Colombia - a photo diary

I went to Colombia in 2005. That's a long time ago, so I'm not going to try and write a detailed blog post about it! But I like sharing photos so I thought I'd do that instead, with some of these old school beauties...

The view from the metrocable in Medellin - designed to reach some of the less developed suburbs, and a great ride to view this part of the city

The view from my friends' apartment - the Deportivo Independente Medellin football stadium... my Colombian team!

Sante Fe... me taking a break during our (terrifying!) road trip up the winding mountain roads to the "finca" holiday home our friends have there - that's it in the second pic, taken from the top of the nearby hill!

Cartagena Old Town, and the beach. We hired a local fella and his boat, and he took us to the deserted place... the only other people there were a couple selling beers from a cool box. Amazing.

So yeah - that's my Colombia post! To sum it up: awesome, go there. Now.

My India Videos!

I'm no Steven Spielberg, and I'm not Bill Gates. But I did take these videos, and I did learn how to put them on YouTube, so I'm going to share them!

Both are from my trip to Kerala, India in January 2011. I went with i to i Volunteering and wrote a detailed blog about the trip here so these are just some (badly shot, amateur!) videos that hopefully give you a bit of an idea what I got up to :)

Elephant bathing. We were able to get in their with them and help scrub behind their ears too!

On our last day volunteering, the kids at our school put on a show. This is some of the older girls showing off their traditional Keralan dance moves. Every year all of the special schools in the area have a dance competition and they were practicing this routine for that :)

Day Trippin' In Bruges

I went to Bruges yesterday. As you do. It was my birthday in June, and my fella Dan said he'd take me to Bruges - somewhere new, and another country to tick off on my 30 Before 30 challenge.

We went on a day trip, which meant no accommodation costs and no leave needed from work. The tickets were only £37 return each with Buzzlines Travel and despite the early start (7.30am pick up - yikes) I was excited... I'd read my guidebook, packed my thermals (best to be prepared!) and raided my euro piggy bank to buy plenty of Christmas Market goodies.

It wasn't just my first trip to Belgium, it was my first time on the Channel Tunnel, and I must say I was impressed. Everything seemed very organised, and we were across the Channel in less than 40 minutes. Chunnel, loving your work!

We arrived in Bruges at 11.45am, which meant 4 and a half hours to explore before we had to be back on the coach. First stop was a boat trip on the canals. Our 30 minute tour (a snip at E7.60!) took us through the main highlights of the city, and despite the rain (it only rained for 30 minutes all day - the 30 minutes that we were on a boat, unable to shelter anywhere!) it was a lovely way to see Bruges, and personally I preferred it to the other popular option, a horse and cart trip. Our driver (should that be sailor? Boatsman?) gave us a running commentary in both English and French, and I can't think of a better way to have started of our whistle-stop trip.

After the boat we headed to the Christmas Market and spent a lovely hour watching the ice skaters, browsing the stalls and buying up all of the souvineers our hearts desired. My favourite purchase was a delicate hand made lace Christmas tree decoration - Belgium is famous for its lace so I wanted a little something, and the decoration looks lovely on our tree and is something we can get out every year to remind us of our trip :)

We didn't go up to the Belfry in the main Markt square, mainly because there was a long queue and we were short of time, but you have to leave something to go back for don't you?! The entrance fee was E8 and they only allow 70 people up at any one time (hence the queue) so if you're doing a day trip and the Belfry's a must do, head there first.

On our way back to the coach we stopped off at one of the many churches to light candles for relatives we're missing this Christmas, and picked up some delicious Belgian chocs for the journey home (well, it'd be rude not to, right?!) and headed to The Half Moon Brewery, hoping to catch their brewery tour. Too much shopping meant we'd missed the start of the tour, so we settled on a pint of their beer in the bar instead! Belgian beer's an acquired taste and I'll admit not my favourite, but it would have felt wrong not to partake! Down the hatch!

Back on the coach and straight to sleep (thank you, Belgian beer!) we were back on the Chunnel before I knew it, and back in Maidstone for our drop off by 8.45pm. It was a long day, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now a convert to coach day tripping! Next stop: Sluis, Holland...

