Category Archives: Travel

No boredom

57
13.03.13

8049587882_ef9f9cd648_bOhemgee!!!

You know that kick you get from putting your hands on an inexplicable desire that you’ve been coveting for so many years, or something that you have been trying to unearth and track down for god knows how long like the most amazing coat ever that you simply cannot live without? Well, buying flight tickets apparently does the same trick. Oh yes! Two days ago I finally booked tickets for my West Coast trip and just received the confirmation today!! Man, I swear that words can hardly convey how frickin’ thrilled I am!! I’ve been dying to go for such a long time and started organizing this whole trip in my mind last spring. I guess that aforementioned kick is also a true indication of a successful investment or buy or whatever you’d like to call it.

The flight tickets were a lot more expensive than what I hoped for, but the prices kept skyrocketing. However, this means that I cannot afford any clothes or knickknacks – I still have plenty of Diptyque candles left to burn – until my summer vacation starts. I always save money for my travels so that I can splurge on food and whatnot. The only way I can afford to maintain my sometimes lifestyle is by being frugal for a while.

Luckily for me I don’t have anything on my wishlist that I need to get pronto. That Céline trio bag I was planning to purchase is out of the picture right now. I can postpone all potential purchases – most of them are merely wants rather than needs. Besides, nothing in particular has caught my attention this season – well, apart from a few A.P.C. pieces as usual. I don’t even have time to go shopping for things I need like a new ruler or socks. Today I went on Net-A-Porter for the first time in months and I was repelled by the sight of clothes, which reminded me of New York and my lack of desire to go shopping for clothes there at all. I haven’t been window-shopping online for a long time. Having too much on my plate seems to be the best buffer against consumerism, so a temporary shopping ban is no sweat as I’m unintentionally and constantly banned from shopping.

Sometimes I wonder if my current attitude towards shopping and clothes stems from the fact that my wardrobe is, by my standards, complete or is it perhaps because boredom (and procrastination) is almost nonexistent in my life nowadays? Hmm… or maybe this whole online window-shopping thing and lust for beautiful clothes has been replaced by hours of daydreaming about the West Coast and the quest for the best cheeseburger? The latter is certainly a way to kill boredom and any possibilities to become a short supermodel.

Edible New York: A shortlist

57
14.02.13

IMG_0599This weekend, I’m finally leaving for New York to eat my way through the Big Apple. Natch as a huge food lover/food nerd/closet fatso/food addict (depending on how you look at it), it’s no wonder that I’ve spent an excessive amount of time finding and drooling over potential eateries for a week of culinary debauchery in the city. I have 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 brunches, 7 dinners, and possibly a few more treats to look forward to. Here’s a not-so-short shortlist that I’ve compiled for prospective trips. It surely needs a lot of fine-tuning and a helping hand from those of you who know the city well. Anti-recommendations, recommendations, and so on are much appreciated and welcomed!

Besides, if you know where to get the best burger, best pho, best bánh mì, best salted caramel, best dim sum and whatnot, please let me know. I only trust recommendations from people who eat, though! Just sayin’…

Here’s hoping this list will come in handy for you at some point!

(Paranthesis = overrated? worth a visit? mehh?)

BROOKLYN

Williamsburg
- Maison Premiere (oysters, drinks) – 298 Bedford Ave (between 2nd St & 1st St)
- Egg restaurant – 135 N 5th St
- Marlow and Sons – 81 Broadway
- Dumont Burger – 314 Bedford Ave
- Diner – 85 Broadway
- The Bagel Store – 349 Bedford Ave
- Nhà Tôi (Vietnamese) – 160 Havemeyer St
- Juliette (French) – 135 N 5th St
- Bakeri – 150 Wythe Ave
- Dun-Well Doughnuts – 222 Montrose Ave

Greenpoint
- Five Leaves – 18 Bedford Ave

Bedford Stuyvesant
- Peaches Hothouse – 415 Tompkins Ave
- Saraghina – 435 Halsey St

Crown Heights
- Barboncino pizza – 781 Franklin Ave
- Chavela’s (Mexican) – 736 Franklin Ave

