Olympics

The stands at approx. 5am.

Watching the Opening Ceremony

My shack

 So yes, I worked at the Olympic Games 2012! I worked with a catering company at Eton Dorney (the site of the rowing). I stayed with some other Worcester people in uni-esque onsite accommodation. 

James' floury handprints on me and Tash

The people I worked with were completely fantastic. I was put on a pizza unit, which involved making boxes, using tills, and then actually making the pizza's and using the oven. By the end of the week, me and Tash were able to run the whole unit by ourselves, which was pretty awesome!

No, we did not wear our hair-nets.

Snuck off to watch a race

 We had a pretty good view of the rowing from where we were... as long as there were no people around! I am also proud to announce that I was there when Britain won their first Gold medal! (We'll ignore the fact that I was sat at the back of the pizza tent eating a cold margarita with Annie when it happened - we just heard a lot of cheering!) 

View of the lake

View from our pizza marquee

The shifts were a killer. Working from 5am until 5pm most days, with only a ten minute or so break, on your feet constantly... I was asked to stay on and work the second week but I literally couldn't - my body was just SO tired! I'd drag my aching feet back to the shack, then sit in the hallway in my uniform with the other girls, all moaning, and then I'd just about manage to crawl into bed. Sometimes, I even had the energy to shower.

'Guys, I seriously can't walk any further.'

For the first couple of days, I don't think that anyone - not even our manager - had a clue what they were doing. We must have given out refunds totalling hundreds of pounds. We were telling everyone that it would take 10 minutes for their pizza to be freshly made, cooked, sliced and delivered to them. Even when our manager had 50 orders in his hand. Needless to say, this was not a good move. I have never been so stressed as I was then. At some point in the week, we all cried. On the bright side, we were bought a round of drinks by a quite drunk guy - and the drinks there aren't cheap! Sitting on the floor of our pizza unit (we couldn't even face going outside to sit by the lake) drinking beer was a slight pay-off for the job.

And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down...

Some days were ridiculous, but we learned to laugh about everything. It was either that or cry! I sound so over-dramatic here, but you have no idea. It was crazy. I became a pro at managing the unit, holding the order slips in my mouth whilst making the pizza's with one hand.. We should have been getting the chef's wage! 

Chocolate pizza for a 6am breakfast

One afternoon it rained, and rained, and rained. We had to close the front of the tent just leaving enough room to see one customer. We covered all the plugs and tills with cling-film in an attempt to avoid electrocution. 

I felt awful because I knew there were people out there who would have cared a whole lot more than I did about the actual Olympics part of the job. I know that when I have my own children, I'll like being able to say that I was there, I was a part of it. But I have no idea who any rowers are! To tell the truth, Tom Daley and Jessica Ennis are probably the only Olympians I would recognise. So, when late one afternoon, just before we closed, a man came up and ordered a pizza, I thought nothing of it. There were only a couple of us in there - I think the others had gone home or were restocking the fridges - so me, Tash and Tash took the order, made the pizza, put it in the huge 300 degree oven, took it out, sliced it, boxed it, and handed it to him. He proceeded to pull out a bronze medal. Assuming it was from the merchandise stand next to ours, I nodded, not paying much attention. He was saying something but to be honest I was a bit zoned out. "Yeah, so is it chocolate?" I asked, thinking it was a bit cool, but not too interested. "No, it's a bronze medal." He said, looking confused. "Yeah, a chocolate one." I replied. "No, an actual bronze medal I won earlier." he insisted. I looked, and so it was. I had just served a

Bronze medal Olympian and I didn't even know it. Looking back, I hope he didn't feel sad - he must have been so proud of his medal, and there I was, not bothered because I thought it was chocolate! Oh, the shame..

They made me a leaving pizza!

(Now for the cheesy bit.) I feel I learnt a lot more than just how to make a great pizza whilst I was there. The girls I worked with.. we just weren't the same as each other. If we had been at college, there is no way we would have ended up being friends. But throw us all together into a tough situation, stick us all in the same black clothes - and we were making up pizza-related dance routines by the third day. I learnt that you can't judge people before you know them, put them into boxes based on first sight. We all clicked so well, and I still really miss them now.

On our last night all together, we went back to my shack, and then went out for drinks. It was really really great to spend some time together outside the walls of the pizza tent!

Despite being crazy-tough, I am so glad I took the opportunity and worked at the Olympics.

But I swear, if I hear Chariots of Fire ONE MORE TIME....

