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The travel stories that don’t get shared

The travel stories that don’t get shared

Just over a year ago I wrote a post on places which are disappointing to visit and it ended up being one of my most viewed blog posts of the year, as well as sparking quite a bit of conversation on Twitter. It made me realise that there’s an appetite out there for sharing the less than perfect experiences that most of us have whilst travelling. I’ve been lucky that I’ve not come to any serious harm or danger whilst travelling, but I’ve still had some experiences which I don’t really talk about. At the time they might have been stressful and I didn’t want to worry anyone, or the anecdotes might not have fit with the rest of the tales I had to share from my trip.

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A long weekend in Funchal, Madeira

A long weekend in Funchal, Madeira

Madeira is an island that I knew virtually nothing about when we were invited to go on holiday with James’ family. It’s not somewhere I would have chosen to visit or that had ever really made it onto my list of places to see, but I was happy to go and explore somewhere new and different to where I’ve been before. The thought of getting some sun and warmth in the winter was also appealing! It’s a good location to go for a long weekend but like many places will also work for a slightly longer break if you planned to get out and explore the rest of the island.

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Cooking fresh meals with Schwartz dried herbs

Cooking fresh meals with Schwartz dried herbs

I first discovered my enjoyment for cooking as a student, when I was living independently for the first time. I found it a really good way to relax after a busy day and also found that I enjoyed cooking for other people. Before too long, and like many of my friends, I dreamed of having my own spice rack, filled with different spices and dried herbs to enable me to add a mix of flavours to my cooking. I am now slowly building that collection and was really pleased when Schwartz asked me to review one of their dried herbs – basil.

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Travelling whilst fear of Coronavirus takes over

Travelling whilst fear of Coronavirus takes over

I’ve recently come back from a long weekend in Madeira and in many ways the entire trip was overshadowed by Coronavirus despite us having no issues on our trip. This post isn’t about how to travel whilst there’s a global pandemic, but is just to share some of my personal experiences in what has become a very strange time for many of us. Our trip was booked back in 2019, well before the virus had spread worldwide and it had been deemed a pandemic. It was only in the week before we flew that I imagined we might have any problems at all. Italy had closed down, more countries were closing borders and there was widespread criticism of the UK’s approach. However I knew we were travelling to somewhere with no confirmed cases, nobody I was travelling with was displaying any symptoms and there wasn’t anything at the airport (other…

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New Year on the Isle of Bute

New Year on the Isle of Bute

I am very lucky to have a friend who has a cottage on the Isle of Bute. In fact, it’s the highest cottage on the island which means that when it’s clear you can see some fabulous views. My friends had been encouraging James and I to visit for a while and at New Year we decided it was the perfect time. The island that had cast my friends under its spell did the same to us, and I definitely think we’ll be back again some day.

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