Bushwick
- Roberta’s pizza – 261 Moore St

Prospect Heights
- Ample Hills Creamery – 623 Vanderbilt Ave

MANHATTAN

SoHo and NoHo
(- Balthazar – 80 Spring St)
- The Mercer Kitchen – 99 Prince Street (between Greene St & Mercer St)
(- Jack’s Wife Freda – 224 Lafayette St (between Kenmare St & Cleveland Pl))
(- Ed’s Lobster Bar – 222 Lafayette St (between Kenmare St & Spring St))
- Lucky Strike – 59 Grand St
- Osteria Morini – 218 Lafayette St
- Il Buco Vineria – 53 Great Jones St
- Dominique Ansel Bakery – 189 Spring St
- La Esquina (Mexican) – 114 Kenmare St
- Lure Fishbar (Seafood) – 142 Mercer St

Nolita / Little Italy / China Town
- Café Gitane – 242 Mott St (between Houston St & Prince St)
(- Cafe Habana (Cuban) – 17 Prince St)
(- Nom Wah (dim sum) – 13 Doyers St)
- Eileen’s Special Cheesecake – 17 Cleveland Pl
- Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli – 369 Broome St
- Xe Lua (Vietnamese) – 86 Mulberry St
- Jing Fong (dim sum) – 20 Elizabeth St (between Canal St & Bayard St)

East Village
- Ippudo (Japanese Ramen) – 65 4th Ave
- Blue 9 Burger – 92 3rd Ave (between 12th St & 2nd Ave)
- Luke’s Lobster – 93 E 7th St
- Northern Spy Food Co. – 511 E 12th St
- Motorino pizza – 348 E 12th St
- Momofuku Noodle Bar (Japanese ramen) – 171 1st Ave
- Peels – 325 Bowery (between 2nd St & Bleecker St)
- Prima (seafood, drinks) – 58 E 1 St
- Boka (Korean) – 9 St Marks Pl
- Momofuku Milk Bar (bakery) – 251 E 13th St
- The Redhead (Southern) – 349 E 13th St
- Angelica Kitchen – 300 E 12th St
- Big Gay Ice Cream – 125 E 7th St

Lower East Side
(- The Bowery Diner – 241 Bowery)
- Schiller’s – 131 Rivington St
- Katz’s Delicatessen (corned beef sandwich) – 205 E Houston St
- Odessa (biner) – 119 Avenue A
- Clinton Steet Baking Company – 4 Clinton St
- Russ and Daugthers (bagels) – 179 E Houston St
- Pala (pizza) – 198 Allen St (between 1st Ave & Stanton St)
- Cocoron (soba) – 61 Delancey St (between Allen St & Eldridge St)

West Village
(- Pastis – 9 9th Ave)
- Buvette – 42 Grove St
- Little Owl – 90 Bedford St
- Sundae and Cones – 95 E 10th St
- Minetta Tavern – 113 MacDougal St
- Café Gitane – 113 Jane St (between Washington St & West St)
- Keste Pizza & Vino – 271 Bleecker St
- Pearl Oyster Bar – 18 Cornelia St (between 4th St & Bleecker St)
- Taim falafel and smoothie bar – 222 Waverly Pl
- Five guys burgers and fries – 296 Bleecker St
- Hakata Tonton (Japanese) – 61 Grove St
- Num Pang (Cambodian banh mi) – 21 E 12th St

Chelsea
- Cook Shop – 156 10th Ave
- Murray’s Bagels – 242 8th Ave (between 22nd St & 23rd St)

Upper East Side
- J.G. Melon (burgers) – 1291 3rd Ave
- Shake Shack – 154 East 86th Street

Midtown
- The Breslin – 16 W 29th St
- Sake Bar Hagi (Japanese) – 152 W 49th St
- Kun Jip (Korean) – 9 W 32nd St
- Sakagura (Japanese) – 211 E 43rd St
- Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien – 119 W 56th St
- DB Bistro Moderne (burger) – 55 W 44th St

Union Square
- ABC Kitchen – 35 E 18th St

Food trucks
- Sweetery (ice cream)
- Cool Haus (ice cream)
- Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream

Top 5 of 2012

46
20.01.13

I know, I’m really late to the party but I haven’t gotten around to making this post that has been on my mind for some time. So here comes a belated and incomplete list of some of the top 5 things that 2012 had to offer. I could probably go on and on because 2012 was such a terrific year but so far this took me 4 hours to put together and I have to study now…. what a life. Anyway, I’ll update it now and then so that I won’t ever forget the things I loved in 2012!

