Honestly I wasn’t impressed at all with Italy. Which is so disappointing because it was the place I was most looking forward to, with Italian being my favourite food.

Genoa

I felt safer in Morocco than here! The only positive about Genoa is that I can have triple the amount of coffee for what I’d pay for in France & I can eat pasta for every meal. This is the longest time ever I’ve not had pasta!

My first night in Genoa I went out for dinner on my own. Since travelling I love a table for one so much, I’ve got my own great company, I can relax and I can just fill the extra space on table with food all for myself. However this time when I ask for a table for one they sit me with another person.

How awkward. I’m there with a forty odd year old, non english speaking, geeky Italian not knowing what to do. No way was I even going to attempt to eat spaghetti now, far too messy! Amusing for anyone who got seated after me. We definitely looked like we was on a really awkward first date or just a couple who have had an argument. Both sat there not speaking, avoiding eye contact, both on our phones & him leaving half way through my meal without paying my bill. Rude, no second date for you!

The company may not have been great but the food was amazing. I decided to embrace the awkwardness. It was quite a funny experience actually (looking back on it) one that probably won’t ever happen again. So thank you mystery man.

My first full day in Genoa I attempted a walking tour. Meaning I was that bored I did a runner half way through. Shh don’t tell anyone. It was like a guide literally digested everything to do with Genoa on Wikipedia then spat it out at us. I couldn’t take anymore.

I went into hiding in the opposite direction and went for some more pasta back to my happy place again. Whilst in the restaurant the women just kept giggling every time she gave me something. ‘Sorry I don’t speak much English.’ No worries that’s fine hopefully you can’t speak French or Spanish either.. within the first five minutes of being there I’ve used 4 different languages already. Merci, hola, thanks and finally got something right and said grazie. C’mon head you’re making me look like fool here!

The struggles of travelling ay!

Pisa

Yes I was definitely just here to get that obligatory picture of me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The rest of the day spent here I was with a friend I met in Granada. She just happened to be on the same bus! So if it wasn’t for bumping into her my rest of the day wouldn’t have been fun as there isn’t much else to do here.

Although Pisa did have me most entertained just with people watching around the tower. It was hilarious watching everyone trying to get the perfect picture. I’m not going to lie though.. I was definitely one of those people.

How do you get tourist attraction to a small city? Just build something that leans. The crowds will come running.

Florence

A better atmosphere.

The weather in Italy was hot, but because the buildings are that tall and the streets are very narrow the sun doesn’t even make it to the ground, so being in the shade it’s quite cold! I had a walk around the river where I could find the only spot in Florence to do a bit of sunbathing!

Hours spent in the sun it was time for gelato. I met up with the girl I met in Nice as she’s currently studying here from America. I must admit – the gelato was very good! But again, if I hadn’t have met with her, Florence wouldn’t have been that good for me too.

Rome

I don’t know why ‘all roads lead to Rome’ because it was rubbish!

I probably preferred Rome in a way, as you’ve got to do a lot more walking to get everywhere. Everyone was telling me I needed 4-5 days in Rome (probably because more time is spent actually getting lost here) but I’m so glad I didn’t! 1 night was enough for me.

I split the 2days up so I could see everything. But the second day I googled the places I was supposed to see & it turns out I did them all on my first day. This made me laugh but now I’ve got nothing to do for the rest of the day! Such a bad tourist.. hence the increase in blogs recently.

Rome was far too touristy for my liking. Seeing attractions such as the Trevi Fountain you just couldn’t get anywhere near it. I’m there wondering how many people were there just because they’ve seen the Lizzie McGuire movie or if they was actually interested in the fountain itself! I didn’t even attempt of getting a picture. I was just there to try and be a good tourist this time offering to take pictures for anyone struggling to get that selfie. I should have set up a business for a day, I reckon I would have made a fortune!

I know Italy is on most peoples’ lists to go and visit and don’t let my opinion put you off. I followed the crowd and went to all the obvious places (which isn’t my thing at all) I should have to the gone towards the coast or wine tasting in Tuscany. I will give Italy another go, but I’ll just carefully choose the places I want to go to next time rather than everyone else’s.

Also I think Italy isn’t a place for solo travellers. I would have enjoyed it much more if I was with a group of friends, so I didn’t have to take on the crowds on my own and I had people to dine with.

Thank you pasta for not disappointing but I’m on the first bus out of here.

A day at sea was very relaxing. (After what you could say was an hectic week.) I’m at happiest at sea anyway. But watching the sunset reflecting on top of the waves and just being able to disconnect with the world for more than 24hrs was incredible.

