I'm Back!!!

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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I know it's been forever since I wrote a blog post!! 

I haven't had anyone wondering where I am yet so I must not have enough followers :), but I am going to change that.

The reason I haven't been writing is because I have been traveling around the world completing items off my list.

Stay tuned as there will be lots of posts coming your way in the next couple of weeks.

Don't forget to comment if you read my posts, so that I know people are out there LOL


Happy Blogging

1 comments

Visit the Grand Canyon

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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Flagstaff is famous for the Lowell Observatory, where pluto was discovered, and the San Francisco Peaks, but I was there as a get away to the Grand Canyon. Being only 1.5hrs drive away Flagstaff along with Williams are perfect places to set up base.
On 11th June I visited the Grand Canyon with a group of people from my hostel. We set off at  9 am and reached the Canyon for about 10.30. Our first stop was the Bright Angel trail, which is the main area along the south rim. Our guide blind folded us and walked us to the view point before we could remove our blindfolds. He wanted us all to be speechless with our first view of the Canyon and wasn’t I just!


After a small walk along the Bright Angel Trail we headed to a private area where you need a permit to enter. We sat on the edge and ate lunch. I think this has been the most amazing place that I have ever eaten lunch!



After lunch we headed to the South Kaibab Trail, 7.1 miles long and at an elevation of 6320 ft. We only hike 0.75 miles to ‘ooh – aah’ point and back again that was stupidly steep!



Our final stop was Desert Point, which was the only point where we could see the Colorado River.






After visiting the Grand Canyon I can understand why it is named one of the seven wonders of the world. My photos will not do it justice and the only way you will understand the feeling is if you visit it yourself.

Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon?

2 comments

New York

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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My trip has now brought me to New York City, the city that never sleeps!

#76 Go to the top of the Rockefeller Centre

The Empire State Building is one of the most famous buildings in New York and it has appeared in many movies such as King Kong and Sleepless in Seattle
While I was in New York however I decided to climb the Rockefeller centre as I believe it is better to climb as you get a view of the Empire State Building and a perfect view of Central Park.


#81 Stand in the middle of Times Square

Times square is MENTAL!!!! There are people everywhere all the time.

Say that though, I had the best time wondering around looking at all the crazy things happening. Being pulled over for free tickets to comedy clubs, night clubs and tv shows was good fun. I didn't manage to get anything that I was interested in, but there you go!.



#82 Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

Coming into Manhattan from Brooklyn gives you a great view of the Manhattan skyline but to be honest the Brooklyn Bridge is nothing special to me.
What do you think about the Brooklyn Bridge?







#83 Visit Central Park

Central Park is one of the most famous parks in the world and it was 100% man made. Most New Yorkers go there to escape the crazy fast paced atmosphere of the city after a long days work.
My favorite parts of Central Park where Strawberry Fields and the SE Pond.





#84 Visit Ground Zero

I actually visited Ground Zero on the day that Osama Bin Laden was killed. It was an historic day and I’m pleased to say that I was there.
They have started to build the Freedom Tower that will be a tribute to the 9/11 victims and families and will also be the tallest building in New York.




 #167 be an extra in a film

While i was in New York I happened to bump into the set of Men in Black 3! I wasn’t an extra but I think meeting Will Smith was worth a mention.







Overall I had the best two weeks in New York that anyone could ask for. Especially meeting Will Smith was the highlight of my time there, as I'm sure it would have been for many people.

1 comments

PARIS!!!

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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So the first stop on my round the world trip was Paris! 

I only had one day in Paris as it is not too far from home so I can visit again. I travelled on the Eurostar which took 2hrs from London. I woke up early the next morning as I wanted to fit so much into my day.

First up #11 climb the Eiffel tower


Climbing the Eiffel tower is something that everyone who visits Paris must do. When I was there it was raining (typical), but I still enjoyed the day. I arrived at the Eiffel tower for 9am thinking that I would have plenty of time to take pictures and admire this amazing tower before the entrance opened at 9.30am. 


How wrong was I! At 9am the queues were already at least 100 people long, so I joined the queue and waited. Since all the terrorist attacks around the world everywhere has become security mad. I had to go through metal detects and have my i.d. checked before I could enter. There are two ways to reach the top of the Eiffel tower the lift or the stairs! I choose the lift as it was raining and there are a lot of stairs lol. 

