It’s that time again! That time where I wonder what happened to the past month and swear it was even faster than the last…
Since my blog isn’t chronological, I like to keep a monthly update going so you can get to know me a little better and keep things in order.
Here’s to July!
Destinations
Unlike June, which was a fairly sedentary (but surprising) month, I whipped out the passport and the travelling gear and had a ton of different adventures in July.
North Berwick, Scotland – 1 Day
My restless feet took me to North Berwick, a half an hour train ride from Edinburgh, for a bit of a city escape. I plan to write about it soon, since I love this little seaside town so much!
Stockholm, Sweden – 5.5 Days
Next up the big adventure began. If you haven’t heard of TBEX it’s basically a conference for travel bloggers and industry players to get together for some motivation, work chat and fun times. I decided to attend my first TBEX this July in Stockholm and it was awesome! TBEX confirmed to me how much I want to be a part of this industry, so now I just have a ton of work ahead of me figuring out exactly how.
My first time in Stockholm I didn’t do much other than go to Vaxholm, a beautiful island in the archipelago. I more than made up fthat lack of exploration this time and wrote about it all in an Introductory Guide to Stockholm. Everything you need to know should you ever want to go (and you should).
Luleå, Sweden – 4 Days
After TBEX I went on a trip organised by Visit Sweden and Visit Luleå, to explore the Luleå archipelago. This place is seriously awesome. It’s more likely to be considered as a winter destination since it’s in Swedish Lapland, but it packs a punch as a summer spot too. Kayaking, fat biking, delicious food and adventure, I couldn’t have asked for more! I’ll be posting about all of this very soon, and I really hope you check it out.
Copenhagen, Denmark – 1.5 Days
I’ve said before that I’m terrible at sticking to one place when I travel. I always look for something nearby to squeeze in and this trip was no exception. A quick search with Skyscanner told me that flights from Copenhagen back to Edinburgh were much cheaper than from Stockholm, and the train trip there ws pretty cheap too. So it was off to Copenhagen for a whirlwind day and a half! I think I’ll have to go back to this city, because it had such a cool vibe from the minute I got there. Plus food.
Almería, Spain – 4 Days
I arrived back in Edinburgh late on a Friday and flew off again to Spain on the Monday, with a busy weekend of wedding venue searching and planning in between. I’ll never complain when I have nothing to do again!
Almería was insanely hot for the week I was there, up to almost 40 degrees celcius. I had a great time catching up with friends and visiting my favourite places though. Awhile ago I made a lit of my 5 best places to eat in Almeria, and I now have some more to add to that list!
Highlights of July
Luleå adventure
My adventure in Luleå was a HUGE highlight, and I seriously can’t wait to share more about it. if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you’ll be able to see a small bit about it. And blogs coming soon!
Wedding planning
The other personal highlight was choosing a wedding venue! Yay!
Lowlights of July
Getting tired on the road
By the time I got to Copenhagen I was exhausted, and I was down to travelling by myself again. As much as I enjoyed my time there I was also wanting it to hurry up so I could just get home and sleep, which I knew wasn’t going to happen because I had a busy weekend and then flying to Spain on the Monday! I stayed in Generator Hostel in Copenhagen which is meant to be one of the best, and made absolutely no effort to talk to anyone at all!
The travel lesson is the not try and cram so much into such a short time (but I’m terrible at this) and also that it’s ok to sit in a case for half a day, when you only have a day and a half in a city, because it might be just a memorable experience as anything else and make you happy. Done.
Forgetting to book a flight
Yup. I did that. Oops. A couple of months ago I sat down and booked everything I needed for my July trip. Flights, accommodation, transport, everything. Or so I thought. Turns out I completely missed one flight, and I didn’t realise until the afternoon before! By that point the way I initially planned to get to Almería (a combination of the cheapest and not the most inconvenient but not exactly most convenient way) was too expensive and I took a more direct route at a much higher cost, just to enable me to still get there on the same day!
The travel lesson is to have a proper list and mark it off when booking so much at once, and DOUBLE CHECK IT. What can I say, I was in Spain and tapas were calling me…
Wedding Planning
Ok so picking the venue may have resulted in me having a complete meltdown… but I’m happy now! I’m trying my best to not be a crazy bride-to-be, but holy crap this wedding thing is stressful.
Where am I and what’s coming up?
I’m back in Edinburgh once again of course, and staying put for the month because… its Festival time!!! Edinburgh is a festival city, with 12 festivals throughout the year and August is the busiest month. I’ll be attending the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and not to forget my favourite, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe! Things start kicking off this week and I’m so excited!
Popular posts for July
Why I Only Travel with Carry-On Luggage (Plus Tips) has by far been the most popular post in July. It’s also fitting since I undertook my entire 12 day Swedish and Danish adventure where I needed casual, corporate, party and sport clothes all in one, plus electronics, with just my [easyazon_link identifier=”B00IMXQ8Z8″ locale=”US” tag=”migrmiss21-20″]Osprey Farpoint 40L Pack[/easyazon_link].
Other popular posts have been Walking the Backbone of the Dragon in Rural China, about my adventures walking in the mountains, and A Kiwi’s First Time in London, a flashback post to 3 years ago!
Top Instagram photo
My top photo of July was this one from Stockholm!
Blogger Shout Out
I’m going to use this space to do a shoutout for posts and bloggers I come across and love during the month. Since I haven’t been keeping track this month though, I want to toot my own horn a little and link to this post on Stuff.co.nz, a New Zealand news and media website, and one of the biggest! It’s an interview I did for them about travel and blogging, and I’d love for you to check it out!
As always, let me know if you stopped by, I’d love to hear from you!
Sonja x
P.S. This post contains a couple of affiliate links. There’s no cost to you but it helps me out!
Hi Sonja! I just wanted to say thank you for an amazing blog. I’ve been living in the UK for the past few years too and am now making a big move to southeast Asia to obtain a TEFL certification and teach English. Your blog really builds my confidence in my decision to travel more and seek new adventures. Thanks so much and keep up the great work!
Aww thanks Morgan that was such a lovely message! I’m really glad my blog has been of help to you, and I hope it continues to be so! I’ve loved teaching English so I really hope you enjoy it too, and Southeast Asia is amazing! Keep travelling xx