We stayed for 3 nights, and in that time were able to go on 6 separate game drives. The typical routine was one very early morning drive, around 5am, to get the animals as they started their day, and then an afternoon drive that would often last until the sun set. In between the drives, you were able to relax, nap, eat enjoy the excellent facilities – mostly for me, I spent the time reviewing the photos I had taken!

Some reflections about the game drives were:

Be prepared for it to be cold in the vehicle!

I didn’t *quite* dress as appropriately as I could have, especially for the early morning drives. If I was going again, I would pack some thicker clothes. Luckily, Shamwari provided blankets in the vehicle which was super helpful, but particularly on the windier mornings, more layers would have been amazing.

Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the perfect shot

There were quite a few moments that I was hoping for the stars to align to get a specific shot – some of them paid off and some of them didn’t. To avoid feeling disappointed, I had to remind myself that there’ll be plenty of opportunities while you’re there, and even if you never quite get exactly what you want – at the end of the day, its part of the magic of wild animals and safari to be so out of control.

Be on the lookout for the big and small.

It can be very easy to be training your eyes all the time to find a lion but then missing some of the smaller, but mighty wildlife around you. Noticing the beautiful birds, the little warthogs, and even rabbits that were around us were some of the little moments of joy and awe that I loved.

Your guide is a font of knowledge.

Our guide, Keenan, was an amazingly knowledgeable ranger and an all-round nice human. His expertise made our game drives 1000x more interesting and exciting. Looking back, I would have loved to spend even more time asking him questions about the animals and the habitat.

I am SO thankful I got to live my safari dreams at Shamwari, and really got the bug – I’d love to do it all again. Watch this space!

Here are some of my most favourite shots of animals at Shamwari:

The one takeaway I had was that Malta is such an interesting country, and felt like a mix of a few different cultures. We stayed in St Julian, and visited Mdina, but apart from that because of our short trip length, we didn’t get to see more of the country. I would love to go back and see more of Malta.

Here’s a bit of a picture book look at our quick weekend getaway!

On the positive side, I was very pleased to be able to travel to Seattle, Washington for work this year, because I had never visited Washington state before, and thus, it enabled me to tick this state off my list!

On the not-so-positive side, because this was a work trip, I didn’t really get to see very much of Seattle, or indeed Washington state. So there are definitely going to need to be follow-up trips in the future!

In terms of my trip itself, I was only in Seattle for 3 days, and my sightseeing basically involved going to my employer’s offices (and the Microsoft campus!).

For now, I’ll share a very curated selection of photos just to record the fact that I was there, though I don’t expect this to be a very interesting photographic update for anyone!

So in June 2023, off we went to Venice! I’ll do another full write-up about the trip as a whole, but as this life list item was specifically about gondolas, this is what this post is going to focus on!

I was exceptionally excited to get on the gondola, but the first hurdle is actually getting on one, given the vast hordes of tourists who all want to do the same! It is, of course, not cheap either, but we decided to splurge on a private boat, and the longest route because of what a highlight of our Venice trip it was going to be.

We got on our gondola from the station in Piazza San Marco, not for any particular reason but just because we happened across it and there wasn’t a big queue! The gondolas themselves are very pretty and decorated very ornately, and surprisingly comfy honestly, with pillows and padded seats!

I really liked our gondolier, because he mostly gave us our privacy but also engaged in some cheeky banter occasionally, and he also shared some good tidbits of info about Venice as we were paddling along.

For me, the main highlight of the experience was seeing Venice from the canals. It was fascinating to see both the big tourist icons but also just daily local life happening from the gondola seat. It doesn’t hurt that the winding Venetian canals are incredibly picturesque – I took so many photos!

Here are some photographic highlights from our trip:

All in all, I highly recommend taking a gondola trip when you are in Venice. Don’t be put off by the crowds or by the prices, it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can’t be replicated anywhere else (not even in the gondolas of The Venetian in Vegas! )

If I could describe the show in three words, it would be: sexy, energetic and a BOP! It was an awesome show, with Usher showcasing all of his huge hits, and taking the sex appeal up to the max through the staging, dancers and outfits (or lack thereof!)

We stayed out of our seats throughout the whole thing, especially when Usher himself came into the audience and stood LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO US! Highlight for sure!

Here are some pictures that should give you a feel for this 10/10 show:

This would definitely not have been on my personal wish list of things to do, but turns out it was an actual genius move because there was a rodeo at the county fair! And going to a rodeo has been on my life list for aaaaages!

