Hotel Review: Hampton By Hilton, Bristol Airport

Hey Owlets,

If you hadn't already noticed I really like travelling, but getting there is the most stressful part. I know it's an added expense but sometimes staying over the night before you go can make the world of difference, and a calm start to your holiday can change the mood of the entire break. With that in mind, I wanted to give you a review of my stay in the Hampton by Hilton hotel at Bristol Airport. Before we get into that, let me just apologise for the mix of stock photos and sub-par iPhone pictures - this stay was actually gifted as part of my trip with World Duty Free so I wasn't planning to review the hotel itself, but I really enjoyed it and online reviews weren't the best so I wanted to add my two cents.

How To Spend a Day in Lisbon

Hey Owlets,

Thanks to all the amazing feedback I received on my County Cork post I decided to make another "What to do with a day in..." article, this time in one of my favourite cities I've ever been to - Lisbon. I don't know what it is about this city but as soon as I step off the ship it feels like I'm home. The transport is great, the food is incredible, you'll never run out of things to do and I've yet to meet an unfriendly Lisboan (yes, I did have to Google that). I've been lucky enough to visit twice and I always run out of time. So whether you're floating into Lisbon's beautiful harbour or going on a flying visit wondering how to fit everything in, here's my top 10 things to do while you're there.

Airport Shopping with World Duty Free

Hey Owlets,

If you've been reading The Owlet for a while you'll know that I REALLY like shopping - I'm one of those people for who "retail therapy" is a real thing, and the only thing that improves it is getting a bargain. Since I started travelling I've managed to save a lot of money by waiting until I'm in Duty Free to top up on my favourite things.

How To Travel With (Almost) No Money

Hey Owlets,

I confess, I hate winter, but particularly the first few months in a year - there's nothing to do, no one wants to go out and I'm bored and want to travel yet no one has any money. Considering I've already spent a good hour looking at trips that I can't afford today, I thought it would be a great time to talk about how to make the most out of your hard earned cash!

My Thoughts on MV Marco Polo

Hey Everyone,

Today I'm taking things back to "old Owlet"; I genuinely can't remember the last time I did a straight review of an experience, but I'm bringing them back today to talk about a very special ship. I just wanted to preface this post with a few notices so you have all the facts. Unfortunately I was not offered a free cruise by anyone, we paid for the trip out of our own pockets when we saw a cheap last minute deal come up. With that in mind please excuse the terrible photographs - my original plan was to work with Port of Cork while we were there then relax on the ship, but I'd seen so few reviews that after my experience I wanted to share my thoughts in case anyone reads an essay-length rant online and gets put off going on board, because you'd seriously be missing out. Finally, this review is going to be very blunt and straight-talking because there were some things that were laughably bad, but equally this trip is going to stick in my mind as one of the best for a long time to come.

Now that's out of the way, we'll get into the nitty gritty.

How to Spend 24 Hours in County Cork

Hey Owlets,

Welcome to my first travel post of 2019! If you subscribe to my YouTube channel you'll already have seen, but last month I went on a whistle-stop tour around County Cork. I wasn't sure what to expect as it's not somewhere I've ever heard that much about, but everywhere we went was beautiful and I have never been anywhere where the locals are as friendly as those of County Cork.

I've decided to change things up this time - I made a vlog of our trip on my channel so rather than a "follow me to" post I thought I'd share some of my favourite things for you to do if you ever get the chance to visit, and all of these are accessible both if you were staying in Cork or you've come in on a cruise ship.

My 2019 Bucket List

Hey Owlets,

I know we're a few days past fireworks and disco dancing but I'm still in new year mode, so I wanted to talk about why I'm not setting actual "goals" for 2019.

Every year I review my goals for last year and set some more for the year ahead, and every Christmas I look back and get disappointed that I haven't ticked them all off. However, the issue isn't me not trying hard enough, it's simply the fact that I've already completed the easy ones - my goals now require a lot more work and some take a long time to achieve. Instead of goals I'm creating a bucket list for this year. So, here's my list of "not goals" for this year, and how I plan to achieve each one. Hopefully this helps you too!

2018 Take Homes

Hey Owlets,

Happy New Year!!

For the last few years I've written "year in review" posts". "yearly goals", "what I learnt in 201X" so I wanted to do something a little different. I just want to chat about the year that's going to stick in my mind for a long time.

When Big Ben started chiming and the roar of the fireworks and cheers from the crowds huddled by the suspension bridge announced 2018 had arrived I felt strangely peaceful - 2017 was simultaneously the worst and best year for me. I was miserable for so long then all of a sudden my life picked up and I was left running after it, enjoying every second but wishing it would slow down, and that's exactly what happened this year.