Andrea goes exploring again!

As I may have mentioned once or twice, I'm a great lover of Haribo. On my travels I decided to explore further Haribo's happy world and discover the experiences of this wonderful sugary treat that others have. I had two criteria when making my selection: firstly, I couldn't have tried them previously in the UK. That's not to say you can't get them in the UK, just that I'd not tried them. Secondly, I couldn't buy the same variety twice. I promised that I would let you know all the different varieties I had whilst travelling and so this post will be dedicated to Haribo: The Champion of Chewy Sweets!  EASTERN EUROPE Budapest Tokarosvert I was obviously so desparate to eat these I forgot to photograph them first! Gyor Veszprem Heviz Keszthely Bratislava These were delicious Debrecen These were awful! Club Napoca These were quite bland but did an excellent job of sticking my teeth together! Sibiu Sighisoara These were probably th...

This time next week I’ll have done my first day back at work. It feels a little strange and I’ve been playing the lottery manically for the last few weeks in an attempt to not have to go back! And yes, I do realise that probably isn’t the best strategy… A week ago I moved into my new flat. I’m still doing stuff to make it feel like mine, which of course is always a challenge in a rental. I’m feeling quite a home here but the Landlord’s curtains are crying out to be replaced by mine and so now I have my sewing machine here this is a work in progress as mine needed altering to fit the windows and I’m super happy to have my bedroom curtains up tonight (my green taffeta are sooooo much nicer than the grey unidentifiable material ones that are currently there!). Having all my things around me brings back memories of hostels and how very different the travelling life is to routine life. As I’ve mentioned previously there are a number of things I really wished that hostel owners would do ...

Today marks another milestone in my year off as I'm currently on a train down to London ready to pick up the keys to my new flat tomorrow. It'll take me a little while to say I'm a full London resident again as next week I'm reversing the trip I took in August last year where I went to drop a load of stuff off at my Mum and Dad's and will be going back to pick it up! Hence easing myself in gently, as it'll be the train trip back next Friday which marks the completion of the move. It's worked out perfectly as my cousin is over from Ireland then too and so I'll get to see her and her family for the first time in years!!  This move back to London all feels a bit weird though and in a way, it's like it's happening to someone else. I know I'm doing it but it feels more like I'm going through the motions rather than fully participating. That's not to say I've not been being active in the move. I have changed a multitude of addresses (wh...

Today marks the start of the last month of my career break. In  May 2017 I remember chatting to a colleague and she said that my year off would be over before I knew it, and whilst I balked at it, I also knew that she had a point; one that today, with only 31 days to go until I'm officially back at work, seems all too real! Today also marks the 11th anniversary of the start of my Round The World trip. I wrote a blog for that trip too and sometimes return to it and reminisce about that wonderful time that I had. I find that travelling alone teaches you a lot about yourself and about life in general and so throughout this trip I tried to remain conscious of the lessons I was learning and I wanted to share them with you. Don't be dismissive of young people. Their exuberance and lack of prejudice is refreshing and we can learn a lot from them. This I learnt from day one in South America. I was old enough to be the mother of many people I met on this trip and in Buenos Aires ne...

Before I headed out on my trip to South America I asked for suggestions of songs to enable me to generate a playlist for the long journeys I had ahead of me. Thank you so much to everyone who 'wrote in' with their tunes! I'm not going to say who sent what, but to let you know I included every recommendation. Along the way I also received some suggestions of good songs, I also thought about some songs I love and wanted to add and so below is the soundtrack that accompanied me on my Latin American Adventure... 1. For once in my life: Stevie Wonder 2. Don't cry for me Argentina: Evita Soundtrack  3. Get me away from here, I'm dying: Belle and Sebastian  4. Por una cabeza: Fablo Hager sexteto  5. Have a nice day: Stereophonics 6. How you remind me: Nickelback 7. You've got a friend: James Taylor 8. Arms open: The Script  9. Something big: Shawn Mendes 10. Cannonball: Damien Rice 11. Mr Blue Sky: ELO 12. Tequila sunrise: Eagles 13. Blue skies: Stan Getz (instrumental...

The final destination of my South American adventure has been Rio de Janeiro. Everyone who hasn't been there warned of the dangers of the city (there's even an app that lets you know the areas where there's been a shooting!) but everyone who has just said what a fantastic city it is and how much they'd enjoyed their visit! Having been here for 4 days, I'm in the same camp as all the others who've visited!  I arrived on Wednesday and ordered an Uber from the airport. You do have to keep your wits about you as even before I'd ordered the cab I had three people come up to me and tell me they were my Uber driver! Anyway, I arrived safely at my hostel and spent an hour or so chatting to Grace, another girl in my dorm room before heading out for food. Thursday was Corpus Cristi here which is a public holiday and in the morning I headed down to the beach, I think along with everyone else in Rio! I have been staying in Leblon in Zona Sul, just along from Ipanema and...