Hope you all started the New Year well? We sure did.
As we said good-bye to 2018, it was time to start thinking about our upcoming travel plans for 2019.
Thanks to different annual leave schedules (one by tax year, one by calendar year), every year Mr T and I end up with a week’s worth of annual leave that needs to be taken in the first three months of the year. So what to do and where to go? Last year we went to New York end of January, the year before it was a week in Normandy in February.
I travel a lot for work and I love exploring new places. But travelling for work is usually limited to travelling within Europe and it does not always leave enough time to actually explore the cities / areas I visit thoroughly.
Growing up, we usually went on a 2-week holiday each summer. Alternating between visiting my family in England and camping somewhere in France. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it (I still love England and have moved here for good and I do still love going back to France, although nowadays I rather book a hotel or holiday home than go camping), but it meant the number of countries I explored was fairly limited.
Last week’s trip had me travel to Czech Republic for a change. Not for the first time, I had been in Czech Republic a few times for work and I’ve also been to Prague for a weekend with mum two years ago. This time it was a trip to Brno. Ever wondered what are the things to see in Brno? Read on to find out.
I have flown into Brno before and I’ve driven past it several times, but I haven’t actually been to the town centre before. So I was looking forward to it. Especially since I also have friends living there and took the opportunity to catch up with them (and shamelessly use them as a free tour guide).
I was only there for one night, but still managed to see loads and walk for miles.
When heading to New York, chances are you’ll spend most of your time in Manhattan. But New York has so much more to offer. Venture out to the other boroughs and see for yourself. And whilst you are out there, try the food on offer. Brooklyn has become a bit of a trendy area over the last decade or so. Plenty of individual coffee shops, local craft beers and organic food places.
So, if you find yourself in the area of Flatbush Avenue / Dekalb Avenue, I would recommend you visit the Dekalb Market Hall.
We stumbled across it by chance during our recent trip to New York.
Battling jet lag the first night, we decided to make the most of being wide awake at 4am. So we wrapped up warm and headed out into the night. To experience the city that never sleeps first hand and explore Times Square by night. More so as it was just a few blocks away from our hotel.
Any time of day or night Times Square is a weird world of its own. The lights, the hustling and bustling, cars, noises and millions of people. For sure a place you have to see for yourself once in your life.
To see? Yes. To actually enjoy? Maybe not so much… unless you are the kind of person that loves being shoved around… not this girl though.
So obviously we’ve been there before both during the day and in the evening. But going there in the middle of the night? Totally different thing. You can actually walk around and, believe it or not, you can see the ground.
Whilst I am still enjoying my few travel free weeks in the run up to Christmas (such a rare thing not to travel for a whole month), I am already preparing for more trips in the New Year.
For a few days (or was it mere hours?) I thought things would eventually quieten down a little in 2018, but looking at my diary now, I’d say far from it.
Looking at January and February, everything is already back to normal with trips booked for pretty much every single week.
But it is not all work. Hubby and I will go to New York for a week. Yes… again.
As with so many major cities, visiting Rome can be a costly affair. Starting with accommodation… it is near impossible to find a decent hotel for less than £100 per night if you are looking for something nearish the town center. And in addition you will have to pay a city tax of 6 Euros per person per day for the duration of your stay (and this is not included in your hotel fee when booking). But don’t despair. There are ways to see it all, even if you are visiting Rome on a tight budget.
I love New York. And I love being a tourist in New York City. After all, there are loads of things to do and places to see that you know from TV and movies or have read about… so take your time to explore them all. But be careful not to waste time and money. I have already talked about my Top 5 Things to do in New York City a few weeks back, so this time I want to share the other side of the coin. Things that are not worth spending any money on. To help you avoid the same rookie mistakes in New York City that I made.
Well into my big batch of travels, last week saw me travelling to Sweden for a change. No, I don’t speak any Swedish (unless ‘Hej’ and ‘Tack’ counts as language knowledge), but luckily most Swedes speak really decent English, so communication isn’t too difficult.
Apart from a weekend in Stockholm many moons ago, I have never been to Sweden before I started working in my current job. In the past year I have had a few trips, however have not always had a chance to actually see anything. But what I have seen is very pretty and makes me want to go and see more of this country… so maybe a road trip at some point? We’ll see.
Everyone keeps telling me how beautiful Rome is. And I am not doubting this. But I can’t really comment on it. I have never been (yes I can’t quite believe I am saying that either)… well actually not true. I have been twice(ish).
I took a flight to and from Rome last year for a meeting nearby, however other than the airport and train station I have not seen a thing, so it does not count.
The other time I was just two years old… so again, probably not really worth counting…Since I can’t remember a thing (although some faded photos exist as proof).
