Sunday, January 30, 2011

Friday 28 January – Starry, starry night



Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria
11.11pm, In Highways enjoying half-price happy hour. We'd had a lovely evening so far, which had involved shutting ourselves away from the cold outside world, playing Trivial Pursuit and drinking vodka from teacups. But two of our (new) friends are leaving Kitz tomorrow so we dragged ourselves away from our rock 'n' roll lifestyle and went to meet everyone in town. It was a fun group of people and, as we walked home in the snow (through snow-covered fields with literally a 15cm-wide path to navigate through the snow), the stars were out in full force, and it was a surreal and beautiful reminder of what an amazing place this is.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Thursday 27 January - Memories...

Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria
11.11pm, Making a video. I took in excess of 2,000 photos in Berlin last year (true fact) and, though many of them made it on to this blog, I wanted another way to commemorate what an amazing time I had over the summer, autumn and winter, in such an amazing city. So I made a 'video' (in essence, it's a glorified slideshow... Well, not even glorified really; it's a slideshow). Looking back over the pictures brought back lots of very awesome memories, ones that even doing this blog for the past seven months hadn't helped me remember. Thanks to all the awesome friends that made it so fun.

Wednesday 26 January – Happy Australia Day!


Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11pm, At home after an Australia Day party in a bar the nearby town of Kirchberg. There are a lot of Australians around this part of Austria, so it was nice to get all caught up in the excitement and atmosphere of celebrating. Big love to all you Aussies in my life. Xxx

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Tuesday 25 January – The Breakfast Club


Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria
11.11am, Making breakfast for Andy and me. He usually makes breakfast for us (I'm treated/lazy) but, as he's ill – and he probably caught the illness from me – then I thought I'd step up to the plate...so to speak.
It's strange how, wherever I am in the world, I always get in to a different routine of what I eat. Here, almost every morning I eat peanut butter and banana on toast and a cup of tea whereas, in London, I'm all about porridge and hot water with lemon. And it's not like they aren't all available in both places.
(Picture taken from Sandwich Recipes)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Monday 24 January – Wrapped up warm


Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11am, Lying in bed feeling sorry for myself because I am ill. I only have a cold but it means I can't sleep so I'm tired and grouchy as well as being achy and bunged up. It's pretty good that I don't have to actually do much though, I can legitimately lie in bed watching TV (albeit in German), or look out the window at the snowiest day I've seen yet.

Sunday 23 January – Snow cycling




Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11pm, In Highways bar (where Emma and some other friends work), making the most of happy hour and catching up with a few people I've met since being here. In the day we went up the mountain to watch the downhill slalom race. It was sooooo cold and snowy but the atmosphere was amazing, especially every time an Austrian was racing.

Andy and I rode our bikes in to town this evening, and it was a pretty different experience to riding in either London or Berlin. For a start, the roads are really quiet and, also, there are no other cyclists. I literally haven't seen a single bike since I've been here. Maybe we'll start a trend, though I imagine the reason why there aren't many bikes around is because it's pretty hard riding in snow!

Saturday 22 January – Happy Hahnenkamm




Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11pm, Having a happy Hahnenkamm after finishing work again. Andy and I worked from midday until 8pm and I don't think we stopped moving in all that time. Town was sooooo busy and it seemed that people couldn't get enough of our burgers and drinks. It was a bit of an eye-opener, because I didn't really consider that I was in Austria and so would have to be speaking in German. It sounds silly but you can usually get away with speaking English here, but over Hahnenkamm, most of the visitors are Austrian and Swiss, so it's Deutsch all the way. I was pretty proud of myself that I managed the whole eight hours without too many misunderstandings. And now if someone wants a Flügerl or a Flying Hirsch, I'll know what they mean. A really ace day by all accounts; met some lovely people, spoke lots of German, made some money and celebrated with friends, including Eri, one of my besties from Berlin, who had come to visit.

Friday 21 January – Die beste Burgers in Kitzbühel!




Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11pm, Having some drinks on the streets of Kitz, as this weekend is the Hahnenkamm race (a downhill ski race), which sees 100,000 people flock to the town to watch, drink and generally splash the cash. I've never seen so many real fur coats and decadent Austrian elderlies in one go. Andy and I managed to get some work on a wooden stall that sold glühwein and burgers (The best burgers!), among other things.

