Things you forget after 177 days and 17 countries include…… your door code, passwords, whether you look left or right crossing the road, where you keep things in the kitchen, how small your dog is, how hot and humid our summers are and how big your hair can get 🙂
Things you don’t forget…..how gorgeous is NZ, the beach, how to drive, where to find things in the supermarket, how nice it is to be in your own house, how to make your dog smile 🙂
It’s nice to be back. Max is slowly getting used to me being home but is quite suspicious when I leave the room (can’t really blame him), and he is missing Heliena who took such good care of him while I was swanning around the northern hemisphere. It’s 28 degrees, we’ve had a walk at the beach, and chased toys around the house, and slept. The jetlag is ok so far, my washing is done and the suitcase is unpacked. Almost back to normal 🙂 Thanks so much for reading and supporting my adventures xxxx
For the last couple of days I have been hanging out in London, walking everywhere, relaxing and getting myself out of traveller mode before I head home. Not hard when it is raining and cold, and I couldn’t feel less like exploring, ha. I guess that’s London in winter. It is now time to switch off travel Merran and return to normal days. What an adventure I have had! A little shorter than planned, but epic nonetheless. I set off in August with very vague plans on where I would go, but a firm plan to enjoy every moment, follow my nose, and soak up experiences. And it has been wonderful, 1000 times better than I could have imagined. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity.
Where have I been? To the UK via Singapore, Iceland,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, The
Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal 😊 😊
Which places have I loved the most? This is hard because there has been so much to love with this trip, and so many cool places. If I had to pick a favourite country it would be Finland where I had amazing experiences, met truly wonderful people, and played in the snow 😊 My least favourite place is probably Germany where I had some good experiences but just didn’t feel it was me.
What’s the best thing about travelling? Meeting wonderful people! I’ve been able to spend time with friends who live far away, I’ve made new friends, and I have wonderful memories of quirky, lovely people who crossed my path.
Is it hard to travel alone? No.
Would I do it again? Yes 😊 In a heartbeat.
Am I sad to be heading back? Every trip feels a little bit weird when it gets to the end, but no I’m not sad. I’m really looking forward to seeing my dog (and my daughter 😊 ) and it’s not a journey until you return home.
Where do I want to go next? Jen and I are talking about an island-hopping trip to Greece in October for our birthdays 😊
What are my top tips for travelers? Learn some of the local language and make an effort to use it. People appreciate it and will be nicer to you as a result. Air BnB experiences are awesome and you will meet great people. You don’t have to plan everything in advance, everything is bookable online. Most places are cashless, I have a debit card that I can use for online bookings and a credit card as back up. See things for yourself – even if someone has been somewhere and told you they didn’t like it, you are an individual and should go see it for yourself. I’ve loved places that other people told me weren’t all that great. If you want to go see somewhere, go see it, even if you have no one to go with you. And travel light. You can buy everything you need as you go.
I haven’t taken many photos in London because I’m trying not to be touristy 🙂 but it’s hard to take the traveler out of the girl 🙂 🙂
Love the squirrels in London
Peter Pan in Kensington gardens
parrots!
