Two months until my round the world trip commences....

I first started thinking about my trip in April 2011, since then I have done a lot of work trying to save up for the trip, organise my itinerary, get granted my sabbatical and researching safety, what to do and what to bring! I hve been thinking about this trio for so long yet it is hard to believe that in less than two months I will be leaving the UK, hopefully for 12 months!

I am trying to 'wing it' as much as possible on my trip because it's going to be such a long and varied trip. The thing that I love most about travel is meeting new people from all around the world and if I have a very basic itinerary it will enable me to be more spontaneous and to travel where I like with who I like.

I have been researching different destinations and safety by reading various travel blogs, mainly from fellow solo female travellers who have done a trip of this scale before me! Reading the blogs has put my mind at rest because every blogger seemed to have the time of their life on their travels and many said that they felt safer in Asia than they ever have in a Western country! I have also bought the majority of my clothes and equipment for the trip which is alot harder than it sounds! I will no doubt lose a considerable amount of weight whilst on this trop so I have had to take this in to consideration when planning my travel outfits and bikinis. I also want to save some room in my backpack so I can buy some souveneirs in Asia.

Soooo, what have I been doing during the past few weeks apart from planning? I have been making the most of the time I have left in the UK by visting friends and trying to tie up loose ends. I have also been getting my travel vaccinations each week. I decided to buy the Japanese Encephalitis and Rabies vaccines alongside the free ones offeredg by my GP. They are costing £325 which is a large chunk of my travel budget but I decided that money doesn't mean anything If I'm not here due to a crazy tropical disease! I have also bought a kindle 3G with my Christmas money which has free internet access all around the world. It means that I can always email my family to say that I am ok whilst on the road.

Christmas fancy dress fun! (I told Santa that all I wanted for Christmas was to have a safe and fun round the world trip!)


It was hard thinking that this time next year I will be spending Christmas in Asia or Oceania! Will I be on Bondi beach, trekking through the rainforest or watching glow-worms in South Island New Zealand....No one knows! I had a lovely Christmas with my family, we even went for a curry on Christmas day!

                                                               Christmas Dinner!

                                                       My Mum and I on Christmas day

I hope that you have all had a merry Christmas and I wish you all the best of luck for 2013. May all of your travel dreams come true!

                                                    Drinking Baileys on Christmas Eve

I got granted a sabbatical!!!

Today I received the news that I had been anticipating for weeks, I have been granted a sabbatical from work! This means that I will have a job to go back to when I get home from travelling around Asia and Oceania!
This is amazing news and such a bonus in this economic climate. One less worry off my mind!
I was initially rejected for the sabbatical but I appealed and had a hearing. It just proves that you need to fight for the things that you want in life, even if you come across hurdles you can still attain what you want if you try!

My new American Apparel le sac dress!

I have been searching high and low for versatile items to pack for my round the world trip. I have invested in quite a few items from the crag hoppers nosilife range, they are impregnated in mosquito repellent that lasts for the life of the clothes! They are also really light, dry really fast and have built in SPF 50 so I don't need to worry about burning in the sun.
What really perplexed me was the search for the perfect travel dress. I tend to wear a lot of vintage dresses and vintage style dresses which tend to have a lot of material (so are not suitable for travelling :( ) I have found the perfect travel dress that is light, crease free and versatile so it can be worn in the evening, day or even as a skirt.
The American apparel Le Sac dress!!!
I have also bought some spare straps to change the look of the dress without taking up too much space in my bag.
Check out the many ways in which it can be worn. Now I just need to decide what else to pack. It's so hard trying to pack light for a year of travel! I want to buy some clothes when I get out there though, as souvenirs!

I have bought my backpack!

