A Ramble Round London & a New Travel Journal

I love trips to London, especially when I get little things I like.

I stayed Friday night with my lovely American/British friend Jaz in London and we set out the next day (her 19th Birthday) looking for boots and making a trip to King's Cross.

She has never been and well come on! Who doesn't want to go to the Harry Potter Gift shop?

My friend Jaz has this Pikachu bag and she gets noticed all the time.

Not only does she get noticed but she seems to have this strange luck about her. I'm not sure whether the luck is good or bad. For instance, when we were walking along Oxford Street, there was this little car (picking up rubbish) coming along the pathway. Now did she move? No, it was as though she were in slow motion just staring at it coming for her. She then said 'Sh*t', in front of someones face as well. The lady just stared at her, so funny!

Things have got more expensive here in this shop at Kings Cross, but it didn't stop me from buying some little purchases.

AGAIN, Jaz was noticed for her bag pack. We were asked by some chirpy staff member whether we wanted to line up and get our picture taken, with the Platform 9 &3/4 wall, along with having Pikachu in the cage. You can barely see, but Hedwig is there.

I couldn't wear Harrys glasses as I am in Slytherin House. But hey, I'm proud of it :)

After we had our photos taken, the staff that worked there all jumped in for a photo with Pikachu. It was hilarious!

If you don't want to buy anything at the shop, it really doesn't matter. Just go along for the look and meet the friendly staff that work there.

Bought a bit of stationary in the shop.

I was thinking how people who have this kind of job, how do they get to work? The train? Bus?

I can't imagine this lady painting herself when she arrives.

She probably gets a lot of people staring at her on the tube, wouldn't she? Heehee.

Came across this place. It was very difficult to get even one picture. One old guy kept trying to photo bomb the shot... Like GET OUT OF THE WAY WOULD YA!

A bit of street entertainment, along with a blue cock. Nothing normal much in London.

My lovely Irish flag was in the back :D

I myself am a Harry Potter & Disney fan, and my friend is all Anime.

She loves this shop, TokyoToys in Piccadilly Circus.

At first I thought it wasn't the Disney shop seeing this. Thought it was some place else *COUGH*

Seeing Star Wars in the Disney shop was a little strange, but look at Chewy! I want him so much, but he's £20 sadly!

I think Jaz and I stepped in here not even for a minute, and she ran out straight away. As you know, perfume and cosmetics everywhere. It probably was not a reaction you see from a person leaving Selfridges. She fell out of the building, choking from the smell. It made me laugh anyway.

I bought her a little Hedwig keyring from King's Cross. IT'S SO FLUFFY, she'd say.

I wanted this straight away when I saw it.

I've been looking around for a book that will make do as a travel journal.

The pages inside are all different. They even contain lovely little pictures of old buildings, quotes and nature.

When the day was coming to an end, Jaz and I came up with a little game. In the tube station, we sat on the long escalator with no one on our side. And with people going up the opposite direction we'd start meowing. They of course were looking around wondering where the cats were. Then as we were coming to end of the escalator we'd jump up and shriek like a cat. Everyone was staring (not sure whether they laughed) but we couldn't stop ourselves from laughing. I think we may have meowed the whole way back to the house as well. There were Arsenal supporters everywhere, so we were meowing outside the pubs. Some guy stared at me but I pointed at my friend, "That was NOT me!"

I hope you liked this little random post.

I'm not sure when I'll be posting another, as my laptop looks as though it's going to die. Seriously! The battery I think has come to an end. So if you don't get any Maruitius Holiday posts (part 2...) it's because of my laptop dying with all the photos in it.

But don't worry, I'll be home in Ireland by June/July so I'll manage to get a laptop somehow and post them memories up for you all :)

I am currently writing this post out in the sunshine. It's about time we've had some good weather.

Cheers to you peeps for your time. And apologies for the blurry pictures, they were taken by my phone, so...

