City Review: San Antonio

I've always wanted to go to Texas. I'm not quite sure why. I think it is something about that Texas accent twang, or the chequered shirts and cowboy hats, or the banjo music... No matter what it is, all I know is I've always wanted to go and now I've been to San Antonio, I'm quite sure I want to go again... SOON.

The drive to San Antonio was oh-so-long. Literally, me and my two pals Cara and Caroline were sat cramped on the back row of the mini-van, sweating like pigs because the air-conditioning didn't blow that far. We whiled away the time taking naps all snuggled up together, flashing USA truck-drivers so they honked their horns at us and pulling stupid faces, laughing deliriously about the stupidest things. In all it was a fantastic journey.

As we pulled into the campsite, Cara and I were mesmerized by the beautiful river, and whilst everyone else sat behaving themselves in the van, waiting for our tour guide to check in, Cara and I made a break for it, climbing madly over everyone and escaping. In seconds we had jumped fully clothed into the cool clear water. It was so heavenly that the others soon joined us!

In fact, although the San Antonio campsite didn't have private showers (as in, she showers were stalls outside with NO DOORS on them. I mean, I'm not particularly coy about my body, but even I can't get fully naked and take a shower in front of complete strangers...) it was actually my favorite. This is mostly because of the river, but also because there wasn't as many bugs as there had been at previous campsites, the ground was soft and flat and there were picnic tables and good camp-cooking facilities. Plus, the toilets were nice and clean and there was enough plugs for us all to charge our phones at the same time. Wow, you don't realize how much you value the little things in life until you spend six weeks on budget campsites... 

We didn't have much time to get ready for our night out, but this was all part of the fun really... We'd heard that we were going someplace fun and 'Texasy' so I slipped into my black bodycon skirt and robbed a chequered shirt from our tour guide. I thought it was very 'sexy cowgirl' once I'd put my brown wedges on. We grabbed some of our cheeky beverages (and poured them into Coca-Cola cans so our tour guide wouldn't have a nervous breakdown about the fact that we were drinking in his van, which is apparently a BIG deal in the States) and hopped into the van, unaware of where we were headed. I was headed to the best night out of my trip, that's where!

The Cowboys Dancehall is THE PLACE TO BE. Without a doubt. The place is HUGE like a real genuine ball room. I've never seen anything like it! There was a big huge stage, a massive dancefloor, various bars AND a bucking bronco. Yes, you heard me. A bucking bronco. Since it was 'military night' I managed to persuade a young US soldier to invest in me (which sounds MUCH worse than it is...) by making him pay the whole $5 which it cost for me to have a go on the bronco. Sadly (for him, as it was his money...) I fell off in less than five seconds. Sick. 

I found a really lovely cowboy on the side of the dancefloor too... he ended up being from Australia (but in my defence, he did have a chequered shirt on!) Spent some good times dancing with him, but sadly lost his number which he had written on a napkin :( So if anyone out there knows Sam Young from Brisbane then tell him I never meant not to call him, promise. 

The next day, the majority of the group were feeling a bit worse for wear, and as it turns out, traipsing round a red hot city in the baking sun when feeling exhausted from the night before doesn't make for a great time. In fact, what it does make for, is falling asleep in the grass in front of the Alamo and waking up covered in ant bites. So I've heard.

*Stood in front of the Alamo in my new red sweater*

San Antonio by day had a really nice yet very distinctive touristy-vibe. There was a Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, a Madame Tussauds, a SeaWorld, a sightseeing bus tour and all the rest. I had a picture in front of the Alamo, but shamefully didn't go inside and (even more shamefully) still to this day have NO IDEA what the Alamo actually is. I think it is something to do with a war or battle, as there was a bunch of soldiers around on their day off. However, I don't know what it is. Anyone who cares to educate me, please feel free.

