Well, hello there.

So things have been crazy for me, one more month left of university for the year and the US study tour happening in two months! Classes have gotten absolutely fascinating, and I have my ice skating exam in a couple of days (to pass to the next level!), so things have been very exciting. I also happened to win a double pass to see The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones thanks to Dymocks's recent competition! 

I've resigned from waitressing and I start my new job - at a movie theatre! - within the next week. I'm really looking forward to it. More information soon.

Musically speaking, I finally listened to Elbow's Dead In the Boot, the B-side compilation album. I'd listened to the majority of Elbow's discography while abroad, so listening to the various B-sides from those other albums at home seemed fitting. My pick would have to be 'McGreggor', simply for that slow, thumping rhythm setting the atmosphere. I can remember writing an essay with it playing in the background and feeling more inspired. 

I started listening to Stars, starting with Set Yourself On Fire and continuing with In Our Bedroom After The War. The absolute favourite so far is still going to be 'Your Ex-Lover Is Dead', but other favourites include 'Reunion', 'What I'm Trying to Say', 'The Big Fight', 'Take Me to the Riot', 'My Favourite Book', 'Midnight Coward' and 'Personal'.

I guess the concept of 'Your Ex-Lover Is Dead' is such an appealing concept to me - I mean, isn't it for anyone who's gone through a messy break up? That agony of not being able to move on, especially if you're the one wronged? Not to mention the first lines, "When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire", with the four last words referring to the album title.

That part seems to yell 'pyromaniac', but I can interpret that as self-improvement. You have to destroy parts of yourself for the sake of rebuilding and re-creation, right? Destruction as a form of creation. And often times if it's not for the destruction, you often don't find the better situation for yourself, am I right?

Not to mention the last verse of the song.

There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave

You were what I wanted, I gave what I gave

I'm not sorry I met you

I'm not sorry it's over

I'm not sorry there's nothing to save

I'm not sorry there's nothing to save

That process of self-recovery is so incredibly important, but being able to say 'I'm not sorry there's nothing to save' indicates the final level of growth needed to move on with life. Again, while the experience itself may have been terrible, it can lead to new and positive things, and that can be the sole reason why somebody may not regret a relationship.

 

Coldplay also released recently their new single for the next Hunger Games film, called 'Atlas'. This song feels more like their earlier stuff, which I'm a bigger fan of than their more recent stuff. It's hopeful, it's contemplative, and it carries a message of care. Not to mention, the lyric video is absolutely stunning.

 

This seems to be a music heavy blog post, stay tuned for more work and travel related posts!

Twenty-One.

So it was my birthday -- in a foreign country, continuing a pattern started last year in Phuket. This time it was Sweden, and I was interested to see how things would unfold. I had a pre party a couple of days before, and we ended up going out, the usual adventures that happens when you're on exchange with a bunch of fantastic people.

The (Tues)day itself was pretty quiet in comparison. I woke and had three separate Skype dates with home before going grocery shopping and looking around stores. Nothing to really say about groceries that's worth mentioning... but I did get a couple of phone calls. Local ones, asking about my address and if I will be home for the 'delivery'. My questions were answered when the 'delivery' occurred... it turned out to be courtesy of my friend Nicola back home in Australia!

And also got an extra something from my friend Marion here in Sweden.

It wasn't a huge affair, the day itself....but then again, that's never really been my style to begin with. That's something I've thought about over the years and come to accept; I've never been able to get my entire family and friends in the one room together.

And I'm okay with that. Really. That seems to be part of my nomadic nature, and I'm embracing it.

This weekend I'm squeezing in a quick trip to Warsaw, Poland. We'll be taking a day out to visit Kraków (and Auschwitz) as well as sightseeing in Warsaw. It looks like my predicted three weeks in Örebro just didn't stick as I thought they would. But hey, I'm not objecting here!

I'm also extremely excited to London next month; I've already started making my list, like I did for Paris. I'll have four whole days for sightseeing, and I can hardly believe that this is becoming a reality.

I'm off to live this whirlwind life that I've been given -- and I've accepted, and spun as... my own.

Paris, France.

So Paris. Freaking Paris.
There are no words, so I'll just give you a bunch and hope it works.

My friend and I stopped over in Frankfurt, before landing in Charles De Gaulle at around 6pm at night. We found our hostel and dropped off out luggage before walking around and exploring Montmatre. We looked at the Sacré-Cœur by night and glimpsed the Eiffel Tower before walking around some more. We experienced the Metro and saw the outside of Moulin Rouge.

Next day was crammed full of sightseeing: Tour Montparnasse, Notre Dame, The Panthéon, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées and climbed up The Arc de Triomphe. We tried escargot and it was actually quite delicious!

The day after (Friday) was the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, both in the day and night. We had baguettes for lunch under the Eiffel Tower and crepes that night. The Louvre was incredible; so many pieces of art and we didn't even see them all! We saw a few important pieces (Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo), and again dinner on the Champs-Élysées.

Saturday was a great day. We went to the Cafe de Deux Moulins (The Two Windmills Cafe) where a certain fictional eccentric character works. We went back to the Notre Dame for more pictures and found the underground crypt, which had some remains from the 12th century. At this point I realised I somehow lost my iPod touch.

We found Shakespeare and Co. before trying to backtrack.

It stayed lost, so I bought a new one at the Apple Store in the Carousel de Louvre! We went to the Museum d'Orsay and saw some authentic Van Gogh, Monet and Manet (not mayonnaise!). We had one last dinner down the Champs-Élysées (tried some red wine) before exploring the Place de la Concorde by night.

We left first thing Sunday morning. Stopped over in Munich, hung out at Stockholm Arlanda airport for a while before arriving back in Orebro at about 9:30-10pm.

The trip was a flurry of awesome memories; riding the Metro how many times, getting in to so many places for free (technically I'm an EU citizen, so free admission to a bunch of places!), the food, the people, the language, the city.

 

EUROPE List: Paris, France

Achieved 20/3/13-24/3/13

Trip highlights.

Souvenirs:

Clockwise from top: 

Black and red berets 

Channel Chance perfume from Champs-Élysées

My new iPod touch + cover

A t-shirt from the official Eiffel Tower Boutique (level 2).

Clockwise from top:
Prints of Moulin Rouge and the Eiffel Tower
Shakespeare and Co. tote bag
Shakespeare and Company: A Brief History of a Parisian Bookstore 
Starry Night Over the Rhone Van Gogh print from the Museum d'Orsay,
 La Liberté guidant le peuple Eugène Delacroix print from the Louvre,
Sweden and France espresso collectible cups from Starbucks