Grunge'n'Art magazine recently published my friend Carrie's submission online and you should all go check it out HERE because the photos are so bomb (you'd be totally missing out if you don't go check out her photos, after reading my blog post obviously ;-))! As per usual, I was able to tag along and take some behind-the-scene photos and footage. Unfortunately, my camera died on me during the photoshoot so I only have a short, make-shift video which I've posted on Instagram (link HERE), and please excuse my old iPhone quality shots:
I've been accumulating video clips throughout the past few months trying to get together a ~summer vibes~ video. I didn't have time to edit it earlier and so it's really become more of a video to make you nostalgic about summer. Many of the scenes may look familiar if you've been following my Instagram accounts (@imblanc & @imblanc2).
It's already September, which means I'm going back to uni in a few weeks and summer is definitely over :-(. So join me in being already nostalgic over summer (especially since the temperature dropped and it started raining in London literally as soon as August ended) and watch my Summer Nostalgia video:
My friends and I (#squad) treated ourselves to a well deserved post-exams trip to Morocco. To be honest, we could have probably made the holiday a lot more jam packed with touristy things but the heat was getting to us (you'll hear me complain more about that later) and was still catching up on sleep from the aftermath of exams.
As per usual, I've made a post-holiday summary of the trip for your benefit :-).
Also a photo diary is coming up soon so stay tuned for that! (link HERE)
WEATHER
I am warning you now, DON'T EVER GO TO MARRAKECH IN THE SUMMER (don't say I didn't warn you). The temperature during our stay (5-9 June) was probably on average around 40°C and the air was so dry. The lack of humidity did help make the heat feel more bearable, but also left me with a very dry, sore throat at the end of the trip which no amounts of water could remedy. The city also lacks air conditioning so don't hope to rely on the AC either.
ACCOMODATION riad /ˈriːad/ noun
(in Morocco) a large traditional house built around a central courtyard, often converted into a hotel.
Riad Calista I found Riad Calista on Alpharooms and we were definitely happy with our choice when we arrived there. This riad actually looked very similar to the photos online and the owner was very friendly and helpful. It wasn't the fanciest of places I've stayed at but felt very homey (kinda like a cross between a hotel and an Airbnb). The distance from the city centre wasn't too bad (20 minutes on foot) - could've been better but the quietness of being not too close the busy roads was quite nice as well. Link to Riad Calista HERE
Address: 95 DERB CHTOUKA MARRAKECH4000
TRANSPORT
Most places were in walking distance and we spent 50 mins walking on one of the cooler days (cooler still being 36°C) but the taxis are fairly cheap as well. Just make sure to settle the fare of the ride before you get in the taxi and my friends researched that you shouldn't agree to be charged more than 50 Dirhams (~£3.60) maximum per ride.
PLACES MENTIONED
Bahia Palace The palace grounds are so pretty and there's plenty of shade to take a break in, which is always a plus. Honestly, there's not much else to say other than it's a beautiful palace where you can take great photos (upcoming in my next blog post!). Admission fee: 10 Dirhams (~£0.70) Opening hours: 8.30-11.45AM / 2.30-5.45PM Sat-Thurs
8.30-11.30AM / 3-5.45PM Fri
Jardin Majorelle Jardin Majorelle was co-owned by Yves-Saint Laurent and his ashes were supposedly scattered across the garden, and you can go see the YSL memorial at the heart of the garden also. In 2010, the street in front of Jardin Majorelle was renamed in memory of YSL to Rue Yves Saint Laurent. Again, the garden is very beautiful and incredibly photogenic with plenty of cacti and greenery to give you a break from the desert land. Opening hours: 1 Oct - 30 Apr / 8AM-5:30PM 1 May - 30 Sep / 8AM-6PM The month of Ramadan / 9AM-5PM Entrance fee: entry to garden 70 Dhs (~£5) (half price if you show student ID)
Ourika Valley
One thing I definitely wanted to do on this trip was to go hiking, and a couple of the others were determined to go camel riding. We had originally booked a last minute tour on Viator.com (which I don't recommend at all) but the tour fell through (but my friends who went to Marrakech before us do advise TripAdvisor). Fortunately, the owner of the riad we were staying at had a couple of tour options available to us, and conveniently at the cheapest prices I'd seen (~250 Dhs / ~£18). So we picked the trip to the closest village (around 1-2 hour car ride away from the city) and they had the option of camel riding for 30 minutes for an additional 100 Dhs (~£7.30).
Before we went hiking, we stopped off at a village in the mountains where we were given a tour and they served us mint tea (the bomb dot com) and bread to dip in fresh honey, butter or Argan oil. They then showed us how the Argan oil was made and offered us a selection of products to buy. Apparently any Argan oil sold in Marrakech was the pure oil made from the villages mixed with some olive oil. I don't know how true that is but I got a bottle of pure Argan oil anyway at less than half the price it would have been in the UK!
Hiking wise, any trainers are a sufficient footwear option as long as they have enough grip and I would advise you take a lot of water.
