Hollingworth Lake is situated in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, England.
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A bit about the history of Hollingworth Lake
The lake was first constructed to serve as the primary water source for Rochdale Canal, but in the 1860s it turned into a well- liked tourist destination.
Early in the 20th century, it started to lose popularity as a tourist attraction and was used as a training camp for the second World War.
Following World War II, Rochdale Council acquired the reservoir and boating rights and designated the surrounding areas as a country park in 1974, giving rise to the name Hollingworth Lake and Country Park, which is now a popular tourist destination once again.
I can’t believe I didn’t visit this location until earlier this year. It is one of the most beautiful places to grab a moment’s peace and quiet and another great find on the outskirts of my city.
I’d say this is a great place for those living or staying in Manchester seeking tranquility, and it’s only a 40-minute drive away from the city centre
Additional information
There are plenty of facilities here, including its very own caravan park. Take a look here to find out more and make the most of your day trip here.
Earlier this year, 2002, in May, I travelled to Bangor. I went there with some big expectations because it’s the oldest city in Wales. You’d think that I would have a tonne to tell you, but I’m sorry I don’t since, in all honesty, I wasn’t all that impressed on this trip and I couldn’t get to some of the places I wanted to visit.
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It was a little run-down
It looked pretty dingy and run-down, at least in the city centre, and there were lots of boarded-up shops, which is really sad for a once-thriving city.
Since I just visited the centre and not too far outside of it, I can only report on those areas. Given that I was only there for a single day, there may be far more to it and several locations to find that I am unaware of. Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m sure there are many that genuinely enjoy Bangor, but I suppose it depends on individual tastes. But nonetheless, I did find some beauty spots.
Things start to look up
I remember Googling the location to see what places and things I could visit around the city centre or within walking distance of the center; normally, I take buses and venture out, but I didn’t want to do that; I wanted a fairly relaxed day without having to rely on public transportation, and though there weren’t many recommendations near the city center, I decided the things recommended would suffice.
As a traveler, I have an important rule I go by, and it is that no matter where I go, regardless, I must make the most of the adventure and look for all the positives of a place. So I started to seek out some of those recommendations I had found within walking distance.
Garth Pier
Garth Pier is a listed structure and the second-longest pier in Wales, ninth overall in the British Isles. It is just a short 14-minute walk from the centre of Bangor.
There was a 50p charge to entire and no time retrictions at least when I went.
The pier and its surrounding area were beautiful.
After a walk down the pier, I walked around the cute residential area and found this little spot of beach down an alleyway and ate my lunch here; if I had known this part of the day would be the best highlight of my day, I would have stayed a little longer, but the curious Annie in me wanted to get going with zeal to see what else was on offer.
where I ate my lunch
Port Penrhyn Harbour
Port Penrhyn Harbour was once a major exporter of slate from Penrhyn Quarry, which was once the world’s largest slate quarry.
There wasn’t that much to do here, but it was nice to walk around and enjoy the views of the mountains in the distance.
Lon Las Ogwen
Now this is the most disappointing part of my trip because I was really looking forward to visiting Lon Las Ogwen and the pictures looked absolutely breathtaking.
I couldn’t find this place for some reason and ended up here with no idea where I was, but it definitely wasn’t Lon Las Ogwen.
I had Google Maps on to help me find this place, but it kept leading to a set of gates that were closed, and then to a restricted residential area that I couldn’t get access to. So it ended up just sitting here. It was so quiet. I was here for almost 40 minutes, and I didn’t see a single person, just birds. It was actually quite blissful, but it was a little chilly. I couldn’t help but think how beautiful this little spot would be on a day when the tide was in.
As I wasn’t successful in finding this place, you may want to take a look here to discover more.
Besides the above-mentioned, I didn’t really do much else besides browsing in some shops and purchasing a new jumper before heading back to the train station.
Other recommended places I didn’t get to visit
Penrhyn Castle
I wanted to visit Penrhyn Castle, but unfortunately for me, on the day I went, the castle was closed and was only open over the weekends, although now it is back to its normal opening hours. The castle and its gardens look so beautiful, and I’m looking forward to visiting one day in the near future.