I have finally bought my backpack, one of the most important items for my round the world trip!
After reading various travel blogs and advice from friends who have travelled I decided to buy the osprey kestrel 68. I have only heard good things from osprey and the bag is really light with loads of cool features such as pockets on the hip belts and it sits away from the back to avoid getting the dressed sweaty back!
I was torn between the osprey exos 58 and this bag. I decided on this one because the straps and hip belts have more padding and it has a handy sleeping bag compartment at the bottom of the bag so I don't have to search through my backpack to find things!
I bought it for £130 from Cotswold in Liverpool. They guy was really helpful when I bought it and I tried a few bags to compare how they felt with weight in. I initially tried the s/m but I could immediately feel the difference when I tried the m/l bag on. It felt so much lighter! I also tried a berghaus to compare but I felt like I was going to topple over! It's well worth spending more for a decent, well designed backpack!
I will leave you with some photos of me looking very pleased with my purchase :)

Missing Munich

The post travel blues really do suck. I realised yesterday that I'm a lot happier when I'm travelling than when I'm static at home. I crave new social interactions and I love learning about different cultures, histories and languages. Travel enables me to do all 4 everyday!
Ah well, only 14 more weeks until I set off on my big trip. My next task is to learn basic Arabic...

Road trip to Linares, attending a 300 year old Feria and Botellion!

It feels so weird writing about this so long after it happened. However writing this has brought back so many good memories from an important time in my life.

After saying many goodbyes to the Spaniards and Anglos, myself, Delfa, Giselle, Bev and Max headed to El Corte' Ingles to find a rental car to take us to Linares! This was easier said than done but eventually we dropped off Max and Delfa and were making our way South towards Andalucia, In an Audi no less!

We decided that It was probably best that Giselle drove the car, mainly because myself and Bev are used to driving on the Left and would probably crash....

It was a long drive down but looking at the beautiful sunset helped pass the time. We even stopped off at a few roadside cafe's, most of which sold a scarily large selection of knives!

Eventually we arrived at the beautiful hotel in Linares. We all felt very tired after a full day of travelling so we all swiftly fell asleep.

The next morning we got ready and found a cute little cafe' to have breakfast and do some people watching. We then walked around the beautiful quaint city, did some window shopping (and pretended to be flamanco dancers in El Corte Ingles!) and eventually settled in a streetside bar to sample some local tapas and cerveza!

We them made our way back to the hotel where we were suprised to see that Sergio, one of the friends that we made in Candeleda had been looking for us! We called them back and met up with all of the Linares crew to experience Linares, Spanish style!

We met up with Sergio, Monica, Sandra and Maria Jos'e and they took us for a little tour of Linares, sampling local alcohol and tapas on the way! Highlights included the bullring and beautiful architecture.

 After this we headed to the 300 year old feria! There were scores of tents, each one had different types of music being played and alcohol being served. Even though it was only the afternoon the party was in full swing! We all had a bit of a dance and drank stwawberry mojitos! I also realised that I was probably the tallest girl in the whole of the tent, the Spanish girls (and my two lovely travelling companions) are so petite!

We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the night time celebrations, stopping off at the hotel pool on the way.

In the evening we headed for a local tapas place where every man in there looked like my Dad! (I must have some Spanish heritage from some point) There we dined on 5 tapas and 1Litre VASE of beer! And there's me thinking that the Spanish only drank small Canas of beer! We got all of this for the princely sum of 6 Euros each. Andalucia is a lot cheaper than England.

                                          Heaven....
After lining our stomachs we went to watch the fireworks at the Feria which was pretty magical. We then went to the park to practice Botellion (drinking in the street) which is a Spanish tradition of drinking in the street. It was worlds away from how the UK practice botellion. Instead of cider bottles and beer cans like people in the UK they had plastic glasses and ice cubes to accompany Rum and coke!

After bidding our Spanish friends a final 'Adios' we stopped off to look at some market stalls and then headed back to the hotel. As we were walking back a man kept shouting 'peli rojo' at me which meand 'red hair'. My red hair certainly ensured that I stood out! We then fell straight to sleep only to wake up the next day and start another road trip, to Valencia...

