Exploring Amsterdam

Another travel post, can you tell I don't want to be back at uni? I'm reminiscing my fab summer! This time it's about my few days away in Amsterdam in June.

 I loved the city, although it was a crazy place of two halves. How can a place so architecturally beautiful and full of culture also be home to the red light district? We spent an evening in the upstairs of Black Tiger Bar in a weird shock and amazement of what was going on around us. Guys actually go in those doors? The prostitute museum, Red Light Secrets, answered a lot of questions for me. It was interesting yet upsetting that so many girls go through this. But also, they probably hate people like me! Two girls wandering around staring at them - no business there! It was a place I needed to see whilst being there, but felt leery and is definitely not my favourite part of the city. There is such a beautiful, artistic and historical background to the city, but this is just part of it's crazy appeal. 

It was our first visit to Amsterdam, we had to be complete tourists and go to the Heineken Experience on the only rainy day. It was actually a lot better than I'd expected, not being a lager drinker myself. I found my self happily finishing off 3 free Heinekens and even buying more in a bar in Leidesplein afterwards! 

Another big tourist spot we had to hit was Museumplein (or Museum Square). It is what it says on the tin really, most of the museums in Amsterdam were in this square. We visited Bols Cocktail Museum - this was smaller than expected and is a self guided tour, so wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped, however the cocktail at the end was lovely! We also had a very artistic Friday night at the Van Gogh Museum. A cheeky wine beforehand (we didn't realise you weren't allowed to walk around with it..) made for a lovely start to an interesting museum. The statue in the middle of the water in Museumplein represents the ear that Van Gogh chopped off and sent to a prostitute! I'd love to go back and visit the Stedelijik and Rijksmuesum too, as well as the Anne Frank Museum that you have to book online months in advance!

I had a lovely few days, and I think the best bits were wandering round and exploring. Our apartment was well positioned, just behind Dam Square, meaning we had easy access to explore the Red Light District as well as the opposite way which had lots of lovely shops and cafes. Another highlight was a trip down the canal on a boat tour. It was great to see Amsterdam from its famous water, being one with the house boats and random swimmers, while learning bits about this new place. I actually surprised myself in how much I liked this city and would like to go again. Now I've done the stereotypical touristy stuff, I have an idea of other areas I'd like to explore. Better get saving up!

Exploring the New Forest

In August I spent a very lovely week down in the New Forest exploring, and would definitely go back. I took hundreds of photographs as it was so pretty - I had difficulty narrowing it down to fit into one blog post! I thought I would give a round up of all of the places I got to whilst down there. Looking back makes me really not want to leave summer behind and start a hard third year at university!

A long walk around the forest, followed by a tasty Sunday dinner in the Drift Inn.

 A busy day, we managed to visit Calshot beach, Bolderwood Deer Enclosure, as well as

Brockenhurst village!

A walk around Southampton port, followed by steak and movie night at West Quay.

 A walk down to Marchwood Industrial Estate, followed by a pint in the White Horse.

A walk around quiet village Hythe and it's marina.

A day trip to Bournemouth! This was probably my favourite day. Chips with a view, mini golf, a walk along the beach, one too many gins and fireworks on the beach. 

A very windy walk along the pebbles to Hythe Castle (with views of the Isle of Wight), followed by ice cream at crabbing spot Mudeford. 

Check out my Instagram (@louisegyles) for more pics of this gorgeous part of England. 

Saturday at Leeds Festival

Even though we are wimps/poor and didn't dare camp, I couldn't go to Leeds Fest without doing a cheeky blog post. I thought I'd share a mini photo diary (although they aren't the best) and a quick run down of who I saw and who were my favourites!

To say we were only there for a day, we got to see a tonne of bands. We were basically running between the Main Stage and Radio 1/NME Stage all day, with a few being half a set due to timetabling. We did try the Dance tent, but lasted a whole 10 minutes..

