Screen Actors Guild Awards 2017

So another award show is just around the corner and of course I must give out my predictions for the show.

SAG 2017:

Italics- My Guess
Bold- Winner

Film

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role 

Casey Affleck- Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield- Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling- La La Land
Viggo Mortensen- Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington- Fences

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Amy Adams- Arrival
Emily Blunt- The Girl on the Train
Natalie Portman- Jackie 
Emma Stone- La La Land
Meryl Streep- Florence Foster Jenkins

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali- Moonlight
Jeff Bridges- Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant- Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges- Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel- Lion

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Viola Davis- Fences
Naomie Harris- Moonlight
Nicole Kidman- Lion
Octavia Spencer- Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams- Manchester by the Sea

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Captain Fantastic
Fences
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Jason Bourne
Nocturnal Animals

Television

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie 

Riz Ahmed- The Night Of 

Sterling K. Brown- The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 

Bryan Cranston- All the Way

John Turturro- The Night Of

Courtney B. Vance- The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie

Bryce Dallas Howard- Black Mirror

Felicity Huffman- American Crime

Audra McDonald- Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill

Sarah Paulson- The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story 

Kerry Washington- Confirmation 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown- This Is Us

Peter Dinklage- Game of Thrones

John Lithgow- The Crown

Rami Malek- Mr. Robot

Kevin Spacey- House of Cards 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Millie Bobby Brown- Stranger Things

Claire Foy- The Crown

Thandie Newton- Westworld

Winona Ryder- Stanger Things

Robin Wright- House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson- Black-ish 

Tituss Burgess- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt 

Ty Burrell- Modern Family

William H. Macy- Shameless

Jeffrey Tambor- Transparent 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Uzo Aduba- Orange is the New Black 

Jane Fonda- Grace & Frankie

Ellie Kemper- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Julia Louis-Dreyfus- Veep

Lily Tomlin- Grace & Frankie

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

The Crown

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Stranger Things 

Westworld 

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory 

Black-ish 

Modern Family

Orange Is the New Black

Veep

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series 

Daredevil 

Game of Thrones

Luke Cage

The Walking Dead

Westworld 

2017 Award Season has Begun...

Award season officially began last night with the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles. 'La La Land' was the big winner taking home 8 awards. Quite a surprise for me as I didn't think the movie was good enough to see, obviously I was wrong and now I must go and see it.

As most people who read this blog know, I love my TV shows. However, I also love my movies. And award season, for both movies and TV shows is literally the best time of the year for me. December through February is the best time of the year and I always become so enveloped with award talk. This year I have taken it upon myself to watch every movie nominated and make education guesses for the culmination of the Oscars.

Tonight I will begin with Hacksaw Ridge, one it looks like a phenomenal movie and being a history buff, you automatically become a war buff as well.

Let the Awards begin!!

The Rock

Our families have been coming to this little rock island for almost an entire decade now. No matter how busy all of our lives have become we always manage to take one weekend off during the summer to get together for an amazing and unforgettable time. These weekends always consist of amazing food, laughter, story telling, and new memories. It's the little things. We always have an absolute riot when we are all together and this video is just a small indication of this. 

Music: Smooth by Florida Georgia Line 

Enjoy! 

On The Road Again

They say once you go on one trip to somewhere new, the travel bug bites and the urge to travel again never leaves you. For me, this is so true. The second I came home from Europe I began planning another trip back. I had a few choices on where I wanted to go. I knew I wanted to go back to Europe and travel the whole continent, but there are so many choices and places I have yet to be it made it difficult to try and narrow it down. There was Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and Spain and Portugal and Greece. The places are endless, but I eventually decided on Ireland and Scotland. My family is from Ireland so it is a way of me getting back to my roots but also I wanted to see what this beautiful country had to offer.

I've had friends and a couple of cousins go to both countries and every single one of them have said those were two of the countries they would 100% go back and visit. Not just because of the beautiful scenery but because of the people, the locals were so friendly and amazing to be around. They told stories about the history of Ireland and I have heard nothing about good things. I cannot wait to experience these two beautiful countries and of course to come back and visit again.

I feel like the photos you see online everywhere of both countries, of course they are beautiful, but they just do not do the countries justice. It's also very different to experience it yourself rather than just seeing the photos. As I realized earlier this year, its the emotions you feel when you are there and the way you see it through your own eyes. It's the stories you come back with and the experience and the memories and the photos you took yourself. That is what travelling is for and I cannot wait to continue my travels through Europe!

Paris

We ended this incredible journey in the city of love and light and it really lived up to it's name. I was taken aback by this beautiful city but it was also bitter sweet. This was the last city our group was spending together and after twelve joyous days we would be going our separate ways and back to our different countries and different cities. Everyone always says Paris is super dirty, but I didn't find it to be dirty at all. I actually found it to be incredibly beautiful. We walked the Champ De Elyeese, which is much longer then I thought it would be. One thing that absolutely surprised me was how far away everything actually was from each other. In most other cities we could walk to almost everything, but in Paris we had to take the metro almost everywhere, which was quite easy. 