Top 5 wardrobe investments

top5inv
1. A.P.C. ‘Petit Standard’ raw denim jeans (this is how they looked like after 6 months of wear and tear)
2. Church’s ‘Burwood’ glossy leather brogues
3. A.P.C. gray lambswool sweater (similar here)
4. A.P.C. leather and cork sandals
5. Acne ‘Canada’ scarf

Top 5 most listened to albums 

top5albums
1. John Talabot – ƒin
2. Kendrick Lamar – Good kid, M.A.A.D. city
3. Kindness – World you need a change of mind
4. Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
5. Beach House – Bloom

Top 5 unpredictable yet successful purchases 

top5unpredictablebuys
1. A.P.C. denim jumpsuit
2. A.P.C. liberty jumpsuit
3. Nike x A.P.C. navy air max shoes
4. Vanessa Bruno Athé jumpsuit
5. A.P.C. shirt found on eBay

Top 5 concerts I attended

top5concerts
1. Nicolas Jaar @ Sonar in Barcelona
2. Beach House in Oslo
3. Azari & III @ Sonar in Barcelona
4. Kendrick Lamar @ Hove at Tromøya
5. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs @ Hove at Tromøya

Top 5 best tracks chosen randomly
1. Luke Abbott – Modern Driveway
2. John Talabot – When the past was present
3. Todd Terje – Inspector Norse
4. Jessie Ware – 110%
5. Dino Lenny vs Hardrive – A DJ deep inside (Shadow Child vocal)
(6. Kendrick Lamar – Now or Never feat. Mary J. Blige)

Top 5 burgers

top5burgers1. Honest Burgers in London (hand burger)
2. The Bird in Berlin (hand burger)
3. Fil a la Une in Toulouse (foie gras burger)
4. Halifax in Copenhagen
5. Cafe Gavlen in Copenhagen

Top 5 blogs discovered in 2012
1. Empty Emptor
2. Joanna Karenina
3. The Second Renaissance
4. The Log (essai)
5. I Love Fika

Hello 2013

18
16.01.13

How I wish every morning could be more like this. We had a big brunch at Jane’s parents’ apartment in Toulouse before hitting the road to Spain. It was the day before the last day of 2012, the only day I should have been as fit as a fiddle. Instead, unpredictably, I rang in the New Year with food poisoning in Barcelona – a city close to my heart. It was truly painful, yet a relief at the same time. Painful both in the sense of having no control whatsoever over my body and also because I missed out on the party of the year with my friends and Maceo Plex in my favorite city. A relief because albeit the previous New Year’s eve was a major disaster, 2012 turned out to be second to none in every imaginable way. Hence I believe 2013 is going to be just as supreme. Bad start, bad year doesn’t apply to me (knock on wood). Nevertheless, going back to the daily grind makes me appreciate those few and far between daybreaks a lot more – with great food, great people, tranquility, harmony, and other clichés that are completely neglected in day-to-day life. I spent almost the entire holidays in the South of Europe that only feels untrue in retrospect. A 10-day dream, you know. Everything is an oxymoron in the transition from work to play and from play to work. My body and mind have yet to readapt to an even more hectic schedule and 7 exams to ace before I get my life back. Fortunately, I have a few amazing events before me; New York in 30 days, finally applying to university for the first time in my life which is scary in a way, a short trip to Copenhagen with the rat pack… and in-between all the studying I will somehow find a bit of spare time – even if it’s just my daily thirty minutes break between classes – to organize my West Coast trip in July. To be honest, what keeps me going is the privilege to travel. With the perfect balance, nothing is too overpowering.

