ad | A Trip to Majorca with Jet2 Holidays

I don't know about you, but one of the things I found most difficult about the pandemic was being unable to travel. I absolutely could not wait until the time I got to take to the skies again and visit a new country. So I was naturally thrilled when I was invited to experience some winter sun with Jet2 Holidays!

One Night in Dublin

It seems odd that I've been to so many countries in Europe but, until 2019, I'd never hopped across the Irish sea. Although maybe that's not so surprising when you consider my first trip across the Scottish border wasn't until I was 24. Still, I'd always wanted to visit the Emerald Isle so when Hayley suggested we pop over for a night, I was quick to agree. Although it was a short trip, I think it was just the perfect amount of time for us to get a feel for the city.

72 Hours in Lisbon (Solo)

A very long time ago, I visited Lisbon with my grandparents. My only strong memory was looking down at the trippy black & white floor, so I really wanted to revisit the Portuguese capital as an adult (and hopefully remember more than just the ground). As luck would have it, the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by Lisbon and, as I'd already promised myself I'd attend, I managed to tick both goals off at once. My Eurovision experience was great (read all about it here), but I gave myself an extra day either side so I could explore the city too. My third solo adventure was quite the experience!

My Solo Eurovision Adventure

I bloody love a bit of Eurovision. Every year I watch and think 'how amazing would it be to be there!' Last year I had an epiphany, when I realised there wasn't actually anything stopping me going. So I kept a close eye on the Eurovision site, found out when tickets were released and made sure I was ready, credit card in hand. Unfortunately I missed out on tickets to the grand final, but there were seats available for the first semi final, and I figured that was still part of Eurovision. So last week I found myself sitting alone on a plane to Lisbon, heading towards Europe's biggest party of the year.

This being my first Eurovision experience, I wasn't entirely sure of how things would pan out. I had three main questions, and luckily they all resolved themselves perfectly.

Solo day trip to Copenhagen

Around Christmastime, I was idly browsing Skyscanner, as you do, and noticed that the cheapest flights were £15 return journeys to Copenhagen. Curiosity got the better of me, so I clicked for details and discovered these were for two flights on the same day- one flying out of Stansted at 9am and returning from Copenhagen at 11pm. So I did what any self-respecting blogger would do and booked them on a whim. I wasn't entirely sure if this was a genius idea or the stupidest thing ever, but I was looking forward to finding out. 

OOTD // White Crochet Dress

All the way back in June, I went to Salzburg for my birthday (because where else would I go?). I took OOTD photos every single day, but as soon as I got back to England, I got thrown into this big ol' ball of stress and didn't get the chance to post them. So now, as we approach Christmas, I'm going to start sharing all my cute summer outfits. Sorry not sorry. 

Dress: Simply Be (similar here) Leggings: Evans Shoes: Primark (similar here)

#WonderfulViews in the Austrian Alps

Hey, you know I love the Alps? Of course you do, I never stop banging on about it! The Untersberg in Salzburg is my favourite place in the world- there's nothing like standing at the peak and looking down over the beautiful scenery below, or being surrounded by clouds if it's overcast. It's like being in heaven! It's hard to explain my love for this place, so consider this post an ode to the Untersberg.

Five Reasons You Should Visit Salzburg

I went back to Salzburg for my birthday, because where else would I go? Rather than writing another 'I did this, then did this' post like the other twelve Salzburg posts I've written, I thought I'd write a more general post explaining why it's such a great city. My Five Reasons You Should Visit Riga post went down well, so I'll use this structure again to share why you should visit Salzburg.
Hover over each photo to see where it was taken

36 Hours in Venice

I'd wanted to visit Venice for a long time. My Grandma loved it there and, although she took me to Italy as a child, I'd never got to experience her favourite city. Unfortunately, I think I got a bit carried away in the excitement of following her footsteps and forgot the most important thing I should consider when booking trips: I hate the heat. Italy is hot. Perfect!

Five Reasons You Should Visit Riga

Remember when you were a kid and adults would say 'don't talk to strangers'? And then when you became a teenager and it was all 'don't meet strangers from the internet'? And then when you reach adulthood, you think 'screw that, I'm going to Latvia with a stranger from the internet!'? Well, maybe not exactly those specifics, but that's how it worked with me. I got talking to Hayley years ago and when we finally met up in real life, we decided to do it in Riga airport.

