A Year of Slower Travel (Or Reflections on 2019)
Well, here we are again. Ready to close out the final chapter of yet another cycle round the sun. And like the last few pages of a good book I really don’t want to finish, I’m savouring the remaining days of 2019. Of the decade even. And what better way to do so than to pause (I bloody love you, Twixmas) and look back on how far I’ve travelled - both literally and figuratively - this last year.
Despite the odd number, it’s been a good’un. A year packed with professional and personal shifts, a growing (if sometimes tiring) side hustle and generally slower travel. OK well perhaps not slower-paced (I’m an Aries after all) but certainly travel with a twist. I’ve taken far fewer long-haul flights and used the majority of my precious time off to savour quality time with my loved ones (rather than going solo), build my blog babe and return to some of my favourite places.
Don’t get me wrong. I will always and forever adore going on new travel adventures. By after spending the majority of 2018 on the road, living out of a backpack, 2019 became a year of grounding, in every sense of the word.
I know what you’re thinking - who is this girl? What happened to 2019’s Sri Lankan backpacking adventure?
But I suppose we are nothing if not forever evolving. So I’ve embraced this desire for slower travel with open arms, relishing family- and friend-infused trips alongside a steady London routine, sacrificing travel days for blog events and indulging a newfound obsession with fitness. And I can happily attest that I haven’t missed week-long jetlag in the slightest. And maybe - just maybe - this 365-day reset will have me pining for escapes that are much further afield in 2020.
But back to 2019. It all began in Florida, where I enjoyed a prolonged, ever-so-quiet start to the year filled with blogging, meditation and job-hunting. I enjoyed it so much, I even wrote this Ode to Home.
In late January, I flew back to London, where I accepted a full-time role to commence in spring. But before my triumphant return to the daily grind, I celebrated the good news with a few European adventures. A bit of a last hurrah, if you will.
First up was Hamburg, where I attended my first ever content creator conference, befriended loads of other creatives and learnt all things video. (You know, for that YouTube channel I never have enough time to work on.) This beautiful Venice of the North was a nice reminder that the most unassuming destinations can leave the most lasting impressions. I fell in love with Hamburg’s grey and grit, juxtaposed dramatically against its glittering canals and millionaires per square mile.
Up next: Berlin - by far the most spontaneous trip of the year. I booked just days before to reconnect with my creative crew. This was a return visit to a city that already had claim to some of my favourite travel memories: gatecrashing my first ever Holi colour festival and an absinthe-fuelled pub crawl through Berlin’s dilapidated bars. But yet again, Berlin delivered. I spent a brilliant (largely sleepless) few days exploring the city both day and night, always beginning with brunch and ending with a late-night dance - and kebab. Because Berlin has nailed its kebab culture just as much as its currywurst.
Then, to end my year and a half of travel and freelance life with a bang, I headed to Bankso, Bulgaria for a trip of many firsts but particularly my first-ever time skiing and my first-ever blog press trip. This all thanks to my blogging bestie Nikki who invited me along. I spent a week in this UNESCO World Heritage city, doing my best not to fall face-first into the snow, and discovering that winter holidays can be just as great as their sunnier counterpart.
In late spring, I got stuck into my new job. And things went a little quiet on the travel front. But in other news, I chopped my hair off.
After settling (ever so slightly) back into that 9-5 life, I set off to explore more of Europe in late June and July, with catchups and adventures with friends + family and to attend one of my best friend’s weddings.
I started with a glorious weekend in Paris with my friend Courtney, who after living in the city for nearly half a year, took me to some of her favourite city haunts: the beautiful but lesser-known Saint Chapelle Church, Mariage Frères for tea and a step back in time and the Palais de Tokyo art museum to hang with the fashion cool kids. We also discovered the Beauty Hall of Dreams at the new concept-store Galleries Lafayette housed in what was once an art-deco bank on the Champs-Élysées and only opened this year.
This was one of two trips back to the City of Lights in 2019, as I enjoyed the first one so much I booked a second visit immediately after.
A few days later, I was off to Southern Spain, to meet my brother and his best mate for an epic four-day roadtrip through Andalucia, where we stopped in less-trodden Almería to see it’s beautiful cathedral and Cartagena to sample the local fare before settling into our AirBnb in Granada. There, we soaked in the city’s Moor-influenced vibes, which trickle through its hilly, cobblestoned streets and into its dimly-lit hookah bars. We spent a day learning about the city’s blended history at the Alhambra before hiking our way through the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains.
Only a few days later, I was off on a one-week summer holiday to utterly stunning Corsica - where I watched one of my best friends get married right beside the island’s deep blue waters and soaked in as much sun as possible. I beat a brutal summer cold and did my best to switch off from city life.
Unsurprisingly fatigued from back-to-back travel around my full-time job, I settled back into London life, during which my love for all things fitness truly peaked. I increased my spin class count at my favourite neighbourhood spin studio, Psycle, and thoroughly committed to my outdoor training sessions with my beloved trainer.
In September, I booked another last-minute trip to celebrate my auntie’s 50th birthday in Oslo, Norway. There, my cousins showed me around the neighbourhood - Grünerløkka - which just so happens to be the hippest part of town. And we spent a glorious Sunday afternoon hiking near Nøklevann, one of the many gorgeous lakes near the city.
This December, I started the holiday season early, with a trip to New York City (a city I will literally never ever tire of) where I spent a glorious week living like a local: sampling Brooklyn’s delicious eateries, treating myself to a facial at CAP Beauty and baking Christmas cookies with my bestie and her son. And I was one very proud sister, after experiencing my brother’s epic (and rather informative) AirBnB experience street art tour through Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Now I’m back where the year began, reunited with the family in Tampa. And there’s no place I’d rather be. Though the sun seems to have gone missing this holiday season, it’s the perfect place to cap off a year of grounding. It’s been nice to slow down, appreciate another year of grand adventures and recognise how much my travel style shifts and moves with me.
I know I haven’t ticked off quite as many travel resolutions this year. In fact I’ve made more return visits to already-seen cities than ever before, but each adventure has truly been just as pleasurable as the last.
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