Resting for a day not having to do anything, or being able to go anywhere was nice for a change. I also managed to take a shower whilst on the boat – I had to dry myself with a T-shirt, but that’s okay. I’m classed as a traveller now so stuff like that I think are kind of acceptable! & Thankfully I had a great crossing, it wasn’t choppy at all. As the last time I took an overnight ferry I ended up in hospital! Don’t ask.

Arriving in Barcelona, floating around after being on a ferry for so long, I was back to having a mobile data. 2 days without internet connection unable to contact home you’d think messages would be flying through. Sadly I didn’t receive one single text message to see if I was alive and safe. Not even from my family. Nice to know you all care!

Although the amount of messages I got from my last blog saying ‘keep safe’ was unbelievable. Quite hilarious actually!

I made to Barca at 9pm, booked a hostel at 9:25, checked in at 10pm. So easy, the beauty of travelling during winter.

Having done Barcelona before. I just saw it as a stop over place on my way to France and took the opportunity to have a detox for a couple days. I got a 2 day gym, swim and spa pass. Had a few runs along the beach and made some healthy, tasty, home cooked meals.

What do I mean by a healthy home cooked meal? I bought a massive bag of salad to last my duration here, sprinkled cheese on top and added a few slices of chorizo & for breakfast: muesli. I was surprisingly satisfied!

Being away for around a month now, I had to say adios to my jeans! They are just so uncomfortable, totally had enough of them. I miss lounging around in joggers or shorts back home. So I went straight to the shops and purchased some comfortable trousers.

I also treated myself to a travel towel as the ferry was infact the second time on my trip I had to use a t-shirt! I always pick hostels that provide towels, usually at a price of €2, I’ve realised it soon adds up. So yes, if you are travelling definitely take your own towel. You probably think this is such an obvious thing to do, packing it in your bag first and I agree with you on that.

When I wasn’t exercising or eating salad, I spent my time by the beach watching the world go round. How else could I get my blog inspiration with being off the red wine. (The salad 100% wasn’t helping)!

Here’s me back to normal, under the palm trees, with a pineapple on top of my head after the gym. No cares in the world.

There was a group of topless guys playing football on the beach, thinking I couldn’t keep my eyes off them. I was in fact watching 6 golden retriever puppy’s all playing having fun behind them. They were so adorable, I just wanted them to run over to me!

I was also very happy surfer watching until a women decided to sit next to me and feed the pigeons. I HATE pigeons. I’m so scared of them. It was like the scene out of Home alone 2! I’d been here for a few hours and was forced to move. I didn’t want anymore pigeon poo on me today.. (on my way to do my laundry this morning) Lucky!? Only with the fact I was about to do my washing anyway. Otherwise not impressed.

European pigeons are 10x worse than back home. They’re so fearless. They don’t move out of your way (resulting in massive detours to avoid them) so much more unpredictable. I just can’t cope with them. Does anyone know any pigeon free places I can go to please? Many thanks.

I am actually in the middle of creating a European pigeon chart.. from each destination I’ve been to you’ll be able to evaluate on where you would like to travel to based on a 1-10 pigeon scale. If you’re like me, you’ll definitely benefit from this, I’m just trying to make life easier for you guys.

So no actual exploring of the city was done within my time spent here, however Barcelona impressed me the first time, it’ll always be one of my favourite places.

It has a great atmosphere, with lots to do. You can just chill by the beach with a sangria or go and visit the gothic quarter which is filled with bars, restaurants and just great for a wander. There’s a port or you can even catch the gondola up to the mountains to get the best view. I think it meets the needs of everyone really and it’s always sunny, well in my case!

I’ve had 2nights here but my third day I leave at 11:30pm so I can wake up in Marseille the next morning. It’s kind of cheating, but some advice for you: book a night bus when possible. You don’t have to pay for an extra night at your current hostel, but you’re still able to use the premises and leave luggage there too for free. The buses are cheap so you’re getting a free nights sleep at the same time. (If you can actually fall asleep on buses of course) & you wake up in a total new city where you want to be without wasting time during the day travelling.

Also the night bus tends to be more comfortable; more leg room, toilets onboard & have multiple charging ports as well as WiFi. It’s great. That’s coming from a person who hates public transport, I haven’t been on bus since high school.

Although news in from home that my car has been sold, so it looks like I’ll have to buy a bus pass once I get home. 😦 Thanks for the best time Alfredo. You’ve been great company for thousands and thousands of miles we spent together (mainly in traffic) trying to get up and down the m62! Our sing songs were the best.

