LIFESTYLE, PARENTING
Indonesia is a huge country, with so much to see and do, it is hard to decide exactly where to go. When we were planning our trip, we knew we wanted a mixture of cultural sights and relaxation. We had a chat to Trailfinders and decided to book the cultural part through them because they just make it so easy to travel. So take a look at the itinerary we followed and let it inspire your next big trip!
This year, I finally got myself onto a beach for five days of blissful relaxation (check out what I got up to in Indonesia). I had forgotten how much I love doing absolutely nothing. Well, I say absolutely nothing, but I spent the five days solidly reading and got through a few great books that I really wanted to share with you. I’ve also rounded up a few that are sitting on my ‘To Read’ pile that I can’t wait to get stuck into.
I just love discovering new places to eat in the North East, so I was chuffed to get an invite to try cocktails and dinner at Sohe asian restaurant in Jesmond, a beautiful leafy suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Indonesia is one of those far-flung places, packed to the brim with beautiful beaches and blessed by sunshine for a large part of the year, that can just seem so out of reach for a two week summer holiday. I chatted to someone who said they had been quoted almost £3,000 per person from a travel agent for two weeks in Bali, but our trip cost HALF that. So I thought I’d share exactly just what two weeks in Indonesia cost us and what we spent our money on.
When I was younger, I was really shy. I used to blush pretty much every time someone spoke to me and I hated being the centre of attention. As I’ve got older, I’ve grown in confidence (even though I’ve still got a long way to go) and one of the biggest triggers for this was going travelling on my own after uni. I’d now recommend everyone goes travelling solo at least once in their life – and where’s why! (You can also check out some old school pictures of me in my blonde youth…)
Newcastle is rightly renowned for being a killer night out. And it is killer – your head will not be quite the same after a night on the toon. I’ve been to a few fabulous bars recently with new menus and new things going on, so thought I’d share them here to help you plan your next girls night out!
Indonesia has been number one on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I’ve had the guide book since I asked for it for Christmas in 2010 but somehow it’s never worked out until now. Andrew and I considered it for the honeymoon but decided we wanted to go for a safari (largely because it was more expensive and therefore more justifiable for such an important trip!). So we planned it for this year instead.
When we decided we were going to Canada for our holiday, one of the things we knew we HAD to do was go see some bears. I’m actually pretty terrified of bears but, nevertheless, they are incredible animals and just amazing to see in the wild. So we booked a bear watching tour in Tofino, on the west of Vancouver Island. I wrote a post about 10 incredible things to do there even when it’s raining, but bear watching deserved a whole post of its own.
Harborview Motel
Tofino is just the most beautiful place. It’s a town on the West Coast of Vancouver Island full of beautiful beaches, woodland hikes, surfers and amazing food and drink. Tofino has the most incredibly relaxed vibe and I just knew Andrew would love it, so we headed there for four days during our trip to Canada this May. But the weather is notoriously unreliable. So what do you do in Tofino in the rain?
Whenever I think about being a tourist, I think about going abroad. I always forget that there is so much to be seen on my own doorstep. This month, I am heading to London to get a new tattoo (eek, exciting!) and I decided to go down a bit earlier to be a bit of a tourist.