Long Overdue

Yes. I admit. Blogging has been rather half-hearted of late. I'm putting it down to the fact that final year has ensured I spend pretty much every day sat in front of a computer counting down the weeks til I finish, yet also lamenting the fact that time has gone too quickly. I was saying that this time last year too when I was leaving Nancy. Things never change...

So, the future is uncertain. All I know is I will be saving every last penny to fuel trips, be that in the UK, Europe or further afield (cough NY, Vancouver, Iceland). A day off from studying last weekend took me to Edinburgh to visit an Austrian friend I first met in Cancale, Brittany. I was working in the (deserted) hostel bar and got talking to a couple who were on holiday, doing a mini 'tour de France', as it were. After some great conversation, and (a lot of music swapping!), we swapped e-mail addresses and vowed to get in contact if we were ever going to be in the same place at the same time again.

Fast forward 6 months and I found myself in Austria, halfway through a tour of Central/Eastern Europe. I met up with my friends from Cancale, who were studying in Vienna. We drank beer, laughed at the impatience of Viennese bartenders and vowed to get in contact if we were ever going to be in the same place at the same time again.

(A pattern is emerging). Fast forward 14 months and I find myself a little closer to home in Edinburgh. One of my Viennese friends is spending a semester in the UK as part of her ERASMUS year. We chat, we climb Arthur's Seat, we meet some Kiwis, we eat bagels and laugh at the fact that we've only met three times, and each meeting has been in a different country.

Then I realised. This was what I wanted- time to forget about work and discover an unknown place, knowing that around each corner you might stumble upon a man walking through the streets chatting to his puppet monkey (no word of a lie), a cute coffee shop to wile away the hours, or (as is more often the case in Edinburgh), a tacky souvenir shop filled with tourists. This is what travel should be about- accepting the obvious, and taking the time to search for the quirky things that really cement trips away. However I also realised how these meetings would never have happened had we not exchanged contact details in the first place. I know travelling solo can be fun, but for me, people make a place. And this is what I've come to realise not just over the last year, but over the last four at university. :)

So after a great day forgetting about the demands of the present, I enjoyed the moment, reminisced about THAT year and looked forward to being in the right place at the right time once again in the not too distant future...

View from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

Well worth it if you can brave the climb!

Breaking the ICE

As part of the Travel Belles first Across the Café Table question of 2012, bloggers have been asked...

In 2012 where do you most want to go but haven’t yet, & why?

After a quick look at the 'Where I want to go' section of this blog, and realising I would have to make a tough decision, my ambition for 2012 is...Iceland! Granted, Iceland has had a bit of a hard time of late; the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in March 2012, consequently disrupting flights across Europe and causing inconvenience/general havoc. Let's not even mention the banking crisis...

Actually, it's 'thanks' to the banking crisis that Iceland, one of the world's most expensive countries, has become slightly more affordable- reasons I have not to visit this country of astounding natural beauty are dwindling...

Being a self-confessed 'city lover', Iceland seems a strange choice in many respects. Yet who could resist this?

Taken from http://www.metrolic.com/travel-guides-iceland-160891/

To do in Iceland

-Reykjavik. Iceland's capital packed with wooden houses and a thriving café culture.

-The Blue Lagoon, Iceland's most popular tourist attraction (and geothermal spa, no less).

-See the Northern Lights (between September and April). Absolutely breathtaking (so I've heard)

-Whale watching

-Eat delicacies, e.g. puffin heart. Er...perhaps not!

I'm off to listen to Sigur Rós...

http://www.visiticeland.com/

Back on the wagon

First of all, let me wish everyone a healthy, happy 2012 full of laughter and adventure!

I realise it's been a while since I used this blog....it's strange...after returning from my Year Abroad in France and Spain, I was determined to carry on writing. Yet coveting certain songs/clothes/newspaper articles just didn't seem right. Plenty of other blogs for that, right?

The entries stopped because I got busy, yes, but they also stopped because I told myself I didn't want to write about the U.K, assuming entries would not live up to the spontaneity of trips to Brussels and 2 week getaways to Eastern Europe. Granted, due to study commitments, since September trips have not been quite as spontaneous or frequent as they were before.

Yet the trips haven't stopped! After a couple of months staying in one place, thumbs were twiddling once again and I began to realise that travel really is what you make of it (clichéeeee!). I want to 'profiter bien' from home and all it has to offer for wannabe jet setters like myself, while my feet are firmly grounded, at least for the next 7 months or so...

Yes, I confess to occasionally reading through previous blog entries, remembering just how happy and carefree I was this time last year as I started the final chapter of the French adventure. I don't bemoan the fact that I am no longer living the 'European' dream. It had to end sometime, and perhaps knowing my adventures had an expiry date always made them all the more exciting.

Having absolutely no idea what the latter stages of 2012 have in store is exciting. And that makes me realise the greatest adventure is yet to come...

Home sweet home...