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you so much for your continued readership! Here’s to an awesome 2013.

PS: The perfect dress… more about it later.

London diary pt. 2

31
13.10.12

As a big time lover of food and carbs, I must divulge that the main purpose of my travels is to indulge myself with good eats, haha, and discover wicked eateries. And apparently to check out gigs and meet people too – but never with the purpose to go wild at Topshop or Forever 21. Last week I went to London again. Thanks to google, various blogs, Instagram (yes, please continue taking photos of your delish food) and my friends in London, I discovered new places and revisited my perennial favorite food spot. Here is a recapitulation of my trip and some of my discoveries.

I spent at least four hours at The Albion Café in Shoreditch, sipping a pot of green tea, munching croissants, surfing on their free WiFi, and watching stylish East Londoners on the street before moving to a table inside for a change of scenery, while waiting for my friends who were running a few hours late. I didn’t try their food but from what I could see, everything looked extremely delicious and healthy, particularly the array of very tempting pastries and cakes. The Albion Café, Bakery and Food Store: 2-4 Boundary Street

Hand burger at Honest Burgers. Yes, I call the hamburgers which you eat with your hands a hand burger. Daniella and I checked out the one in Soho (the original Brixton spot seemed just a bit too far at the time). She ordered the veggie burger and I got the cheese burger with matured cheddar. We were supposed to check out the burgers over at Lucky Chip too, but the burger at Honest Burgers is by far one of the best I’ve ever had in my life so I didn’t feel the need to hunt out for another amazing hand burger in London.

In terms of size, the burger is quite compact and small, which facilitates the eating process – I swear, my hands didn’t get anywhere near greasy from eating it. The toasted glazed brioche bun together with the juicy medium rare burger with tender texture, topped with caramelized onions and melted cheddar, not to mention all that grease soaked up into the burger…. holy moly, a pure gastronomic orgasm with each bite (pardon my crudeness). Did I mention that the burgers come with rosemary salt fries that are even better than the burger? Honest Burgers: 4A Meard Street

Rose Bakery is one of my favorite spots in London and Paris. The food always inspires me to cook.. uhm yes, I never cook because I’m a spoiled brat. Daniella and I went there for brunch, and a few days later I had a big lunch accompanied by a bunch of magazines. I love everything they serve. The famous Rose Bakery carrot cake is the best and only carrot cake I like. It’s not too sweet and actually a no-brainer to make at home. Make sure that you get the table outdoors on Dover Street Market’s roof terrace if you want to enjoy the stunning rooftop view in central London. Rose Bakery: 17-18 Dover Street

I also visited a new noodle place in Soho for my ramen fix. I can’t go a few days without slurping some kind of noodle soup. Thomas and I ordered some delicious pork dumplings and a bowl of Spicy Tokyo each. So good but not spicy in the slightest. Don’t go here if you can’t stand sitting at communal tables. I, for one, don’t mind that at all. In fact, I love the concept of communal tables in restaurants. Tonkotsu: 63 Dean Street

Sunday brunch at The Ginger Pig Café in Hoxton before going to the Brick Lane market. A nice and unpretentious place. I’m not a big fan of full English breakfast with blood pudding and whatnot, but the vegetarian option at The Ginger Pig Café is super delish but way too big for me. Some guy who sat at the table next to us ordered the tallest hamburger I’ve ever seen in real life. The Ginger Pig Café: 231 Hoxton Street

Japanese udon in Soho at Koya. I went there for dinner alone and savored a bowl of udon with beef while listening to other people’s conversations. The broth and udon were tasty, but there was too much meat in proportion to noodles. Koya: 49 Frith Street

A trip to London is seriously by no means complete without crispy duck in China Town. The queue outside the famous Four Seasons was too long so we went to Imperial China Restaurant and swooned over the delectable crispy duck there. Imperial China Restaurant: 25A Lisle Street

And over to something completely non-food related… picture of me sporting my new trainers and a snapshot of the Margaret Howell store in Wigmore Street.

