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soundofseventeen · 5 years

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Just Out of Reach (Lee Jihoon)

After major writer’s block, I have returned with the next installment of SS. I’m also juggling many projects so you shall see what I have next! Also our account turned one year yesterday so thanks to everyone who’s been with us!! i own nothing!!! -Bee

Word count: 6086

Masterlist

He may have been neither been prim nor proper, but no one could say that Jihoon wasn’t punctual. All he needed was a time and place, and it was a guarantee he’d show up almost an hour beforehand. (Though, he could easily blame the anxiety wired part of his brain for that.) While handy, it often became an inconvenience when something was either cancelled or postponed. In light of recent events, however, he’d been showing on the dot or a even a minute or two late. (He knew the timer meant a life changing event; why else would he have it?) The calculator in his peripheral vision blinked a couple times in hopes of getting is attention then turned off. It’s not like he noticed it anyways. His neglected math assignment, along with other stray sheets of paper, had fallen to the floor when someone (Chan) opened the door and a gust of wind blew in. He sighed, falling to his knees and picked them up slowly, unsure where his mind had gone. The younger boy had already beat him to picking everything up, but by the time he registered it, Wonwoo had also shown up at his usual spot at the table and took out his own assignments wordlessly.

“Long day?” He asked the older boy, thanking Seungcheol for their coffees.

He huffed, ranting about how his physics professor had misplaced his midterms for the third time this month, calling out their bullshit and scalding his tongue from the caffeine. “Alright, maybe I deserved that,” he relented. “How was your weekend?”

“Not any more exciting than yours.” He didn’t mention how his plan ended up with him missing a bus by a few seconds all because he had tripped over his laces and how he now wore slip ons. The timer on his wrist slowly ticked down for whatever was meant to happen. Though math was never his strong suit and since discovering how to convert the number of days into hours and minutes, he learned very quickly, and becoming something of a math genius. “And how is that whole tattoo removal thing going for you?”

Wonwoo rolled his eyes at the question, clearly not wanting that attention on him. “When I find someone who’s willing to remove this thing, I’ll let you know.” With that, he took another sip, ending the discussion. Instead, he waved at the boss from the flower shop next door and Seungkwan who walked next to her, pinkies linked and giggling at whatever they were talking about.

“You know, one day you might actually find your soulmates if you stepped foot anywhere else but here,” Jeonghan’s many greats grandmother scolded them. “They’re not coming in here anytime soon.”

Jihoon opted to humor her, a wry smile appearing on his face. “And where do you think we should go Auntie?”

“Explore my dear boy! Nothing good ever comes from staying in one place. Where is that- Jeonghan let’s move! That boy I swear.”

With your gloved hand, you waved excitedly at Soonyoung who was more focused on riding out the wave but once he caught sight of you, lost his concentration (and balance), thus falling off his surfboard and let the ocean swallow him whole and spitting him out onshore a few seconds later.

“Y/N!” He greeted happily, forgetting he was soaked to the bone and grabbing you for a bear hug. “What brings you here for a visit?”

“Uh, you texted me and asked if I was free?” You began wringing your shirt.

“ Yah! That was two hours ago! How do you know I didn’t have to go to Teipei or Osaka after you ignored me?”

You smiled at him. “You are Kwon Soonyoung, rescuer of all sea animals. You wouldn’t dare leave your reserve unless it’s absolutely necessary. Now, you know I’ve missed you and all, but you owe me a dry set of clothes and some water.”

About half an hour later, you were having lunch at a conspicuous fast food restaurant, indulging on some fries while he filled you in on his latest adventures ranging from an investment that’ll increase shark population by 15% to actually swimming with the sharks in Australia. The way he spoke so animatedly and so passionately about the wildlife often made you wonder if you were making a difference in what you did. You may have both been heirs, but the foundation he was working on was his pride and joy, something he built on his own whereas Universe Factory was technically passed down to you, sans the name.

His cold hand touching your gloved wrist brought you back to the moment, but you couldn’t bring yourself to pull away. “What?”

“Have you figured this thing out yet?”

“Not yet. I know it was at seven seconds like not too long ago.” You removed the glove and let him see the newest numbers. Soonyoung was one of the few people you trusted, not because he was one of your only friends (but that was a factor, why would you lie?) but also because curious as he was, he didn’t try to throw you on a plane to see the best scientists in the country and explain this. “What are you thinking?”

He shook his head. “I’m just-how does this work? Does it like malfunction when you get it wet or what? Or is it timing you for something?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve showered a million times and it doesn’t do anything.” You sighed. “I’m sure it’s a timer though. Why else would it count down.”

“I don’t wanna freak you out but what if it’s telling you how long you have until you-”

“What? Die?” It was your turn to shake your head. “I’ve thought about it, but it doesn’t seem likely. Remember the train tracks?”

“Which you swore we would never speak of again and look what you’re doing now.” He rubbed his arm. “I just got chills, look.” (You’d been taking pictures on the tracks when the whistle starting blowing and when you started racing to get off, one of your feet got stuck between the rails and while you weren’t sure how it happened, Soonyoung managed to pull you just before it passed. The funny thing was that that incident didn’t alter the countdown.) “Maybe it’s only a matter of time until you lose your sanity,” he joked.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” You ate in silence for a few minutes before your curiosity got the best of you. “Have you heard anything for Jun?” (One of the perks in being considered part of the elite was being in on things, but your own informant had nothing to give you on your royal friend.

“Personally, no, but one of my sources say he’s okay at the moment. Currently somewhere in Tokyo. You worried?”

“It’d be nice to hear from him directly.”

“Y/N, he’s fleeing an arranged marriage from someone who doesn’t wanna better the country. That’s better than him suffering. Now, no more depressing thoughts. Tell me more about your art museum. I know you have more ideas for the place. And if not, let me tell you about this really neat retreat we’re having soon.”

Saturday afternoon, he found Wonwoo, Hansol and his “soulmate” waiting for him at Adequate Eternity. They’d planned a small get together before heading to Universe Factory but they had time to kill so they went inside. One thought that didn’t escape his mind was whether it’d be more bearable to endure the heat the couple in front of them radiated if they weren’t touching or to deal with them constantly touching. He wasn’t bitter or anything; he just didn’t need the reminder that maybe, just maybe soulmates could be real. Or that the single life sucked. A lot. He needed a job or something that distracted him from that. But if someone could call him back, that’d be great. He snuck a peek at Wonwoo who was glaring at his arm and almost laughed. He had forgiven his best friend, despite the words that had nearly wrecked their friendship. It was, like many things, out of Wonwoo’s control. Now, whoever spoiled it for him, is another story.

“Hi guys!” Seungkwan called out to them and walked over, holding his own soulmate’s hand, and reminding Jihoon that being single was nothing short of torture. Granted, he wasn’t the lovey dovey type, but it was still nice to have someone next to him. Someone that wasn’t Wonwoo. “Busy day?”

Vernon shook his head. “Just heading out in a bit to the museum. This one-” glancing affectionately at his soulmate, “-said something about half price so why not. You guys?”

“Just taking a stroll. Hey, you guys wanna see something neat? Should we show them?” He proceeded to let go of his soulmate’s hand and walked away. “You see my ring, right?” He shook his hand a couple of times. “Now you don’t. And look who has it.” They spent a few minutes showing the table that the ring could never be lost and though there wasn’t a logical explanation for what Jihoon saw, he had to admit he was impressed, if not slightly disgusted at how cute it was.

After reluctantly saying goodbye to the happy couple, they made their way to Universe Factory. Hansol had momentarily left to buy the tickets, making them uncomfortable with the heat they radiated (said something about not wanting to make his soulmate’s roommate feel weird about it.) and it was only until after they entered the building that they held hands again and the temperature stablized.

Jihoon had only been here a handful of times prior to the reopening but he had to admit that he liked the renovations so far. He hadn’t personally met the boss, but he could tell art was definitely a passion. He knew that if he wanted to escape Wonwoo in the near (or distant!) future, this would be his getaway. However, he felt the place to be much too quiet. He could hear the whispers between the hipsters and the critiques tearing apart certain pieces and even he knew this place was more of a solstice to the lost souls, not some cocktail party and bidding on the highest pieces of some upcoming Pablo Picasso or any of the artist’s himself. He needed something to drown out the negativity. Something like, “A piano.”

“What?” Wonwoo turned his head curiously at the boy.”

“Nothing.” He shook his head. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud. But a piano would sound nice. Plug it in to some speakers somewhere and it could fill the place with music. He stared at his timer for the first time that day. The day was rapidly approaching when this something would happen, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait.

You thanked the taxi with a flick of your gloved hand, staring at the art museum in front of you and the newest blueprints at your side. If everything went according to schedule, you’d be able to finish the Van Gogh inspired room by the end of the week and start your next task...though that was something you’d rather not deal with.

Ever since your parents had deemed you responsible (and old) enough to pass on their art museum to you, the transition of a spoiled child to an actual heir tending to a business became a sort of wake up call to you. You weren’t crazy about it at first, since you liked doing things that didn’t involve rules, regulations, a time frame, or commitments.You had rather been boarding a plane at any given moment and visiting a new place for days, even weeks on end than scheduling a meeting about signing over rights and who no longer had a say in anything first thing in the morning. It wasn’t your dream, not at first. Who’d want to spend money to see pictures? And at those ridiculous prices? It was no wonder you put the pieces together so quickly as to why you your allowances were cut off and you needed start making your own money: filing for bankruptcy was on the horizon.

After the legal rights to pass on the museum to you were approved, they left and you hadn’t really seen much of them, which left you to fend for yourself. You had to sell a few of your designer bags, outfits, shoes and unused cosmetics, but eventually, The Wonder Emporium reopened under Universe Factory and from there, you continued to build a legacy under your name. You lowered prices to a fairer level, thus bringing in more customers than you had ever hoped and even expanding the place. Once you had set your eyes on the works of The8, you fell in love with the arts overall. Renovations began and soon you found yourself flying all over Asia trying to not only to find his works to add to your growing collection but you collected others from those who had potential under the condition that they had the belief of all humans having rights regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and so on. Those you employed and contacted were no exception. In the short time you had taken charge, you dropped businesses, employees and anyone who so much as looked at anyone wrong. (You drew the line at discrimination, especially when it had come to a boy you knew as Hansol from word of mouth of one of your employees.) Everything seemed to be running smoothly, but now you had a meeting to attend to and

“Mingyu! Thank you for waiting! I’m so sorry I’m late! I just got carried away, and you know how it is.”

“No worries Y/N. It won’t be the last time either, I can assure you that.” He laughed. “What are we working on next?”

“Okay, I know we just reopened the place, but one of my new employees suggested we add a kinda like rec room for artists to show their works in progress, but also for anyone who wants to start doing it.” You unrolled one of the blueprints. “How much further back do you think we can go back until the city threatens to shut me down?” You joked. Looking down on the floor you noticed a silver band just near the table. You picked it up and stuffed it in your pocket, reminding yourself to ask the staff if they had lost something recently. (You knew it wasn’t Mingyu’s. His was on his pinkie finger, glimmering brightly against the fluorescents.)

Mingyu studied it carefully and quietly, taking out his calculator and ticking his fingers. He pulled out his pencil, writing out measurements, only to erase them when he did the math wrong. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?” He finally spoke without looking up. He changed a few of the numbers on your thing and circling the final number.

You made a face. “Surprise me.”

“Okay, we probably won’t be able to make it any wider without violating any laws, but we could make it a few stories higher, turn that unused attic into the room or even turn that into your office.” He removed his glasses. “Now the bad news is that this’ll go over the budget you’ve given me, so you might have to talk to your bank and your accountant to negotiate some things.”

“I-uh fired my accountant,” you admitted sheepishly.

Elbow on the table, he placed his thumb and middle finger on his temples and managed to let out a little laugh, despite his obvious frustration. “Y/N, this is the third one. What’d this one do now? Step on a puppy’s tail and kicked it to the side?”

“No, uhh, I went to go take them some receipts that I had forgotten here and well he made one of the secretaries cry for not getting some time cards in on time. So now, yikes. I’m sorry Mingyu.”

“I’m sorry Y/N, but I can’t do anything until you can make sure you can do this without falling into debt. You might have money now but at the rate you’re spending, it’s gonna be long gone before you start making profit.”

You stared at your timer, hoping for an answer or even just a clue. It counted down seven days.

“No, no. That’s fine,” Jihoon spoke to the other person on the other end of the line as he walked inside Babylon. “Thank you anyways. Uh-huh. Thanks, you too. ‘Bye.” He hung up. “Asshole.”

“You rang?” Joshua joked, popping between one of the aisles. He happily arranged a section of teddy bears, plopping a few to the side in case he decided to cave and buy them. “Everything okay Ji?”

“I’m quickly running out of money and I don’t have a job,” he made a face. “Go figure. Everywhere I apply, it’s the same thing: I’m either not qualified or I don’t have the work experience. I’m about to quit life and head back home. Maybe I can make use of myself there.” Though, he escaped Busan for that same reason. He left Joshua in his spot in hopes of finding a second hand guitar since his took a tumble off the fridge and smashed into little bits. (It took him maybe 15 minutes to remove all the splinters except for one that kept heckling his pinkie finger and irritating him more because his ring usually helped with something like that but he figured he misplaced it again.) He needed a job and fast. Maybe he could ask Auntie Jihye for potion or a spell or something to give him quick cash, not that he’d believe it but because it gave him some kinda hope.

“You’ll be fine,” Joshua reassured him appearing to fix up the teapots. “Everyone deals with this. Maybe look in the area to see where they’re hiring. I know you’re not exactly stoked to work around so many people but sometimes you have to sacrifice that for a few won.”

“Or I can end up throwing staplers at people who don’t know how to mind their own business...and possibly a restraining order from that.” He was ready to drop the subject and noticing the lack of eye bags on his friend’s face, he’d rather choose a more familiar concept. “So, um, how are you and your…‘soulmate’?” (It baffled him to think how not too long ago they were nothing but comforting faces and now they practically bared their souls to each other...well when he and Wonwoo were apart. Vernon’s soulmate managed to get him a job working at a restaurant.)

Joshua shrugged. “We’re good, I guess? She’s interested in someone right now so she tells me about it in our dreams.”

“So you haven’t seen her?”

“Not physically, but the nightmares stopped…unless one of us says the wrong thing and it pisses the other off.” He shuddered at a distant memory, subconsciously feeling for his ear.

“So are you like the only ones that aren’t dating?”

“No. Just because we’re soulmates or whatever doesn’t mean anything. It’s like saying since you and I became friends, you’re now obligated to spend all your time with me. We tried hanging out after work hours but we stopped.” A loud clattering interrupted the boys making them both jump and who else but the great Auntie Jihye stepped into view a moment later, and Joshua nodded in understanding. “Now to see what my lovestruck coworker broke.” He smiled fondly. “Last time, I managed to convince our boss that a company shipped us some vases that were already broken.” He bowed politely at Jihye and excused himself.

“Dear boy, why the long face? You look even more sour than usual.” She tickled his cheek tenderly and rather than flinching away, Jihoon let her. “I can see it in your eyes something’s bothering you.”

“I’m just tired Auntie. I’m thinking about going home.”

“I know this old lady bores with all her nonsense talk, but would you like to hear a piece of advice? Or rather, what I can see in your future if you stay?” She grabbed Jihoon’s hand without warning, and pushed up the long sleeve that concealed his torture instrument. “This is the key to the life you’ve been dreaming about. All you have to do is be patient, my dear. If you go, your regret will eat you alive.” She dug around her purse and pulled out a flier. “What you need is to get out. See the coast, smell the sea, and hear the marine wildlife. Then you can decide what you wanna do.”

“You know, when I said I owed you one, this isn’t what I had in mind.” You stared at the ship hesitantly, already feeling the seasickness hit you.

“Oh come on, we’re whale watching, not taking the blood samples for the stingrays. After all, who hooked you up with the accountant that met the delicate Y/N’s standards?” Soonyoung glanced pointedly at you. “And has forgiven you for being late...again? Besides, you missed your best friend, aka me.”

“Soonyoung, you are my only friend,” you sighed when he did a silent yes and a small fist pump. “How much longer until we get into this death trap?”

“As soon as everyone gets here. And before you ask what you’re supposed to do until then, I suggest you get yourself into more comfortable clothes. Ask someone to take you to my office.I had the clothes you brought last time washed and dry cleaned. And knowing you, I got you some thicker gloves. I don’t think you’ll need my assistance until we actually see some whales.” He shooed you along so he could finish whatever it was and with a sigh you left him to his devices.

He had just finished loading food and beverages when you came back looking like you had just seen a ghost, he jumped back. “Give me a warning next time. Shit, I could’ve died right here and then my blood would’ve been on your hands. What’s wrong now? I promise we don’t harm the animals in the lab. We just need to see if they’ve been consuming plastic or any other dangerous materials-”

You held your arm out, peeling away the glove. “It’s today,” you managed to get out. “This morning it said I had more time, but when I was getting dressed, the time changed significantly.” This had happened before but this was the first time you were actually freaking out because it never changed that drastically. A couple of minutes or hours yes, but almost four days was new to you. “Soonyoung, what do I do?”

“You can either walk away now and worry about it the whole time until you get home or you can momentarily forget this and have some fun with me, your best friend that you don’t see enough.” He batted his eyelashes. “Of course you could move in with me full time and I would still think that. But that’s not the point here. I’m just saying don’t let this thing dictate your life and question your every move.Just enjoy your day here You didn’t have to open today; you left Mingyu to work on your thing. Just relax. Now...the guests, tourists, customers, whatever you wanna call them are coming.” He started boarding the ship, his hand extended towards you. “And what are you gonna do?”

You inhaled deeply, letting the oxygen try to settle your nerves and brain in one hit and after a moment, took his hand and let him help you up. “Let’s do this thing.”

“That’s my best friend,” he mock sobbed before sobering up quickly. “If you want, you can stay in one of the back seats. A lot of passengers who get nauseous quickly say it isn’t as bad. I will be in the front giving the tour, obviously but I got you a cow bell that you can shake if you need my attention. Any questions?”

“Can I go sit down? I’m not used to so much rocking?” Of course, he laughed at you the whole time he was escorting you, and once you sat down, you rested your elbow on the railing, your fingertips touching your forehead and you breathed deeply. You loved the ocean, mind you, but you preferred swimming in it over being on top of it. How Soonyoung did this daily, you didn’t know but you commended him nonetheless. Not much later, you began hearing various voices in different languages as they took their spots and your idiot friend greeting everyone brightly. The boat had yet to stop rocking and the wind filled your nostrils with the brine and all you could do was try to not bolt. And even if you tried, you would’ve been trapped with whoever you sat next to you, making leaving impossible. The ringing in your ears didn’t help either, but you managed to look up at all the passengers that gathered up for the watch as Soonyoung began the introductions and so on.

“You okay?” The boy next to you asked.

You nodded. “I’m just not used to being on boats.”

