Around the World .003

Ischia

I was lucky enough during my time as an Au Pair in London to meet the family I was living with in Ischia for a week to help them look after the kids. Ischia is the largest islands in the Bay of Naples. Ischia is heavily visited by Italians and Germans and I found a very little amount of the locals could speak English, however they were more then happy to give it a go and I shared some very funny moments with the locals trying to order meals when I was alone. The family I worked and lived with had relatives living on the island and spent a couple of weeks there over the summer visiting and asked me to come over so that I could spend the evening with the kids while they caught up with family and friends. This meant that I had the days free to myself to explore the beautiful island. 

It is the perfect place to go and relax with is beautiful spas and its well know thermal baths. It has the most amazing scenery with its vineyards, picturesque small towns and the beaches. From what I have been told and read the beaches in Ischia are better then those on neighboring island Capri. 

Sant' Angelo is a fishing village that is car free and only accessible by foot. With its beautiful beach, cafes and fisherman houses it almost feels like a step back in time. The houses are typical fisherman's houses with whitewash walls lining the winding streets and lanes. I spent the day here wondering around the local shops, getting in a local cafe and catching some much needed sunshine on the beach.

The Island is famous for its thermal springs and it has been said that people travel from all over to feel the effect of the spas.  We visited Poseidon which is the most famous and largest of the thermal parks on the island. The thermal pools are standard pools that are fed by the natural hot springs which come from the volcanic activity of the island. We spent the day in and out of the different thermal spas and when they all became to warm we spent the rest of the time lying by the pool enjoying the amazing weather.

Ischia is the perfect place to spend a week doing nothing but relaxing and enjoying the local food and wine. I spent my time wondering the island, shopping in local boutiques and eating so many amazing meals. The locals will make you feel right at home. If your headed towards Naples I recommend that you add a couple of each days and take a ferry over to Ischia. It is a real hidden treasure.

xx

Around the World .002

Scotland 

Scotland was everything I imagined it to be with its vast green hills and its cobble roads it was almost like stepping back in time. Scotland was never high on my places to see list however when given holidays from my Au Pair position in London and travel plans with my friend had fallen through I was stuck in a position and need to make a decision quickly. I had decided that I wasn't interested in doing a lone trip again having in earlier months been to Paris by myself and spent a large amounts of time sight seeing in London alone. With the help of the staff at STA Travel within a couple of days I had booked my first Tour With Haggis. 5 days travelling around Scotland on a tour bus with an extra night on each end to spend in Edinburgh. 

I had never really been one for Tours before, wasn't really my thing I loved the freedom of being able to plan my own trip and how I time was spent throughout the day. I kept thinking 5 days stuck on a bus with people I may not even like seemed like my worst nightmare, however I was quickly proved wrong and made friends easily. This wasn't actually my first time on a tour, Year 12 at school I did an Egypt trip however I don't feel that is the same considering I was with my friends and teachers. 

Scotland is an amazingly beautiful country with green countryside covering miles of the land that then run in to small little villages and bigger cities. I am kicking myself now that I didn't spend more time in Edinburgh to have the time to explore the castle and the different museums. With the little amount of time I did spend there though I did two walking ghost tours in the evenings as well as a walking day tour the day that I left. The ghost tours by far were the best things I did in Scotland nothing excites more then ghosts and history. Walking around the cold wet and windy streets of Edinburgh we explored the graveyard, the underground vaults and the many hidden nooks of the Royal Mile. These tours are not for the faint at heart and it can become very fully on when you are down in the vaults with not natural light and a limited air supply in some areas. However I couldn't recommend it any higher. The tour companies I used have slipped my mind however if you walk up the high street you have many to choose from. 

The Orkney Raider was a Haggis tour that takes you from Edinburgh all the way up to the northern tip of Britain the Orkney's. We spent 2 nights in Inverness and 2 nights in Kirkwell on the Orkney Islands. The tour includes a night in a castle but due to renovations we spent an extra night in Inverness at the YHA Hostel chain. The Orkney's were my favourite part of the 5 day tour. The Orkney's are a group of islands that are at the Northern tip of Scotland. Not many tours go so far north and this appealed to me great as the Orkney's are know for the 9,000 years worth of history. We visited Skara Brae Stone Age Village which was incredible ruins and beautiful cliffs and views. The Tomb of the Eagles which is a Stone Age chamber that was filled with thousands of human bones and the remains of sea eagles that a farmer found while doing some work on his farm. 

Once we left the Orkeny's we made our way back on to the mainland in the direction of Loch Ness making a stop at beautiful Dunrobin Castle. This castle had spectacular views and some of the most amazing gardens that I have ever experienced. It also has its own trophy heads museum which is housed in the summer house. It houses some of the world's most important archaeological artifacts. Loch Ness was a beautiful sight and listening to all the different stories and rumored sightings I couldn't help but wonder what really does go on in those dark waters. We like so many before us didn't get a Nessie sighting however there is something strange about the Loch though, some sense of mystery. 

Scotland was an incredible place to visit and would highly recommend it to people of all ages and different travel experiences. Though if I was you I avoid the north between September to April if your not a fan of the cold. I found after traveling through Europe this January that I was nowhere near as cold as I was there then when I was in Scotland. 

How many of you guys have been or live in Scotland? Did you love it as much as I did.

xx

3 and a half weeks of bliss

My year defiantly started off with a bang, 9 countries in 3 and a half weeks was a wild adventure filled with laughter, booze and broken wardrobes. Taking the leap and travelling to Europe alone for a 16 day Contiki tour was one of the scariest decisions I decided to make in 2013 and turned out to be the most amazing decision I could make. 

Travelling alone is nothing new to me. I moved to London at 18 to work as an Au Pair and discovered that travelling alone gave me the freedom to do and see what I liked with out the restrictions of others. However travelling on a tour alone is slightly different as you aren't travelling alone but with 30 odd other people who are all thrown onto a bus and hope that you all can get along. 

Fortunately for me I meet some truly incredible people and took some amazing shoots.

xx