I started to get heatstroke towards the end of the day in San Antonio. It was just too hot and I was run down from getting next to no sleep the night before, I hadn't drank enough water and my head was spinning. We went searching for a restaurant along the river with good air conditioning, but we walked in and out of so many places and I literally felt like I would faint. Finally, we chose a restaurant called Dick's Last Resort. What is the selling point of this restaurant, I hear you ask? Well, let me tell you. At Dick's Last Resort, you can eat mediocre food which is over priced AND get insulted throughout your meal by the staff. When I say insulted, I mean it. They are all 'actors' and they literally will scream in your face that you are a 'Miserable b*tch'. Of course, they don't care that you have tears streaming down your face because the horrible greeter made you throw your water bottle away when you are dying of head exhaustion. Theoretically, this place is a good laugh. In practice, the waiters and waitresses aren't just having banter with you, they are genuinely horrible people who have found a job where they can get away with being themselves at work.

Actually, that rant is totally unfair. Our actual waiter was very nice. And there was another waiter who asked if I was ok as my eyes rolled into the back of my head. However, the greeter was evil and the barman argued with me for ten minutes stating, "Get your own glass of f**king water, Princess." I'm sure that if I'd been in good health I wouldn't have minded this as much, but being so ill (and hence a tad homesick) I just felt like I wanted to burst into tears!

Before I knew it, our time in San Antonio was over and I was ever so sad, purely because the weather was so brilliant and I'd wanted to stay in the Cowboys Dancehall all night. Plus, I bought a nice red sweater in the American Eagle in their shopping mall (which was fantastic by the way) so that mini bit of retail therapy put me in a right good mood :)

Have you ever wanted to go to Texas? Have you ever been out on such a different sort of night out and had such a good time? Would you have gotten your boot-skootin'-groove on?

Love and snuggles

GabriellaSofia x

Backpacking Packing Guide: Capsule Wardrobe

Packing is always a nightmare for me. Not because I have a tonne of clothes, but because I want to take everything I own every time because I can't think of anything worse than being away and thinking, 'Oh God, if only I had my flowery pink bralet with me... this entire look won't work now!!!' Last summer I literally took ALL of my summer clothes to Orlando when I went to work at Walt Disney World but I was going away for three months then AND I'd paid for an extra suitcase. This time I was only going away for six weeks and I had only a backpack to put all of my things in. 

So I got to work thinking, how many pairs of shorts do I need? How many going-out outfits might I want to choose from? How many T-shirts is too many T-shirts? This is what I settled on...

*This was the state of my bed after I had finally chosen all of my clothes. This is NOT a lot of clothes to me... I began to be concerned...*

So I settled on eight T-shirts (two not shown)...

Three pairs of denim shorts (one not shown) and two pairs of jeans, one blue and one peach...

Four tops for going-out which could be dressed up with skirts and heels or down with jeans and flats...

Four going-out skirts, two midi and two mini...

Three going out dresses, one specifically to be worn with heels, the others can be worn with flats for daytime or heels for night-time...

Four bikinis...

Two pyjama T-shirts, four comfy shorts (for pyjamas or casual days one not shown), one pair of joggers, one hoodie and a pair of sleep-socks...

This is how I packed all of my things so that they didn't take up too much space. 

I rolled everything into tight roles and then packed them into separate plastic bags depending on the category of clothes. So I had one plastic bag for going-out clothes, one for pyjamas and slouchy clothes, and one for my casual t-shirts, jeans and shorts. Then I also packed 14 days worth of knickers and socks and 5 bras into a fourth plastic bag. Packing things into plastic bags makes things much easier in terms of finding stuff inside your backpack and it makes it a lot quicker when its time to pack your things back away.

I also took one pair of gladiator sandals, one pair of running trainers, one pair of flip-flops, one pair of wedges and one pair of wedged trainers. 

Here are the lessons I learned about packing for a backpacking-style trip in North America:

1) Pack two pairs of denim shorts (for when one goes loose after you've worn them for a few days) and one pair of jeans (if you're travelling cross country in the States the weather can be unpredictable... Yosemite and San Francisco were cold and New York can be at some times of the year)

2) Pack two different pyjama sets 

3) Don't pack more than seven pairs of knickers and socks (every campsite and hostel worth going to has a laundry room and any more will just make a mess in your bag)

4) Take a pair of warm-ish jogging bottoms and a hoodie (if things get cold at night these clothes are comfy enough to sleep in. And they're great to wear on laundry day when all of your nice things need washing.)