“Me too. I get sick really fast so I push you away, I warned you. Also, I’m sorry if I talk a lot. I do that when I’m nervous.”

“It’s okay. If you have questions, you can ask me. I’m not as gifted as Soonyoung-” you pointed to the eager boy emphasizing whatever point he was making with his hands, “-with his knowledge, but there are some things that stuck with me.” The beeping in your head didn’t stop but you managed to ignore it, albeit you had to cover one of your ears and shake your head.

“You know Soonyoung?” He poked his own ear. “That’s cool.”

“At this point, I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.” You tugged on your gloves. “He dragged me here so I could get away from the work life and enjoy the mammals doing their own thing. He’d probably have me scooping out jellyfish if I had said no to coming.”

“No kidding? One of my aunts gave me a flier to come here because I was stressed out.” He shook his arm to lower his sweater and covered his hand completely. “I’m thinking of maybe going home after I finish this semester. I find a job but I thought one last outing would be fun.”

“Where do you live?”

“In Seoul. I don’t know if you’ve been there, but it’s beautiful. There’s a remote part of it where there aren’t as many people but it’s like a whole other world. There’s like something that pulls you to come in and not leave. Kinda like magic.” He stayed quiet, thinking if he should say more. “My favorite place is a coffee shop called Adequate Eternity. The old lady who owns the place is weird but she’s welcoming.”

“Mmm, I think I went there once, but I had forgotten my card at the bank and by the time I went back, I had just finished a shit ton of meetings. The life of a business person is never ending. An employee of mine swears that the coffee gives her magic powers.”

“I second that. I’m Jihoon, by the way.”

“Y/N,” you smiled at the strange boy, trying to remember where that name rang a bell.

“What do you do Y/N? You sound busy and if you’re friends with someone like Soonyoung, it’s probably just as important.”

“I mean I don’t save the planet, but I own an art museum in Seoul. Universe Factory. I bring paintings and portraits to those who can’t leave.”

“No way! I was there last week! It looks better than before. I mean, it looked nice the old way too but now it looks more complex, the way art should be. I saw Kim Mingyu and his crew inside. Are you adding more to it.”

It shouldn’t have surprised you that he knew Mingyu but it did and you brushed it off. “I wanna add an extra story to it so anyone who wants to try out their hand at drawing or whatever it is they do, will be more than welcome to.”

“So you’re saving people then. That’s really neat.”

Pretty soon you and Jihoon were engaged in a full blown discussion involving the arts, future plans you had for the place and what you hoped could become something of a legacy. Despite the beeping you couldn’t pinpoint (since it seemed to be coming from everywhere), you enjoyed yourself, forgetting the fact you were easily seasick and that Soonyoung was ready to come to your rescue if you needed it. But you’d even forgotten you were whale watching until the mist sprayed you and even then you continued your conversations. It only ended once the tour was over and you exchanged numbers over the possibility of him coming to work for you over the suggestion of having live music and him modestly admitting he played a few instruments and the promise of you getting in touch with the person who had an impressive display of The8’s nature stuff. Minimum wage was the best you could do for now but he jumped onboard because it was better than no job and left with nothing but a wave. It was only when he left you remembered the airhead heir who was finishing up putting everything away and him smiling evilly at you that you punched his shoulder.

“Look at you making friends.”

“Employees,” you corrected. “He gave me a good idea and what better way to give someone credit than hiring them?” The sea gulls’ piercing caws reminded you of something. “Hey, did you find out where that beeping was coming from? It was hard to concentrate on anything else and it gave me a headache. I don’t know if you can still hear it. Watch, listen.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” he said after a moment of silence. “It was probably just part of your nerves. But I’ll check with my crew to see if there was anything wrong in the lower decks if you’re hearing it from out here.”

Changing back into your regular clothes, you tried remembering where and why that particular sound irritated you. It brought back the flashbacks of you trying to read quietly and someone’s watch going off as you were getting absorbed in the storyline. It was even more annoying when several others went off at similar intervals as if they were timing the beeping. Timing, countdown, timer...you removed your gloves, gasping audibly when you saw perfect zeros on your wrist. But how-you’ve been on boats and ships several times and it never happened. What could you have possibly done out of the ordinary that triggered it? The only thing that happened was meeting Jihoon, and come to think of it, the beeping started when he sat next to you.

Slowly, you tried putting the pieces together as you dove out of the dressing room, skidding to find Soonyoung... no not him, because what if maybe, you were supposed to meet Jihoon all this time? After all, what were the odds of being in the same part of the city so many times and how likely was the possibility of just missing each other? You thought back to every time the timer was in its last few seconds only to change just as something else popped up. What if he’s the mythical- “Soulmate!” It made sense after all. You’d read a few books arguing they hadn’t completely vanished. The8’s newest painting is rumored to be based on a pair of soulmates he heard about. But you? Having a chose one? Could that even happen? And that damn beeping was getting loud again. You just wanted to shut it off, but how? How?!

“Y/N, watch out!” A hand locked onto your wrist, pulling you back just as a car sped by. In an instant, three pups on the street pranced happily around your feet and that of your savior yipping and licking at your shoes until their owner called them individually as past, present and future. They barked excitedly once more before they walked away, disappearing right before your eyes. “Are you okay?” Jihoon asked. “I was over there, getting some coffee and I saw you. You looked dazed, and I called you.”

You looked at him, really looked at him. He didn’t even look remotely bothered or amazed that the scariest moment of both your lives happened so casually. Did he even know? Not responding, you pulled up the sleeve that wasn’t rolled down.

“Hey! What are you d-” He cut himself off when you showed him exactly what was going on in your head. And the ringing? Finally stopped.

“My, my! I did not expect this to happen today!” An older woman clapped giddily, breaking whatever trance had happened between you and Jihoon. “Jeonghan! It finally happened! I told you!”

“Are you guys ready?” You asked the crowd excitedly. Well, crowd wasn’t exactly the right word. It was a small gathering of the people you and Jihoon knew...mostly Jihoon. You had only invited Soonyoung and Mingyu (who was currently sporting a sprained wrist, which he swore up and down he didn’t do) for the unveiling. Jihoon, introverted as he was, took it upon himself to ask everyone he knew to come along. You’d met Wonwoo, his best friend; and with Wonwoo came his friend Hansol who had a soulmate that couldn’t be separated unless everyone wanted to be burned alive. With Hansol’s soulmate came your employee (small world!) He also invited his friend Joshua who apparently also had a soulmate, but they didn’t spend time together, so he brought his friend who also worked alongside him at a thrift store. You also met Seokmin, the boy had taken your call when placing an order for the reopening. He came along with Seungkwan who had also had a soulmate literally bound together by a red string. (And you ended up making a deal with her too that would benefit the museum and her growing collection.) And lastly, he brought along Chan, Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Auntie Jihye, the kind lady who explained that Jihoon was in fact your soulmate. You never imagined something like this but it made sense.

With everyone’s eager nods, you proudly opened the velvet curtain, displaying the room dedicated to the one that made you fall in love with art: The8. Since he had the biggest room, you had taken it upon yourself to put a piano there and it was where Jihoon was pouring his heart out as he hit the keys. The idea of finding his soulmate still made him kinda skeptical but it didn’t weird him out like before. It’d take just a bit more faith for him to actually make him believe. And he got along famously with Soonyoung which helped his case. You had finally returned the missing ring to him, something he didn’t even know he lost until you presented it to him, further proving to him that maybe some things science has no explanation for.

“I’ll be right back,” your best friend excused himself, putting his phone away. You nodded at him, entertaining your guests, feeling just a bit more complete than when you had ever felt. You finally made some new friends, found out you weren’t so strange after all (though that timer reset, and gave you an estimated timeframe of your next milestone with Jihoon). “I hope you don’t mind,” Soonyoung said when he came back, “but I invited someone else.”

“Might as well bring him in,” you shrugged heading to Jihoon who looked just as happy as you felt in that moment. You scratched his head absently, letting his music seep into your soul.

“Great! Hey Hao, you can come in now!”

Jihoon’s fluid movements came to an offkey halt as his guest none other than the great The8 entered the room shyly but with a powerful undertone that demanded attention and pulled you next to him so you could compose yourself. Jihoon was quickly learning just how unpredictable your best friend was and all he could do was throw his arm around you and laugh at your shocked expression.

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aupairadventures · 6 years

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A Broke Girl’s Guide to Budgeting on an Au Pair's Salary

Let’s be honest: Money can be quite stressful for any young traveler or au pair. I don’t know a single au pair who hasn’t said “I’m so broke right now” sometime within the last month. For us au pairs, trying to save money, pay for necessary expenses, and travel all at the same on a salary of 80 euros a week is no easy task. While I’m certainly no financial expert, I feel that I have learned a lot about budgeting during the past six months. I wanted to share with you the different tips and tricks that I’ve learned, and I hope that it’s useful to some of my fellow au pairs and young travelers. Without further ado, here are 5 tips for keeping a budget and saving money while working as an au pair.

(Keep in mind that this article is based on my own personal experience and that each au pair’s experience can be different!)

Start saving money and planning out your finances before you go abroad:

Before you hop on that plane and fly to the other side of the globe, I highly recommend planning out everything money-related ahead of time. When searching for your host family, remember to ask lots of questions about your salary and payment: How much will you be paid? Will you be paid weekly or monthly? What expenses will your host family cover, and what will your responsibilities be? It’s a good idea to make sure that all of this information is detailed in your contract and that you discuss this with your host parents.

Before you set off for your au pairing adventure, get clear about all of the expenses that you will have and how you plan to cover them. Au pairs will usually have to cover the cost of their plane tickets, some visa costs, activities during their free time, and travel during vacations. Au pairs will also sometimes be responsible for covering the cost of their language classes and tickets for public transportation, but it depends on your individual agreements with your host family.

From what I’ve seen, most au pairs are paid a salary of about 80 euros a week/320 euros a month. And of course, since au pairs live with their host family, they will cover the cost of lodging and feeding you. Your host family should also cover any costs of the activities that you do with the children.

Before you start working as an au pair, ask yourself these questions: What costs am I going to be responsible for and what will my host family cover? How am I going to cover these costs? How much money do I want to save for going out and doing fun things during my free time? How much money do I want to set aside for traveling throughout the year? Will I use my weekly salary to cover these costs, or will I use money that I’ve previously saved? In my personal experience, I recommend using money that you’ve previously saved to pay for your plane tickets and language classes, and then using the money from your weekly au pair salary to pay for smaller expenses such as activities, public transportation costs, and travel. The money that I made working during my senior year of high school and last summer was enough to cover the cost of my plane tickets and language classes, so I highly recommend working and saving money before you start au pairing.

2) Have a side-hustle in addition to au pairing, (if possible):

While it might not be possible for all au pairs, working on the side is a great way to make some extra money. If your visa (or lack or visa, you lucky EU citizens) allows for it, you can apply for a part-time job that would allow you to work during your free time or during the day when your host kids are in school. Plus, this is also a great way for you to get some hands-on experience and practice the language that you’re learning. However, this is not possible for a lot of au pairs, myself included. If you have an au pair visa, you’re actually not allowed to have another job in addition to working as an au pair; the conditions of your visa forbids it! However, if you have a “working-holidays” visa or no visa at all, you’re all set to pick up another job!

Even if you aren’t allowed to have another job, you can find “under the table” work. For example, I currently am an English tutor and give lessons to several kids in the neighborhood. If you’re interested in doing this and live in France, I recommend a website called “Mes Voisins” (“My Neighbors”). This website allows neighbors to connect with each other and offer their services to other town residents. You can make a profile and post an announcement introducing yourself and offering to babysit or give lessons of your native language. This is a great way to make some extra cash, so I highly recommend giving it a try!

3) Travel smart and save money:

Nowadays, there are countless ways to save money while traveling. Exploring the world doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think! Here are all of the resources I use to save money while traveling:

Skyscanner: Okay, I know that you’ve all obviously heard of Skyscanner, but I just need to reinforce how incredible it is. When looking for plane tickets, this site should be the first place you go. You can find some ridiculously cheap tickets here. The only problem is that I’m a bit too obsessed with hunting for cheap flights and have accidentally spent hours on Skyscanner. However, all those hours have been worth it, because thanks to this website, I’ve been able to travel to some incredible places this year.

Volotea: If you’re traveling in Europe, this is another great website to use to find incredibly cheap plane tickets. When Volotea has sales, tickets can get as cheap as 10 euros! Wow!

FlixBus and OuiBus: Use these two websites if you’re looking for an extremely inexpensive way to travel, and don’t mind a looooong bus ride. While I haven’t personally used either of these, I’ve heard great things from my au pair friends.

OuiGo: Honestly, thank God for OuiGo. This company offers train rides at super low prices. Using OuiGo, I’ve been able to find one-way train tickets from Nantes to Paris for only 10 euros!

HostelWorld: For travelers on a budget, staying in a hostel in the way to go! Ellie and I used HostelWorld to find lodging when we traveled to Spain, and thanks to this website, we were able to find a great hostel. Our hostel was beautiful, the staff and our fellow travelers were so friendly, and it cost a fraction of what a hotel or an Airbnb would.

CouchSurfing: For travelers on an even tighter budget, look no further than CouchSurfing. Why? It’s completely free! How exactly does it work? Hosts with an extra room or couch can open their homes up to travelers, and it’s a great way to meet new people and experience a new place or culture with the help of a local. Okay, it might seem a little unconventional, but I’ve had a great experience using it. That’s how Ellie and I met Marc and Balint, our awesome French-Hungarian hosts in Seville, Spain.

While traveling, I also recommend trying to eat out less, as restaurants can get super expensive. I know I’ve said it a million times, but Monoprix picnics are honestly the best! If you’re staying for several days in one place, going grocery shopping and cooking your own meals will help you to save money. If you're staying in a hostel, make sure to check and see if they offer free breakfast. If so, definitely take advantage of that!

During your traveling adventures, try to plan out some low cost or free activities. One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to explore museums, which is a very cost-effective activity. Many museums in France offer reduced prices for students or people under 26. For example, the Louvre (aka one of the most incredible places in the world) is completely free for EU residents under 26. All you need to do is show your student/au pair visa, and you’re good to go!

4) Know when the best time is to go on a shopping spree:

I wanted to let you all in on a secret that I had no idea about before coming to France. In France, most stores have really great After-Christmas sales during January and February. But I mean like, really great sales. I’ve bought shirts from Bershka for 1 euro that were originally priced at 20. This is the best time to buy clothing or do a Hema run, so if there’s something that you really want to buy, wait until January!

5) Take a deep breath!

I don’t know about you, but spending money always makes me feel super stressed out. I hate looking at the bank app on my phone and seeing my account balance dwindle. I always feel much more at ease when I’m not spending any money at all and the number in my bank account isn’t budging one bit. But here’s the thing: being an au pair is honestly not about saving money. Your time au pairing should be about traveling, having fun, and making memories; not about stressing out about money and trying to be 100% financially responsible 24/7. Honestly, if your goal is walking away from your au pairing experience with a ton of money saved, 80 euros a week is not going to get you very far! So here’s my advice: Try your best to save money while traveling, plan out your finances, be a smart shopper, (as in don’t make the same mistake I did and accidentally spend 60 euros in SuperU on macaron baking ingredients), but also don’t stress out too much! Use this incredible opportunity to explore as much as you can and have the experiences that you’ve always dreamed of, and don’t let your financial stress get in the way.

#au pair #france #nantes #travel

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movingkeepmoving · 5 years

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Hello and welcome to Berlin, Germany! For many of you this will be your first stay here, so I’m trying to make things easy for you.

First things first: Phone code is +49 Police: 110 / fire brigade: 112 1€ is 100cts.

Be aware most places might not accept card as payment method; we’re pretty far behind on this; especially when it comes to music venues. Have some cash on you!

Safety:

Berlin is a huge city and compared to its size its fairly safe if you use common sense. No specific rules apply with the exception of public transportation and tourist areas where pickpockets are a problem. Watch your bags during rush hours, at larger train stations.

The police in Berlin are competent, not corrupt; therefore, if you try to bribe them you are likely to spend at least a night behind bars to check your background. They are generally helpful to tourists. Most of the officers are able to speak English, so don't hesitate to approach them if you are frightened or lost.

Although harmless, panhandlers have started to beg at local tourist spots such as Pariser Platz next to the Brandenburg Gate, Alexanderplatz and the Museumsinsel. They are usually women accompanied by their daughters who ask if you speak English and say that they are from the new EU countries and trying to raise money to fly home. The story is false, so don't give them money, which would encourage further exploitation of the women and their kids. They also have a new tactic where they hand you a card telling their "story" and asking for money; beware that the children that they carry in their arms will search through your bags while you are reading the card. The best way to avoid this is simply to ignore them and not to respond when they ask you "Speak English?" If you feel scared, don't hesitate to contact the police, as they will help.

ALOHOL / DRINKS IN GENERAL / SMOKING

You’re allowed to drink alcohol in the streets, beer and wine is legal from the age of 16, everything else from the age of 18. You’ll notice many people will buy their drinks in Spätis (late night corner shops) and drink them in front of those shops. You might find more people doing this than finding people drinking in bars, because our bars normally open in the evening time (and are closed before that - sorry to our friends from the UK!).

We have a deposit on cans and bottles, so please NEVER put them into any bin. Place them next to the bin if you don’t care about getting 0,08ct to 0,25ct back, as homeless people often rely on this „extra income“.

You’ll pay at least 1€ deposit on bottles/glasses in venues too - even if they’re plastic cups. Keep that in mind. You don’t pay a deposit in restaurants or bars.

Brining bottles into venue won’t be allowed, due the fact venues want to sell as many drinks as possible. It’s also not a common thing to request tab water in a music venue. They might charge you for the deposit.

Smoking weed is NOT legal in Berlin / Germany. Although there will be people around the RAW area trying to sell you stuff - I can’t recommend doing this, the police knows about the situation and often watches the side undercover. (Can’t tell you how many times I saw a catch me if you can situation around here) > Welcome to Berlin, you can actually smoke in most bars if they said they’re an 18+ venue. If you don’t smoke like me, this can be rather hell. If you’re a smoker: Welcome to paradise.

Apps you should consider to download:

Citymapper: This one actually works in a lot of big cities. I used it in New York, London and Boston before. With Citymapper you'll get all the options of getting from point A to B, including cabs, uber, walking distance, local transport, etc. It also shows you if the journey is accesible, if there are any disturbances and which carriage/entry/exit you should take for the fastest route.