Ben Youssef Madrasa
This place was originally a university but the architecture is incredible. Again, great for photos and many shaded parts also to take refuge from the hot damn sun. Entrance fee: 50 Dhs (~£3.60) Opening hours: 9AM-6PM all day every day
Marrakech Museum
This museum is right next to the Ben Youssef Madrasa and, to be honest, the content of the museum isn't that impressive. But, the architecture of the buildings themselves is great again, and there's this one room the looks like it has a natural sepia filter over it because of the canvas covering the ceiling where the natural light comes in. Entrance fee: 50 Dhs (~£3.60) Opening hours: 9AM - 6:30PM
Jemaa El-Fna This market place is probably the ultimate tourist attraction of Marrakech. There are so many streets to explore filled with Moroccan tea sets, genie pants and leather backpacks. Definitely don't forget to haggle with the stall owners and the best way to haggle, I've found, is to just walk away and turn back around when they've shouted out a price low enough. There are snake charmers and monkeys around the main square, but I was told by my friend not to take photos or videos of them because the snake/monkey owners will try to charge you for taking photos/footage. MISCELLANEOUS If you're oriental Asian, be prepared to have a lot of mildly racist words shouted at you ("arigatou" and "konnichiwa" probably being the most common). I don't know if this is necessarily the case if you travel with a more diverse group but we were all oriental Asians and got very bored of being asked if we were Japanese by the end of the trip. If you go to Marrakech during Ramadan, most tourist attraction spots should be open as usual and the only things that are really closed are restaurants and shops for the locals and Jemaa El-Fna closes later than usual (I don't know how late the food stalls open but we made sure to get there after sun down).
They say it's best to dress more modestly so as to avoid harassment (i.e. no exposed shoulders and bottoms below knee length for girls, and guys can wear sleeveless tops and short that reach just above the knees). I wore mostly culottes on the trip but, honestly, it didn't seem to make too much of a difference the day I wore shorts. If you're going in an all girls group though, I would probably stick to the dress code just to be on the safer side. Hope this was helpful for anyone who plans on going to Marrakech in the future!
-Blanc-
My friend Christy and I went on a 7 day summer holiday to Bangkok last month and it was so good to get some sunshine after having weeks of exams at uni. This trip definitely wasn't as touristy as my last Seoul holiday but focused more on having a relaxing time shopping, and of course enjoying the nightlife. So please excuse the lack of info on tourist locations, and a lack of footage capturing all the places that we went to, but I do have some good recommendations for clubbing.
My exams are over so now I'm free! So I've managed to pull together a short behind-the-scenes video of a photo shoot Carrie did back in Easter break. You can see a couple of the near-final shots on my instagram,
Now I just have the whole of summer to lounge around and catch up some much needed sleep. For anyone still going through exams, good luck!
I finally got around to finishing editing this behind-the-scenes video for Carrie's photoshoot back in October (it actually only took a couple of hours to edit but my laptop broke down blah blah blah). This photoshoot was so long ago that I don't really remember much from it, apart from Mori and Rosie (the models/my friends) freezing to death and me panicking trying to both take behind the scenes footage and also photos for my instagram whilst trying to not get in the way.
(sorry about the low quality; I forgot my camera on the day and had to film on my phone)
Carrie's uploaded a couple of the final shots HERE. HERE and HERE and also make sure to follow my instagram because I've uploaded a lot of photos from this shoot and I have more to come.
We had another photoshoot last week so I have another behind the scenes video to edit, but I don't know when I'm going to get around to doing that seeing as how it took me months to finish this one and I have exams coming up (SOS).
Finally, I've finished the last vlog of Seoul (see first vlog HERE). I tried a new editing programme so it took me a while to get my head around how to use it but I got there! So enjoy and check below for description on all the places in the vlog.
You won't even believe how much like hell it was to edit this video. I'm going to have to move on from Windows Live Movie Maker at some point in the future and actually purchase a better editing software. Anyhow, I've finally managed to finish week 1 of my Seoul travel diaries, but week 2 may take longer to edit and upload. It took a hell of a long time to get this post together and find all the places and links, but I hope it helps someone out or inspires anyone to go visit Seoul.
I met up with my lovely friend Maymana who I don't really get to see that often anymore (since she moved up to stupid Kent) and Carrie, and we went shopping. We popped into a charity shop en route to the Thrift Store and they had the biggest cat I'd ever seen but it was so pretty (I was really tempted to steal it- just kidding)
Anyhow, The East End Thrift Store actually sells quite reasonably priced vintage clothes and there's a whole section with clothes under £5! I finally managed to find myself an oversized denim jacket which I bought as a birthday present as the one from Asos that I'd gotten for my birthday didn't fit well at all.
Here's a video I made of our day out:
*bump up to HD
Playsuit
First off this fits like a glove and it has pockets and studs so what's not to love? It also has cute detailing with a tie at the back which shows off a bit of skin without being inconvenient and showing any bra straps. It turns out it's from Miley Cyrus' brand which makes it all the better since I love her style. The playsuit is made of a thinner material so I'd have to layer over it for winter but it's perfect for summer.
Slouchy Jumper
Coincidentally, I've been wanting a slouchy jumper recently to wear over my maxi skirt. This particular jumper is on the bigger side but I guess that just means it ticks the slouchy box. The colour is so pretty and I love the earthy vibe the colour and texture gives.
Oversized Denim Jacket
I finally bought one! This jacket is the perfect colour and although the sleeves are a little on the long size, I can just roll them up as I have done in the photo above. Unfortunately it doesn't have any pockets but I can always use the pockets of my hoodie that I'll layer under this baby.
