Exploring a new place each week throughout the blogs has made me realise how lucky I have been to travel to all these places in my life. My parents took me abroad from when I was in year 4 or 5 and I thank them for that. As I’m only 21, it just makes me more excited to travel to more places in the future and explore more of this big wide world.
Cyprus is the third largest Mediterranean island, located south of Turkey. Its cuisines are influenced by the Middle East, commonly using herbs, spices and olive oil as their main components to their dishes. Having travelled there back in 2014 myself, I have a few good memories of the place but I would definitely like to go back to explore more of Paphos in future.
Just off the coast of Morocco, Madeira is also a year-round island to visit. I went to Madeira when I was younger quite some time ago so a lot of this information is from searching the island online, as I don’t have many memories of the beautiful island. The island produces sugarcane, bananas and even Madeira wine but they mainly rely on tourism as being the main income for the island.
Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city, renowned for its heritage, culture and festivals. It takes around an hour or so to get there by plane from London. It was an easy escape from my normal Oxford life and a nice start to January 2019. Although it felt quite similar to Oxford with its rich culture and old buildings, you still feel like you’ve travelled somewhere mainly due to the change in accent (which at times I struggled to understand!). Travelling around the city was easy with its accessible tram lines throughout with cheap prices and easy to use.
Gran Canaria is the third largest of the Canary islands. From the more touristy areas of Las Palmas in the North of Gran Canaria to Puerto Rico (which is where I think we stayed?) the island as a whole has much to offer and appears a big attractor for families especially. Like many of Canary islands, it is a paradise for beach lovers. I’d been to Tenerife in previous years, which turned out to be one of my favourite places. Although Gran Canaria was very nice, I think Tenerife still may have beaten it.
As Venice is a popular tourist destination in Italy, it is still in my opinion, a must visit. Despite what people conceptualise about Venice, such as the canals and endless cobbled streets, it is a place to easily get lost in (but that’s definitely the best part as it all looks the same!). It has many bars and restaurants along the many streets with lots of souvenir shops too but the real beauty that lies in Venice is the striking bridges and walkways that allow you to get some amazing photos.
Lanzarote is the most easterly of the Canary Islands and one of the smallest. Having year-round sun is more or less guaranteed in Lanzarote, or the Canaries as a whole to be honest, which makes it a perfect place to visit if you don’t need to go during the school summer holidays.
Out of all the places I have been to in my life, visiting Thailand was definitely the best. I must admit, walking to our hotel walking through the busy roads, I felt quite overwhelmed as it’s so different from other places I have been to. Trying to get used to the roads and not getting run over was something I found the hardest considering there were no rules!
Like most places in Mexico, you’d expect beauty. A hidden gem in Mexico is a small island named Isla Mujeres. It was first considered a secret to tourists but is now commonly visited yearly now.
A city as beautiful as Paris, is one that has been drawing tourists for years. From its incredible known monuments and tasty cuisine it is a must visit! However, visiting in peak times may prove more difficult getting into the popular attractions for example, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum.