The beautiful Team Flump

Brixham 20-26th June

The beautiful blue sea

Mine and Josh's hands

Graffiti on a wall

We went on a proper summer family holiday this year (usually we just go to Tenby in October), which was awesome! We must have got the nicest and hottest week of the whole summer. I had a great time, and (as usual) swam in the sea loads, although there were so many jellyfish! Also as usual, I managed to cut my feet to pieces and spent most of the holiday hobbling around and bleeding at random moments. I'd just look down and I was leaving a trail of red pebbles behind me. It was strange being back in Brixham; we went on so many holidays there but I felt like I'd forgotten so much of it! Our last evening (I think it was) was awesome, cus mum and dad were going to see Chicago, so me and Josh had a bus pass each that let us go round the whole of Torbay. We started off in Torquay, had a go in some of the arcades and looked in a few shops, then got the bus round to Paignton where we went along the pier. Josh got obsessed with these horse-racing things, and I just played on the 2p machines :D Haha. we bought some fish and chips and sat by the seafront in the dark, it was so nice. After a walk around we caught a bus back to Brixham and walked home! The whole holiday was great, and it was nice to be with the family too :) Before the holiday, I had thought I would be leaving two nights earlier than everyone else as I had to be at Eton Dorney on the Thursday, but realised that it was actually the Friday! Of course, I could have gone straight there from Brixham, but I don't think it would have put me in the best of moods! So, I left Brixham the afternoon of the 26th, whereas Mum, Dad and Josh came home on the morning of the 27th. I didn't miss out on much, which was nice :) It was so odd getting the train back by myself (and with a suitcase!) although after this summer of train-ing around everywhere, I'm a pro ;) I got back pretty late, and Joe stayed over; was nice to see him although we didn't get to finish watching our film because we were both so tired! The next morning, he had to go off to do his work experience, and I had to grab my (rapidly repacked) suitcase and catch the train to Windsor & Eton station!

Josh on a wall

Whack the moles!

Paris - photos of us.

Imitating the statues

Sunburn sucks.

At the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Croque Monsieurs

Posing on the balcony

And in the bath...

Plane journey home - matching Bueno's, books and magazines

Paris 25-29th June

View from the plane window

After all the stress of exams (the pressure of doing four A-Levels rather than three really hit me!) I had a few days to relax and then had to pack - we were heading off to Paris! The total cost of flights and accommodation was less than £200 - can't remember exactly how much, but it was a pretty good deal considering we were staying in our own apartment! So, the four of us - me, Emma, Sarah and Holly - flew to Paris on the Monday morning and came back Friday evening. We stayed in London with a family friend of Emma's on the Sunday evening as our flight was pretty early in the morning! So early that Holly had a little fainting mishap.. Oh dear.

Our shopping trolley

The Moulin Rouge is surrounded by sex shops

The whole trip was amazing. It was the first time I had been away with just friends rather than with parents or anything school/college organised, which was really fun! It was only the second time I had flown, but I knew what was coming so didn't freak out this time - haha... I have uploaded some of my photos from the week, I tried to be selective but it was hard! There are some more pictures, especially ones that Emma took on the evening that we all stayed in, so I might upload a few more after this post...

We went to Carrefour to get our shopping for the week, and were very successful in buying all the cheap things! I swear they all taste the same anyway...

Apartment ii

Apartment i

The next few photos are of the apartment we stayed in. It was actually owned by a couple who lived there for most of the year, but rented it out to people when they were away. It was a completely gorgeous little place, in a beautiful location right by the Sacre-Coeur! It had a bedroom with a double bed, and another fold-out sofa bed for two people to sleep on. I shared a bed with Holly all week and Sarah with Emma. We took it in turns to go between the bed and the sofa. The sofa thing was hilarious though, it was so squeaky that whenever you rolled over in the night you woke each other up.

Apartment iv

Apartment iii

Notre Dame

The days were pretty jam-packed - we had come up with a rough itinerary before we went as we didn't want to forget to do something and get back to england being gutted we'd missed it! The first day we spent walking round Montmartre (where we were staying), following a little tour in Emma's guidebook. We spent another day on 'The Islands' - visiting Notre Dame, Pont Neuf, the Conciergerie, Shakespeare & Company bookshop, and the Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation. We were really lucky, as most places in Paris were free to EU citizens under 26 years old - so we got to visit a lot of places we otherwise might not have just by taking our passports with us! 

Locks on a bridge over the Seine

We spent another day visiting the Arc de Triomphe, walking down Champs-Elysees (pretty impressive!), seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and just wandering around taking in the sights. I believe that that day might have actually been the one where we went up the Eiffel Tower in the evening.. a pretty big adventure. We walked up to the second floor of the tower, which didn't actually turn out to be as tiring as we thought it would. The view from the top was incredible, and I faced my fear of going in a lift! We could have stayed up there for ages - but we did have to think of the Metro home, as we weren't staying in the centre of Paris and relied on this. Unfortunately, we missed the last metro home! 

