Croatia (Travel Recommendations)

Croatia has been high on my European bucket list for quite sometime. It's hard not to let the beauty of the clear blue Adriatic Sea lure you in. Croatia has become a top destination for young travellers, full of adventures and nightlife.

Check out my recommendations for Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik at my new site!

samanthafaloon.wordpress.com

A Semester of Films

This semester, I've gone to the theatre more than usual and by chance, I ended up seeing five completely different genres of film. Though I am no movie critic, nor does my opinion on the subject have strong swaying capabilities, I decided to write a little bit about each one to give you a general idea of what the movies were like and whether or not they are something you'd like to see. If you have seen any of these films and have a similar or differing opinion, please let me know in the comments!

(click 'Read More' to see to see the reviews/ratings)

On My Book Shelf (Part 4)

More book reviews! This is one of my favourite series to write, so this post has been sitting in my drafts folder for months waiting for some other content to fill up the blog. You'll notice that I like to try a few different styles of books... I bet you never thought you'd see The Book Thief and Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea side by side.

You can read the other"On My Book Shelf" posts here.

Click read more to see what I have to say about these novels.

10 Reasons to go to University in Halifax

Some of my Halifax keepsakes (Instagram)

1. Youthful City

Halifax is the home of Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent, Kings College, NASCAD, and probably more schools than I even realize. Students run this town! According to Stats Canada, the city has one of the lowest amounts of seniors. The biggest age groups are university students and people their parent's age. Take a look at the charts if you need more proof (heck I found it interesting!)

Basically, you have a lot of potential suitors in this town; nice ones too (see 6). Start looking ;)

2. Everything is Close-By

Halifax is very pedestrian friendly. Walking and biking are welcomed and there is no need for a car (other than for trips to Costco). As a student, bus passes come with your student ID, but I strongly recommend walking on the nice days. To get an idea of how close-by things are: from Dalhousie's Studley Campus, downtown is about a 10-15 minute walk and the lovely Harbour is about 20 minutes. That covers the radius of the places you will likely frequent most. Biking around here is great too. I personally invested in an adorable cruiser bike (this one).

3. Shopping

Downtown (around Spring Garden and Barrington) there are really cute boutiques. My favourite boutiques include Sweet Pea and Biscuit General Store. Some of these boutiques sell my favourite brand Free People, which excites me beyond belief. If they ever get a Free People store here I will fangirl and wait in-line for the opening. No joke.

There are two major malls, Halifax Shopping Centre and MicMac Mall, only a bus ride away. Stores at these malls include Victoria Secret, H&M, Forever 21, BCBG, Dynamite, AE, Aldo, Bath & Body Works (candles!), Hollister, and all other stores you can find in a major mall. Envy is another good one; quite fancy and sells FP; I think it's only in the Maritimes. To Bus: HSC take the 1 and MicMac take the 10.

4. Nightlife

This can be dependent on your nightlife style. So here is my opinion on some of the main bars, in just a couple of words:

Pacifico: LA vibes, dancing, chic, lounge
Toothy Moose: great for country lovers (Friday nights)
Dome: dirty, club, dance, popular, attached to Cheers, 2.50 shots on Thursdays ("Dome is Home")
Cheers: popular, booths, bar, live band, dance, grimy, attached to the Dome
Split Crow: Used to be the Commerce bar, sit down, live band, pub, day drinking on the weekend
Lower Deck: live band, best known for Sunday nights, upper floor for club scene, lower for pub vibe
Grawood: Dalhousie campus bar, tons of events, students galore

These are the ones that I'm more familiar with, of course there are a lot more to check out. Find "your bar" and have a blast. A great way to discover all the bars/clubs is to take part in one of the many pub-crawls. See 5 for more details.

Click read more to find out about events, food, and more!

On My Book Shelf (Part 3)

Since my last post I've read well over 40 books - in fact I can't really put a number to it. There are many that I'd love to share but I'll spilt them into groups of 5 for separate posts. I recently bought a few online and have been going through them like crazy on my commutes to work. This will likely be a common post for the blog; so if you love reading ...  good, I do too. Here are some from the past summer:

You can read the other "On My Book Shelf" posts here.

Click read more to see what I have to say about these novels.

