Blogs from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Welcome everyone to my travelling website! On this page you will be able to read about where I've been and what I've seen, and I'll try to upload photos too so that you can have a look at all the amazing sights for yourselves. So come back at the end of January when my adventure starts! Top tip - if you click on the "Subscribe" button, you'll receive an email every time I add something new.... read more

I've been losing my zen-like detachment increasingly over the last week. With only a day left here, emotions and stress levels are running high, and part of me just wants to crawl underneath a table and hide. I moved out of my flat today, i.e. all of my belongings left and now live in a storage place, but I'm still here, with a computer and an air mattress, and that's pretty much it! I'm getting to the stage where I can't take much more of this letting go and farewell process, it's really exhausting emotionally. Once again I'm reminded of Inanna's journey to the Underworld, the symbolic stripping away of all the outer layers - home, possessions, stability, friends, status - before she can embrace her destiny and her soul's path. On a similar note, I've ... read more

Yesterday was a monumental day. Much to the relief of everyone around me, I finally bought a rucksack. After some more procrastinating and needless anxiety, I decided that enough was enough, and bravely marched into a shop and made my choice within ten minutes. (Mind you, the only reason I actually managed to commit to the purchase was the reassurance of the sales clerk that I could bring the item back at any point and get a full refund). It feels like I have passed the final pre-departure hurdle, in particular as I received my visas yesterday, and I am getting insanely excited at the fact that I am leaving these shores in a few short days. I spent the last week in Suffolk, where I trained my heroic accountant to take over the management of ... read more

I think it's really starting to hit me that I am leaving very soon. Maddie and I spent the morning buying some bits and pieces for the trip, and a charity just came around to collect some of my furniture. My flat is looking emptier every day, and the cardboard boxes holding my travel bits grow constantly. It's all coming together at a rapid pace. Every day I give away pieces of furniture, paintings, objects, ideas, as well as pieces of myself. Some of these things I've had for years and it feels very peculiar to let go of them. Freeing in some way, but sad in another. It's a bit like a rite of passage, a mixed process of relief, grief, doubt, anticipation and exhilaration. Yesterday I cancelled my mobile phone contract, and that felt ... read more

Travelling light has always been one of my biggest challenges. As I write, I am nervously glancing at two big cardboard boxes stuffed full with things I am intending to take on my trip. They are big and heavy. And they don't even include clothing yet. When I started planning this trip, I thought everything would be straight-forward: walking boots, two pairs of trousers, two t-shirts, two fleeces, jacket, you get the picture. But no, then you're supposed take a medical kit, homeopathic remedies, mosquito nets, sleeping bag, water bottle, contact lens solution, towels, and all the suddenly necessary items that well-meaning friends and family furnish you with: an inflatable sink (fab idea though!), plastic plate & cutlery, a washing line. And never mind the things you really want to take: journal, books, ipod, light yoga ... read more