les Miserables in November on the West End!! So that's another rather exciting goal to tick off too :) I've also signed up for beginnners Arabic classes at uni this term - a birthday present to myself, yes I am a massive geek - have applied for the London Marathon (what is wrong with me?) and have started writing a some stuff that may or may not turn into a book... but that's super duper top secret for the time being ;)

I can't BELIEVE how fast the summer has gone and how much has happened to me... Time really does fly. Oooo and I should probably let you all know that I have also bought a tent and various bits of camping gear with my birthday money, so I can travel the UK at weekends. I figure that I haven't seen as much of my home as I would like to and there must be so many exciting places to explore!

21 Reasons To Love Being Alive

Today is my TWENTY FIRST BIRTHDAY. Oh lordy that came round rather quickly. I don't know if I really feel all that different, but I think I prefer it to being 20. I'm not doing too much to celebrate today, just seeing some of my favourites and having a scrummy yummy curry for tea :D

Since today is a cause for celebration (for me at least, I'm not forcing you to join in) I thought I'd write something to celebrate life in general for all you lovelies who need something to brighten your day, or just add some sparkle to your already wonderful one! Please add your own at the bottom, you never can have too many :)

1. There's so much world to see

2. Chocolate

3.  Fancy dress parties

4. HUGE woolly scarves

5. That squiggly feeling you get when you kiss someone special.

(Hehehe Josh, sorry about this :P)

6. Live music

7. 'You had to be there' moments

8. The feeling of incredible achievement (/relief/exhaustion) on completing a difficult venture.

This was taken 97km in. I think this might be the closest to death I've ever been.

9. Lazy days

10. Holding hands

11. Who needs shoes?

12. Face paint

13. Dancing all night long

14. Having a family as mad as you are

15. The great outdoors

16. Simple things can be a lot of fun

17. Dreaming up seemingly impossible ventures and trying to see them through

18. Jumping into cold water on a really hot day

(Or in the case of this pic, on a really cold day. We're just hardcore.)

19. Things are still beautiful in the rain

20. Cuddles

21. Having the bestest friends in the entire world.

You see, growing up really doesn't have to be boring :)

I *HEART* Lisboa

When I was telling people about the cruise and the destinations we'd be visiting, a comment that came up time and time again was 'Ah you're going to Lisbon?! It's supposed to be amazing!'. Seeing as very few people had actually been there, I was a little worried that it's brilliant reputation would be all talk and in fact it would just be another pretty, but relatively no-descript city. Luckily, I needn't have been concerned and Lisbon is now easily one of my favourite European cities, if not the best I've visited.

The city managed to be both simultaneously quaint and vast, with almost very street paved with intricate mosaics and the architecture similar to Madeira's, though somehow with less modernity. It seemed as though every detail of this great city had been carefully considered, giving it the cosy feel despite it's size. Everything seemed to shine as the sun bounced off the numerous white washed walls, reminiscent of the Peruvian city, Arequipa.

I'm such a tourist. But just look at the funky floor!

Incredible.

More mosaics on the main high street.

During our aimless traipsing around, we eventually found directions to the Cathedral, because let's face it, it's not really a holiday without a visit to one of God's houses, is it? The outside was pretty, more resembling a castle than a church. But to be honest, I have seen more spectacular constructions. The inside however, was pretty incredible, with an extremely ornate sacristy and beautiful stain glass windows. I'm not one for supporting the excesses of the church, but even I can't deny it was breathtaking.

Being arty with a candle. We got some rather disapproving looks from the church police for this, but I'd like to think that Jesus had a creative side too.

As usual the picture doesn't really do it justice.

I also loved the tram system in Lisbon. They all looked like the picture below, proper old school with none of the horrible modern updates. It really added to the feel and appeal of the city. There were also tuk-tuks like the ones in South-East Asia that I've heard so much about!

Of course we had to stop for a drinks break in such high temperatures and I was over-joyed to discover that they stocked Somersby Cider, which is the drink I practically lived off in Croatia. So I got all excited and ordered it for everyone to try, only to have Josh burst my bubble and tell me that they APPARENTLY sell it in England to. A special reward to the person who can tell me where.

