A normal person would spend their Sunday evening kicking back with a cuppa and Love Island. But that’s not me. Instead, a few weeks ago, I booked myself a return ticket to Amsterdam for the next day. 12 Hours in Amsterdam. Here’s what happened… How it happened When Gemma asked me if I wanted to go to […]
Postcards from Vilnius | Travel Diaries
Let me introduce a new favourite city of mine by sharing my very own ‘postcards’. Vilnius was a completely rogue travel decision on both mine and Jack’s part. We both wanted to travel somewhere that was cheap, in Europe, and somewhere we’d never been to before. The Baltic States made the cut, and we kinda […]
One Year Ago: Reflections | Gap Year Travel
On Wednesday, I woke up and opened the Facebook app on my phone. I was presented with a screen which said ‘One Year Ago’ and the following picture from my Gap Year: View this post on Instagram A post shared by V I O L A (@violahelen_) Wednesday marked exactly 365 days since I landed […]
Shanghai in Pictures | Travel Diaries
I’ve finally got round to importing and editing a collection of photos from my latest trip to Shanghai. We spent five days being tourists and exploring the bubbling metropolitan city. We wandered around markets and street stalls filled with small restaurants and shops selling small trinkets. There were also parks, temples and gardens: We had […]
Saving Money to Travel
I am frequently inundated with messages and emails from readers, subscribers, friends and students on how I managed to fund my Gap Year entirely by myself. As this is something I’m incredibly proud of, and something I’ve achieved on my own, I think that I can share with you some travel-saving money tips… 1. ‘Take care […]
My flight: London to Shanghai
The last time I was on a plane which was more than a couple of hours was my flight back from Beijing last June. I spent most of the flight sleeping and resenting the fact that I was flying back home after a seven-month trip. I really, really didn’t want to get off that plane […]
Our East Coast Australia Route | Gap Year Travel
I get numerous questions from many friends and YouTube subscribers alike about where exactly Alice and I went along Australia’s East Coast and which places we would recommend. Here’s the full breakdown of where we stopped off at and which places you can’t miss. Melbourne – Cairns 1. Melbourne We first flew into Melbourne which was by far […]
Why I love Ubud | Gap Year Travel
Out of all the places we happened to visit in Bali, Ubud was by far our favourite city. It’s rich in culture, arts, beautiful landscapes and incredible food. We planned to stay only four days but in the end extended it to a full week. Here are the reasons why I love Ubud… 1. FOOD […]
Kraków in Pictures | Travel Diaries
When I suddenly found myself at the airport with one of my closest friends heading to Poland for five entire days, I knew that this was the most spontaneous I had been in my life. View this post on Instagram A post shared by V I O L A (@violahelen_) Kraków is an absolutely gorgeous city […]
If We Were Having Coffee… | Vol. 18
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’m currently in Kraków – crazy, huh?! I wanted to go abroad somewhere; I wanted to explore a new place and so when my uni friends told me to meet them in Kraków, when my mum told me to “just go” and when my good […]