Menai Suspension Bridge
I also wanted to visit Menai Bridge; however, it was a 20-minute bus ride away or a 45-minute walk, and given my limited time, I wasn’t able to do so.
The Menai Suspension Bridge, which was built by Thomas Telford, is connected with the Britannia Bridge, built by Robert Stephenson, and connects Anglesey to mainland Gwynedd. It is a popular tourist attraction. The Swellies are located between the two bridges and are popular for their swirling whirlpools and ever-changing tide currents.
Overall thoughts
Overall, it wasn’t the best day trip. However, I would definitely go back to see the sites I missed I think had I gotten to visit these places, it would have added a lot more value to my trip. Nonetheless, it was good to get out and visit a new destination.
I also thought it was a little unfortunate that over the years, the oldest city in Wales has not received as much investment as other cities have, but I’m happy to learn that there are fresh plans and finances for a redevelopment. So I’m quite looking forward to seeing what will happen in the future in this city.
All in all I would definitely re- visit with a bit more organisation.
Portland Basin Museum is located in a nineteenth-century warehouse in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester near a beautiful canal side.
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I visited here with my mum in 2020, just before the first COVID-19 national lockdown for England, hence us wearing our face masks in the photos.
Since I’m blogging more about locations in and around my city, I recently discovered the images on my old phone and decided that this museum deserved a worthy spot for Manchester my blog.
Stepping back into the 1920s
The museum has exhibitions where you can experience what life was like back in the 1920s in Tameside.
The 1920s street
The 1920s Street
We had a great time exploring the street of the 1920s.
My mum, who educated me with her own knowledge and recollections, made the trip much more informative and enjoyable.
My mum, who is in her sixties, was able to tell me about several things that were still in use in the 1950s and 1960s. I loved hearing about all her memories and stories as she recalled them from each of the items.
It was lovely to see how her expression changed when she came across items that brought back her memories. She was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t see her face, but I could see that her eyes were sparkling.
Exploring the industrial heritage and farm
We had the opportunity to learn about the region’s historical industrial heritage and what it was like to work in the mines by hearing personal accounts from those who had done so.
Life on the farm
There is also a part where you may read in detail about the early days of the local farming.
We thought this was very intriguing.
Additional information
There is much more to do and learn about here in addition to what has already been covered, but I want to make this post as brief as possible.
The portland basin Museum, in my opinion, is a great place for visitors of all ages and has a lot to offer.
Admission:
Admission is free and the museum it’s usual opening hours are 10am to 4pm accept on Monday when it is closed.
Click here to find out more information if you plan to visit.
Since I didn’t have many pictures to offer in the other blog, I thought I’d share more pictures on how breathtakingly gorgeous this place is now that I’ve been on numerous occasions.
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I’m constantly in awe of this place because there are so many various circular pathways, and every time I come here, I discover something new.
Greenfield Reservoir Greenfield Reservoir
One of the greatest attractions, the trinniacle (a stack of rock formations), has eluded me up until now; however, my sister and her husband recently found it, and my sister has promised to accompany me there, which I’m super excited about. Additionally, there are a few locations I have yet to visit that I have found on Instagram.
There are magical hidden waterfalls everywhere, and it’s like the gift that just keeps giving.
Also, I finally hiked right up to the top of Chew Valley. It was the first time on top, and I walked across the moorland there. The views of Dovestone Reservoir were stunning.
Chew Valley
If you want to learn more about the history of Dovestones, click here. Thinking about visiting? You can check out my last blog, where you can find details of how to get here.
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I recently skydived. I’m still in a state of disbelief! I never truly envisaged doing it. EVER!! So how did I end up doing one of the strangest things I’ve ever done?
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All photography was done by the photographer at Black knights
Why I went Skydiving
At a family memorial gathering last year, I chatted with a younger cousin, who was 20 years old at the time. We were talking about her turning 21 when I asked her what she planned to do to celebrate. She asked if I would go skydiving with her because no one else would and she wanted to go skydiving. I hesitated for a long time before responding with a positive yes.
