Something for a Rainy Day

September has come and brought with it rain, college work and...well just more work and to further worsen matters the only travelling I’m getting to do is the train journey into college each day...not exactly thrilling eh? I am suffering from serious nostalgia and really craving some of that summer sun from this year’s trip to Sorrento, Italy with my mum. (Pictures of one of our favourite spots we discovered, Marine Grande).

However it’s not all doom and gloom, it was my birthday a week or so ago (woo!) and have acquired a rather gorgeous collection of maps to mark on places I’ve visited and dream up future travel plans. I also received a great book on planning a gap year from the lonely planet which I will write a review on when I am less busy...

I shall leave this post on a positive note with one to add to my bucket list; trekking in Nepal, inspired by the whopping, weather appropriate, mass-load of woolly jumpers that have just turned up on my door step.

The Very Beginning.

So I thought a good place for me to start this blog would be at the beginning of my life as a travel-maniac and it seems from a bit of digging and photo searching, I have been a victim of the travel bug from an extremely young age. In fact, my first time abroad was before I was even born as you can see from this picture of my beautiful mum pregnant with me in Portugal.

Ok, I know that doesn’t really count so the next travel experience that family Smith with baby me in tow embarked on, was again to Portugal, with I a mere 9 months old! And no prizes for guessing here; I absolutely loved it (or so my parents report) even if my cousin did nearly drown me in the swimming pool, but that’s a story for another day... 

Left; me and mum. Middle; Grandparents, mum and me. Right; Me wearing Pop-pop's explorer hat.

The gang enjoyed a lot more holidays in Portugal and it has become one of my favourite destinations to visit with its stunning beaches, buzzing markets, and lush gardens. Various forms of family Smith made up from grandparents, Aunt and Uncle, Cousins and brother, could often be found whiling away the days sampling Peri-Peri chicken in our favourite beach-side cafe (or to us “the shack”), taking long walks admiring the gorgeous pink flowers (which we so often had to stop for photos in front of) and spending sandy days splashing in the sea and strolling along the beach.