In a quick round up, we saw: Mallory Knox, Declan McKenna, Circa Waves, Oh Wonder, Anne Marie, Two Door Cinema Club, Bastille, Kasabian and You Me At Six.


My Top 3: 


Kasabian 


I have seen these a few times with my mum (yes, she has a great taste in music for a 50 year old!), however always been seated. This time I got the chance to dance around in the crowd, and almost get dragged into a mosh-pit.. Sadly we only saw half of the set because we wanted to see You Me at Six too, but with every one of Kasabian's songs old and new being massive anthems, I still loved it!


Oh Wonder 

I have really liked Oh Wonder since I first heard Without You played on Radio 1. Their songs chill me out and their albums have both got played on repeat to get me through my two years at uni when stress levels were high. I fell in love with them so much more live. They made what I saw as relaxing songs very cool and fun, and Josephine seemed to be loving every second too! I would love to see them again soon.


Two Door Cinema Club

I think Two Door Cinema Club were my highlight of the day. I have loved them for years but sadly never got to see them live, so it was finally time, and they were definitely worth the wait! It probably helped that the sun was shining bright, but all of their songs got everyone dancing and feeling happy! They are the perfect band to put you in high spirits.

Main Stage - Two Door Cinema Club set

 

The Design Museum

In a recent trip to London, I finally got to visit the Design Museum in its new location at Kensington High Street, and I loved it! It felt like my degree within one museum, and would love to go again once the current exhibitions change. 

I started with the free, permanent Designer User Maker exhibition. It takes you through the different stages of the design process and showing different design disciplines, with everything from road signs to fashions, protest posters to chairs. It looks at how the designer designs - how they come up with exciting and crazy ideas, and think about their audience as well as how it will be made to make it a reality.

I then wandered around the temporary exhibition, California: Designing Freedom. This also linked into my second year lectures, with the inclusion of Apple and the Whole Earth Catalog; Emory Douglas and the Black Panthers; the hippie movement and psychedelia. It shows how California changed the world, from the countercultures and how they have developed into technologies of today. Not only this, but it also looks at how the freedom of human rights has developed, for example for LGBT+ communities, females, and minority races. The pink iridescent signs throughout the exhibition conclude it in 5 simple phrases: go where you want, see what you want, say what you want, make what you want, and join who you want. Words to live by.

Abstract - Netflix

Recently I have been watching the Netflix documentary 'Abstract - The Art of Design'. The series follows 8 different successful designers and their story, showing their thinking and process behind ideas. My favourites were Paula Scher and Christoph Niemann as their practise, graphic design and illustration, relate to my personal interests and degree, showing what it is like to work in the business. However, it was also really interesting learning about other types of designers - for example stage designer Es Devlin and the story behind Beyonce's stage at the Formation tour. 

I'd recommend the whole series for anyone interested in design of any kind, as looking into each pathway can inspire something in your own work, or can help with your personal work ethic. 

Here's a couple of quotes I took from the series! 

"I need to be a much more ruthless editor, and a much more careless artist" - Christoph Niemann

"The design of the logo is never the hard job, it's persuading a million people to use it" - Paula Scher

Nottingham Food

A little round up of some of my favourite independent places to eat and drink in Nottingham.

A cute bakery in the Hockley area, I've been wanting to go there all year as every time I pass it I am tempted by the home made bread in the window. The inside was different to what I expected, with graffiti style cartoon paintings all over the walls - even the toilet had an ode to Hockley, mentioning some of the popular independent places to go in Notts. I'd definitely recommend dropping by for lunch. I was lucky enough to choose a sunny day, but there is plenty of space to sit inside too! There is an option for everyone, with a huge variety of both breads and fillings, including pizzas and focaccia's. Mine had prosciutto, tomato and rocket - beautiful!

Every time someone visits me in Nottingham, I seem to take them to this cafe, mostly because I want an excuse to have one of their gorgeous cakes! Pictured is the Oreo Cheesecake, but I can also recommend the Blondie Brownie and the Cookies and Cream cake. They sell more than cake though, I'd recommend here if you're wanting a big breakfast or lovely lunch, with a selection of healthy homemade meals on the menu.