I agreed because, in my 40s, I wanted to conquer fear and venture entirely outside of my comfort zone, and what a terrific way to begin! (Keep in mind that this is after a few brandies).
Oh no, what did I commit to? I thought as I woke up the next morning……I still had a few months to wrap my mind around it, despite me feeling like this. However, boy, did those months fly by so quickly. Before I knew it, it was August 2022, and the day had finally arrived for me to skydive.
On the day of my skydive
Surprisingly, neither of us was anxious, and we had laughed and talked the entire one and a half-hour ride journey to the centre.
We waited around for a few hours for the weather to improve, but even then, neither of us felt nervous. I thought for sure the nerves would start to kick in once we arrived, but nope, not at all.
Preparations for our skydive
We were the first two students summoned that morning to jump. We had already decided that I would be the first to take the leap, with special instructions from my young cousin that I wasn’t allowed to scream in case it deterred her from participating lol.
Our instructors first met us and took us to a building where we put on our jumpsuits and received instruction on our exit and landing positions.
I was somewhat familiar with it because we had already viewed a quick training video on it at the centre earlier that morning.
My instructor was a really nice, friendly guy. although I am going to call him P for privacy purposes. I was happy that my wish had come true because I had read many positive reviews about him and hoped that he would be my instructor. I was also quite happy to find that he had been a skydiver for 35 years. This was certainly great to hear, seeing as he was in charge of pulling the parachute.
After meeting my instructor, I was introduced to my photographer for the day, another nice and friendly gentleman. Again, I won’t use his name for privacy purposes. Following a brief interview, the filming and photographs began. It was like a “lights, camera, action” moment.
The moment of the big jump
There it was.There was nothing left to do but board the aircraft and prepare to exit. And to be honest, I was still astonished by how composed we both were. At this moment, neither of us felt anxious, but that was about to change- at least for me.
As we reach 11000ft P helps me put my goggles on whilst giving me some final suggestions and advice, and then shuffles us towards the door so that my legs are dangling out of the plane. I’m now a little nervous at this point, and I’m not sure if I want to do it now.
The photographer jumps, and as I watch him fall through the clouds, I find myself falling through the air with a deep stomach drop, gasping for air, panicked and nearly losing exit position. This is not fun.
P then gives me a comforting pat, releases my hands from the harness, and extends my arms so they are in the flying position. At first, I was a little hesitant, but after a few seconds, I stretched my hands out and believed in P; I felt like I was flying, and it was such a lovely experience, and then the parachute opened.
The journey with the parachute was extremely enjoyable, however I did experience some motion nausea. As a matter of fact, I felt queasy for at least two hours afterwards. Oh, and as I descended on the parachute, I had the worst ear pain I’ve ever had. I occasionally have ear discomfort, generally when I’m on a descending aeroplane, but never as bad as this.
Verdict: would I do it again?
I would absolutely do it again despite loathing the first few seconds of it, feeling queasy, and getting ear pain.
The best and most liberating thing I’ve ever done!!
The only thing I would change is the height; I would go for the 15000ft rather than the 11000ft because you get a 60 second free fall instead of just a 38 second free fall. I think I would have benefited more from this since I only started to really enjoy the last few seconds of the free fall.
Would you ever do a skydive or have you ever done one?
If you want to skydive in the UK I highly recommend Black Knights Parachute Centre . I also recommend booking a photographer, they capture every moment of my experience. I received a hundreds of amazing photos and three videos. (This is not a paid advertisement, I just highly recommend this company)
I wrote this blog today because, one, I want to be transparent with my readers and Instagram followers, and two, society sure has a way of tearing people down, hopefully this post may help someone who has felt, or feels the same.
A traveller’s life is frequently very different from a person’s reality. The way I come across is important to me, not for the approval of others but to stay true to myself.
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I started travelling after a series of challenging events in my late 30’s which had caused me to re-evaluate my life at 38 years old, only to find that everything I had been working towards wasn’t really what I had wanted, but fitted rather nicely with the expectations of society. Sure, I had the means to live in a lovely two-bedroom highrise apartment, which I referred to as my penthouse (it wasn’t 🤣); a nice car; a bachelor’s degree; and a diploma in the healthcare sector, along with a nice title job as “A Clinical Support Worker.” It all sounds really nice, doesn’t it? But what did it matter? Because in spite of accomplishing all of this, it would be diminished within seconds when people learned I was almost 40, childless, not married, and single. as if these were the only things that defined or valued me as a woman or even a human being.