Uber: If you want to take an Uber it's a bit different than in your city: Uber drivers are not allowed to use their own cars, but special black Uber cars. I haven't used Uber within Berlin so far yet. With the App you can also use the red e-bikes and red e-scooters branded with JUMP. If you're not an Uber Member yet, feel free to use the following link to sign up and get a 10€ balance for your first three rides: https://www.uber.com/invite/w1rzjd

FreeNow: If you want to use cabs, the easiest way ordering one via App is FreeNow. The app also works in different cities all over Europe and as there are more cabs than Uber cars within Berlin, this option might be faster than Uber. If you want to sign app with FreeNow, feel free to use the following link: (App currently not working)

Clever Shuttle: This app connects you with electric cars only, it works like a shared Uber (so you might have a stranger on your ride), but the other passengers will never see your destination (I heard that's different from Uber), so it's safer and you actually do something good about the environment to. If you want to try it, feel free to use the following code to sign up - you'll get a ballance of 10€: 9oxujh

Shared bike services: There are a handful of services offering a shared bike system; I’ve never used one of these besides the UBER/Jump one, so I can’t really tell how they’re working and if they’re expensive of not. If you want to do a little research yourself: Donkey Republic, Mobike, Deezer, Lime - are four providers who come directly into my mind. There are also some escooter services like Lime, Voi and Tier.

Happy Cow: You’re vegan and you want to check where you can grab some food or you’re looking for a vegan restaurant / vegan options / a vegan supermarket? Check out Happy Cow, - descriptions for all the places are usually in English!

When it comes down to food: Don't expect to get served tab water for free when you're at a restaurant. It's not a thing within Germany. We also don't do refills on soft drinks either. When ordering water, make sure you mention if you want to get it with or without gas, to avoid disappointment. (We live our fizzy water, folks!) It's a common thing to split the bill when you're having food with friends. We don't have the requirement to tip in restaurants and bars like in the US, but if you're satisfied 10% are the standard.

Local Transport / BVG

While BVG doesn't run S-Bahn or local trains, they are covered by the website and can be used with the same tickets.

BVG's customer service, ☏ +49 30 19449. If you don't know how to get somewhere, or how to get home at night, BVG's customer service number. Most U-Bahn and some S-Bahn stations have call points from which you can contact customer service directly.

Some BVG buses and tram lines run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

TicketsThe public transport system in Berlin (U-, S-Bahn, bus, tram, regional rail) uses a common ticket system based on zones (zone A, B and C). You are unlikely going beyond zone A and B, except on trips to Potsdam or to Schönefeld Airport (SXF). The border between zones A and B is the S-Bahn Ring (see here). Zone C includes trips to and within Potsdam.

The following tickets can be used for single journeys:

Single Ticket. The standard single journey ticket. It is valid for any travel within two hours of validation, in a single direction, within the appropriate fare zones. There is no limit to transfers. Return journeys are not allowed. Price: Berlin AB €2.80 (reduced €1.70); Berlin ABC €3.40 (reduced €2.50).

4-trip ticket (4 Fahrten Karte). This gives you 4 single trip tickets at a cheaper cost. Price: Berlin AB €9.00 (reduced €5.60). Short trip (Kurzstrecke).

For a single journey you can buy a cheap Kurzstrecke for €1.70, but this is only valid for 3 stops on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn (transfers permitted) or 6 stops on buses or trams (no transfers). The stations included in a short tip ticket are indicated on schedules posted at bus and tram stops.

Several options are available for unlimited travel: Day Ticket (Tageskarte). A day ticket for one person. Worth it if you are travelling more than two trips a day. Valid until 03:00 the next morning, not 24 hours! Price: Berlin AB €7 (reduced €4.70); Berlin ABC €7.70 (reduced €5.30).

Small Group Day Ticket AB (Kleingruppen-Tageskarte). A day ticket valid for up to five people. For groups of three or more, this ticket is cheaper than individual day tickets. Price: Berlin AB €19.90, Berlin ABC €20.80.

7-Day-Ticket AB (7-Tagekarte). A ticket valid for seven days. Price: Berlin AB €30, Berlin ABC €37.50.

Berlin CityTourCard. Ticket valid for all public transport services in Berlin, Potsdam and the surrounding area (depending on the covered zones) and a discount card for many tourist attractions; available in several different versions: 48 hours AB €17.40; 72 hours AB €24.50; 5 days AB €31.90. Add a few euros if you want to go to Potsdam (fare zone ABC). A folded leaflet with inner city map and an overview of the S-Bahn and U-Bahn railway networks of Berlin is included. Can be bought at ticket machines and various sales points (Berlin airports, larger train stations, hotels or online).

Berlin WelcomeCard. Unlimited travel with all methods of public transport for the validity of the ticket; save up to 50% on more than 200 tourist and cultural highlights; handy guide in pocket book format with insider tips and tour suggestions; city plan for Berlin and Potsdam and a network plan for public transport. Can be bought at various sales points (Berlin airports, larger train stations, hotels or online).

Tickets valid for only A and C are available as well, which you might need for a single trip to Schönefeld Airport from somewhat out of the way lodgings. There is only one way to get a ticket only valid in A: Deutsche Bahn offers "City Tickets" as an add-on for their long distance train tickets and in Berlin those are only valid for a single trip inside the A zone.

Reduced fares apply for children 6 to 14. Children under 6 ride free.

Purchasing tickets Tickets can be purchased in several ways. Upon arrival at the different Berlin airports, some tickets can be purchased at the tourist desk. All tickets are available at vending machines at the airports, U- and S-Bahn platforms, and passengers may also use the vending machines operated by DB at long-distance and regional railway stations to purchase the same. English and other European languages are available. You can also purchase them on the BVG app via Paypal/Credit Card, but unfortunately this app isn’t available in English yet.

Really important: Before the journey starts tickets must be validated by stamping them at the yellow or red boxes on the platforms, in buses or trams. In case of inspection, a ticket that is not stamped is invalid. (Nevertheless, if you buy a ticket directly from a bus or tram driver, it won't need stamping). Getting caught with an invalid ticket = 60€ fee; never pay this fee in cash; it’s illegal for ticket officers to charge you in cash!!

Arriving in Berlin

When arriving at Schönefeld Airport (SXF), you’ll need to buy a ticket that valid for all three zones (ABC) to get into the center. You can either buy a single ride ticket for ABC or you buy the ticket you think you’ll need for the time of your stay (7 day ticket or similar) for ABC and purchase an additinal ticket for the C zone (1,60€). You can take either a red Regional train or a S-Bahn into the city center; your ticket is valid in both. Just ask Citymapper for the next conncetion!

When arriving at Tegel Airport (TXL), you’ll need to take the bus (TXL Express) to get to the city center. Please note it’s a regular bus, not a special airport shuttle with lots of luggage space. So if you are a group or you have lots of lagguage, maybe think about sharing a cab or something similar. If you decide on taking the bus tho, Tegel is within the B zone, so you can just get your regular ticket. Also note, there are ticket machines and ticket offices at the airport, you might want to use them instead of getting your ticket from the bus driver. Take this bus to Berlin HBF / Berlin main station and continue your journey from here via train / bus.

What to do in Berlin during your stay? Here are my top 10 recommendations:

Ramones Museum: This place might be part of the official Lost Evenings programm as Flo (owner) and Frank know each other and Frank played a couple of times in their old location. They have a bar and serve breakfast, cake, coffee, and alcohol from 10 am til 10 pm. You’ll be able to purchase Ramones merch, you’ll be able to visit the Ramones Museum part and you’ll be able to check out all the photos and signatures of all the bands who played there or visited the place. It’s one of my favourite places, so you better be nice to the staff there (they all speak english really well!!)

Alexanderplatz: Don’t go up the TV tower! I’ll tell you my favourite secret spot: Go to the Park Inn hotel, go through their entrance, turn left and go straight to the lifts. Take the lift to the topmost floor and follow their signs to the terrace (you’ll have to climb 1-2 more floors on the stairs). You’ll pay 4€/person and you’ll get a wonderful view all over Berlin, directly in front of the TV tower in a height of 120m. There’s also a bar up there if you want a coffee or beer.

Eastside Gallery: When in Berlin, you need to see THE WALL, don’t you? There’s a huge part of the wall close to the Spree and close to the Lost Evening site. It’s called the Eastside Gallery and it’s painted by many different artists from all over. If you want to dig a bit more into history, you can take the M10 tram from Warschauer Straße (close to the Eastside Gallery) and take it all the way until Bernauer Straße. Here’s another huge part of the wall and some more info about it. And while taking the M10, you’ll have a great way of seeing different parts of Berlin on your way. But be aware, during the evening, this line becomes some kind of party train.

Brandenburg Gate / Holocaust Memorial / Reichstag / Siegessäule - These places are all located close to each other and you can easily reach them while starting from Berlin main station. They’re four of the most touristy places in the city, but if it’s your first time, you might wanna give it a go? You can also climb up the Staircase of Siegessäule to get a full panoramo view of the city; it’s worth it, but the staircase is super narrow and there’s no lift!

Museums Insel & Berliner Dom: Close to Alexanderplatz you’ll find the Museums Insel - and built in island with many museums, which I haven’t visited yet myself. But if you’re the museums person, you might wanna give it a go!? The Dom is close by and an impressive cathedral in the middle of the city.

Check Point Charlie: First time in Berlin? You probably want to get your photo taken in front of the world famous border crossing in Berlin. During the day you’ll find people dressed up as American Soliders in front of it too.

Flughafen Tempelhof: Visit the outdoor part of our now closed airport in the center of the city. The place of the famous Luftbrücke, where planes started to drop supllies into the East Berlin zone. There are tour through the aiport building, which you have to register for in advance, but you can walk freely on the airfield and you’ll see many people walking there during the day, or riding their bikes, or do any other sorts of sports. It’s a place for picnics, for haning around, it can be really lovely once the weather gets better.

tbc

#frank turner #fthc #lost evenings #prost evenings #berlin #germany

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adamthepastryguy · 5 years

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Growing up i had never heard of Harry Potter or the books or seen anything about it, until my teen years. My friend asked me to go with his nephew to see the film adaption when it first came out we saw thew 2nd one also. But afterwards cannot say i was a fan or planned to see the following ones and then i forgot about it for a few years.

Fast forward to a few years back Primark Launched a Harry Potter collection of items seeing them brought it back to my attention and i got a few items. I then finished watching all the films and had become interested vaguely. We were then going too Florida 2018 for my 30th and visiting Wizarding world of Harry Potter and all of a sudden i was super excited and kitted myself out in wizards glasses and a Gryffindor scarf and Backpack. I got myself a Chocolate frog and tried a Butterbeer.

After the holiday when we came back i uploaded the photos and then thought about going to the Harry Potter studio tour London. Since we had seen Universal why not see the one here. The price did put me off even more so for 4 of us would be nearly £200

I decided to book it for August 15th 2019 this was back in April time on my week holiday from work and then do a Harry Potter Afternoon Tea at the end of the week at home.

So it seemed ages till we were to go, until it creeped up and was almost time and i was so excited to go this time in my Hogwarts Jumper and i kitted the Family out with apparel also. We took a packed lunch in a Hogwarts Lunch bag of course! and some wands for photos.

We allowed some extra time for traveling to Leavesden Watford where it is at and got there early. So we mooched around the foyer and checked out the shop and cafes and the interactive huge panels on the wall before the tour began. And the HUGE DRAGON!

Of course i spent some money in the shop on Wizarding world sweets for my Tea.

And browsed the Chocolate Frog Cafe and The food Hall where you can go ice cream, Hot Chocolates and treats and some quick service meals.

Before you go into the tour make sure to grab a Passport from the info desk as you can get this stamped throughout the tour with different stamps and also search for hidden Golden Snitches. When it`s time for you tour for us it was 1.30pm join the line and you head into the tour with movie posters the Cupboard under the stairs and wait in line for 2 Cinematic experiences. Once this is over the Cinema screen magically lifts to reveal the cast member next to the Great Hall door and invites you all into the Hall.

This is the oldest set over 10 years old and huge

After you enter the cast member talks some more then you go your own way into the main tour. Approx about 3 hours or so is the estimated time to spend and was about the time we spent there. So much to see and watch via videos on screens and also listening to cast members talk about props and scenes. You can walk at your own pace and look around take photos and take it all in. Don`t forget to look out for the stamp machine and get your passport stamped on the right page.

The tour is divided into sections The HALL, FORBIDDEN FOREST, PLATFORM 9 3/4, GRINGOTTS, HOGWARTS

You are now halfway through the tour and get the option to have a break and snack at the Backlot Cafe and enjoy a Butterbeer/Icecream and some quick snacks.

We took A lunch bag and some Sandwiches but of course have to get a Butter Beer Ice cream and in a souvenir cup also! The Ice cream was massive seemed to never end.

My partner had never had a Butterbeer so i got him one to try. Me and my dad had some in the Leaky Cauldron in Universal and mum didn’t care for it so we just had the Ice Cream this time. Almost £30 for 4 Ice creams and the Butterbeer yikes! you do get the cups though or can have it in a Cone for about £5 i think.

Outside the Backlot Cafe is the Knight Bus and Privet Drive and the Bridge section. As well as the Blue Ford Anglia & Hagrids Motorbike you can sit in and have a photo taken.

You can walk through the Privet House to see the stairs and front room filled with Acceptance letters and walk across the section of the Bridge. Then continue the tour to see the Creature special effects Gringotts Bank and the vaults and lastly the HUGE HOGWARTS MODEL

Hogwarts is the last room of the tour filled with the Huge model of Hogwarts and you walk down the slope around it for many photo opportunities and you exit through the Wand room which leads back to the Huge gift shop.

I took over 70 photos, my dad made a video and my partner also took many photos. It was a great day to see behind the scenes. I will say although their was a lot of people i was able to take photos quite easily with a short wait and not long to queue up for the restaurants. The biggest lines were in the shop! It is not the cheapest of days out for a family, plus travel food and souvenirs but is an experience i think is worth for the day.

I spent nearly £80 with the Photo, Sweets and Butterbeer Ice creams which was on top of the Tour Tickets cost.

Fizzing whizzBees ) Chocolate Bees with popping Candy) Exploding BonBons ( White Chocolate Orange & Pineapple ) and Peppermint Toads Dark Chocolate

Gringotts Chocolate Coins in bag

Chocolate Frog from Universal Studios Orlando ( American Chocolate )

Many photo opportunities chances to buy photo experiences, gifts and themed foods .

I would say i have no intention to revisit the tour as i have seen it all, but if they add anything new worth seeing may change my mind.

in the Area after the Great Hall near the Quidditch section you can take a photo/video on a Green screen Broom and we had this wanted Wizard photo done. They give you Robes to wear also. 3 Gryffindors and a Slytherin. This poster size is £20 a smaller one is £10 or 2 small for £20. You also get a digital code for a digital copy of the photo when you buy a photo.

HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR LONDON 1ST TIME REVIEW Growing up i had never heard of Harry Potter or the books or seen anything about it, until my teen years.

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grgop · 6 years

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Geneva, the French and the Međimurci

After months of residing in the darkness of inactivity here comes a fresh review of the recent trip to Switzerland. Those 3 days were without expectations and with plenty of spontaneous decisions that turned out...awesome. I even managed get my Master thesis done and sent to print hours before the trip thus not having to bring my laptop there and work at the airport. I would also use this chance to thank again our hosts for the wonderful time we spent there as well as for helping us with the stay in Geneve. Merci beaucoup...or whatever you write it. Now what was all this about, when, why and how...please start scrolling. The whole trip was planned a few months ago as one our best and closest Uni colleagues was going to get married. Since we were sitting next to each other since the day 1 of the University life (and were breaking the Erasmus Intership Exchange ice together writing the letters and creating our portfolios in the bars between the Uni lectures...) there was no way for me not to come there. Wait a bit more to see the wedding pics. The interesting story is that she had met her future husband during Erasmus internship in Paris while I was in Vienna (maybe I should apply again for the exchange?). One of the last things in life I imagined was ending up on a wedding in Switzerland and be surrounded with the French and the Međimurci. On the trip there and back again I was with a few colleagues whom we will refer to as “the Noone”. Let’s start with...

DAY 1: Travelling from Zagreb to Venice Marco Polo Airport. Getting lost in Venice. Evening arrival to Geneve

Just before our trip there were several problems that were kept in secret in order not to spread panic. Our return flight with EasyJet was cancelled due to French Airline’s strike and luckily I was online to check us in on the next one an hour later. Had we not had the second flight the same evening things would gotten nasty with the bus schedule and arriving home on Monday morning to hand in our binded Master’s thesises.

The second crisis emerged early in the morning around 3am when I realized:

a) I left the sunglasses at my barber’s desk the day earlier

b) I forgot the headphones on my desk!!

We travelled with Flixbus, direct line from Zagreb to Marco Polo Airport, at 7.30am and arrived a bit later than scheduled due to traffic problems on the Italian highway and a traffic mess at the bus station in Trieste (sorry Italians, it was another prejudice come true...).

We came to our destination around 2.30pm and had almost 5 hours free before the flight. And what should we do?

Go to Venice of course! For the price of 15 Euros you get the bus return ticket from the airport to Venice. My colleague was there for the first time and for me it was the 3rd. I honestly didn’t expect going there but ... was worth it. The plan was to drink coffee somewhere but we didn’t have time as...umm... I wanted to make a tour around and we got lost on our way back...just a bit. : -) In the end we managed to get in time back.

The overall impression of Venice?

Crowded, hot, stinky...few buildings and streets that impress you in the beginning and then you get bored and start counting nationalities and bricks in the walls. As well as the shades to hide in.

Just before the security check in I realized that I totally messed up with clothes and items in the travel bag...bringing unecessary stuff that took plenty of space. Never again listen to the others and just keep it simple. So I was forced to put my pants, part of ceremonial clothes etc. into the bags of my colleagues. :-D Just like Voldemort with the horcruxes.

Speaking of food and water supplies on your trips and specifically at the airports...there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who buy the bottled water in duty free shops... and those who drink and fill them in the restrooms (toilets). During my 3 days I only drank water from the restroom. Save money, save the nature.

Our flight was around 8pm and I spent most of it (one hour) sleeping dead tired. For those of you who’ve been following me from before you might remember I’ve already been to Switzerland but never in Geneve. (scroll down the blog for those posts).

Geneva airport? While going towards the exit you pass by numerous billboards of the Swiss watches...Rolex, Rolex, Rolex...and Rolex..and so on for the next 5 minutes. The good thing is that all the arriving guests have 80 minutes free public transport ticket so we went to the next stop (Geneve Cornavin). Our hostel (Geneve Hostel) was about 5-7 minutes by foot and close to the Geneva lake. Boys in one room, girls in another to avoid the potential problems. And unplanned weddings.

At the hostel we were also given free public transport ticket that was valid for the whole Saturday and Sunday which helped a lot. It included the train, the boats, the buses and the tram within Geneve. Since France was super close (cca 4 km) there was even a tram line leading there (about 30 minutes)...we heard you can have a cheaper lunch there and planned “to visit France” on Sunday but plans changed.

Before the sleep we searched around the hostel area for some cheap place to grab some food. Now, the word “cheap” in Switzerland is not as same as “cheap” here and the best for your psychological health is not to convert the currency. We found the Ali Kebab place right next to the hostel and ate Chicken Kebab with some salad and French fries for 17,5 Franks, a meal we split for two. This was relatively similar to some prices here so it was not that bad at all. I could have eaten though the whole plate again but my wallet couldn’t. No complaints anyway!