Reaching the very top of the Eiffel Tower left me speechless. What a view! You can see for miles and all of Paris' main attractions up close.  I had a full 360 degree view. 

I decided to climbed down the stairs so that I could experience that as well. As I was returning to the ground there were people running up the stairs as part of a morning workout!

Have you ever climbed the Eiffel tower?

Next up was #18 walk along the Champs Elysees



The champs elysees is the London Oxford street of Paris. At one end is the arc de triomphe and at the other is the l'obelisque.





Then onto the Lourve for #23 see the Mona Lisa.



On the first Sunday of every month all the museums in Paris as free to enter, and it just so happens to be the first Sunday of the month.
As I didn't have much time I only wanted to see the Mona Lisa so I entered in the side door known as the as Porte DES Lions as it was the closest. When I reached the Mona Lisa it was like there was a celebrity in the room. Everyone was crowded round and they all had their cameras out. I have to say though that it is a pretty spectacular sight and if you are in Paris you should not miss it. I managed to get to the front of the crowd to get a couple of pictures but after that I was pushed out to the side. Oh well.


Last but not least is #12 light a candle in the Notre Dame.

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Attend the Olympic Games in London 2012

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
,


As you all know the Olympic games are coming to London in 2012. Living one and a half hours from London means that this is the best chance for me to go and watch some of the events.

 The Olympics is a big part of my summer every four years. In 2008 when the games were in Beijing I was up all night just so I could watch the events live on TV, because of the time difference. I have always been into sport and love participating in any sporting event. I would say that I’m pretty good at most sports but I have never excelled in one individual sport to an Olympic level so I would never be able to attend as an athlete.

Anyway, tickets are on sale now but you have to go through a ballot system which means you apply for tickets and if you are selected then you can purchase them. If you are not selected then you can’t go. I’m not sure weather I like the idea but I suppose it is the fairest way for everybody.

I don’t just want to attend the Olympics though, I want to be a part of it and for it to be something major in my life history. The best way for me to be in the thick of it is to be a volunteer. I applied for a ‘Games Maker’ position back in September 2010 along with 250,000 other people. I didn’t get my hopes up too much as that is a lot of people and there are only 70,000 positions to fill.

On Tuesday 22nd March 2011 I received an email stating that I had been selected for an ‘in-person’ interview. Out of 250,000 applicants only 100,000 people were successful in being interviewed. This is a real achievement for me and I snapped up the chance to head to the London Excel centre for my interview on Sunday 27th March 2011 at 12.30pm.

It was with some excitement that I left the house to head up to London. The journey was a nightmare. I arrived at London Victoria Train Station at 11.15, which gave me 1.15hrs to get across London. ‘Loads of time’ you say! Well as it was a Sunday the underground was closed for engineering work in many places and I had to get a ticket. It took me 30 minutes to get a ticket as there were so many people queuing up to do the same. I then had to get off the underground and head to the Bus stop. The bus then took 25 minutes to get to ‘Tower Gateway’ where I then still had another 20 minutes on the DLR train to the Excel Centre. I ended up being 20 minutes late for my interview and I thought I had blown my chance of becoming a volunteer.

I walked up to the Registration all sweaty and red faced and explained what had happened. They seemed very chilled out about it and put me in the next time slot group. I then had my passport checked to confirm my identity and was then given a blue wristband. I then continued to the next desk where my passport was photocopied and my photo taken (for my ID if I was eventually successful as a Games Maker). After this I was sent to the display area where I meet some people from the Accreditation Team and some other hopeful applicants.

We then had a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation to find out what being a volunteer was all about and for the team members to get to know us as individuals. We then went into the cinema room and sat down to a short film and messages from Lord Sebastian Coe and Eddie Izzard. We then continued to the interview Pods for a 30 minute interview.

I was in Pod 19 with an interviewer called Rob. The questions were basic and what I had expected. As quickly as it started it was over and I was shown out to the message board and shop. I signed the board with ‘Every Journey starts with ONE step! Good luck everyone’.

I will find out my fate of being an Olympic volunteer in October 2011, and if accepted there will be a series of training and testing events to make sure we all know what we are doing when the Olympics start next year.

Are any of you volunteering or have you in previous Olympics?

4 comments

Attend a showing of your favorite TV show

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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I know I have already completed this item, but I attended another showing which was LIVE this time.