Possibly the only traveller ever to spend a few months in Europe and come back richer! But It means I can do this whole thing all over again now.

Oh and to have gained weight, I just can’t stop eating!

You might think I’m crazy for travelling to Morocco on my own. But you’ve got to take risks or else you’ll never see the places you want to visit!

Whether you travel there on your own or not, you’re still going to get the hassle. So don’t be put off, as long you stay safe/sensible and ignore anyone mithering you, you’ll be fine. Trust me, this place is too good not to miss.

Second time lucky I made it to the ferry port! The journey only lasted 45minutes, it’s so close to Spain. I took to the top deck to work on my tan. I kept myself entertained by people watching. (My favourite hobby). To the American girl having issues with her boyfriend. Take my advice hun, travel on your own you’ll none of that drama!

Tangier

Within the first minute of getting off the ferry I had all the hassle. One guy walked with me for 10minutes trying to direct me to my hostel. No I’m good thanks I’m following my maps on my phone. Finally got rid of him, yay thanks for not kidnapping me. I would have broken my mums no1 rule! She wouldn’t have been happy.

Top tip: if you’re lost, act like you’re not!

Making it to my hostel safely. I went straight into the Moroccan style of things and had a cooking lesson at the hostel. We made Moroccan Tagine. Quite the culture shock practically living off paella and tapas for the last month. It was delicious.

Food followed by beers and a rooftop jam session at the hostel was such a chilled night.

I definitely introduced myself to the total wrong people though. Do you know when you just feel out of place!? These people were far too clever for me, turns out they’re all like doctors! So me sat in silence very bored, one person (knowing I was English) decided to turn the topic to Brexit, so I could have a chance to speak. Nooooo boring!! The perfect opportunity to use the toilet. Cya.

The walking tour the next day was terrible. It went as follows; here is a cafe the Rolling Stones have been to, here is a place they film a lot of romantic scenes and here is a view you can see Spain from. (Yawning).

But at least it was a safe way to walk around Tangier being apart of a group. Definitely a nice change from looking up off google maps and taking notice of my surroundings, instead of trying to avoid eye contact with the locals. A lot less hassle; the amount of times I heard ‘come to my shop’!

Sorry to the local who is still waiting for me as his shop. The 3 days I was there I walked passed him about 5 times a day. ‘I waited for you’.. ‘okay maybe tomorrow’. You’re going to be waiting a while!

Chefchaouen

I knew I still had more to explore. So I decided to miss my flight to Valencia and get a taxi 2hours away from Tangier to the blue city – Chefchaouen.

I arrived on Valentine’s Day, so once the owner of the hostel saw that I was alone she decided to upgrade me to a private room. I mean no need to feel sorry for me but I definitely won’t say no to my own room!

This is exactly what I expected Morocco to be like. Blue buildings everywhere, a lot better weather & it’s so calm here. Tangier was said to be safer, but within my first wander around I didn’t get any hassle. I felt that safe I even gave a local my camera to take a picture of me. He didn’t run away with it or ask for money, very shocked.

I was very click happy with my camera here. It was bluetiful..

Morocco is so cheap! It’s unbelievable, my bank account is definitely happy in taking things a bit slower at the moment! For the week I was here I probably spent less than £70 and that’s on eating very well everyday, taxies to and from different cities, including all my hostel stays & splashing out on a romantic, candle lit, 3 course meal for one on Valentine’s Day!

Despite feeling very safe here to walk around on my own there was one case where I had to think fast..

One creepy old guy was walking next to me whilst on my way back the hostel, English? French? German? I just shrugged my shoulders, shook my head and pretended to be mute. (Didn’t work). What do I do now? I walk into a jewellery shop to stop and look at the earrings. But I could see him waiting standing outside (probably clocked on that I don’t have my ears pierced!) So the only thing I could think of to do now was to make up my own random language: ‘Gkaoobs foosjb skwo jfoowba akaklebo…..’ yeah that soon got rid of him! Clearly I have more common sense than I realised.

I make myself laugh too! Super proud moment.

With everybody in Morocco having the same destinations on their list it’s hard avoid people that you’ve met already. I kept bumping into that doctor I met on the first night. (Not stalking you I promise, you bore me too much). I had to do a detour every time I spotted him in the distance.. ‘Oh what a nice shop you have’!

After 2 nights in Chefchaouen I have no idea where I’m off to next. Leaving the WiFi at the hostel and having no other internet connection I just had to go with the flow.

I was heading back to the ferry port in a 4 seater taxi with 8 people.. wishing these people were skinny! Surprisingly not the first time I’ve experienced this kind of thing, but not the ideal situation.