Happy Day Trippers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just thought I'd write a quick post to say a big "Happy Thanksgiving!" to my American friends (and any other lovely Americans reading this!)

I've only been to America once, to New York in 2004 (I think it was 2004 anyway!) and I had a great time. It was a long weekend with my family, and we all had fun shopping, walking round Central Park, taking the Staten Island ferry past the Statue of Liberty, waiting in line to go to the top of the Empire State Building, visiting the Guggenheim museum... you get the picture, we did the tourist-tastic stuff. It was ace!

Obviously, there is a LOT more of America to see, and I would love to get the chance to explore more of it. I also heard there's a little town somewhere called Rachel. Need to go there, obviously.

That's brother David, me, and my dad in Central Park. It was COLD.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Forza Milano!

Dan and I went to Milan in October, for 4 nights. We booked  the flights because they were too cheap to resist, without doing aaaaany research (well, apart from reading my friend Laura's blog post about her own trip there) and then before we knew it, we were 2 weeks away with no accommodation and no idea what we were going to do. A sweep of Late Rooms secured us the cheapest hotel room we could find (we stayed at Hotel Vienna which was ideally located by a metro stop but with nothing much else - except for the most amazing pizza shop - nearby. It did the job though - somewhere to sleep and shower!) and we bought guidebooks to swot up on the action.

The main highlight of Milan itself was the Duomo. The main cathedral is beautiful in the day, and even more stunning lit up in the evening. The square it sits in is buzzing and has a real "European city" feel with people milling around taking photos, pigeons everywhere and traders trying to sell you flashing yo-yos, postcards and the like. I loved the Duomo - as well as being a stunning building it felt very calm inside and you could almost feel the history. We didn't climb up to the roof (I'm veeeery lazy and there were LOTS of stairs, plus you have to pay and we were skint) which I've heard offers a great view, but I didn't feel we missed out at all - there's a lot to see inside the Duomo itself as well as in the square. It sounds obvious, but it's not to be missed if you're going to Milan.

We also went to Sforzesco Castle. I consider myself to be a bit of a castle expert, as I've been dragged round many by my enthusiast friend Reg. Sforzesco was great as castles go - it had a beautiful courtyard with lovely mosaic ceiling tiles and some impressive turrets, but I was a little underwhelmed all in all.  I guess I'm just hard to impress, castle-wise!

I'll be honest, the rest of Milan was pretty forgettable. We had a lovely time just wandering round, seeing things, but nothing that I feel compelled to share. Word to the wise - the San Siro football stadium (home to both AC and Inter Milan) is a looooong walk from what the guidebooks claim is the nearest metro stop. Unless you're doing the stadium tour (we weren't) think hard about how much you want to stand in a car park looking at an empty football stadium... I'd have preferred another pint of Italian beer and a slice of pizza!

San Siro. Well, I'd gone all that way, I wasn't not taking a photo!

To bring a bit of positivity back (yeaaaah, PMA!) I'll move on to Como. We decided to jaunt to Como as it's just a 1 hour train ride from Milan, and cost around 13 euros for a return ticket. We spent a day there towards the end of the trip and it was beautiful - exactly what we needed. The lake itself was really pretty, and the town felt very quaint and less hectic than Milan. Their cathedral is worth a visit - we ate dinner in a lovely cafe right outside - and a walk along the lakeside with an ice cream comes highly recommended  We didn't take a boat trip (although there are plenty, and to other lake towns as well) or go on the cable car to the mountain top for what we heard were stunning views as we were short of time, but it didn't matter - our Como trip was definitely the highlight of the weekend and I'd tell anyone going to Milan that they must visit - I'd suggest a couple of nights in Milan, and a couple in Como (or another lake town - there are plenty to choose from).

 

All in all, I'm glad we went to Milan - I'm always happy to visit a new city and the pizza from the shop next to our hotel made the trip worth it all by itself. I do wish we'd planned a little better and booked at least one night in Como though, and maybe I'd try to make it to the Formula 1 race track in nearby(ish) Monza if I went back too. Still, a good time was had by all - Bellissiomo!