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Germany here I come!

Today I am going to embark on my second solo adventure! It's different to the last one because I have nothing arranged once I get to Germany. I'm just going to get to the hostel and see where life takes me!
During my time in Germany I hope to practice photography and see some of the amazing museums and architecture. I also hope to visit Salzburg (where the sound of music was set!) and Dachau concentration camp.
I'm not going to lie, I'm also looking forward to trying German food and beer! Prost!!!

Remember remember the fifth of November...

In England the 5th of November is known as 'bonfire night' or 'Guy Fawkes night'. It's is a celebration of the fact that Guy Fawkes, a member of the gunpowder plot was arrested whilst guarding explosives that were placed beneath the House of Lords. It celebrates the fact that king James the 1st survived this. In 1605 people lit bonfires around London and England carries on this tradition to this day. Although now we manly set off fireworks to remind us of this historical event.
I love bonfire night, I have many happy memories of celebrating it at home in my parents garden. We would buy boxes of fireworks and rockets and have our own mini display whilst eating autumnal comfort food such as scouse and loaded potato skins!

This year I decided to go to a local fireworks display with my friend Brandi held at Sephton park in Liverpool. After a long walk from the train station we made it to the park and watched the 20 minute display and accompanying
Music. It's one of my favourite British celebrations, I think it's a very English
thing to celebrate!

Sorry for my lack of blogging...

I'm aware that I haven't written any blogs recently, I haven't even finished writing about Spain! This is because of a combination of working hard and having a very busy social life!
I have a lot of good news to share because a lot has happened in the past month...

Teaching English in Candeleda!

I left the hostel the next morning and made my way to the meeting point for Pueblo Ingles. The bus was delayed so I had a coffee in a nearby cafe with 2 Spaniards that I met. At 11am the bus set off for Candeleda!!

We sat Anglo-Spaniard on the bus. I was sat next to a lovely Spanish man. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him but I found it hard understanding English with a Spanish accent!

We arrived at the hotel and  we were allocated our rooms. I was pleasantly suprised with the hotel, It was absolutely beautiful! It had a pool, lots of grass and amazing mountains that looked super-imposed in the backdrop. It reminded me of the sound of music

 The amazing pool!

 The 'Sound of music' mountains!

I had an amazing week at Candeleda. Every day was filled with 'one to ones', 'two to twos' and group activities. The Anglos talked with the Spaniards all day and corrected their grammar/vocabulary if needed  and helped them with their presentations. At the end of the first day I had a headache but it got easier as the week went on. At the end of the week I actually started to think in a Spanish accent!

The stand out moments of the week were the quemada, number one party and the number 2 party ;) Jez kept talking about the quemada for the first few days. It turned out to be a pagan ceremony to ward away bad spirits where copious amounts of alcohol, fruit and sugar are burned in a big bowl. It was very strong drink and one Anglo managed to drink about 6 cups!

At the first party night we had a BBQ outside and everyone dressed up. The sunset was beautiful and the sky was a vivid shade of crimson. After the BBQ we all went inside to have a disco. What I sound amazing was the way the Spanish men moved! As soon as a Spanish/Latin song came on the Spanish men came to life! They were amazing dancers and danced with such passion. I was lucky enough to dance with a few Spanish men and I tried to shake off my British reserve and shake my hips!

Beautiful sunset


Number 2 party was a mini disco the night of the Real Madrid vs Barcelona match. It was amazing being able to watch the match with the Spaniards. After the younger Spaniards/Anglos had a dance for a few hours. After a bottle of red wine at Dinner I was on good form! I think us Anglos freaked the Spaniards out when we started moshing and headbanging to Nirvana though ;P

Myself and Bev (the amazing Aussie!)

Both the Anglos and Spanish love to dance!


We also went on a little excursion to a bee Museum and Candeleda town. At the bee museum there were three massive beehives and the curator gave a presentation about bees (in Spanish) whilst various Spaniards translated. The videos included one where the curator let a bee sting him to help show how the sting contracts after the bee has stung someone (He was either very hard or crazy!).