Whilst sipping away we were also lucky enough to have a free show provided for us, in the form of a gypsy asking other customers for money and the HUUUUUGE waiter trying to get rid of him. It was all quite Carry On, with the little man attempting to fight back against the body builder, scrambling against the massive bulk of muscle, whilst the owner came outside with a baseball bat! Luckily he didn't need to get involved though. It was all rather bizarre.

It's safe to say that I'll be returning to Lisbon in the future, but for a few days next time so I can really explore and soak up the culture. Back to the ship for two more days now before arriving home!

Madeira and the Canary Islands

Our first four port days were spent in Madeira, an autonomous nation of Portugal, and a few of the Canary Islands: La Palma, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. 

Madeira was our first port of call and a welcome venture for someone who isn't used to staying in one small space for days at a time. Although there are hints of the tourist industry creeping in, as in most Islands with a tropical-esk climate, it has not yet completely taken over. Whether pottering around the more central area or exploring a little further out, you could really get the authentic Portuguese flavour of the region. New builds are sandwiched between older constructions and it is easy to wander from one of the bright and spacious main squares into the higgledy-piggledy maze of winding side streets, giving the whole place a rather homey feel, as opposed to the common clinical and uniform feeling that is slowly encroaching on many major cities.

I just love this pic :)

The fish market that Stephen insisted on visiting... ew ew ewwwwwww!

Chilling with the Aurora.

My favourite street was a little way out, on which each resident had painted their front door with various different images. It seemed to be in celebration of something, since they were all signed and dated around the same time, but unfortunately we couldn't work out what it was. Here are my top three...

Oh and I don't know if you were watching the news around 15th August, but Madeira was actually on fire on that day we visited. It was kinda crazy actually, I couldn't help worrying about the locals as we watched the flames growing and spreading throughout the day.

Pretty scary eh?

The siblings, Grandad and I spent very little time on shore in La Palma because we're massive wimps and just couldn't take the intense 38 degree heat. All we could manage was a little while on a volcanic beach with BLACK sand (which was kinda cool but extremely hot underfoot!) before heading back to the ship to cool off in the pool. Dad and Stephen did report that it was quite a lovely little place, less touristy than the other Canaries and insanely cheap. I also got told off by a good friend for not exploring the volcanoes in the area at all, apparently they make for some really interesting excursions.

My one picture from the beach in La Palma, not too shabby really.

My absolute favourite day of the entire holiday was the day that we spent at the Siam Water Park in Tenerife. I'm a big fan of water and swimming anyway, but this park was just fantastic. There was absolutely no stone left un-turned when it came to attention to detail and the slides were perfect for an adrenaline junkie such as myself. There was even one where you went under a shark tank in a dingy! And the wave pool was EPIC. My only complaint was that we didn't get long enough there, which really isn't much of a complaint at all.

Aren't we just the coolest?

It was SO BIG. That slide in the background was literally like 40ft high!

I think I'm correct in saying that Gran Canaria is my Dad's favourite place in the world. It's where he and Stephen want to retire to and I can see why. It wouldn't be my first choice, it's a perfect spot for people who just want to chill out in the day and party at night. Plus although the new part of town isn't particularly unique or exciting, the old bit really is beautiful and the weather is apparently fab all year round.

We went to visit the Cathedral and paid just €2.50 to climb to the top of the tower. The view of the city was pretty incredible and really colourful. I like me a good view, so we spent quite a while up top taking pictures, though the top of the tower was rather a tight squeeze, so maybe plan your visit before a meal time ;)

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea.

'Let's do a silly one!'

After that we strolled around a few of the shops, spending a little too long in a children's toy shop because the air conditioning was just that good. Us Brits really aren't built for extreme heat. Honestly, I found myself praying for rain at this point, much to my Dad's disapproval. I don't even burn like my ginger relatives - heh heh heh - I'm just not a big fan of skimpy clothing (see above) which makes for some difficult compromises on extra warm days.

I rather enjoyed all these taster sessions, it gives me an idea of where I'd like to revisit in the future. On to another sea day before the day I am most anticipating... our final stop in Lisbon!