As some of you might know, I do not aspire to become a full time traveller. That said, the traveller in me does get a little antsy when there is no trip at all to look forward to. That might be why – less than three weeks after returning from Italy – I booked a new trip.
Continue reading Where to next?
Category Archives: Europe
Travel Journal: The worst day of my Italian road trip
Travelling is hardly ever a continuous series of perfect, carefree days. Every trip is bound to have a bad day. The worst day – technically it was the worst night – of my recent trip to Italy started when my friend and I arrived in a coastal village in the vicinity of Rome.
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The truth about Cinque Terre: What you need to know before you go
During my recent road trip through Italy, I visited the famous coastal towns of Cinque Terre. I instantly fell in love with them. There is an abundance of information out there on visiting this area, but I feel like a lot of what I’ve read is incorrect or outdated. The trip was quite a bit different than I’d imagined it to be. Despite the multitude of blogs that have already been written on this topic, I felt like the internet could do with an honest and updated post about visiting Cinque Terre.
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Travel journal: Life on the road
‘Turn left here.’
I take a look at the road Dom’s pointing at.
‘Are you sure?’ I ask him. The road doesn’t look very inviting, but he’s sure it’s the correct one, so I turn left. We’ve been on the road for nearly 16 hours and all I want is to find a place to sleep as soon as possible. My car is protesting quite heavily and threatens to stall a few times as it fights to climb the incredibly steep and narrow road, at the end of which is the most picturesque agriturismo I have ever seen.
Earlier in the day we’ve taken a detour over the St Gotthard pass to avoid the long traffic jam at the tunnel. At the top of the pass we discussed our plans for the day and decided that if we wanted to make it to the Italian coast on the first day of our trip, we’d have to find a hotel instead of a campsite. So here we are. Unfortunately the challenging trip up the mountain road has been in vain. The agriturismo is fully booked.
After an equally challenging trip back down, we try another hotel, which turns out to be so busy I can’t even park the car. Dom attempts to ring another hotel, but after repeating “Pronto?” four or five times without understanding our replies, they hang up on us. A quick check online doesn’t leave us with many options, so we decide to revert to our initial plan. Let’s just find a campsite before the sun sets. Thankfully, the first one we try has plenty of free spots. It’s a small campsite right next to the motorway, but it’s 9 o’clock and we’re losing the light, so it’ll do for now.
It’s time to hit the road
It’s been far too long since I went on a road trip, but that’s about to change. After a very busy period around moving into my new flat, the time has finally come to hit the road again. This weekend I will be on my way to Italy for a couple of weeks. I thought I’d share my plans.
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A non-skier’s guide to the Austrian Alps
Winter is not exactly my favourite season. I don’t particularly like the cold and in the Netherlands, snow is mostly just a danger to traffic, rather than something to enjoy. However, if you get the opportunity to visit one of Austria’s ski resorts, don’t turn it down just because you don’t ski. Although I’ve seen these mountains plenty of times during summer, they’re arguably at their most impressive after receiving a fresh layer of snow in the middle of winter. Here’s how to make the most of your time in Austria as a non-skier.
The Greatest Driving Road In The World
The last remnants of fog clung to the mountainside as I exited the forest. The sudden change in landscape was a breath-taking sight to behold in the morning light. After a dozen more hairpin turns, I found a safe spot to park the car. I took my time to admire the view. A local, on his way to the valley, passed me in an old Fiat Panda, as I got out of my car. The first thing I noticed was the temperature. Patches of slowly melting snow lay comically on the side of the road, in between countless yellow and purple wildflowers.
London: The View from The Shard
I love panoramic views. Whenever I make plans to visit a city, I research the most popular places with a good view. Whether it’s from a hill or a tall building, I love having a bird’s eye view of a city. There’s something mesmerising about searching for the most iconic buildings of the city and taking your time to watch the traffic.
Unleash a million drones: Muse at the O2
If anyone were to ask me about the best part of my recent trip to London, I wouldn’t hesitate before replying ‘muse’. The 11th of April, the day I went to their concert at the O2 arena was my absolute favourite day. The venue was amazing, the queue was actually quite fun and the concert was even better than it was in Amsterdam.
European City Break: Porto
When work decided to treat me and my colleagues to a 3-day city break to Porto, I didn’t know what to expect from Portugal’s second largest city. Oddly, the country wasn’t ranking very high on my travel ‘wish list’, so I didn’t really know much about it when I received the invitation. Upon doing some research, Porto looked very promising to me. The historic city centre, the gorgeous views dominated by the Douro river and of course the Port wineries; what’s not to love?