Graffiti reading 'Regarde le ciel' - 'look at the sky''

Canal St. Martin at night

Initially, we decided to get a taxi home, knowing that it was a long walk back, we only had a small map, and were four young girls alone in Paris at midnight. The taxis were few and far between though, and so we had to man up and face the walk home! It took what felt like hours. Me and Emma took the lead with a map, and refused to let Sarah and Holly look at where we were, knowing they wouldn't like how far we still had to walk to get to the apartment... On the way back, we picked up an American guy and a Japanese guy, as well as a couple from Uruguay who were all heading in the same direction as us! It was such a surreal experience, heading through the streets of Paris at 2am with random people we knew we'd never see again.. Our feet ached (we had just climbed up and down the Eiffel Tower!) and we couldn't wait to be in bed. BUT when we finally got home, we stayed up talking till 5am. I have no idea why - I mean, it was awesome, but we had plans to be up and out early to visit Versailles the next day! So stupid of us. 

Emma photographing cat graffiti

Sarah & Emma in the sofa bed

Versailles was beautiful, and so impressive. The little town there was also great, had a few cafe's, ice cream places etc, as well as some awesome little quirky shops. We got up late the day we went (due to having stayed up till 5 the night before), which meant that after navigating the transport system, we didn't get as much time as the Palace as we would have liked. We saw a lot though, like Marie Antoinette's bedroom - I had no idea that kings and queens rarely shared a room in history - and even the little door in the corner of the room used as an escape route! A lot of the wallpaper and furnishings were the same as they were at the time she was living there, which was pretty mind-blowing, thinking that she herself looked up at the same walls we were staring at. The afternoon was good, but I would recommend leaving a bit more time to visit it than we did, although you don't need an entire day unless you want to examine everything in detail. Also, lower your expectations for the Hall of Mirrors!

Le tour d'Eiffel

The Walking Bus

On our last day, we had left a few bits and bobs to fill up the morning, as our flight was at 7pm, meaning we didn't have the whole afternoon (just getting to the airport takes about 45 minutes). I really wanted to visit the Catacombes: underground passages lined with skulls used when France's cemeteries got too full and also a meeting place for rebels during the Nazi occupation of France. However, we hadn't realised how much of a popular attraction it would be, as it wasn't even in the centre of Paris, but when we arrived, the queue stretched for miles! We decided that we wouldn't wait for hours seeing as it was our last morning, so it was pretty gutting, but we didn't get to visit the Catacombes. Fortunately, I have the whole rest of my life to do so! At this point, we split off. Holly wanted to go and see a hotel which had been in Sex and the City, and I wanted to visit the Cimitiere du Pere-Lachaise, where Oscar Wilde is buried. Emma came with me and Sarah went with Holly - it was sad parting ways on the Metro even though it was only for a few hours! The cemetery was cool, so many graves. It was a maze inside though, lucky Emma was with me with her decent sense of direction or I could have been lost in there for days... After the cemetery, we met Holly and Sarah back at our apartment, finished the last little bit of packing, and then headed off to Gare du Nord to go to the airport. The flight home was fine - felt weird leaving Paris at 7pm and arriving in Bristol at 7.15 though! 

Pompidou

Paris was amazing. I had never been that enthralled by it, and probably wouldn't have suggested going myself, but I am so glad I did. Those 5 days flew by, but we crammed so much in, and the four of us got on really well (on the whole - living that close to people when you're tired and in a foreign country can sometimes take its toll!). By the end of the week we had seen pretty much everything we wanted to see, as well as tons that we hadn't even planned to, we were pro's at navigating the Metro system, and had used a surprising amount of our A-Level French skills, although discussing our opinions on nuclear power never came in handy... An awesome experience.

Well, hi! I thought I'd start this blog to keep a record of my Gap Year - for myself, and for anyone who's interested in what I'm up to! I'm going to have to backtrack a bit, as the year out technically started in June, so bear with me. I'm thinking I'll update bit by bit, starting in June and hopefully at some point reaching the present where I can continue from.

Exams
I had quite a few exams this summer - a history paper I was dreading, 2 politics exams, a closed-text english paper, and a three-hour french exam I only had enough time to start revising for the evening before :S The history paper went SO much better than I had thought it would - I have never felt so screwed for an exam before, but the questions that came up were absolutely perfect - I couldn't have asked for better! I even had to buy Joe and Alex a McFlurry each, as a few months beforehand I had promised that I'd do so if a question on democracy came up... and it did! The McFlurry's were worth the beauty of a question. The politics papers went okay, there are quite a few questions so you feel some go fine and some not so much. French was alright, I don't feel I could have done much more, but it's so difficult to concentrate for three hours, especially when the paper is normally completed in two - it's the exam where nearly everyone goes to the loo, just to have something to do... English was my last exam, and it was NOT GOOD. I was on track for a possible A* in english; I did well last year and in my coursework, but these questions were just awful! Asking about a subplot when the play has no subplot?! I went to speak to my teacher afterwards and she was having a minor freakout. I let it all go though - it was my last exam!