Photographic genius I am not. Do love Dan's expression here though!

Lake Como :)

This One Time, in Malaga

I went to Malaga, Spain in February with my family, which was lovely. I never wrote about it, which was naughty. Better late than never though, right? Here's my thoughts on things to do in Malaga...

Don't assume it's full of stag dos and the cast of TOWIE
It is not. A friend of mine made this assumption when I went, but actually Malaga is a very classy place, with a relaxed vibe and plenty of lovely streets, buildings and beaches to explore without a whiff of chav to be found.

Me at the fountain in the main square - lovely!

Have a good ol' wander... there's lots to see

I went on a walk with my brother, heading nowhere in particular with no real plan of what to see, and we had a great morning. We took in the bull ring, the cathedral, the Roman ampitheatre, many other beautiful buildings and streets and a lovely little coffee shop with teeny but tasty cupcakes.

    

Traditional "jumping" photo at the cathedral, the Roman ampitheatre and Our David enjoying a tiny coffee and tiny cupcake. Manly.

Eat fresh, barbequed fish on the beach

Self explanatory, and why wouldn't you? There are loads of little restaurants all along the beach, catching and cooking fish daily. We had lunch at one of these places on our first day and it was a great start to the holiday - sitting in the sun with a beer/vino eating the fish we'd watched a guy cook for us in an old boat he'd turned into a bbq. We took a nice stroll along the beach after we'd stuffed ourselves and burned off the calories (well, sort of... exercise still counts if you stop for a pint at the other end of the beach, right?)

Go to a football match

If you like that sort of thing, of course. My dad and brother went to see Malaga F.C -they were able to walk to the ground from the centre, and had a great time with the "crazy, mental" fans there. Malaga's ground also played host to an international fixture on our last day and the city was overrun by excitable South American marching around en masse chanting "Ven-Uz-Ua-Laaaaa!" all afternoon. It was brilliant.

Malaga's newest fan

Climb up to the Paradores Hotel

The views from this 5 star hotel are great - you can see all of Malaga while enjoying a beer in their garden bar (you don't have to be a resident to drink there) and the walk is a nice, scenic one with plenty of places to stop for a rest on the way if you're as unfit as we are. It was only when we got to the top that we realised there were buses... so maybe get the bus up and walk down, instead of the other way round like we did... I imagine it's much less sweaty.

Ma and I checking out the view halfway up

Go to the Picasso Museum

Malaga is where Pablo Picasso was born dontcha know? So of course there's a museum with plenty of his fantastic art on display. I have a Picasso tattoo so obviously enjoyed the museum, but if that's not your thing his influence is still very obvious throughout the city... and you can pose with a statue of him that sits on a bench too, if you're so inclined :)

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

There are a LOT of amazing tapas restaurants in Malaga, and many great bars too. It would be rude not to take advantage...

FYI... we stayed at the Petit Palace Plaza hotel which was lovely and ideally located. If you're not travelling with your amazing and generous parents though, there are plenty of more budget friendly places to stay. Viva Malaga!

London 2012 - My Experience

London 2012 ends today, with the Paralympics Closing Ceremony starting very soon. I'm a big Olympic fan and have been for as long as I can remember, so I have LOVED these home Games, and have been lucky enough to see quite a lot of action. So, here's MY London 2012 story...

The Torch Relay!
The Olympic flame passed right by my office on it's journey around the UK. I was very excited and everyone at work got into the spirit of it - waving Union Jack flags and hanging out of the window as it went by. It was a great build up to the Games, and got everyone looking forward to things kicking off properly for London 2012!

There it goes!

Football - Old Trafford!

I'd bought the Olympic football tickets when I lived in Leeds, just a short journey from Manchester. Now I'm in Kent it was a bit of a mission, but we made a weekend of it and headed off for the first Team GB match of the Olympics. The matches we saw (Uruguay v UAE and Team GB v Senegal) were actually played before the Opening Ceremony had taken place so it felt a little early to be getting kitted out in my Union Jack tights and Team GB hoodie, but we soon got into the spirit of things and had a great evening. Seeing 2 matches for the £20 ticket price was a great bargain I thought, and Dan and I even got on the TV (again!) as we were sat behind 3 ladies from Senegal who were shown celebrating their goal :)

BBC TV stars!