I shouldn’t have cared what other people thought of me, but I was so insecure, unhappy, and completely dissatisfied with my life that I did.
This put me on a path of self-sabotage and I knew I had to take a deep look into my life and re-evaluate it.
Self-evaluation of my career
My self-evaluation of my life came at 38 years old, after being diagnosed with depression. At first, I thought my diagnosis was triggered by my late dad’s transition a few years earlier, though I do think this was just the last straw, but after my self-evaluation, I realised I had been unhappy for several years before this occurred.
My dad ❤
The truth is, I hadn’t been living as my true self for several years because I valued what others thought of me far more than what I thought of myself. As a result of this, I made decisions and choices based on what was more acceptable in society, which ultimately resulted in me betraying myself for years.
I hadn’t really wanted to be a healthcare professional but a dancer who travelled the world, but it was a back-up plan more acceptable in society and it didn’t get frowned upon like my dancing desire, so at just 19 years old, I made the decision to choose healthcare as a career.
I started out as a pharmacy counter assistant and later became a qualified pharmacy dispenser, and then, at 22, I decided to study for a health and social care diploma and later gained a bachelor’s degree. From here, I worked in hospitals and did a number of healthcare roles, but was never satisfied for more than a few years in any of them. I suddenly found there was nowhere else to move because I didn’t have the desire to work in the healthcare sector anymore and found myself stuck.
While I was feeling lost and stuck in the face of my true reality, I began to subtract back to a time when I was truly happy and had a full zest for life. I was taken back to around 20, just about the same age I had dropped my desire to dance and travel. It was here that I realised the reason I had been unhappy was because I never followed my dreams.
I wasn’t bothered about the dancing anymore, but the passion to travel never left.
I realised I had to pursue this long awaited dream.
Self-evaluation on having children
I often pretended I didn’t want children. It was better to be judged as selfish or be seen as strange than to have people pressuring me about my biological clock when I would say I wasn’t sure if I wanted children. This would trigger anxiety within me because I felt I was running out of time, and I sure didn’t want it up for open discussion for everyone to have an opinion on, especially since I didn’t ask for their opinion.
The truth here was I didn’t even know if I wanted kids, but during my self-evaluation I realised I didn’t ever think to ask myself why I even wanted children. To be honest, I couldn’t even answer my own question. The only thing that came to mind was that it is simply what society expects of me, and the idea did not originate in me but was embedded as an expectation by adults from being a small child.
I realised I wasn’t really bothered; I could take them or leave them and know I’d be fine either way.
Self-evaluation on being single and Unmarried
Once I realised I wasn’t too concerned with having children, I didn’t need to do much self-evaluation about marriage or being single and rushing to meet someone. Though I did ask myself why I wanted to be married or be with someone, this was easy. I wanted a best friend with whom I could share my life experiences.
However, since I wasn’t too concerned about children, I realised there wasn’t a rush to meet someone. More than this, the years of betraying myself caused me to actually want to figure out who I really am so I can know what I really want, and for this part, it requires me to be single for a little while.
The true version of me
Today I am 41 years old, and for the first time in my adult life, I have started to live in the world as no one other than myself. I have failed trying to be someone other than myself, and I have found I do a pretty damn good job at being me.
Since my self-evaluation, I’ve given up my apartment and car to free up money to do more of the things I like. I’ve given up my health care job because there wasn’t much point in continuing something I wasn’t enjoying. Now I work part-time in hospitality as well as travelling abroad during my holidays and travelling around the UK during my days off.
I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I’m just winging it and making it all up as I go along, but I’d rather be happy, authentic, and live my truth than be fake and pretend I have it all figured out.
If I’m going to last in this world, it has to be by living as my true authentic self because it is painful, exhausting, and completely unfulfilling otherwise.
One last thing….