We saw everything you would want to see: the Notre Dame, the Arc Di Triomphe, The Louvre, and of course the Eiffel Tower. I think seeing the Eiffel Tower in person is so undesirable. It is just a feeling you get and it is very hard to describe that feeling. It is a magnificent architectural feat. You may think you know how big it is just from photos but to actually see it in real life is one of the most magnificent things you can ever experience. Going up the Tower was breathtaking. To be able to see all of Paris from the tower was beautiful, I was speechless. Photos and videos just do not do it justice and it is something every person should see in their life. 

One of the things I quite enjoyed about being in Paris for an entire day where we could walk around and do what we wanted was that a group of us spent the day walking around. We ended up going to a cafe called Angelique's and it had some of the best pastries I have ever had. Then we walked over to the beautiful Tuileries Garden. I loved spending time and just walking around at the how immaculate it was. One more thing that impressed me so much was the architecture. Every building was built essentially the same, but the architecture was so impressive. I just couldn't believe it. 

There is just so much to say and then nothing to say. There are so many words to describe it but then when someone asks you about it you just trip over your words because you are not sure what words to use or how to even say it. 

This was really a trip of a lifetime and I honestly cannot wait to get back to Europe to experience more. 

Florence

Oh gosh, what is there to even say about Florence. It was so hot that day and sunny and perfect that it made walking around the small and beautiful city even better. What I liked the most about Florence was it wasn't too busy and yet there were still a lot of tourists. It wasn't as congested as Venice and Rome, especially Rome, but it still had a lot of people. I liked the views and easiness of getting around. I liked just walking around and seeing the architecture was really beautiful. I think the best part, again, was the walking tour. I liked that we were walked around the city with the tour guide and she was able to give us little tidbits of information (none which I can remember now of course!).

The one thing I absolutely loved, which I'm sure everyone else did as well, is the view from Piazzale Michelangelo. Just seeing it was absolutely beautiful. How amazing is the view, how amazing is it to see absolutely everything in Florence and to be able to see it all in one look. Panoramas do not do this place justice. One of the unique things we were able to do here was get a group shot, which is one of my favourite things that we got on this trip. It's a way in which I can have a photo with every single person from our trip. It's a very nice memento to have.

Rome

Oh Rome, what a place to visit. It is a must see place, you have to visit Rome. It is really the centrepiece of Europe and the beginning of everything. The Roman's came, saw and conquered and boy did they leave their footprint everywhere they went. I enjoyed Rome, only for the history aspect. I loved seeing the Coliseum and the Roman Forum and the beautiful cobble stone streets. It really was breathtaking to finally see the buildings and the stories I have read about and studied for years. The Coliseum was just awe-inspiring, you would never think that something could be as big as this place. The sheer size of the Coliseum was amazing, but also seeing the building and the place where everything played out like the gladiator fighting was amazing. To actually see where they stood and how far people would watch it. It was just eye-opening. 

The Roman Forum was another beautiful place to visit. Granted the day was very very hot, but it was definitely better then rain. I loved seeing the buildings, or what was left of them, just to see how big they built these buildings. It's not like the Romans were giants compared to us, but they built buildings that were so big they intimidated any person who would have to walk into them. And the fact that some, if not most, of these buildings are still standing, or at least most of it is still standing. The pillars I think were the most fascinating to me just because of how tall they were and the fact that every single one of them that I saw did not have a crack or any sort of decay among them. I was surprised and shocked to see that these pillars had literally stood the test of time. 

Would I go back to Rome? Probably not. Do I think you need to see Rome? Yes, 100%. Rome is a city in which every person should visit at least once in their life. 

Venice

Oh Venice! What a place to be. Granted the entire day we were there it rained and it literally poured. The only time it stopped was when we took our 30 minute gondola ride and the minute we stepped out of the boats it began to pour again. But aside from the rain, Venice was a beautiful city full of history and beautiful architectures. I could not believe the canals. I have seen photos of them and I have heard about them, but there is nothing compared to actually seeing them and taking a boat through them. Also I got conned into feeding the pigeons and ended up having to pay 10 euros for it. Not fun, I would recommend running from the men with the bird seed. 

One of the these I loved was a really cool walking tour with a local guide. It did rain for the whole day and I of course didn't pack a rain jacket or thick sweater, so I only had my thin sweater. Aside from my atrocious clothing choice, I really enjoyed the walking tour. It was a way to see the city through the small walkways and random little shops. Another cool thing about Venice was the dinner we had that night. It was optional but almost everyone chose to go to it. Our trip manager told us to grab masks that were quite popular in Venice  during the 16th century. We all bought little masks from stores around the city and at dinner took photos of our Venetian masks. It was a really unique experience.  