Table Tennis - ExCel!

The table tennis tickets were an impulse buy when there was a mini release of tickets in April. I was living in Kent by then so it was easy enough for us to get to the ExCel after work, for this evening session. Just £20 once again, the tickets got us into 2 men's quarter final singles matches, and despite being right at the back of the seating area we had a great view and enjoyed cheering on the athletes. A compere got the crowds geed up and excited, and as a newcomer to table tennis spectating I was still able to follow the action thanks to the commentary, and the explanations in the programme I'd brought. Another fun evening :)

Wiff-Waff!

Handball - Olympic Park!

Although I'd had a great time at the football and table tennis, what I really wanted to do was go to the Olympic Park. I'd tried to get tickets in the original ballots when they were first released, but with no luck. So, never one to say no to a challenge, I set about securing Olympic Park tickets and began 6 days of hitting "refresh" on the London 2012 tickets website, waiting for the ticket releases that were happening sporadically. It was frustrating and - when you got something in your basket only to wait 40 minutes for the "no tickets found" message - demoralising, but my perseverance paid off and I finally managed to secure handball tickets (and a last minute day off work!) to see a women's quarter final match (Russia v Korea) at the Copper Box, with a full days access to the Olympic Park. Pricier at £50, the tickets were well worth the money in my opinion - I was a handball "virgin" but really enjoyed it, and being in the Park, seeing all of the venues in such a great atmosphere, was a fantastic experience. It gave me the bug for more... 

Handball action at The Copper Box

Paralympic Park Day!

Following such an amazing day at the handball and Olympic Park, I decided my next challenge was to get tickets and go into the Stadium itself. The "Operation Website Refresh" started again, and I was overjoyed when I bagged tickets to the Paralympic athletics. I decided to go all out and added goallball session tickets for the Copper Box, which also gave us entry to the Basketball Arena, Riverbank Arena and Eton Manor. It cost me £45 in total but was amazing value - I took my mum this time, and we had a fantastic day - we started off with goallball, Team GB v Sweeden in the women's quarter final match. GB lost to a heartbreaking Golden Goal in extra time, but it was a fascinating sport and great to watch - even though it was strange having to be silent during play (so that the athletes, who are blind, could hear the ball coming - it has bells in it). With our day passes we were then able to catch Team GB in action in the wheelchair rugby (hardcore!), wheelchair tennis and 7-a-side football before chilling out with a beer in Park Live at the bandstand, and going into the Olympic Stadium itself for a night of fantastic athletics. 

Ma and I at the basketball arena for wheelchair rugby; athletes crossing the line; the flame; Ma in the stadium 

So to sum up, I had an amazing time at London 2012. Without wishing to sound massively cheesy, it really was a once in a lifetime experience and I loved every second. Everyone was a little bit happier, a little bit friendlier and the whole country pulled together a little bit more. Who knows if we'll "inspire a generation" or have the legacy that's been talked about so much, but for me at least, there are memories to last a lifetime :)

30 before 30?

In a mere 9 months I shall be... gulp... 30. It's a big, terrifying birthday and one which will force me to admit I am an actual, proper grown up (whatever that is). To counteract the fear of this I'm trying to put a positive spin on it, and I've decided I'm going to go for the target of "Thirty Before Thirty" and aim to hit 30 countries visited before I enter my fourth decade on Planet Earth.

I realise that many people reading this will be well on their way to many, many more than thirty countries (and well done you!) but for me this will be a milestone, and considering I've worked full time since the age of 19 I don't think it'll be half bad going. I've got another six countries to go before I hit 30, which sounds like a lot in 9 months, but I feel like it's achievable - bring it on!

Anyhoo, I've decided to sumarise the 24 countries I've visited so far (in alphabetical order, because I'm a big geek) and yes, I do count the home countries separately - deal with it! I've used the Hostelworld travel map to answer those tricky "is it a separate country" moments, and this is how my list looks so far...

