Travel- Switzerland

Switzerland... Renowned for its soaring prices, gorgeous landscapes and cold weather.

It is an incredible country that I really enjoyed. We probably spent too much time here just because we didn't ski or tobogan or do any of those activities that you're supposed to do in the snow and so we did lack in things to do. 

So here is a little itinerary of each day, something that I do everyday in my journal just so I remember what I actually got upto when I don't have time to write a full on entry.

Day #1- 12th December 2014 (*Lucerne)

- Train ride to Lucerne- 8 hours

- Getting to know the city

Day #2- 13th December 2014 (*Lucerne)

- 'Alone time' in Starbucks- eating, writing and reading.

- Walk along the river

- Christmas markets

Day #3- 14th December 2014 (*Interlarken)

- Train to Interlarken- 2 hours

- Train trip to Grindewald

- Read

Day #4- 15th December 2014 (Interlarken)

- Juangfrau- mountain 4000m above sea level

Day #5-16th December 2014 (*Interlarken to Zermatt)

- Train ride- 2 hours

- Explored town

Day #6- 17th December 2014 (*Zermatt)

- Wifi and 'me' day

- Lunch in a bakery

- Some exploration

Day #7- 18th December 2014 (*Zermatt to St. Moritz

- Glacier express- 8 hour train ride through the Swiss alps

(@soopgie on instagram)

Day #8- 19th December 2014 (St. Moritz to Rome)

- Train ride(s)- 22 hours

- Bernina express through Swiss Alps and Italian landscape

A Bemused Traveller

Paris is the city of light, the city of love, the art, the fashion icon, the most visited city in the world. It displays a plethora of incredible galleries, markets, man made monuments and architecture and natural wonders. The wish to travel seems to be characteristically human, the desire to move, to satisfy lifelong curiosities or even ease your fears... To be a stranger, to make a friends, to experience an exotic landscape, an exotic culture...

I'm not sure if I have been dissilusioned by the countless hours I spent watching Madeline, Mary Kate and Ashley Take Paris and Moulin Rouge as a child but I always imagined France's tour attractions to be side by side, at least within 500 meters of each other... but my current aching feet and raging hunger prove otherwise. I've fallen in love with PARIS. Just as I will with Switzerland, Italy and England, no doubt. 

It's terribly disappointing that my fear of heights overbears my ability to climb up the Eiffel Tower (when I previously thought it had been concurred, a symptom of optimism), but looking afar has its perks too. I'm not usually a fan of overcast weather (says everyone) but as the morning sun was engulfed by a grey cloud cover, the Eiffel Tower peeked through the clouds and looked as elegant as ever beneath a gloomy sky and as my hands shook due to my own ill preparation, I stood in the one place under the one thing that 7 year old Elena could never dream of seeing, ever. I found pleasure in the memory of my child self googling phrases such as 'France in the dark' and 'eyeful tower' whereby childhood Elena was mesmerized by  something so unimaginable. It sounds as cliche as ever, because it is.

Walking around Paris was a powerful experience for me in many ways. It was a milestone, a travel milestone, an indicator of my first time in Europe, a reward to myself and my family in our ability to overcome a tough year and furthermore, little Elena's self satisfaction. And as I immerse myself into 7 weeks of headlong travel I loose myself in diverse parts of the globe where riches are differently dispersed and my ignorance and knowledge is attemptedly placed aside...

TATA for now, 

Elena, x

My Ultimate Travel Playlist

I'm only 10% through my trip and I've been on aeroplanes and trains for atleast 50 hours.... Music has been a necessity. 

1. Childs Play- SZA ft. Chance the Rapper

2. Arthur remake- Chance the Rapper

3. The Wolves- Ben Howard

4. Creature Fear- Bon Iver

5. Say You Love Me- Jessie Ware

6. Toothpaste Kisses- Macabees

7. Wide Awake- Josh Record

8. Crazy (Gnarls Barkley Cover)- Daniela Andrade

9. To Build a Home- Cinematic Orchestra

10. Home (RAC Remix)- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

11. Everyday People- Arrested Development

12. 99 Red Balloons- Nena

13. Asleep- The Smiths

14. All I Want- Kodaline

15. Nina- Ed Sheeran

16.  The Boss- James Brown

17. Heartbeats (Filous and Mount Remix)- Jose Gonzalez

18. Liquid Spirit (20syl Remix)- Gregory Potter)

There you have it. My top 18 songs in my ultimate Europe/Travel playlist. 

