Wish List ~ US Cities

The USA being as vast in size as it is, has a lot of great cities with so much to offer visitors. Each one has its own unique charm and history wherever you go there is always some new and interesting to see and do. I have had the fortune to visit some of the wonderful cities this amazing country has to offer and here are a few that I have on my wish list for futures trips!

Nashville, Tennessee

This city was added to my wish list in the last year but has kind of shot straight to the top! I've always known about this city but not really known what it had to offer until I started watching the Country Music TV Drama Nashville which is set in its namesakes city. As well as opening up my music tastes to the world of Country Music I've also realised that the Country Music Hall of Fame is housed here and there are always live music performances happening all over the city in all kinds on venues including the most prestigious of all The Grand Ole Opry. As well as its Country Music scene you can also find the Antenbellum Plantation mansion houses turned museums still in keeping with architecture and interiors of the civil war period, you can also visit some civil war battlefields are near by too. As you can see there is so much for you to see and do in this southern city and I cant wait to see it.

New Orleans, Louisiana

So ill be the first to admit the reason this was added to my wish list was mainly because I really want to go to the Mardi Gras Festival, it just looks like so much fun and so colourful. Having looked in to what else this fantastic city has to offer I was pleasantly surprised and found there is way more to this city than its street festival. Just to have the chance to take a wonder around the different districts and neighbourhoods looking at all the different architecture and businesses etc. people watching is something I could easily spend an afternoon doing and I hear that the French Quarter is great for this. I'd also love to catch one of the street cars taking in some of the sights and scenes. There are an abundance of museums from the World War II museum to the Old Mint and plenty of houses for me to explore. As well as all this culture New Orleans is well known for its food scene in particular Creole cuisine with its wide variety of influences from French to German, Spanish and West Africa. As well as this there are loads of other culinary places I'd love to discover, Yum!

Boston, Massachusetts

I cant remember exactly what it was that attracted me to this city but I have a feeling It may well have been it's English town influences being in New England after all! Boston is well known for its prestigious university Harvard as well as other world renowned learning institutes, but there is so much else to see and do. Arnold Arboretum is the oldest public arboretum in North America and has some lovely landscapes I could lose myself in exploring and seeing all the different plants and species. Another big draw is the freedom trail, a two and a half mile walk taking in 16 of Boston's historic sites a great way to see all the important sites learning all about the historic events and buildings in this culture rich city. Id wouldn't mind taking in the Sam Adams Brewery Tour as well because who doesn't love a brewery tour and with the promise of free samples, I'm there! Sine I went to my first Baseball game in Tampa earlier this year if I got the chance I would love to go to one of the Boston Red Sox games, the atmosphere at ball games is so fun so going to see another game would be the best.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

So I can see a theme developing here my stomach seems to be informing most of my decisions to visit certain places, oops! So as you will have probably guessed the first reason that drew me to this city was the cheesesteak sandwich it is world famous after all! Another big draw for me is he historic parts of this city, the Liberty Bell is housed here as well as Independence Hall and Constitution Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were debated and subsequently adopted, it would be great to find out more about the origins of the United States. You can also climb the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art made famous by the film Rocky, there is also a statue of Rocky himself commissioned for Rocky III and donated by Sylvester Stallone to the city and sits at the bottom of the steps waiting for that picture perfect moment.

New York, New York

This city has been on the wish list for as long as I can remember it has everything I love in one place, it has shopping, tourist attractions, museums, history, culture, open spaces, bright lights, great food, great bars. Some of the main things id like to see and do would most definitely be Central Park a great place to people watch take a nice walk in the fresh air have a picnic take a few selfies and maybe even a rowing boat ride. To get some great pictures of the New York Skyline I've heard that the Top of the Rock is one of the best because you can get the Empire State Building in your shot I would obviously like to go to the top of the Empire State building too but to get a shot with the building in is deffo on my list. I cant wait to get lost in all the amazing shops that New York has, in particular Tiffany's. Ever since I saw the film Breakfast at Tiffany's I have always wanted to recreate that iconic scene taking my breakfast pastry and coffee to the store and browse the window displays, and pop in to see all the beautiful jewellery. I want to walk along the Brooklyn Bridge, hop on the Staten Island Ferry, take in the Statue of Liberty, explore Grand Central Station, browse some of the many museums and galleries and stand in the middle of Times Square and take it all in. I'm lucky enough to be going to this amazing city next year and I actually cant hold in my excitement there are so many wonderful things to see and do that one trip will not be enough, so I'm sure that there will be many more visits to New York in my future! 

An Italian Adventure ~ Day Two

Taking in Pompeii, Sorrento, The Island of Capri and The Amalfi Coast

Day two was an early start so that we could get the ferry across to the Island of Capri for a day looking around an exploring the island. We were lucky that a ferry docked up right outside our camp site and we all piled on for a journey across to Capri that took about an hour, we stopped of at another dock to collect some more people from another town and then we headed straight across to the island. On the approach you could really marvel at the beauty of the little rocky island its such a beautiful island. Feeling a touch hungover from the night before i made myself comfortable and had a little snooze, its a real talent of mine to be able to fall asleep almost anywhere! 

Once we disembarked we headed to a little Café for some breakfast, as it was still quite early my appetite hadn't quite woken up so I just had a plate of fries with some Mayo. Other people in the group had some really yummy looking food with Bruschetta, Pizzas and Paninis on the menu that all look super tasty! Once we had finished eating we headed to a little shop that sold food and drinks and I picked up a sandwich to keep for later on. Lunch in the bag a few of us decided to head to the other side of the island to go and see the Blue Grotto.

