The Dam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam has a special place in my heart. I felt like it was somewhere I could live for the rest of my life. I felt very safe and the people were so friendly! I think Amsterdam is different to other cities you may travel to, even though it is still fairly touristy, you don't feel overwhelmed walking through the streets as you do in other cities. I felt that there was a calm atmosphere when I was exploring the city. I don't like big groups of people or big cities so if you also get anxious around lots of people, I would recommend taking a trip here.
The only other place within Holland that I visited was Haarlem, which was very peaceful and was quite atmospheric. There isn't necessarily a lot of things to do here but I enjoyed cycling here, walking around the streets and meeting the people, while also eating some delish food.
Paris
Paris - the city of love
Now, I have to say I was not a massive fan of Paris, simply because of the crowds of people, I felt like I always had to be alert - which is understandable in such a big city. But, it did feel slighty unsafe at times.
I think, in any city, you can find places to go which show you the true essence of it, if you go to places which other people may not think to visit, to actually meet the locals. In Paris, I was so lucky to stay in a hotel room which had a balcony outside. There was a music festival on at the time so we could hear some of it from our balcony which was amazing! I loved walking around looking at all the different restaurants and there are a lot of lovely buildings in Paris to see. Although, I felt quite overwhelmed a lot of the time whilst I was there, and I felt like you would have to visit a few times to get a better idea of the city. It is not somewhere that I would personally visit again any time soon, but I like to think that you can gain something from visiting any town or city, whether it be learning about the culture or the language.
Cities aren't my thing, I am definitely a country girl at heart. I like to be amongst nature, away from people - but I never regret anything and I can say that I definitely gained something from visiting Paris.
Moulin Rouge
Street art ~ Barcelona
Barcelona ~ Catalonia, Spain
Spain is somewhere that I have visited many times, and I adore the way of life there. Being able to walk around in the evenings and listen to music fills me with joy. This year, I went to the Primavera music festival in Barcelona ~ where the music ends when the sun appears. Wet Leg, Gorillaz & Jamie XX were a few of the highlights.
I enjoyed awkwardly attempting to speak to locals, drinking beer and playing card games with friends. The street art is visible in parts, while skateboards can be heard round every corner. The Vegan scene is growing in Spain ~ with many eateries now providing baba ganoush, ‘chkn’ pieces and oat milk. A life in Spain is very appealing and I will visit again soon I’m sure.
Barcelona flowers
Glencoe
The scottish Highlands
I have never actually stayed in Glencoe but I have driven past it and stopped off a few times so I have managed to take some photos here. The highlands have a special place in my heart and it will always be special to me. I can't put into words how special some of the places have been that I have visited! I spent a lot of time walking through fields, being completely in the middle of nowhere, where you are guaranteed not to see another sole. At night in the Highlands the sky is completely clear due to there being no light pollution, you can see so many stars! I recommend visiting the Highlands to anyone that likes to go walking or who would appreciate the Scottish landscape, or just to meet some of the lovely people. I have never felt so welcome anywhere else, Inverness is quite a small place so it feels like you know everyone, and staying outside of the city allowed me to meet a lot of people who had very interesting backgrounds and also a lot of toursits, who were all very friendly! I made a lot of friends and memories in the Scottish Highlands.
Berlin
I really enjoyed visiting Berlin. This is definitely somewhere that I would visit again. I think there is a lot of options, in terms of what you are looking for when visiting a city. It is very diverse. At the time when I visited Berlin, I had the mindset of a tourist. I had a long list of all the places that I wanted to visit, and by the end of my trip I still had a lot of places left over that I didn't manage to get to. There are a lot of lovely parks, when you visit some of these places it feels like you have entered another place, and definitely makes you forget you are within a city. I was a vegan when I visited Berlin, and was extremely surprised at how many restaurants that I could find something to eat in, or which were specifically vegan restaurants! Berlin is quite an unusual city I would say, which is something that I like about it. There is a lot of places which are so fascinating if you have a passion for history. I found the transport to be so efficient and it was very easy to just hop onto a bus or a train and be somewhere within minutes. There is so many things that I would like to do here still and I never got a chance to properly connect with the people when I was there.