One question I do have: do/can people swim in the canals? Or is that something people just don't do? 

Austria

We drove then on to Austria and driving from country to country was one of the best parts of the tour as we were able to see small villages and towns and the landscape of all of these beautiful countries that you just would not see flying from place to place. It also gave a lot of time for sleep or just relaxing time before hitting up the next city. In Austria we went to Innsbruck and being there just felt like a dream. It just didn't seem real, the landscape and the beauty of Austria just didn't look like it was really there. The best way I can describe it is that it looked like CGI animation, pretty much green screen. But it was real and it was beautiful and inspiring and breathtaking. 

Also, Austria has some of the best dessert, especially the apple strudel, that I have ever experienced. I am not ashamed to say that I had it three times in the 18 hours that we were in that beautiful country. The group went white water rafting, and I was not so keen on it, so my sister and I decided to just hang out with some of the other group members. This was nice as it was a chance to get to know some of the other people on the trip and hearing the stories and seeing the videos afterwards was really cool. 

Coming home, people asked me what countries I would definitely go back to, and Austria is one you can never see enough of. Granted, every single one of them is like that, but there is something about Austria that just pulls at me to come back. 

Munich

Munich I think is a very underrated city. It had a few tourists but it was not busy compared to the cities we had been to previously and the cities we were going to visit. It was such a sweet city to be in and very calm compared to the other cities we would see. We had the option to go on a bike tour but as my sister cannot ride a bike I did not go without her and we merely walked around the city and enjoyed the day. It was very relaxing compared to the crazy days that were ahead of us. We did a little bit of shopping but mostly walked around the city and just took it all in. I think what I enjoyed the most about the city was how easy it was to get around and the people were quite nice. I loved the mixture of the old buildings with the new buildings and being able to see the difference in architecture. It is very interesting and beautiful to see how architecture has changed over many years.

We didn't make it to the English Gardens or any massive churches, but we walked along the streets and just enjoyed it. Germany has now become a country in which I will definitely go back to. We utterly enjoyed being in a city that is so beautiful and so old and yet so overlooked by people visiting Germany. 

St. Goar

I had never heard of St. Goar before this trip and I didn't realize we were actually staying somewhere that was so off the beaten path that we barely had wifi service or anything at all. There was barely any vehicles driving around, absolutely no emergency vehicles (unlike London) and it was so quiet and peaceful. There was a point where a few of us just sat down by the water and listened to what was going on around us and there was literally no sound, just the chirping of crickets and mosquitos flying around. I think it was one of the most beautiful and picturesque places we visited, and we went to a lot of beautiful places. It was definitely really nice to go to a place to calm and quiet compared to the bustling and busy cities of Amsterdam and London. It was a nice way to sort of see what was around us and just to take it all in. It was also really nice to breathe fresh air that literally came off the turquoise river right in front of us.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about this place was our ability to walk around the town and not have to worry about being hit by cyclists or cars. The streets were completely empty aside from us and there were no other tourists around. It was perfect. The night was cool, but nice to walk the town. It wasn't too hot which made site seeing that much more enjoyable. One of the things we noticed was how all of the stores were family owned and the cafes were kept open later then usual only because the owner was socializing with people who were sitting outside. They were so nice and greeted you as you walked by.

St. Goar is a place in which I had never heard of but now I will never forget.

Europe Trip

So tomorrow begins the adventure of travelling Europe for two weeks with my sister and a group of random people from around the world. We are going to England, Amsterdam, Rhine Valley, Munich, Austrian Tyrol, Venice, Rome, Florence, Lucerne and then finally to Paris. I am beyond excited for this trip as it is something I have wanted to do for a very long time, but I am also super nervous. I guess I am one of those people who gets really nervous before a big trip (one across the ocean!), but not really because of the travel. I mean everyone gets nervous flying, even if they say they don't. I think it is more because of the people that are also coming on the trip. You never know who it is going to be, but every review I've read for this trip and other trips has stated they became really good friends with the people on the trip and that makes all the difference. It really helps to know that this is just me overworking myself, but I really cannot help it.

I am just so excited to finally see the places I have studied for years and watched movies and TV shows and documentaries about. It really is something I have always wanted to do and I have actually already started planning my next trip with Contiki (haha). I will hopefully be updating as much as possible as it may be difficult with the amount of travelling and of course being able to connect to wifi.

I think one of the things most people (or maybe just me) is not only going on the trip, but the excitement of coming back and sleeping in your own room and then telling your friends and family all about the trip and what you saw and the interesting people you met. You get to tell them the stories of the people you met and become friends with people from around the world you would have never met otherwise. It's fun being able to relay your experiences with other people and see them relive it with you even if they weren't there to witness it.

More posts to come!!!