5 TYPES OF HOLIDAY I WISH TO GO ON

Do you ever find yourself fed up with going to the same place every year? Perhaps not fed up, but more ready for a change and ready to try something completely different. I know I sometimes do, so I thought I would compile a list of the 5 types of holiday I want to go on.

Reasons to go on a cruise this summer

I've been on two cruises now and I want to go on another. I want to go all out and go on one of those huge massive ones with the shopping mall down the middle and slides, they look amazing! Here's the benefits and reasons why I think you should book a cruise this summer based on my past experience:

1. All you can eat

There are several places to eat on a cruise. You can go for the formal sit down meal with a choice of a couple of restaurants. Food and service is impeccable. Or you can opt to eat in the buffet, which is pretty much 24 hour. Very nearly. Food is offered not just for evening but most of the day too. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, burger and fries by the pool are all offered. Oh and you can also get room service. It depends which company you are with but on my one last year with P & O there was no charge for the majority of room service items. Sure, it's only a small section of food, but it's nothing to be sniffed at when you can't be bothered to get up and dress for breakfast or fancy a snack in your room after a hard day's exploring!

A trip to Skipton and the 'Bronte' town of Haworth

Back in February my sister came up to visit and stay with me. She goes to uni in Northampton, so it was a fair old trek to come up here on the train. We decided upon visiting Skipton for the day and calling in on Haworth on the way back.

Skipton we discovered was a pretty castle market town full of team rooms and cafes - you'd need to spend a month there to visit them all I swear! We had lunch at the Pie Shop which I thoroughly recommend. Pie, chips and gravy all for around £7. The rest of our visit was spent aimlessly meandering up and down the streets and discovering a very cute shopping centre.

Travel & Work Abroad: An Au-Pair in Germany

It was the summer of 2007, my second year at university was over and I decided to jet off to Germany and au-pair for the summer. Like you do. I've not a clue what made me do this. I guess this was the start of the travel-bug!

Paderborn by Athde at Wikimedia Commons

What is an au-pair?

An au-pair is traditionally from a different country who lives with a host family and in return for bed, board and pocket money helps with light household tasks and childcare. Working hours vary between countries but tend to be between 25-30 hours per week with time available to be able to attend language classes. The current recommended pocket money for the country I went to, Germany, is 260 Euros per month.

How did I do it?

I went through a website called Au-World.net which allows au-pairs and families to have a profile and the ability to seek each other out. I made myself a profile, listing where I wanted to go and what experience I had (babysitting, young leader at Brownies and younger siblings) and sat back waiting for the opportunities to roll in! ;)

My work and travel abroad: An introduction

This is an introduction to a series of posts about the working and traveling abroad I have done over the past eight years. Perhaps it was my families constant moving houses that has inspired me or perhaps I just have it in my genes but I know I love exploring and seeing the world especially from a local's point of view. Working abroad ticks both boxes. It funds being abroad and you live more like a local rather than a tourist.

I'm just going to briefly outline where i've been and in further posts will talk about each experience further.

This Week of Mine #7 TVD/Hula-Hooping/Bournemouth

I lie slightly. This covers the past three weeks not one. Please forgive me. ;)

Dogs
We've had the company of these two for the past 2 1/2 weeks whilst my brother was on honeymoon.

Once they had calmed down they were adorable with totally different personalities. The house is empty now without them!

Show
We had the biggest show of the year last week at the ExCel Centre in London. We stayed over the night before but it was still a very long Saturday, rising at 5.30am and arriving back home at 10pm.

Exercise
My choice of exercise this few weeks has been with a hula-hoop i've bought from Argos. I've always found hula-hooping really easy and I love doing it. I'd love to be able to learn tricks and even go to a class but it's not something that you see around a lot. I read an article on the Daily Mail about a lady who did it for 5 mins every morning and evening and lost inches off her waist. I'm doing it in bigger bursts between 15 and 45 minutes as I don't get to do it everyday due to circumstance and the bruises!

I'll let you know the results!

Bridgemere

We took a trip to this huge garden centre with shops today. I'm been coming since I was a child, the park there was amazing, it was like a massive wooden fortress. Unfortunately they've ditched that now (probably some health and safety boring rule!) but the centre has expanded in other ways. I haven't been for a few years but they've now several shops including Lakeland and a really good farm shop (which wasn't too pretentious!)

Vampire Diaries
We've had a couple of cracking episodes recently. The first trying to save Bonnie from giving up. Evil turned sort of nice Kai I actually like and the drama trying to send them to the other side to stop Bonnie was proper edge of the seat stuff!