 We hopped in a stretch Fiat car that took 7 of us across to the other side of the island for our tour of the Blue Grotto. This mini tour of the island was great we went right to the top of the mountain and had some amazing views over the Mediterranean Sea and of the main land to. Once we arrived at the  Blue Grotto we joined the queue which was quite long but we were willing to wait as we had heard that it was well worth seeing. As we neared the front of the queue there was a little bit of a dispute happening between a Italian family and one of the gents that rows the boats that take you in to the grotto. Unable to understand we watched on this typical Italian argument which in itself why quite amusing they get so animated. Soon a few more of the row boat handlers joined in and the family stormed off quite angry and we found ourselves at the front of the queue completely unaware as to what was happening. An Italian further back in the queue approached the rowers to ask what was going on and he then explained to us that the water had become to choppy and it was becoming dangerous, they could get us into the grotto but they may not be able to get us back out again. 

Disappointed we picked ourselves up and headed back to catch a bus to head to one of the little towns on the island to do a bit of sight seeing. We caught the bus to Anacapri where we decided to go on the chair lift right to the top of the mountain to take in the panoramic views. It cost 8 euros for a single trip or 11 euros for a round trip, as we were short on time we opted for a round trip. Now I'm terrified of heights so going on this was a huge deal for me and I'm pretty sure my heart rate was raised the entire trip especially when a wasp landed on my bag and I couldn't move to wafted it away, terrifying times indeed! Up to the top safe and sound I took a look around taking pictures of the beautiful scenery before heading back down.

Back on solid ground we headed back to the marina for the last part of the day sitting on the beach soaking up a bit of the sun before we headed back to the ferry to take us back to the camp site. Once back we freshened up and then headed for some food on the camp sites restaurant. 

That's all for day two make sure you check in again for the third and final day!

You can read days One and Three by clicking on the links!

Why I Don't Want to Give Up Working to Travel!

I have had the travel bug from a young age, I've always looked forward to family holidays abroad and long weekends hopping across to some of the wonderful cities Europe has to offer as well as some of the cities here in the UK. I have been very lucky to have experienced so many different countries and cultures already in my life and I hope to see and explore many more and also revisit some of my favourite places too.

I also have some career ambitions too and its taken me until now at the age of 27 to figure out what it is that I want to do with my life, and I am currently studying for a degree in International Studies through the Open University. Studying this way allows me to keep my full time job that I currently have working for the MOD in a Military Medical Centre. Working and studying in this way allows me to earn as I learn so I can still afford trips and holidays while still chasing my career ambitions.

I really enjoy the job I currently have and I could never imagine myself not having a job or working it's a very important part of my self. I would in an ideal world love a job that allows me to travel and in studying for my degree I can hopefully achieve that dream. My ideal job would be to work in a British Embassy overseas or in the Diplomatic Service, both jobs that can offer me the opportunity to see the world whilst also feeding my interest for Foreign Affairs.

So although it will take me a while to get where I want to be career wise doing things the way I have still allows me to use my annual leave allowance, taking trips and experiencing new and exciting things along the way and also keeping me motivated to keep going with my studies and keep pushing myself to achieve my career goals. I think its all going to be about balance, making the most of the annual leave I do get planning trips carefully seeking out good deals picking up tips and tricks as I go.

An Italian Adventure ~ Day One

Taking in Pompeii, Sorrento, The Island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast

Last week I took the plunge and went on my first ever Solo Travel trip! I decided to ease myself in gently by booking a long weekend trip to Italy with the travel company Busabout. I booked on to the Busabout Italian Adventure cramming a whole lot in to the short time here is what I got up to!

I met the Bus outside Plus Camping Roma where I had stayed over night its a camping village just outside of Rome very convenient and very inexpensive. Once on the bus I got chatting to a few of my fellow travellers and soon made some very good friends. Our first stop was the lost city of Pompeii, a place I have wanted to visit for so long. We were guided around the town by a local guide and she gave a very interesting and detailed tour which lasted around two hours. Pompeii is definitely worth visiting its so interesting to see what life was like in Roman times what the buildings looked like and there uses also all the tools and pots etc. everything almost perfectly preserved a real treat for any one interested in ancient history its like a snapshot in time.

After a spot of lunch we hit the road again on our way to Sorrento. We arrived at our campsite for the next few days dropped off our luggage, freshened up and then went into Sorrento to explore. As part of the tour we were scheduled to go to a Limonchello tasting at a cute little shop in the town owned and run by great guy called Tony, now I'm not a huge fan of the drink itself but he also sold Limoncello infused chocolate covered nuts which were just to die for. Having picked some chocolates to take home for the family we moved on to a look out over the Sorrento bay and en-route I picked up some Gelato and Prosecco to chill with before my evening meal.

After our meal we went to a local cocktail bar that did us a cheap deal on drinks and we all got suitably merry drinking numerous cocktails moving on from the normal sized cocktails to those big fishbowls fairly cheap too! We then decided to move on to a Karaoke bar because who doesn't love a spot of Karaoke huh?? I had an absolute ball getting to know my fellow travellers more and having a real laugh. We missed the last shuttle bus up to the top of the hill so we ended up walking, which I was none to please about but I made it back and in to bed safe and sound!

So this is just day one as you can already see we crammed so much in to the time we had check back soon for days two and three!

You can read Days Two and Three by clicking on the links!