Elena, x

P.s. Sorry I don't have YouTube links but I have limited access to computers so it's all on my phone...

Travel- Paris

I'm in PARIS.... The city of love, culture and wealth. Beautifully complex and abundant. I'm writing a journal as well, for me, personally but I'll put a few bits and pieces from it here and photos.

Day #1- 7th December 2014

- Eiffel Tower

- Arc du Triumphe

- Champs Elysee

- La Chappelle

- Garde e Norte

- River Siene

Day #2- 8th December 2014

- Musee du Louvre

- Centre Pompidou

Day #3- 9th December 2014

- Versailles Palace

- Notre- Dame

- St Michelle

Day #4- 10th December 2014

- Sacre Couer

- Monte Martre

- Moulin Rouge

- Saint Germaine de pres

- Musee D'Orsay

- Love wall

Day #5- 11th December 2014

- Late morning

- Lunch at a tradition French restaurant in saint Michel

- Palais du Tokyo

- Christmas markets

- Champs Elysee 

The Power of Genuine People

I think it's the undeniable giggles where your expressions are suppressed under a puffed breath that expresses optimal laughter, proving to be the epitome of true friendships.

With a good friend of mine (you know who you are), we have had countless conversations regarding the art and importance of finding good friendships and discovering and exploring different connections with different people in your life... It has become seemingly obvious since finishing school, which people add meaning and value to my life. The people who understand you, understand the 'real' you, the you without a facade, without a mask.

I believe that you have several soul mates, they pop into your life for a reason- male and female, different class, different race: soul mates are the people who you instantly understand, who instantly understand you. At age 18 I have found a few soul mates, about 4 to be completely honest. These people I can expose everything to. My vulnerabilities... Everything. I can't be submissive of my other friends, they still mean the absolute world to me, they inspire, encourage and have shaped the person I am today. I have a unique connection with each and everyone of them. 

This blog post has been in my journal for a long time... It's now time to post. Before I was scared of the reaction of other people and what they would think. Especially knowing that old friends and gme public read it (I think). I'll scare some people off, hurt and intrigue some. 

The shy and introvert elena will come out, even if it is online... Not that it counts so much, don't worry I know. 

I'll have an epiphany soon and write another on the same topic....

Elena, x

(Writing this from a cafe in Paris- Saint Germaine- the man beside me is trying to read my journal).

A Treacherous Journey to Self Fulfillment

It's the distinctive smell of the sterilized seats, overused pillows and vacuum packed food that disturbs me the most. The fact the it is so very hard to not breathe in the stench of the persons breath next to you and the constant fight for the arm rest when you are reluctantly positioned in the middle seat. Or the fact that only the privileged receive exemplary service and chocolate covered peanuts because first class is only for the very very wealthy. The mere fact that the only way to get to a country full of vibrant culture is on a plane, jam packed with over 300 people, all on their own selfish mission and personal journey. 

I'm a teenager, an adult? (By law...), a young girl who's only just out of school and hasn't even had the chance to explore the world... Our world. I know nothing. I'm so inedequate in comparison to others. I hold no power, no authority. I'm just living, floating along just how everyone else is.... Unfortunately. This is probably my number 1 internal conflict, the one thing I want to change, I mean there are so many things that  I want to change. To name a few, poverty, the ultimate cure for cancer, feminism and gender equality? 

Over the last year I have been through a hell of a lot... 1 HSC, 3 funerals... 3 deaths, 1 robbery, countless breakdowns.... I'm a strong optimist and a strong believer in 'everything happens for a reason' and I believe that over the last 12 months I have grown significantly as a person. All of this heartache and suffering, it can't have been all for nothing...?

Weirdly, it was the costraphobic feeling of being stuck on an aeroplane that made me think and reconsider... If you know me personally I do this more often than not. It helps me put things in perspective, something which I definitely aspire to do more often. I am such a miniscule part of our society....

There's my brain vomit #1 on this blog.

TATA for now,

Elena, x.