Suede is a little bit hidden away, but is worth finding! A pizza place with a retro theme, they do great pizzas that don't break the bank as well as their tasty cocktails. It's a cool place to hang out, with a cassette tape wall, an old pacman game in the corner, and a nod to Salt-N-Pepa on the door. Take a look!

Supposedly the oldest pub in England, this has been on the list to go to all year. It was a lovely day so we sat outside - triple cooked chips MUST be ordered! - but as soon as you head inside to order it is like you've stepped underground. Built into the side of the castle walls, the inside is like a cave with stone walls and ceilings. It's a lovely area too, a day could be spent in the castle and also have many options of eating and drinking on the way down the hill to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem!

I am cheating a little bit with this one as I haven't actually eaten here, only drunk. However, they do food and when I have seen other peoples it looks great and makes me want to try it! I recommend this place simply due to its aesthetics. On a sunny day, sit outside in the floral terrace and watch the canal boats go by. Getting a bit chillier? You can head inside and still gaze at a canal boat surrounded by fairy lights and a relaxing atmosphere.

Hello September!

I don't know how I feel about saying hello to September.. not only does it mean that it is nearly time to get back to university, but also it means I will be turning 21 very very soon! Scary how time flies. However, it also means I have to say goodbye to a pretty good month of August. I have been back and forth between home and work a lot, meaning lots of money for the new term, but thankfully I've managed to get out and about to do a few fun things to!

1) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - I am a massive Harry Potter nerd as you probably know by now, so you can imagine my excitement when the day after I'd finished reading the new Cursed Child book I managed to get my hands on some tickets for the play! Now to wait another year til I can actually see it..

2) Yorkshire Wildlife Park - we made the most out of the sunny days and took a trip to Yorkshire Wildlife Park. It is great having a new zoo practically on my door step, it's only the second time I have been but its worth the trip. I got to see my favourites - giraffes - and even stroke a wallaby! Crikey.

3) Mapfest - If you're not from Doncaster you'll have no idea what this is, but it is basically a small town version of Tramlines. Lots of pubs and bars in town host a range of different bands, a different genre per venue, and you basically go round with your mates and get drunk! It was a fun night, we tried some new places and bumped into old school friends.

4) Newcastle - I headed on the drive to Newcastle as it was two of my close friends birthdays, so we spent the day in a very posh cocktail bar drinking prosecco, followed by a yummy pasta in Zizzi's. Sadly I couldn't go on the night out as I was working the next day, but I had a fun day out and am glad my friends had fab 20th birthdays!

5) Gym - Since being home I have started going to the gym more, mainly due to my best friend forcing me, but I have been going about 2 or 3 times a week. I've realised how much better it does make you feel, especially when I'm not doing much the rest of the day. I get a burst of energy, and my new gym leggings are the ultimate comfort! After all, I need something to counteract all of these meals out I keep having.

6) Finding Dory - me and my sister had to go and see Finding Dory ASAP, so we met in Xscape Castleford, gorged on KFC and then sat giggling. It's great, not quite as great as Nemo, but you need to go and watch it!

7) Mum and Dad's Birthdays - August is quite full of birthdays, my mum and dads being within a week of each other. This has somehow meant 3 meals out this week - one on each birthday and another in the middle - because why not?! I can't turn down a good meal.

8) Mini Golf - I got the chance to use my golf skills the other day and headed down to the mini golf in Nottingham after work. It was a fun evening, and I even got 4 holes in one. Go me!

9) New Flat - I have made the big move back down to Nottingham this month as I have been given lots of extra hours at work, so since I have had to get out of halls I have moved straight into my new flat. It is great - I now have an actual TV to watch, a sofa to sit on, and a double bed that I still can't quite work out how to sleep on! I'm trying to make it look pretty, so a few shopping trips to get cute blue accessories is needed!

