Freedom one week later-reverting to a teenager

So I have been free, aka an unemployed bum, for a week.  How has it been?

Well I seem to have reverted to a teenager. I sleep for 10 hours a day, don’t care about anything practical, spend all day on my phone and getting spots… The first three are amazing, the fourth not so much. On a more serious note I got back from my hometown today so had my goodbye’s for 6 months with my family.

Back to the adventure then. So this time in 7 days I will be half way to Doha (my stopover) then to Auckland. I hear from the very talented foodie Connie https://twitter.com/connieconsumes the weather is amazing. Roll on icecream season.

“Its time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure”-Ernie Hawell

 

 

Freedom

I started this blog when I made up my mind to quit my job and with it the life that I created. Well today is my first day of freedom. Yes I am officially an unemployed bum.

So how did the day go? Well it started with one of the worst hangovers of my life. I expect with a year of traveling ahead it wont be the last. However it got considerably better with some fresh air and a massive bagel. All in all it wasn’t a day with a lot of bangs but one with a quiet inner peace that I haven’t felt in a long time.

“To travel is to take a journey into yourself”- Danny Kaye

Travel Apps part 2

A couple of weeks ago I did an article on useful Apps for traveling that people have recommended, welcome to part 2.

STA travel – I personally booked my flights with STA and downloaded the APP. It has all my itinerary, recommended hotels and activities near me. A perfect App for having your trip in one place.

Duolingo – A little language App that I have fell in love with. I am trying to pick up as much Spanish as possible and this App has been so useful. Best of all its FREE

WhatsAPP – This maybe an obvious one but an essentail App for staying in contact with people back at home.

Travel zoo- I havent used this much yet but it seems a good one to get deals on Hotels, Holidays and activities.

Travelers please recommend your favourite Apps, I will need all the help I can get. Today I will leave you with a technology inspired quote. “Technology made large populations possible; large populations now make technology indispensable.”- Joesph Wood Krutch

 

A little twist

I had an interesting twist this morning with 30 days till I leave the last of my life behind. The house I made an offer on last year fell through and I was asked to make another offer.A tempting offer? I could return to my comfortable life with a house in the wings. However quickly I realised it was no longer an option and I was committed to the decisions I have made.

The point of this little tale is its easy to have distractions that take our life’s down a path unplanned/unwanted and it can be incredibly hard to reforge the life we want. Why? Its scary, its change, its unpredictable etc.

So if anyone is reading please make the most of your life. I have wasted five years. Don’t make my mistakes and life your life.

” I don’t know whether you can look at your past and find, woven like the hidden symbols on a treasure map, the path that will point to your final destination.”
-Jodi Picoult

Travel apps… part 1

Over the last few weeks I have had a number of people recommend great Apps for traveling, so I wanted to share.

Walkster… one I have talked about in previous posts. If you are in London on a budget it gives you walking routes around this amazing city with some key facts and history. I loved the Belgrave Mews tour.

Osprey packsizer…for people who understand nothing about finding the right backpack (me) this is one for you. I personally went for an Osprey but you can use the App then try and find a cheaper model. Just remember if you are traveling for a while a good backpack is a must.

Hoppa…recommended by Carissa my lovely travel advisor. Great App for getting your transfers booked.

Sky Scanner… want to find the best priced flight? then use this App. Really easy to use and I got some great deals.

Travelers please recommend your favourite Apps, I will need all the help I can get. Today I will leave you with a technology inspired quote.

“Science and technology revolutionize our lives, but memory, tradition and myth frame our response.”-Arthur M. Schlesinger

A little fear…

On Sunday I booked just over five months of flights (for those interested New Zealand, Hawaii, Fiji, Mexico, USA, Canada and back to London) and for the first time in this journey I felt a little bit of fear!!!

Why?

Since the start of this chapter of my life I quit my job, handed notice on my flat, gave the majority of my possessions to charity and told my Family of my decision. The only feelings so far has been excitement and relief. So why the fear now? I believe on reflection it’s because so far it’s about letting go of a life that didn’t work anymore, but travelling is embracing the new and it can be scary.

The point of today’s blog is fear is just another emotion we should embrace and helps us reflect on a situation. For me it helped reconfirm its ok not be certain of a new direction, but that shouldn’t stop us embracing the feeling.

A first lady has a good quote on the subject “Do one thing every day that scares you”- Eleanor Roosevelt

 

A little adventure..Oxford

Quick recap

Not content with my life so I quit my job and home to start again. Wanted to fall back in love with life so have decided to solo travel for a year- tminus 7 weeks.

Oxford

To really live my life I am trying as much as possible. Today despite it only being 90 minutes away I finally went to Oxford. So armed with my credit card I hopped on a bus to explore.

What did I find?Well when non-natives say England has an old historic feel to it, I now understand.  With its towers, castle, stunning stone work, cobbled pavements, old pubs and little tea rooms Oxford personifies old magical England.

For travelers to/or in England Oxford is a must explore. As always a quote to end by the one and only Roald Dhol

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”-Roald Dhol

Calling New Zealanders

I have made a final decision. The first stage of my adventure will be lovely New Zealand.

The Plan (please note I am only doing the northern island on this visit-queue shock! GASP!).

Starting in Auckland, up to the Bay of Islands, down to Hamiliton, east to Hahei then Rotorua. Followed by Mt Mauganui, Whaktane, Gisbourne and then Napier. Inwards to Taupo and down to Wellington. Then up to New Plymouth and Waitomo Caves, with a final stop at Raglan.

Any areas I have missed? would love to hear your experiences. I will leave you all with a Maori proverb that made a lot of sense to me.

“Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain”

 

London…relearning the love part 2

In an earlier post I spoke about relearning my love of London. As I discussed I discovered a great app called Walkster that has suggested walking tours. Today’s tour Belgrave Mews.

So armed with my coat, hat, gloves and contactless card of to Sloane Square I went. What did I discover? my love of architecture. In a very small area there are stunningly different styles of buildings from art deco churches to converted mews. A must walk for those visiting London. For those picture lovers see a few here https://www.instagram.com/quittingmylife/

In other exciting news I got a great credit card for traveling called the Halifax clarity.  For those planning a long trip abroad a must have. As always I will leave you with a quote that struck a chord:

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.” -Frank Wright

So what now???

So as I tell more people about quitting my job and flat in London I am continually asked ‘what are you going to do? ‘ My standard response is whatever the hell I want…. Its amazing to be able to say it and truly mean it (key Cheshire Cat grin).

So what next…

Well so far I have 46 ideas(see pic) and they get added to do daily. Why? Because as people there is so much diversity, and its super exciting. At the moment I am leaning towards solo traveling around the world, but who knows.

I would love to hear about your passions, jobs and experiences that make life that extra bit colourful.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” – Rabindranath Tagore