Thinking of heading back to Tarifa it turns out a ferry to Barcelona had been delayed by 4hours so off I go cruising into the Balearic sea.

Before getting on the ferry though, I gave 70 dirhams to a homeless man, knowing I won’t need the currency anymore. It was only the equivalent to about £5, but that would have kept him going for while there. I made his day, which made my day.

Although I’d love to travel Morocco some more this is supposed to be my travels around Europe!

So yes I will be back. So Lewis, if you’re wondering why a birthday present hasn’t arrived in the post yet, whenever you’re ready, we’re off on a trip to the desert to see some camels. Happy B’day xo (the best little sister ever, I know).

Honestly though, I don’t think he reads my blogs, so chocolate from airport on my way home will be sufficient!

My life is like a constant Saturday at the moment; it’s fantastic. I have no recollection of the day, time and I even forget where I am sometimes. Which city am I in now!?

Very behind on the blogging. But I’m out here living my best life, having so much fun and seeing the world. So I think that’s a reasonable explanation!

So as you’ve already gathered, my trip to Granada was totally off the cuff.

Once I arrived there I bought a €10 bus ticket so I could make it to the ferry port to travel over to Morocco. But with a 2hour wait in McDonald’s, 25chicken nuggets later, I decided to miss that bus also. This time on purpose!

Just abit too much faff for me. This is why I don’t book anything in advance, being spontaneous is the only option in my life.

Things happen for a reason; I’ve quickly fallen in love with this place. I’m so happy I missed that bus. From the scenery to the weather to the free tapas with your sangria. Granada is definitely a place I would love to return to. I could easily spend a week there.

Apart from the weather, with the amount of athletes and golden retrievers around it definitely felt like home here.

The atmosphere is amazing. For a place so busy I can’t believe I’ve never known much about this place.

Running is easy here!

I spent two days wandering around, taking pictures, watching flamenco & sunsets. Perfect. I was very content.

Once I returned from watching the sunset on my first night I went for dinner with someone from the hostel. Turns out he is a fellow triathlete and ultra runner. It was nice to talk to someone who understands how normal I am to do Ironman Triathlons, which to other people just think we’re just totally crazy.. or stupid!

Having to order a paella to share, originally attempting to order one each, we wasn’t happy when it arrived to the table. Are you joking! You’re feeding two athletes here when we say we want two we mean it! I could have easily had that to myself, but with two strangers eating together we were being so polite. ‘No that’s fine you have the last bit’.

A secret trip to shop later might be in order for a midnight snack!

Just take a look at the views & update your 2019 travel list:

Having to check out the next day I went and found a cafe so I could look at where my next destination shall be. Giving up with the idea of going to Morocco, about to book a stay in Valencia, I had a quick catch up with my travel reps – Kath and Brian. ‘Get to Morocco’. Okay yes reps. That was one expensive breakfast. I’m easily persuaded!

Relieved that my first plan to Morocco failed, my mum is now back to worring about me travelling there alone. Don’t take this out on me mum, it’s the Thomas’ fault!

From Granada I got a BlaBlaCar to Tarifa so I could finally get on that ferry I kept missing! A BlaBlaCar is basically a cheaper alternative to a taxi or bus or any other form of transportation. You just share a car with a bunch of strangers. Which wasn’t bad as I didn’t have to speak because they didn’t understand me.

It was great because it was cheap. However the driver was terrible. Hoping I could nap all the way didn’t go to plan as I was too anxious to fall asleep. The first 5mins we nearly got took out by a lorry.. then we nearly crashed on the motorway and then stalled. I mean just look at her parking:

Maybe napping would have been the better option, rather than having no nails left by the end of the journey! Next time I’ll definitely look at the ratings before booking my next trip.

She actually left me a rating. ‘The girl is very nice, great passenger’. Obviously the fake smile worked hiding my fear!

But I made it in one piece and she dropped me off right outside the port, so I can’t complain too much!

Morocco I’m finally coming for ya.

Having spent just over two weeks touring Portugal, it was time to start exploring Spain. Finally a language I can half understand.

& what I mean by understand: I could probably tell you that I have a pencil sharpener, in my pencil case and how many pets I have in my house. You know, all the important things you learn at school.

Well where do I start?

The first hour of being in Madrid and I already found my self playing beer pong getting ready to go on a bar crawl with the hostel. Although it’s not as fun as it sounds; the cups were actually filled with water for hygiene reasons..

3 pubs, 1 club and only one rule: do not die. Well with the free tequila shots you’re giving us I can’t promise anything.