ANDORRA
I've been to Andorra twice, both times for skiing/snowboarding holidays. This is ridiculous as I'm not a fan of participating in sports, and I have NO balance or coordination. However, Andorra has great apres ski, and LOTS of pretty men in boarder gear (they don't call it MAndorra for nowt)

AUSTRIA
I took a train to Vienna when staying in nearby Bratislava. I only stayed for a day, but I packed as much into that day as humanly possible. Self led walking tour of Vienna: tick.

AUSTRALIA
My first big trip, and the longest I've done to date. 3 months with my best mate Polly after we finished college. 2 naive 18 year olds who spent the entire time getting drunk in Sydney - cultural it was not, but it was amazing, and I don't regret a second of the "wasted" opportunities to explore more of the country. I'll be back.

CANADA
I went with my Gramma to visit some family when I was 16 and had the long Summer holiday after exams. I went to Niagara Falls, and had my first "wow, travelling is AMAZING!" moment.

COLOMBIA
Another family trip, with my parents and brother to visit our friends who live over there. We stayed in Medelin and visited Cartaghena, and I loved it.

CZECH REPUBLIC
Long weekend with my friend Reg in Prague. Fun, but didn't live up to the "totally amazing, beautiful city" hype... maybe I expected too much?

ENGLAND
That's where I live, innit?! It totally counts though... and I have explored a LOT of it!

ESTONIA
3 night stay with my parents and "Uncle" Pete on our "Gutter Tours 2010" trip to Helsinki. We got the ferry over, and it was a huge contrast to Finland. We watched the World Cup Final on a big screen in the centre of Tallinn, and went to this excellently named place...

FINLAND

Part One of the aforementioned "Gutter Tours 2010." The name's a long running family joke I won't bore you with, but Finland was NOT boring... we boiled in ridiculously hot sun and got drenched in a torrential downpour, all the while paying huge amounts of money for beer, in an attempt to emulate the "fearsome drinkers" our guidebook had told us Finland was famous for.

FRANCE

France seems to be the traditional holiday destination of the British, and I spent many a happy Summer holiday there with various family friends (my parents always palled up with friends and their children for holidays, which us kids enjoyed as we could all play, and the grown ups enjoyed as there were more people to take turns at staying sober and therefore more evenings they could get drunk and not be classed as irresponsible parents). I also once got inappropriately touched up by the man in the Tigger suit at Disneyland Paris, but that's another story...

GERMANY

My first trip to Germany was a brief and traumatic one as a rep for work, but my second visit - to Berlin, this February, was a much happier experience all round. I still have plenty of Germany to explore, and hope to go back again soon.

INDIA

I went with my mom, on a volunteer tour of Kerala which included a jam packed itinerary of elephants, houseboats, cultural shows and city tours as well as volunteering at a special needs school. I LOVED it, and I wrote a more detailed blog here

ITALY

Well, Sardinia actually... but apparently that doesn't count as a separate country so I can't add another one to my list when I visit Milan in October - boo. I went with my family, for a week, it was pleasant - that's all I remember. Ooops. It's where my "jumping on the beach" photo which I use for my profile shot pretty much everywhere was taken though, so that's cool.

MONACO

This one DOES count as a separate country, hurrah! I am a big F1 geek, so I loved walking the track and seeing all the famous sites from the race. We spent an afternoon there when I was 16, and I spent the entire time imagining going back there when I was older, prettier, richer... and married to Michael Schumacher. I'm still waiting.

POLAND

I went to Krakow for 5 days, and I can't recommend it enough. Here's why

PORTUGAL

My first time in a plane, aged two and a half, with my parents. I've also been back recently, twice, to Baleal Surf Camp in Peniche, which is as ridiculous as the snowboarding holidays, but I loved it. Very relaxed, friendly and picturesque.

SCOTLAND

I went to Scotland for the first time just after my brother was born. My dad and his friend Hugh went to climb a mountain, and I cried because I was worried they wouldn't come back safely. That was it until recently, when my friend Katie had her Hen Do in Edinburgh. I've been back twice since - most recently for The Fringe comedy festival last month, which was brilliant.