So, first, the fair itself. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but this thing was MASSIVE. There were thousands of people there and the queue to get in took at least an hour in our cab . It was wild.

Inside the fair, aside from the rodeo which was the main evening event, there were so many things to do and see, ranging from animal exhibits, kids rides, and lots of mini events like log throwing and pig races. It was crazy! I especially like watching the pig races and visiting all the cute animals!

There were also SO many food stalls. Like everywhere, selling all different American things that I had never tried before like funnel cakes.

So we wandered around the county fair for a few hours, had something to eat and drink and enjoyed soaking in the atmosphere. Then it was time for the main event – the rodeo!

The rodeo area was very basic seating overlooking a huge field. We were sat next to some very nice women who would helpfully explain what was going on at key points!

Before the rodeo started, there was of course an American anthem rendition, and everybody stood up and covered their hearts to sing it., and there was also a bit of prayer.

The rodeo itself was a multi-hour event split up into mini sections where people showed off different skills like staying on the bull or horse, and wrangling animals.

I wasn’t able to take many good pics as everything was happening so fast and I only had my phone camera, but here are a selection:

But while the previous post was centred around the incredible experience of seeing the Northern Lights, this post is about ticking off an entirely separate life list item: swimming in the Blue Lagoon!

The Blue Lagoon is one of the best tourist destinations in all of Iceland, so much so that as soon as we landed in the airport, I saw tons of huge billboards advertising the experience!

You have to pre-book to visit the Blue Lagoon, and you get to pick the type of package you want – ranging from the cheapest which is simply access to the lagoon for a pre-determined amount of time, all the way to being able to select different spa options.

We booked the Retreat Spa option, which includes 5 hours of access to the luxurious Retreat Spa, the public Blue Lagoon areas and the private Retreat Lagoon areas, a private changing area for us to use for the whole 5 hours, and a complimentary drink and spa treatment. It was really exciting to be able to pick this option because it provided more privacy and exclusivity, compared to some of the other options where you were only able to visit the more public Lagoon areas.

On our day of visit, we were booked in from 14.30 to 19.30. We had a complimentary shuttle from our hotel to the spa, and we got dropped off at this very unique entrance – a small pathway flanked either side by huge volcanic rocks.

Once inside, it was really cool to see the Blue Lagoon almost immediately! The areas we could see were the public areas so we still had no idea what to expect in terms of the spa. Here are some pics of the public areas:

The cool thing about the public areas is that they weren’t even very full! I had thought it might be heaving with people, but it was really cool to see that they were very intentional about how many people were allowed into the lagoon at any one time.

We checked in to our experience and were escorted through the complex to the Retreat Spa, which is actually part of the adjoining hotel, and which had a super cool entranceway.

Upon entering, we were escorted to our own private changing room, which we had exclusive use of during the entire 5 hours.

This was an incredible space where we could change, shower, freshen up, and store our belongings. We got a bracelet that also doubled as the key to the changing room and could be submerged into water, so it was super easy.

Outside of this room, the spa was GIGANTIC! Aside from the lagoon, there were multiple treatment rooms, as well as specific themed rooms for relaxation. For example, there was a fireplace room with a huge crackling fireplace and comfy divan beds to rest in. There was also a water room where the roof was glass and you could see and hear water droplets dripping into the pool above you, as you lay down and watched the ceiling.

Our guide told us that while we could use our phones in our own changing area, in the communal areas of the spa, phones were not allowed to preserve the privacy and relaxation for all guests. So, aside from these photos I don’t have photos of the rest of the interior of the spa rooms.

But I did take some of the spa exterior – including the private lagoon areas, and some of the outdoor decor.

Now, to talk about the spa experience itself. The spa was beautiful, with amazing service and attention to detail. The complimentary treatment was amazing (a full body exfoliating, moisturising and firming treatment) and the variety of different rooms made the 5 hours go so quickly.

But, the highlight was definitely the lagoon itself. While the air temperature was freezing, the lagoon was HOT. And I’m saying hot, not warm. My glasses were steaming up, and after 30-45 minutes in the water, you really do start to feel like a quick trip out into the freezing cold would be amazing, ha!

The water itself felt super soothing and restorative and the private lagoon areas were basically deserted, so it felt like you were really getting an exclusive, private experience.

