Packing it all in: travelling hand-luggage only.

Packing it all in: travelling hand-luggage only.

Sunday, 1 July 2018

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Travelling is the done thing nowadays: everyone seems to be doing it. Flights, for the most part, are more than reasonably priced and enough planning ahead can get you abroad and exploring for very little cost. It’s only when you start adding on additional costs, like choosing your seat on the plane, breakfast at the hotel and that dreaded additional luggage charge when things start to get a little bit more expensive.

It is more than possible to travel abroad for both short trips and longer trips alike, you just need to be savvy about your packing and ensure that you’re only packing the essentials. Over the years, I’ve found that I’ve seriously over-packed and only worn half of the clothes in my suitcase – let’s be realistic, you don’t need 20 different outfits and 10 bikinis for 7 days in the sun! That’s without even mentioning the shoes… 

Pack strategically

Packing is probably one of the only stressful things about going away: ‘have I forgotten something?’ being the question on everyone’s lips upon arrival at the airport. Chances are, yes, you have but as long as it’s not your passport, your boarding pass or your wallet then you’ll be absolutely fine and nothing bad will come of it. Make a checklist of everything you need to pack and cross it off the list as and when you put it into your case to completely eliminate the risk of you forgetting something important! Pack a rucksack or bag that can be easily flattened – I find that my Fjallraven Kankenbackpack is perfect for travelling as when it’s empty it flattens down and takes up absolutely no space in my hand luggage and it’s roomy enough to store all of my handbag essentials, sunglasses, a book, my camera, a large bottle of water and a light jacket. I also pack a small Kate Spade cross body clutch for evenings. 

Buy toiletries when you get there

The temptation to stock up on those tiny little bottles of shower gel and shampoo before you go – not only are they a complete waste of money, they use up some of your limited liquid allowance, allowance you should be using on sun cream and makeup (if you wear it!) Believe it or not, supermarkets in Spain stock shampoo and shower gel just like they do over here in the UK and they’re not that expensive. Save your money in the UK and buy these items when you arrive. You can then just throw them away when you’re leaving, saving the hassle of having to cart them all back home. 

Plan your outfits 

One of the most exciting things about waiting to go away is checking the weather forecast for the time you’re being to be there and bragging shamelessly about just how hot it’s going to be. With this in mind, it’s easy to plan ahead and think about the type of clothes that you’re going to need to wear. Despite what you might think, if you’re going away for a week then you don’t need to pack your entire wardrobe. Think about what you’ll be doing whilst you’re there – if you’re planning on spending the entire holiday by the pool, then you’ll only need 3 or 4 bikinis and some loose dresses to throw over the top and then full outfits for the evening. If you’re more of a touristic type of holiday goer then pack loose and light clothes, the odd bikini and your evening outfits. Pack shoes that can be worn with a number of different outfits and shorts that can be worn with multiple blouses. Generally there is no weight limit across airlines for hand luggage, so as long as it fits in the correct-sized case and you can lift it easily into the overhead compartment, there’s absolutely no reason to worry about bringing additional luggage with you. 

To summarise, hints and tips:

-              Check the maximum hand-luggage dimensions of your specified airline. 

-              Think ahead about what you want to be wearing, based on your activities.

-              Make a list! Pack only what you need to take with you!!!! 

Travelling light is so much easier than it used to be and it seriously saves you money in the long run. Do you have any hints or tips for travelling lightly? Let me know in the comments and share your wisdom! 

Travel: An (eventful) Stay in North Wales

Travel: An (eventful) Stay in North Wales

Saturday, 28 October 2017

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One of the (many) benefits of being a teacher are the lovely (and much needed) holidays slotted conveniently throughout the year, ready to take full advantage of. Having had itchy feet since my last trip to Germany in August, staying in Merseyside for the entire week’s holiday was not on the agenda. I’m currently saving up to buy a little home of my own, so spontaneous trips abroad are now well and truly off the agenda. Booking a little getaway was, however, much needed, so after browsing Airbnb for what seems like a lifetime, we settled on a glamping experience in North Wales for the night. We decided on this beautiful little Shepherds Hut in Rhosesmor, packed our bags and got set for a lovely little trip.