SLOVAKIA

I went to Bratislava for 4 nights, because the flights were £36 return. Bargain or what?! Bratislava was fun - I stayed in a great hostel, got drunk with some Irishmen and explored all of the sights. Oh, and had an expensive cocktail at the top of a building that looks like a UFO.

SOUTH AFRICA

Have I mentioned it much on here? Yes? Oh...

SPAIN

Another of those "British families on Summer holiday" destinations, and also home of Ibiza (which rather disappointingly doesn't count as a separate country, and neither does Mallorca - boo!) where I have had many, many amazing holidays. I love Ibiza, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Ir really is A Lovely Island

THAILAND

Polly and I had a 6 night stopover in Bangkok on our way to Australia way back in 2002. We were a little wet behind the ears and really didn't make the most of it. I need to go back, and go further into Thailand than just the Khao San Road...

USA

A family weekend in New York City can hardly be described as "America: done" but I had a fun time and did all the touristy things - Central Park, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty... it's a start :)

VIETNAM

I spent a month volunteering in Hanoi, and it was my "happy again" trip. I wrote a blog post about the volunteering, and had many more adventures along the way. It was fantastic.

WALES

Ahhh, Wales. I've been to Wales on family holidays, boozy gig weekends, and for weddings. Always have a good time, and have plenty of fond memories of my times there.

So there you have it! 24 down, 6 to go...

Bring. It. On.

3 Things In The City I Love - Krakow, Poland

Well, picking just one city I love for this competition has been tough! I've been lucky enough to visit lots of fantastic cities but I decided to write about Krakow, Poland here because, well, I love it...

...and then I had to pick just 3 things. Man, these rules are tough! Still, I never say no to a challenge, so here we go...

Underground Bars
Walking around Krakow you'll pass lots of inconspicuous doorways. Slightly dubious looking, they don't really give any idea of where they lead, except for the odd small sign, or poster. Good job I don't need a bigger invitation than an arrow saying "pub" to walk down a darkened spiral stone staircase, because these places are brilliant! It's like walking into an underground world full of stone archways lit by candlelight, and plenty of delicious beer (and vodka shots, if you're feeling brave!) to sample. Trust me - try the Zywiec.

Me and my crew from Tutti Frutti Hostel go underground

So Much to See, So Little Time

Krakow really does have an amazing amount of things to experience and I did my best to pack them all in during the 4 days I had there. The main square is a must - and climb St Mary's Church tower if you can, for great views. I spent a long time exploring Wawel Castle - there's a lot to see there, from the Cathedral to the Bell Tower, and the Krakow Dragon's cave at the bottom. I also took trips to the nearby Wieliczca Salt Mine (pretty mind blowing - the artistic carvings, and the scale of the place) and Auschwittz-Birkenau concentration camp, which is truly harrowing - but I'm glad I went, and paid my respects at the Holocaust memorial in the Jewish Quarter later that day. I may try to sum up the experience in a blog at some point, but it's hard to put into words. Horrific.

View of the main square from above

Random Sights

I went to Krakow with a good idea of the sights I would see, and the places I would visit (see above - all fab). However, I had absolutely no idea that I would arrive - rucksack on my back - right in the middle of a sausage dog parade. Yes that's right - a parade of sausage dogs (and their smartly dressed owners) parading through the streets and onto a stage set up in the main square to be awarded various prizes. This parade was very well attended - the crowds were huge. I still have no idea what it was all about, but it was a great way to welcome me to the city!

I was also lucky enough to experience what I think was an art installation of hundreds of plastic weasels, interspersed with occasional golden weasels. Again - I have no clue, don't ask. Oh, and there was the paper mache torture museum too (which I mentioned in My ABCs of Travel under Q). Also random.

Weasels? Ohhh-kaaaaay...

So there you have my 3 things in the city I love. I do love Krakow - I was there in late 2009 and would love to go back soon - hopefully during the snow next time :) Have you been to Krakow? What did you think? Have I missed anything?