Travel: Wales

It’s been a really long time since I have post on this blog. No particular reason why I didn’t. It just happened. Something I am working on to try to change.
Anyway checking back in my files I found some photos and videos of an amazing, at list for me, experience and adventure back in the summer of 2019. Though while there it felt like it was winter.

It was my first mini adventure with the camper van I had back then. I went with a friend of mine that she never say no to these trips where no plan has been decided except for the destination.
I actually don’t even remember why we decided to go to Wales for that weekend. Did she or I decide? Did we decide together? I really don’t remember.
But one thing I do remember is that my poor and old but amazingly beautiful van took a while to get us there. Though we never complained about it. It was just nice to go on an adventure.

We decided to go for the weekend to Snowdonia Park, in Wales. We knew we only had Saturday to really enjoy it as Friday and Sunday were mostly to travel. For this reason we wanted an easy and not long hike.
On the website of National Park, www.nationaltrust.org.uk you can look for places to visit and also find walking trails with all the information you need (where it starts and end, how long it takes and the grade of difficulty).
After researching for a while we found an hike called the “Llyn Ogwen circular walk” which goes around the Llyn Ogwen lake.

We arrived around midday on Saturday as we spent Friday night sleeping in a car park one hour away from where we were going and decided to have breakfast at the top of a hill with a nice view.
Ones there we had to look for a place where to leave the campervan and stay for the night. We realized straight away that was really easy to find one. There are lots of free car park on the side of the street and quite few camping. Also farmers let you stay in their land and they offer you basic facilities like showers and toilets. This last was the option we choose.

The one we stayed were really easy going. Basically you just park, stay over night and the next day they knock on your window and ask for the money. Simple as that. Some they ask for 5£ per person some others 10£ and some others depending on the vehicle and not on how many people are sleeping. If you are not sure for the price just ask someone that is in the camp already. That’s what we did. Just remember to bring some money with you as of course they don’t take card.

Now that the van was parked, we packed 2 sandwiches each and water. Warm clothes as it was really cold and windy and we made our way to starting point of the hike. The entrance was really easy to find. There was a car park, a tourist information and a café.

Only after five minutes that we started the walk we were already super happy to have chose Snowdonia Park. The views from the very beginning were amazing. The colours were perfect and the sun and clouds were leaving a beautiful contrast of lights and shadows on the land.

It didn’t take long to reach the lake and ones there we decided to stop and eat enjoying the nature around us.
We then followed the lake shore on its left side. From here we started to go up hill.
The views from up there were insane. In front of us there was this massive mountain and at the bottom the lake. Everything was perfect, magical, nearly unreal.
We stood up there without talking for a while. Just looking. We couldn’t do anything else. Did ever happened to you to freeze in front of something beautiful? The time stops. You can’t do anything except looking and let this peaceful view get all over you.
Yes we did enjoy Wales, definitely somewhere I would like to go back.

I put together as well a short video if you would like to watch. Nothing fancy and it’s not long either and it’s quite shaky as well but that’s only the fault of the strong wind and of course not mine.

Anyway hope I gave you a tips on where to go next. Just please always remember to take home everything you bring with you. Rubbish included. Our world is amazing, let’s keep it this way so we can all enjoy it.

Thank you to have stop by and I hope you enjoyed the reading.

I will see you soon. Ciao.

Yours
The Human Backpacker

Travel: Whitstable – UK

I went to Whitstable because a friend of mine told me it is a beautiful small town and they cook delicious seafood. She was right.
It is not far from London by train, on the south east coast in Kent. I booked a whole flat on Airbnb only two minutes away by walk from the sea.
I know right now talking about travelling is not the best topic as we can’t really go anywhere but it is getting better and before you even realise you will be able to finally discover new places or to go back to your favourite place. So yes, I am taking you to Whitstable.

No worries I am not going to describe in details the whole two days we spent there as I don’t want you to get bored. I will just giving you some tips in case you want to visit it, which you should.

If you love seafood as I do you definitely have to go to Whitstable.
It is not difficult to find a restaurant or a shop were they will serve you a nice and rich plate freshly made. So honestly just pick one and you want regret it.
If you want a nice seafood snack while walking and discovering the town I would recommend Wheelers Oyster Bar. If you prefer pubs there is one just by the sea where you can eat outside, The Old Neptune. Before I left the town to come back to London we had a delicious meal at Birdies Restaurant.

These are the ones I went while there and honestly with you, my belly was super happy. Of course if you are going in different ones, well let me know so I can go the next time.
Apart from food there are as well different things you can do and visit.

Harbour Market is one of them. In here you can buy fresh seafood to cook later at home, if you know how to prepare a nice meal with fish. I am not at all. The market is also nice because there are people selling their home made crafts. There are all sorts of but two got my attention. One was a man that builds all sorts of things with wood. Not only tables and chairs but lamps as well. The second one was a lady making fudge looking like animals or humans. I found it really creative.

