Personal

Sometimes it’s nice to know a bit about the blogger behind the blog and in this section you’ll find my personal travel stories. Expect things from my worst travel experiences to culture shock moments, posts on loneliness when travelling alone, whether travel has been helpful for grief and (probably a bit too much info) about that time I completely tore my knee and later needed surgery while I was on a catamaran sailing around the British Virgin Islands. You’ll also find some wonderful guest posts and travel stories from other travel bloggers in here. Hope you enjoy.

Fibromyalgia – Life, Travel & Recovery from a Chronic Illness

Published:

I have a seashell on a bookcase in my office. It’s pink and cream and curly. Turn it over, and it doubles as a Christmas decoration, with a tiny sprig of holly attached to its seam. I picked it up from a market stall in the Florida Keys, a trip I took with a friend not long after my mum died. March 2019. I think of that trip, and I can barely fathom the person I was back then, the body I stood in, energetic, ready to pull over and bounce out of the car for a picture opp at … Read more

17 Gadgets To Help Your ACL Recovery

Published:

I wasn’t prepared for my ACL surgery. I wish I’d done more research about the recovery process, the physio required and even the practicalities of how to get around a 3-floor triplex apartment on crutches. But the thing was, there wasn’t much out there beyond the usual medical, anatomical articles telling me which bit of the inside of my knee would be fiddled with. So, a few months post recovery, I started to write about my ACL surgery. That one post developed into a series. In this post, I’ll share with you the gadgets that helped my ACL recovery. Whether … Read more

A Real Life Guide To ACL Surgery & Recovery

Published:
Hiking before ACL surgery

If you’re reading this, you already know the moment – the moment when you heard a pop and your life, or at least the life of your knee, changed forever.  It was a sickening moment.  A moment I would go back and change in a heartbeat (I don’t have many moment that I regret so deeply that I wish I could change them, but this is top of the list).  But the thing is, we can’t go back. We can’t change things. So, I’ve written this guide instead. A real life guide to ACL surgery and recovery, from a regular … Read more

101 Travel Themed Things To Do When You’re Bored At Home

Published:

Bored? Read on for 101 things to do when you’re bored. They’re all travel themed so you can scratch your travel itch and satisfy your wanderlust all without leaving home. If you are stuck at home for a prolonged period, unable to travel, it’s very likely you’re bored. Here’s my suggestions for 101 travel themed things to do when you’re bored. In the order that they came out of my head:  1. Make a list of the favourite foods you’ve tasted on your travels – okonomiyaki and guacamole are on my list. Look up the recipes, track down the ingredients and cook … Read more

What To Do When You Get Dengue Fever When You Travel

Published:
What to do when you get dengue fever when you travel main

“Mosquitoes are one of the deadliest animals in the world. Their ability to carry and spread disease to humans causes millions of deaths every year.” – World Health Organisation “You should go to the doctor.” It was a message from my Mexican friend. I was lying prone for the 5th day in a row, each day feeling increasingly more ill but ever convinced I could shake off whatever it was that had felled me, provided I just stayed still. “It’s not that bad.” I replied. I couldn’t quite describe how I felt except that it was somewhere between a cold and … Read more

52 Tips For How To Read More Books

Published:

Does ‘read more’ ever pop up on your New Year’s Resolutions list? Does it pop up every year? Do you start out well but quickly fall back into old habits leaving a book half read for weeks and months at a time? Or maybe you just returned from holiday/vacation where you tore through more than one book and enjoyed it so much you want to do more of the same. It’s all very well having good intentions to want to read more, but where do you find the time? Or in some cases, the motivation? I recently hit my ultimate … Read more

Does IPL at home work? Philips Lumea Review

Published:

Does the Philips Lumea work? I googled this extensively before I bought my IPL machine and, I couldn’t really get a straight answer. So I decided to go ahead, buy one and write a Philips Lumea review myself.  It’s taken me over a year to write this. Not because I’m lazy…or because I’ve been sat at home marvelling my silky soft legs. It’s because my review is mixed and I’ve wanted to give the Philips Lumea a good run for its money before coming to a conclusion.  Black Friday Deals and January Sale – hairy friends, a quick update as … Read more

On The Road Again – The Path Back To Nomadic Life

Published:
My heart is at the beach nomad life

“I don’t think it’s for me,” I say to the estate agent as I poke my head into the en-suite.  She takes it to mean that I don’t want to buy this house. But I can’t help feeling like I’m saying something more profound. That this – the home owing and the fixed location and the routine lifestyle – isn’t for me.  “Don’t worry. You’ll find somewhere,” she says as she hands me her card. I smile to reassure her and wonder if I should be worried. After all, I’ve already agreed to sell my own home. If that goes to plan, … Read more

ACL Recovery – 15 Things I Would Have Done Differently

Published:

This post is part of a series. You may want to start here. If your want the quick links, here’s the full series: My Real Life Guide To ACL Surgery and Recovery Injuring my ACL – My Story 15 Surprises From My ACL Repair Surgery – What They Don’t Tell You ACL Repair – Timeline of My Recovery (With Pictures) Gadgets That Helped My ACL Recovery This might be another side-venture from my usual travel topic but ‘that post’ about my ACL surgery has fast become one of the most popular on this site. Not only have people told me it’s … Read more

Grief and Travel

Published:
travel and grief

My mum died. Christmas day, of all the days. It came as a surprise but really it shouldn’t have. Looking back at my calendar over the previous 18 months, I realise how littered it had become with her doctor’s appointments. I spent so much time at the hospital, the canteen ladies started to ask if I was staff. It had become a way of life and we’d adapted to it. Sure, my writing schedule had dropped down from once a week to once a month, but what could I do – there were places to go and doctors to see. … Read more