5) You only really need one bikini. Choose your favorite and buy another while you're there if you need to. When you're bust is as big as mine, supportive underwired bikinis take up a LOT of space in your pack.

6) You MUST have a pair of flip-flops. They'll act as slippers and are great for wearing in the nasty showers which you find on some campsites or in some hostels. Unless you like standing in other people's hair, ants and veruca germs.

7) Depending on how often you like going out DEFINITELY take a pair of heels or high wedges. I took mine and I ended up wearing them loads. I had friends that didn't take heels and spent the whole time moaning about how much they wish they had. They take up a lot of space and weight, but they're 100% worth it.

8) Again, depending on how much you like to go out, take a few different options of night-out clothes. When you're in a different culture people dress differently for going out and you don't want to feel unexpectedly bizarre in the club. Also, different states require different looks... in San Antonio I wore a checked cowboy style shirt, denim hotpants and heels. In Vegas I wore a purple bodycon dress and heels. In Memphis I wore a mini bodycon skirt, patterned vest blouse and gladiator sandals. 

9) Pack a spare T-shirt, knickers, socks and pyjama set into your hand-luggage for just in case your bag gets delayed or lost! This happened to a friend of mine and she had nothing with her. Whooops. 

So there you have it! In hindsight I probably could have taken I couple of kilos worth of weight back out of my backpack if I'd known what I know now, and I hope that next time I go travelling like this I remember to read this blog post. It can be really hard for me not to get too over-excited with packing, but considering this was my first time backpacking I don't think I did too badly. 

What would you take backpacking? Or more to the point, what wouldn't you leave home without? How many night-out options would you take? I think I could have cut down on these BIG TIME. But it was nice having options!

Love

gabriellasofia

x

Guess Who's Back... Back Again... GabriellaSofia's Back... Tell A Friend...

Hello there, loyal readers!

That's right, I'm back from my six week jaunt across the United States and boy do I have a lot of content coming up, I almost don't know where to start... I thought I'd keep this simple as a quick update before I launch back fully into blogging tomorrow.

My flight arrived back yesterday and with it being an overnight flight I slept most of the way, so was able to use yesterday hanging out with my grandparents, giving my parents and sister their little presents I'd brought back and watching the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Naturally, I couldn't get to sleep until about 3am this morning due to the time zone differences between Stoke-on-Trent and New York City and didn't wake up until 1.30pm today... whoops!

Today was your average just-got-back-off-my-holidays type day as I spent most of it unpacking, eating pizza with my sister and watching The Help on Sky Premier (its become one of my favourite films since seeing it in the cinema and the book is incredible too. In fact, I think I'll be reviewing them both on here very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.) I actually applied for a job today too, but its nothing spectacular so I'm not even going to go into it. I'm basically just looking for a full-time job which I can work at in order to save money for more travelling since I've definitely got the wanderlust having spent the past few weeks away.

So how was my trip? Unsurprisingly, I had a fantastic time. I'll be writing many posts over the next few weeks which I've had in mind while I've been away, but the short of it is this: I met so many amazing people from all over the globe, Yosemite was the most breath-takingly beautiful place I've ever been too, Forever21 still makes my life worth living, the USA has a LOT more culture than people generally believe and I have realized once and for all that I absolutely, definitively HATE early mornings. I'm hoping that little list has left you wanting more, as here is a breakdown of just a few post ideas I'm working on at the moment, to appear over the next couple of weeks...