Here at the harbour you can find as well places to go on a boat trip. Unfortunately when I went they were all close but I definitely advise you to book one if they are open. They don’t only taking you to visit the Kentish Flats wind farms but also the Maunsell Forts which are armed towers built during the second world war. Something that for sure needs to be check out if you are in Whitstable.

Another place I visited while there was the castle and its garden. It looks like this dreamy castles in a nice fairy tale.

I did enjoy Whitstable so much. For a weekend, for a break out of London, Whitstable is perfect. Hopefully next time will be sunny as well so I will enjoy the beach and the sea too.

Before I forget. If you would like to share places and photos you have visited you can do so on this FaceBook group which you might be inspired from places from others too.
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I hope you enjoy this reading and this small town in England. Thank you to have pass by and remember wherever you are to respect the place and the people no matter the sex, colour, religion, etc… We are first all human and we need to take care of each other and this beautiful world where we live. Take care. I will see you next. Ciao.

The Human BackPacker.

Travel: Cambridge

Have you ever been to Cambridge? Well I did even if it was for a short time and it wasn’t during spring or summer which are apparently the best timings to visit it for it’s beauty and various colours of it’s nature.
I did go when the weather was grey and the rain seemed never end. Even if the weather wasn’t that great, I did enjoy Cambridge a lot.

There are lots of places and things you can visit in Cambridge. The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, The Backs (a nice park to enjoy a nice walk), Mathematical Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs and King’s College Chapel. There is lots you can explore in Cambridge, but it is not what I am writing about on this blog today.

What I want to write about are the amazing fields all around the city.
I was staying in a campsite, only twenty minutes from Cambridge by bicycle. Yes, I love to go around and discover places riding my bicycle. You go through amazing fields, with wonderful colours and unbelievable views that you can’t even imagine.

Back to us. I was staying in the campsite call Highfield Farm Touring Park, this is their website if you are interested: http://www.highfieldfarmtouringpark.co.uk/
No, I am not sponsored or I am not taking any money from them. I just decided to share it with you cause I really liked this place.

It was my last day in here and the weather wasn’t the best. I did like this campsite one because it is a farm… the fresh eggs are great, I love fresh food, I love farms. Second… as they have lots of fields and they live in this beautiful place near Cambridge, they decided to share with everyone their amazing landscape. Basically behind their campsite, they left a massive field for who does stay in their campsite to have a walk and enjoy the nature, the colours and the landscapes that Cambridgeshire can offer.

I went for a walk in this field to try to get some photos at sunset. I was struggled a bit as the weather wasn’t great. Literally it was just “flat grey” as I like to describe it. So in the beginning I decided to play with the colours that this field was offering.

After a while that I was playing with compositions I finally found one that I liked. The only thing missing was the sun.
I decided to wait. I didn’t mind if it wasn’t coming out. I was enjoying already the fact that I was out in the nature, I was enjoying the smell of the fresh air, I was enjoying the walk, I was enjoying the colours of this amazing fields all around me. I was happy to spend some time for myself and do what I love. So no, I didn’t care if the sun wasn’t coming out from this grey sky. And guess what?
At half an hour from sunset, the sun decided to come out from these grey clouds and give some of its wonderful warm light to my photo. I was really super happy and I really like this photo.

Anyway guys thank you so much to have pass by and I hope you enjoyed the reading. Remember never give up on your self and on your dreams. Remember to respect others and your self, even if sometimes is not easy. Remember to respect this world and all its creatures. Remember to take your time. Remember to breathe. You can do it.

Thank you so much. I will see you next. Ciao.

 

 

 

 