Thursday 20 January - Movie time


Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11pm, Watching a film in bed, Dazed and Confused. We'd had a pretty quiet day in total; not very wild, but it was nice to have a bit of a chilled one before the madness that will be the weekend.

Wednesday 19 January – Spinat Knödel

Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria

11.11pm, At Mellis and Anita's house, eating an Austria delicacy, Spinat Knödel. They are basically spinach dumplings, with a feta heart, and they taste incredible. Anita is a brilliant cook and it was nice to catch up with her before she heads off for another three-week stint of work all over the world (she is an air hostess). Mahlzeit!


(Picture taken from Healthy Flavors).

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Wednesday 19 January – Lazy bones


Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria
11.11am, Reading in bed. I had forgotten quite how much I love lie-ins, so I am going to be taking full advantage of them while I'm here. Now I've managed to get out of bed and head into town (this time with Andy to show me the way, so no more tears) to find some internet and post the last five days of my life! Phew!


Tuesday 18 January – A rollercoaster day




Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria
11.11pm, In Highways bar after having watched my first ever game of ice hockey. My day went something like this: A lovely morning (see earlier blog post) of reading, organising and feeling good (Andy had to work all day so it tested my independence from the outset!); a walk into town, which saw me getting lost, crying, rueing Austria, then realising how beautiful it was; meeting Emma, who sorted me out a treat by taking me for coffee, saying all the right things and then buying me many drinks; going to ice hockey with lots of people I didn't know and a few I did know; going for drinks in Highways, where I danced and chatted and bailed before midnight.

Tuesday 18 January – My life, part two.


Current location: Kitzbühel, Austria
11.11am, Waking up in my sixth new home of the past year (five of which are in different cities, three of which are in different countries)! I arrived in Kitzbühel, Austria, last night and spent the eve pottering around our little and lovely flat that Andy found. It is perfect and I love it already. It's basically one big room and bathroom, with a shared kitchen downstairs, but it's managed to achieve the perfect combination of cosy and light and airy, and VERY Austrian.

This morning, the sun was shining in through the massive windows, which show an amazing view of the mountains; the picture above is taken from our balcony! I was feeling a bit nervous about being here when I arrived last night, as it just feels like a big task to get to know yet another new place (although I have visited here twice before). I absolutely loved Berlin and miss it a lot, and I have settled in really well in London too, so it felt like a challenge to feel that way about somewhere new again, and adjust to the Austrian way of life, whatever that may be.

But waking up this morning, I felt a huge surge of positivity and excitement. I love getting to know new places and people, and Kitzbühel really is so beautiful, plus I get to share it with some of the people I love most in the world (one in particular). What's not to love?! So now I'm super excited and can't wait to get exploring...

Monday 17 January – Back to the double life



Current location: Gatwick Airport
11.11am, On my way to the airport as, at 12.15pm, I would be flying out to Austria for another new chapter of my life. I am loving the London half of the month, but am pretty excited that I am about to embark on an Austrian half too. Especially when I looked out the train window in London to rain and greyness and, while flying into Austria, was greeted with snowy mountains, blue sky and sunshine. I know it's not a true representation of each country, but it definitely made for a good welcome to Austria!

Sunday 16 January – Packing and chowing down


Current location: London
11.11pm, Packing a few bits of my life into a much-too-small-but-somehow-yet-too-big-for-easyJet suitcase. It's my last night in London for, potentially, three weeks so Ruth, Jack and I had toad in the hole (my fave), lovingly made and whisked by Jack. Deeelish and a lovely way to spend an eve.

Saturday 15 January – East side






Current location: Hackney, London
11.11pm, At Ally's birthday party in Hackney. Such a fun catch up with lots of girls I haven't seen in too long. The night involved dancing (mainly to Rihanna), drinking a lot of vodka, taking an obsessive amount of pictures, chatting to new people and laughing with 'old' people, making up songs, and basically scamping around. I haven't been to a house party in ages, and I'd forgotten how much fun they are. Happy birthday Prince Ally, loving your work. x

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Friday 14 January - Friday night à la Sex and the City






Current location: Angel, London
11.11pm, Being a cliché. It was Friday night, I was all dressed up in a bar with three lovely girls (Cat, Sarah and Louise) drinking cocktails. Can you get any more sterotypically 'woman in her twenties' for a Friday night?! Either way, I loved it. And I had a new top on, so that was nice.