1) Review of G Adventures (the tour company I travelled with)
2) How I Comprised My Whole Fashion and Beauty Wardrobe into One Backpack
3) Peek Inside My Travel Diary
4) Review of City Sightseeing Hop-on-Hop-off Tours (I used the company in both Los Angeles and San Francisco)
5) Vintage Shopping in the West Hollywood Area
6) City Reviews of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Fe, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Memphis and New York City.
7) A handful of Outfit of the Day posts including San Francisco Shopping, What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas, Nashville Cowgirl, New York Date Night, New York Sightseeing and more.
8) USA Adventure Shopping Haul
9) Pros and Cons to Travelling Alone
10) USA National Parks review... this will include Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Death Valley, Carlsbad Canyons and Shenandoah.
11) Highlights and Lowlights of My USA Adventure

And then there will probably be tonnes more also, but that's all I could remember right now! You'll just have to bear with me as I get back into the swing of things with my blog and catch you up on all the things I've been wanting to write about since I left the UK. There are tons of non-USA adventure posts I have planned too... if you want to grab a glimpse of what they might be, go check out my To-Do List... I promise I'll get started tomorrow :) Until then, here's a picture of me casually hanging out with a dog at the Grand Canyon. As you do.

*MANY more photos soon to come!*

Thanks for waiting for me to get back. Knowing I have loyal readers to come home to made it so much easier when it was time to fly home.

Love and snuggles
gabriellasofia
x

Quick Update... Succeeding in my University Degree and Travelling Across the Globe...

Hi there!

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I have a pretty good reason.... I've been so busy accepting my 2.1 degree (!!!) from the University of Birmingham and packing for my USA adventure that I really haven't had much time to write which has made me very sad. HOWEVER, I'm now sat on the top bunk at my West Hollywood hostel, Banana Bungalow, filling you in on my most recent goings-on.

*This is what a 2.1 student looks like when she's going out for lunch...*

That's right readers, in spite of my 2.2 from my second year of university (which carried over as 25% of my overall degree classification) I managed SOMEHOW through hard work, determination, and enduring a soul-less existence for a year, to achieve a 2.1. I was absolutely gob-smacked with my success as I had really lost all hope of getting a good grade, purely because I found final year to be nothing but incapacitating pressure. But I guess the pressure must have worked for me for some reason as I magically managed to get a degree classification which reflects my abilities and the hard work I have put in. My parents were very happy for me, and we're all very proud. And surprised, and thankful to whatever greater being allowed this to be. Thanks readers once and for all for being here for me and waiting for me while I had to take that long blog-break all those months ago. I guess it paid off!

As I say, I'm now in West Hollywood and I've been awake for just over 26 hours so far as today was my travel day. I'm going to grab me some shut eye in a minute as I'm absolutely exhausted and I'd like to get up tomorrow morning to take the fantastic *sarcastic eyebrow raise* Los Angeles public transport system to Venice Beach. Haha, not looking forward to navigating the buses but the beach should be incredible.

I was really nervous about coming here last night when I was packing in Stoke-on-Trent. However, now I'm here I can see I really had nothing to be frightened about. I've always loved my own company and meeting new people and roaming around, so I feel a bit like this trip is going to be one of the best things I've ever done in my life. Of course, I've only just got here and my positivity may be something to do with the Taco Bell induced euphoria I'm enjoying at the moment... But watch this space!

Over the next few days I'd like to post up a few different items on my To-Do List. But I'm not sure if I'll have time/energy when there's so much else to do... Forgive me if I'm a naughty blogger while I'm away. I absolutely promise *pinky swear* that if I forget to post or don't have chance to do so as frequently as I would like, I will make a note every time I have a post idea and  get them all typed up for you when I'm back. Expect shopping hauls, backpacking-inspired beauty tutorials, travel reviews and more.

Love and snuggles
gabriellasofia
x

2012 Summer Adventure... USA Road Trip Playlist

If you aren't aware already, I'm going to be heading off to the USA on the 21st of June for five weeks all by myself. I'm going to be travelling from Los Angeles in California all the way across the country to Manhattan in New York. I'm going to be hitting up major cities and national parks alike, and with the United States being such a huge country, some days I'm going to be travelling for up to eight hours, so naturally I'm going to need a fantastic playlist of songs which will remind me of the amazing experience in years to come. Here are just a few of the songs I was thinking of adding to the list:

*Venice Beach Los Angeles... I wanted my LA playlist to remind me of sunny weather, US teen dramas like 90210 and fun parties!*

Los Angeles

Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus

Californication by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Beverly Hills by Weezer

