This one time in Wales...

Ahhh Wales.
I am back in my nice little house in London and already thinking of my 3 days spent in Wales as being one of those experiences that will be told as an exciting adventure for many years to come.

I completely loved our little mid week break to Wales- the spontaneity and rushing around town trying to buy a tent two hours before we left was really fun. However, all I'm saying is a little bit more planning ahead wouldn't have gone astray. Say had we checked the weather forecast before we left or maybe not made the decision that packing a bottle of vodka and slab of Bulmers was more important than bringing towels and a sleeping bag.

road tripppp!!

Getting on the bus (which we got lost about three times trying to find) we were informed by a fellow passenger that when the bus stops at 'Pembroke Dock' it doesn't mean dock as in at the beach, it meant dock as in ferry dock. Therefore there was no beach nearby meaning we had no where to set up tent. 


But by what we later determined to be fate, the same woman (named Hetta) offered us to come spend the night at her house out of the wind and the rain. Thanking our lucky stars that we had met  Hetta, who had been an avid backpacker when she was younger so she "knows what is was like", we drove back to her house at 1am and spend the night in a very oldWelsh house.

The next morning after being woken to the smell of bacon, eggs and beans on toast for breakfast, Hetta drove us to an actual beach where we could pitch our tent for the night.

home sweet home

The views from the top of the camp site where amaazzzing. This tiny town of Pembrokeshire had about a dozen houses scattered across the hillside and only four non residential structures- a gardening shop, a cafe, a corner shop and a pub. The cliffs went right down the edge of the rocky beach shore and it just seemed to stretch on for miles. Everywhere you looked was just so green and lush, it was beautiful.



After exploring the beach and a couple of hours spent at the pub, we went back to our tiny tent for the night. Unfortunately by this time, the wind and the rain and started to pick up.

Imagine a single dandelion on a huge flat expanse, being in a fierce wind and little bit by little bit, it would start to fall apart and be blown away. 

our sleeping bags were completel saturated

That's exactly what our 12.99 pound tent was like that night.
Except add rain to the equation and it made for a fun night. Every time the wind blew the side of the tent, the canvas would give you a wet slap in the face. We had somehow been jibbed of a cover for our "sun roof" so we had a nice constant drizzle of rain coming down on our heads as we slept. By 5am, after minimal sleep, we were absolutely drenched. We decided to pack up the neccessities (clothes and food duh) and go hide out in the public toilets.

A couple of hours later, we were yet again saved by a friendly local who offered us to come sit in their van and drink tea until the rain stopped. When 9 o'clock finally came round and the downpour had fiinnaaaally stopped, we went down to the cafe and had a traditional Welsh breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, tomato, mushroom, beans and sausages. I'm not sure if 8 hours of sleeping in a puddle had given me temporary hypothermia but at that moment I had never tasted a meal that was more delicious.

After numeous trips to the cafe's toilets to make use of the hand dryer in a feeble attempt to dry our hair and socks , we rescued by the incredibly kind and generous Hetta who picked us up, took us back to her house and after sending our clothes off to the dry cleaner, cooked us a home made meal of spaghetti bolognese and we all watched Harry Potter.

So despite our failed attempt at camping, Wales was a good adventure. I was shocked at the geniune benevolence and kindheartedness of strangers towards us on our trip; but at the same time, deeply appreciative. I don't know how we would have survive Wales and it's wild weather without them!

To Wales ? Why not !

I am currently on a double decker coach bus somewhere between
Bristol and the border of Wales. The bus driver just turned the lights off so I thought it'd be a good time to blog.

London to Pembrokeshire, which is where we are staying (and by staying I mean camping on the beach with our newly bought tent from Poundland) is about a six hour bus ride. We don't really have much of a plan of what to do when we get to Wales seeing as we only decided to road trip it here yesterday night. We had all wanted to go away during the break between work at the Olympics and the Paralympics and when we saw that tickets to Wales was only five pounds ( that's like less than the cost of a Medium McChicken Nugget meal ) we thought , sure why not !

Not that this is relevant to the post but seeing as I am updating via my phone for once, here are some photos I found on it.

Jordan , myself and a jug of England's national drink PIMMS

my housemate being nice enough (drunk enough) to let me paint his fingernails

Inside St Paul's Cathedral, I am going to hell

Big Ben, duh !

the best decision

Yesterday marked the day that I had been in London for one month exactly. I cannot believe it, the time went so fast. All the fantastic experiences that I have had, people that I have met, amazing oppurtunities and new things that I have learnt have made this the best month of my life.
I would not change one aspect of it or trade it for the world.

Not that I would be able to pick my favourite part thus far (lies, it's meeting Kate and Wills) here are some photos from the past month.

Westminister Abbey

my cute little street

getting fancy with the dentist offices

Church

Coco Chanel Couture

I can't even imagine what the next few months ahead will have in store for me and my new life abroad !
Follow me on instagram for more photos updates - jennahales

Absolutely speechless

OH WOW

That's pretty much all I can say to explain last night. No matter how I try to describe it, I will never be able to convey the incredible experiences that I had yesterday whilst working the closing ceremony. All I can say, is that without a doubt I know that will be one of the most memorable of my entire life.

