Little Ones

It's been a full month since the creation of this blog, and yet I still find myself having not left the miserable gray shores of England (it really has been miserable weather eh?). However, the purpose of this blog was to document all aspects of my travels, not only the Big Ones, but also the build up to them.

With the start of my overseas travels immanent (I leave for Argentina in less than 48 hours) I may as well let you guys know what's cracking.

Firstly, since last week I have been pretty busy sorting out my applications for my Japanese university. The documents ended up coming last Wednesday, but I was unable to sort them out until Sunday (by which time I had already missed one of the deadlines...). I ended up receiving the scholarship which is basically means that I don't pay for accommodation fees (hells!). But the rules for the place are a bit of a joke (12 midnight curfew, and no guests allowed at all?!?!). Following that, I had to go down to London on Monday in order to apply for my visa - a journey I will have to make again tomorrow in order to pick it up, all in all, proving to be a pretty bucksy expenditure. The silver lining is that thanks to my Italian passport, the visa is free (bells!).

Secondly, the reason I was unable to sort out the documents any early was due to a brief Sheffield road trip from Thursday to Saturday which involved Bruno (referee!), alcohol (hmmm) and poker winnings (radstock). Aside from being viciously attacked on the first day, it was a pretty rad trip, and was reassuring to see that the house was still standing (good job Josephine!).

On another note, I received my results from my second year a little while ago, and it was fair to say that I'm still going strong, apart from a slight blip in Japanese which will hopefully be corrected over the following year.

So that's pretty much it for now, I've been filling up the spare time trying to improve at racket sports, acquiring a taste for wine, and having the occasional pot noodle. ;)

Oh well, the next time you hear from me I should be well into my travels, searching for "Los Grandes" in Buenos Aires.

Inabizzle fo shizzle ma nizzle dizzle.

Bristol, Banksy, and the Big Ones

With my good pal Joe passing his driving test two weeks ago last Friday, and his swift acquisition of a shiny new(ish) VW Golf two days later, we spent little time in planning an epic road trip. With a vast array of exciting and exotic locations now accessible to us and our four wheels, where did we decide to go? Well, it was none other than the golden jewel of a city that is Bristol, to see the living legend Stevil Kanevil. Hells, this was most definitely a Big One.

Matt, Joe and myself hit the road at 4pm on Thursday afternoon heading southbound, after having already said our fond farewells to our families. With tunes blasting out of the windows and 2 nice cold 4packs on the floor for both Matt and I, we made good time heading down the M5 at a comfortable and legal speed.

The first night was a relatively chilled affair. Most of Ste's house mates were about and happy to entertain us. Despite having cleaned off more than just our 4 beers in the car, Matt and I were more than capable of staying in control of our actions (a la beach house ;D) and proceeded to soak up the Bristol groove in a dignified manner.

The second day however, is where the Big Ones really shone. After having carried out some James Bond action in sneaking into the sports hall without paying to play some football, we left for the Bristol Museum at 4 in order to go and see the Banksy exhibition. It was pretty radstock to say the least, with lots of witty sculptures and paintings which often brought a smile to my face. Following that, the evening entertainment was perhaps some of Bristols best. No trip to Bristol is complete without a visit to the ultimate Bristol Big Ones, the Cori Tap. Here, their speciality is a cider which is as easy to drink as apple juice, and yet almost as potent as a Special Brew. The result when coupled with a vast and varying array of drinking games (race the ace, IDR, bluffing, and a dice game amongst others) is not pretty. Served exclusively as halves, only a brave few have managed to reach double digits in a single session (Matt attests to having drank 10 halves, but I am not so sure). The night was finally topped off after an eventful walk home, with superb renditions of "Reptilia", "Sabotage" and "Maps" on Rock Band by the Birmingham Boys accompanied by the Bristol Bunch. Hells.

Needless to say, the return leg of our journey on the Saturday afternoon was a much quieter affair. Luckily, unlike Matt and I, Joe had known his limits at the Cori Tap and was in a much better state than us to drive home. We arrived back in Birmingham on time and all absolutely shattered.

Big Ones, I'm sure you'll all agree.

Big Ones?

I've been mulling over how to start this blog for some time now, and just because I have finally put pen to paper (or rather finger to keyboard), it is no indicator that I have come up with the perfect beginning. However, like any good book, film, or adventure, there has to be a beginning, and so I decided to press on and get something down.

As we go through life, occasionally we have an experience which seems to stand out from the rest of our mundane day to day lives. These are what I have come to call the "Big Ones", and they can be anything from having an epic holiday with your mates, to simply hearing a bit of a rad tune on the radio. The Big Ones are what make life worth living, and provide the excitement in an otherwise ordinary day.

"So why the blog?" I hear you ask. Well, I'm about to embark on a bit of an epic mission to hunt out the Big Ones in as many far reaching places as I can get to, and I want to bring as many people along for the ride as possible. Granted, I'm going to be the one really "living the dream", while you guys are made to watch from the sidelines, but you'll all be there in spirit and together we can share in what the world has to offer.

Being a second year Japanese and Spanish student, I'll be off to Japan for a year starting in September. This presents an amazing opportunity to find new and interesting Big Ones in the Land of the Rising Sun. On top of that, I'll be heading in the opposite direction in July, spending a month in Argentina chilling with the family and searching out those well known Latin Big Ones (known locally as "Los Grandes").

So I hope you'll stick around and make yourself comfortable. Suffice to say, there are plenty of Big Ones to come.

Hells.