Time is flying by this year already! I can’t believe it’s already March. This has been a very, very busy month for me! I’ve started two new jobs, visited two other countries besides the UK (including a new country for me!), and have tried to manage traveling a lot with working a lot to pay for said travels. Besides my trips abroad, I stayed in York. Here’s what I got up to this in March!
Where I Went
York (United Kingdom)
Dublin (Ireland)
Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent (Belgium)
Best Moments
Spending my wedding anniversary in Dublin, a city I love. In case I haven’t talked about how much I love Dublin enough, I just want to say it one more time. I love Dublin. I LOVE it. It is such a great city, and I just adore being there. My trip this March was a special one—not only was it my 7th trip to Dublin (seven!!!), but this is also how I spent my wedding anniversary!! Adam and I had so much fun in a city we enjoy spending time in. It was the perfect way to celebrate two years since we eloped and got married!
Visiting Belgium for the first time! I spent 4 days in Belgium over Easter this March and loved it. I was based in Brussels, but managed to see Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent as well! Over my trip, I ate waffles, drank beer, admired the architecture, and just in general had a good time. So many people skip Belgium in a European trip because they think it’s “boring.” That really couldn’t be farther from the truth! There is a lot to do and see (and eat!) here. I barely scraped the surface with my short and sweet hotspots tour!
Dinner at the Admiral. Every once in a while when I travel, I have an experience that is so awesome I don’t really know how to put it into words. Going to the Admiral in Dublin was like that. The Admiral is a fantastic Eastern European restaurant and on a Saturday night, all the Eastern Europeans in Dublin come here to party. We were very clearly the only non-locals (locals being Eastern European)—my heels were about 5 inches too short, and we were the only ones not dancing! It was one hell of a party, and I almost wish we could have stayed all night. Oh, and the food was amazing and a pint was less than 5€. All the best decisions come from Googleing “khachapuri near me.”
Music and pints at the Celt. I finished off my night in Dublin (after a raucous time at the Admiral) by returning to my favorite pub in Dublin: the Celt. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it at some point before—but I’ve been coming to this pub for 7 years now. Every time I come to Dublin, I always, always, make a point to spend a night at the Celt. I loved getting to sit in my local pub away from home and listen to fantastic live music over a nice pint. It sums up my favorite things about Dublin: good pubs, good music, and good beer. It was just the perfect night, and I’m so glad I got to bring Adam back here—for his third time!
Starting new jobs! Most of March has been spent preparing, training, and starting my two new jobs! I started working the Harry Potter tours here in York, which in case I didn’t mention in last month’s recap, is pretty much my dream. I also started my other new job, at a historic site in York, which is going well. It’s exciting and different and stressful but overall—new jobs have been a really great thing!
Traveling solo again. When I first started traveling during my study abroad almost 5 years ago, I went solo for most of the traveling I did. It was addictive. I fell in love so hard with solo travel. When I got together with Adam and traveling became such a huge part of our life, we both loved traveling together and our solo trips took a backburner. Since I left England in June 2014, the only proper solo trip I did was Lisbon in May 2016. (I went solo to New York City in October 2016, but stayed with my cousins so I don’t technically count that.)
It was so wonderful to put the solo travel hat back on during my trip to Belgium. Exploring new places, wandering around a new city, eating too many waffles to count—I loved every second of it. Yes, there are times when it’s nerve-wracking. Yes, there are times when it’s lonely. But no matter how much I love traveling with Adam, I think I will always keep that bit of a solo traveler in me, waiting for the next trip.
Worst Moments
Stress over my new jobs and hours/money, as always. Well, as great as the new jobs are, I’ve also been stressing over them quite a bit. Mainly because I’m not trying to juggle 3 jobs at once, get enough hours each week to make enough money to live, and to try to have a day off and some semblance of a work/life balance every now and again. It has been incredibly stressful going over availability, as I need to be working as close to full-time as possible! My plan is that I’ll have my two “normal” jobs during the week, and then be able to do the tours on the side as an extra bonus. But it’s tricky trying to give availability and ensure that I’ll earn enough money. Here’s hoping I can streamline the process and things will be easier next month!
Adam being gone (boooo). Adam set off last week on a huge adventure of his own—doing the Everest Base Camp trek!!! And while I’m so excited for him and so happy he can live his dream, I also miss him. A lot. I tend to get a bit sad and pathetic when he’s gone, and it’s just so weird and quiet without him. And since he gets back the day after I leave for my next trip, we’ll go nearly 3 weeks without seeing each other! Which is the longest we’ll have spent apart since I moved to England 1.5 years ago. So I miss him a lot!
The first of the Harry Potter tours. Man, there’s nothing like giving a tour to 44 French 15-year-olds who don’t have the best knowledge of English to get your feet wet! The first tour I did was extremely challenging and really just tough. We had to adapt a lot, change things, skip things, etc. It was definitely trial by fire. But the good thing is that I’ve successfully finished a tour of that size, and hopefully I’ll never have to do it again! (Interested in a Harry Potter tour in York?! Book here and use the code MAJA30 for a 30% discount!)
Being busy. Honestly, what with new jobs and work and so many trips, I feel like I’ve barely stopped this March! Add onto that the fact that I’m still trying to keep up with blogging and I feel like I’m constantly busy and always should be doing something. I had 6 days of work, 1 day off, 3 days of work, 4 days in Belgium, and 5 days of work to look forward to this week before the next trip. It’s exhausting! I know I’m lucky to be working so much and able to travel like I do, but I always try to mention the realities here on the blog. I’m beat. Hopefully next month will be better, as I get used to my schedules, can better plan in advance, and can be more mindful!
Posts Published
I’m still working my way through a lot of local posts from this winter, and had a few big ones this month! Next month, I’m hoping to get some of my content from Belgium up and ready. Here’s what I published this month:
Hiking the Hole of Horcum in the North York Moors
10 Places You Must See In London At Christmas
The Stuff No One Talks About When You Go Abroad: Birth Control, Student Loans, and More
8 Years Since I Caught the Travel Bug: Reflections on Spain
How Much Does It Cost To Spend A Weekend In Dublin?
Instagram Top 3
My most popular photos on Instagram this month! These ones got the most likes.
Coming Up in April
Now that my trip to Belgium is finished—SURPRISE! I’ve got another one coming up! I’m heading to Estonia and Latvia for a few days next week, and I can’t wait. I’m also planning on throwing in a cheeky daytrip to Helsinki, Finland as well. Estonia is one of my last countries in Eastern Europe I have yet to visit, and I am SO excited! If all goes to plan, at the end of that trip I will have visited 6 different countries (including 3 new ones to me!) in just 6 weeks! And that’s without traveling consecutively!! After that, I’ll probably be exhausted and broke. I don’t have any more travel plans for April, and I’m happy with that. Days off will probably be spent in Yorkshire—hopefully enjoying some spring weather!
What did you get up to in March? Any exciting plans for April?