(Photos by me and Daniella)

Postcards and mosquito bites

32
25.08.12

Barcelona: Spent two nights in this room in a beautiful and quiet apartment in Born after the Sonar festival.

Barcelona: One of my best meals in Barcelona. Restaurante Rincon de Aragon in El Raval. Carrer del Carme, 28 

Barcelona: Solo lunching at Boca Grande. This place has the trippiest restroom ever. Passatge de la Concepció, 12

Berlin: Best Japanese ramen ever at Cocolo! Gipsstraße 3

Berlin: Burger at The Bird in Prenzlauer Berg. Am Falkplatz 5 

Berlin: Cheesecake heaven at Princess Cheesecake. Tucholskystraße 37

Nice: Mouthwatering pastries on the street

Nice: Visited Monastère de Cimiez after walking up the hills alone.

Nice: Jardin d’Eden designed by Yves Klein on the MAMAC roof terrace.

Paris: The Marrocan deli at Marché des Enfants Rouges in Le Marais. 39 Rue de Bretagne

Paris: Water melon and a mosquito bite on the park bench in Square Trousseau.

—
After having looked at my holidays photos from the past eleven weeks, I realized that my vacation was just a big feast. My summer has been a dream, almost too good to be true so, of course, it just had to end badly. I traveled to Mallorca, Barcelona, Tromøya, Copenhagen, Berlin, Nice, Monte Carlo, Grasse, Cannes, and Paris in this exact order. I’ve been drafting a recapulation of my blissful weeks of idleness and hedonism for my blog but quickly found out that I have yet to overcome the uncomfortableness of being overly open online. But one important thing I’ve learned in the last couple of weeks while being on the road, is to go with the flow without any expectations whatsoever (Barcelona, Sonar festival, Oslo in the end of June – amazing) and you’ll never be disappointed. In addition I’ve also learned that nothing can replace the “first time” – for anything, come to think of it – so any attempt at recreating the “first time” experience is just a waste of time and upsetting (Hove festival, Oslo in the beginning of August).

On the beach of Mallorca

26
09.06.12

Last week I had the honor of being the only Norwegian attending the intimate launch of Henrik Vibskov’s “On the Beach” collaboration with the Mediterranean lifestyle brand Medwinds in Mallorca. Who knew that he would do a capsule collection inspired by scouts, not to mention launching it on the beautiful beach Cala Agulla? Well, truth be told I was expecting a collection of kooky swim trunks and such but I, for one, was rather taken aback by the streamlined and austere looks – or shall I say uniforms – in this collaboration that didn’t fail to scream Henrik Vibskov from afar – the details, the hats, the performance, and of course the super offbeat rectangular sunglasses. And oh, the installation on the beach was stunning as well – a physically complex and completely unfunctional tent erected in the white sand.

By the time the sun went down, after swapping stories with the other journalists amid laughter and the most delectable tapas I’ve ever had, I caught up with Mr. Vibskov himself to talk about the collaboration with Medwinds and other things too. Feel free to check out the interview I did for Smug. But take my word for it, Google translate does a pretty good translation job and it’s almost as good as in Norwegian.

The summer uniform

32
26.05.12

A.P.C. speckled silk blouse and tote bag, Topshop hat, Theory shorts in black,
K. Jacques sandals, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle EDP, Ray-Ban clubmasters 

 

Steven Alan romper, Clare Vivier tropezienne bag, A.P.C. sandals,
Omega wrist watch, Byredo Blanche EDP, Ray-Ban wayfarers


A.P.C. romper and tote bag, Comme des Garçons PLAY cardigan,
See by Chloé sandals, Diptyque Philosykos EDT, Ray-Ban wayfarers

 

There seems to be a consensus that sunscreen smells very bad. I’ve never really been partial towards this scent until the other day when I slapped some sunblock on my face and I realized that I’ve actually missed this particular smell – because the sunblock scent exemplifies summer and good times so well. Apropos of scents, I’m also quite fond of fig based scents for summer – or just fig in general –, well not on me as I’m totally true to my signature fragrance. Oh! And the clean bouquet of freshly washed clothes. I can’t think of anything better. The ‘Blanche’ perfume from Byredo is, in my estimation, the quintessence of said scent. I believe these are the redolences that have summer written all over them.

