Despite being queen of to-do lists, I'm not a fan of making general resolutions, such as losing weight. Instead I make my resolutions desirable i.e travel related.
2009 resolved
Last year, my only resolution was to travel comfortably to new places while on a budget i.e Stylishly Cheap Travel. This was one resolution I was happy to achieve, so in ...
March - I spent many a Spring day walking around Den Haag, Leiden and Amsterdam, cities in northern Netherlands. Saved money by staying with with my brother.
Picture: Miniature version of Amsterdam's Red Light District. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
April - I ate my way through Istria, in northern Croatia (a press trip), followed by more food and culture in Split and Dubrovnik in southern Croatia. Saved costs in southern Croatia by travelling with Laura, a new friend I met on the Istria trip.
Picture: Forging a new friendship in Croatia. Source: Diverse Traveller
Summer - travelled to the USA (Annapolis, Katy a suburb of Houston, Baltimore and New York), saved money by staying with friends; plus an exhausting eight days in eastern Canada, staying in B&Bs and travelling by coach and sharing the experience and cost with my friend Ronke.
Resolutions for 2010
This year, on the back of the success of last year, I've boldly made five travel resolutions:
1. More Stylishly Cheap Travel with new friends. Although I enjoy travelling on my own, I do like company from time to time. So this month I've joined a number of travel and women's groups on meet-up.com.
2.
Get fit outdoors. Rather than spend money I don't have on a gym memberships I won't use, I prefer to exercises outdoors.
My exercise plans have been on hold while it has been snowing. Now the snow and ice are things of the pass (fingers crossed), I shall be wrapped up warm, and out and about enjoying London's parks and trails.
In Brent, where I live, I am fortunate to be near a part of the Grand Union Canal (Harlesden to Paddington) and near award winning Roundwood park.
Pictures: Left-The Grand Union and right - Roundwood park. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
3.
Learn to speak a new language. A few years ago I had tourist french and
Spanish, today I hardly remember a word, I have already added
introduction French and Spanish to my Ipod and signed up for
conversation classes.
4. Revisit enjoyable experiences. Last year I took many day trips around England courtesy of advanced train ticket booking. This year, weather permitting, I plan to visit as much of the UK as I can either on day or weekend trips.
Picture: Floral public art in Birmingham City centre. Source: DiverseTraveller.com
5. Write, write, write! This year I plan to devote time to writing about my own
travels. I spend so much of my time working on DiverseTraveller and a little
blogging. Don't get me wrong I love doing this, but it leaves me little time to improve the many drafts of stories I have started and conveniently forgotten. So, to keep myself motivated and writing regularly, I'm planning a Diverse Traveller Writing group, which will include guest speakers who are published authors and / or work in travel media. Currently checking out suitable venues.