HTL chill lounge for all the celebs

The previous day I had gone into HTL (the High Talent Lounge) and helped set things up in preparation for all the celebrities who were going to be performaing in the Closing Ceremony- therefore I had a fair idea of who was going to be there. However, nothing could have prepared me for the for such a spectacular night.

costume designs for Queen

I was supposed to be a barista but seeing as me and the coffee machine were having 'artistic differences' ( note by this, I mean the coffee machine decided to meltdown and go on hiatus whenever I touched it) I ended up spending the night as a waitress.







So many famous celebs were there last night, its hard to remember even half!
I saw the Spice Girls in all their glory and they are absolutely banging ! They are ALL so tiny ! Mel B was by far the hottest in my opinion. Their costumes were to die for !

I had lots of little conversations with people as I moved around the room from the Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter) about canapes to the Who who liked to mimic my Australian accent, Kate Hudson who was "most certainly sure" she was full on food to David Beckham who was going to carry his own plate to the bin. Liam Gallagher from Oasis asking me about the trams in Melbourne and my absolute personal favourite was when Niall Horan from ONE DIRECTION greeted me with "Hey baby, how you doing?"

Stealing the Official Olympic One Direction dressing room sign ;)

Last night was so unbelievably fantastic that at many times I was left speechless. I couldn't believe I was getting paid to be surrounded by so many famous people- it did not feel like work at all.

I did feel a little bit sad watching the Closing Ceremony, I didn't want it to end. I have had such an amazing time over these past two weeks, everything I have experienced has made me feel so privileged and has certainly made my Olympic experience beyond my wildest dreams.

I've got soul but I'm not a soldier

I'm really loving working at the Olympics, everything about it is just so positive and uplifiting.

My view whilst working :)

 When I go down and watch the events during breaks, the atmosphere of the crowd is incredible. Both nights I have watched Usain Bolt smash it out in the 100m and 200m mens final. The roar of the crowd is so loud its deafening. People are literally jumping up and down as they watch such an incredible athlete make history.








Major perks of the job also include the free food that I get to gorge at the end of the day. Working in the Olympic Family Lounge means only the best meals but so much of it gets thrown away which is a shame. Toffee puddings, tuna nicoise salade, sushi, pork shoulder, vegetarian mezze, exotic fruit platters, triple layered strawberry shortcake, ginger and honey cheesecake- it's torture to serve it to guests for six hours but absolutely worth it when I get to eat whats left at the end of the shift.

French Telletubbies woo

Everyone at the Olympics is also really friendly and happy all the time, it's just such a fun environment to be in. 

Soldier Boy

Last night after work, Red Mel and I along with some other OFL workers went to a Cocktail Bar and Club called 'Stratford Has Swagga'.  If the name wasn't enough of a give away already, it was the absolute worst place I have ever been to in my life. That said, it was so bad that it was good. The weird ass Latino RnB they played entertained us for many hours as did the two official Olympic Committee Workers that we traded clothes with because we wanted the purple and red shirts.

The three D's

My lack of posting lately has been due to my groundhog style days consisting of 10 hour shifts at work and crashing for 10 hours of sleep (note the lost four hours in there are generally spent eating).

This week I have been lucky enough to work in the Family Lounge, which as I explained in my obbsessive Wills and Kate post is where I serve Diplomats, Dignitaries and Distinguished Guests.
It feels too good to be true, that this is my job to work around such high profile athletes and celebrities.
I will give you a list of all the important people I have served just in the past four days.

-The Secretary General of Canada
-The Secretary General of Nambia
- The Secretary General of Fiji
-The President of Fiji
-The President of Cote d'Ivoire
-The President of El Salvador (had a good chat to him about capsicum ! )
-The President of Belarose
-The President of Nambia (she loves chicken)
- Robert Deans, head of the Australian Rugby Team
-Edward Miliband, head of the UK Labour Party
-Lord Sebastian Coe, former athlete and politician
- Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter
- KATE MIDDLETON AND PRINCE WILLIAM
- PRINCE HARRY

Those are the only ones I can remember right now because I just woke up and quite frankly, all the presidents tend to jumble into one another after a while.


Anyway I know you all miss me talking about the weird stuff I like back home- so because I have no photos to post from the past few days,  I will post pictures I like to remind you of all the conversations I have forced you to listen to (yes Dad, I am referring to the Max Factor Lip Stain reveiws I've given you)

A Royal Affair

OH MY GOD

Okay, I actually have to take a massive breather before I type this post because even just thinking about it triples my heart rate and enables me unable to talk/type/breath/function

I MET KATE AND WILLS

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE

CATHERINE ELIZABETH MIDDLETON AND WILLIAM PHILIP ARTHUR LOUIS

THE FUTURE KING OF ENGLAND AND HIS WIFE

OH 
MY
GOD

Alright, so if you know me even slighty, you know I love royal family.
If you know me well at all, you will know I love Kate and Wills so much that I would sell my first born child if they told me to.