DAY 2: Morning tour around Geneve. Going to the ceremony. The wedding and the afterparty.

I’m a morning person and Saturday morning was no exception. Woke up early, took a shower, breakfast when there aren’t many people and already ready to go at 7.30am. I got the public transport and city landmarks map at the hostel staff and went to the lake with another early bird. Here are some impressions of the streets, people and cityscape.

Plenty of runners with bluetooth headphones, people walking with dogs, the cylists, expensive cars you see in James Bond movies, the specific architecture, plenty of hotels and banks, mostly clean sterile streets, the promenade and the boats. Pretty much international population and French language everywhere. And I don’t speak French except for few words but was interesting to be in an “alien” surroundings. The lake that is as huge as the sea yet fresh water. Ducks everywhere. What I loved was seeing the bike roads across the promenade and the streets of Geneve. More about it on Day 3. Speaking of traffic behaviour they all more or less stop when you approach the pedestrian zebra crossing and stop even 0,5 m before it if the red light turns on. On contrary, here you’d get run over even if you were sitting on your balcony.

We went back to pick up the third early bird and started our little tour around. There were several bridges in the center and you had a boat connection with other side of the lake. There is the huge wheel with cafes around the big bridge. One of the Geneve’s landmarks is the huge fountain which we reached later and had a free shower. One of the things that pleasantly surprised me was (as I had found out later) the artistic project “Happy City” where there were ca. 20 painted pianos placed around the city’s squares, parks, streets and bridges...where you do as it says “Play, I’m here for you”. So I did what they required you to do. Playing piano on Lake Geneva was another thing I never thought about ... but now I can say “new achievement unlocked”.

We walked a bit more to the inside of the other side up and down the streets, seen some churches and lots of interenational bars and restaurants. Expensive exotic cars again..and then decided it’s time to go back to hostel.

On our way back we checked out Lidl and took some emergency food to have just in case of unexpected hunger. This saved us on the next day. I also almost forgot that right now I can buy and drink Rivella.

Travelling to Gland and the Wedding.

We jumped into our suits and wedding clothes and went to the train station around 2pm. We had to arrive to Gland which is ca 20 minutes away from Geneve and there our fiancée’s family was going to pick us up and transport to the ceremony’s place. While there we got to know our French roommates and colleagues offiancé.

What I liked (and probably others) there weren’t many people as it usually is the case here. I won’t go into details here and throw emotions but here are some things. Close friends and family from both sides, that’s it. The ceremony took place at the fairy location called Le Moulin du Creux. Beautiful house with garden, creek and forest around located 100 meters from the road. Check the nice photos of it and you’ll get the idea.

We had two-three pastors, the French ones and the Croatian one. Since most of us didn’t speak nor understood French we had a translator. And it was funny because she was a Slovene translating into Serbian mostly. :)) Nevertheless, an interesting ceremony and a special moment for our now married couple!

What was also new was that after taking pictures and rushing to the tables with food and drinks we also had a game organized - seek and answer game. They hid around 30 photos around the area and we got the papers with questions in French and Croatian. For my team it was kind of a fail in the end. We were trying to learn a few useful French phrases such as J'ai soif which means “I’m thirsty” when sneaking around the table with served drinks.

The other games included a catapult and a cubic football. There was also a gigantic version of the Jenga Tower which was fun to play. We took and received as a memory the polaroid photo with our couple and later moved inside for the dinner and the rest of the show. We watched short movie clips that fiance’s family created about him and our friend. The only problem we had was that we didn’t understand anything as there were no subtitles. :-)

After few more games and meals it was time to go out on the field and light the lanterns. This was a cool thing and my first time to show up and do the thing actually, I think we all enjoyed it. I have no photos of it though but you can imagined what it looked liked having many of them flying up. Let’s hope non of them fell on the forest below. :-D

Soon followed afterparty with some dance music. Some people already had to part and leave. Finally, around 2am we also decided to leave as we didn’t want to miss our train back to Geneve. And of course we missed the first one by being 5 minutes late.

We came to the hostel around 4am and straight to bed.

DAY 3: Tour around Geneve one more time. Coffee & city bikes. Departure.

The final day is here. So far everything great! We made a deal to meet with friends from Nyon around 10.30h at the giant wheel in the center. Shower, breakfast and baggage packed and locked in the hostel. Ready to go.

We took the boat to the other side and soon met with our friends. We then wasted around an hour going to the “old center” only to find nothing interesting there. However, we saw more of the public pianos and parks. For the next half an hour we were on a quest to find a solid cafe to sit and talk about life.

We ended up below the giant wheel and had a tiny cup of coffee for 4 Franks. Naturally, we stayed for 2 hours sitting & chatting there to compensate the loss. I ran out of cash and asked the waiter where to go. After all, Geneva is the city of banks and I hadn’t seen a single ATM machine there. Before running for some cash we decided to visit the giant fountain. On our way there I stopped by the public piano which was now free of ambitious moms and their kids who just pressed random keys but had a cool photo. Actually, I was doing the same. It was funny to have the unusual audience around you.

Soon by the fountain. Time for a group photo!

Time flew by quickly and our friends had to find the bus station as they were leaving sooner than us. We went to the center in search of places to eat and after parting with them three of the original squad left. We had a few hours left before rushing to the train station and the airport. Having lunch in France? Visiting France by trams? Visiting France on bikes? Using city bikes to go around? We rushed to the nearst bike station and...all the bikes were gone. Second chance at the one across the bridge. We somehow were lazy to walk and wasted time on the boat. What happened there? Only two bikes left. I agreed to run to the other station as the rest follows me. But the guy working there couldn’t find the keys of the bike so we waster 10 minutes there filling the papers and waiting for him to come to common sense. The third and the last luck before giving up was using the tram to the Station No. 5 ... and...three bikes left, keys in the hands and off we go!

There is no better feeling than going around the new place by bike. Pure freedom and flexbility. We gave 20 Franks deposit and decided towards the north along the lake. Bike routes almost everywhere. Going between the streets was fun. No fear of the vehicles around us.

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We did cca 10 km in total in about more than hour stopping to take the pictues (the evidences). The idea was to go to France but by democracy 2:1 we gave up from that idea fearing something could go wrong and we get stuck in the middle of nowhere and miss the plane. So we returned the bikes close to our hostel, took the baggage and went to the train station. There we found a nice souvenir and chocolate shop....you can’t leave without one kitschy fridge magnet and a few Toblerones. We met the other Croats who were going back by plane to Venice and I again reorganized my bagge stuff into 2-3 bags of other people. The food from Lidl helped a bit. As well as the good old fresh water from the restroom. I slept again in the plane this time successfully hiding my cabin baggage under my seat as the plane was crowded and full of passangers because of the cancelled flight. New achievement unlocked. We had almost 3 hours to wait for the 2.15am Flixbus for Zagreb. Being dead hungry we checked the available offers at the backery there and found some snacks to survive till home. This time Flixbus didn’t have the second floor (on Friday we found the first row spots on the 2nd floor, the best view and the best way to get killed in an accident). But who cares, soon home! The route was shorter as we stopped only in Ljubljana...I woke up two times in total and the second on just at the Croatian border. The bus arrived precisely at 7.30am to Zagreb, to the most beautiful of the ugliest bus stations in the area. Finally, seeing “Mamiću cigane” grafitti around the station I can say “Welcome back home!”.

#geneva #switzerland #suisa #genf #geneve #venice #veneto #venezia #wedding #međimurje #međimurci

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worldwwanderer-blog · 6 years

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Four Fundamental Tips to Travelling alone as a Woman

When I started planning my European trip for last summer, I had not planned on travelling alone. I had heard scary stories and was told that it was dangerous to travel alone as a woman. I had watched the movie Taken; I thought I’d be kidnapped (not rational)! A lot of crazy scenarios went through my head when my travel companion told me she could not travel with me anymore. I had already bought the plane ticket abroad because I was travelling with my mom for the first two weeks, and I had been planning on travelling the next two weeks with her before we studied abroad together. Before last summer, I had taken flights alone before but I was always meeting someone when I arrived. I was very nervous, but I learned so much from travelling alone and I have several tips for any woman who wants to start her solo adventure. There are several pictures scattered around this blog of my solo adventure.

(My first day in London)

My first tip is to stay in hostels. Hostel are incredible for meeting people. One of the disadvantages to travelling alone is that it can be lonely. Hostel lobby areas combat this disadvantage with ease. I remember my first night alone. I was in London and I was tired from my day of travelling. I sat down in the lobby area because it had air conditioning, unlike the rooms. I was just reading my book when a guy sat down next to me and asked me what I was reading. We ended up talking for two hours and he recommended activities to do while I was in the city. He was from the Netherlands and had so many wonderful stories about growing up in Europe. Later, we went to get some drinks where we met six people from MN. All six of them were studying abroad on a school trip. It felt like such a small world. The MN group introduced me to all of their friends and to several people that they had met in the hostel. By the end of the night, the group had grown to around fifteen people from all over the world. We talked about cultural differences and slang words till the bar closed. Did you know “arvo” means good afternoon in Australia? This was one of the slang word that made truly me laugh. If you do take my advice and stay in hostels, I recommend that you stay in only female dorms. I regret staying in a mixed dorm room because when I arrived, I discovered that I was the only female in the room. It was extremely awkward. One of the men in the room stared at me constantly. This was the only time where I didn’t feel safe in London. Finding situations for meeting people and finding connections were not uncommon during my travels alone. I ended up meeting so many wonderful people who I still talk to today. Travelling alone requires you to be outgoing and spontaneous. Travelers and locals are more likely to come up and talk to you if you are travelling alone. Talk to your servers at restaurants and your bartenders at bars. People like to talk, especially in the service industry, and people always like to ask Americans questions. Be prepared for questions about politics and the American culture. If you are from the Midwest, I bet no one will know where you are from.

(The David in Florence, Italy)

My second tip is to be a spontaneous planner. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it is possible. When I travelled alone, I did not do this well. I procrastinated planning my trip until the last minute. The result of my procrastination was that I was bored. I did not buy tours and ended up waiting in extremely long lines whenever I wanted to see anything. July and August are high tourist season and if you want to see any of the attractions in a location you definitely need tickets in advance. Buying tickets is when you have to be a planner. You need to know what you want to do in a location before you go, but because you are travelling alone you can be spontaneous. After planning, do what you want to do. If you are hungry, eat. If you are tired, sleep. If you want to spend an entire day tanning on the beach, do it. There are no restrictions or compromising with anyone when you are travelling alone. It is glorious! I decided last minute when I was in London that I wanted to go to Venice. I bought a $60 flight from London to Venice the next day, and I left. Travelling alone means that no one needs to know where you are. You can get lost and have an adventure.

(My last day in Venice on the island of Moreno)

The next tip to travelling alone is to be ok with being alone. Travelling alone means that for the majority of the time you will be alone. I valued this alone time especially when I travelled through Venice. At times it felt a little strange to be in a romantic city in Italy alone, but I loved it. I learned a lot about myself and was able to read a lot. Venice has some of the most confusing streets and since there are not motorized vehicles allowed in the city I had fun getting lost. I walked down random street and went shopping for an entire day. I ate gelato and tried on a crazy amount of clothing, and I did not have to worry if I was bothering anyone else. Another fun thing to do when you are alone is to just observe your surroundings. People watching can be one of the most fun things to do while you are travelling. I recommend having a book, however, because waiting for food at a restaurant can be a little uncomfortable without something to do.

(My first day in Bologna, Italy)

My final tip for any women travelling alone is to be confident. You do not need to have pepper spray (it might actually be illegal in some countries) or have your keys between your fingers to be safe. Be smart. If you want to go out at night, make some friends and go with them. If you are going out during the day, know the address of where you are staying just in case you get lost. You will be safe so go on adventures. My favorite part of my trip by myself was when I was in France, and I asked a local about the best things to do in the city. She advised me to take a bus outside the city to a beautiful little French town. It is named the most beautiful town in France. I looked up how to get there and then jumped on a bus. I didn’t realize it was a whole hour outside of the city, but I trusted my gut and kept riding the bus. When I arrived, I fell in love. There were waterfalls, rivers, cliff faces, and little town beside a mountain. I walked around for a couple hours before I decided I wanted to go to the beach about two miles outside the town. I tried to understand the bus system, but I realized there was no bus to the beach. I started walking. Half way to the beach a hear noises down in the river. I look over the cliff face and see ten small waterfalls. People were swimming and jumping off the cliff faces. I decided to find a way down. After around fifteen minutes of searching through the brush, I find the path down the cliff face. Everyone who was down there were locals. They invited me to swim in the river and a cute little dog sat with me while I tanned. I regret not jumping off the cliff face into the water, but I was too chicken. Don’t be a chicken like I was! Push yourself out of your comfort zone. I wish I would have talked to more people while I was in France, because I do not have many pictures of myself. I do have a lot of selfies. Selfies will become your best friend if you’re are alone. There will probably be a lot of tourist whenever you travel, so ask them to take your picture. The picture will be worth the moment of discomfort you feel talking to a stranger.

(The waterfalls and cliff face)

(An alley in the small town in France called St. Guilhem le Désert)

Travelling alone can be magical, but it is truly what you make of it. Explore the world. Do not limit yourself to what others want you to do. If I had been scared, I would not have done half of the things that I did, and I would not have the confidence that I have today. I have been to England, Italy, and France by myself. I have been to a Broadway play that was touring in London, I saw the David by Michelangelo, and I kayaked down a French river. My mom pushed me to be adventurous and now I am doing the same to you. Plan a trip.

(My final day in France)

#MKT400UWL

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natsuhikoshidou · 6 years

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Life Cheating Game - Chapter 2: At Optimum Temperature(Part 2)

Chapter 2: Part 1 | Chapter 3: Part 1

DATING... START!!!

I felt like Sora was about to say something in the school infirmary, there was that.

But, the days leading up to Sunday felt dreadfully long, the cause probably was simply something like enjoying the date with Sora.

'Is it ok if our meeting place is Hachiougi Station?'

"Yeah. What time?"

'9 am would be good. If it's too early the shops won’t be open, if we're late we can't enjoy our time.’

"Ok. Hachiougi station, 9 o'clock then."

The night before. Sora and I were deciding on the meeting place and time over the phone.

'This is a long-awaited date. Don't be late, Natsuhiko.'

"I know."

'Ok then. Well, see you tomorrow. Goodnight'

"Yeah, goodnight."

For several seconds, after being flooded by the reverberation of Sora's voice, I ended the call.

After that, I turned over the card on my desk.

‘Tomorrow, the lunch in the appropriate restaurant will taste bad, and the mood will worsen. For safety, go to a family restaurant.’

(* A family restaurant is a common type of restaurant in Japan which tends to serve a large variety of food, especially Western food. The name ‘family restaurant’ comes from the focus on family dining, so that children can always find something they like. Denny’s is a considered a family restaurant)

For some reason, this seemed like date advice.

However, it helped. I investigated the location of a family restaurant on my mobile phone, made a memo of it and put it in my bag for tomorrow.

Coincidentally I checked the contents of my bag.

"...Ok. The preparations are complete, as they say."

The clothes I'm wearing tomorrow are already prepared. When I confirmed them too I slipped into my futon.

That night, for a reason different to when before I had the card, I really couldn't fall asleep.

◊

I looked at the clock while I fidgeted.

The time is 8:50am. A little earlier than the time we had promised.

It's Sunday. I'm at Hachiougi Station. Looking around the outside of the bus rotary, there’s a plaza, there were street performers there too. There seemed to be lots of people meeting up apart from me.

Previously, the concourse inside the station was a popular meeting spot for people, a short while ago there was an explosion, so recently most people that use this station plaza instead.

Before Sora arrives, I lightly check my clothes. My clothes, which I planned to be as stylish as I could in my own way, probably ended up leaving the impression that I tried too hard. Aware of Akito’s clothes that I saw before, my coat with the strange design is the same as the one he wore.

"These ear cuffs are probably showing off too much…”

Also wearing some other rings and necklaces and stuff, though I tried to imitate what I saw Akito wearing, I confess, they’re actually all things I bought from a 100 yen store. Because what Akito wore has definitely got to be from a brand, it makes a considerable difference.

I raised my head and looked around the square. Sora still wasn't there.

I looked at the clock once more. The minute hand moved very slowly.

".....Hey, wait"

Why am I fidgeting like this? Sora calling it a date was just like a joke, today I was simply just going into town with my childhood friend.

Trying to persuade myself that, I couldn't stop my lips from smiling.

While breathing deeply over and over again, five minutes of waiting

"Morning, Natsuhiko"

"Aah, Sora. Morni...ng?"

When I tried to return the greeting to Sora, who had finally arrived, I froze up.

On her white blouse lined with lace on the sleeves and collar, she wore a pale pink cardigan, below that, she wore a slightly wide flared mini skirt, her long thin legs that extended from its hem were also covered with white lace stockings.

Her pale coloured clothes perfectly matched her beautiful black hair, the charm of the girl Sora Fushimi, was fully active.

"You're pretty early. I tried to hurry, did I keep you waiting?"

Sora smiling bashfully, to me, she looked like she was glittering.

It seems like she put on light makeup, I was captivated by her glossy pink lips.

"........."

"Hmm? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost"

"Eh? A, eh?"

Speaking to Sora, with upturned eyes, I finally returned back to earth.

My heart, which felt like it stopped for a moment, strung with a furious heartbeat like a backlash.

"U, um. Sora's , uh, you’re wearing, unusual clothes..."

Full of agitation, my head and tongue weren’t working well, and I ended up blurting out something weird.

What's more, I said ‘unusual clothes’. I wanted to say something nicer. They suit you very well, they look really cute, I could...no...it's useless....

"Ooh, that. I only really wear skirts and stuff with our uniform. This frilly stuff is too unlike me I guess… It’s weird, isn’t it?”

While she looked down at her own clothes, Sora spun around once on the spot.

When she did, her already short skirt fluttered, my heart beat so furiously I was worried it could break out of my ribs and fly out.

"I-It's not that. They’re not weird. Not at all"

"Hm. You think? Saying that makes me feel happy."

"Y,yeah. They’re… far from strange...uh… they really, suit, you."

Building up the courage, I added with a very thin voice.

"R, right. They suit me. Right..."

Sora muttered while letting her gaze swim away.

Her cheeks looked kind of red, probably because of her makeup.

".........."

For a short while, a moment of silence flowed by.

I couldn't say anything in this tension, Sora also looked down in silence.

"…A, Aaah. This, uhh.. I actually, got some advice from Momiji."

Before long, after it seemed like she did vocal exercises, Sora spoke and raised her head.

"About this long awaited date, I dressed up a little for it."

"R-Right. But why Momiji?"

"I only have a few friends who are girls of the same age, you probably know that. But those girls don't know what your taste is."

"My taste?"

"The date you and I are going on together. Or should I say I chose these clothes with something apart from your tastes in mind? They're completely in reference to Momiji's advice"

My heart which began to calm down, pounded strongly again. If there was any more of a burden on it my heart might start to break.

