This might have been my busiest month that I haven’t been on a full trip to date! Wow. I started the month taking off for an incredible trip to Iceland. I ended the month coming back from another trip to Poland! Here’s everything I got up to this November.
Where I’ve Been
York, Bolton Abbey, London, Leeds, Nottingham (United Kingdom)
Reykjavik, Selfoss, Hella, Seljandfoss, Skogafoss, Dyrholaey, Reynisfjara, Vik, Kerid Crater, Gulfoss, Thingvellir National Park (Iceland)
Gdansk, Gdynia, Malbork (Poland)
Best Moments
Making my first ever money from the blog! I’ve had several affiliate programs/links set up for a few months now. But halfway towards the end of November, I randomly checked my bank account—only to find out that one of my affiliates had released their payment, and I had made my first ever money blogging!!! WHAT!!!! It was only £25/$32, but it meant everything to me. I’ve been blogging for nearly 3 years now, but only made an effort to monetize it about a year ago. It was one of the most exciting things that happened this year, and it has motivated me so much to take my blog to the next level!
Pretty much everything about Iceland. I visited Iceland for the first time at the beginning of November and it was honestly amazing. Basically everything about it was fantastic. The scenery was stunning and the landscapes were some of the most dramatic I’ve ever seen. Wow. I definitely didn’t have enough time (I want to go back again and do a full circuit of the ring road around the whole island!). But it was one of the best and most spectacular trips I’ve been on in a long time.
This sunset in Iceland. Our final full day in Iceland we were treated to this sunset over the mountains as we were coming back into Reykjavik. I think the picture says it all.
Getting to meet Glo in Leeds! When one of my favorite travel bloggers announced she was doing a lecture in Leeds, I absolutely knew I had to go. Glo runs The Blog Abroad and is a smashing success at what she does. Not only did she deliver a fantastic lecture on influencer marketing, but she’s just as funny and cool in real life as she is on the gram! I’ve been following her since 2015 and she is such an inspiration/role model to me. She creates the most beautiful content, all while keeping it real. It was so fun to meet her in person!
Returning to Poland—exploring Gdansk! I went on my third trip to Poland, and headed to the northern city of Gdansk. It blew me away! It’s a stunning city, with a picturesque Old Town. Going in the off-season, there were very few other tourists. I feasted on pierogi and strolled all of the pretty streets. Most of all, I loved going solo on this trip and exploring the city on my own terms. I definitely want to go back!
Fun times with friends in Nottingham. I went to Nottingham the last weekend of November, and had so much fun. Nottingham has such a special place in my heart, since it’s where I studied abroad for a year (and where Adam and I first met!). It was great to go back, catch up with my friends, go to some of my favorite bars, and see the city all decked out for Christmas. It always makes my heart pang a bit—my year living there was the most influential and important of my life. But it was a really fun quick weekend!
My first trip with work to London (and seeing the Christmas lights). I’ve been at my new job and working in the travel industry for almost 6 months now. I finally got to go on my first trip with work—to London for the day to look at some of the hotels we book. It was a really cool experience, getting to go on a trip for work! I also stayed a bit later and walked around to see some of the Christmas lights around Regent Street and Oxford street. It’s one of my favorite things about London at Christmas! I’m hoping there are more work trips to come in the future.
A trip to Bolton Abbey. I ticked off another one on my Yorkshire Bucket list this month, with a trip to Bolton Abbey for the day in the Yorkshire Dales. It started off pretty rainy and miserable, but the weather really picked up. Bolton Priory was beautiful (still with part of a working church, which was pretty cool!), and the setting next to the River Wharfe was so picturesque. Then we stopped at a random American diner around the corner for some of the best ice cream I’ve had in Yorkshire. It was a great day out!
Worst Moments
I broke my phone screen. I’ve had a smartphone for 2.5 years now, and have never had so much as a scratch on my screen. Well, I dropped my phone in Poland and absolutely shattered the screen. It still works (barely), but there’s literally a giant chunk missing from my phone. I was pretty devastated, but I do have phone insurance through my bank—so hopefully I’ll be able to get it fixed without it costing too much.
I messed up with trains in Poland. On my daytrip to Malbork Castle, I was all set to get the train from Gdansk to Malbork. After asking two different people which train I needed to be on, I hopped on one that they said was the one I wanted. Well, turns out they were (both) wrong, and I went in the completely wrong direction. I got to Gdynia before I realized my mistake. I jumped off the train, a nice ticket lady switched my tickets for me, and I spent an hour walking around Gdynia before getting on the (correct) train to Malbork. It was one of the first times I’ve messed up traveling in recent years—so a little bit annoying, and very humbling!
Thanksgiving was a bit of a downer being away. I always struggle with holidays when I’m away from family and in a country where no one celebrates them as holidays in the first place. Thanksgiving was difficult. It’s always nice when people acknowledge the fact that it’s an American holiday, and not very many people did this year—not to sound bitchy, just to be honest! It’s hard to go to work like normal when all of your friends and family are together and celebrating.
Struggling with legal stuff for the blog. Since making my first money from the blog (yay!), I knew I needed to up my game and get some of the legal loose ends tied up. I need to make my blog GDPR compliant, and to have a privacy policy up and available for people to read. It’s all stuff that’s totally over my head, and I’m not sure how exactly I’ll be able to get it all done. It’s been a massive headache, and one I’m hoping to be done with soon!
Posts Published
I’m still playing catch up with a lot of my posts from this summer, but have loads more content to come from my recent trips! Here’s what I published this month:
20 Photos To Convince You Iceland Is The Most Magical Place On Earth
How To Spend 48 Hours In Istanbul
Seeing The Hogwarts Express At The Glenfinnan Viaduct In Scotland
Hiking Scafell Pike: England’s Highest Mountain
Hostel Review: Fabrika Hostel, Tbilisi
The Best Daytrips From Nottingham
Instagram Top 3
My Iceland photos were certainly popular this month, but Gdansk takes the cake!
Coming Up In December
I’ll be in the UK for all of December, and most of it will be spent at work after having so much time off in November! Besides a few days out, I don’t have too many plans until Christmas season hits. This Christmas is our Christmas in England, so we’ve got a quiet, rural Airbnb for the weekend before seeing family on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The rest of the month will be chill as I’ll be working loads. From the end of December and throughout all of January I’ll be working like crazy! So after a busy month of travels in November, December will be much more relaxed!
What was your November like? Any exciting plans coming up in December?!
[…] new year! December was fairly quiet and besides the busy Christmas period, I didn’t do very much. November was so busy for me, and this December has been a very nice month to relax after […]