For the semi-finals of the X Factor’s shows I was lucky enough (and the envy of all my friends!) to have tickets to see it live in the audience. And what an experience it was!

Living in the south I had a 2 hour journey to London, which is usually fine on the train but this week the whole of the UK has been under snow. This mean't my journey took double the time but was definitely worth it!




We got our seats not long before the show started. The first thing I noticed was the size of the studio and stage. The live shows are filmed in a different studio to the auditions and this time around the studio was half the size. It is a lot smaller in real life than it looks on TV, we were sat six rows from the front but it still felt within touching distance.

On the tickets it stated that the doors would open at 18:45 so everyone had enough time to get allocated seats before the show started at 20:00. Luckly for us the doors opened early as they were doing a pre-recording for the results show on Sunday. We were all really excited as we had heard that the Black Eyed Peas were performing on the results show so we assumed we were going to see them.

As we started the pre-recording it turned out to be the cast of Glee all the way from the USA. It was there first ever performance on British TV and they were promoting Season 2 of the show. I believe that it is a big show over in the USA but I have never seen it. I may have to check it out as I really enjoyed the performance.

Watch the performance here!
After the pre-recording we had twenty minutes before the live show. There was a warm up guy who told us what to do and got us all hyped up!

The judges walked on and Dannii and Cheryl looked stunning, Simon and Louis looked just like they do on the TV! It was fantastic to see them all in real life. All the judges were friendly and made the effort to interact with the crowd whilst not live on TV, some people were even lucky enough to have a hug and a kiss with Simon and Cheryl. Dermot O’Leary was funny and charming often walking through the audience and shaking peoples hands. I even managed to get Dermot's autograph! It was just a shame we weren’t allowed to take any photos.

Watching the contestants live reminded me that they were real normal people, whilst everyone at home was watching the contestants VT before they sang their song, we got to see them getting ready on stage – most of the time just standing there full of nerves.

The atmosphere in the studio was electric, everyone screaming and cheering for their favourite acts, the noise of the crowd in the studio is much louder than you hear at home. Everyone quickly got into the spirit of the pantomime of the show, booing at the judges when they weren’t so nice to the contestants, we all easily got carried away with the whole thing!
The show seemed to be over so quickly, being live meant it only lasted a tiny bit longer than you see on TV, but we got to stay in the audience whilst the Xtra Factor was filmed. Konnie spoke to the contestants on stage, then the judges moved to the studio and we got to see them on the big screens answering questions from callers at home.

Unfortunately the evening couldn’t last forever, and it was soon time to take the long journey back home – but what an experience being live at X Factor was, and imagine my surprise when I watched it back to see myself in the audience! I just hope I get to go back next year…


Watch out USA as Simon is bringing the X Factor (and maybe Cheryl Cole) to your side of the Atlantic!

2 comments

Go backpacking around the World

Posted by Shelley Worsley ,
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Travel is a huge part of my life! With many holidays over the years I have officially caught the 'Travel Bug'. After many years of talking about it, I am eventually doing it - Travelling the World!!!!

My life wasn't really going anywhere and I still don't know what career path I want to take.

Travelling has always been a part of my life but doing it for a year on my own was a scary thought. After many years of thinking and planning I finally realised that it would be a huge achievement and an experience not to be missed. So, I finally started saving my money and making my dream a reality.

I can't believe it but this is really coming true as I have recently bought my ticket!!!!!

I will be leaving in April 2011, visiting Europe, USA, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia.

I'm going to be travelling around europe using Interrail visiting Croatia, Italy,Spain,Switzerland and France. From there I will head over to New York to begin a Coast to Coast trip to Los Angeles before I head to Fiji for a month of Rest and Relaxation. After that I will head down to New Zealand visiting Auckland, Christchurch and Queensland with everything inbetween, mainly checking out the adrenaline sports. Finally I will head into Melbourne (oz) to travel up the east coast aiming to be home for Christmas.

I cannot wait for this as it has been a dream of mine for a while now. If anyone has been travelling to these places it would be great to hear some advice on places to visit and must sees!

Americans, please can you help?? I want to see everything there is in the USA but I only have 2 1/2 months to see it. I definitely want to see Florida.

Can anyone suggest a southern route that will pack in a much of the must sees!!

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