I must admit that the trip didn’t get off to the best start. We had a full itinerary of exciting things to do before we checked into the hut- we planned on going hiking in Moel Famau (and then realised quite quickly that that was a terrible idea- us? Hiking? HA!). After laughing off that suggestion, we settled on a stroll through a beautiful park in Connah’s Quay, hosting the most stunning waterfall. Instagram posts, romantic stroll, what more could we possibly ask for? Cue the rain, ruining plans and potential Instagram-worthy images. And, (un)ironically, the rain is where all of our problems began.

The place where our Airbnb was located was, to put in simply, in the middle of nowhere. The rain was falling heavily, the wind was blowing a hundred miles a minute and we were more than excited to get settled in and cosy in our little bubble away from the hustle and bustle of Liverpool. Finding the place proved a bit of a challenge, but following the instructions we had been given, we found ourselves heading in what we thought was the right direction towards the house. We went slightly too far down the road and had to turn around, except driving down the winding, narrow country roads meant that turning around in the middle of the road was damn near impossible. We drove down to the bottom of the road, came to a field and made an attempt to turn the car back around to drive into the house’s yard. I say the word ‘attempted’ purposely, as turning the car around proved much more difficult than anticipated. Mostly because of the fact the car had started to sink into the mud. Yes, you read that correctly.

Long story short, the car was stuck and no amount of manoeuvring was going to get us out. After failing to contact the people we were staying with, and full of fear that a baseball bat yielding farmer with the police on speed-dial was going to bombard us, we got straight onto the insurance company to come and tow us out. Whilst this was all going down, and policies were being checked and both Richard and I had had full on meltdowns, the airbnb host called me back and revealed that we were stuck on their field, and they’d happily come and pull us out with their tractor. Ridiculously embarrassed but relieved we weren’t going to be arrested, the car was rescued and we could finally get to enjoying our relaxing (!!!) weekend away.

And, boy, was it relaxing. Because of the awful weather, the lovely Sandra and her husband upgraded our stay from the Shepherd’s hut to the Summer House and it is honestly the most beautiful little house I’ve ever seen. We had everything we needed to have a relaxing stay, gifted with bread, breakfast goods and cheese and we were left to our own devices. Being the absolute geeks that we are, we had a relaxing afternoon listening to football, playing scrabble and enjoying the beautiful countryside. We drove into Mold in the evening for dinner and got back to the house in the early evening to enjoy the rest of our time away. Richard’s favourite film is Interstellar so we stuck that on and poured cocktails to sip whilst we watched. My favourite liquor is a Maltese one called bajtra, which is made from prickly pear fruit, and I’d been scouring the internet for cocktail ideas to try out. We awoke early the next morning and enjoyed a breakfast of welsh cheddar on fresh toast, yoghurts and fruit. Packing the car back up to go home was done ever so reluctantly, our thoughts already on our return back to the gorgeous countryside setting and where our travels will take us next. 

Travel: Un tour de la France en Cinq Jours: Part One - Bordeaux

Travel: Un tour de la France en Cinq Jours: Part One - Bordeaux

Tuesday, 28 February 2017

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About a month and a half ago, I had a really, really rubbish day at work. I came in to find the place completely turned upside down by a mistake that someone else had made and found myself having to deal with that, and everything else that I had to do to make sure I was doing my OWN job. Amongst this fury, I decided that booking flights to France was the only thing that would calm me down. So I took a break, whacked my phone out and booked myself a one-way flight to Bergerac, in the west of France. I also arranged to meet up with a couple of the guys I met whilst I was living out in Strasbourg. Two birds, one stone. Or so I thought.