My travel journey isn’t just about how many countries or places I visit; it’s about finding out who I really am, what I want, and for inspiration for my next career move. This is largely why I chose to travel solo.
Besides this, I am practising on a daily basis to choose a deliberate life filled with deliberate and satisfying choices that feel good and satisfying to me, instead of considering the options and beliefs of others like I did when I was younger.
What better way to end a trip to Spain with a visit to my favourite city again, Barcelona?
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How I got to Barcelona from Loret De Mar
I took the bus from the main bus terminal in Loret De Mar and purchased my ticket on the day at the bus station. It was a direct service where I had to pick time slots to travel to and from the city and was also was given designated seat numbers. The lady behind the counter explained that it was important that I stuck to my seats and times as it was a busy bus service.
The journey took around one hour and cost €10.90 for a return ticket.
Completely lost with no GPS, I wanted to cry
I arrived at The Barcelona Nord Bus Station to find I couldn’t get a GPS signal on Google maps. Before I knew it, almost an hour of my 6 hours had passed and I was still no closer to resolving the issue. You can only imagine my frustration, so I decided to walk whilst keeping it on in the hope of it picking up my location.
Hooray! It worked well, for all of two minutes, and after I had walked well away from the bus station, I was completely lost!
At this point, I felt so anxious and my mind was so clogged in panic mode that for the next few minutes, the vulnerable child-like part of me took over and I wanted to cry. But then, as always, the more mature and wise part of me shows up to reassure and nourish that vulnerable side of me, and then I was fine.
Letting go of resistance
I often have little moments of feeling anxious when travelling solo. I don’t see them as a bad thing, but rather a chance for personal development, growth, and confidence. In these moments, I have to take a break and think about what my path of least resistance will be. It usually involves stopping for a coffee.
Once I’m calm, my mind becomes unclogged and I’m able to think more logically and find solutions. My conclusion here was that, since I knew the name of the station to get back to, it wasn’t really being lost and I could always maybe get a bus or uber back to the station.
I came out of the coffee shop with the intention of making an adventure out of being lost.
Once the resistance was gone, everything started to fall into place.
Here’s what happened:
I found Basílica de la Sagrada Família
First of all, I came out of the coffee shop and walked whilst enjoying the view. In the distance, I could see the top of a spiked building. As I got closer I realised it was the Basílica de la Sagrada Família.
I didn’t get to go inside since I was limited for time, but I was so excited to see it since I’d never seen it before.
I started to see buses that would take me back toNord Bus Station
Whilst enjoying my stroll around the city, buses started to appear with Nord Bus Station highlighted on the front. The place I needed to go back to to catch my bus.
Not only this, I started to see several buses with Lorer De Mar highlighted on the front. The place where my hotel was where I was staying.
The truth is, I reckon many of them had gone past me, but in my clogged up state of mind, I wasn’t able to see the apples for the trees.
Google maps started working again
I just happened to try Google Maps in a final attempt and noticed I had automatically been signed out of my Google account and needed to sign back in. I am not sure why this happened. It has never happened before.
Free to roam and find all the places of interest
Now Google Maps is working again. I was able to find the places I wanted to visit. This meant I could revisit the Gothic Quarter.
Last time I was here, I remember feeling mesmerised by this medeival quaint neighbourhood. I had been hoping to revist again on this day. I’m so glad I got to visit again, but after spending around half an hour here, I decided I had actually enjoyed being lost, so I turned off Google Maps and went back to wondering freely.
I couldn’t really tell you where I ended up roaming, but it was so nice to wonder so freely in this beautiful city, and being lost in Barcelona ended up being my favourite part of my entire trip.
Unfortunately, my phone’s battery was low, so I couldn’t take pictures of my adventures, but I can confirm that this is an incredible place to get lost in.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my solo trip to Spain.
Day 3 of my trip was spent in the beautiful medieval town of Tossa De Mar.
Tossa de Mar’s location
Tossa De Mar is located on the coast of the Costa Brava and sits around 103 kilometres from Barcelona and only around 100 kilometres from the French border.
The beautiful town is filled with cobbled streets and is constructed around an incredibly ancient castle. Besides this, the town is surrounded by mountains and beautiful green valleys, which adds to its beauty.
