Travel


It's Been Waiting For You...


The first step off the airplane is always a captivating moment for me. Usually when travelling my family and I tend to opt for warmer destinations such as a Greek island or the Spanish seaside, so I’m used to stepping off the plane and being immediately hit with a warm gust of air and the bright foreign sunshine. However, this time it was refreshing to be faced with bitter winds and the magical night sky of the city for a change.


In the October of 2013, I was lucky enough to be able to visit the Big Apple, New York City. It’s very cliché to say, I know, but it was a holiday I will never forget. It felt as if I was on a movie set with the sky high buildings towering above me and the yellow taxis speeding down the bustling streets. It’s a destination that is definitely imprinted in my mind and somewhere I long to return to one day.




Even though we were only in the city for three days, a whole lot of exploring was done! We made a visit to the Empire State Building, the Rockefeller Center, countless cafes and bars (Olive Garden was my favourite without a doubt, their salad is to die for!!) and of course, we did a whole load of shopping!



 The holiday was filled with memorable moments, however a treasured moment from the trip for me, was the night we landed. We hailed for a taxi and lugged our suitcases into the boot (or trunk should I say). My sister, mum and I took a seat in the back whilst my Dad was in the front. As we drove away from the airport, I stared out of the window familiarising myself with these new surroundings. The inside of the taxi was silent, purely due to the fascination of what surrounded us. This exact moment I remember as if it happened yesterday, seeing the city skylines and sparkling gleaming lights was truly mesmerising.

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Oh, Sorrento...

"You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place. Like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way ever again." - Azar Nafisi




I’ve never been anywhere where I have felt I truly belong, then I went to Sorrento and everything changed.



Suddenly I appreciated my surroundings so much more. Admittedly (and embarrassingly) I’ve been lucky enough to go to many places with my family yet until a few years ago, I never appreciated it as much as I should have. Going to Italy changed this. I was faced with a completely unique place with unfamiliar surroundings, people, food, language and architecture… A completely different way of life which was immensely appealing to me.







We stayed in a hotel called Conca Park which was just a five minute walk away from the heart of Sorrento, Piazza Tasso. Here we spent countless hours people watching whilst sipping on cocktails or cappuccinos and window shopping, dreaming about the shoes and handbags we would buy if we could!



Wherever you went, the fresh scent of lemons filtered into your senses, something that even just writing about now I can smell fondly – filling me with comfort and wanderlust. I find myself reminiscing about this when I’m feeling low, or just fed up with the grey and cold weather that has seemed to go on forever here in England!


Biggest lemons ever?!

 All in all, my trip was nothing as I expected but everything I wanted and more. I don’t know how, but I feel such a strong connection with Italy as a whole. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about it, or think about the future where I’ll be able to return. Already I’ve booked to go back in July for a few days and next year I’m planning (hopefully!!) to go on a 12 day tour around the country, stopping in destinations such as Assisi, Venice and Tuscany.



I miss you like crazy Italy but I’ll see you soon. Arrivederci!


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