How Norway Made me Fall in Love with Winter

Hey Owlets,

For so many people, the nights drawing in and the temperature dropping is met with a feeling of dread. From as early as the end of August, I hear people talking about how they're not looking forward to the darker nights and shorter days. Honestly, I get it - the world just feels more alive in summer. There are festivals, weddings and social events every weekend, not to mention just feeling the sun on your skin is good for our mental health.

I think for a lot of people, the colder days and darker nights bring a feeling of loneliness, isolation, and maybe even a touch of cabin fever. I try to make the most of everyday, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't felt the same.

Until I went to Northern Norway in winter.

Rotterdam in One Day - The Best Itinerary for 24 Hours in Rotterdam, Netherlands

How to Spend the Perfect Day in Rotterdam

It's no secret that Rotterdam is one of my favourite cities in Europe. As a port day on a cruise ship, you're presented with a wealth of opportunities to explore either Rotterdam or further afield. One of the most popular choices for a port day usually involves a day trip to Amsterdam, but I've known someone be left behind on more than one occasion because of traffic or trains, so I prefer to spend the day exploring Rotterdam instead. Rotterdam is a city packed full of arts and culture - it's got a huge foodie scene, a wealth of different museums and galleries, and more independent shops than you could possibly hope to visit in a single day. If you're not sure where to start, try this itinerary for a day spent in Rotterdam - perfect for a port day on a cruise ship or a mini break where you've flown into the city. 

The Strange Story of Snowglobes in Hot Countries

Hey Owlets,

“Take only memories, leave only footprints”. If you’ve been anywhere on the internet before then you’ve probably read that hundreds of times, and you’ve probably ignored it just as many times. You only need to look at the main shopping street in any touristy area to realise that selling souvenirs is a HUGE business. You can get souvenirs of just about everything - if you go to Spain you’ll most likely come home with a fan or some castanets, visit Paris and you’ll probably have a mini Eiffel Tower on your keys for the next few months, or Big Ben or the London Eye, or maybe even a bulldog if your holiday of choice was London. I’ll admit, I do like to buy a fridge magnet from every country I visit, but my main souvenir of choice is something much more unusual - snow globes. Given that it’s both a very specific item and, for the most part, I only visit hot countries you’d think they would be nearly impossible to find, but they’re surprisingly common, and it’s all down to a story I heard by chance in Italy a few years ago.

My Potential Plans for 2021

*Update: this article was written in December 2020 when travel felt like a possibility in Spring/Summer 2021. Since then the number of cases of COVID and deaths have sadly spirallded out of control. Obviously these plans won't be going ahead unless entirely safe to do so but I wanted to leave it published for you to enjoy daydreaming with me.

Hey Owlets,

I almost don’t know if I want to write this article. As you can see from the title I’m discussing potential travel plans for this year, and after the mess of 2020 it almost feels like I’m tempting fate. However, despite being a travel blogger I’ve not travelled for a year and it is a part of my job that I need to get back to as soon as it’s safe. With that in mind I’ve made a few tentative plans, but nothing is set in stone and I don’t really have any dates- it’s more just a list of ideas and potential options, but maybe it will give you a little inspiration of where to go when things are safer. 

Follow Me To: Common People Festival with Snazaroo

*gifted experience

Hey Owlets,

I've been really lucky to get to do some amazing things with my blog, but a few weeks ago I got an email from Snazaroo that, for a second, I honestly thought they'd sent to the wrong person. So last week when I boarded the train to Oxford, I was still feeling like I needed you to pinch me.