I'm not really one for blog tag posts but when Catherine from Lux Life published this and nominated me I couldn't resist. I love learning about people's travels so it's almost natural to assume other people will be interested in mine, right?! I'm lucky enough to have travelled to quite a lot of places during my time at university (although still regret not having done a gap yaahh) and most of those travels are lost in the archives on my blog, so I'm going to fill this with links to lots of adventures over the years of blogging too...
psst grab a cuppa tea and a packet of hobobs it's a long one
Lancelin, Western Australia
Where is your all-time favourite destination?
This is such a hard question, I've got real soft spots for so many destinations.
My favourite place in the entire world is Queenstown in New Zealand, which I visited almost ten years ago on a school trip (would you believe it?!) it was part of a cultural exchange where we lived with a family and then went on different tours each week. I've only got two photos left from the entire trip (and they're both little prints- note to any traveller back up your photos because one day your computer might just kick the bucket and taken them all with it) but they're both in Queenstown. I can't honestly say why out of all the places I've visited it's number one, it's the opposite of everything I normally love- it's inland (aka NO BEACH) and it's pretty cold! I can't wait to go back soon and fall in love all over again.
I also adore Margaret River which is just a few hours south of Perth, where we live, and if you want to know why click on the link and have a scroll through some of my blog posts; sexy beaches, divine forests, food, and slower time... heaven.
Country wise it's a toss up between Italy; for the culture, food and architecture and Australia; for the beaches, slower way of life (there's a reason WA is nicknamed wait a while), stunning scenery and the awesome lifestyle. I've also got to give special mention to the UK because it is a stunning, beautiful little place with so much culture.
bricking it on the back of a scooter in Bali
Which post are you most proud of?
My all time favourite blog post is dolphins just because it was one of the most magical days of my life. If I was recommending some escapism to somewhere I'd send them to beach, beach, busselton or Iguazu falls which was written years and years ago and doesn't have much love at all (despite all those gorgeous images!) or maybe even to some of our Greek sailing adventures . Looking back I wish I'd known more about how to travel blog, I might even re-do some of my older travel posts in the future..
But I also love the more personal / opinionated blog posts I've written over the years such as what you should be doing as a blogger in response to about a gazillion other blog posts going up bossing everyone around saying you need 1mil unique views a month and to be a BRAND (read: not a human). Similarly in 2014 I wrote about falling out of love with blogging about how self centred and bitchy blogging can be. Anddd just before we left the UK I wrote a post about being selfish , which was all about growing up and realising relationships are a two way thing.
breath taking Iguazu falls in Argentina / Brazil
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party, alive or dead?
Literally EVERYBODY.
Do you have a favourite travel app?
Like the two girls before me, I'm not a real app fan (for anything really, I feel there's a massive lost opportunity) but I adore instagram and pinterest. I love being able to find new adventures, new places to eat and drink, DIY hacks...everything and anything! I don't use my pinterest for my blog but I most certainly would love for you to go and follow my instagram account for your daily dose of sunshine!
The incredible blogging ladies I shared a weekend with in Dorset a few years ago, a weekend filled with exploring, copious cups of tea, delicious food and the best company.
What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about blogging?
I could pretty much leave Catherine's answer in this because our loves and hates are so similar.
I ADORE other bloggers, I love that blogging is a way for introverts (because lets face it a lot of us are) to embrace their personality and express themselves all from the comfort of the sofa. I've met so many incredible women, been inspired to travel to so many new places and learnt so much about pretty much everything.
If you clicked through the links ^up there about falling out of love with blogging and what you should do as a blogger you'll know how much I hate all the blogging politics. But if you didn't here's a bullet point list for easy reading with a few added points
- The insane focus on statistics (50,000 uniques, 20k on instagram etc. etc. of course we'd all LOVE lots of followers but I for one didn't get in to blogging to become famous..I actually can't imagine many things worse than being famous).
- That if you don't charge these days (on top of receiving product / stay / experience) you're putting other bloggers out of business and you're evil.
- How competitive blogging has become in general, and that it affects friendships. I may call Catherine a bitch when she gets offered her 764th blog holiday in a year but deep down I am so happy for her that she's doing her thing, loving life and having an amazing time. I cannot believe people fall out or get their knickers in a twist over who gets to work with which brands.
- Blogger egos... I especially hate this when mid-sized bloggers act all friendly on social media but in person are stuck up bitches. If Zoella can be a gorgeous bundle of joy 24/7 and make the effort to say hi to everyone so can you.
- The misconception that you NEED a DSLR and then when you see those bloggers using their DSLR on auto all the time.
- Bloggers who prance around in a bikini and publish 400 photos in said bikini and then give some speel about being body conscious...you don't know the meaning of body conscious you nonce.
- Bloggers who give some speel about how totes super easy it is to loose weight, but have been under a size 10 their entire life and are blessed with long longs, perky tits and a pretty face. GOMI. Gain 40kgs, loose it and THEN tell me how easy it is.
- Gurugossiper.
I could go on but I'll stop.
lots of rocks places by aliens in the WA desert...sorry I mean the pinnacles
Is there something you like to do any time you visit somewhere new?
I've got a collection of bracelets from around the world (you know the braided cotton thread ones) but not from every country. I also love to get lost in a new destination or get advice from the locals, it's the best way to find local treasures!
Where is somewhere you’ve been or something you did that you didn’t expect much of, but ended up loving?
Can I confess to this? Okay go on... Australia! Whilst I loved our holiday when we moved here I realised how different day to day life is and just how hard it is moving abroad, for most of the first year I had a love hate relationship with Australia...but slowly settled in and after one year in Australia I'm pretty happy to call it home.
We visited Venice during a flood and it made it weirdly more magical, I can't wait to go back in the warmer months though!
What’s your pet peeve?
Lateness and cream walls, yuck.
What’s your most treasured possession?
I've got a few rings which have been passed to me from grandparents which mean the world to me, my dads bible means a lot to me because, whilst I'm an athiest, he found faith in his last few years and it meant a lot to him. If there was a fire I'd desperately try to save my cameras and my macbook, life without photos would suck...and my memory box filled with ticket stubbs, letters, postcards and photos.
beautiful bali countryside
Nominate some bloggers to keep the chain going...
I'd actually love to hear from anyone, make sure you link me if you take part!
The questions are:
Where is your all-time favourite destination?
Which post are you most proud of?
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party, alive or dead?
Do you have a favourite travel app?
What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about blogging?
Is anything you like to do any time you visit somewhere new?
Where is somewhere you’ve been or something you did that you didn’t expect much of, but ended up loving?
What’s you pet peeve?
What’s your most treasured possession?