But the word 'date' is merely an "outing" today with my fellow childhood friend, I thought.

However, Sora’s even wearing a skirt that she doesn't usually wear, even said she’s dressing fashionably from taking advice from a pre-schooler. Also, meeting my tastes, she said.

With these, it seems like, this really is a date.

Honestly, like date between a girl and boy that like each other, doesn’t it---.

"Well then, we should head off soon."

As she said that Sora walked off towards the station.

The stupid me followed after her, confused, and she said,

"Oh. I forgot to say something."

While her black hair fluttered, she turned around.

"I think your clothes suit you too. Yes. I'm falling in love again."

With a smile more dazzling than the sun, she said.

Me too, but I didn't say that, maybe out of cowardice.

◊

Leaving from Hachiougi to the city center took roughly an hour.

When reached the terminal that boasts of the world's highest number of users, the time was around 10am.

"...Well, where should we go?"

Sora said with a large voice, after we descended the platform crowded with people.

"I really haven't thought about it."

"Well then. I received a lecture from Momiji about the usual, general standard for dates. According to that, it seems like the routine is window shopping, isn’t it."

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

Though I don't definitely know what kind of shopping to do.

"Ok. First, we could try and browse some of the clothing stores in the station."

"Ok but... which one?"

"What do you mean, which one?"

"In this station? There's a lot of stations."

There are several similarly named stations and stores, and also down the maze-like subterranean tunnels, there are connecting tunnels underneath the buildings. If those are included in the definition of the station, then an unbelievable amount of buildings could be called stations.

To tell the truth, I've come to the city centre several times, but Sora and I haven't hung out in the outskirts of the station too much. Mostly, we use it to transfer transportation and pass through it.

Just to be sure, on the internet yesterday, I went to investigate places to hang out and the location of the family restaurant written on the card, I didn't think of window shopping.

"Hmm...In that case, let's just go wherever."

"Not like we have a choice."

As we agreed on that, we went towards the east ticket gates and left towards the train station.

"They literally only have clothing stores..."

When we saw the information board, it looked like most of the stores were fashion related shops.

"But it looks like upstairs is pretty much restaurants."

"It's too early for lunch though. We could try and look around a little, couldn’t we."

Inside the building, though it was Sunday, it was teeming with visitors.

Moreover, they were mostly young girls, the shops were also full of brands for girls. I would never come in here if I wasn’t with Sora, I thought.

".........."

And there was silence.

The visitors apart from us were chatting and having fun while looking at clothes, I didn't know anything about women's fashion, Sora was probably the same. Staying together, we had nothing to talk about while we looked at the clothes.

Unable to bear the atmosphere of simply staring at the mannequins in silence, I spoke.

"H, hey, Sora. Are there any clothes that catch your attention?."

"No."

"You don't have to declare it like that-"

"I can't help it, ok? Nothing really interests me. I usually only wear the clothes my mom buys me, and the clothes I'm wearing now are all things Momiji chose. To me, I don’t have a clue if something’s good or bad.”

Sora made a face like a scholar challenging a theory from a difficult-to-understand philosophy when she saw a shirt with an illustration from an anime printed on it.

"It looks like you put on makeup today, did you?"

"I let my mom do it. She taught me how to fix it when it gets ruined, but who knows if I can actually do it.”

She returned the shirt to the rack while scowling, Sora unintentionally forced a smile at me.

It wasn’t womanly, however, above anything it was Sora-ly.

"Fuu... It's no use. Let's go to another shop."

Like an anguished researcher at a stalemate, Sora shook her head.

"If we walk a little there’s a big bookstore, let's go there."

Sora nodded strongly at my proposal, we left the flashy fashion building.

Leaving the station crowded by a huge amount of people, the large bookstore we finally arrived at after a few minutes of walking had much less people than the train station as you’d expect, there was an extensive range of customers of all ages and genders.

"...Ah, this book."

The paperback book lined up on the storefront came to view, my feet stopped.

"This is the book Momiji asked for the other day."

"Oh ho. Let’s see.”

Sora took the single copy on the flat display, and flipped through the pages.

The pile of books decorated and written with pop art saying "A Long Awaited Paperback Publishment", was considerably big. In the bookstore near Hachiougi station there was a corner where new books were placed, surprisingly it was treated differently than there.

"Hmm. It's a mystery novel after all. It seems pretty interesting."

"Sora, you read mystery novels, don’t you?"

"I don't fuss over genre. ...Though, novels that tend to catch my interest are usually mystery or sci-fi. It seems Momiji is completely devoted to mystery novels."

Sora said while returning the book to the pile.

"If it interests you will you buy it?"

"No, it's fine. I can borrow it from Momiji now."

Entering the store, a corner for much-discussed work was prepared near the entrance. The lined up books were mostly manuals, I saw lots of books written about hygiene and diet.

"There’s so many diet books. Sora, are you interesting in dieti-"

"No."

"Right.”

At a glance, she didn't look like she needed to diet, now she wasn't in a state of paying attention to her body weight and figure.

"But this one's interesting."

While she said that the book in Sora's hands was... A book on breast enlargements.

Just now, without thinking, reflexively, my eyes went towards Sora's chest, who was standing next to me.

"As you can see, it's hopeless."

"Sure. ...Wait, ah, no, it's not!"

Sora expressed a wry smile to me, who hid my nodding in a panic.

"Don't worry. It's the truth. It's really not that complex."

"R, right. But, well, why is that interesting to you?"

"There isn’t really a reason “why”… Natsuhiko, do you like large chested girls?"

While tilting her head and staring at me, for a moment, I lost my voice.

"...Do you not?"

"Ah, no... it's, not that. I mean, I haven't really thought about whether I like large chested girls in the first place..."

"Is that right? So you don't mind if it’s a cliff face like this?"

Sora spoke while brushing down her own chest.

"A, a cliff face. I don't care. Being large chested..."

I stressed at being unable to read the intention of Sora’s statement, I tried to say my true feelings.

Though my male classmates always get excited over things like "Someone in the other class has huge boobs", I didn't participate in that, I wasn’t aware until just now that comparing Sora’s chest to the average, hers was smaller.

"Right... ok. Right right."

While expressing a relieved smile for some reason, Sora returned the breast enlargement book to the shelf. I became increasingly confused about the state of that girl.

Sora is different than usual today. She seems like she’s behaving like my girlfriend, not my childhood friend, or maybe that’s just my hubris…

"It seems like the second story is the paperback floor. …Ok, I should try and buy some sort of souvenir for Momiji, shouldn’t I."

Following Sora, who’s suddenly in a good mood, we went up to the second floor.

From the new work corner, prepared on the place that stood out most on the floor, a single copy of a mystery novel which seemed to meet Momiji's preferences was chosen, and bought.

After that, we went around the shop while chatting.

"Look at the price of this book, Natsuhiko"

Sora took the A6 book in her hand, and said with a serious expression.

"630 yen, do you think that’s a normal price?" (*~ $5.60)

"It is, right? But in the station we stopped by earlier, one shirt was being sold at 6,000 yen. Can you believe that? Isn't that 10 times this book?" (~ $53.45)

"Hmm, I don't know about the market for girl's clothes though..."

"Oh my god, looking at this, you get a sense of how people's values are different. For me, I would rather choose to buy 10 books so I don’t end up in a situation where that’s all I have to wear, but there are people that would choose to buy a 6,000 yen shirt like it’s normal in this world…”

With that immense culture shock, Sora groaned with a glum face, uuhm.

Looking around one more time, when we left the shop, it was getting close to midday.

"It’s already this late... should we eat lunch soon?"

"No, before that, let’s go over there."

Where Sora was pointing, there was a brand new building with white outer walls.

Things that looked like posters stuck in picture frames were lined up in a row on the wall.

"Is that a movie theatre?"

"Mhm. A movie is said to be a routine for dates. ....That’s the advice I got from Momiji."

"Haah..."

Momiji again. If she tells Sora weird things that's fine, but....

First of all, we went into the movie theatre.

The expansive lobby was filled with a diversity of people, groups of students, groups of old people, and huge amounts of families. Lining up in the queue to the ticket desk, we looked up at the screen showing the performance timetable.

"What should we watch?"

"To be honest, I've already decided."

As she said that, the title Sora brought up was a long-run screening of a western film.

It's a work that's brought up on the internet and television a lot, so I already knew most of the contents. Because of that, I asked Sora.

"Are you really sure? Is this your type?"

"Uh huh. Momiji recommended it. Because we're on a date you should watch this one, she said."

The seating arrangement was almost a full house.

Since the time of release approximately half a year ago has passed, the film has been hugely popular.

Soon the film started, it was a love story with a touch of comedy.

While it had moderate comedy, in the carefully created work where the man and women earnestly fell in love, I was gradually sucked into the story.

And then, the film came to a touching end. It was such I good work I thought I should have watched it earlier. I agreed with its high popularity.

".....?"

When the credits began flowing, something soft and warm touched my hand.

Sitting next to me, Sora put her hand on top of mine.

In a moment, my heart thumped, and I looked at Sora's face. Though it was in the darkness, I knew she was smiling while looking at my face.

Thump, thump... my heart rang out. It wasn't a violent throbbing.

I couldn't think.

I simply gazed at Sora like I was entranced, and entwined my fingers, with her fingers.

As soon as I did, heartache overflowed.

--- More. I still want more.

I want to connect even deeper, I squeezed Sora's hand.

Sora's hand squeezed me back too.

The joy of recieving that gentleness made me want to cry.

Soon the credits finished while our fingers and gazes were intertwined.

--- I just can't take my fingers or my eyes away.

That's what I thought.

But reality is cruel.

When the movie was over the audience had to leave outside

In the hustle and bustle of visitors leaving their seats, Sora and I came to our senses.

We untied our intertwined gazes, which had both become red.

Our entangled hands also had to unwrap with hesitancy.

That being the case, gradually I regained my composure, living in the space to look back on me from earlier, in the short space while we left the movie theatre, I couldn't properly look at Sora's face.

--- Why did I do something so embarrassing!

That was by mere chance, that’s the only thing I could think. I was swallowed up in the atmosphere of the movie. That act was clearly too much for the childhood friend territory.

But... I thought.

Sora accepted it. The act stepped over the childhood friend distance, she allowed it.

While I thought about the meaning of that in my still feverish head, I glanced over at Sora and...

".....!?"

Sure enough our eyes met, I looked away with a bounce, and hung my head.

"W...Well then! Would you look at the time! If it isn't time for lunch!"

Like she was trying to hide something, Sora spoke in a large voice.

"Are you pretty hungry now, Natsuhiko?"

"Y, yeah."

Sora returned to her usual tone and volume, I replied to her in a small voice. Though I still couldn't look at Sora, I knew that on her body her ears were still pretty red.

"Seems like there's a lot of restaurants around here, we should go to the most fitting one."

"Ah, wait a second."

Sora, who proposed while walking, stopped.

"Should we have lunch at a family restaurant?"

"Family restaurant?"

"It's difficult going into a shop you don't know, because, well... they might have crappy stuff."

Sora put her finger on her chin, and after thinking for a short while she nodded, "You have a point"

"So let's look for a nearby family restaurant"

"That's fine. I already investigated."

"...You already prepared. Did you plan on going to a family restaurant from the very beginning?"

Not really, as i answered, I pulled out the memo with the location of the family restaurant written on it from my bag.

This is to avoid the misfortune the card showed me last night. Today too, no more misfortune will happen. I didn't seem to show the relief on my face.

"Now you mention it, did you understand that from that card?"

"...Eh!?"

I almost dropped the memo.

"Before, the card wrote for you to be careful of the rain that afternoon. Or was it just a prank by Momiji?"

"A,aah....yeah… I… I wonder if it was a prank? Uh.....still, that.....I guess I really don't know.......well......Ah, right! I didn't really worry about it in the end!"

That was too shaky, if I say so myself.

"Huum...Well, I'm not sure if that's right"

Apart from that, Sora didn't ask any more. Even though she probably had doubt.

But when I thought about it, I realised there was no need to hide it. I felt I wanted to hear Sora's opinion on future prediction and Maki-chan appearing in my weird dream.

Well, let's just keep hiding it for today.

The family restaurant written on the memo was full at almost 2pm, but after waiting 5 minutes some seats emptied and we were able to get a late lunch.

We talked while eating lunch, the strange mood after we left the movie theatre had disappeared, I realized at last Sora and I had returned to being childhood friends as usual. Mutually, we seemed to absolutely not touch on the incident that happened in the movie theatre.

"What should we do after this? It’ll start getting dark soon."

We finished lunch and left the family restaurant, the time was around 3pm.

"Lastly, there's a place I kind of want to go to. Is that ok?"

I nodded at Sora's proposal. She was making a strangely serious expression.

We returned to the station and got on the electric train. The route was in the direction of Hachiougi.

Sora wasn't very talkative on the train, when I asked her where we were going, she answered ambiguously and vaguely.

"We get off here."

This was Kitahiragawa station, the 3rd stop after Hachiougi station.

Above the station, there was an unbroken view of Kitahiragawa's townscape of resident housing.

Getting off on the platfrom, Sora pointed at a speck in the town that started to become dyed by the sunset.

"It's been a while, I want to ride that."

Beyond what her thin fingers pointed at, darkened in the backlight, there was a large Ferris wheel.

◊

Kitahiragawa Children's Amusement Park.

A little amount of courage was needed to call this an 'amusement park' when it was a small-scale establishment.

There were merry-go-rounds and spinning teacups, they had the standard selection of play equipment, it small enough for any child, the proportioned site area was small.

However, when I was in elementary school it was a sufficiently fun place, I often burdened my parents with asking and begging them to go. Sora and her parents, and the grandparents I'm now living with have come here too.

For me, this is a place with incredibly important memories.

The inside is special, it's become a landmark for Kitahiragawa city because of its inappropriately big Ferris wheel.

"This somehow feels incredibly narrow. I guess that means we’ve grown."

Getting in the carriage fading with color, Sora and I sat facing eachother.

“The scenery’s changed too.”

I glanced outside the plastic window full of scratches.

In particular the station's surroundings were developing into a bedroom town, compared to my vague memories as a child, the number of large apartments behind me had increased.

"It's been around 7 years. It's strange that we and the town haven't changed a lot. This Ferris wheel seems like is starting to wear out though."

Rust began to fall off the window frame that Sora's finger's disciplined.

Though I know this carriage was once painted with images of rainbows and their seven colours, now the colours had faded and I was unable to distinguish between bitter orange and amber yellow.

Without replying, I felt the time pass by.

"Do you remember?"

A look dwelled in Sora's eyes like a child who thought of an amusing prank.

"The first time we rode this Ferris wheel, you got scared of heights and cried."

"Guh.... D,did that really happen?"

I averted my gaze to hide my embarrassment, but I vividly remember it.

It's a story from when I was in kindergarten. Sora and I and also my mother rode it together, even though I said I wanted to ride it, once it rotated halfway, I cried to my mother asking if we could get off quickly.

"Natsuhiko, back then you were so cute. Are you ok around high places now?"

Sora said grinning with a malicious smile, to say something back, I remembered when we were younger, and searched for something I remembered to counter-attack.

"S,Sora, you cried too. When we went in the haunted house."

"Mu..... I was just scared of unexplained phenomenon"

Sora puffed and turned her face away, but she couldn't hide the redness of her ears.

"Anyway, that was back when I was a kid.”

"I was just a kid back then."

Our faces became serious as we quarreled, and then we blurted something out at the same time.

Our bright laughing voices were trapped inside the narrow carriage.

"We both were kids, weren’t we. There were lot's of things we were scared of."

"Of course. Even still, it's rare that I cry..."

Sora wiped away the tears that had collected in her eyes from laughing too hard.

"You're crying right now."

"This doesn't count. The tears haven't come out so it's not crying."

Fuu, she said with a bold smile, Sora's gaze went outside the window.

"...Isn't it hard?"

That was a question aimed at me, I knew because her voice was gentle.

"I don't know."

While I answered honestly, I gazed at the scenery outside the window too.

"I guess I feel something. I feel bitterness in my chest."

In this ferris wheel, there was a place where Sora and my memories were cut off. It was kind of embarrassing, but it's hidden in my heart, that memory.

It was a similar memory of me and my parents in there.

"My dad let me ride on his shoulders."

What I saw that time was the same scenery I saw in the amusement park at a higher place.

"When I was lost, my mom called out for me."

The joy I felt at that time, the warmth of my mother who held me.

Though I remembered all of it, in these 7 years, I had come to confine those memories.

Today they were released, I felt something.

"I'm a little lonely....I think. But it feels different than bitterness. ...Yeah, after all, I really don't know."

"...I see."

Sora looked at me and smiled.

I looked at her and smiled too. Though I don't know if I smiled successfully.

I didn't feel lonely before I remembered my parents, but that’s because my world is so peaceful now. My quietly calm days with the future predicting ability bestowed upon me have given me the chance to smile.

Maki-chan's figure floated through my mind. Maybe Maki-chan isn't a resident of the dream world, but she is a God instead, she is the one that also gave me that card.

No, I don't care if it's Maki-chan or anyone else.

I feel grateful for whoever gave me that card.

The carriage we were in was close to reaching the highest point on the Ferris wheel.

"...Natsuhiko"

Sora met eyes with me, she expressed a serious facial expression, she spoke.

"I love you."

Not saying anything, at first I didn't understand the meaning.

Therefore, as if almost reflexively,

"Yeah."

I said, with a nod.

My head was in an inactive state, but it started to move,

"Is this how you respond to a so-called confession."

Sora said while smiling bitterly, and after that

Confession. I remembered the meaning of those words, I remembered the meaning of that act, I,

"~~~~~~~~!?"

I held my mouth. It wasn’t that riding the Ferris wheel was making me nauseous, what it actually was, was that being full of surprise made me emit a strange noise.

The palm that held my mouth was hot, the part of my face that was being touched was hot.

My whole body was hot like it was on fire, in my boiling head, surprise and questions jumped around like a pachinko ball.

"Co, coco, confe..... confe,ssion?"

"Right. Confession. Because I love you."

She declared it again, I thought my heart would stop.

After all, I couldn't bear it. In this surprise and this tension, and also, this joy.

"Let me spell it out for you."

Sora's face seemed to change into the same red as the colour of my face.

"I'm not saying I just love you as a childhood friend, y'know? It's not that I love you like family either. I love you, Natsuhiko Shidou, as a boy."

Again. She said 'love' again. There was a glimmering deep in her eyes.

I took the hand covering my mouth out of the way. It seems I hadn't been breathing for a little while.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at Sora's serious expression, she spoke.

"Natsuhiko.... well, I, I... I want you to be my boyfriend."

Her expression was inarticulate, it was un-Sora-esque.

Sora made both hands into fists and placed them on her lap, and waited intently for my words.

If I express my true feelings, I'll immediately want to run away.

Crowded with this feeling of tension, being soaked under this pressure made me want to jump out of the carriage... That's what I thought.

But I can't do that.

