It’s Shakespeare’s birthday weekend and I’m celebrating in his birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon (Will, you don’t look a day over 400). So, in the spirit of all things literary and wanderlustful, I have compiled a list of Shakespeare quotes about travel from the bard’s most famous plays; to inspire you to either pick up a pen or get on a plane (or both). Read more
UK
The Best Birmingham Bookshops for New and Secondhand Books
My passport may be bursting at the seams, but I’m definitely guilty of ignoring what’s in my own back yard. So, since I’ve been back in Birmingham (UK, not US), I’m making it my mission to explore my home city a little more, starting with my favourite places to visit – bookstores! Here’s my list of the best Birmingham bookshops for new and secondhand books, from comic book stores to independent bookshops selling used books; where you can find your next Brummy read: Read more
Chasing Home | A Few Thoughts On Being Between Places
Hey guys. So, I recently participated in the World Nomads Travel Writer Scholarship programme, where I wrote a piece on the theme ‘a place that is unfamiliar to me’. Devastatingly, I didn’t win the scholarship (next year, perhaps?), so here is my entry published here instead, entitled Chasing Home: Read more
A Day in Oxford City Told Through Oxford Dictionary Definitions
Dictionary: A book or electronic resource that lists the words of a language (typically in alphabetical order) and gives their meaning. Inspired by a long (and sunny!) weekend in the home of Oxford University, here is a day in Oxford city as told through Oxford Dictionary definitions… Read more
Spring Foraging Guide for the UK by Sarah Tamsin [guest post]
I feel as if spring has really snuck up on us this year. It’s officially time for people living in Britain (or anywhere temperate in the Northern Hemisphere) to come out of hibernation and start enjoying the extra hours of sunshine. And so, I have written this spring foraging guide to edible wild plants you can find in the UK. Read more
Pico Iyer: Movement is Nothing Until You Stand Still
I’ve been back in the UK now for four months. I’m still reluctant to say ‘back home’, but I’ll admit that it’s slipped off my tongue more than once. Like travel writer Pico Iyer says in his TED talk, ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘Where is home?’ are more complex questions now than they once were. Read more
Article 50 Has Been Triggered… So, Who’s Up for a Pre-Brexit EU Road Trip?
As a former immigrant who has lived and worked in the EU, I have made my personal opinions about Brexit very clear. However, this post isn’t going to be a political tirade. As much as I want to Bremoan about today’s triggering of Article 50, I’m looking for a silver lining.
We all know there’s a lot of crap happening in the world at the moment. And it’s making everyone very, very angry (myself included). I’m not going to give in to complacency, neither am I going to rile against democracy, nor am I going to pretend that it’s all OK.
Instead, I’m going to go looking for the Europe I want to be a part of. Read more
The Great British Cake-Scoff: A Guide to British Food
So, I’ve put on a lot of weight since I’ve moved back to the UK and with very good reason. British food is not an internationally beloved cuisine. In most large cities around the world, you may be able to find a decent pizzeria, Chinese takeaway or Irish pub.
But, you will never ever find a good chippy or a proper British pub outside the British Isles. Read more
The Best Free Museums in London
London has a reputation for being expensive and often with good reason. A standard cup of coffee will cost you a cheeky £3-4, one stop on the tube can go for as much as a fiver and a trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral will set you back eighteen of your English pounds! However, one redeeming factor is that there are hundreds of free museums in London.
Here are just a few of the free museums in London and why you should visit them:
The British Museum
The iconic British Museum is instantly recognisable for the Great Court (pictured above), Read more
Why Moving Back to the UK is Harder Than Moving Away
Yep, I’ve turned into that girl who starts all her sentences with, ‘When I lived in Hong Kong…’ My room is filled with knick-knacks from places I can’t pronounce. I can give advice on jet lag, travelling with only a carry-on and finding cheap flights online. I can speak in different tongues. If you know me, you’re probably bored of my travel anecdotes.
If you don’t know me, I should prefix this post by stating that, up until three months ago, I lived overseas. I spent five years in Hong Kong, with a few intervals in Italy (because I like to be complicated like that). I never planned to leave the UK or live in other countries, especially for so long, but it just kind of happened. Read more