Eurovision Travel

I can't believe it's Eurovision time again already but I am very glad it is. Last year, I wrote a post about my favourite Eurovision moments and I thought it would be fun to write another themed post this time. Initially, I'd promised myself that I was going to try to get hold of tickets for Eurovision this year but when Ukraine won, I decided against it. Hopefully I'll be able to buy tickets for next year, so I can't wait to find out who wins! Since I've never been able to attend Eurovision in person, I've instead written a post about some of the great cities I've visited that have hosted the contest (as well as some I'd love to visit!)

10 best things to do in Salzburg

You know I love Salzburg, right? I could probably create a whole new blog dedicated to the city- Becky Bedburg?- but that might be taking niche a little too far. Instead, I'll just pop up the odd post dedicated to Salzburg. I'm starting with my ten favourite things to do in true countdown fashion. It's worth noting that I obviously haven't done everything there is to experience so this may well change in the future. Most of the attractions in Salzburg are free with the Salzburg Card, which I really recommend getting (not an ad, just my opinion!) but I've listed the standard full price for adults. I've also popped in a little link to my posts about each item so you can read my experience.

Salzburg in Winter

On our last day in Salzburg, we decided to walk across the Mönchsberg mountain from one side of the city to the other. It curves around the old town from the lift near the modern art museum to the Hohensalzburg fortress where you can catch the funicular, so you can walk across the top of the mountain without actually doing any of the hiking up or down. Bonus!

Salzburg Christmas Markets

I'm starting to feel like all I've done this year is visit Christmas markets! Just before Christmas, we returned to Salzburg and when we weren't climbing mountains, we popped along to the markets. Now, I know I'm hugely biased but I mean it when I say Salzburg's Christmas markets are my favourite. Despite the small size of the city, they're much larger than others I've visited, and they're held in peaceful, pretty courtyards. Just perfect!

Untersberg Mountain in Winter

Remember that time I climbed a literal mountain (kind of)? Well, I only went and did it again (kind of). Having experienced the Untersberg in summer, I was keen to see what it was like at the end of the year. Unfortunately, every day we were in Salzburg was super cloudy and foggy but I figured it would still be a fun experience to climb into the clouds. In fact, in some ways, it was even better!

Munich Christmas Markets

Because I evidently hadn't had enough of Christmas markets, what with Winchester and Hamburg, I also visited Munich to experience Weihnachten the Bavarian way. Since I was ill on the first day, I spent most of it napping so we had to squeeze as many markets in our second day as possible. Thankfully, Munich is really easy to get around and most of the locations were within walking distance from each other.

Hamburg Miniatur Wunderland

Let me tell you a little story: Back in 2010, my brother Jamie posted a link on my Facebook profile saying "My life ambition is to visit here". The link was to Miniatur Wunderland- the largest model railway in the world. It was a half-ironic post as he finds the mundane hilarious (I once bought him a book called The Untold History of the Potato. He loved it!) When Ami and I booked our trip to Hamburg, I had a quick look on Trip Advisor and, well, you see where this is going. The number one attraction was Miniatur Wunderland! I managed to convince Ami to come along with me but neither of us were expecting much. As it turns out, we had a surprisingly good time!

Hamburg Christmas Markets

After the success of our trip to Amsterdam, Ami and I decided it was time we had another mini break. Since Christmas was coming up, we couldn't think of a much better idea than heading to Germany for the markets. There was no particular reason why we chose Hamburg- it looked pretty and flights were cheap, which is good enough for me! While we were in Hamburg, we visited two Christmas markets- the main one at the Rathaus and Santa Pauli erotic market.

72 Hours in Stockholm pt II

On our second day in Stockholm, we decided to head back to the island of Gamla Stan and have a general little mooch about. Whereas I'm normally a go-go-go kind of traveller, wanting to squeeze in as much as possible, Rich likes to take things at a gentler pace. I thought it was only fair that we had at least one more relaxing holiday for his sake!

72 Hours in Stockholm pt I

As I mentioned in my last post, Rich and I spent a few days in Stockholm last week. We landed on the snowiest November day in forever so it was a lot of fun!