A New Year of Adventures

January 4, 20197 Comments

2018 was a bit of a mix for me. On the one hand it was a really tough year learning how to be a single mama, raising an extremely demanding (but also incredibly cute) toddler mostly alone, and being the most exhausted I have ever been in my entire life. I also learnt that mums can in fact function on only a few hours’ sleep every night and that coffee is a very loyal friend.

But despite the low moments it was also an amazing year full of travel explorations and exciting adventures. We travelled 8 times during 2018 visiting Cape Verde, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Ibiza, Sardinia, a road trip in Kent, and the Edinburgh Christmas markets. That’s 4 new countries for me and 6 new countries for Evie – making Evie’s total number of countries visited 13 before she’s even 2 years old.

But it’s not the country count that matters, it’s what we actually did and the memories we created that made the year so special. There are so many highlights but here are a few of my main ones:

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Travel Wish Lists and a New Year of Adventures

January 3, 2018January 3, 201835 Comments

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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A Girly Getaway to Clavertye Shepherd’s Huts

November 6, 2017September 13, 201818 Comments

It’s no secret that I love a road trip and when we’re not travelling abroad I like to make the most of exploring a bit closer to home. Even though I passed my driving test well over ten years ago I have only just got my very own car last month and this was just the excuse I needed to plan a mini adventure with just me and my girl.

Clavertye Shepherd’s Huts was the perfect place. Set on a huge farm in the countryside near Canterbury just over an hour from home, meant that it wasn’t too far for me to travel alone with a (possibly screaming) 6 month young baby. Luckily for me Evie slept away soundly in the back of the car for the entire journey so when we arrived at the farm nice and relaxed and I spotted our tiny little hut far away in the distance at the top of the valley, I knew this was going to be a wonderful getaway.

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My New Favourite Little Travel Companion

October 4, 201726 Comments

I try really hard not to be one of those mums who posts way too many baby spam photos on Facebook and whose every other sentence is about their kid. I’m also trying really hard not to turn my previously non-baby related travel blog into a family travel blog – I have written one post since she was born that isn’t about her! But I seem to be failing all on counts because, let’s face it, when you have a baby they become your life. (And also I just cannot stop posting pics because she’s just too damn cute.)

Apart from the wonderful feeling of becoming a mama to my gorgeous girl, one of the things I’ve loved most about parenthood so far is that I’ve been able to combine my biggest passions in life…travel and Evie. So many people told us our travels would be over when we announced that I was pregnant and I told them hell to the no. And I am so glad we carried on booking trips and going away as much as we did pre-baby.

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The Non-Gambler’s Guide to Las Vegas

March 2, 2017March 3, 201718 Comments

If you read my previous post on 5 reasons to love fabulous Las Vegas you can probably tell just how much I loved the city. There is so much to keep anyone entertained and I don’t just mean whiling away the hours gambling. We did spend a bit of time in the casinos where I will admit that I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. Playing a game of Snap is about as far as my card skills go! After a while of watching others in a state of utter confusion, Mr Ayla eventually taught me how to play Blackjack and I actually found myself having some fun! I was very happy with my $5 winnings thank you very much.

But I was surprised at how much there is to do in Las Vegas for the non-gamblers who, like me, want to spend more time seeing the city rather than being stuck inside a bright, smoky casino with no idea what time of day or night it is, and these were the things that made me and the city such fabulous but unexpected friends.

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Top Travel Moments of 2016 and Plans for 2017

January 2, 2017January 2, 201758 Comments

By my standards, 2016 was not a busy year of travel. Mr Ayla would say differently because his travel expectations are not quite as high as mine but when we only visit four different countries in one year, well, that’s just a little bit too quiet for my liking. (I know I may sound completely greedy and unappreciative here but when your passion is travel, there is never enough of it that you can fit into one lifetime let alone one year!)

That’s not saying that I would change 2016 for anything though. Falling pregnant in June may have scuppered some of the travel plans we had for the last six months of the year but I wouldn’t change anything about it for all the travel in the world and we still had some amazing adventures.

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At Home around the World

July 6, 2016July 6, 201627 Comments

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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A Surprise Adventure

February 29, 2016April 20, 201681 Comments

It’s been five long torturous months of having to keep this secret to myself and now I can finally share it. Mr Ayla turned 30 yesterday and I’d planned a little surprise for his birthday. There may actually be a few of you (okay possibly a lot of you) who already know about this surprise – I may not have been able to share it with my husband but the excitement was too much not to share with anyone at all!

Mr Ayla woke up on his birthday morning to be greeted with a treasure hunt leading him to a selection of clues around the house and finally to his big surprise…

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10 Reasons To Travel With Someone You Love

February 4, 201645 Comments

As Valentine’s Day is almost upon us and love is in the air, I thought I would share some reasons why I love travelling with Mr Ayla so much. I spend so many hours at home just staring at our giant world map on the wall, amazed at all the pins in the places we’ve been, wondering where we’re going to discover next, and I wouldn’t want to fill up my map with anyone else.

I applaud those people who travel solo but it’s just not for me. I once took a flight from London to Edinburgh – yes, only an hour long – and it just felt so strange. I had no one to excitedly make my way to the airport with, no one to point to things out of the plane window, and no one to help me lift my heavy hand luggage into the overhead compartment. Sigh.

After 12 years of exploring the world together, Mr Ayla is my favourite travel companion. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere without him and here’s 10 reasons why…

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My Favourite Travel Memories from 2015

December 29, 2015December 30, 201552 Comments

As 2015 comes to an end and we look back on a year of fabulous adventures, and onto 2016 which will hopefully be filled with many more, I know you’re already thinking “oh no, not another New Year round up post!”. So okay, I may be doing a total cliche here but I figured that this year has been a pretty awesome one so I simply couldn’t resist. Plus, Mr Ayla is adamantly refusing to go on as many trips next year (oops my finger must have accidently slipped and hit enter to book those flights!!) so all I can do is look back on some of my favourite memories from this year.

Despite having a full time job I’ve managed to squeeze in plenty of adventures, from long haul relaxing holidays to short city breaks closer to home; trips with both family and friends; sightseeing holidays, hiking trips, beach breaks and everything in between. While we may not have anything planned for next year (yet) these are some of my favourite travel memories from 2015, and some of these places have very quickly worked their way to the top of my favourite ever destinations.

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