Thursday 13 January - Work night out






Current location: Emirates Stadium, London
11.11pm, At the Incisive Media Awards! It was our annual works do and, I have to say, I really enjoyed it. As two of only three women outnumbered by about 15 men, Lindsay and I pulled out all the stops and glammed up for the night: sparkly dresses, false eyelashes, heels.

Mick, aka my desk buddy and designer extraordinaire on British Journal of Photography, won the design award so we were all super pleased for him, especially when he went on stage in his coat. Very glam, Mick.

Other than that, the night involved eating pie, drinking far too much wine (hey, it was free!) and dancing to Shakira. Lovely.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Wednesday 12 January - An American state of mind




Current location: Soho, London
11.11am, Eating Goobers. What are they, you may ask? Well, they're chocolate-covered peanuts, which I first discovered when I lived in London three years ago with my amazing transatlantic friend, Becky. Being American, she had some pretty funny phrases, one of which was "You're such a goober!". I've since found out that Goobers are real things, and they always remind me of my beautiful and sweet friend, Ms Clark, who has since gone back across the pond to pursue a very successful journalism career. Here's to you Becks, the ultimate Goober.

Tuesday 11 January - Open mic


Current location: Brixton, London
11.11pm, On my way back home from Brixton, after a really fun eve (on a school night!). I'd been to Sara and Emily's house for dinner, a scrumptious fish pie. Then Sara and I met Catdog and Sarah for a really fun night at the Ritzy. It was an open mic night, and we saw such a diverse group of people: An Italian rapper, a 16-year-old singer, a hot poet, two comedians (1 funny, 1 not) and lots of hilarious conversation.

Also, today is a special day for the purposes of this blog: 11.11pm on 11/1/11! Glad I celebrated it with a glass of vino and my lovely girls.

Monday 10 January - BoyZone


Current location: London
11.11pm, Having dinner with about a million boys. Well, four. Jack's friends Koots, Kir and Poppet were all visiting so we made up a big and delicious risotto with chorizo and mushrooms. Twas delish and the night was a good one. Plus, Jack was super happy that he'd finally managed to outnumber the girls.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Sunday 9 January - Sunday roast


Current location: London
11.11pm, Splayed out on the couch, so full of dinner. Ruth and I made a roast dinner for everyone and, as well as a roast chicken, we also had the world's best roast potatoes, roasted parsnip and onion, swede, carrot, stuffing, cabbage and looooads of gravy. And then we made sticky toffee pudding and watched Scream 2. So that was good.

Saturday 8 January - Sing when you're winning


Current location: Earl's Court, London
11.11pm, In Earl's Court, singing my little heart out. Nicky, Ruth and I went to a karaoke bar for Nicky's sister's birthday and it was sooooo much fun. I've never been to an actual karaoke bar and, after the initial fear, I was soon hogging the microphone and belting out Shakira at the top of my voice. I blame the tequila.

Saturday 8 January - Brighton rocks



Current location: Brighton
11.11am, On my way to Brighton with my sister, Kate, and my one-year-old niece, Baby Ella. We were meeting my uncle and mum for the day (her and Dad have a flat right by the sea on King's Road). I love going to Brighton and I hadn't been for about 7 months so it was fab to have a potter around, eat some lunch and laugh at my lovely little niece.

Friday 7 January - That Friday feeling




Current location: Angel, London
11.11pm, In the pub with eight of my favourite people. Emma had come round for wine and pizza after work, and then we met Ruth and Jack for cocktails. By the time we were queuing to get in to The Old Queen's Head at about 10pm with all my uni best friends waiting inside, I knew it was going to be one of 'those' nights. And it was; I had so much fun catching up with the girls, dancing, drinking and loving the fact that it was Friday night and I was in the Big Smoke.