Day 1:

Going off 4hours sleep after a decent night out. Fuelling off one coffee. I went and did 30,000 steps on walking tour.

Stop one: *BOOM* the floor started shaking. I was so ready to make a run for it. When my tour guide calmly explained it was gun shots for the changing of guard. Phew. Everyone was so on edge.

Stop 2: I find myself in a church locked in a toilet. Great news. No one can hear me banging on the door and I don’t know anyone well enough to have their numbers yet to contact them. After 5 minutes of panicking I run at the door barging it open shouting ‘omg’.. oh wait I’m in a church I can’t say that.

Praying no one heard that!

Thankfully everything went well from there after I was fed paella.

With the people from the tour off I went on my second night out in Madrid. Again it didn’t disappoint. So with being with a group of 10 all day I only knew for certain 4 of their names. But it gets to a point where you can’t ask what their name is anymore. Kind of awkward. It’s a good thing instagram was invented. Quick add on there and you have everything you need to know. Their name, where they live and what they did in the summer of 2012. Oh and say hello to your dog Fluffy for me.

Day 2:

A different walking tour, a bigger group, the same paella. Can you see where this is going?

This time it was a bigger night out celebrating Chinese New Year. It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed out until 6am dancing. But you know it’s been a good night when you’ve already done 36,000 steps of dancing. Definitely wasn’t doing the 2 step this time (my steps would be a lot less).

When you meet so many people on a walking tour all up for a night out you can’t exactly be the boring one sat in the corner. Well you could but I don’t want to be boring.

Boring like all the people in my hostel dorm. Day 3 and I still don’t know them. I’m getting in from a night out and still managing to get up before them going out to enjoy my day. They may think all I do is drink but least I have stories to tell about my time in Madrid unlike letting everyone know how comfy the bed was!

Day 3:

*2hours sleep*

Left over paella for breakfast. Beats the British tradition of left over kebab!

Another walking tour…. No thankfully this was a day of rest! Fewer steps, more delicious food and a lot of fun with my new friends.

Travelling is strange. You meet people, you get on so well, become best friends with them for a few days. Then you’re all off to different parts of the world, nice to meet you, probably see you never.

Although I have very little to tell you on the historic points of Madrid, I could recommend where you can get amazing food and where to drink. All you need to know right?

Surprisingly after 3 days in Madrid, little sleep and most of the time spent drinking I felt great.

Too chilled in fact that I missed my over night bus to Morocco. I thought it was leaving Madrid at 11pm turns out it left at 10pm. It’s a good job I didn’t actually pay for my ticket already. This is such a me thing to do. Never learn. But I think I’m too much a free spirit to care.

The next bus out of Madrid was to Granada, which from a quick google image search looked nice, so off I go to Granada.

Hasto Luego Madrid I’ve had a ball.. Do you ever use a saying not understanding it?

Next stop Porto:

When you’re more than happy to spend €20+ on a dinner and wine but paying that extra €3 to sit next to your friend seems a bit too extreme..

With the passengers next to me being very OTT the whole way maybe I should have consider paying! But at least I had a window seat to look out of. This time it was much cleaner thanks to Ryanair for reading my first blog. Your customer service has just gone up in ratings.

Molly turns out to be one those people who has a bad perspective on hostels. So I had to upgrade from the hostel life to an apartment whilst staying in Porto. What a shame. Who am I kidding!? I was definitely enjoying the luxuries far too much.

My time spent in Porto with Molly consisted drinking a lot of Port wine. In fact we are now practically port wine connoisseurs. Anything you need to know I’ll have the answer.. or maybe not after all the wine we consumed!

We did two Port tours.

Augusto’s Port Tour

€5, Bargain, Rating: 4.5/5

Being in a small group whilst on the tour made it more inclusive. A women showed us a movie whilst explaining everything. This is key. I would have totally disengaged if I had nothing to watch!

A very small tour, but with 4 free ports to taste at the end of it was very good. Hey I actually learnt a lot too!

Schools are definitely missing out on this trick! Maybe not wine tasting, but offer me a freebie at the end of the day and I possibly would have listened to my teachers during my geography classes.

Taylor’s

€15, worth it, rating: 4/5

If you’re a Port fan you have definitely heard of Taylor’s. It’s infact my favourite Port. This is what I use to make my favourite cocktail.

The tour was audio guided which I should have been paying attention to, but if I’m being honest, I was just there to take a picture of the wine cellar! I did listen to the first line though: ‘for the next hour and a half’. I can’t listen to a robot for that long!

I only thought I’d be there half an hour. Turns out trying to get that picture with nobody in it took a lot of time with the amount of tourists about getting those selfies.

