À Bientôt Bordeaux

(my French front gate using Holga 120mm film)

HIATUS UNTIL JULY 23RD

This is probably the last time i'm going to have internet access for the next month. The second half of the year will probably see this blog turn back to it's former glory of Perth Street Style and a more photography/fashion direction. First things in store for when I get back is a huge wardrobe post update, aswell as starting up my ebay and selling a few no longer desired items. For those of you who care, I will be back on Perth soil at 7.45am on the 23rd of July, which will be celebrated with duty-free alcohol and partying on down to The Strokes and Mumford & Sons at the On the Bright Side festival that just happens to be the very next day. Yes, I will be dead of jetlag, but it's The Strokes. It can't be missed.

Now, what's in store for the next month I hear you asking? Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Venice, Zermatt, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen (encore), London, Paris (encore). The first 10 countries will be travelled with my exchange organisation, thus about 25 other kids from all around the world. Then London and Paris will be travelled with my older sister and brother, which honestly I think will be more fun because my sister is pretty much my best friend. And also because then, we can do whatever the hell that we want and i'll be 18, not that anyone cares in Europe anyways...

So, until then. For everyone on Uni holidays, I hope your exams went well and the holidays go even better. Have a glass of champagne for me! And i'll be celebrating with you all very very soon. Bisous xxx

(source; snoopy)

Day 3: Usse Château

The last and final Château that we visited was the Château d'Usse. As amazing as the gardens at Villandry were, the Château d'Usse was definetly my favourite out of all the Châteaux that I visited. I'm not sure why, but it had this tranquility to it. The other castles just seemed too perfect. Usse was located in the middle of the French countryside surrounded by untamed trees and bush. It was also the castles that inspired many of the Walt Disney fairytales, in particuler Sleeping Beauty, which was renacted by the mannequins in these pictures.

Day 2: Chenonceau and Amboise Châteaux

(1&2: Chenonceau. 3: view from Amboise)

I'm too lazy to write recaps of the days anymore, just trying to post everything before I leave (which is Tuesday.. eep, need to start packing)

Day 1: Châteaux Villandry

(source;me)

Warning; this blog is going a bit tourist-y for the next few posts as it's châteaux time!

These snaps are from a month ago when I went to a small town called Tours for the weekend. It's situated approximately half way between Paris and Bordeaux, and is surrounded by many amazing castles. I took the TBC train after school late one Friday, which took about 2 and a half hours, listening to the latest Glee soundtrack the entire way and staring onto the beautiful French countryside. When I arrived at my host mothers mothers house (where I was staying for the weekend) I crashed almost immediately, in preparation for a busy weekend ahead.

Day one, we walked around the city of Tours in the morning (it's beautiful, and nothing like Bordeaux) and in the afternoon we visited Villandry- ohmagawd it was amazing. These photos don't give it any justice, pas du tout ! These are possibly the best gardens in the world, and if you happen to be travelling to France anytime soon, you must by and visit.

in my heart, you'll stay.

(Somersault screencaps via abby-cornish)

Somersault is the magical and daring directorial debut by Cate Shortland which takes you into a world of teenage confusion, naivety and emotion. The story follows a 16 year old girl, Heidi (Abbie Cornish), who has been kicked out after a not so sweet encounter with her mother’s boyfriend. She travels up to the snow fields of Jindabyne looking for work that cannot be found and a home which she doesn’t have any money to pay for. Luckily a local motel keeper, in need for her own emotional attachment, befriends the young girl and gives her a flat to stay. Starved of any true emotional affection, she attempts to gain a feeling of belonging by looking for several sexual encounters- all that are short lived. That is, until she meets Joe (Sam Worthington) a local wealthy farmer, who is just as confused about life as, she is. The intricate relationship that evolves throughout the film is filled with passion, but also painful realisations and complexity. The beautiful white snow fields at Jindabyne fuel the passion that lies within the film, along with the ethereal score by Australian band Decoder Ring and excellent performances.

Shortlands direction is something that should be praised, it is truly magical and a piece of moving art. Its daring to present a girl who uses her sexuality to gain a friend in the world, but in this case it works. The emotional density of a young girl’s confused mind is captured innocently although powerful. The setting alone paints an emotional wasteland that creates a feeling of isolation; the snow fields in regional New South Wales capture the ice cold love and remoteness that is within Heidi’s life. Emotions are concealed under the layers of snow, and the complexity of life is slowly revealed as the ice melts away.

Heidi hides behind her own promiscuity, in desperate need not to be alone oblivious of all consequences. Cornish gives a remarkable performance and embodies a little girl lost in the big world. She lives in her own little bubble, nostalgic for the past that is hidden within a book filled with paper cut outs and diary entries; as innocent as a little girls diary. Her connection with Joe is as strong as an electric field, but the communication is lacking. They help each other understand the complexity of life. Joe himself is lost in the world aswell, he is confused about his sexuality and has a short encounter with a gay male friend. Although beautiful, this film isn’t one for the impatient; it relies heavily on atmosphere created through sound and cinematography.

The film uncovers emotions that are dying to my discovered. It is a coming of age story, different from the rest, a young girl stuck between childhood and adulthood. Sweeping the 2005 Australia’s Film Institute’s awards (although, with Australia’s poor quality in the Arts, it isn’t hard) this film is truly a haunting, poignant and mesmerising sensory journey of a little girl lost.

(source; xkcd)

the world is too big.

(holga 120mm film)

and i'm too young to be making decisions like that.

misc.

(various flickr)

"One day, all of you are going to be gone. And all of this, all of us, will be nothing but a hazy memory. It will take you a second to remember everyone's name. Someone will have to remind you of the songs we sung, the solo's you got or didn't get. Life only really has one beginning and one end. And the rest is just a whole lotta middle. And I love you guys too much to not let you make the most of it."

~ Glee Season Finale

le rêve est réalité...

(disposable film)

the sun is coming out

(vogue UK august 2009 via tfs)

pull out the summer dresses, sunglasses and sandles. oh wait, I can't stand summer. but please, no more boyfriend jeans. every single girl at school wears them, double cuffed too. didn't they ever listen to the sisterhood of the travelling pants?

Anniversaire

My friends in France are amazing. Never did I believe that I would become this attached to a group of people in less than 5 months, and never did I think that a group of people would know me so well so quickly. The 1st of June was my 18th birthday, which I was terribly sad to not be spending it with my friends back home, however at the same time like I said, my friends here are amazing. We had two parties, one in sport class and one in english class. And they got me possibly the best present in the world- a whole pile of different colored ribbons. Anyone who knows me well knows that I will, no doubt, always have a ribbon in my hair (I think it's from the good old days at my strict private all girls school were if you didn't get a ribbon you got a detention...) and looks like my friends here have caught up on that fact aswell. Anyways, I had an amazing 18th birthday and am now officially legal to do anything! (well, except rape)