Travel

7 Places & Countries I’d Love To Visit

/ Catherine / 16 Comments

Inspired by my good blogging friend Arabella (Sparks Of Ara) I’ve decided to share with 7 places I’d love to visit! As much as I love travelling, I’ve hardly been outside of Europe. Today’s post is going to be a little insight into my life goals. I’m very fortunate to be able to dream about where I want to go in life. I have friends that don’t have the money to go on holiday so I do feel really privileged to have experienced the things I have. Sometimes I can get carried away by ‘dreams’ and ‘wants’. Like any ambitious teenager, once I’ve finished university I’d love to go around the world! It’s been on my bucket-list since I can remember. If you have been/live in anywhere I mention in the post then I would love to chat about it!

ALL OF THE PHOTOS IN THIS POST ARE NOT MY OWN

Norway

Arabella chose this one too, but I think that Norway is such a wonderful country. It would be great to see the Northern Lights and have a little biking trip around all of the cute villages. However it would be a pricey ordeal so I don’t know how long it will be until I get to this one!

Provence, France

I’ve visited France twice, but always in the North. I’d love to venture South into the lavender fields of Provence! It is a very picturesque landscape and everything looks so stripped back and tranquil. 

New Zealand

Imagine if I could visit every continent before I die (possibly excluding Antarctica)? If I was to visit Oceania it would be to see the sights of New Zealand. My dad has a friend over there so it would be possible to have accommodation free 😅 I’m not as intrigued by Australia but seeing a performance in the Opera house would be stunning!

Japan

Full of huge stationery shops, wonderful nature and the birth place of Pokèmon – I wonder why I don’t live there already? Recently there has been a surge of people on social media visiting Japan and I’d just like to hop on the bandwagon. It is also home to the world’s biggest stationary store. I could spend by days flicking through art paper and trying out pens!

Morocco

I can’t handle heat but I would love to visit Africa all the same. A few people I know have visited Morocco for a holiday. I wouldn’t go for the culture but more of a ‘kick back and relax’ sort of destination. 

Canada

Learning French does me a favour because a lot of the world speaks it, even in Canada. If I could only visit one city out of the whole country I would go to Quebec. Or Toronto. I suppose I’d have to look into it more! 

Rio De Janeiro 

The only continent I’ve missed off this list is South America! Rio is a really lively and interesting place. It’s a hotspot for tourists and full of culture. I’ll have to improve my Portuguese before I even think about going though! I don’t know a word in Portuguese (other than the ones in the Twilight novels 😂)

Do you have a travel bucket list? What is the favourite place you’ve visited (even if it’s in the same country that you live in)?

erin x

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My First Impressions of Germany — The Book Mermaid

/ Catherine / 2 Comments

Marta has always been a lovely support on this blog. Her lengthy comments make my day and it means so much to me that you spend valuable time replying to my posts. I’d like you to pay Marta’s website a visit today while I think of some blog post ideas because I’m running out…

Hello, friends! I hope everyone is having a great day! Welcome to the new feature of my blog, Mermaid Pages * – totally inspired by Holly’s blog series, Holly Goes Abroad, that I absolutely loved reading. ❤ For those of you who don’t know yet – which seems impossible because I never shut up about this, […]

via Mermaid Pages| My First Impressions of Germany — the book mermaid

Llandudno Travel Diary | Book Shopping, Donuts & Great Views

/ Catherine / 16 Comments

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5th August 2019

My second time going to Llandudno this year was better than the first. It was incredibly sunny in Wales, while at home the heavens had opened. I arrived in Llandudno around midday and had such a lovely time.

The first place we (family and friends) went was a cafe to have some lunch. We sat outside on some decking and the seagulls didn’t take any chips. The food was lovely but I was too hungry to take photos beforehand! 

Next stop: the beach. We spent most of the afternoon flying kites and playing boules. We had a few games of cricket and I nearly broke my ribs laughing! It wasn’t too hot, nor was the sand too irritating. I dipped my feet in the sea and enjoyed an ice-cream. After enjoying a lovely afternoon, it was time for some fish and chips. We couldn’t go to the seaside without going to the pier, either. The arcade was lots of fun and I won lots of trash. 

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This photo is on a bit of a slant, please forgive me

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We got back to the hostel at 22:30 that night, after sitting by the sea in pitch-black. The hostel was really cosy and we played some card games before going to sleep. 

6th August 2019

I was rudely awakened that morning by my brother’s snores. Breakfast was early and we were packed and out of the room by 10:00. We walked around town and stopped off at the church for some knitting. It was relaxing and fun, especially with it being so quiet. 

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I found some Cassandra Clare books in a “Bargain Books” bookshop. Unfortunately they didn’t have the first one! I also went book shopping in Waterstones (it wasn’t really shopping because I used a voucher) and the YA section was beautiful! I now have A Court Of Thorns And Roses in my possession and I hope that I like it. 