California Dreamin by The Mamas and The Papas

California Girls by The Beach Boys

California King Bed by Rihanna

California Gurls by Katy Perry

God Only Knows by The Beach Boys

Leaving Jesusland by NOFX

Route 66 by John Mayer

Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys

Hollywood by Madonna 

Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys

Hotel California by The Eagles

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air by Will Smith

Barbara Ann by The Beach Boys

Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison

California Love by Tupac

Help Rhonda by The Beach Boys 

Hey Hey We're The Monkeys by The Monkeys

California by Phantom Planet

Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys

Lala Land by Demi Lovato

Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys

*I always thing that San Francisco is quintessentially 'cool' so I picked some songs which strike me as suiting the city!*

San Francisco

San Francisco by The Mamas and The Papas

All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

Under the Bridge by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N Roses

Don't Marry Her by Beautiful South 

Rock You Like A Hurricane by Scorpions

With Or Without You by U2

Fake Tales of San Francisco by Arctic Monkeys

Don't Stop Believing by Journey

Hey Soul Sister by Train

Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who

Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones

*For my Yosemite/Bishop playlist I've focused mostly on the fact that Yosemite is supposed to be one of the most beautiful and serene places in the USA. So I chose super-chilled yet remarkable songs.*

Yosemite/Bishop

Fireflies by Owl City

Hawiian Air by Friendly Fires

Coffee and Cigarettes by Michelle Featherstone

Jealous Guy by Gavin Degraw

God Bless the Child by Michelle Featherstone

Glad by Tyler Hilton

I Don't Wanna Be by Gavin Degraw

Hallelujah by Kate Voegele

Light Years Away by MoZella

When the Stars Go Blue by Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy Lenz

Wish You Were by Kate Voegele 

Always Love by Nada Surf

The First Cut Is The Deepest by Sheryl Crow

For Blue Skies by Strays Don't Sleep

Lie In The Sound by Trespassers William

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2

*Death Valley (so named because of its dangerously hot temperatures) is supposed to be boilingly hot. As I don't do well in super-duper hot temperatures, I decided to choose some fun and cheesy songs which will hopefully cheer me up...*

Death Valley

Feeling Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter

La Bamba by Los Lobos

Fiesta Caliente by Los Illegales

Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte 

Disco Inferno by The Trammps

Hot Stuff by Donna Summer

El Taqui Taqui by Los Illegales 

The Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte

*Las Vegas is known for being a 24 hour party. So I naturally chose a bunch of my favorite party/night out songs, and a few which will hopefully boost my confidence in the casinos!*

Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley

Leaving Las Vegas by Sheryl Crow

Luck be a Lady by Frank Sinatra

You Better You Bet by The Who

Sweetest Thing by U2

Benny and the Jets by Elton John

Paradise City by Guns N Roses

Love on Top by Beyonce

Who Are You by The Who

Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley

Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry

Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz 

Tik Tok by Ke$ha 

Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

*I imagine myself standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon in awe of how small I am in comparison the amazing sites... so I chose some songs which make me feel on top of the world because of their awesomeness. Don't mock my choices.*

Grand Canyon/Monument Valley/Mesa Verde/Durango

Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World

Missing You by Tyler Hilton

Speed of Sound by Cold Play

The Good Kind by The Wreckers

Kill by Jimmy Eat World

Re-Offender by Travis

Fix You by Cold Play

Feeling A Moment by Feeder

23 by Jimmy Eat World

Everybody's Changing by Keane

Viva La Vida by Cold Play

Crystal Ball by Keane

Paradise by Cold Play

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

*I'm totally aware that New Mexico isn't Mexico. However, as a half-Latina I wanted some Latin on my iPod, so I went ahead and put these tunes into my New Mexico playlist. Close enough!*

Taos/Santa Fe/Carlsbad

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom by Selena

Halo by Bethany Joy Lenz

Como la Flor by Selena

New Mexico by Johnny Cash

El Chico Del Apartamento 52 by Selena

Beautiful Day by U2

Baila Esta Cumbia by Selena

*I took the opportunity of being in Texas to play my first bunch of songs which remind me (but only stereotypically) of the Southern States. This playlist is just a bit of fun really :)*