Regardless, as I’m so pumped about summer, I just had to share my summer collages with you. The weather in Norway has been incredible as of late, which is kind of weird since I was wearing my winter coats last week and now it’s all of a sudden 25 celsius outside. I ain’t complaning, though. I just love waking up to the sun rays lighting up the room in the morning and having long breakfasts on the balcony, while checking out flight tickets for prospective journeys, haha. I’m already planning a trip to Portland, San Francisco, and maybe Seattle in the end of December, not to mention a west coast road trip next summer. You know, I always plan almost a year in advance for bigger trips in order to get the best deals in terms of flight tickets. $1000 for a round trip to America is such a steal, especially during the holiday seasons. At least checking out flight tickets makes up for the need to tumble a bonanza of palms and valleys.

Summer wardrobe planning

62
21.05.12

I’ve never really had a summer wardrobe. The fact that I don’t even own a white t-shirt pretty much indicates what my wardrobe is lacking. My summer outfits tended to consist of shirts with rolled-up sleeves worn with a pair of shorts or trousers, and suede boots. And yup, this combination is as uncomfortable as it sounds. Looking back, I can’t even get how I survived. Oh well.. Since I’ll be spending a lot of time in the hot coastal Meditteranean weather this summer, I figured that I ought to add a few summery items to my wardrobe unless I’m serious about commiting suicide (read with tongue in cheek, please). Anyway, I’ve realized why I’ve put off buying summer clothes for several years:

1. My taste in lightweight summer clothes was completely undefinable so I never rushed into buying summer clothes that I most likely wouldn’t wear.
2. I mysteriously developed heliophobia in my teens, so I made every endeavour to avoid sun exposure. 

Fortunately, I’ve ultimately overcome the heliophobia. I don’t know how but I guess it was a mixture of maturing, taking physics classes, and jumping on the route of carelessness. And as I conquered that irrational fear of the sun, my summer style emerged as well. Perhaps because I have only been searching and not buying anything remotely summery, so I’ve had plenty of time to digest my potential likes and dislikes. For instance, I found out that I have a thing for rompers, which is a nice man repelling alternative to dresses. Hence no worries about accidental upskirt peeks! Yay!

From left: A.P.C. washed denim romper, Organic by John Patrick liberty romper, Sun-San salt water sandals

For summer, I’ve already got my hands on two rompers, though I know I shouldn’t have ordered them online as I didn’t try them on prior to buying – which would’ve been impossible anyway. Although I ordered both in the smallest size, they turned out to be too big. Well, I wanted the A.P.C. one to be oversized and the size was fortunately spot on, but the size of the liberty printed romper is super misleading. The thing is …. there is a difference between an oversized, loose fit and the wrong size. Vanity sizing? It surely looks like an attempt at inaccurately labeling clothing sizes to appeal to people’s egos. Tsk-tsk…

When it comes to sandals, I can’t even recall the last time I wore a pair. But now I know what I like and I’ve stumbled across so many great pairs that I don’t know what to do. However, I ended up getting a pair of Sun-San salt water sandals for the beach which I’ll be wearing in the meantime, while figuring out which pair of sandals I want. The salt water ones are quite cheap, and rumor has it that they will last for years.

And as for beachwear, I’m also searching for the perfect swimsuit for summer. It’s so difficult to find a simple and flattering one for the beach that doesn’t cost a grand. I’ve checked out the bathing suits from American Apparel but I find most of them overtly sexy. I don’t know with you, but going to the beach solely means swimming in the sea to me, not seduction or sunbathing. Still, I only have ONE bikini that works in terms of style and cut, which I bought when I was thirteen and rebelled against my parents who refused to buy me a bikini instead of professional swimsuits. Eight years later, it still fits me perfectly. The mind boggles…

I’m off to a short and spontaneous solo trip to Mallorca next week, as I’ve got a big two weeks long gap in-between my two exams. Well, it’s totally work-related. Luckily, my purchases, so far, arrived in time for summer and I’m hoping to fill the holes in my wardrobe in Mallorca. If you have some nice restaurant recommendations, please let me know!

