Perhaps England deserves more credit?

Hello,

I am writing to you from my neighbors garden as I wait for the BBQ to fire up. It's currently around 17 degrees Celsius and I still can't quite believe I'm sitting here in shorts and a bikini top... Wow. I'm happy I get to wear my sunglasses today, I have a collection of four pairs and as you can imagine, here in England they spend the majority of their time in their cases, like me, regularly wishing for some sun. But finally we don't have to wish- there is actual sun and the first BBQ of the year! This is a momentous point in the year. It's the unofficial marking of the soon to be summer and that's always a happy day. The sun always seems to brighten spirits, I suddenly feel very carefree as I stretch out and attempt to soak up as much sun as possible. Linking back to my previous post, I am already feeling very summery and every time I think about it I get a sudden rush of excitement. 

I can smell the BBQ now, the burgers and my ultimate favorite- steak! (Another summer favorite of mine- I'll have to do another post about my ten favorite things about summer or something sometime..). 

So, the point of my post, to obviously document this momentous occasion, but also, to give a quick thanks and apology to my home country- good ol' England. I spend a lot of time criticising your weather but today you deserve an apology. You have brought back my faith that you can give us a great day and good weather, so thank you. You deserve more credit than I give you- but please don't think this is all the summer we need! I'm expecting the sun to make another appearance this year- please join us in May, June, July and August. Summer is definitely not the same without you, Mr Sun! 

Right, I've spent too long staring at my screen now, it's time to top up my drink, turn up the music and enjoy the rest of this day. 

Here's hoping now is a downhill (sunny!) run to the summer. 

L
Xxx

The Plan: Venice, Palma, Florida, Puerto Rico

I decided to start this blog this year because I have a rather busy year planned, I'm 16 and soon to start my GCSE's in May (safe to say I'm not looking forward to that...) but after that I have a summer of epic proportions booked. The day after my last exam, a physics one I think, I will be heading off to Venice with my Mum for three nights. I've never been to Italy and can't wait to experience Venice and move it from my 'Bucket List' board on Pinterest to my 'Things I could tick off my bucket list' board on Pinterest (that's exciting in itself, right?). We leave on the 18th June and arrive back on the afternoon of the 21st. I've already started a list on my phone of all the places we need to cram in during our short trip, but don't worry, I've already factored in plenty of time for 'gelato' eating! Our hotel is just a few minutes away from St Mark's Square so we'll be heading that way for sure to see the St Mark's Basilica. Other things on the list include The Bridge of Sighs, The Rialto Bridge and Murano. I'm hoping to find some beautiful Murano glass jewellery. Of course a trip on a gondola is the ultimate Venetian experience, somehting else on my Bucket List, but I've heard it's very expensive so we'll have to see. My mum has been to Venice a few times but not since she was a kid, so she's excited too. This will be our first holiday together as just the two of us, it will be weird to leave my sister behind (unfortunately she will sill be at school as she's only in year 7) but I can't wait to spend some quality time with my mum. 

We'll arrive back (unless something unforeseen and unfortunate occurs...) on Sunday 21st June and as I mentioned, I have a busy summer planned, I'll be off again on the 23rd! I'll have a day and a bit to wash my things, restock on the essentials and then I'm off  with my best friends as one of them has invited us to spend a week on her yacht in Palma, Majorca. It'll be her 16th birthday on the 29th June and as part of her birthday present her parent's bought our plane tickets, I'm still overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for their kindness! I've never been to Majorca either, and haven't been sailing for a long time so am super excited about this holiday. This is the first holiday my friends and I will have together, it'll be during that time that the four of us are all 16, and also the longest time we'll have spent together. We all go to school together so it's not like we don't see each other everyday! I've been told there is plenty of swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing planned, which sounds like a dream to me. I've already tried on my bikinis and bought and an underwater GoPro-type camera, it's called a 'kitvision escape HD5 action camera' and for a fraction of the price of a GoPro, it looks perfect. It came with all sorts of attachments and adaptors, but of course the underwater case is what I most wanted. Just writing this and thinking about snorkelling in crystal clear waters, filming incredible fish and my crazy friends I can barely contain my excitement! I wish I could blink and it be June already... So, after a relaxing, sunny time in Palma, we will fly back and arrive on the 30th June. Hopefully I'll be more tanned than when I left... My sister always seems to have a tan as soon as she steps off the plane, leaving me looking like a bed sheet next to her, but this year, before we go to Florida together, I'll have my trip to Venice and Palma under my belt (or should that be bikini?) so hopefully I'll have a decent chance of getting a decent tan!

Between getting home on the 30th June and heading off on my next adventure there will be 19 days to sleep in my own bed and hopefully enjoy some lovely, hot British sunshine *fingers crossed*. In this time I think my best friend and I will fulfil our little dream of getting the bus to the beach and wandering around with no deadlines (other than the last bus home, of course!). We've talked about it and it's something that seems quite small, but significant, the feeling of being completely free and having the opportunity to do as we please and be completely in charge of ourselves excites me, if not scares me a little...When this actually happens there will probably be multiples times I freak out or buy the wrong ticket or walk the wrong way, but I guess it will add to the fun of the day. Let's see if I feel that way in July...! 