Fort Stockton/San Antonio/The Alamo/Houston

Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex

Karma Chameleon by Boy George

Is This the Way to Amarillo by Tony Christie 

Rawhide from Rawhide
Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond

Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard

Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N Roses

Sweet Home Alabama by Kid Rock

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison 

*As I've never been to New Orleans before, I wasn't quite sure what to choose for this city. However, I just went ahead and chose some souly-dancy tunes because that's what I think I'll want while I'm there.*

New Orleans

Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows

Dancing in the Street by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 

Flip, Flop and Fly by The Blues Brothers

Johnny B Good by Chuck Berry

Roxanne by Sting and The Police

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love by The Blues Brothers

Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

Gimme Some Lovin' by The Blues Brothers

My Blue Ridge Mountains Boy by Dolly Parton

Shake Your Tailfeather by Ray Charles and The Blues Brothers

Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits 

Jailhouse Rock by The Blues Brothers

The Saints Are Coming by Green Day and U2

*This is probably the playlist that I'll enjoy the most because the Memphis and Nashville are two cities which represent two of my favorite musical genres: Rock n Roll and Country.* 

Memphis/Nashville/Wytheville/Shenandoah 

Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks 

Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood

Stand By Your Man by Tammy Wynette

All Shook Up by Elvis Presley

Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks

Don't Forget To Remember Me by Carrie Underwood

The Beaches of Cheyenne by Garth Brooks

Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash

Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood

Jolene by Dolly Parton
Small Town by John Mellencamp

Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley 

The Battle of Nashville by Johnny Cash

The Thunder Rolls by Garth Brooks
Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp

Wide Open Spaces by Dixie Chicks

Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley

Unanswered Prayer by Garth Brooks

Ballad Of A Teenage Queen by Johnny Cash

Country Roads by John Denver

Beautiful Memphis by Johnny Cash

9 to 5 by Dolly Parton

I Wonder by Kellie Pickler

That Summer by Garth Brooks

*My Washington playlist kind of hinges on the fact that I love so many bands that rebel against government! Not very patriotic to the USA but I can't help it. And, I included Crazy in Love by Beyonce because I saw Barrack Obama dancing to it on Ellen and loved him.*

Washington

Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 

60% by NOFX

We Didn't Start The Fire by Billy Joel

USA-Holes by NOFX

Crazy in Love by Beyonce

Seeing Double at the Triple-Rock by NOFX

Dear Mr President by Pink

The Marxist Brothers by NOFX

Mr Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra

The Man I Killed by NOFX

The District Sleeps Alone by The Postal Service

Benny Got Blowed Up by NOFX

Kissing the Lipless by The Shins

Leaving Jesusland by NOFX

Life in Technicolour Part 2 by Cold Play

Getting High On the Down Low by NOFX

Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day

*So many cool songs that mention New York City so I included some of them plus a few songs which I felt would be perfect to finish my trip on!*

Manhattan

I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie

Moving to New York by The Wombats
America by Razorlight
Waterfall by The Stone Roses

English Man In New York by Sting and The Police

Hey There Delilah by The Plain White T's

For the First Time by The Script

We Are Young by Fun

Baba O'Reilly by The Who

Angel of Harlem by U2

Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson

She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5

Alone by Heart

Buck Rogers by Feeder

The Mixtape by Jacks Mannequin

Mixtape by Butch Walker

So that's my provisional playlist of songs for my trip! I've literally spent the past three hours with my dad and sister coming up with these songs and I'm obviously going to come up with a bunch more over the next week and a half, but its good to have a provisional list. My blessed little sister has agreed to take care of my iPod for my in terms of loading all the songs on as its so time-consuming and she's doing it as a kind of 'going away' present. She'll add a few songs which she thinks I'll like too as a surprise, so I can't wait.

Can you think of any other songs which should be on my playlist? Are you laughing at my (so-called by my sister) 'terrible' taste in music? Have you ever been on a trip like I'm doing?

Love and snuggles

gabriellasofia

x