The next episode was incredibly sad. Sheriff Forbes was one of the only humans Damon respected, i'm glad both her and Caroline got a peaceful ending there. This overshadowed Jeremy's departure to what we thought was art school but to what was actually a life of vampire hunting. Tut tut naughty Alaric and Jeremy. We did have a new beginning in this episode though, that of the Steroline relationship. Their first kiss was visually and audibly stunning, set to the lovely Ella Henderson's - Yours.

Uni news
I had my final interview in Bournemouth just a few days after the wedding. It's a long way from the Midlands but I wished to visit and be interviewed nonetheless. After checking into the B&B we took a stroll into town and to the beach.

I really like this shot I got, I posted it on Facebook and someone thought it was LA! It certainly looks more exotic than the UK!

I live for the 2p slot machines in arcades!

The interview the next day went well and I was impressed by the course there. When it finished in the afternoon Charlotte and I went for a last walk along the beach before heading home. To get to the beach from the town you walk through the most beautiful landscaped gardens. They also have a rather unusual feature that you cannot fail to spot. 

What is this??

There is a hot air balloon situated in the park that you can take a ride in to take in the views. It doesn't fly off completely but does reach pretty high!

You can't tell from these pictures but the beach was packed as it was very warm!

Charlotte getting in my shot ;)

Time for home! I noticed on the way down that we drove past the New Forest, so found the easiest village to detour to from the main road and we ended up in Burley. The New Forest is famed for it's wild horses and ponies, we saw evidence of this ourself when this one meandered it's way through the centre!

Seeing as you have reached this far why not leave a comment below. What did you think about the Vampire Diaries? Have you ever been to Bournemouth?

I've linked my other weekly updates below if you fancy a peek.

This Week of Mine #6
This Week of Mine #5

This Week of Mine #4

This Week of Mine #3

This Week of Mine #2

This Week of Mine #1

5 things about my cruise

I've just got back from a weeks cruise around the Canary Islands and Morocco. Here are a few little snippets from our week:

On the cruise I . . 

1. Went in a very bumpy 4x4 jeep in Morocco.

2. Stuffed myself silly on the first two days and felt ill. I obviously took it a bit slower on the food front for the rest of the week!


3. Watched performances each night by the AMAZING show team. They were so talented, I was very jealous.


4. Slept in a bunk that was incredibly hard to get in and out of. It was a mission and a half, once I was up there I didn't come down!


5. Visited the very beautiful capital city of Madeira, Funchal. Look how pretty the main streets are!

A very brief trip: 4 hours in London

I've only visited London a handful of times so when I got the opportunity last weekend to go I jumped at it. My parents were working at a trade show in Reading with my Dad's shop so I caught a lift down with them Saturday morning. We left home very early at 4.30am and had a long day running the stall until the late afternoon. We were staying at a lovely hotel in Reading thanks to my discount for working with the hotel brand and we got to access the 'club lounge' for drinks and canapes before we went out for dinner. We've never had this before so we felt very posh!

I had quick walk into Reading town centre before dinner and managed to happen across loads of children teenagers getting pictures with Danny Mac and I *think* Carley Stenson who were there to help switch on the lights.

Back to get ready for dinner and a quick selfie in the bathroom mirror wearing my ebay leather jacket for the first time. (I actually bought it about 5 months ago but this was it's first outing). We went to a Chinese buffet which was delicious. The duck pancakes were AMAZING but I did overload myself on deserts and my Dad was shaking his head at my Mum and I as we almost had to roll ourselves out of the door!

I recently bought a bargain trio of Origin face masks from Boots and I brought the clay one with me to try that night. I didn't think it would come off that easily as I did leave it on a long time but surprisingly a wet flannel worked wonders.

The next day I left Mum and Dad at the show and I caught a train into London. Wow, the tube confuses me. I swear I always end up spending over £15 on it even though it should cap at the cost of a travelcard. When I have more time i'd love to do more by foot and bus but this was such a short visit I really didn't have the time to spend trying to figure that out.

I headed straight to the Tower of London. I knew they had started to dismantle the poppy exhibition but they had certainly got a move on. This was the view when I came out of the tube station! The front of the tower was still pretty much intact as you can see from my photo's.

Lets not forget the smaller parts of the display.

After working my way around the whole of the outside of the Tower, my next destination was to see Liberty and visit the Pixi store to purchase the famous 'Glow Tonic'. I hadn't seen Liberty before and to be honest, although it was all very upmarket I wasn't that impressed. I didn't however see all of the departments so I shall withhold full judgement!

Look how big the Liberty advent calendar is! 

The Pixi store was located just off this street below. It was actually a very clinical looking shop. I''d expected it to be quite cosy with more products, but the sales assistant was lovely, taking an interest in my visit to London. On the way to the tube station I spotted Topshop so did a very quick lipstick swatch all over my hand and came out with two berry/purple lipsticks.