There were also a couple of really nice touches – there were freezing cold drinking taps everywhere so you could keep hydrated, and there were also hooks everywhere for your complimentary fluffy bathrobes. There were also tables inside the water in particular places where you could stop to relax and have a drink – and we actually did! I had a beautiful mug of hot chocolate and Lu had some champagne.

The five hours went by SO QUICKLY. We had a great time both in and out of the lagoon, and I would definitely go back again!

So, when we decided to go to Iceland for 24 hours, I immediately got excited that this was potentially the best chance I have had yet to see the lights. Why? Well, where we were staying was not in a city, it was kind of remote, and I was banking on the fact that being more ‘in the middle of nowhere’, the Aurora would simply just show up more.

But, what wasn’t on our side was the fact that we were literally there for one night! I have heard many stories from people who visit for multiple nights, and simply because of unfavourable weather conditions (too much cloud, for example), they weren’t able to see the Northern Lights at all. So, it definitely felt risky.

With that in mind, it was probably for the best, because we ended up having zero expectations that we would actually get to see them.

When we turned up at our hotel, there was a sign-up sheet where you could ask for a wake up call post 12am if the night staff spotted the Aurora. Of course we signed up! I thought this was a great service!

So, after our day out at the Blue Lagoon and our yummy dinner, we retired to bed. We had a glimmer of hope that it seemed like a super clear night (check out this photo of the sky before we went to bed), but honestly, I think we both had resigned ourselves to having ZERO expectations for actually getting a wake-up call.

Anyway, I was in the deepest sleep when suddenly, a phone rang out of the darkness. When I tell you I had the biggest heart attack and for some reason my brain was screaming at me that the phone call was because it was morning and we had missed our flight home..!!

After a few seconds, and Lu shouting “GET YOUR CLOTHES ON”, I remembered that this was the Aurora wake up call!

We quickly rushed to put some clothes on to deal with the freezing outdoor temperatures (though in our haste both of us forgot coats and I had to come back in to get them later!) and ran outside.

I will share now completely unfiltered pictures of the Northern Lights that we saw…

Okay! So a couple of things:

• We didn’t see the strongest, most dynamic Northern Lights in the world! In terms of the display, it was definitely more on the underwhelming side to what I had somehow been expecting.
• HOWEVER! That does not take away from the fact that I have absolutely witnessed the Northern Lights with my own eyes, and it truly is an astonishing phenomenon to see IRL. Simply seeing the colours in the sky is absolutely fascinating and does feel very ethereal.
• (But I would also love to get to see a stronger display in a round two at some point, pretty please )

So, we stood outside for about 30 minutes marvelling at the Aurora, and there were also a bunch of other guests outside which added to the vibe. However, after that we absolutely had to go inside as it was FREEZING! Even getting my fingers out to take photos or videos was a real struggle!

We went back to bed, absolutely satisfied at what we had experienced, and so thankful!

We spent 3 days doing our own non-child friendly agenda, gallivanting around Oslo and 2 days with our friends. It was the best long weekend and we’ve come back from the trip feeling very full of everything nice!

Aside from hanging out with our friends, some highlights of the trip included:

• Some of the best food! Who knew that Oslo was such a food mecca! My favourite places we ate were Mon Oncle (classic French), Nodee Sky (Sushi) and Solsiden (seafood)
• Visiting the ski-jumping complex at Holmenkollen. This is a place where you can see the enormous ski-jumping facilities, as well as zip line from the top of the structure! Lu did this, I stayed firmly on the ground like a sensible human.
• Spectated at the Red Bull cliff diving competition! This was a random encounter but it just so happened that the weekend we were there, the Red Bull cliff divers were in town. We had such a fun afternoon by the water watching dare devils doing the most incredible dives from very high platforms!
• Sailing around the Oslo fjords! We took a boat around the fjords to sightsee, and wow it was pretty! Highly recommend.
• Enjoyed two different hotels! We stayed at two hotels over the weekend – the Amerikalinjen (very centrally located) and the Thief (a little more out of the way but in a cool area). Each had a very distinct vibe and we definitely enjoyed all the facilities.

Here are some photos of an amazing long weekend!

After a grueling 19 hour journey, we made it from London to our resort in the middle of the ocean – a slice of perfection where we would spend 10 days doing nothing but anything we wanted!

There are no words that I can write that will do this holiday more justice than sharing some of my favourite photos from the trip!