In Sora's eyes, packed full of thought, she reassured me that “You don’t have to answer.”

-If I said I didn't notice Sora's good will, it would be a lie.

The person who came to support me when I sunk down after losing my parents was without a doubt Sora. Without being comforted or encouraged, Sora simply stayed by me in silence. After I was taken in by my grandparents, when she found the spare time to she would meet up with me.

I don't know how much she's helped me with those things.

I was under the impression that Sora's dedication to supporting me was simply out of kindness, she surely must have felt betrayal.

-But what about your own feelings.

With Sora near me right now, the tranquility, warmth, and happiness I feel are all on the foundation of feelings of gratitude.

-No, they're not.

But before Sora was together with me and healed the wounds from losing my parents, I loved her. Because she was a special existence to me, when I thought I could lose everything again, I found out my reason for living.

And then today, I didn't realise.

When she turned up to our meeting place dressed the best she could.

When she murmured and worried about whether I liked large chested girls.

When she seemed to kindly wrap my hand up and squeeze back.

It was for me. I didn't notice it was for that.

-I love Sora.

For a long time, and right now too,

".....Sora"

She raised her face and immediately met my eyes.

"I love you too, Sora."

Slowly, politely, I put all of my feelings into words.

I wonder if they reached. Sora sighed deeply and held her chest.

After that, she spoke.

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

We asked, mutually. Mutually, we laughed. While tears began to fill up my eyes.

That smile is the answer to the question.

In this moment, surely, Sora and my relationship went from childhood friends to partners.

"You're crying again, Sora."

"I am crying. I don't know why, but that was really tense. While you say that, Natsuhiko, you're crying too."

"I’m not crying. I just have tears in my eyes."

"Kuh, you're mean."

While we both wiped what collected in the corners of our eyes, we laughed together.

It looked like nothing had changed, between us two. But obviously something had changed.

Sora's smile that I saw looked completely different than when we were childhood friends before.

"Natsuhiko. Can I sit next to you?"

Sora stood up without getting an answer, while taking care not to make the carriage shake, she sat down in the empty seat.

Then whether I liked it or not she quickly took my hand in silence, and entwined our fingers like we did in the movie theatre.

When she did that, I became dizzy from my heart beating-

"Wai, So, Sora?"

"Humph. For some reason, when we do this, it feels really nice."

Sora lay her head on my shoulder, and leaned into me. The distance between us had disappeared.

"Isn't this the way partners treat one another?"

when she said that, Sora demonstrated to the window behind us with her empty hand. Through the window, in a lower carriage, I saw a man and woman snuggling together closely. They had a really similar form to us right now.

"It pains me, but I felt like I had to use a reference."

"S, saying that is....a little embarrassing...."

"It's fine, right? I was kind of hesitant. We've become partners. So we can flirt all we like."

"Yeah...that seems right, but I could be mistaken..."

But the warmth Sora's body is giving off is certainly pleasant, I don't want to separate.

In our space, the evening sun thrust through the scratched window.

"To tell the truth, my clothes today have been kind of chilly. I thought it was necessary to endure it for the style Momiji suggested... But, doing this is making me warm."

It wasn't just the body warmth mutually given off, but surely I feel like this is warmth overflowing from inside my heart, Sora probably felt so too.

"Did we come to the amusement park so you could confess?"

"Kind of. In the first place, the date itself was so I could confess."

"Right. .....It was kind of unexpected."

"What was?"

"I thought you weren't interested in something like confessing. That or love."

"I'm not interested. I'm not now. I just, really....for some reason, if I asked if I should confess, it would be like asking for permission."

Sora spoke like she was carefully choosing her words.

"Permission? What do you mean?"

"It's simple. Permission to satisfy my desire. My desire for wanting you."

Sora, who raised her head looked at me, and expressed a smile as she spoke fascinatedly.

"Impulse. I'm a person at the limits of my patience. I can't bear wanting you."

"What do you mean, 'want'?"

"To be together with you. I want to touch your skin. I want to.... connect with you. I want to feel the existence known as Natushiko Shidou's whole body, I want to try and keep it to myself. When we moved up to high school and seemed to share more time together, that desire grew bigger in one go."

A person whose words are too direct. I felt the core of my head become numb.

It's because of what Sora said.

"But, that desire collided with you, and I didn't want to be stubborn. I didn't want to see you troubled. That’s why I confessed. So that you would accept my desire."

I know the name of that desire.

The desire is called 'affection'. It's absolutely inside of me too.

"Do you think I'm shameful? If you think so there's nothing I can do though."

"Me too."

Sora spoke with a heartfelt expression, she stopped to look at me.

Up until now, it's only her who has been expressing her love, because I'm too pathetic.

"I also want you, Sora. I always want to be together with you. I'm not sure if I can be patient, just like you....."

"In that case.... is it ok, if I want you, Natsuhiko?"

"Yeah. If it's ok for me to want you too, Sora."

"Yeah. Of course"

She smiled while her beautiful eyes dampened, Sora leaned into me again.

"I'm happy.... Happiness. This is happiness."

She murmured as if she was reflecting, I nodded too.

Happiness, my peaceful life I completely lost 7 years ago.

Now it was so close, it had always been next to me.

Soon, the carriage we rode approached the ground.

The door opened, this happy moment seemed to end, the clerk in charged watched us.

"What a rude guy. He could have shut up and let us go around one more time."

"It can't be helped. Let’s come here again sometime."

"Yeah. Next time, let's get a ticket to go around twice in advance."

We stuck together as long as we could, and got off the carriage.

While holding hands. While cuddling close. While there was zero distance between us.

We're not just childhood friends anymore. This is the distance of partners.

After we left the memorable amusement park, we went on our way home.

We coincided with the home-time rush, Kitaharagawa station platform was overflowing with people.

Since the high speed train that stops at Hachiougi in one stop was probably full, we waited on the platform for the next train, to take the slow train home.

As we did,

"....Ah"

Pushed in the crowd of people, it looked like Sora was about to slip off the platform.

In a hurry, I pulled our entangled hands.

The train passed by immediately behind Sora, who I managed to pull into me to protect her.

"Sora, are you ok?"

"Yeah, Thank you. I'm fine."

My heart rang out like an alarm bell.

"Really... I'm glad I was holding your hand."

"Yeah. Really."

What if I wasn't holding her hand. If we were still childhood friends, that would be dangerous.

We gripped each other's hands even more strongly.

Interlude: Our Retribution Policy

"What a nice sight."

He said while watching the TV.

Transmitted on the screen was news reporting on a fire breaking out in the city.

In one room of the burning apartment complex, they discovered the burnt corpse of an unemployed man.

That man was the offender of a series of arson incidents that disturbed society.

Then, about a week ago, the man that he demanded I “bestow a reward” upon.

"An arsonist burning to death in a fire. There's nothing more appropriate than this."

Without any especially deep emotion, he was uninterested.

The incident which should have happened naturally, happened naturally. He probably recognised that.

I stood in the corner of the living room, and simply listened to his voice.

In order to grant his wish, I became his tool.

The one who establishes the target of retaliation, is him. The one who performs it, is me.

I say ‘perform’, but it isn’t necessary for me to do it first-hand. By manipulating the probability that fills this world, I am able to bestow a reward in the form of misfortunate accidents and events even to far, far away targets of retribution.

From the moment I decided to grant his wish, I began to understand that it was unnecessary for me to think about what kind of reward would be appropriate. An existence like me, a thing that grants peoples wishes, accommodates the wishes that I should grant.

He understood my power, but he was, nonetheless, cautious.

He first chose offenders of villainous incidents occurring in Japan as targets of retribution. That was probably in order try out my power.

For example, if it’s a case where the police cannot identify the suspect, if I learn the appearance and name of the offender, their whereabouts and the events in their past. Performing retribution, confirming what to establish retribution on, it’s not difficult.

The appropriate reward, for the whole world.

Unlike the creator, I am imperfect, and am not able to change the world one by one.

Nevertheless, if we do something like this we’ll get closer the world I wish for little by little, he said.

"After tomorrow, include the people close to me as retribution targets."

People close to him. Such as relatives and family?

"Not my family. They're too close. We'll go outside, give the people walking around their appropriate rewards.”

Are you planned to ascertain the efficiency of my abilities?

"Yes. ...Besides, when we go outside, wear this. That weird appearance stands out too much. Then I won't mind walking with you."

He held out the paper bag placed on the table to me.

I took it and looked inside, the uniform for girls for the school he attended was inside.

"I put a hair tie in there too. Tie up that pointlessly long hair."

He spoke tiresomely, and returned to his room.

He's a strange man, I thought again.

This isn't the first time he's given me things.

The first thing he gave me, was a place to stay. One room in the apartment his parents seemed to have bought him as a gift, in there he allocated one room to me. Originally, there were many rooms as he was living away from home, it seemed to be left over.

Now in the room that was once vacant, a simple bed and dressing table had been placed, the closet really wasn't needed when he lived alone, it was stored full of clothes for girls.

I've met many humans until now, but I haven't once been treated like this.

I'm worshipped like a God, though I'm creepy like a monster, to him it's like I'm just a person, and he treats me like I'm just a girl. Though he avoids obviously behaving like he looks down on me, he is exceedingly polite towards me.

I felt like something else was strange.

That is his personality.

I've seen him when he talks to friends over the phone. His tone and expression then truly look like a different person. He's bright, friendly, exchanging things like jokes when he talks, it doesn't bare the slightest resemblance from the usual him that I know.

Perhaps he suffers from a split personality disorder?

"That's stupid. I'm just acting."

I asked, and didn't feel any friendliness in the slightest, a cold voice answered.

"When I’m talking to inferior people, it’s better to get on their good sides rather than make enemies. I’m putting on a personality that they prefer. It’s a little freebie for them.”

It looked like very jokey personality.

"Hmph. Usually it’s pretty jokey, but deep down it’s more serious, it makes sure people won’t tell lies. That personality’s the most popular. I can’t joke around too much, but I also can’t be too serious. But no matter what, it always holds the position of being inferior to others.”

Do people prefer others who are inferior to them?

"Naturally. People suffer from inferiority complexes. They can’t hold the feeling that people better than them enjoy being around them. Having no self-confidence is encouraging to them, because it makes them suffer.”

But, the feeling of honour exists in humans too. Would you not call honour the feeling of when people better than yourself enjoy being around you?

"What a sweet thought. Humans envy things. While you call it honour, on the flip side, jealousy lurks. Besides, since I’m the only person who realises that, that’s the biggest trouble.”

Although he asserted that, I didn't see that there was any portion of the popular student that was inferior.

I didn’t think anybody would pretend to be inferior just so they could have people that enjoy being around them.

"I don’t actually have to be inferior at everything. Inferior people don’t try and see the true nature of things, they live in a fantasy. Even interpersonal relationships are complemented with fantasies. Muttering some complaints instead of greeting them, that alone makes people relieved. Those guys are probably imperfect the same way that I am, they see the version of me that they create in their head, not the real me, and that makes them feel better.”

He spoke just like he could read other people's minds.

"Of course you think I can read them. What the masses are thinking is easier to read than children's literature, it's easy to understand. Well, to me it is."

Then why would you keep company with such inferior people?

"Well, I hate losing. It doesn’t matter how trivial it is, I always want to continue on as the winner. My abilities aren't enough, the quality and number of my friends, the value of my surroundings, and also, how many people would die for me are. I want to continue to win at all those things.”

In order to do that, you dominate in understanding people's minds?

"I enjoy winning. At least, more than losing."

Was wishing for retribution so you could win?

"I'm talking about the person sitting at the winning position. Giving people rewards, judging sin, they're both the job of a superior person. Rating everyone's actions and thoughts and bestowing an appropriate price on those... don’t you think that's the appropriate privilege for the person who sits at the top?"

I didn't answer his question.

To him it also probably wasn't necessary that I replied.

Me, who was not a person, had to admire his way of thinking, I didn’t think to criticise him.

I simply became a tool to him, who wished strongly, just to accomplish my goal.

I am a thing that grants people's wishes.

A thing, simply just for that.

Chapter 3 --->

#ikasama life game #life cheating game #kemu voxx #kemu #pandora voxx #イカサマライフゲイム #our retribution policy #ぼくらの報復政策

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laurenborrelli · 6 years

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Allora, va bene

Ever since studying abroad in rome 4.5 years ago, I have been anxious about my next trip to Italy. Could it possibly live up to the experiences I had while living there? But it was not a matter of competition. I have graduated university, moved to Boston, worked in Architecture for 3 years, and traveled to 6 countries since. I am a different person now - so I tried to be excited to experience the same environment in a different way!

My roommate (Stephanie) for my first two years in Boston had moved to Rome to live with her boyfriend. Since Kate has never been to Italy and knows Stephanie, we decided to venture together to visit her! And while Stephanie sporadically moved home just 10 days before our flight...we made the most of quickly booking two new hostels in Rome and forgetting the money we suddenly had to spend. Everything happens for a reason. And that reason made our trip even better.

Itinerary:

Thursday, April 19th 2018: My flight departed Boston at 9:30pm. Kate’s left Chicago at the same time. As I boarded the plan I got a voicemail of her panting “Lauren - I just made my flight - I ran through security - they held the door for me - see you in Dublin”. So now that I wasn’t going to end up doing this trip alone, the journey began LOL. We met in Dublin and shared a pints of Guinness and Magners in an airport with the best amenities I have experienced. 6 hrs later we flew to Rome. It’s 8pm and we plan to take the train from the airport to Termini Station. I validate my ticket in the machine - all good. Kate goes to validate her ticket - rotates the ticket the other way - and pushes her ticket all the way into the machine and gets it stuck. The train is to depart in 3 minutes and our Italian consists of “scusa me” and “mis dispiace” uhhh ticket-a-stuck? Luckily the snail speed of the ticket attendant to walk over, open the machine, get us our ticket didn’t deter us from running to barely make it on the train. WHEW giggles and sweat overwhelmed us. We capped on the night by checking-in to our hostel and headed to a spot up the street for food. The dinner consisted of with bread + nduja spread and two personal pizzas. Safe to say we went to bed with full bellies and tired minds.

Saturday: Kate survived her first night in a hostel! She talked in her sleep the whole night...which I’m sure the 3 french, 2 british, and one not sure guys were pretty thrilled about! We were the two girls in an 8 person room...bachelor pad! LOL JK they were all under 20 y/o but very polite and easy to stay in a room with! The morning walking tour began with a cornetti and cappuccini at a small cafe where I used to frequent when I had meetings for a design competition Premio Piranesi. Moving on to Santa Maria Maggiore, through Monti, around the forum before the crowds, and checked-out my old lunch nook at the Campidoglio. Then down the stairs along Via Maior Arenula to see where my Cartography classes used to take place and crossed the Ponte Vittorio to check out the Vatican all before noon! There was a choir singing and thousands of people with matching hats...then suddenly the pope comes strolling out in his glass-less mercedes! He goes zipping around and suddenly comes within 10 feet of us!!! Kate and I look at each other in awe...ok we saw the pope in our first 24 hours in Rome we can die happy now. We later found out this weekend was Rome’s birthday, so there was a plethora of activities going on this weekend! After all of this excitement we FINALLY realized how hungry we were!! Pizza al taglia at La Boccaccia in Trastevere and found my old apartment! Then around the Pantheon and the journey back uphill to rest our legs at the hostel. With sunburned noses and hungry bellies we headed in Monti to Pasta Chef. Its a casual pop-in restaurant with a 4.9 rating on trip advisor - the paper plates and plastic cups makes it not seem like a roman restaurant. But the food was SO FREAKING GOOD! Grabbed wine and a tiramisu to go and wandered to check out the Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps at night. Ahhh what a perfect night cap to an amazing first day in Rome!

Sunday: Early morning at the Coliseum. My first time here since it was under renovation before! We beat (some) of the crowds and scheduled a 12am tour. We went inside anyways just to compare what it would look like during the day. As we left the crowds were in full form. Walked around circus maximus and say more bday celebrations kicking off. A huge parade of gladiators took off and we caught them at the campidoglio. Porchetta sandwich for lunch at my all-time fave Baccanale in Campo de Fiori. Espresso granita at Tazza D’oro, to Piazza Navona, then up to the Borghese Gardens. An earth day festival was happening. 75% of the sustainable crafts consisted of spray paint. Aerosols...earth day...jersey show...it all seemed too ironic. Spritz and pastries in the gardens and home for a quick nap / packing before the midnight tour! Made it all the way there despite all of the sketchy guys and cat calls and there was not one entrance point open. Of course the police barely spoke english and made inappropriate comments so we snapped a quick photo of the colosseum light up and quickly jumped in an uber. So did the ticket booth mean 12pm not midnight?...

Monday: Delicious breakfast at a cafe before our 8am train to Como! At our connection in Milan, the second Kate stepped foot on the train it started to depart. Whew barely made it. After struggling at the grocery store in Como with our luggage / weighing every produce item (what does the check-out counter do then?) and touching produce without a glove. We made it on the bus with all of the middle school kids getting out of school...lucky us! Our airbnb was about 30 mins from Como in a tiny waterfront town called Careno. The hosts met us at the house, showed us everything, and could not have been more helpful! We basked in the sun on the beautiful balcony with some snacks and rose. Ahhh now this is the relaxing part of the vacation. It was a beautiful ten minute walk down to the rocky beach basically through people’s kitchens. The water was cold and clear with a couple friendly “buon giorno” heard as we wandered down. Finished the day with some carbonara on the balcony and Italian dancing with the stars.

Tuesday: An early bus ride to Bellagio to go kayaking! Kate’s all-time favorite kayaking tour because it was 20% paddling and 80% chilling. Just us two on a tour with the guide, Mich. We asked him any questions we could think of about Italy - even how old kids are when they start smoking. The answer was 13 btw... We then had lunch of pizza at a hidden gem he recommended called La Grotta. Wandered through the shops to buy beautiful ceramics at Magda Guaitamacchi. The owner was an older woman who spent most of her adult life practicing art in London. She was the sweetest and really made our afternoon. We then spent a couple hours hanging at the park at the point. I did a bit of watercoloring and mostly enjoying the turquoise water against the snowcapped alps. We then hopped on a ferry home and enjoyed a spritz while on board. Our airbnb hosts graciously got us a reservation for the only restaurant in the tiny town of Careno. We had the corner table as the server had grown up with our host. The meal consisted of multiple courses, each with a particular backstory. All of the fish was caught in the lake and it was a wonderful way for us to learn about the history of the area. As we ended with the best limoncello I’ve ever had and bill way too discounted, our server grabbed keys and let us into the church next store. At first it seemed a bit like a horror scene but actually turned out to be magical and show how selfless his actions were. We went to bed absolutely stunned how we could meet three incredibly kind and giving people all in one day.