A selfie with a barrel? Please. It was so dark it would have looked like you’ve just taken a picture with an old rusty wall.

If you’re a lover of Taylor’s vintage port and you have an issue with feet, maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but they actually crush the grapes with their feet during production. However if you’re one of those you has a foot fetish then, I’d say drink sensibly!

If anyone has any tips on how to drink port without getting your nose in the glass that would be very helpful! The glasses are tiny. I don’t think my nose is that big, but I definitely feel sorry for people such as my dad when drinking port..!

On my last blog I ended it recommending my tour guide services. I absolutely 100% do not recommend my laundry services. Yes you read that right.

Put money in the machine, chuck your clothes in a washer & press start.

Meanwhile I’m in a restaurant eating and drinking waiting for 30mins thinking why is my mum always complaining about doing the washing when it’s such an easy process!

So easy right? No.

Turns out I had to put detergent in the machine myself. What the machine doesn’t do that for you!?

Mum: ‘well done’. I hint a sarcastic tone there mother.

To make matters worse it decides to absolutely chuck it down on my walk back. So now I’m drenched, I have bag full of wet clothes (that still aren’t clean) & the only clean clothes I have I’m actually wearing which are obviously now soaked too! Not good when I plan on meeting friends in 20 minutes..

So here’s me drying my clothes with a hairdryer:

21 and I’m incapable of doing my laundry. Not my finest hour!

Thankfully round 2 the next day I had learnt from my mistakes. This should have been a quick and cheap process.

With the rain and grey skies closing in on Lisbon I decided to follow the sun spontaneously booking a bus ride to Faro for a couple of days.

Faro

All I did was run and eat.

Take my advice and don’t travel there on a Sunday. Portugal are still not up to date with the 21st century, everything pretty much closes on a Sunday, so it was like a ghost town.

There’s not a whole lot to do, but it was sunny and ‘mostly flat’ as described by google maps. Until you find a hill whilst running and you’re fuming about it: ‘Damn you google maps.’

Head: run, you’ll enjoy the views

Feet: find a different hobby please

Running around Faro (very slowly) with all of my Ironman gear on was quite embarrassing. If anyone recognised the logo they would have definitely been wondering if I actually competed in the races or just bought the clothes from the Expo!

Maybe I should return back in the peak season in summer, give it another chance, but I was ready to move on.

The sun was slowly disappearing & one guy kept me up for two nights as he sounded like my dog squealing in his sleep.. Sam is that you, I didn’t know you came travelling with me. I wish! 😦

With the beach calling my name having withdrawal symptoms and the sun moving in that direction I booked a bus to Albufeira.

Albufeira

Checking into my new hostel in Albufeira the women mentioned there was no one going to be in my room of 10 apart from me.

€8 for my own private room, my own bathroom, silence, a choice of which bed to sleep in and the ability to take as many pillows as I wanted was the best news ever.

I can finally dance and sing around the room and in the shower being my weird usual self again. Yay I’ve missed you!

Staying outside the centre I had a 3km walk to the beach. Along the way as I was passing a local school a ball flew over a rather tall fence. As the kids were looking at me thinking ‘how is she going to give us the ball back’, I casually kicked it straight over and received an applause. Yes that’s right boys, girls are more than capable of playing football to. We do just happen to have the same body part in which we use to kick a ball!

Once I got to the beach, via an escalator, strange I know! I went and ordered some fish and chips. (How very English of me) But I did feel at home with the fact this place was heaving with English tourists.

I haven’t come across anyone from England up until now, which I thought was quite unusual. But hey I’m happy about that..

Fuelled up I decided to trek for another 2 hours to reach a different beach that trip advisor recommended. A very long way but in the sun and along the coast it didn’t seem too much of a bad idea!

In fact the walk wasn’t all that bad as I saw a few different beaches on the way. But once I had reached my end destination, kind of in the middle of nowhere, all I could see was trees. Have I really just walked 2 hours to look at a tree!? Fortunately just round the corner I was hit with the most scenic view.

On one side I had a view of cliffs (and trees) leading to the sea. On the other, wow. I had a view of a golden sand beach that seemed to go on forever with red cliffs surrounding. Something that you would expect to see on a postcard.

Never mind a postcard. Has anyone ever had the pollo chicken pizza branded by Ristorante? Don’t know what I’m talking about.. can you see the resemblance in the picture below!?

Possibly had too many of these growing up. Or I just have a problem and perceive everything as food.. it’s just too good!