Letters To Juliet

Letters to Juliet is a really cute movie. I will admit that it's pretty predictable, but at the same time it's very enjoyable. The movie's lighthearted, easy to watch, and somewhat inspiring. Maybe it's due to my obsession with Europe, but I absolutely loved watching their journey through Italy. Every scene was extremely beautiful, I wish I was there! I definitely plan to go visit Verona and the surrounding cities sometime in my life.

There is a quote from the movie which I enjoy:

"What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.

And it's true. This quote really stuck with me. We spend to much time thinking about the "what ifs" when we might as well take a risk, live our life, and be happy with it. We can't change the past, but we can start a new future.

Amanda Seyfreid is one of my (many) favourite actresses, and she did a great job with this movie. She has this simplicity about her that has the ability to capture an audience. She is definitely talented. And the male lead is quite fancy too! I like his accent, British/Australian, my favourite! lol

So if you are looking for a cute love story that will potentially inspire you, I suggest you check this one out. What if you don't? Well you'll be missing out. So go and rent Letters To Juliet and you may just find yourself booking the next flight to Italy!

On My Book Shelf (Part 2)

I'm someone who strongly suggest you read the book before you watch the movie. However, if you've already watched the movie and you liked it, I would say read it anyways! Trust me, there is so much more to a book. I will admit I love watching the movies, but it's even better when you've read the book because you can't wait to see how they interpret it - and you feel a deeper connection to the story and the characters. It's totally worth the read!

This is my second "On My Book Shelf" post. You can view the previous one here.

Click read more to see what I have to say about these novels.

On My Book Shelf

One of my favourite hobbies is to read so I thought I'd share some of favourite books! :)
You may have noticed that all of these books (except for Miles To Go) have been turned into movies. I really suggest you read the books before you watch the movies. If you have already watched the movies, read the book anyways!

Click read more to continue reading.

The Last Song!

So on March 31st The Last Song opened in theaters and guess who went to see it ... me! (Yes I know the poster says April 2nd, but they changed the date.)

I read the book by Nicolas Sparks over winter break and I fell in love with the story. It's actually my favourite book. I was worried that the movie wouldn't live up to the expectations but I feel as if the movie did it justice, I think it helped that Nicolas Sparks wrote the screenplay for the movie before he wrote the book. One of my biggest concerns was that Miley would portray Ronnie properly, and once again it turned out fine - but I do have to say she played the role a little differently than I interpreted it when I read it, but that's always expected in novel adaptations.

So for those of you who don't know what The Last Song is about, I shall tell you.
The story focuses on a rebellious teenage girl who is sent with her brother to live with her father in a small town. Throughout the movie/book her relationship with her father deepens and a new relationship, with a local boy named Will, sparks.

As all Nicolas Sparks' movies do, it will cost you quite a few tears, so skip the mascara (unless it's waterproof of course).

Recommendation of the Day - Rock Of Ages

So I have been really lacking on this blog, but no more! Today I'm posting another recommendation, and this one is way different then the last one.

So 2 weeks ago I was in New York City and me and my mom wanted to see a Broadway show (I hadn't seen one before). We ended up picking Rock Of Ages, which so happens to be my latest obsession. :)

Rock Of Ages takes place in the 1980's in Hollywood on the Sunset Strip. It's all about rock and roll, in fact the music they perform is all actually rock songs from the 80's including songs from Poison, STYX, Journey, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake, Foreigner, etc.

I wasn't really aware of 1980's music before but after seeing Rock of Ages, my ipod is playing 80's rock and roll on repeat. :) And to most people who know me, that's really odd because "disney pop star" music takes up over half of my songs, lol.

If you aren't heading to Broadway anytime soon make sure to check out the soundtrack on iTunes!
(Image provided by Google)

Recommendation of the Day - The Blind Side

I am going to have a "segment" where I recommend things whether its music, books, clothes, CDs, websites, etc. I call it Recommendation of the Day but that doesn't mean I will post one everyday, I will however, post one as often as I can.

So last night I went to go see the movie The Blind Side. I wasn't really excited to see it but my friend really wanted to go so I agreed. To my surprise I loved it! It is such a heart warming movie, you can't help but smile.

For those of you who don't know the story, it's about a homeless and troubled teenage boy named Michael Oher who gets taken into the home of Leigh Anne Tuohy (played by Sandra Bullock) and becomes part of the family. It's based on a true story too.

It's truly a great movie so next time you go to the movies, if it's still there, check it out. :)