Wednesday: We checked out of our airbnb and trekked down the steep walk to the ferry launch with our suitcases. After running, sweating, and some last-minute help from our server the previous night (we stumbled upon him opening the restaurant) we made it on the ferry! A leisurely but packed ride to the town of Menaggio on the Switzerland side. It was the holiday for Italy’s independence after the collapse of WWII, so transportation and store times were a bit skewed. Luckily the visitor’s center was open and held on to our luggage free of charge! We strolled through town and had a beautiful waterfront lunch with sammies and spritz. After espresso and gelato we grabbed our stuff to take the ferry all the way to the train station in Como. The town of Como was absolutely packed! Happy we didn’t spend much time there as we grabbed snacks and took the train to our next destination - Modena! We arrived and checked into our next airbnb just in time to catch sunset on the rooftop. People were out drinking and celebrating. We could hear their cheering and signing resonating form the roof it was hilarious.

Thursday: We took the train in to Parma for our day filled with food tours! For my bday, my dad had found a guide who would take us to all local producers in region. It was just Kate and I on our personal tour with her! First stop: Parmigiano Reggiano! The name comes from the rural area of Parma and Reggio Emilia (clever). We got to see every step of the process and enjoy some delicious samples too. Next stop: Lambrusco winery! A refreshing wine with vines that are very young - completely different then my experience in Tuscany. Then to the Proscuitto and Culatello! Delicious meats but the parts hanging in the butcher’s stations were a bit much. How huge these pigs must be is also quite disturbing... Then to lunch at a small restaurant along a horse race track. Pretty heavy local cuisine which actually put me to sleep on our car ride back into town...oops! Finished off the tour with balsamic vinegar. Very interesting of every age is a blend of the old with the new - different then the rigidity of some aged foods. With bellies full of very rich indulgences, we headed back to Modena and grabbed aperitivo at this awesome spot in town. Great vibes, super friendly staff, gorgeous men drinking rose and on bikes, well behaved dogs, a bit of house music, and chips with our spritz...ahhh perfect end to a day once again.

Friday: A full day in Modena and my 26th bday! Morning at cafe with beautiful, innovative interiors. Walked around town and stopped in several stores for fun shopping. Walked through the food market where the Chef Massimo Bottura shops everyday. I made reservations for us to have lunch at his more casual restaurant Francescetta 58. Once we arrived, boy oh boy was I treating myself on my bday! We had a wonderful bottle of white wine with our tasting menus. Kate got the typical 3 course option and I treated myself to the regional 4 course upgrade. The dishes were the best I have certainly ever had and we left with the largest smiles on our face. Best meal ever on my actual bday?...this seemed like a dream. We then walked off a bit of the food and noodled up to the Ferrari museum. Pretty cool space with very modern architecture and the cars were pretty sick to see. The design of each car is so immaculate and just like with any museum, its awesome to see people appreciated the design of something. Being in the design industry this is something I admire and hope I can implement more in my type of work (even if it isn’t something common in the U.S.). Ended the day with apperitivo and a late sunset on the rooftop. And gelato cake in my favorite italian flavor of Amarena. Ah what an awesome day!

Saturday: Took the train back to Rome and arrived at a different hostel for the final leg of the trip. We grabbed a late lunch at Pasta Imperiale - a casual spot similar to Pasta Chef and then headed to my favorite museum Museo dei Fori Imperiali. It is Trajan’s market which was accidentally found below ground in a street repair! I have never been in a building that is an artifact in itself! Great how interactive it is and puts the extensive Roman history into perspective. An evening then of apperitivo and walking around Monti with a reasonable bed time.

Sunday: Early morning visit to the Trevi and the Spanish steps before the crowds then hopped on a train to see family an hour south! It was Kate’s time visiting our extended family and seeing the town our great-grandmother (106 this year!) is from. Carlo and Paula picked us up from the train station and gave us a beautiful tour of their lush garden. It was filled with vines for wine, fig trees, strawberry planters, and a beautiful brick oven. After a delicious lunch we headed up to Ventosa where my great-grandfather is from. We saw the house my nana gave birth to our grandpa. We saw her old home that is still abandoned and looks like it was bombed just yesterday. Then went down the hill to Santi Cosma e Damiano and walked through the church that my nana got married in. She also left her diamond earrings in the palms of the saints the night before she moved to the U. S....The piazza outside is where my great-grandfather apparently saw my nana coming out of church and realized he wanted to date her. He had come back from the U.S. to find a nice Italian wife that would move with him... and then there were facebook icons graffitied in the wall next door. Oh how times have changed! LOL The views from these tall towns are stunning and the younger family members speak much better english then last time! So it was fun to converse with time about their recent European travels and what life is like form them living in the larger town of Latina. Took the train back into Rome in the late evening and grabbed dinner at a fancy food court in Termini Station that our hostel host had recommended.

Monday: Last day in Italy! We walked all through the city up the Giancolo to see the cannon launched at noon. We walked around the tempietto and hung in the Villa Doria Pamphilj park. Then down the hill to the Vatican, to find out that it was completely mobbed and would take us forever to even get inside the chapel. Next time, Kate! We grabbed lunch at the most modern restaurant I have seen in Rome called Bar del Fico. It was great and I hope more like these start to pop up! Similar type of restaurant that Modena is filled with! Then spent the afternoon bopping into a couple art stores, checking out Ara Pacis and back up to grab spritz in our fave little garden bar at Borghese Gardens. We even stumbled upon a gelato festival!!! This was an awesome surprise and while I didn’t have the appetite for it, Kate certainly did! The flavors were incredibly diverse and unique and she had the largest smile on her face the entire time! We ended the night grabbing pizza at Alle Carrette.

Changes since my last visit:

Security: This was my first experience going through a metal detector before entering a church! Man things have changed in Rome since I lived here...but for the better! Better for this precaution then to have a scary situation inside the church. To get into St. Peter’s square we even went through many check points - one including the guard making me drink my water in front of them. Ah yes just water no acid ;)

Spring flowers: This time of year there were flowers growing everywhere! The wisteria around the wedding cake building made it look a bit less...intimidating. The pink and white flowers along teh spanish steps were beautiful too.

Old apartment: It’s converted into a beautiful restaurant/hotel. Which is a relief because the place was falling apart and felt like a lost opportunity when we lived there. Pretty surreal walking around but not a sappy feeling, just happy that I got to have my time there.

What will never change:

Coffee: UGH it’s inevitable to not go a morning without a cappuccino or an afternoon without an espresso. Even kate was having a cappuccino every morning by the end of our trip! They just prepare it so perfectly well that how could anyone not resist.

Work hours: We would be in a park in the middle of the day and it would be littered with people! It was awesome to see how lively and happy everyone was, but why aren’t these people at school or work?... Our Parma tour guide had said full-time jobs aren’t prevalent in Italy now, but is it really THAT bad?

Men: SO. MANY LOOKERS! Very few people acted on it but definitely intimidating for walking around in the evening as two girls. However I did realize if you want to feel good about yourself - go to Italy. If you want to feel bad - come back to the U.S.!

I feel very blessed that the universe brought Kate and I together for this trip. The trip never felt overshadowed by my previous experiences and I could not have been happier to spend it with someone I care so deeply about.

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hikingmysteries · 4 years

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Strength, Will and Inspiration

There are many things to be aware of when hiking. Proper gear, food, water, and a clear plan. Not many hikers anticipate a violent attack by a stranger. It is an exceptionally rare occurrence. That holds true of the Appalachian Trail. In its 83-year history, 12 hikers have been killed by another person. None of these murders have been in the back country. They occur when the trail is near civilization.

In 2019, the most recent murder took place.

Kirby Morrill, age 28, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has been tenacious from the start. At the University of New Brunswick, she was a rugby star, known for her “off-the-charts” tackling, and sustaining two broken noses. Morrill is also a powerlifter who loves to kayak the rivers and lakes of coastal Canada and cycle her province’s trails. Her bucket list included completing a thru-hike of the 3,500-kilometre Appalachian Trail.

In March 2019, shortly after defending her Master of Science thesis at the University of New Brunswick, a survey of sea lettuce species in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, Morrill flew to Atlanta. This was the start of a solo hike that would take 5-7 months. The trail ends on Mount Katahdin, a final scramble up Maine’s highest peak.

All was great for the first several weeks. She loved the trail, experiencing the best sleeps of her life. Fellow American hikers provided her with the trail name, Toque, a Canadian word for stocking cap they had not heard before. Then in May, a mobile app used by hikers was issuing warnings of man threatening people on the trail. Descriptions of the man and his dog were posted. By May 10, Morrill, had passed the quarter-way point.

Kevin Bissett of The Canadian Press interviewed Morrill for a first-hand account, “I stopped at a restaurant because another hiker was going to meet me there with a new food bag for me.” Seated at the restaurant, she saw the hiker she now refers to as “the crazy guy with the knife” walking down the road. His real name is James Jordan. Morrill Googled his name based on the app’s warnings and confirmed his image from a previous mugshot.

Grayson Haver Currin of Outside Magazine writes, “for weeks, Jordan had harassed hikers in North Carolina and Tennessee, wielding a guitar and a 17-inch knife and making violent threats, prompting his arrest near that state line. For him, it was just the latest in a lifelong string of legal troubles. Despite efforts to buy him a bus ticket and send him home upon his release from a Tennessee jail, Jordan—who had dubbed himself “Sovereign”—returned to the AT just south of the Virginia border.”

After spotting Jordan, Morrill left a note at the restaurant register warning people and set out to get ahead of the man. As it turns out, he was ahead of her. She says, she went, “full Canadian,” pouring on pleasantries and petting his dog, Felicia. They parted ways and was grateful to meet three other hikers who all camped together that night.

Among them was Ron Sanchez, who she had met a few days earlier. Sanchez, age 43, was a U.S. Army veteran. “He was really comforting. He was a really great guy,” she said. “I really appreciated him, so it was nice to see him at that campsite again.”

Then the “crazy guy” showed up.

“As far as I know he didn’t have a tent, and he wandered around the campsite talking to himself,” she said. He sang to himself for half an hour by the campfire. “And then he came around to the tents threatening to kill us in a variety of ways and telling us why we deserved to die.”

Jordan retreated into the woods. The four hikers decided to pack up and get the hell out of there. It was not fast enough. He came back. Two managed to escape, Morrill and Sanchez, were confronted. Jordan then attacked Sanchez with a knife. He would later die.

Then Morrill was fallen upon, “I was pinned. Because we had packed up and tried to get out of there with all our things, I had everything on me. I had a 30-something-pound pack on my back, and when he came at me, he came at my front, so I fell onto my back like a turtle, and he was on top of me,” she said. “There was nothing I could do.”

Thankfully, it was pitch dark. The killer may have thought she was dead and left. She got up, deciding to head where she knew other hikers were camped, about 10 kilometres away. Morrill did not know the extent of her wounds, “I had so much adrenaline coursing through me at that point, I barely felt it. It was just kind of a general feeling of badness, like something is wrong here.”

It took about three hours to reach the next set of hikers. She was flown to a hospital in neighboring Tennessee. Morrill had suffered nine stab wounds and 40 individual lacerations, requiring about 50 staples and 10 sutures across her face. Her right hand barely worked, there were multiple wounds to her left leg, and gashes across her face and fingers. Her mental toughness shines through, “I look like scarface now.” Yet, she mourns for Sanchez.

James Jordan, age 30, from Massachusetts was arrested just hours after. He was charged with murder and assault with intent to commit murder. He underwent treatment after being found unfit to stand trial by a federal judge.

Recovery for Morrill involved physiotherapy, exercise and weightlifting in an effort to restore feeling and the use of various muscles, especially in her arms. Despite the pain, she was back on the Appalachian Trail in September that same year, although just for a day. While in hospital, she had promised a woman she had met on the trail to join her at Mount Katahdin and do that last peak together. And, Morrill did, through a great deal of discomfort balanced with joy.

Currin writes, “When she made it to the summit, she didn’t simply turn around and descend the mountain the way she had come. True to form, she bid her old trail-family member goodbye and pressed on, heading east across Knife Edge, the infamously steep, thin, and exposed trail that traverses two more of the massif’s peaks. “Coming down the Knife Edge, I thought, Now this is Katahdin. When I reached the bottom, I was exhausted. My knee hurt. My right hand was barely functional. Yup, that was a good day.””

Since that terrible night, James Jordan, has been deemed fit to stand trial. His lawyers plan to claim insanity with the trial scheduled for January 2021.

Morrill had planned to finish what she began, to complete the entire Appalachian Trail in 2020. Covid-19 interrupted those plans. Yet, there is no doubt that Morrill, based on character and ability, will get it done, “I am statistically more likely to die in a car crash than I am on the trail. It’s just pretty bad luck, a complete fluke, that I got stabbed. I wasn’t scared the first time, and I won’t be scared the second time. And even if I was scared, are you really going to let a little fear stop you from what you want to do in life?”

#appalachain trail #hiking #hikers #trekkers #mystery

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gaudeixcc · 6 years

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Peleton News – Confessions (G18 Tour special – April 2018)

This year’s tour was a little fractured to start with.

JT, my honorable (although diminutive) co-chair has been living in Munich for some time, so has reluctantly lobbed all administrative tasks my way. He still of course has a pointy figure hovering over the keyboard most hours of the day to fire off a bullet-like reminder should any delegated task fall in to the overdue category.

My approach this year had been to further convolute the whole process by sub-delegating further down the value chain. This year RTA picked up route-planning duties, shouldering the full burden once Moley had thrown the metaphoric towel into the Gaudeix corner.

JT arrived the night before to settle into Hotel Mariposa and to busy himself ready for our arrival next morning, where, his welcoming party preparation of sundry nibbles, iced towels, freshly pressed mango juice and 6 flutes of chilled Champaign could be seen exactly nowhere.

Quietly bikes were built and readied.

I don’t with to appear overly-critical at this early stage, however I feel it is important to highlight areas where improvement could be made.

My first area of improvement relates to a mathematical ratio.

13.2 is an acceptable ratio.

60 is a completely unacceptable ratio.

Back in the day when I rode motorcycles for my thrill-seeking pleasure, the most expensive item of an accessory nature was the helmet. An oft quoted saying was ‘If you’ve got a £10 head, get a £10 helmet’.

I valued my head at considerable more than £10 and hence why I could be seen peacocking about the place in the latest stealth MotoGP inspired bonce-protecting loveliness from Arai, makers of the very best.

And the same is true of bikes and their bags.

If you’ve got a ratty old Trek which you equally be happy to see as landfill as opposed to nestled between your legs, then by all means bag it with a carrier from Tesco.

If on the other hand you have a carbonfibre creation, with composite wheels, electronic shifting and less weight than a fat sparrow, then for fucks sake, buy a proper bag.

Is there a correlation between 2 visits to a bike shop for fixing 2 bikes hurled into fifty quid bags?

Answers on a postcard…

Next year we are going to be introducing the video referee to dish out ‘after the event’ fines and tickets to offences against cycling such as this little atrocity.

Anyway, peleton delayers aside, we had quite a good tour from a reliability perspective.

No flats at all in 3 days of riding.

Not bad going considering the excess baggage about 50% of the peloton where wheeling about the place.

It can be a harsh life travelling with a pack of cyclists. As a group, we are generally slow to acknowledge quality but lightening-fast to highlight weakness.

This year’s theme was most definitely fatness.

It all started when Dripping decided to relax on day one and let his guard down.

The relief a fat Victorian lady must feel when at the end of a day grazing on mutton, savory puddings and broiled swan, she releases the strings on her corset, was probably how Dripping felt as he gently supped an ale whilst not ‘tensed’ or ‘sucking it in for dear life’ sitting quietly in the sun.

It was harsh and cruel for Mac to take a picture of Dripping at rest in such an unguarded state. The resulting snap caused almost immediate physiological damage, which was then added to by verbal slappery of the worst kind from almost all.

Macca’s boobs got a much lower level of attention than would otherwise have been.

But the real crime in the whole torrid ‘fatgate’ affair, was a quietly outed photo from Colchester Mac which showed what looked like a Michelin Man ballooned around a struggling Cannondale, legs bouncing hard off an impressive midriff as the owner snuffled and puffed his sorry arse up a hill.

That night James in a moment of shocking and completely unexpected kindness said to me ‘You’ve put on a bit of timber this year’…..

It’s about as nice as he’s ever been to me in the 15 years of friendship we have shared.

Ever.

Meanwhile, back in the Peloton, Whatsapp was on fire as fat Michelin man took a breather from cycling, sat down, drank a beer, guzzled food and then promptly took a micro-nap to allow his body to digest this latest onslaught of calories.

The peloton…. They can be mighty cruel to those built for comfort.

Anyway…let’s move on. Let’s talk compliments….

‘Love the tattoos’

‘You’re girlfriend is very pretty. The plastic she has had inserted in the chest area is both proportionally perfect and pleasing to the eye’

‘Nice denim’

‘Wow.. impressive steed’.

All of the above are probably good ways to make a hells angel feel special.

Alternatively, you could surprise the life out of him by slapping him on the arse as you cycle past at 15 mph…. showing shock and dismay on your face and general surprise that he hadn’t apparently heard your tinckly bike-bell.

I arrived at a stationary Peloton to find Macca being verbally abused by a very angry biker who was busy calling us all arseholes……. I mean he was right…. Must have been a lucky guess.

This was another visible demonstration of Macca’s intolerance to a good swathe of human kind.

On the flight out, Moley’s seat on the plane had been taken by a Turkish lady of more senior years and built like I will be if I don’t stop eating constantly.

She was resting up from the exertion of having had to climb the stairs at the rear of the bus and drag her cabin bag the 6 yards to her seat. The bag was then occupying Macca’s seat whilst she appeared to be cuddling it.

This was clearly a cue for some helpful soul to then lift it into one of the overhead lockers and help her out.

Macca, ignoring this cue like the plague, barked at her. He informed the startled greek lady that he owned the seat, not her bag, and would she kindly get a shift on and move it.

The plane went awkwardly quiet.

Trembling, the lady dressed in black wobbled to her feet and with oscilating bingo wings hoisted the bag upward. There was a moment or 2 when none of us could be sure the bag was going to make it. Like an Olympic weightlifter going for a PB, there was a pause, a grunt and then a final push… the bag was in.

Macca looked on in bland indifference.

She sat down, glazed with a sheen of garlic and thyme perspiration.

I think secretly Macca was hoping for an engine issue, a wayward turbofan blade and the exiting of the Greek weightlifter from the above-wing window seat.

He fumed quietly for most of the flight.

I suppose I should at some point talk about the cycling.

As with all these tours there is a lot to cover. But, as with most years, I generally can’t be arsed doing so and instead revert to the well-established highlights list.

