Trails, Rails and More

Yes, I know what you’re thinking… another insight into this chaos! Apologies for my grammar and punctuation in the last post - you would think I have more time to proof read, but the world waits for no one.   Although I am a solo traveller, I’m trying to strike a balance between completing plans independently and locating others to explore with. The first phase of meeting someone is always the same; conversations never usually go deeper than surface level. It’s a reminder of how much we centre our identity around labels, rather than our real self. For example, if someone asked you to tell them about yourself, you would likely answer with your name, job, hobbies and plans. These are things that we do or roles we want to fulfil, but are they actually us? Sure they can give you clues about what a person is really like, but it isn’t until you spend valuable time with them that you begin to learn about who they are truly. Some interactions stay awkward, and others make you feel like you...

  Wow! Nearly two weeks gone just like that! As per usual there have been some amazing moments and other times that I would have rather not happened. However, this is all part of the adventure. I would like to be more accepting of the harder days and realise that travelling across the world is not always going to be easy! I’m not ashamed to say that in some moments I have not kept my cool - mainly in times where I have found myself lost in a new place.   In such a short time span, I have grown as a person since being the girl that stepped onto the Eurostar (someone who would have likely toppled over like a domino should someone have poked her whilst standing with both backpacks on). I find myself looking back at things, wondering if I really did just do them. For example, I agreed to hitchhike (after assessing safety) with two other backpackers to Mont St Michel. I cannot even comprehend that ME, I did that! Walking up and across Dunes Du Pilat in Bordeux was a huge moment in ...

 Day 1: This is where the journey begins, sandwiched between two strangers at 2:30 pm on a random Tuesday afternoon. Prior to packing my life into a backpack I would have called myself a bit of a minimalistic person, not sure the backpack would agree (having been squeezed and stretched to fit my near explosive packing cubes in) .  Half of me is remaining vigilante and the other is calm; there’s something still in sitting in the present whilst others rush to the future in front of you. Like a wise person once said “ the anxiety is just excitement” ;)  The only way I can describe how I feel is that it’s like listening to ‘Welcome to New York’ by Taylor Swift for the first time. Your heart rate begins to increase. You know it’s going to be upbeat and soon you will be singing aloud, but you’re waiting for that one beat to hit and until then the tension just builds… in my case, that tension was slightly cracked by the displeased look of a parent, when their child slid across t...