Only a few more weeks till the holz, WHOO HOO!

Camping with Friends

Hey Peoples :)

Well on Tuesday, me and some friends decided to meet up for a camping trip, for just 2 days. We've been going for the past 3 years. We camp in Lough Key, Forest Park, in County Roscommon. It's perfect for us because we've all been going there since we were kids, so we know the place really well, as well as it's not a long journey to get to.

I didn't get much time to spend with them during the year, every one of us lives in different parts of the country, Dublin, Galway and Letterkenny (Co. Donegal). And this September I'll be living in London... MUCH FURTHER! So it's going to be difficult. 

So this trip was a lot of fun, plenty of laughing, more so than the previous years. And even with most of us struggling with keeping within a budget we still were able to get by just fine. It does make me a little annoyed when being with friends that I start to think about money, whether I'll have enough. Years ago it wasn't so complicated. It's not nice having  to think about whether I'll be able to afford anything, when I should be relaxing and having fun. I guess it'll never go away, it's one of the joys about responsibilities.

This lovely tent took about 2 hours to set up... in the rain I might add. So no, the weather wasn't great... heehee. But that didn't stop us from having a great time.

These 4 lassies are all great friends of mine, Lisa, Edel, Katie & Shauna, all of whom I've know since I was 13/14 years old and what I most like about them is that they're nothing a like. I would have different conversations with each of them, on different topics, that we would have in common. Each of them makes me laugh with their own personalities. I will miss them when I leave, but I know who they are and what they're like and they're the kind of friends who would always stay in contact with phone calls and emails. So even if it's only a few days a year that I get to see them, I'm happy with that. It's better than having no contact at all.

This guy, Cillian, will also be very much missed. Lets just say I'll have some great, funny memories of English and French Class to look back on. Even though I only became friends with him during 5th year (17 years old) I have to say he has become one of my 'Life Long friends', along with Edel (the girl with the pigtails) that girl will probably never NOT be in my life.

Unfortunately because of my own crazy personality and downhill lack of confidence I don't really get on with a lot of people, but the people that I do get on well with, they'll end up being the people that will still be in my future. I wouldn't waste my time if they didn't. 

In the past, I've never laughed so much in my life with these guys. The times where I've most appreciated the five of them is when they've made me laugh by myself, not in front of others. And I've loved all of our special meaningful chats. I've grown to know more about them through the years, just by listening. And I don't mind that. All I know is that if I was ever needing someone to talk to, they'd be there. And not by showing off in front of others, pretending to listen, pretending to be the good guy, they'd be there for me, and that's all I really need. The knowledge that they're there for me for when I most need it. 

The first night, we sat around a bench by the lake at night, star gazing, and we played a game called 'Paranoia'. Basically we found out what we all thought of one another. The honesty was good and bad for everyone. Refreshing for some, and funny for others. There were things that I didn't know that people thought about me, so it was all very touching.

The next day we hopped onto 2 boats and crossed over the lake to a castle on a island. The Castle itself belongs to someone I know, so it was cool seeing it for my own eyes. It wasn't fixed up or anything but it gave this old historic feel to it.

 I felt very much like Mary Poppins or Audrey Hepburn with my umbrella. I tried also being a sail for the boat. I think I did fairly well with the job... haa!

There were some funny moments with people falling over, people getting very tipsy, a lovely BBQ and some funny conversations. The song that will remind me of this Camping Trip will be 'Roar' by Katy Perry, seeing as it was constantly played over and over again :)

Our first Camping trip.

Our Graduation.

You may not see how much we've changed by these pictures, but we have. Some of us changed in our appearances, some with our styles in fashion, some with our personalities. And even with these changes we've still remained friends to this day, through the good, the bad and the ugly.

I know I will make new friends in London, but I hope they will be as original and as unique as the ones I've made in Ireland. 

Have you any friends that you know will be life-long friends? And how do you know? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading :)

Lots of Love,