Travel goals for 2018 — a sort of New Year resolutions…

I meant to write this post in January. But time flies. Work got in the way. My fitness instructor course dominated my free time. And ohh look, it’s March.

Having decided I wanted to start planing my travel ahead, I thought a blog post would help me stay focused on my goals. All my travels are always so adhoc which can sometimes be stressful. Sure, it’s fun to book a daytrip to Copenhagen for a Thursday when it’s already Tuesday, but then I forget I need to factor in time to pack, time to research so I make efficient use of my time there, and post-trip I need to find time to unpack and edit my photos taken before the next trip! [honestly I think if I had access to one superpower in life it would be to making unpacking an automatic thing so I wouldn’t EVER have to do that.]

Instead of a “resolutions” list, I’m setting 2018 Travel Goals:

go to a different continent.

I’m so skint that 99.9% of my trips are to Europe. When I can buy a £20 flight to Germany it leaves me little desire to go elsewhere, until I see some incredible photos of places like New Zealand, South Africa or Vietnam and then I’m overwhelmed with serious #travelenvy.

Me and my nan are already in talks of doing New Zealand for next Christmas… So watch this space ❤️.

visit at least four more Hard Rock Cafés.

So for the past few years I’ve been keeping a checklist of all of the Hard Rock Cafés I’ve been to — sort of a travel bucket list by way of rock stars’ guitars.

I’ve only been checking off the European HRCs, but it’s been difficult to make my way through since they. keep. bloody. adding. more 😠. At one point I was in fact half way through until I realised they’d added a bunch more in a bunch of new countries! I’m currently at 18/29 but I bet the sods have added more since I last checked.

Update: In January I visited Gothenberg, Sweden for two days so that’s already one checked off for the year! That means I’ve got three more to aim for for 2018.

I think we’re doing a drive to Germany in later in the year, via a day in Brussels, so that’ll crack that one open. I hope the remaining two will be Athens and Malta but we’ll see!

do Italy one more time.

In 2017 I managed to do Milan, Lake Como and Venice. I’d really love to see Verona, Rome, Bologna and Pompeii so I hope I get to do one of these this year!

a Scotland roadtrip is in order…

The Cairngorms, Loch Lomond/Trossachs and the Isle of Skye — are unwalked territory that needs to be explored in my realm!

I’ve seen too many beautiful Skye photos on Instagram, especially of those gorgeous Fairy Pools, and I can’t wait to get up there and book myself into a lakeside cabin. To maximise the chance of good weather I think this needs to be a summer vacation!

write a blog post every month.

I’ve been incredibly poor at blogging. Doesn’t help that my career has been shot to bits — started 2017 as a freelancer, which I initially loved but then started to worry about the long term stability. I began an actual proper full time job in the summer last year (back to the corporate grind) — I was raring to go and full of enthusiasm. This quickly died when I was incredibly messed around by that employer and made to feel I was worthless and incapable (srsly…never let ANYONE make you feel that way — even if they pay good money). After three months, I quit. I had nothing to turn to, no job lined up. But turning up at that office to be bullied and lied to was not worth a million pounds. Luckily within a month I’d secured a job at a gym. A complete career change again (well, the last “career change” did not go well as I tried and failed at the army) — but this time I had a good feeling. It’s four months on, and it’s hard work, and there’s been lots to learn, plus I barely earn anything. But I’m happy. My colleagues are wonderful and supportive. I get to work with customers who are trying to better themselves. I don’t dread Mondays (alright, partially because I sometimes forget when Monday is because I work every other weekend 😂).

Anyway, I digress. My career is back on track. I’ve already completed my Fitness Instructor Level 2 qualification. I’ve started doing my Personal Training qualifications. So I’m short on time but have a schedule and a routine and this means I *should* be able to commit to one travel blog a month. Writing soothes me and inspires me — so I definitely want to keep this one up.

read more travel books and subscribe to more travel bloggers.

Especially the books part of this! I started reading some Bill Bryson last year and absolutely loved his writing style. I’ve read some other books on Scandinavian happiness and a tourists guide to Iceland written by a local. I need more! I eat up books like this. Anything that will teach me about other cultures I could devour for breakfast. If fact, if anyone could recommend some more travel literature, ideally along similar styles as good ol’ Bill Bryson, then I’d reaaally appreciate it.

Following bloggers, I’ve definitely been pretty poor at. I write blog posts (once every few months…whoops…) and expect people to read them, but then don’t commit to any engagement in return. Which is backwards, because whenever I happen to come across links on social media to travel posts I can’t wait to get stuck in. I vow, in 2018, to be a better follower/friend/customer. I promise.

That’s all I could think of so far! This post is a work in progress and I’ll definitely be adding to it as I come across more inspiration.

What are your 2018 travel goals? 

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