Tag: Gibraltar

Best songs for an American road trip

At Home around the World

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Apart from my naturally pasty skin and my unwavering love for tea and scones, I don’t really consider myself to be very British.  That may sound a little silly seeing as I was born and have lived in the UK my entire life and my family tree is English for as far back as I know, but England is not somewhere that I have ever truly felt to be my home.

I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s because my body craves constant sunshine instead of constant drizzle.  Maybe I dream of a more chilled out life with less rushing and stressing.  Or maybe it’s simply because I love exploring the world so much that nowhere will ever truly feel like home to me; I always want to be on the move and am always looking for a new adventure.

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Addicted to blogging

The Crazy Wonderful Things We Do in the Name of Blogging

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That feeling of pure excitement when you arrive in a new destination cannot be compared to anything else.  Stepping off the plane into the humidity of a different country; flicking through your passport to find that new stamp; eagerly awaiting your suitcase so you can rush off to your luxurious hotel, where you stare wide-eyed at the panoramic view from your balcony and flop down on top of the ginormous comfy bed, before going out to explore the city.  So exciting.  So thrilling.  So blissful.

Right?  Well, our trips usually go something a little more like this…

Stepping off the plane into the humidity of a different country; posing for a photo in front of the plane once we’ve waited for everyone else to get off and get out of the shot; flicking through our passports to find that new stamp and, if there isn’t one, holding up the line until we get one; eagerly awaiting our suitcases so we can rush off to our hotel, where Mr Ayla is very nicely told to either wait outside or stand behind the door so I can take an appropriate amount of photos of the room before he messes up the bed or the contents of our suitcases start spilling out everywhere; then finally checking what’s on my huge long list of things to do first and heading straight in that direction.

No Alex, you can’t sit down and relax, we have places to go and things to see.  What do you think this is?  A holiday?!  Tut.

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Holiday in Gibraltar

Reminiscing in Gibraltar

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Five years had gone by since we last visited Gibraltar, somewhere extremely close to my whole family’s heart, and on our relaxing trip back last month, we realised how much it has changed in that time.  Modern complexes, plush hotels and fancy restaurants have been built up, turning what was once a quiet and unheard of place into a tourist haven. But despite the changes, as soon as we stepped off the plane I felt like I had come home.

After asking the friendly airport security for a stamp in our passports (because passport stamps are extremely important to us travellers!), we walked across the airport runway – one of the only runways in the world that cars and pedestrians can cross.  We made our way to our hotel knowing exactly which direction to take like we’d never even left. I recognised the flats where our family used to live, Casemates Square where we went for drinks at night, and the restaurants we used to eat at on the marina.

As we walked along the water towards our hotel, I remembered wandering along here 8 years ago, hand in hand with my new husband.

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Catalan Bay Gibraltar

Can Travel Bloggers Have “Normal” Holidays?

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Before I even started writing a travel blog, I always loved trips that involved jam-packed itineraries, fascinating tours and delicious foodie finds. I thrive on exploring new places, learning about different cultures and seeing new things, and writing this blog has only made me even more consumed when it comes to planning trips. But our recent break to Gibraltar included none of this. This was the first time I was going away with family since I started blogging, but this trip wasn’t going to be a blogging one; it was to celebrate my mum’s birthday and to unwind in a place that is close to all our hearts.

But, unable to shake my typical blogger ways, the obsessive trip planner in me started to panic a few days before we left. We had absolutely nothing planned and I really do mean nothing. I hadn’t organised a single tour because we’d pretty much seen all of Gibraltar already and I hadn’t even scouted out any new restaurants to try. What on earth were we going to do for 4 whole days?!

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Pink mini orchid

Post-Holiday Blues

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Today, I am feeling rather sorry for myself.  I’m sat at home, having a sick day off work, thinking of all the things I should be doing but not having the energy to actually get up and do them all.

I don’t know whether it’s post-holidays blues after our amazing time in Cuba that’s making me feel so rubbish or just my body not wanting to cooperate with my head.  I can imagine it screaming at me now “STOP DOING STUFF!! I can’t keep up!! No, not listening?  Fine then, I’ll make you ill instead”.  Cue evil laugh from my weary body.

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5 Places I Dream of Returning To

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There isn’t a single place in the world I’ve been to that I haven’t loved in one way or another, and every time I leave a place I almost always tell myself that I’ll make it back there one day.  But with so many incredible places to see in the world, I usually try go somewhere new, as I love to explore other countries, learn about different cultures and try new things.  I get caught up in new places and ticking things off my bucket list but, while the places that I’ve already visited and loved so dearly turn into a distant memory, they are never forgotten.

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My Favourite Beaches Around The World

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Seeing as we’ve had a fair bit of sunshine and hot weather in London recently, I thought I’d continue the sunny theme on the blog.  It’s no surprises that this weather has had me daydreaming about sunning myself on a tropical beach somewhere with the cool sea to jump into whenever it takes my fancy.  Instead, I’m stuck in the office, shivering from the air-con that’s on at full blast, and by the time I get home and can enjoy the little bit of evening sunshine that’s left, I’m way too hot and sticky from the horrid commute.

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The Versatile Blogger Award

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We’re already half way through 2014 and, even though it’s whizzing by so fast it’ll be Christmas again soon, I can’t really complain as I’ve had a fantastic year so far. 2014 started out in one of the most memorable ways – seeing in the New Year with celebrations on the beach in Kerala during our travels around the crazy but beautiful India.  More travels in Belgium, Edinburgh and South America followed, as well as lots of fun adventures in London.  I’ve been thrilled to have won a couple of awards including Low Cost Holiday’s Best Female Blogger Award 2014 and a Liebster Award.

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