Foreign in London: Alex

Hi, my name is Alex and I came to London at the end of August 2011.
I finished university in Romania in Geography of Tourism. I did a master’s and I found a good job as a travel agent. The job was in the field that I studied which was nice. It was an office job. I was learning a lot but in Romania even with a job you can’t afford to live in a rented house so I was living with my parents. I was 24 years old so it wasn’t that bad.
My ex-boyfriend at that time had a sister living in Italy and another one in London. We wanted to leave Romania so we picked UK because we both speak English and we thought it’s going to be easier.
A friend of his was living across the street from a pub. When I arrived to London we first went to his flat to leave the luggage and then we went straight to this pub for a pint. It was the first place I have been in London and it turned out I will be working in that pub for the next four years and a half.
At some point… I think it was about three months since I have been here, my ex-boyfriend and I broke up. I had about 3 pounds in my account and I didn’t have a place to sleep. There were lots of people that helped me – surprisingly – because I only knew them for a few months.
Most of the friends I have in London now, I met them through the pub. All my life was there.
We were having fun and we felt comfortable, like a family. It was fun and that’s why I stayed for 4 years and half, and also you get in a routine were you lose yourself. When you work in a pub you work late shifts, you finish late and then you want to drink because you were serving people the whole day and in the end you need a pint. You stay up till 5 in the morning. Go home. Sleep and then wake up, take a shower and go back to work. It’s a different lifestyle which is hard to get out of, and quite easy to get into. It’s fun but I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life. Plus time passes really fast… A problem with everybody in London I think.
Once I was in the pub on a morning shift and I was feeling a bit frustrated. I was cleaning the candleholders and thinking “What am I doing with my life?” I decided I want to do something I am going to be passionate about. The idea came with forensics science. You are doing something that’s going to make the world better, I know it sounds a bit pretentious but you are helping to solve cases and catch bad guys. Justice. I applied but I thought I would never get in. But they said yes. At the same time I found a part time job as a receptionist for a private student accommodation. Of course I quit working in the pub.
Now… Now I am on my last year of studying. Still working part time as a receptionist in the same place. With the people I was really good friends I’m still managing to stay in touch even if we don’t text every day or every month. I see them and it’s like we didn’t see each other from yesterday. It comes naturally. With others I’m a bit sad we lost touch but it does happen. People come and go and you are busy as well… but I think the good ones just stick with you. No matter what happens in life. It’s like socks in a washing machine. Some of them get lost on the way while some others stick to the tumbler.
I think that life gives you things even if you don’t see it and then when you have all these things together you kind of need to make that step, even if it’s scary. So if you want something hard enough, you have the power to make it happen.

“My journey” the story of…

I had the privilege to meet this amazing person and had the opportunity to HEAR her story.
I am glad she opened with me and wanted to share her story with the world.
As her wish I will not publish her name and show her face

It’s hard to say what happened. I think it was numbers of things to lead me to not like who I was. So it wasn’t just one thing it was lots of things and the feelings of self hate that was so strong I didn’t know what to do with it.

Started of just using blunt things and then it progressing to piece of plastic that were broken.
The feelings, the emotions and thoughts, everything I had while I did it. Didn’t exist. It numbs the emotional pain. For me these were more unbearable than physical pain.
I started to pull the sleeves down. It was really slow to start of with and the thought to use really sharp object haven’t passed my mind. Not at that point.
Then I had a friend that also self harm who gave me a raiser. Once I got that it was an obsession. Constant. I couldn’t be a day without doing it.

My arm was the start. My legs, my stomach. I got one point where I got to choose a part of the body that wasn’t already cut and that’s why I progressed to the other parts of the body. I liked to find new flesh cause I liked to see it. I liked to watch it. If you do it over already cut flesh… for me wouldn’t have the same impact.

In my brain I deserve it. I’m a bad person. It was numbers of emotions and feelings. All of that became addicted. I supposed it’s the same way you start smoking. You know it’s no good for you but you want a cigarette.
Because I hated my self I really enjoyed hurting my self. So there was enjoyed in it. I was fascinated with the human body. If I was feeling really really bad I could push really hard. When I pushed really hard as I swiped the raiser you can literally see the flesh open up. You can see what is inside. It doesn’t instantly bleed. It takes few second. One it starts it’s really hard to stop…

I cut my wrist. Cause I wasn’t living at home I was always trying to build a relation ship with my mum. Cause I loved her and missed her but I don’t know. She wasn’t able to have a relationship with me. There was often visits organised by social workers and staff. She just wasn’t show up. One time she basically told me… I can’t even remember what it was. To me was a rejection. It was like she didn’t want anything to do with me and I was 16. The rejection from my mum was… I think was probably one of the only time I cut to die if that make any sense. All the others time it was cuts to relieve. To make living bearable. It was one of only time I remember cutting cause I actually didn’t want to live and that’s why I did cut my wrist.

I remember people telling me “there is a light at the end of the tunnel” and I was just like “there is no light. I can’t see it. It’s too fucking dark”

I never completely stopped until I felt pregnant.
I guess once I felt pregnant and my experience been in care. I knew if I didn’t stop then my child would be probably taken away from me and put into cares and it’s no something I wanted to. So it was having my first child that made me think “ok, I need to stop”.
Not for me but for my child.

Maybe I did few times in a year after my mum died and then stopped again until I separate from my husband. I didn’t do it straight away after we separated. Must be a year or so after. I guess I was just trying to hold it together and I couldn’t hold it together for much longer. To deal with the pain I had to make pain.

Now i’m not doing it. I don’t feel I need to. I have moments. It’s a pattern when things are difficult it’s the first thing I think to do but just because I think to do it doesn’t mean I do.
I just tell my self now it’s going to pass. The feelings are going to pass. I guess. Tomorrow is a new day and you might not feel the same tomorrow.
Life can be really really tough but it can be also really really nice.

Just talk. That’s all I say to anybody I know or I come across.
It’s not something you opening discuss. It’s something you hide it like something to be ashamed of. Just find somebody to talk to and don’t give up.