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A bit about the history of Tossa De Mar
The beautiful town is filled with cobbled streets and is constructed around an incredibly ancient castle. Besides this, the town is surrounded by mountains and beautiful green valleys, which adds to its beauty.
It is filled with a beautiful network of medieval paths, passageways with embedded shops and restaurants, as well as ancient houses.
This part of the old town is known as Villa Vella.
How I got here from Lloret De Mar
I took the bus from the main bus station in Lloret De Mar. The journey took around 40 minutes, and it cost €8.20 for a return ticket.
On arrival in Tossa de Mar
I strolled through the beautiful, quaint streets and did a spot of shopping until I reached one of the towers and started the elevated walk.
From here, I walked along the castle walls.
Tossa De Mar Lighthouse
After walking along the castle walls, I made my way up to the lighthouse.
The lighthouse was built in 1917 and sits at the highest point of Tossa de Mar. It is the headquarters for the Maritime Museum, where people can learn all about the evolution of lighthouses in the Mediterranean Sea.
View of the coast from the lighthouse
Esglèsia Vella de Sant Vicenç
The views approaching the lighthouse are stunning!
After the lighthouse visit, I made my way back down towards the beach, where I ate at a lovely beachfront restaurant called Da Giovanni. I would highly recommend it. It is very reasonably priced and has nice, friendly staff.
I spent the perfect end to my day trip with an hour at the beach overlooking the castle.
Lloret De Mar is a former fishing town on the Costa Brava in Spain’s Catalonia region. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Costa Brava. I could clearly see why as I walked around and discovered the area myself.
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It boasts a stunning, lively stretch of beach lined with bars along its promenade, along with hidden beach spots and rocky coves.
As I wandered around the colourful streets in the early morning, I got the feeling this place could become pretty lively. In fact, I had read this was a place of a vibrant nightlife where places to drink are open 24/7 between the months of May and September.
I’m not really one for going out when I travel, (nor at home tbh) so I can’t tell you about all about the bars and clubs, but I can tell you I did see several pretty cool looking ones, from the outside, of course 😉. As well as this, there are plenty of restaurants, coffee shops , supermarkets and shops to wander around in.
Although I was staying in Lloret De Mar, I only got to explore here for one day because I had plans to travel to other places. Therefore, I didn’t really get to explore as much as I had initially hoped.
After wandering around the shops, I began to look for The Parish Church Of Sant Romà, which conveniently for me, was around a 5 minute walk from where I was in the centre.
The Parish Church OfSant Romà(Iglesia de San Román de Lloret)
After a few missed turns I eventually come to the Church Of Sant Romà, the patron Saint of Lloret De Mar.
The church has two very different types of architecture. The forefront part is in the Gothic style and was built around the years of 1509 and 1522. While the other part is strikingly colourful and influenced by the Catalan modernisation movement which started in development at the end of the 19th century.
How beautiful is the architecture? Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit inside because I arrived just as it was closing.
If you would like to know more about this place, visit it here.
D’en Plaja Castle
After a visit to the church, I took a stroll along the beach and went to D’en Plaja Castle.
The hilltop Castle is located at the end of Sa Caleta beach and is one of Loret De Mar’s best features.
It’s not a castle!
I never knew this at the time, but since returning home and researching a little more about the castle, I learnt that it wasn’t a castle at all, but a summer home. The home was constructed in 1935 by Girona industrial magnate Narcís Plaja, and an architect named Isidor Bosch.
It apparently caused a fair bit of controversy amongst the locals at first, but has since become one of Lloret De Mar’s favourite features.
The most beautiful coastal views
Once past the Castle, there is a foot path I walked along that took me to the most scenic coastal line views!
The further I walked along the path, the fewer people I came across until I came to a perfect beauty spot to just sit in the stillness and enjoy all the surrounding areas. It was just pure bliss!
The best part about it was it was completely unexpected. I only found it through curiosity, as I wondered what was beyond.
The trail goes all the way to a beautiful town called Tossa De Mar, though it is a 12-km walk, so it would take a few hours. It is said to be an incredibly magical walk that I would have loved to have done had I known. I did, however, visit Tossa De Mar by bus, which I will share with you in a later post.
