Music Monday #55

Formidable - Stromae

Ta Fête - Stromae

Tous les Mêmes - Stromae

Heart Upon my Sleeve - Avicii

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody - Fergie, Q-Tip, GoonRock

Bullets - Rebecca & Fiona, Nause & Adrian Lux remix

Whisky Tour

Now, I've come to the conclusion that you can't live or visit Scotland without ever going to a whisky tour and tasting. Whether you're a whisky lover or a complete newbie, this is something for everyone! Just as long as your 18 or over..
Early this morning, Hannah, Matilda and I, along with roughly 45 more students, hopped on a coach that would first take us to the world's most awarded single malt Scotch whisky distillery, Glenfiddich.

The Glenfiddich distillery was first founded in 1886, by William Grant, who built the distillery entirely by hand with the help of his 7 sons and 2 daughters, and 750,000 stones. "Glenfiddich" in Gaelic literally means Valley of the Deer, this is why their signature logo is a stag. Their signature single malt Scotch whisky is matured for 12 years in both sherry casks (imported from spain, costing around £400 each), and bourbon casks (imported from America, costing around £30 - 40 each). After this, they are married together in oak casks, which creates the smooth and harmonious taste. And the longer the whisky stays in the casks, the smoother is will be, but also more expensive! The colour of the whisky comes from the oak wood of the casks- the longer it's in their, the darker the colour.
After the 15 minute tour, we all got to try their 12 year single malt whisky which was, as they say, fruity, refreshing and warm.

Glenlivet was our next stop, which was founded in 1824. The Glenlivet single malt Scotch whisky is the best selling single malt in the United States, and second biggest in the world (Glenfiddich being the first). The Glenlivet 12 year old single malt at 42% (one of the three whiskies we got to taste), matures in both American and European oak. The American oak gives the whisky notes of vanilla and its distinct smoothness. The second Scotch we got to taste was the 18 year old single malt at 43%, which was my personal favourite. It was much darker in colour but also more balanced in flavour in my opinion. Lastly, we got to try the Glenlivet Nàdurra 16 year old single malt Scotch at 54% This whisky was obviously a lot stronger in taste but also a lot lighter in colour. This whisky is more true to the style that they drank in the 19th century. There is more body to it and has a richer texture, because it contains  more natural oils from the grain.

It was very interesting to me that there are actual laws in Scotland for whisky. One of those laws says that a single malt Scotch whisky must be bottled in Scotland. Also, it must be matured for at least 3 years, and the whisky must never be under 40%

I also want to point out that if you ever plan on going on one of these tours, you musn't be afraid to try them. They only give you about 25ml to taste, and you take small sips. They also recommend to pour a few drops of water in it to dilute it a bit so one can taste them better. So I can assure you that no one will be singing on the way home. Trust me, I went on this tour with roughly 45 students....

please drink responsibly

Music Monday #54

Sergels Torg - Veronica Maggio
I love, love, love this song!! I've always been a fan of Veronica Maggio's music and this song isn't a disappointment.

Wolf - First Aid Kit

Burn - Ellie Goulding

Royals - Lorde

Safe and Sound - Capital Cities

Uni - Year 2

A picture of a door I took when Hannah and I were out on a walk

It's been a while but I'm back with a little update of my life.
Yesterday I took the flight back to Aberdeen and moved into my new flat! I've been busy unpacking and sorting everything out in my room these past 24hours. It's going great and I'm pretty much all sorted in my room. All I need to get now is a rubbish bin for my bedroom.
Fresher's week starts tomorrow and I am so excited! I may be even more excited than I was last year only because I know how much fun it was and I know it's going to be an absolute blast this year!

Music Monday #53

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus
I adore this song! However, the music video is rather disturbing so I linked the audio version instead!

Ready For the Weekend - Icona Pop

Summertime Sadness - Lana del Rey, Cedric Gervais
This song is going to remind me of summer 2013!

Clarity - Zedd, Foxes

Move - Mausi

Hey Brother - Avicii
Country-house song! I love it!

You Make Me - Avicii
I'm obsessed!! Salem al Fakir does the vocals for the song.

True

The Swedish DJ Avicii released his debut album TRUE on the 13th of September 2013. Avicii said himself that this album would move away from his typical electronic dance and house music, and instead incorporate elements from other genres, such as bluegrass and country! This news is so exciting!
I heard his song Hey Brother on the radio today in the car and I was shocked when the presenter said that it was Avicii playing on the radio! The song is so different from his earlier singles such as Levels, Silhouettes or I Could be the One!
Have a listen and see for yourselves! It's truly an amazing debut album in my opinion!

Napa 2013 - video montage

I have put together a little video montage of mine and Helen's trip to Ayia Napa. I hope you enjoy it!

These Boots Were Made for Walking

Since autumn is just around the corner, I have been thinking about what type of shoe I want for this year. I've linked a few photos of the shoes I am interested in. The style is pretty much the same but this is what I like for the autumn.