So basically, the gist of this post is that I work in 'Family Lounge' at Olympic Park now which is where all diplomats and important dignitaries go to have a meal and something to drink before they  watch an event. All I have to do is be like friendly and bubbly when they come over to my station (which is the buffet table) and assit them in any way they require.
It's a really fun job because you get to meet lots of important people and just have a chat with them about them their day or the food or whatever you feel like really.
Last night Kate and Wills came in.

Now if you want to continue thinking I'm normal, please skip to the end of this post as I am about to give a thorough break down of the event that took place when I met Kate and Wills.
If you already know I'm a freak, get ready- because I've told this story to my housemates about 5 times already and they say each time I get more excited and expressive in my descriptions


Last night I had been working on the buffet table when my supervisor, Linzi, (who I get along really well with cos she's like 19) came over and whispered to me "Oh my god Jenna did you see that? The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge just walked past".
I had previously told Linzi that I was obsessed Kate and Wills and that in my eyes the whole Royal Family revolved around them, not the Queen. At this point, I grabbed Linzi's arm and said "Oh my god, where?"
"They just walked past the door, I thought you saw them"
"No! I didn't see them, I have to see them! Take me to see them!" I said as my grip on Linz's blazer tightened and I tried to follow her around the room.
"Okay, just be cool" Linzi said as she peaked through the door they had just walked past. "I will get you to see them, don't you worry"

I went back to my station and continued assisting the guest with their meals.
I was half way through talking to a lovely, old lady who was a Polish athlete about the vegetarian lasgane when Linzi came over to me in a hurry and said forcefully out the side of her mouth - "Jenna go to the loo, Kate is in the loo, go now".
Now I would like to take a moment to apoligise to this poor Polish athlete because at this point I sort of completely ignored you and said "Lisa will serve you" and thrust the spoon into my coworkers hand as I hurried out of the Family Lounge and towards the toilet. As I was frantically walking down the hall I was fumbling with the ties on my apron because my hands were already beginning to shake. I walk into the bathroom almost expecting to see paparazzi all lined up inside. Instead I see another girl who I recognise as a worker from the Family Lounge standing at a basin washing her hands. Realizig that she must be here to see Kate as I am, I follow her lead and begin to wash my hands.
No sooner had I reached the sink, Kate walks out of a cubicle and  starts washing her hands in the sink RIGHT NEXT TO ME.
I would like to point out that I had been a bit too excited to remember to turn the water on so I was just standing at the sink rubbing my dry hands together in washing motion.
Some Asian women who were blow drying their hands just about lost their shit and starting saying "Look who is it, look who it is!", Kate looked up in the miror and saw from the reflection they were taking photos of her on their iphones.
'Oh no, she's going to leave' I thought as I watched her fix her hair quickly and straighten he TEAM GB hoodie.
"Hello" I said, my heart pounding through my chest.
"Hello" replied Kate and she flashed a beautiful, full smile and then quickly walked to the direction of the hand dryers but then changed her course realizing her photographer fans were still madlly clicking away. Out the door she walked, her volumious curled hair bouncy as she left.

Now sadly, the next part of the story is entirely true.
 I really wish I could say I didn't have a panic attack and end up very close to  the fetal position, but unfortunately being the absolute class act that I am, this was exactly my reaction as soon as Kate left the room.

I turned to my coworker in absolute shock.
"Oh my god, did you just see who that was?" she asked me
I nodded unable to speak, I could feel a sort of delrium taking over.
My coworker grabbed my hand in excitement and I started saying "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god"
I could feel the heat rushing to my face and the sensation of tears building up in my eyes.
"Why are you crying?" my coworker (who let me point out I had never talked to before, great way to get aqauinted with someone) asked me with a massive grin across her face, clearly she was estatic to have seen the Duchess too.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" I kept repeating, I started fanning myself with my hands and crouching over because my lungs had decided to forget how to inhale and exhale.
For the next minute and a half I proceeded to cling to Rachel's hand and repeat "Oh my god, don't leave me, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" as I tried to process the fact that I had not only been in the same room as but spoken to Kate Middleton.

After my mini freak out had passed, Rachel and I recomposed ourselves (this mostly on my behalf) and went back into the Lounge to see PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE STANDING AT MY STATION. 
I am deadly serious.
In one swift move, I slide into my position behind the buffet table and I was literally 30 centimetres from the future King of England. His head was down and I could clearly see him and Kate where trying to keep a low profiles as already people had surrounded our table taking photos of them helping themselves to the wide selection of food.
I have to say something I thought, this is a once in a life time chance!
So I said the only thing that I knew I could say without my tongue twisting it into some incoherent mumble of words.
"Good evening, how are you?"
Will looked up and smiled politely, "Hello, fine thanks" he said as he finished spooning the spicy, prawn pasta onto his plate.
No sooner had he said this, he and Kate quietly turned around and walked over to the drinks station, picked up a glass of champagne and left the room.

Now I can go to explain for the rest of the day I felt like I was on some sort of euphoric high, how when I told my room mate my news she cried got emotional because she was so happy for me, how literally in one night the biggest dream of my life came true - but I really don't think I need to. This post should give you more than enough of an idea of just how happy I was to have met Kate and Wills. It was the abosulte best night of my life.