Tag: holiday

What happens in Rome: The Politics of Friendships on Holiday

Posted on by Han_A

With the new year stretched ahead of us, it’s the time of year where the early seeds of holiday planning begin. Looking at flight sales, applying for work annual leave and juggling the social calendar to clear a period for sun, sea and sunscreen.

However, who do you go with? This is the all consuming question which can sometimes take a while to answer as you hop from one Whatsapp conversation to another, trying to find a friend who is free to come on holiday with you. Some people may be happy solo travellers, so may not have this struggle very much, if not, at all. But a lot of us, like to travel in groups on holiday, so this necessary speed bump to holiday booking, will always occur at some point.

Holidays are infamously known to break up friendships, so companionship for one is not one you can choose wisely. I think there must be something about being with friends for an extended period of time, many miles from home, that ramps up the intensity.

There’s also the case of holiday personalities. I usually put people in one of the two categories, based on my experience and observations whilst holidaying myself:

  • ‘Activities’ people – These are people that are bursting with energy and want to tick everything off their tourist attractions list in as little time as possible.They like to use time efficiently, rising early in order to conquer all the sights and ‘must do’ items on their itinerary.
  • The chilled, laid back people – People that like to go with the flow – with the flow usually meaning being relaxed, typically by on a beach or a hotel poolside. They’re not averse to activities but like to prioritise rest.

I’m typically someone that leans towards the second category, although – once I’ve slept in and scoffed my hotel buffet breakfast, I become more of an ‘activities’ person. It just takes time.

I’ve learnt that a good trip balances both approaches and works so that both types of personality (if present on the trip) are catered to. The conflict with friends likely comes when friends don’t want to compromise on either the approaches above. To avoid that, it’s definitely worth compiling an itinerary and talking through what you want the trip to look like ahead of going. Are we going to have one or two days where we just relax and stay at the hotel/resort, for example? Even if you talk about it briefly, it will become clear which category your friend(s) are in and you can note this ahead of the trip.

Ideal situation? You come back home, having had an amazing trip with great memories and a friendship stronger than ever.

________

Any trips planned for this year or destination recommendations? You can view my previous travel diary from my visit to Santorini here.

Photo by Ethan Robertson on Unsplash

Thought of the day: Riding solo

Posted on by Han_A

Recently I’ve been feeling like life is for the taking, however, I’ve been holding back on seizing cool opportunities and experiences I want to have because I have no one to do them with sometimes. Sounds silly, doesn’t it?

Me casually treating myself to brunch on my day off last month

Typically, and inevitably with adult life, you will have moments where everyone seems busy and dates can’t align for certain occasions. Sometimes you spend so long coordinating dates with people for events you miss out on tickets or end up deciding to do something you’re less passionate about as a compromise, for the sake of friendship quality time. Then afterwards there would be these underlying bubbling resentment, as if my friend’s business prevented me from going to event x, when I could have just gone anyway (even if it does mean riding solo)! So, these days I’m starting to learn to still consider going to things anyway.

It’s an attitude that is growing popular amongst many people nowadays, from what I see. It’s likely what is fuelling the rise in ‘solo travelling’, and to be fair, I can see the appeal. Travelling along means fewer compromises and more control over your itinerary and experience. Even outside of travelling, doing things like having meals alone can be nice. A little treat/ dating thy self! It’s a nice way to carve that ever-so-important ‘me time’ that’s needed to reflect and recuperate before jumping back on the fast-moving train of life. When you do it the first few times you get paranoid that the waiter and people around you (who are all – surprise surprise – in groups) are judging you. But over time you care about these things less – on a basic level you’re hungry and want to be fed, is it a crime to be hungry alone? I think not.

Admittedly though, for me anyway, not every experience is for doing alone and there is a beauty in shared experiences that I still love. And practically speaking, there’s safety in numbers (especially when abroad.) I also, as someone who can be socially anxious, always appreciate having company I feel safe around and that I can navigate social situations with. However, being open and willing to do things alone doesn’t necessarily mean having to choose whether to be a loner or social butterfly, it just gives you more options – and we’re a big of those around here!

Thought of the Day: City or countryside?

Posted on by Han_A

Do you fancy yourself more as a city or countryside type of person? I say this as someone, a city girl, who has spent the week retreating in the latter. I stayed in a comfy lodge with a hot tub, surrounded by English greenery, sky and sheep. 🐑

Photo from this week’s trip in Hampshire (SE England) .

At my heart, I think I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city – the endless things to do and see constantly sweeping you off your feet. But every now and then I find myself worn out by this exact thing that often energises me and need to dip out for a change of scenery. It was nice to sit on a patio, look up at the sky and see stars shining in all their glory.

I do wonder, though when I’m older if things will change and I’ll want time to slow down and relax since it gets harder and harder to do so with city and living. I find that I crave time to look back and savour memories but want to balance that with not wasting a day of life, and making new great ones! Is it just me? 😅🤔 Feel free to comment below if you relate.

Travel diaries: Santorini

Posted on by Han_A

Coming back from traveling abroad is quite a weird experience. As your everyday life stands before you and you’re forced into ‘business as usual mode’, you play with the prospect that perhaps your holiday was just a fever dream. (I mean, of course, you know that’s not true and you probably have a million photos to prove it, but you know what I mean. It feels like it might as well be!)

I just came back from a lovely trip to the Greek island of Santorini and am going through such a transition. After a questionable Spring in the UK (weather-wise), it was nice to see the sea, walk in the black sand and experience the beating sun on my skin – even if a momentary experience. I personally can’t tolerate very hot weather for long but since it’s June it was only in the early 20s. Plus, because we were based not far from the coast, the sun was complimented by a frequent breeze which made it feel heavenly.

We had some lovely food (we tried to try as many local foods and dishes as we could!) and explored all the touristy sites on our bucket list for the island (well as much as we could fit into the four-ish days we were there anyway.) These include a dormant volcano which you can access via boat and climb, Oia (the lovely place all over social media with the blue domes) – where sunset watching is heavily recommended, and visiting the island’s hot springs. (They’re not that hot at this time of year apparently but do get hot during peak summer.)

Getting the balance between rest and relaxation can be quite tricky when you go abroad – some people are like energizer bunnies wanting to do things in every crevice of time each day allows whilst others like to take a more chilled approach and go with the flow. It’s a personal preference as to what you do so there’s obviously no wrong way to go about it. The only issue is when preferences clash with the people you’re holidaying with! I’m probably in more of the latter camp but, luckily for me, I was on the same page with my travel companions (who also happened to be family 🙂 ) so it made for a smooth and highly enjoyable trip. Some photo highlights are below 📸: