2018 Travel Plans
Budapest In a few short weeks, I’m heading to Budapest, somewhere I’ve been obsessed with going to for the last couple of years. Everyone I know who’s been has raved about it. I’m looking forward to chilling in all the spa baths, although I might literally be chilling, as it’s still a bit early in the year for sunbathing. And also partying in the ruins bars, I’m planning on joining a pub crawl or two and getting stuck into the nightlife. Mind you, after doing the whole “dry January” thing I might be a total lightweight eeep! let’s hope not. Ljubljana After Budapest I’m going to travel to the Slovenian capital, it’s around 6hrs by road and I’ve heard so many great things about Ljubljana. Even though it’s a capital city it’s quite small and chilled with a really strong foodie scene. PLUS I have to take a day trip out to Lake Bled, how could I have a travel blog and not have an Instagram shot of the little church on the island in Lake Bled?? Far from wanting to be a cliché I just really want to see it for myself, it looks incredible. Venice After Ljubljana, it’s on to Venice, which is around 3hrs by road. I’m hoping this will be the perfect time of year to see the canals, the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square before the hoards of tourists arrive. Plus I’m all about the pizza, pasta, gelato, Aperol, Bellini life…just gimme all the good stuff mmmm. Amsterdam I’m a big fan of Amsterdam, I’ve probably visited it more than any other European city, I even contemplated moving there at one point. However, one event I’ve always wanted to go to and never been is Kings day, which is a national holiday to celebrate the royal family but is actually a giant party in the streets, parks and canals. So this year is THE year, I’m going to have to start shopping for some bright orange clothes and prep myself for some serious drinking! Dublin Again, somewhere I’ve visited a lot, so I feel like I know the city pretty well. I wrote a blog post a couple of years ago about a few of the alternative things to do in Dublin if you’re looking for more than the usual Guinness Store and Temple Bar stuff to do when you visit. This trip is specifically to watch The Pro 14 final Rugby. My boyfriend is absolutely rugby mad and I’m quite partial to watching a bit of egg chasing and day drinking too. It’s gonna be a messy weekend for sure! …So that’s the spring sorted. Summer/autumn 2018 travel plans are kinda up in the air, but I’ve got a few loose plans and a wish list and we’ll see what the rest of the year brings! Lost Village Festival An amazing little electro festival in a forest in Lincolnshire I went to for the first time a couple of years ago. I’ve heard it’s now even bigger and better, so I’d love to go back. Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia I’ve been obsessed with exploring more of the Balkans since I went to Croatia two summers ago. Croatia is booming with visitors at the moment with the Game of Thrones effect, and the other Balkan countries are on the up too. The beaches of Albania and Montenegro are meant to be especially beautiful, a lot like Greece but way less expensive. There are also so many festivals in this region over the summer that I’d love to go to so I’m going to do everything I can to make this happen. Get out and about in the campervan Did you know we (my boyfriend and I that is) have a little retro VW campervan? Our poor little neglected Green Goblin, currently sat in a garage waiting to be loved again. Since we were out of the country most of last year she’s not been used much, but I’d love to get a few weekends away and some more festivals with her. I love cruising along in our little green hippie van. South and/or Central America It’s my dream to explore South and Central America, hopefully, at some point, I’ll do an extended backpacking trip through the continent. However, for now, I’ve got Argentina and/or Costa Rica pretty high on my 2018 travel plans wishlist. It wouldn’t be until autumn or early winter though. And that’s it thus far… I say that’s it, but writing it down it seems like a quite a lot! I love planning trips, figuring out where I’ll stay, what I’ll do, where to eat or drink it’s all part of the adventure for me. Mind you I’m also keen on spontaneous trips too and just seeing what happens on the day. Are you a planner or a go with the flow type traveller? Do you have any trips planned for 2018?My shocking experience of police corruption in Asia
The other day, Good ‘ol Facebook memories flashed up a pretty weird incident that happened when I was backpacking around Thailand 3 years ago, my first ever experience of police corruption in Asia! The incident went down like this…
Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife: The perfect winter retreat
As a last-minute pre-Christmas get away, my boyfriend and I decided to jet off to Tenerife for a week. The last few months have been hectic as hell, what with moving house, work and all of the festive events we were more than ready for a flop and drop holiday with plenty of sunshine. The Canary Islands are well known for having fabulous weather year-round, and so many of our family and friends had raved about Tenerife, so it was a no-brainer when we were deciding where to book for our winter sun break.
Lindisfarne Festival: 10 reasons why I’ll definitely be returning next year
I’m not long back from Lindisfarne Festival, a brilliant 3-day end of summer blow out party on Beal Farm in Northumberland. It felt great to squeeze in a last HURRAH of the year in our old VW campervan, which was stranded down in Bristol for most of the summer after Glastonbury Festival… that’s a story for another day. However, with the campervan back in our possession we couldn’t wait to go festivalling again, and what an amazing festival it was!