I was taking in this view for a good hour and a half waiting for the sun to set. (The cliff not the pizza). I couldn’t understand why I didn’t come across anybody else up at this view point. Then it occurred to me: Who else in the right mind would walk for two hours out of Albufeira just to get here! Yep definitely just me. Oh well, I’ll happily have this view to myself.

After already exceeding my step goal of 326% (I have no idea what this means either) it just sounds fancy. There was no chance I was walking back to the hostel. *Uber appreciation*

Although I’m loving the fact I have my own room maybe it would be nice if there was someone to speak to.

So I’m sat there reading a Qi book containing 2024 facts. I open it up on a random page and guess what is on there? A fact about Frankfurt.. I knew this book would become useful on my travels. Look at me all clued up about Germany now. I’d definitely be able to hold a conversation next time someone is talking about Germany, surely I can’t go wrong again!

I can imagine now, waking up to find 9 new German roomies. Well I’m very prepared, ‘Hi I’m Jos.. Frankfurt.. Berlin.. Oo and did you know that 2017…’

Yeah I don’t think I’d make friends that way either!

With my friend Molly landing in Lisbon, I headed back there as I had some tour guide duties to be getting on with.

By the way if anyone would like a free walking tour in any European city, please let me know. (Tips will be kindly accepted).

I highly recommend my tour services. I can sometimes read a map, I’m very knowledgable and have a lot of ‘fun’ facts up my sleeve.

Overall you’d have the best experience and so far I have a 5* rating.

57 miles of walking, 109,857 steps, 34 too many sangrias and countless giggles.

Day 1.

I signed up for a walking tour with a group of cool people. I was mainly there for the photo opportunities that Lisbon had to offer. Not the 4 hour history lesson my guide was waffling on about. Although my ears did tune in as soon as she mentioned the different types of foods that I must try whilst in Portugal.

I saw lots of interesting street art, my favourite view up at São Miguel and another view of the city at Alfama castle. If you ever visit Lisbon definitely don’t pay to enter the castle. You will be paying €10 for pretty much the same view I got for free a 2 minute walk away!

After the tour I took the only useful bit of information I got from the guide and we went to taste some Portuguese food and wine. Wow amazing food, with 8 at the table I was the first one to finish the food by far. Spot the athlete of the group; I may not be training but my appetite hasn’t changed.

Watching the sunset at Cais do Sodré has become one of my favourite things to do this past week!

With the people I met on the walking tour we planned a day trip to Sintra the following day.

Sintra was spectacular. However the bus ride there was pretty dreadful. The journey on an overcrowded bus was long and hilly on winding roads. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. It may come as a surprise to you but I’m petrified of rollercoasters! With no seats left I had to hold onto two rings above my head.. I looked like an acrobat in a circus swinging all over the place. Safe to say I won’t ever be competing on the gymnastics Olympic team any time soon.

After making it off the bus alive I would say visiting Sintra was definitely worth it. The highlight being Pena Palace. Very lucky to have visited on a sunny day. The palace was vast, many different colours and gave you the best view point.

Sorry to my new friends if you’re reading this, but our trip to Belém on day 3 I was pretending that I was interested in monasteries, towers and museums. You guys were great, couldn’t beat the company, but it definitely wasn’t my cup of tea!

If you guys are wondering why I’m talking about tea.. basically it’s an English phrase we use when we don’t like something.

However the visit to Lx Factory after visiting Belém I very much enjoyed. It was like Lisbon’s take on Camden. I had the best view in the city, drinking cocktails on a rooftop bar, I could have stayed there all night. Perhaps just on the tap waters though as it would have been expensive!

With all the people I met on day one now travelling else where I was back on my own again. I thought it was a great opportunity to contact home. By this I mean sending my family a selfie of me in the sun sipping on a sangria. I was very satisfied. Especially on a Thursday dinner time knowing they will all be at work. Pretty mean of me I know. My mum sent me one back with her teacher friends of them drinking water. I was very amused!

I was feeling very inspired seeing a lot of runners around, it’s about time I got a bit more active and healthy. As I was about to order a water my dad text me back saying ‘enjoy you’ve worked hard for this’. I read this and immediately ordered another sangria, €8 it cost me, maybe I should charge my dad for being a bad influence! (Cheers Dad the bill is on it’s way!) #treatyourselfthursday

I’ve definitely took advantage of everyone else doing all the organising this week. When it comes to planning I’d rather not. I get bored very easily and get totally side tracked. This is why I think I’ve ended up being in a bar all morning! Fruit for breakfast, healthy right? It just happened to be in my sangria! Oops.