After that it was time to go back to Paddington via Kensington/Notting Hill. One of the things I wanted to do whilst in London was visit a 'posh' borough. I quickly walked up Kensington high street and had a quick peek in this Jamie Oliver shop below. What you can see is a cookery school/demo area where children and their parents had booked to learn how to cook together. I think they were making a chocolate cake.

After that I meandered up some streets, wandering vaguley in the direction of the station. All the houses look like this there, it's all very Love Actually!

I was running out of time so I managed to hop on a bus to the train station. Turns out the buses aren't so hard to figure out. If they are all like that i'll be fine next time.

There were a couple more things on my list such as hiring a bike and visiting Hyde Park but I didn't have time. I had a great day though, even if the train back was rammed and I had to stand next to the door eating my Mcdonalds (classy). Next time must remember to reserve a seat!

Anywhere you think I should visit next time? I've hardly been anywhere in London so all suggestions welcome!

A rant about returning home from travelling

So. Travelling. It's great. But it doesn't last forever and eventually you return.

You come home and catch-up for two weeks and everything is amazing, you're amazing and how cool is it to sleep in your own room and use a clean bathroom?! But then everything gets back to normal. No-one cares to listen to you rabbiting on about spending 18 hours on a coach or how deserted outback Australia is.

You've also changed. Slightly or a lot, you will have.

Whether you've just seen how massive the world is or whether you've knocked shyness on the head and have discovered a new go get it trait to your character, something will have changed. The thing is this slowly gets knocked out of you. Or for me anyway. I don't know why. Maybe it's because out there everything was different and I had to be this different person.
For example, previously I didn't like using the phone. Whether it was for a job or inquiring about a uni, if there was an email address then phew! But in Australia whether it was applying for jobs, or trying to find accommodation, if there was no phone number I got annoyed. I was happy enough ringing round every number I could find.
But now five years from returning i'm back to pre-travelling me. Scared to go for things and afraid to pick up a ringing phone in case it scars me.

I can't pinpoint why exactly we revert back. Maybe it's because back home, although things have changed slightly such as relationships or the town you live in, essentially things are the same. You find it hard for the new you to fit in. So you get knocked back down to the person you used to be.

These two articles I came across this evening express points along the same thread, but what led me to write this rant were the opinions expressed in the comment sections.

Why Returning From Travel Is Harder Than Leaving The Comfort Of Home

The Hardest Part Of Traveling No One Talks About

Most of them think the article's writers are looking down on those that haven't traveled. That they are selfish and self-obsessed and very lucky to have had the experiences they have had.

There is no looking down on people.

Maybe a tiny proportion think that people are stupid to not travel. But not the majority and certainly not me.

I think most people I know fall into two categories. They are either envious and wish they could do the same but can't for different reasons such as the circumstances in their life. Or they have no desire to do so. After all why would sleeping in a ten bed dorm appeal to people when they could sleep in their own bed every night and take a luxurious two week holiday every year instead?

We also know we are very lucky to have been able to have had the experiences we have had. I saved from a job I took after uni and then also worked when I was in Australia. Yet I still know I am lucky. I know the hardship in the world. Despite my avoiding the news I am still aware of the desperation and hardship that people endure all over.

But I bet these people commenting still buy the latest Xbox or spend £2000 on their next holiday. Well you know what? £2000 (earned and saved by me) is actually all I went out with. That along with working in Australia is how I afforded my year abroad.

So yes, whilst I was lucky to have no commitments at home and a place to come back to, it's not like I swanned around for a year drinking prosecco every evening from the roof-top garden of my apartment daddy paid for. I worked hard and lived in a 2 bed flat that housed 9 people. I worked 62 hours a week in an orange packing factory in the middle of nowhere whilst sleeping in a 10-bed dorm. That was how I afforded to tour Australia, to do a 3 day boat-trip of the Whitsundays and a sky-dive in Fiji.
These people moaning at the article might work very hard too at their job, but they choose to spend it on rent or a mortgage, their own bedroom and luxuries in life. We all work hard but choose to spend it differently.

Saying that i'm fully aware that some have gap years funded by their parents. But does mean people are not allowed to express their thoughts or even think these things in the first place? No it doesn't.

No matter how we've come about being about to travel we are all entitled to speak about how we feel. I must admit I often feel guilty for moaning about things in life. Yet everyone does it. I'm sure  the people commenting in the comment section whinge about something. Maybe they can't afford to upgrade their phone. Or maybe someone can't afford the latest £500 mascara. Everyone has some little thing that they complain about.

So why can't these people writing the articles express themselves without being belittled?

They are just saying that coming home from travelling can be harder than one might think. That you don't find yourself fitting back into society as easily as you slotted in before. That's okay to think and say is it not?