yum 🙂
new fave cocktail – whisky, triple sec and lemonade
Claire took the day off work so we could hang out, and we took a short drive to Nottingham to see if we could find any sign of Robin Hood or the Sheriff. There is a statue of Robin by an old castle, a street named after Maid Marion, and Sherwood forest is a short drive away, but there’s little other evidence here of Nottingham’s mythical past. A shop owner we met said it was a shame because people (like us) come expecting there to be more, and they feel the city is missing out on tourist dollars. Oh well. What is in Nottingham is an ancient network of underground caves, built by hand in the dark ages, and we took a guided tour of some of them which was cool. A bit of lunch, a drink in the oldest pub in England, a walk around a country manor, having a laugh and spending time with my lovely friend made for an awesome adventuresome day. I will miss her once I’m back in the southern hemisphere. And we saw squirrels! Happy happy days 🙂 🙂
It is lovely to be back in the UK with Claire and Sean in Derbyshire, one of my many homes away from home 🙂 I’ve had a really relaxing weekend, my clothes are clean, and it is awesome to catch up with my friends. It’s quite a bit colder here but crisp winter days are really nice. Claire had a function in Stratford upon Avon on Saturday so I took the chance to hitch a ride and spend some time exploring this gorgeous wee town. Home to William Shakespeare (and oddly the tellytubbies) 🙂 Stratford upon Avon is steeped in history and a great place to visit. I found a bright yellow brochure for Stratford Town Tours soon after I arrived, it cost only 6 pounds for a two hour guided walk, and it was really good. Our wonderful host John has lived all his life in the village and he is hilarious, having stored up a wealth of bad jokes to spice up his tour that are so bad they’re funny. And after each one he added a ‘boom boom’ like Basil Brush ha 🙂 The connection to Shakespeare is evident everywhere here; you can visit the house where he was born, his mother’s house, his father’s leather workshop, his school, the site where he lived with his wife Anne Hathaway, and his final resting place in the Holy Trinity church. Local retailers also get in on the act, with one outdoors supplier advertising ‘ now is the winter of our discount-tent’ 🙂 🙂 Once you’ve had your fill of literary history, there are loads of pubs, cafes and bars, parks and a theatre to spend time in, amazing architecture to admire, and an inviting river to walk along. To quote old William – ‘I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it’.
For my last day in Biarritz I took my book and found a nice spot by the ocean to sit, enjoy the sunshine, and watch the waves. It was so nice and relaxing, and the perfect way to end my lovely long wander through Europe. Later tonight I start the journey back to the UK, via Paris. Thanks to the transport strikes in France, it’ll be a longer journey than expected (sigh) as the air traffic controllers in Biarritz are striking and I will have to bus to Bordeaux where flights are operating. I really love France, but this strike has been such a pain. Still, there’s no point being annoyed by things out of my control, and there’s every point in enjoying the moment. C’est une belle jour née (it’s a beautiful day) 🙂
It is a short bus ride from San Sebastian to Biarritz in France, only 35 km from the border with Spain, and I have a brief stop here en route to Paris. Biarritz is a cool little seaside resort town which in the 1850s was the summer home of Napoleon III and his wife Empress Eugenie. Now it is famous for surfing and amazing food (which is a unique blend of French and Spanish tapas style) and in the summer it is packed with tourists. I am here in the low season and had an awesome day wandering around exploring. There’s a beautiful promenade along the coast so you can easily walk from beach to beach (there are heaps of gorgeous beaches!) while you soak up the sun and views, maybe stopping to check out the shops and boutiques and look at colorful espadrilles, or park up at a bar or café to gaze at the ocean. Happy days 🙂 The surf looked awesome today, and every now and then someone in a wetsuit with a board under their arm raced out of an office building and down the street towards the sea before diving in 🙂 The water must be cold because the surfers are in thick suits with booties and hoods, but their smiles are huge and even as the sun was setting there were still streams of people heading into the waves. There are heaps of blogs online to look at when you come to Biarritz – I found this one had the best suggestions for things to check out www.lostinbordeaux.com/things-to-do-and-eat-biarritz . Sound track for the day is from the movie Grease. A bit random, but that’s what has been running through my head today. Bon nuit 🙂