The zipper in the back just gives it some extra detail which I really like!

This is probably my favourite pair because of the style and colour

These aren't exactly ideal for me because running around with heels everyday on the cobbled streets of my campus, is quite tricky! But they are gorgeous nonetheless. Very similar to a pair I had two years ago

Ayia Napa, Cyprus

Nissi beach

Cliff jumping! I jumped 3 times!

Sunset view from our kitchen window

Caught a glimpse of the magnificent sea caves from the glass bottom boat!

I'm back with a little update of my week on Cyprus with Helen. The week on Cyprus has been one of the hottest of my life! The temperature on Cyprus in mid-August isn't exactly ideal for some people to cope with. The temperature in the shade is probably around 35-38°C (but feels a lot hotter because of the humidity) and circa 40-45°C in the blaring hot sun! But since we laid out by the sea every single day, with a nice breeze every so often, we managed!
Ayia Napa, pronounced Aya Napa, is situated in the south-eastern coast of Cyprus in the Greek part. Even though it is technically "Greek," with the inhabitants speaking and eating Greek, I still felt like I was in a different country entirely.
The beaches we went to were pretty damn beautiful! Nissi beach especially. In the six days we were there we managed to go to 4 beaches in total; Grecian Bay, Sandy bay, Nissi beach and one more, but I have sadly forgotten the name of it... how embarrassing!
Our days consisted of cycling to the beaches, swimming in the luke warm, crystal clear water, burning, tanning, eating delicious food (!!), laughing, napping, reading, drinking many liters of water and iced tea and cliff jumping!! We also managed to squeeze in a trip on a glass bottom boat  and rent a moped, which we drove up to Fig Tree Bay and visited the beach that I've forgotten the name of. Of course we can't forget the most important part: souvenir shopping! Of course I bought a magnet for my collection, among a few other trinkets and Helen purchased a snow globe with a donkey in it.

Music Monday #52

Fig Tree Bay, Famagusta, Cyprus

No Guns Allowed - Snoop Lion, Drake, Cori B.
I cannot describe my love for this song. The message is so strong!

The Good Good - Snoop Lion, Iza Lach

Get Away - Snoop Lion, Angela Hunte, Elan Atias

Everything Has Changed - Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran

Yesterday

 

 

 

What Helen looks like when she's waiting for the bus

Kayaking

Helen, Tim, Judy and I went kayaking today  in Helsinki's archipelago! We were out for two hours and my shoulders were killing me the whole time! But I quite enjoyed myself, I like trying new things :)

Music Monday #51

True dat!

Say My Name  - Porter Robinson

More Than Friends - Inna feat. Daddy Yankee

Read All About It - Emeli Sandé (Stefan Biniak Bootleg remix)
A good recommendation from Jenny! :)

Stars - Russell Crowe, Stephen Brooker (from the motion picture Les Misérables)

Loud & Proud - Blasterjaxx, Billy the Kit
Wait for the beat to drop!

Mammoth - Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike, Moguai

Studs + Skulls

Music Monday #50

Paper Aeroplane - Francesco Rossi

Trumpsta (Djuro remix) - Contiez ft. Treyy G

City of Dreams (Showtek remix) - Dirty South & Alesso ft. Reuben Haze

Lights On - Wiley feat. Angel & Tinchy Stryder

Sexy People (all around the world) - Arianna feat. Pitbull

Check You Out - Darin

Acid Rain - Alexis Jordan

Daiquiri Saturdays

I just came back from a lovely evening with my dear Natalie. We headed over to Satin to eat their delicious platter of different foods (which we've been wanting to try out for ages) and a cold Coca Cola. The shrimp, chips and the garlic bread were my favourites! And of course the beautiful fruit as dessert ;) We then ordered in two strawberry daiquiris which were out of this world delicious! Nice and refreshing on such a hot day. Love these types of summer nights

Friday

An old picture of Paola and I from Connor's flat party back in January

What the hell! It's already Friday. Time has flown by so fast and while I've been working these past 6 weeks I think my brain has been on auto pilot all the time and not noticed it's the end of July already! Gaah!
Other than that, I'm currently tuning into UK's Ministry of Sound radio channel because they're airing live from the Tomorrowland Festival in Belgium! Amazing :) I wish I could go. Maybe next year!!
Tonight I'm just going to enjoy the fact that the weekend is here! I was out enjoying the marvelous weather this afternoon when I got back from work, I thought I was going to melt there in my chair....

Music Monday #49

New Slang - The Shins

Smoke & Mirrors - RJD2

Bang Bang - will.i.am
When the beat drops, it sounds exactly like the song Epic by Sandro Silva + Quintino. Do you notice the similarity?

We Got the Power - Loreen

Resolution - Matt Corby
I am completely in love with this song! My new drug as of now

Hawaii

Yesterday, Sangeet, Karin and I got ready at my house for the Hawaii-themed party at Frimis (a nightclub). We had an amazing night out! It's been so long since I properly went out. Thankfully the music was amazing! :)