This July has been one of the busiest months for me, both personally and travel-wise! I settled into a new job, did a lot of weekend exploring, and set off for several weeks around the Caucasus region. This monthly recap is really late (I try to publish them on the first of the month), mainly because of my laptop. I no longer had access to the internet on it, which meant blogging was basically impossible! It’s back up and running (for now), but I’ll be getting a new one soon. Anyway, here’s what I got up to in July!
Where I Went
York, Brimham Rocks, Ripley, St. Albans, Feltham, Twickenham, Richmond Upon Thames (United Kingdom)
Kutaisi, Tbilisi, Ananuri, Stepantsminda, Mtskheta, Gori (Georgia)
Yerevan (Armenia)
Best Moments
Georgia was amazing. I think I have a new favorite country. I spent 8 days there and loved almost every single second. The food, the people, the scenery, the city vibes, the marshrutkas, the low prices… it was a fantastic trip. I know I’ll be going back to Georgia soon. This is one place that I think will see a dramatic increase in tourism (especially as more budget airline flights head here), so go now!
Seeing Eminem in concert!!! Eminem is my favorite artist of all-time, and we managed to get tickets to see him in London back in March. It was such an awesome concert and such an awesome experience! I never really go to concerts, and so when I do it’s generally a big deal. Eminem was incredible live, and I got to hear some of my all-time favorite songs. Definitely worth it!
I ate so much fantastic Georgian food. I decided to go to Georgia after eating so much amazing Georgian food on my big Eastern Europe trip last summer. Well, let’s just say that the real thing did not disappoint. I ate so much. Every day. All the time. Khachapuri adjaruli (cheesy bread boat with butter and egg on top) is still my favorite. I had lots of amazing khinkali (dumplings). I had tasty cucumber and tomato salads with a walnut-sunflower dressing. I ate and ate and ate and I have no regrets.
I fell in love (hard) with Tbilisi. Every once in a while, I come across a city that I could spend a lot of time in. I could live there for a few months without getting bored. A place I fit in. I last felt that way about Kiev last summer. And arriving in Tbilisi, I fell totally in love with the city. It’s ridiculously affordable. It’s beautiful. The Old Town has so much to explore in the winding, narrow back streets and alleyways. The churches are stunning. The modern architecture stands out without looking garish. There’s a lot of history to discover. I felt very safe. I went to some of the best bars (and rooftop bars!!) of my life. I’ll be back.
Taking a daytrip to Kazbegi and into the Caucasus Mountains. This was by far my favorite day of the trip! The scenery on the Russian Military Highway into the Caucasus Mountains is just incredible. I couldn’t take enough photos!! We stopped at Zhinvali Dam, Ananuri Fortress, some guys 24/7 honey stand, the Russian-Georgian Friendship Monument, Stepantsminda, and even took a 4×4 up to Gergeti Trinity Church. It was a busy day but definitely one of the best. On my next trip to Georgia, I’d really like to base myself in this area and spend some time hiking.
I got a NEW PHONE!!! If you’ve been following along on my blog for a while, you’ll know that I got a new smartphone last year on my trip in Russia. My old phone died on day 3 of a 6-week trip, and I just knew I couldn’t last that long without access to emails, let along trying to run my blog and social media accounts. Well, that phone was a piece of shit, and has been a piece of shit for about a year. So a few weeks ago, I went out and got a new phone. It works great so far, and it makes SUCH a huge difference!
Bloom York took over town and it was beautiful! This flower festival popped up in York and transformed the city in so many stunning ways. I spent the better part of my lunch breaks running around town, photographing as many places as possible! Looking forward, I certainly hope the festival comes back next year. I love seeing my city looking so pretty!
Brimham Rocks was awesome. I ticked another big one off my Yorkshire bucket list this July with Brimham Rocks! This area is so much fun to explore—I literally just climbed all over up and down rocks. It’s run by the National Trust and free to visit, but parking costs £6. On the way back to York, we pulled over in Ripley to see why their ice cream was “world famous.” Let’s just say—it’s world famous for a reason!