 Olive trees are everywhere in Spain

 Looking very cool whilst walking around Candeleda with name tags on...

 I had an amazing week at Pueblo Ingles, I met some amazing people and I went outside my comfort zone everyday, and loved it! I was able to be myself and my confidence increased tenfold throughout the week. I enjoyed helping the Spaniards learn English and I realised that I would like to persue this at some point in my life! The siesta times were spent sunbathing, swimming and playing basketball in the pool. Most evenings were spent drinking beer outside with friends and chatting about everything! It was amazing seeing the Spaniards level of confidence and English increase through the week.

On the last evening I even starred in the main Theatre session of the week. I played an actress who was playing the part of a mistress and I was in some pretty racy scenes where I was even looking to Cuenca...

The scenes were so racy that I had to wear shorts under my dress!

On the last morning there were many emotional goodbyes after the graduation ceremony. Many people were even crying. I did not want to leave.

After Candeleda I was prepared to head back to Madrid and spend the remaining week in Madrid.
During the number 2 party Giselle asked me if I would like to go to Linares (a city in the south of Spain) with her and Bev to go the feria and to visit our Spanish friends in their home town!
So the story continues.....

My first night in Madrid

So I arrived in Madrid in the afternoon, clinging on to my suitcase (just in case anyone decided to pickpocket one of my retro dresses from my suitcase!). As soon as I got off the plane I could sense a change in mood, Spaniards are a lot happier and more relaxed than the English! I could also see the sun through the darkened windows of the airport (Yay!)

                                               Look how romantic this flower vending machine is!

I was feeling very brave so I decided to take the metro. The metro was fairly easy to navigate and similar to the tube in London, just a lot cleaner! I eventually found my metro station and walked out into the sunny street! I asked a lady (in Spanish!) where I could find the street where my hostel was and I eventually found my hostel.

Having never stayed at a hostel I didn't really know what to expect. I had booked an all female dorm room as I didn't like the idea of sharing with smelly guys!

The dorm room was small and consisted of 2 bunk beds. I had the bottom bunk (thank God!) A pretty Canadian girl was sat in the dorm room as I went in. We had a small chat and she asked if I would like to join her for some food at a nearby market. I then realised that hostels are a great plece to meet like minded people, just like all of the travel bloggers say!

She took me to the Mercado de San Miguel and reccomended that I try croquettas. Feeling fairly adventurous I chose 2 random croquettas without reading the descriptions. What the hell, I am on holiday, in Spain alone! Nothing phases me!

Canadian girl turned to me and said 'do you know what that is?' I initially thought that it might be mushroom. She told me that it was calamares with SQUID INK! Hmm, certainly something that I have never tried before. I ate it and it was actually quite nice!
 
Mercado de San Miguel

 She then showed me some of the tourist attractions of Madrid such as the Plaza Major, The palace and the Cathedral. She even knew facts about each place that she had learn't whist attending a free walking tour of Madrid! I have rarely had the pleasure of someone going out of their way to help me and make me feel at home. I really appreciated her kindness.

The palace

 The Cathedral

After the tour she went back to the hostel...to bed! I decided to find out what the Madrid nightlife was like.
I ended up in a place called museo de jamon where it was 1 euro for a cana and they gave out free tapas with every beer. An older Spanish man started talking to me, he said that he was an English teacher in Madrid. He was friendly and we talked a lot about the differences between Spain and England but I left when he started buying me beer so that he didn't get the wrong impression!


I then went a few more bars where the beer was cheap and the food was plentiful! Every bar gave out food with each drink which is completely different to bars in England. The men there were happy drinking half pints of lager too, very few men in England drink small beers! I love Spain!

I went to bed and actually had a good nights sleep. I woke up and tried my best not to disturb anyone. I was on my way to the coach pick up point to teach English for a week!