Thank you for visiting my blog today, its much appreciated.
Hi everyone! Hope your all having a great start to the week. It’s been a little while since I wrote to tell you I plucked up the courage to travel abroad again but, I’ve finally got around to writing the blogs. 🙌🏾
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I was all excited about my trip, that was until the day before, when I started to find fault with everything.
Vaccination proof
Although being fully vaccinated wasn’t required at the time of my trip, I had gone and got a booster so I could travel freely without having to list the location of where I was staying, then be possibly called at any point in time of my stay to take tests. However, I had noticed that night that the NHS had me listed at my old address. I wasn’t sure if when my covid passport was scanned, it would show my address, and if so, if this would be a problem.
I decided I would just have to call the NHS service in the morning and find out if it was going to be a problem. If so, I figured I would just have to go through reluctantly as unvaccinated.
I managed to ring NHS customer services whilst at the airport. I was told the scanned documents might be okay. Not exactly the best reassuring words are they?
Holiday insurance not validated
As if discovering the issues of my vaccination wasn’t enough, I found out I would be travelling on invalid holiday insurance and this wasn’t anything I could fix. 🤦🏽♀️
As I read through my insurance policy, it prompted me to ring my new doctors, where I had just recently registered two weeks prior. The receptionist informed me that my registration was still in the process stage, which meant I was not a registered patient yet. And with an hour to go until closing time and a full surgery of patients, this was highly unlikely to happen today. Therefore, not being registered with a doctor invalidated my insurance!
Train cancellation
As I arrived at the train station, I discovered my train had been cancelled. It was a Sunday, so the next train available wasn’t until another hour! Having been advised to get there at least an hour and a half early, this would make me arrive just half an hour before, which panicked me a little. So instead, I decided to purchase a ticket and take a tram to the airport, then I discovered this was going to take more than an hour and I would arrive later than the train!🙄
Travel money card blocked
A few days before travelling, I got myself a travel money card. When I travel, I always take my debit card, some exchanged currency in cash and a travel card for extra precaution. Did you ever read what happened on my trip to Salou? I’ve learnt since my rookie travel days. Well, clearly I haven’t, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog ha.
I think I may have caused my card to block. I was supposed to activate my card at 10am on the morning of my travel day, but me being me, tried to do it before and blocked the card! I rang customer services from the airport and they unblocked it for me and gave me a new pin, but it still appeared to be blocked.
I tried to use the card on the plane but it wouldn’t work. Then again, when I arrived in Spain at my hotel, it wouldn’t work. Also, I was blocked on the card App. Therefore, I couldn’t rectify anything.
Great! Now I had no backup card, I thought.
Everything is always working outif you release resistance
One of the things that keeps showing up in my life, is that everything is always working out, no matter what the situation is…… Here’s what happened when I gave in to all the resistance throughout this travel day.
2. When I realised I was going to be late for boarding I jumped off the tram and took a taxi and arrived exactly an hour and a half early (the time required to get there).
3. On arrival in Spain, the lady took one look at my covid passport and allowed me to walk through and nothing was scanned.
4. Whilst I was blocked on the card app and couldn’t use the card to pay with, I discovered I could withdraw cash from it.
5. As for travel insurance, well, I still travelled with invalid travel insurance and a blessing to me, I didn’t need it, because everything worked out.
Arrival
After, let’s call it an eventful day, I finally reached my hotel at around 6pm. I stayed at the bluesea Montevista Hawaii , a 3 star cheap hotel which provided great value for money…. I honestly don’t like to spend much money on hotels, especially since I’m never in them.
My entire 4 night trip cost me £164 at onthebeach.com, this included flights, transfers and hotel. And get this, the hotel was All-inclusive. 🤣
As I arrived at 6pm, there wasn’t that much for me to do other than take a shower and try out the hotel’s buffet-style restaurant, which was great with a good selection of food and drinks. Not long after this, after an episode of Good girls,I was ready to sleep and that was the end to my first night.
Thank you for visiting my blog today, I hope you enjoyed reading.
NattyTravels 