Katrina
Welcome back to my monthly blog on Fuzzable!
Last time, I spoke about my current Quarter Life Crisis, which I found draining in all honesty. It was the first time that I opened up about how I actually feel about my life and myself, but it was something I needed to do. During my ramble, I touched on travel so I thought I would make this the theme of my blog post this month.
I have been fortunate enough to travel a fair bit in my 25 years on this Earth. As a child and teenager, I pretty much went abroad at least once a year, taking in Florida, Amsterdam, Paris and Roses (Costa Brava), to name but a few.
When I was 16, I went on a school trip to Salamanca, which, up until last August, marked my last trip abroad. This is partly because I discovered my love of going to gigs, which pretty much took over my priorities in terms of travelling. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE gigs. Music is an integral part of my life and I would not be the same person if I didn’t go and see a live show at least once a month. I would not change the past nine years for the world, as going to gigs has allowed me to travel, at least in terms of the UK.
The UK has so much to offer, and over the years, I’ve pretty much visited every corner of the country, from Edinburgh to Plymouth. I have experienced the cold beach in Weston Super Mare at 4am, heightened my love for piers and arcades in Brighton and discovered that there’s also a New Brighton up in Wallasey. I’ve been to places that I never knew existed (Oswaldtwistle) and to places that I still can’t plot on a map (Norwich). Travelling has allowed me to fall in love with the greatest place in the world in my opinion (London). It’s also let me find close second favourites in Manchester and Birmingham. I’ve also explored my home country of Wales, taking just as long travelling to the north of the country as it does to hop over to England.
However, last August, an opportunity arose to go to Poland to see my friend perform at the Young Stars Festival in Warsaw. Poland has never been on my bucket list of places to go, however, going to a gig abroad was, so having not been abroad since I was in school, it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse! I was anxious before going – the thought of flying after so long was terrifying, and I was worried about getting around without knowing a single word of Polish – but it was an incredible trip, albeit too short. Since then, I’ve been to Warsaw once again, and have at least two trips to other Polish towns and cities planned! I’ve even started to learn Polish on DuoLingo but that’s an incredibly slow work-in-progress.
As much as I love travelling around the UK, going abroad again made me realise that there’s so much of the world to see and explore, and I haven’t even seen 1% of it. Now that I’m older, I’m much more appreciative of being able to travel and I can embrace every aspect of it. I have every intention of continuing with my gig travels, but I want to be more adventurous and see more of the world too.
Whilst I’ll never get to visit every country, I’ve rounded up some of the places in the world which are 100% on my travel bucket list.
New York
New York is the ultimate bucket list location for me, and somewhere I’ll get to visit in the not-so-distant future! I’ve been saving for over a year now, and the only reason why the trip hasn’t been booked yet is because I’m awaiting confirmation of something else (which you’ll find out about in the next location).
I cannot wait to stand in Times Square at night and bask in the beauty of the lights. That, for me, is the ultimate travel goal. I also want to visit Coney Island and take a picture by the Wonder Wheel (this is a fangirl thing, as it’s where The Wanted filmed their music video for ‘Lose My Mind’). Of course, there’s a million and one other touristy things to see and do and I can’t wait to experience as much of them as physically possible.
Las Vegas
Vegas is the reason why I’ve yet to book my trip to New York. More specifically, I’m waiting to hear confirmation of Take That’s Las Vegas residency and then do a joint trip. Last year, it was rumoured that my favourite man band had landed a Vegas residency which was set to take place this summer. From the moment I heard the rumour, I set about starting a savings pot with mum. Well over a year later, we’re still waiting but Gary Barlow has hinted that it will happen so we just need to have a little ‘patience’.
Aside from the opportunity of seeing Take That in Vegas, I’m (once again) dazzled by the lights. It just looks INCREDIBLE. The strip looks insane, and I really want to go to one of the many casinos and make my millions haha.
Paris
This is slightly cheating, as I’ve already been to Paris once when I was a child but I want to experience it properly. I vaguely remember climbing the Eiffel Tower but I want to do it again, and this time actually appreciate the view. I also want to return to Disneyland Paris and meet my favourite character in the entire world, Marie (although she only appears around Halloween/Christmas time).
In terms of something new, I really want to sit outside a Parisian cafe and have a proper pain au chocolat. Zero bothers given about how sad that sounds, but it needs to be done!
Dubai
I know a few people who’ve been to Dubai, and seeing the beauty of the place from their pictures is what’s made me want to go there. The architecture, including the Burj Khalifa, is one of the most appealing aspects for me, and there seems to be plenty of exciting things to experience. There’s also a huge mall with an in-built aquarium which just looks absolutely phenomenal.
Sydney
Anywhere in Australia would be magical, but one thing that attracts me about Sydney is the Sydney BridgeClimb. The climb allows you to experience the breathtaking beauty of the city by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As someone who was terrified when climbing the O2 Arena (52m), I’m not sure how I’d fare at 134m but I’d sure as hell want to give it a go! A spectacular view is worth the climb, right? Travelling to Australia would also mean being in the same country as my good friend Jakie, who I haven’t seen for around two and a half years.
Italy
I grew to dislike the thought of going to Italy when I was in University, thanks to having to do a pretend marketing campaign for a travel company called Citalia. However, there is so much to see and do in the various cities – I think it’s a bucket list must. Whether it’s visiting the Colosseum in Rome, riding a gondola in Venice or having proper Italian pasta and pizza, it’s definitely a country I’d like to visit one day.