Quote of the Month - August

I can't for the life of me find who the designer of this piece is, but whoever they are should be proud as it is beautiful. A quote by Maya Angelou is another reminder for me to keep doing work and making things! It is the summer holidays at university and it is so, so easy to get into a habit of just wasting away the days doing nothing. Sure, it's great to have some chill days or days out with friends and family, but I need to get back into the swing of being creative. If I want to do better in second year, I've got to keep it going - the only way I can improve is to do!

'You can't use up creativity, the more you use the more you have' - Maya Angelou

Exploring London

I spent the weekend in London a couple of weeks ago, a lovely cultural family trip. We'd had two shows booked on the West End for a while, but our decisions for the rest of the trip were quite last minute. We have been to London quite a few times and so covered a lot of the typical touristy stuff, and so decided to choose to go to places we've never been before. They turned out to be really interesting and starting off the creative mind - just my kind of trip!

Science Museum 

One of the 3 famous museums in a row, the Science Museum was the one I'd never been to until now - and I'm glad I did! It makes you realise how much science/technology and art/design are linked. A William Talbot exhibition about the introduction of the camera. The application of different materials (The model below is built from layers of 213 different materials, and it looked beautiful!). The design of the interactive exhibits. I was really interested in a Christian Moeller exhibition piece covered in signs saying DO NOT TOUCH, yet had no barriers - it was funny seeing everyone react to the loud noises! I also loved the space room. Space has always been a subject of interest, I just find it amazing how much is out there, and how much could be out there that we have no idea. To be able to see Earth from the view of  a space ship must be the most amazing experience, and when Richard Branson makes his space shuttle safe I am there!

Aladdin

Disney is most definitely not for kids! Aladdin was amazing - beautiful costumes, a hilarious genie, and an actual real life magic flying carpet (it was real, trust me..). It's slightly different to the film, but to all Disney lovers old and young this show has to be on your go to list! 

Somerset House
I really loved Somerset House. It had never really been on my mind to go before, but once I had researched it online it seemed right up my street. The Utopia exhibitions really made you think about what life will be like in the future, or what life could be like if things happened differently. My favourite exhibition was the Print Club London one, showcasing screen-printed remakes of posters of the films in this years Film 4 Summer Screenings. I love printing as a technique, and the layers of colours and textures were beautiful. I also may have bought a few books in the shop... I just couldn't resist! Look out for a post about this very soon!

National Portrait Gallery
Just next door the humongous National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, the Portrait Gallery is exactly what it says on the tin! Comparisons of old tudor portraits to those of our own Princes Wills and Harry opened your mind to how things have changed. I liked the more modern portraits best, the portraits that you can understand due to knowing the persons background better. There was also a really interesting room of simply black history - stating that they are a huge part of our history too, and of course just as important. 'There is an umbilical connection. There is no understanding Englishness without understanding its imperial and colonial dimensions.'

Funny Girl
I had no idea what the story of Funny Girl was before I walked into the theatre, but I still enjoyed the show! Sheridan Smith played a girl-next-door type, funny and down to Earth, tried her hardest to get to the top of fame despite not being the prettiest or the tallest. A story of love, Darius (yes, Darius, from Pop Idol fame back in the day!) was also a great singer, Sheridan's rich and smooth fancy-piece. It will make you laugh and aw all at the same time!

House of Mina Lima

We came across this gallery by chance as it is right next door to the Prince Edward Theatre, where we saw Aladdin. I'd heard about a gallery of the graphic designers of the Harry Potter movies, so as soon as I turned round and spotted it I added it to our to do list! We turned up on Saturday 30th July - totally unaware that it was the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiere that day, and that the theatre was just next door to the gallery! It was bustling with people, both dressed up to go onto the red carpet as well as mega fans waiting for the arrival of JK Rowling herself. I loved the gallery, and I want to create a post about it soon, so keep your eye out. Minalima designs are beautiful hand crafted paper with such great detail, they are definitely graphic design idols for me! Check them out.