Family travel goals

Travel Wish Lists and a New Year of Adventures

A new year calls for a new travel wish list because what is the start of year but a chance to daydream and think up some awesome travel goals!

Looking back on my wish list from last year I was so happy to see that, apart from one place, we actually visited everywhere I had hoped to in 2017 – plus more! Becoming a mother made it a wonderful rollercoaster of a year (a rollercoaster that included an awful lot of coffee) but we still managed to have some amazing adventures and Evie became the perfect little explorer.

We visited 6 different countries across two continents; went on planes, trains, boats and road trips; sunk our toes in the sand and dipped them in the sea; swung in hammocks and played in the snow; climbed mountains and visited one of the biggest mosques in the world; wandered through small local villages and explored big twinkling cities. I’m not sure 2018 can top last year but we’re going to give it one hell of a try!

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Travel blog photos

30 Before 30

It’s no secret that I love a good list.  Whether it’s my bucket list that is constantly being added to, the list of destinations we’ve visited so far, or a meticulously detailed itinerary of our next adventure.  So, in honour of me turning 29 earlier this week (she says as she weeps quietly in the corner), I thought it was about time for another list!

Despite all the celebrating, cocktails and cake that have been involved in trying to forget I’m another year older, I can already feel the big 3-0 lurking just around the corner.  Maybe it’s because I’m soon to be leaving my wild(ish) 20’s behind or maybe it’s because being in your 30’s just seems a whole lot more grown up – even though we’ve been married for 8 years, have a mortgage, full time jobs and all those adult responsibilities already, both Mr Ayla and I still firmly put ourselves in the children’s category and bustle in with younger siblings and cousins at family parties. But I’m not so sure I’ll get that privilege when I’m no longer in my 20’s.

So, to take my woeful mind off my looming 30’s, and of course to make the last year of my 20’s pretty awesome, I’m taking some inspiration from others who have done this by making a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30.  What better way is there to forget that I’m another year older than to plan lots of new adventures?!

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Reasons to visit New Orleans

Wanderlusting Over New Orleans

As someone who is ridiculously crazy about travel, it’s not surprising that I always have some far flung destination floating around my head, whether it’s thinking back on memories from somewhere I’ve fallen in love with or daydreaming about a new place I would love to explore. Reading so many other travel blogs about people’s adventures around the world is fascinating and infuriating in equal measure. Fascinating because oh my goodness I want to go there, and infuriating because oh my goodness I want to go there!!

The US has never really been high on my list of places to explore, mainly because I prefer countries with as different a culture and traditions to us as possible.  But lately I just can’t seem to get New Orleans out of my head.  This Louisiana city, known for its vibrant nightlife, live music scene and rich mix of cultures is like nowhere else in the US and the more I see and read about it, the more I desperately want to visit.  Writing about it really isn’t helping but what the hell!  These are just a few of the many reasons why I am wanderlusting so hard over this city right now.

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