So, here goes for G18, Malaga;

• Dripping confessing to having voted tactically in previous tours when it came to the yellow cap. Berlusconi-esque in its political nefariousness • C&N orange camo base layer • Mrs RTA’s contribution to the tour…. Can’t name it for legal reasons, but it went down exceptionally well • RTA’s ghost-like completion on date realisation • General higher standard of dress quality (although I still feel the shame and hurt from the explicit savaging I got from Dripping on the yellow cap voting paper… he went into enough detail to require and appendix FFS…) • Damo’s use of the back pen on photos • Whilst he did fuck all in his season of pink, Damo did at least sort out everyone elses mechanical catastrafucks whilst on tour • RTA’s route planning. Magestic. Simply nailed it to the floor. The pink was going one way only after 3 days of beautiful scenery • I hate losing. I especially hate losing to Dripping. I especially especially hate losing to Dripping twice. First time I made an error of timing. After having nearly lost a lung hunting down my prey I should have tailed his sorry ass for half a K before nailing the finish. I didn’t and paid heavily. Day 3’s mechanical was akin to running out of petrol 50 yards short of the finish line. I was running in the red and Drip snuck in and nicked my lunch. Absolute bastard. • Col Mac’s ‘Spam’ top • Macca’s deep-seated suspicion of foreign restaurants… he had me convinced that the preparers of our final meal where going to triple the bill, hack our phones, empty our accounts, spit in our food and quite possibly steal our children. What they actually ended up doing was serving us food which was simply sensational and probably the best meal I’ve eaten in the last 12 months, and then go on to charge us very modestly for it too. • Strange fact number 1. Everything edible in Malaga is cooked in beef fat. • Strange fact number 2. There is nothing wrong with 7 over 40 year olds drinking pink gin with berries in the glass. Completely hetrosexual and in keeping with the modern men we are. (On reflection, I think Colchester Mac way have swerved the gin actually) • If I have to hear one more bloody time about how good wahoo is…… you didn’t invent the fucking thing for the love of sweet baby Jesus… • Shit Garmins • The descent on day 3…on day one going up it I nearly died…. On day 3 coming down I could have cried…. Probably the best descent this peloton has tasted. • This year’s tour caps…. Top quality. • A vintage year that saw our first triple-cap…. ! Yes, my (well deserved) orange nailed a hat trick of caps (although only 2 physical caps probably maketh the point moot). • Desire takes many forms. But few have the strength and longing that have been displayed with the force of a Dripping wanting yellow. He may have ‘bought’ the cap, but god it was worth it to see his little face!! • Murdering 9 oranges to make 1 drink

And finally, whilst we have our highlights list, we also have a lowlights list. This one is my own personal list…. Only 2 entries… and neither of them spotted or witnessed by the Peloton;

1. On unpacking my bike and reassembling, somehow my fat fucking fingers and squinty eyesight have managed to crush the Di2 cable that runs the front mech…. FFS… bike now on turbo in just the little ring…. Horrible humble and apologetic call to Damo/Amy coming shortly. I can actually feel Damo’s eyebrows raise as he reads this…. (and can actually here him say ‘well you’re a fucking idiot aren’t you’…..) 2. Do you know what Raybans hitting tarmac at 20 mph sound like? No? It took me a while to figure it out too…. Well, 10 miles worth of fast riding to be precise…. And then I sulked quietly for 20 mins when I realised that day 2 would be the last time I went our armed with more than one pair of sunnies…… I kepy it quiet because Trusler would have definitely shit himself laughing at that one…..

So there we have it. Drip and Mac need new bike bags if they are to show their cycling faces ever again, Macca needs to take a tolerance pill twice daily, Damo needs to tut in my general direction, JT needs to not mention sunnies to me ever again, Moley needs to get his shit together in readiness for G19 and RTA needs to take a well deserved bow to a round of applause from the Peloton.

Malaga, G18…. Magic.

Hoppo

#PelotonNews

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mamoonkhpal · 4 years

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The walls of the fortress were washed grey by vapours from the endless traffic which clogged the gates of the city since tourists began encroaching the boundaries with vehicular traffic. They have a striking effect on visitors because they appear so dirty. It seemed the bus arrived at its final stop alarmingly in Fez, which Amine debated incredulously within himself. The driver of the coach had already departed, leaving him stranded and confused amidst the furore of noxious traffic clogging the city’s arteries. Amine was desirous to leave but needed to eat after the journey, so he returned inside the terminal to a kiosk for a baguette with minced meet and fried vegetables loaded inside. He was numb with hunger. The bus terminal would be the loudest Amine heard since arriving in Morocco. After quickly engulfing the final debris of food with relish inside the empty shopping terminal he past a vast collection of desultory stalls selling Asian and Arabic snacks and toys, most of which were without any venders. The horns from the traffic were stentorian when Amine passed inside the fortress adjacent to a taxi rank, just over the city limits. A local driver explained he could take the newest and most sullen member of the city to the Blue gate where the best entrance to the market inside the medina would be for tourists searching for lodgings. He explained the taxi would not go passed the gate so Amine would be compelled to walk through the market and find La Fez himself, which the driver insisted was easy enough to locate. There were decapitated lambs’ heads on exhibition along the front ledges of butchers and restaurants marking a sombre distraction to his passage inside the bustling market. But Amine was harassed by worries that he would be unable to explain to Julia why he could not arrive in Marrakech, and that his plans had changed so unexpectedly. The walls of the Kasbah forbade what moral resistance Amine could muster, reminding him that he was powerless. Monsieur Clément’s place, La Fez was nearby. He found a sign in the distance marking the entrance to the Riad 200 metres further on his left, then followed it down the path.

He arrived later at the riad following a neighbour’s directions. There he entered the building and waited patiently at an unattended reception desk until someone would arrive and explain the misunderstanding between the coach driver. Drury appeared amused. He described how the reception staff at La Fez were in the medina running errands, and the owner too was absent in Marrakech. He said an organised tour of the medina was happening for new arrivals in the next hours which Drury prevailed would be more useful if Amine was still intent on leaving for Marrakech the day after. Drury had been staying in Fez for nearly 3 months. He led Amine briskly towards the straggling members of the group inside the Kasbah, where two French women were planning to rent a car they would travel the desert through. Amine learnt their names were Daphne and Sophie when Drury introduced him, and revealed that his lacklustre driver had fallen short of Marrakech. The girls conceded openly that it was quite common.

Drury laughed, ‘Maybe he didn’t have enough fuel!’

Daphne and Sophie were beside Drury who was a dark man traveling the Maghreb. He was an artist from Canada on an extended stay in Fez.

‘I love Fez even though it can be so chaotic. It really is something so special, here. There are Donkeys everywhere’, Drury laughed.

The girls were struggling to understand the tempo of conversation among several other guests from the Riad, who were equally enigmatic. Their tour had meandered in dark night through the passageways of local restaurants until Drury found one of the few local places serving alcohol to foreigners in the city.

“Uh, we understand you had a problem with your journey.”

Daphne said in broken whispers beneath the music of the restaurant they were entering. It was dimly lit and empty besides the floor staff. A waiter ushered the group onto the terrace without any light. They made a few orders for beer but the overall clamour inside the restaurant was less than enthusiastic, because the waiter recommended they be quiet unless they attract any unwanted attention from the medina. Daphne and Sophie conceded some altruism on Amine because his wrist was broken, so they agreed to stow their new friend to Marrakech tomorrow morning. As the night drew longer the drinking continued until the drunkard joyriders assembled very quietly by the blue gate.

‘There’s a red buggy ahead. The driver says he can take us on a tour for 20 dirhams each’, Sophie exclaimed.

Conversation paused while they began to congeal inside this container like scattering mice. The engine then sparked the buggy alive when it attempted some acceleration forward. They were making room for each other inside the back but the driver resisted, arguing they were too many of them. He began to refuse going any further but Daphne pressed.

‘It’s fine, go. Go!’

There was a taxi behind that was not giving way and the driver of the buggy refused to wait. Before he could accelerate, the car had swept across jolting the sardine container into the air, and rattling the group inside. Amine took haste to protect his hand from any further knocks during the collision, so he nestled his wrist between his stomach and thighs inside the buggy. He too was momentarily dislodged inside the container when it began to gyrate in the air. There was silence in the buggy when it returned slamming to the ground. The driver rushed outside the door to seize the offending vehicle, though he had stopped a few meters after the crash and Drury began checking that everyone inside was okay. Amine ejected outside quickly, and the remainder of the dazed group slowly disentangled themselves. The excitement later reduced inside the buggy and Amine stared bemused at Daphne who conceived the mad idea in the first place. The driver of the buggy was a close friend of monsieur Clément’s, so he made great efforts to apologise over the tour’s unexpected cancellation. He was in disarray over the damage to his small red buggy. Drury had awoken from his slumber and begun making directions for the group to leave the scene and reconvene at the Blue Gate, which Amine could discern from his flaring gesticulations.

‘Amine, I am so sorry. How is your hand? Daphne yelped, checking closely at his wrist.

The group would agree to return to the riad later. In the morning Amine could find neither Sophie nor Daphne who agreed they would be leaving to Marrakech with him. They vanished and his disconcertion grew since the shock from last evening. It seemed a shame that his time in Fez had begun with such calamity, like a precipitous grey clouding in the sky. To uplift his spirits he decided to leave the riad for Café Smile where locals flock for coffee. He walked through a path beside the ramparts to avoid the bustle inside the market. Among the numerous spaces inside the medina of Fez, there was a palace which revealed itself when Amine tarried across a long narrow street. Like many plain stone walls, this strange visage outside drew a circumference which mirrored the walls of a fortress. After the close mishaps he avoided, Amine was tempted by the seeming tranquillity which a confided space would offer. The mouth of this long strait of stone led to a balcony where two young Moroccan men were talking perched from a large terrace. They seemed to be brothers because they looked so alike, and both were unperturbed by his sudden appearance. The elder looking brother welcomed him behind the façade like most Moroccan men who proffer their generosity to newcomers. The young man explained that the entrance to the courtyard was behind him. It would appear like an unspoken fortress faded by time and neglect, with complex interiors running through the entire courtyard and a long empty fountain lying derelict in the centre. The geometric designs wound across the rectangle along the curving arabesque colonnades. They were symmetrical and detailed, but fading had reduced its original green hue. Amine could not see over the walls of the palace, which enveloped him inside its inconspicuous largesse. There was a Moroccan family inside their home which he could overhear speaking in Arabic among other occupants. Then, a voice of a young child yelped loudly behind the window in the centre. The space felt sacred inside, and his echoing footsteps over the empty floor tiles felt intrusive. The sky clouded greyer once more and life seemed to be dissipating from Amine, who realized even more so, that his presence inside the palace was out of odds with the secret lives of guests living behind the windows. Amine was only a temporary visitor. Julia was unaware that he had arrived in Fez, and Miriam was by the sea oblivious of his tangent stay. He would leave the town soon because he wanted to escape the dry intoxication inside him which was creping through his body like fatigue. He left the courtyard back through the entrance he came in. The terrace was empty now, so he would leave to the regional station to buy a ticket for Marrakech.

The alleys in Fez follow snaking zelij artwork coiled into dancing turns that defy any natural sense of movement. Amine would consider whether the breadth of his travels inside Morocco’s green pentangle had precipitated more danger than he originally foresaw, when reading his travel book. The evenings had worsened the climate of mystique while walking alone through the medina. Before the evening arrived, he collected his belongings and ensued blindly with complaints to a room attendant about a rain jacket he believed was missing. The disturbed man replied flatly that he knew nothing, and was engaged with the news blaring from his radio. He told Amine that he was welcome to look through the lost and found box himself where discarded items were stored. After many unsuccessful rummages, Amine chose disgruntledly to leave at dusk on recommendations from Mohammed the caretaker of La Fez who implored on him that, unless he leave imminently, the bazar’s evening activities would sink him under. Amine followed the usual steps to avoid the commotion inside the bazar, and found a course along the canal towards the medina walls where he would find the blue gate and wait at Café Smile until a bus arrived at the depot leaving to Marrakech. After wading through the medina, the bus station was closed and police were standing outside guarding the entrance. The Café too was shut, so he made haste to return to the hostel in puzzlement until Mohammed would arrive, the caretaker of the riad.

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holidayinhongkong · 4 years

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I don’t have a bucket list, but I have family goals

When I started working abroad, I promised myself to take my daughter to places I’ve never been. Apparently, travelling with my family has become my favorite thing to do as well as trying some things we’ve never done before at least once a year. With that being said, let me share with you our 5D/4N trip to Hong Kong and Macau in 2018.

I heard there are many good reasons to visit Hong Kong - from learning their culture, mouth-watering street food, night market, neon lights, Disneyland experience and many more! Thank God for making our dream trips to reality because of cheap fares! I rarely talk about figures on blogs cause I’m pretty bad at keeping track of our expenses but trust me - I’m trying. Since I don’t normally delete my flight tickets on email, I’m happy to share some of the costs for this itinerary.

Manila to Hong Kong: Php 5,747

Hong Kong to Macau via TurboJet Ferry: Php 3,483

I might have deleted our Macau to Manila flight tickets (told you, I’m bad at these things) but if I remember correctly, we’ve paid around Php 6,300

The rates I’ve mentioned are for 3 pax without baggage allowance. We always choose to pack light and tight cause we’re always on the go and of course, we try to avoid the chaos of travel - high cost of checked-in luggage, waiting at the baggage carousel and the inconvenience of having to carry heavy bags whilst navigating a new place.

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 0600. One thing I know I’m doing right is to arrive at the airport at the earliest possible time to avoid the Manila traffic jam and long queue (I hate lines!) Rational fears aside, we had plenty enough time to have breakfast whilst talking about Disneyland cause the little girl was too excited!

Most of you know that Hong Kong International Airport won multiple airport awards - World’s Best Airport Dining and World’s Best Airport Immigration Service in 2019.

We arrived safely and on time (yes, without delays thanks Cebu Pacific!) As soon as we passed the immigration counter around 0800, we saw immigration officers on the side doing random security checks. I’m not sure what the red flags are but I remember a friend of mine who travelled solo in Hong Kong years back and told me she was stopped by an officer and went through everything in her carry on luggage! She was also asked hundreds of questions and it scared the hell of her thinking someone might have inserted drugs in her luggage but she stayed calm the whole time and answered the questions promptly. I think it’s their way of stepping up the series of measures to avoid entry of prohibited items (drugs mainly) in their country. So guys, if at all they stop you at the airport, don’t panic. You may be asked more questions based on your answers so it’s important to be prompt and direct when talking and be ready to show proof! If you know you have nothing to hide, you’re good.

We took F21 Bus from Airport Terminal 1 going to our hostel. We were aware of the unpredictable weather in Hong Kong so we planned ahead. It was drizzling on our way but it stopped by the time we arrived at our destination.

Days Hotel - Chungking Mansion Building, 36-44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

I booked via booking.com and paid Php 7,800 for 4 nights excluding breakfast. Price was reasonable considering we’re a family of three. The room was clean and location was close to the metro stations and shopping areas. It’s most likely an old hostel with busy people (mainly Indians) selling food and stuff down the building. Our room attendant was a fellow Filipino who seemed very nice and helpful. We’re mostly outside exploring the city - so I can say it’s a good place after all.

If you plan to stay in Hong Kong for a few days, I would suggest that you buy an octopus card which can be used at public transport, fast food shops, convenience stores, vending machines and many more. It also comes with a refundable HK$ 50 deposit (we claimed our refund before heading to Macau) Their transport system is very well maintained so you won’t have a problem getting around by MTR and buses.

A glimpse inside the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) with the little one

Day 1:

When I watched Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, I realised that exploring cultures is also a great way of making travel more meaningful. In this journey, we visited one of the most famous temples closest to our hostel - Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. It claims to be a place of worship for people seeking to have their fortunes told whenever they have health and business issues.

Many people are praying and burning incense. We’re one of them

I planned to end the day by enjoying the spectacular view of Hong Kong Island at the Avenue of Stars along the Victoria Harbour waterfront but unfortunately, it was under renovation when we visited so we decided to go for a walk along Tsim Sha Tsui to look for a place to eat. My cousin’s ex girlfriend told me to try one of Jackie Chan’s Restaurants near the hotel. We didn’t have internet access outside and we found it extremely difficult to converse with locals cause majority of them don’t speak English so we spent hours of searching! Since my husband has a very bad habit of being grumpy when he’s hungry, he went back to the hostel instead. I tried my very best to go out of the way not to argue with my very hangry pouting husband knowing we’re on vacation. The next day was supposed to be our Disneyland trip so imagine the agony I went through. Haha! I bought food from Jollibee for our daughter and went straight to our room.

Day 2:

Our Disneyland trip was cancelled from last night’s dilemma. On this day we went to Sneakers Street to hunt the latest shoe trends located at Fa Yuen St., Mong Kok. Before heading to the Metro Station, we decided to have brunch near the hostel. You know they say ‘when you stop searching for something, that’s when you finally find what you’re looking for’ hell right we found that freakin resto just right beside our building! Grr! We went there to have brunch and I can tell you that food was bland at all and therefore not worth the fight. Lol

And just like that, everything went back to normal

Street Food

If you’re on a diet, Mong Kok is the worst place for you! Hong Kong street food made our trip more memorable! We didn’t make a list cause it’s going to be long plus we had limited time but here are some of the most popular food we’ve tried

Fish balls

Cheung fun (Rice noodle rolls)

Egg tart

Stinky tofu with chili sauce

Fried pig intestines & Steamed dumplings

Beef brisket noodle soup

Wonton noodle soup

Eggettes

More eggettes

Mochi (Blueberry)

More mochi (Chocolate)

Japanese cake

Chocolate croissant

Vanilla ice cream

The original Taiwan cake

How can we not love Hong Kong street food? Life sure is a combination of travel and good food!

Day 3

It didn’t rain, but wasn’t sunny either - we call it a perfect weather to be at the happiest place on earth - Disneyland Resort

Tickets booked and purchased via Klook: Php 9,730 1 day for 3 pax

Let the photos do the talking (;

The Disneyland Resort Line

At the entrance gate

Main Street U.S.A.

Adventureland

Fantasyland

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Toy Story Land

Mystic Point

Wakanda forever!

Grizzly Gulch

Tomorrowland

Disney Parade

It’s a Small World

Disney’s Paint the Night

I didn’t upload all the photos cause it’s gonna be long so I just shared the highlights for you. It’s quite sad cause the Disney Castle was under renovation and there were no fireworks when we visited. We also didn’t get the chance to take photos with Mickey cause I didn’t want to waste our time to wait in a queue. Everything inside was expensive - from meals to souvenirs. I bought meal coupons in advance via Klook as well cause I thought I’d save more but the difference wasn’t that much.

A magical place indeed! We enjoyed every moment and it’s absolutely true that Disneyland is not only for kids but for everyone! This experience is something we won’t forget for the rest of our lives.

Day 4

We were supposed to see the Noonday Gun at Causeway bay and experience the ‘Ding Ding Tram Ride’ but we got lost trying to find the way so we went back to Mong Kok for more street food and a little shopping at the street market instead. If I knew that this was going to be a boring day for us we would’ve just gone to Ocean Park.

This was also our last night in Hong Kong. We packed our stuff as soon as we got back to our room cause we had to check out early morning to catch the Turbojet Ferry going to Macau (our Macau experience will be on a separate blog by the way)

I can only say that Hong Kong really is something - and will always have a place in our hearts.

#familygoals #hongkong #disneyland

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