Wow! 4 weeks goes so fast! In the last 4 weeks I've seen Singapore, England, Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris. This was my first trip overseas and, turning 27 in only a few months, it was a very long time coming.
So, first things first: Glastonbury Festival. This was initially the whole point of our trip. Glastonbury is exactly what you think it will be - muddy, very muddy. Walking out of wellies stuck in 15cms of goop, trekking up a massive hill at least once a day and the frequent waft of poo did not deter me. The festival is amazing and people go out of their way to help one another; you could never be sure if you'd be the next to fall or get stuck in the mud so the general attitude is 'help them now, in case I need help later'. Throughout the site there are stores to buy an array of goods, from food and camping equipment through to second hand clothing, outfits by local designers (mainly light weight, hippie-inspired pieces) and even handmade lingerie. Glasto was a big city of tipis and tents, where it was about sharing a passion for music and respecting those around you; in 4 and a half days we did not see a single fight break out but instead witnessed people singing en masse to Oasis's 'Wonderwall'
Next stop was Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and so are its people, they definitely go above and beyond to help and are more than willing to stop for a chat. Whilst street art is clearly popular, it was the contemporary design that caught my eye. Our hotel, Citizen M, had a wonderful lobby/lounge area filled with furniture by designers such as Charles & Ray Eames and our room, with a huge bed (XL King Size) and changing mood lights, was unforgettable. There are also a number of homeware and furniture shops that provide great inspiration and there's a particular Miffy lamp that I am now trying to track down in Australia after seeing it on display in a number of stores throughout the city.
We then travelled on to Berlin, which is a major hub for urban artists. Berlin frequently left me awestruck by the sheer size of some of its artworks, as well as artists' ability to take over buildings with there being little or no resilience shown by police - my dream would be to walk into a place and claim it as my studio (without the stress of having to pay rent).
Paris was a quick stop but like Amsterdam, it too had a strong sense of modern design. below is a picture of our hotel room at Mama Shelter, which came complete with Asterix and Batman masks, as well as an in room TV/ PC/'photo booth' (aka Apple Mac) which saves all photos to the hotel's hard drive and can then be viewed inside your room or seen scrolling across the TV in the restaurant downstairs (we decided not to take pictures this time).
Whilst there were plenty of architecturally renowned places to be seen throughout Europe, this is just a glimpse of the things I saw. Back in London, I got my fill of Banksy pieces and went to a number of markets - Portobello and Camden markets being 2 of the best known. I also visited Tate Modern, which is the most amazing gallery I have ever been to. So many more things were seen during my time abroad but I won't bore you with further details :)
LD xxx