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I love the editions where the spines create images

After a bit more browsing, we went up the Great Orme on the tram. Last time I walked up, though my friend hadn’t been to Wales before so she needed the full experience. There was a really nice café at the top and I fattened myself with a cheese and onion pasty. I was so windy at the top and I have great photos of my hair whipping around. For anonymity reasons, I will not share those with you. Just imagine beachy waves… but beachier XD

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We revisited the pier and had a weird encounter with a school friend and some donuts. My last hour in Llandudno was greatly enjoyed.

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We went headed home at 16:00 and my friend was knitting all the way back. It was a fun experience and we have more inside jokes now than ever before. 

Where have you been recently? Have you visited Wales? 

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I Survived Camp!

/ Catherine / 11 Comments

If all went to plan, I should still be on Scout camp for another three days. However, it was cancelled. I’m going to tell you my adventure in diary format, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I really enjoyed this camp. I know I’m moaning throughout this whole post but weather does impact your mood. It also makes things less convenient.

27th July 

This morning I arrived in the most awful rain. Before I’d even passed the car park (a field) the bottom of my holdall was covered in mud. Not that I minded. At first I thought my bag had enough protection, though I was wrong. the mud and water soaked through the bottom of my bag and coloured my clean white towels brown. Everything in my bag is still damp: clothes, camera. Only the things I am wearing have stayed relatively dry!

Putting up the tents was easy but we had a few mishaps with the inner. There are three tents on our pitch (not including leaders) and, unfortunately, they all have puddles in. I’ve stayed in the mess all afternoon and it looks like we won’t be going out until the opening ceremony.

I’ve just came back from the ceremony. it was so much fun! Lots of good songs and there are 25 countries camping here. The rain stayed away while we walked there but returned as we walked back to the sub-camp.

The leaders are giving us lots of warm drinks because everyone is shivering, teeth-chattering.

28th July

The sun woke me up at 6:20 but didn’t stay for long. Soon there was rain again and some activities are cancelled today. It’s just after breakfast and I’ll be washing the dishes next. It’s nice to take time to write in here though. many of my friends are keeping diaries as well!

We’ve had activities all day and a few emergency cups of tea.  The rain hasn’t left us yet. All of my clothes are getting much damper and we’re not allowed inside the tents until this rain calms down a bit (which it hasn’t since 9:00am).

It’s now 5:00pm and the tents have puddles in them. Nothing is pushing the inner to the outer but I suspect it’s the wind. I’m just staying inside the mess and keeping as warm as I can. It’s getting harder and harder to write with my fingers going numb.

Update: two girls have left our camp. There are nine of us left. It is extremely cold but I’ve got to pull through. Not cleaned my teeth or washed since yesterday morning. The cleaning facilities are porta-showers (which are grim and coated with mud on the bottom) and portaloos. We have no sinks.

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Summer Playlist + Some Weird One Direction (Fangirl) Confessions

/ Catherine / 18 Comments

This summer is going to be packed full of trips and I will want a playlist to listen to on the many road trips between destinations. I tried to keep it short? 😂

Most of these songs have a backstory on how they came to be part of my life (yep, you can cringe. Music is just so awesome though). Some of them I have discussed, but some are too weird and personal to share – but I do write about a few embarrassing ones.

Amarillo – Tony Christie

This song holds a special place in my heart. I can’t remember the first time I listened to this song, so it must have been a while ago. With me going to Menorca (a Spanish speaking island) I think it would be quite fitting!

Late Nite – The Strokes

Breakfast At Tiffany’s – Deep Blue Something

I can’t really explain how many memories this song gives me. I’ve only listened to it in good parts of my life, so there’s no nostalgia held to its name!

Hall Of Fame – The Script

Rain – The Script

Parklife – Blur.

This song is so… British. I love the dialogue used in the beginning.

Pretty Shining People and Paradise – George Ezra

Ezra’s new (not so new anymore) album: Staying At Tamara’s is a hit for me. I love every single song in it, though my favourites are these two.

Troublemaker – Olly Murs

Somebody Told Me – The Killers

Mr Brightside – The Killers

Not only is this an indie anthem, it is also a song that was played on repeat at my summer Scout camp last year. There was this open-air stage that was emitting music from 9:00am until 23:00 every day. I am so blessed. Some of this was live music as well!

Imagine – John Lennon

Great message. Great man.

Are You Gonna be My Girl – Jet

Mr. Blue Sky – Electronic Light Orchestra

I wasn’t one of those people who got obsessed with this song after its participation in Guardians of the Galaxy. I have always had a connection with this song. Maybe I was in primary school when I heard for the first time? Maybe even before that?

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