On the tapas night that my hostel put on, I met 3 Americans who currently live in Germany. I told them Germany is on my bucket list to create conversation like you do. When they asked where I’d like to visit… I quickly spluttered ‘Frankfurt!’ (That’s after one guy told me that the first answer I gave was a place in Denmark). Geography was never my strong point.

*note to self Google some places in Germany*

I’ve been lucky all week with having relatively quiet roomies. However the fifth night in and the new people in my room sound like they’re in an snorechestra!

They were really hitting those notes. During the third symphony one guy even introduced a trumpet into this musical piece. Another in a choir as he was sleep talking. He was Italian so I couldn’t tell you what he said, but I’d guess at something like ‘Ah shuta the hella upa’. Instead of having a front row seat next time they put on a show, I’m going to be the conductor, so I can officially put a stop to this noise. Ear plugs are definitely on my next shopping list.

In all seriousness though. So far my hostel experience has been amazing. Although I’m travelling on my own, you’re never actually alone for long. So many friendly people all with different interesting stories they have to share.

I find that people who have never stayed in a hostel have a bad view on them for some reason. If that’s you I would definitely re-evaluate the whole hostel idea. You would have THE best fun! I couldn’t recommend more. If you want to explore a city and make lots of memories then definitely give it a go. Who wants to stay in a fancy 5 star hotel anyway?

Plus where else would you find a ripped tanned Italian accidentally walk into the girls bathroom in nothing but a bathrobe? No need to apologise Antonio!

& So what if someone snores too loudly, you’ll soon forget about it. Unless you mention it in your blog and you are reminded forever!

Having had decent weather all week the rain was slowly on it’s way, so off I go chasing the sun to Faro for a couple of days, see you soon Lisbon.

So here I am finally jetting off on my travels around Europe. It has took me long enough to pluck up the courage to go solo travelling, but now the day has arrived I’m very excited! People are saying I’m very brave for travelling on my own, I’m just seeing it as living my life!

With enough time spent wondering about whether or not to do a travel blog, I thought why not give it a go and see how it goes.. this could be the first and last one..

Despite my mum mithering me for the past few weeks not to lose anything, to keep safe look after myself and not to get kidnapped! (Great advice mum thanks, like I’d willingly step into the back of someone’s van for the fun of it!) None of it clearly got through to me, as I was enjoying one too many g&ts in the bar before departing and only just made it to my gate literally seconds before it closed! Good job I’ve been practising on my triathlon transitions for the past few years or else I might not have made it to T3.

Anyway I managed to board and find my prepaid seat. With Ryanair already making you pay for everything, you’d think paying for a window seat they would at least clean the windows for you! I was trying to watch the most amazing sunset, but trying to get a decent picture with no dirt or smudges on the window proved very difficult. I’m surprised they don’t already charge you extra for a clean window, with everything else they charge you extra for, I mean I’d probably pay for that!

Above the clouds the sun was setting, the gin was flowing and as the lights were dimming the moment I was dreading; an arm reached out above me to turn on the light! The guy next to me was reading an article titled ‘how to look sexy naked’. First of all, I’m not going to lie Mr.seat 8E, the hamburger & fries, 2 tubs of pringles and the 3 beers you consumed in a very short period of time is not going to help your figure with that one! Secondly I think airlines should situate all the ‘readers’ to the back of plane where no one can be blinded by that bright light. Maybe they should charge for that too. I know you all agree with me!

Leaving the snowy 1 degree weather behind in Manchester I arrived in 16 degree heat in Lisbon. Not to rub it in or anything.. sorry not sorry. I got an Uber to my hostel (fancy I know should have got the metro to save money!) me being me I decided to sing along with the taxi man to Lisbon’s equivalent to smooth fm. What a great first 20minutes in Lisbon!

Totally out of my comfort zone, I walked straight into a hostel full of people, trying to figure out how to introduce myself and start a conversation and what do I do? Head straight for the free sangria to help the situation of course!

I’ve never been happier to say I’m from Manchester as everyone just associates it with football and boom there’s your first conversation right there. Hey this thing is easier than I imagined. Although the first girl I tried to speak to was ignoring me to swipe left and right on tinder, how rude, I snuck off to speak to some other people.. like she noticed I left anyway!

A few sangrias later and off I go to a few bars for my first night in Lisbon with a Canadian, American & an Australian I’ve known for a whole 5 minutes! Well it wasn’t the best night out ‘fake dancing’ because you don’t want to embarrass yourself in the first bar. I was just doing more of the safe two step which isn’t all that fun! With 99% gin and 1% tonic I headed back to the hostel so I could get up in the morning and enjoy my first day in Lisbon!