The hike I booked with Air BnB for today took me to Zumaia, which is a town west of San Sebastian, famous for its incredible cliffs and a UNESCO Geopark which holds more than 60 million years of history in its rock formations. My guide Angel is from Patagonia in Chile, he is an environmental scientist, and he moved here with his wife and their young son three years ago. He has set up a tour company called Basque Nomads to show people the wonders of the Basque landscape, and he is the most brilliant guide. You must book an experience with him when you come here and support his growing business. We caught the train to Zumaia (only 40 minutes from San Sebastian), and started the tour walking through the old town, looking at the buildings, and then slowly making our way towards the coast. My jaw literally hit the floor when I saw the ocean views start to appear, and the cliffs, and the stacked pancake rocks. It is incredible. No wonder this area has been a location for movies (and more Game of Thrones), and it is a live laboratory for geologists from all over the globe. Within each slice of rock lies 10,000 years of geological history, so in the span of our hike we covered tens of millions of years, including the period when dinosaurs became extinct. Amazing. It was another beautiful day in Spain as you can see, and the temperature reached 27 degrees. Warming me up for my return to Auckland 🙂 where I won’t need the man boots or Mongolian yak wool socks and can put on some jandals for a change 🙂 Gabon (which is good night in Basque)
Walk, eat, sleep, repeat 🙂 the perfect holiday mantra, and San Sebastian is the perfect destination. There is loads of activity here and I’m enjoying it; street performers, beach volleyball (but using the feet, head or chest only, no hands?), yesterday was a festival for Caldereros (boilermakers, dressed like cartoon pirates) with drums and dancing, today was a festival for shepherds who used to come down from the mountains to court the nursemaids and make babies. I’ve visited 14th century fishing villages, sampled pintxos, tried the local Basque white wine txakoli (pronounced chackolli), and driven to the top of a hill to see France which is only 12 miles away. Most of the time I have forgotten to take any photos, and am just enjoying the moment. Estupenda 🙂 Tomorrow I am going hiking on the western coast so will dig out my camera as it is supposed to be spectacular. Buenos noches x
Buses are the way to travel in this part of Spain as the trains are less frequent and take three times as long. It is only an hour from Bilbao to San Sebastian, so I was checked into my room and out wandering in the sun by midday. What a stunner of a day; sun sun sun and 23 degrees. People were swimming and walking with their shirts off 🙂 and dogs happily trotted behind their owners. Being winter there are not as many tourists as normal, so it was mostly locals out enjoying the day, making the most of their siesta time before heading back to work. I like the lifestyle of taking time out from work to enjoy the best hours of the day (1-4pm). It seems so much healthier than trying to cram everything into the end of the day. San Sebastian has three beautiful horseshoe-shaped golden sand beaches to choose from, cafes and restaurants right on the beach, and a very pretty city. It is also famous for its pintxos, reputedly the best in Spain, and I have a list of places that people have recommended to check out. This will be my last stop before heading back to the UK and I plan to soak up as much warmth as possible in the next few days before heading back into the cold. Hasta luego x
Joseba picked me up this morning for a coastal hike in Bermeo, a small town 30 minutes from Bilbao that is famous for its epic surf and the Gaztelugatxe island that is connected to the mainland by a zigzag walkway. On top of the island and up a few hundred steps is a small chapel dedicated to John the Baptist that dates back to the 9th or 10th century, and from the top you can see for miles. The coast is wildly beautiful in this area of Spain, and the wind was howling around up there. Joseba was trying to control his hair until my ponytail whipped him in the face and he laughed and gave up. His parents were married in this chapel 40 years ago so it is a special place for him. Joseba is 32 and has worked as tour guide for 8 years and he loves it. He trained as an environmental scientist so helping people to experience nature, history and Spanish culture is close to his heart. He created this experience through Air Bnb and I highly recommend you book it when you come, I really enjoyed it. Game of Thrones also used the island as Dragonstone (I’ve never watched it), digitally adding a castle on the top of the island where the chapel is, so a lot of people come to visit it for that reason. I just thought it looked beautiful and as the weather is good it’s nice to go for a walk. Hats off to his parents and their guests for climbing up here to get married, it is steep! Probably she wore flat shoes. Legend has it that if you ring the bell on the chapel three times your deepest wishes will be granted, and the local fishermen come up here to ring it to bring good luck for their boats and crew. Of course I rang it as well and sent my wishes off into the wind.
