Wild Storytelling

I just came back from Bristol Festival of Puppetry. Starting from today, 30th August, until 8th September, there is an opportunity to explore different worlds through a puppet's eyes in the Tobacco Factory. The programme includes good quality performances between 10-15 pounds (ask for a student discount!) even though some performances are free.  The venue: The Tobacco Factory is the last remaining part of the old Wills Tobacco site...

Something old, something borrowed

"I need to check that store someday...", she must have repeated to herself more than once. She might have passed by the shop in Gloucester Road more than ten times this week, and other ten times last week. But she never had enough time to stop by. Eventually, she did. Today, there she was, gazing at the old vinyl record player inside the Reclaimers. She was listening to a song from the 70s, although according to the expression on her face, she...

TEDxBristol

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly"  Robert F. Kennedy Under the topic "Failure", Colston Hall will held the most amazing, inspiring and unique talks on Monday, 11th November 2013. Eight-hour annual conference where world-leading thinkers, speakers and doers talk for 18 minutes each. Tickets are already available, which are £25 for adults (£10 for students) but they are giving away earlybird...

Two years in the UK

Time flies, that's a fact. It's been two years already since I first stepped on this country and it is unbelievable how fast it went. 2 years, 24 months, 104 weeks, 730 days. Time goes fast, and we must make the best of it. They say "time and tide wait for no man" (or woman), and that's exactly what I have done: enjoy it as much as possible. Studying in the UK has provided me an easy way to get to know people from all over the globe. I have...

My TOP 10 House-Hunting Rules

1) Check property websites several times a day. New ads are added normally early in the morning, but also anytime during the day. Do not take into account ads added more than 3 days ago, they are probably arranged already. There is a website I used the most called Zoopla. Most of the agencies use it, so I found it a very useful searching engine when I was house-hunting. Other websites that might be useful too: Gumtree, Primelocation and Rightmove. 2) Arrange...

Let's go house-hunting!

About a year ago, I was a house-hunter. It was September, new fresh arrivals of UWE and Bristol University were also house-hunting at the same time. Anybody who's been in my shoes will agree that house-hunting is an absolute nightmare. Mostly because you never have a stable place to stay while house-hunting and the simple thought of it stresses. But I was lucky. Some friends of friends offered to host me for a couple of nights, without even...

1-day trip: Cardiff

My football team played against Cardiff City last Saturday. It was a final pre-season friendly match between a club that was about to complete their Premier League preparation and my team from back home: Athletic Club of Bilbao. So, the game was an excuse to go to Cardiff one a one-day trip. Cardiff, spelled Caerdydd in Welsh, is the capital and largest city in Wales. It was made a city in 1905 and since 1990s, Cardiff has seen significant...

Make a wish!

There were clouds in the sky, some. Nevertheless, we were optimistic last night. 'Where there is a will, there is a way', they say. We took our car and drove until Ashton Court, where lights don't reach, where everything is darkness the moment we shut off the side lights. It took us 20 minutes to get used to the darkness. As the minutes passed by, more and more stars appeared in the sky. Sadly, the sky was not fully clear. However, stars seem...

Please, steal my bike!

It appears that all bikes in Bristol have a sign with a "Please, steal my bike!" written on it. Social networks have recently become a meeting spot for angry victims, who post descriptions of their stolen bikes along with pictures as a desperate act to recover them. Some of them fortunately found their bikes somewhere nearby, others never saw their bikes again. When I first arrived to Bristol, someone told me I shouldn't buy a bike I couldn't...

Perfect Spot for Ballooning

Yesterday, we saw the first mass balloon ascent of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2013 from the best spot possible: Brandon Hill.  Located on hill close to the city centre, the park is steep and divided into informal gardens, a small natural reserve and open grassland. It was not a packed as I thought it would be. Just in case, we arrive earlier than 6pm and there were only 10 people waiting for the balloons ascent. So, we sat...

Australia

When I was a very young girl, I had a dream of living and starting my own business in Australia. The reason why I selected Australia and not any other place in the world for my imaginary business is unknown, yet I'm sure koalas and kangaroos had an influence. What it is true is that anything related to Australia makes me travel back in time, back to when that dream was the plan for my future. So today, I travelled back in time when I came across...

Air balloons will light up the sky

Once upon a time, a newly graduated aeronautical engineer called Don Cameron came to Bristol with a whole career in front of him. He joined Bristol Aerospace Company and one day, he met Giles Bulmer, who showed him a new type of ballooning that had just been invented in the USA. They both felt inspired by that technological advance and gathered a group of engineers to produce, after some difficulties, the "Bristol Belle": the first modern hot air...

History of Bristol

Living in Bristol has different effects on each of us. Some, we love the city, others might not like it that much. When I started writing this blog, my main objective was to enjoy the city even more, to take the best of it, and to express my love for the city posting for you, reader. Some other people express their feelings in other ways, through pictures or videos for example. A spaniard living in Bristol for the last year has found a very beautiful...

1-day trip: Cheddar

Cheddar is a village of the English county of Somerset. The village has a population of 5,093 (ONS Census 2001) and it is located around 19 miles away from Bristol. After leaving work early, we decided to go visit the village and the famous Cheddar Gorge, as a friend of our suggested. We took the car, and trusting the Navigator in my phone, we drove 45-50 minutes south along the A38. Apparently, it is the shortest way to get there, but until the...