So, having experienced the wonders of Venice and Palma, two places I haven't been to before, it'll be time to fly the 9 hours to my dad's house in Orlando, Florida! This time, like every summer, my sister and I will fly together to stay with our dad, our step-mum and our two furry sisters, Cleo the Cockapoo and Flossy the "Cavapoo" (I'm saying 'Cavapoo" as she's a little blind rescue dog with heart conditions and arthritis and we're not certain of her breed, we think Cavapoo, something small and cuddly anyway.) However, although my sister and I go to dad's every summer, this time will be a bit different. Two of my friends who I I'm going to Palma with are coming with me! (The other one of us will be just a short way away in Canada). My two friends will be staying with me at my dad's for two weeks as they will fly back on the 2nd August, but let's not think about that when we haven't even arrived yet... I, along with my little sister will be staying for three extra weeks as we jet home on the 22nd August. This will be strange for me (and my dad and step-mum probably!) because I've never had any of my friends come and stay at my dad's with me before, this will be yet another new experience. I'm slowly drip-feeding them information about the weird and wonderful things that go on when we're there- that reminds me, I need to tell them about our jelly and whipped cream slurping competitions... Again, I've made another list about things I plan to do while my two friends stay with us (this is making me realise I am quite a list-y person, I like lists.), there is a private pool where my dad lives, so we'll be spending the majority of our time there, swimming and yet more sunbathing are high on the agenda. But of course, we'll be going to the beach, no doubt we'll go to Cocoa Beach at some point with them, it's not that far away and it's really nice to take a picnic and boogie-board down there(is that how it's spelt?!). I've also decided we'll have to go to Wekiwa Springs sometime while they're there. It's a natural spring you can swim in, it's absolutely gorgeous and am looking forward to getting reacquainted with the place as I haven't been for a couple of years. 

Then, of course, you can't go to Florida and not do Disney, I admit having been several times now and being 16, I do prefer Universal Studios, but I do still love the magic of Disney- you're never too old for Disney Land. I'm not sure if we'll do an actual Disney park, but I'm sure we'll go to Down-town DIsney at some point. I do however know that we'll definitely be going to Universal Studios as my sister and I have annual passes that we won't be putting to waste. I'll have to convince my friends to splash out on a three day pass or something... My dad has already said he's happy to drop us off in the morning and pick us up when we're done... I could ride the Mummy so many times! And of course Harry Potter World is incredible, I am a complete Potterfan- so they better like that! Oh- and I almost forgot, I hope we'll be able to go to one of the Disney water parks, that way they'll still get their Disney-fix. :) Wow, just writing all that has made me feel worn out, I think we'll need lots of relaxing pool breaks in between that to recharge our batteries! Unfortunately, having spent several summers at my dad's I know that the two weeks with my friends will probably fly by, but I know that it will be incredible and I will have photos and memories that I will treasure and probably laugh at(!) forever. This whole summer is going to be one heck of a summer for me, I hope my camera can keep up... 

Well, the 2nd August will be a sad one as my two friends head home together, hopefully having had an amazing time, but I'll still have another three weeks to go. Blimey, I know the summer is long, but this one, I suppose because of study leave and finishing GCSE's, seems soooo much longer! I still have one more place to visit as well! Whilst staying at dad's we usually go somewhere, his birthday is the 13th August so we usually go away for that, for example last year we went to Niagara Falls, and previously we went down to the Florida Keys. Well, this year is going to be Puerto Rico. We leave on the 12th August and fly back on the 18th. This is becoming a habitual phrase, but I've never been there either. From the numerous times I've looked on Google Images, it appears to be stunning and I think I might just enjoy it a hell of a lot. We're staying in a hotel right next to the beach so I think the view will also be amazing (I'm also a view person...). Apparently, there are snorkelling and kayaking trips my dad has planned for us to do, so that's very exciting. I haven't been on a kayak since I was about 10 and that was on a grimy lake on a school trip, so I'm hoping I'm not too rubbish! At least the water will be considerably nicer to capsize in (although, fingers crosses that doesn't happen!).

Wow, after 6 days of Puerto Rico it will be time to fly back to Florida for almost another week. By this time I better have a good tan! 

By the 22nd August I want to say that I will have had an incredible summer (which of course I will have done!) and be ready to fly back home, but I know that I won't, it will probably suddenly feel as if I've only just arrived... I will definitely be super looking forward to seeing my mum and Nanny, but there's always the sudden rush of end of summer blues... But for now, I have the whole summer ahead of me! I just have to get through my GCSE exams *fingers crossed I don't screw up* and it'll be time to put on the sun cream and my favourite bikini. 

Roll on the summer. 

L 
XXX

The Beginning

Hello and welcome to my new blog (yep, I've tried and failed at blogging before... Even though I do very little with my life besides go to school, eat and sleep, I've somehow failed to own a sustained blog. Here's to hoping I don't get even lazier and am able to carry on this blog for a little while longer than the last one!)

As conveniently titled, this blog is (hopefully!) going to be about my time travelling the Big Wide World and writing down some of the tips and things I learn on the way- that way I'm less likely to lose and forget them and a collection of life tips can never be a bad thing!

I love travelling and even though I've barely been to a handful of countries, I know travelling will be a part of my career and a huge chunk of my life. The different places and cultures out there fascinate me and I think to not see them would be a waste of my one lifetime. 

I'm hoping that in a couple of years I could go on a round the world trip during my gap year- that would be incredible and something I'm very interested in. Unfortunately I need rather a hefty lump of cash for that so I suppose I should probably get a job pretty soon... 

This blog is going to act as a sort of scrapbook of my travels and thoughts, something I can look back on in the future, but of course, if anyone else reads and likes it, that's great too. It's out there to be read. And I'll read any comments that happen to come my way too.

So, we begin!

L

XXX