If you’re familiar with France and more specifically with Bergerac, you’ll realise that this wasn’t a particularly smart move from my point of view. Bergerac is, for lack of better description, in the absolute middle of nowhere. There’s also not much to do there, either. It took around ten minutes after starting research to realise that I needed a better plan in place. A quick google left me with a few different options: either take the (incredibly long) train directly to Avignon, where my pal Joe lives, or else lengthen my trip and cross off a few of the cities on my bucket list. I decided on the latter, purchased a Interrail France pass and began planning my trip.

So, finally came the day: with my luggage, camera and sleep-deprived self in tow, I got on the plane from Liverpool to Bergerac. I’d already clocked that there were no buses from the airport to the city centre and that I’d have to get a taxi into the city. A few google searches had informed me that this wouldn’t cost more than twenty euros, nor would it take longer than 15 minutes, so I had high hopes for easy access to the train station, where I would take a train to the first city on my trip: Bordeaux.

I only knew a few things about Bordeaux before I booked to visit here: red wine and big city. I arrived in Bergerac 15 minutes before the scheduled flight arrival time- excellent start to the trip, as far as I was concerned. It was here when the difficulties began: I discovered, after disembarking the plane, getting through passport control issue free and leaving the (ridiculously tiny) airport building, that there were no taxi ranks in site. None. At all. Now, I’m not a great phone person: the thought of ordering a taxi over the phone in English makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. I know I can do it, I know there’s absolutely no reason to not do so, but something always stops me. I attempted to Uber (who was I kidding? Why would a city that didn’t even have a taxi rank at its airport have Uber taxis?). Eventually, I took a deep breath and called a local taxi firm to come and collect me. No one looked at me like I had three heads, the woman on the line understood me perfectly and my taxi arrived 10 minutes later. Achievement unlocked. I chatted away to the lovely driver, paid my fare and made the train to Bordeaux with plenty of time to spare.

The adventure started here. I decided to explore the city a little before taking my stuff back to the hotel: I only had a large handbag and my camera on my person so didn’t have too many issues in lugging them around. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so overwhelmed in arriving in a city before- for all the right reasons. Bordeaux is absolutely beautiful. Getting off the train at St Jean station was a treat in itself. After living in Strasbourg for a year, I’ve become quite the master of tram systems so I found navigating around Bordeaux pretty easy to do. My first stop was a solo one: I wasn’t meeting my friend Remy, another Strasbourg pal, until mid-afternoon, so I had a few hours to myself. I found myself on the banks of the river Garonne with the entire city mine for the day to explore.

My first thought was genuinely, “Holy Jesus Christ, that is a LONG river.” And then I turned around, to witness La Bourse, a gorgeous square which dates back to the 1700s,  and all my thoughts came out at once- granted, most of them started with "wow" and ended with an expletive. I did a little shopping and stopped at a restaurant for an aperitif before Remy met me in Place de la Republique. We wandered around the city centre a little bit more, discovering the Esplanade des Quinconces, which was probably one of my favourite parts of the city: the Quinconces is one of the largest squares in Europe and hosts the most beautiful fountain, the Monument aux Girondins. Apparently a few of the horses in the fountain were removed by the Nazis during the occupation of France, which seems pretty bizarre to me but it’s nice to know that they’ve since been re-erected and restored to their full glory. Rem and I grabbed dinner (a very French dinner of Chicken and chips…) before exploring the city by night. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed there either. We finished off our evening with a viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, dubbed ever so beautifully in French, before I tucked myself into my little hotel room, ready for my 7.30am train the next morning!

I have visited a number of cities in France over the course of my 23 years and I’m actually quite surprised to say that this is one of my favourites. I didn’t really expect to like Bordeaux all that much, having heard tales from other friends. I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much there was to do in Bordeaux and how much I’d love to go back there at some point. Definitely one to explore in more depth at a later date.

Have you ever visited Bordeaux? Do you fancy it? Isn't it DIVINE? Gimme some feedback!! 

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