I loved exploring Richmond for the day. This was a new neighborhood outside London for me, and it was such a charming and pretty place to visit! The skies were all blue and the weather was perfect. I walked along the River Thames, ate some ice cream, sat in the sun (and then in the shade), saw the remains of Richmond Palace (just the gatehouse now), and all in all had a great day. It was definitely a good way to kill an afternoon before the concert!
Worst Moments
The sheer heat and humidity in the Caucasus. I knew it would be hot, but man. It’s been really fucking HOT on this trip in July. As in, 90-100˚F every day, with some days feeling as hot as 120˚F. A lot of places here have air conditioning. Some places don’t. It’s been really hard being outside in that kind of heat, and some days it’s just killed me. I’ve sweat so much, gotten sunburned (even when I put sunscreen on twice!!), and drank an insane amount of water in an attempt to stay hydrated.
I’ve also gone on and off feeling sick (due to dehydration). Some days have been absolutely fine and I’ve felt 100%. Other days, I can tell I’ve been outside too much, been in the sun for too long, haven’t drank enough water, and have felt so sick from it. It’s been a struggle, and not a fun one.
Taking the sweatiest night train imaginable from Tbilisi to Yerevan. My first thought when the train pulled up? “Wow, that’s a lot of sweaty, half-naked Georgian and Armenian guys.” Why?! Because the train was SO UNBELIEVABLY HOT. The only tickets left on our date were in platskartny, or 3rd class, which is an open carriage sleeping plan. I did manage to get a few hours of sleep. But I sweat so much, it was so hot, and it took everything to not hang my head out the window like a dog. And everyone was sweating. It was basically like sharing a hostel dorm room with 59 of my closest and sweatiest friends with only partially-open windows for air flow. It was pretty uncomfortable—“air conditioned” my ass.
I got stung by a bee on my finger (again). Last year in Kiev, I randomly got stung by a bee on my finger. How?! I have no idea. Well, the exact same thing happened to me in Tbilisi at the Narikala Fortress! It hurt so bad, my finger swelled up like crazy, and I couldn’t bend it completely for a few hours. Ouch.
I have been really busy with work, and the blog has gone to the side. I was working like crazy before this trip (working 13 days with only 1 day off). And I just haven’t had that much time to spend working on the blog. I like to spend my days off adventuring! And so the blog has gone to the side. It’s so hard to try to keep growing my blog, when I feel like I barely have enough time to keep up with everything as it is!
Posts Published
As I’ve said, I was super busy this month. I haven’t published anything since I left for my trip, so I only managed to publish 3 posts this month! Don’t worry though—I’ll have loads of content from my trip coming soon!
How Much Does It Cost To Travel The Baltics For 5 Days?
My Top 12 Favorite Bars In York
8 Fantastic Destinations For A European City Break
Instagram Top 3
I finally cracked the next Instagram milestone! After sitting in the 1500s for followers for over a year, I broke into the 1600s this July on my trip. Here are my most popular photos from the month!
Coming Up In August
I had a few more days on the trip in Armenia, before finishing off the big adventure in Istanbul. I’ve never been to Istanbul or Turkey in general, so I’m really excited! When I get back to the UK, most of the rest of the month will be spent working loads to make up for all my time off! I do have something really exciting to look forward to though: some of my family is coming to visit me in York! My aunt, uncle, and cousins are spending several days in York and I can’t wait to see them (even though I’ll be working for quite a bit of their stay) and show off my city! Missing people is one of the hardest things about moving abroad—I miss friends and family from home all the time. So I’m really excited to share part of my life with my family in August!
What was your July like? Any exciting plans in August?!
This looks really fun! See you in a week!!!!
Can’t wait to see you so soon!!!! 🙂