Feel free to share your musings on summer style!

Looking back… and forward

38
29.04.12

via veronicabeard.com

Now, facing one and a half months of exams, it suddenly struck me that I’ve never been as calm, cool and collected before despite the fact that I’m way behind the syllabus. Another self-proclamation here: Queen of procrastination. Yet I’m totally embracing this state of mind as I finally have a few days to catch up on reading at my own pace.

Just finished my first, and somewhat unplanned, semester of school. I’ve never undergone such an intense semester before and I think it’s the ideal warm-up for university down the road. In retrospect, I didn’t really study that much on my own. All the lessons, study groups and traveling back and forth to school were quite time-consuming, so in the end I didn’t really have the time or energy for the labor-intensive workload of mine. So… I probably have to retake some of the exams, but whatever, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Most importantly, this semester got me thinking of how I want my next semesters to be like: I’ll be opting for quality over quantity. As with anything else in life, it takes a bit of trial and error to get things adjusted accordingly. I’m still young, and I just realized that I ought to stop comparing myself to my peers, who are finishing their bachelors next year, if I want to be one step closer to my goals – even though it sometimes feels as if I’m moving backwards, not forwards. Sure, it will take a few years till I’ve attained the score I need for med school or clinical nutrition, but if I take things slowly I’ll get there faster. As cliché as it sounds, I still have my entire life before me and this is only the beginning. So I’m not rushing into anything. And one’s age isn’t an indication of success. Cutting down on the amount of classes and study groups so that I can seize all the prospective opportunities, beside studying science, sounds like a stellar plan to me. Because I’m a freaking restless person. On top of that, giving up on writing and contributing to magazines is not an option though I’ve basically put my life on hold since January. I’ve always loved writing, albeit I cannot see myself doing journalism for a living, simply as there are so many other things I want to do.

And speaking of restlessness… I have an incredibly amazing summer to look forward to while also being productive, thanks to the sometimes inconvenient restlessness. It’s downright my kind of motivation to stay the course. Totally unplanned, it was just on the spur of the moment that I decided to journey this summer. Well, I already had tickets for Paris but I was supposed to make money this summer, not spend them. But what the heck, I want to have fun! So I sat down, drew a quasi-map of all the likely destinations, and booked the cheapest flight tickets available a couple of days after that sudden, yet brilliant idea popped in my head.

So right after my last exam, the worst one, I’ll be traveling to Barcelona for the Sonar festival with some friends from France. I’m looking forward to late summer nights on the patio accompanied by magnificent music, friends, food, and wine – just picture all the lovely scenes from Kinfolk magazine. Then I’ll be heading to the south of Norway for the Hove festival (watch out for a giveaway soon). It was awesome last year, so there’s no doubt I’m going back. Following the festival, I’ll be travelling for three weeks in a row. First I’ll spend a couple of days in Copenhagen, then a week in Berlin, and after I’ll go to the Côte d’Azur, mainly Nice. Can’t wait to take the train from Nice to Monte Carlo, Grasse, Antibes, and Cannes, which I’m dying to explore. Then I’ll be visiting my beloved family and friends in Paris before going back to school. And although my summer looks a bit packed now, I’m trying to fit in a trip to Pisa and Forte Dei Marmi in Tuscany where I’ll be visiting Leen Hilde and surfing on the waves.

Needless to say, it’s going to be one of these holidays where you practically do nothing aside from living in the moment while wearing no-nonsense, yet pretty clothes, as epitomized by the girl in the picture above and in this post by Hannah-Rose. And hopefully, I’ll find the inspiration to write more and fine-tune some of my potential write-ups. Anyway, I can deal with my summer fantasies later. In the meantime, I’ll study hard. Best of luck to all of you who are in the same boat. And please let me know if any of you are renting out flats/private rooms or host travelers in Barcelona, Berlin, or Pisa.