Please join me on a journey into the memories of my past adventures and the potential discovery of new ones.  Over the next little while I want to share with you, the places I have been and helpful tips and tricks I have picked up along the way.  In this post I just want to give you an insight to the places I have been and mention a couple of places that are definitely on my bucket list.

(source)

 Now don't get me wrong, I'm not the most well travelled twenty two year old out there but I feel like the places that I have been, have been explored to the best of my ability.  I always like to really get out and discover the places I have been lucky enough to visit, these people that go on holiday and just stay in the hotel for two weeks confuse me, if your going to do that just go to a hotel in your home country, know what I mean?  Moving around a lot as a youngster has inspired me to travel as much as finances allow me, I suppose you could say travelling is a way of life for me, I don't like to be stuck in the same place for too long when there is so much more to discover on our planet.    We are so fortunate to be in the position to travel pretty much anywhere in the world thanks to the evolution of air travel, this is something we wouldn't have had the chance to do so easily 50 years ago, so I plan on fully embracing it.

My Mum's Husband and my Grampa in my back garden with the Cromarty Firth in the distance

The Cromarty Firth from further down our road looking onto the 'eight legged monsters' (Source	)

Dunnet Beach, Caithness (Source)

Old Shore Moor, West Coast of Scotland as a young teen with my Dad and Auntie

Scotland is actually my home country but only since drifting away to new shores have I realised what a beautiful place it really is, so I wanted to start with the place where I caught the travel bug.  I was so lucky to grow up in  the Highlands, the breath taking scenery of the many places I lived are photographic memories, stored in a special place of my thoughts .  I grew up in a few villages looking onto one of Brahn Seer's fullfilled prophesies, the eight legged monsters of the Cromarty Firth, better known as Oil Rigs.
Just a short drive from the most Northernly point of Scotland , John o' Groats, is another place I was lucky to spend a good chunk of my childhood.  It is here where a lot of my most precious memories originate.  I lived in a little village close to Dunnet Beach, which is to date my most favourite Beach in the world.  I spent nearly everyday here in my free time in the summer , climbing the dunes, swimming in the North Sea and enjoying picnics.  Summer in Scotland also took my family on many adventurous camping and fishing trips in the West Coast visiting Gairloch and Old Shore Moor along the way.  I'm sure it will be a surprise that I did these things, I loved camping back then but not so much now, I rely on electronics too much.

El Djem Amphitheatre, Tunisia (Source)

Camels in the Sahara Desert, Tunisia (Source)

After spending my whole childhood discovering Scotland, at the age of fourteen, my Mum decided it was time to venture abroad.  Tunisia was our destination of choice, since my initial trip I have returned once again allowing me to fully appreciate the vast array of unforgettable views around the country.  One of the hidden wonders of the world lies in Tunisia, the village of El Djem, a little slice of Roman history right in the heart of an Arab country.  The Roman Empire left a lasting effect on the village, one of which you can still see today is the World Heritage Site, Ruins of the Roman Amphitheatre.  The third largest of its kind in the world!  Only the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome and the ruined theatre of Capua triumph it's spectator capacity, it was also used for filming scenes from the Oscar winning film Gladiator.  Much of the Amphitheatre is crumbled but the essence of it still remains and is able to transport you back in time with just one glance.  Having trekked along part of the Sahara desert on the back of a camel,  choosing El Djem as my favourite  Tunisian memory is quite a statement, it is my must see of the country.  These photographs do not even come close to the beauty you experience when your there, its indescribable by pictures and more of an atmosphere you have to experience.

Inside the Cesar Manrique Foundation, ancient lava flow, Lanzarote (Source)

Inside the Cesar Manrique Foundation, one of the five bubbles, Lanzarote (Source)

The Gardens of the Cesar Manrique Foundation, Lanzarote (source)

 It seems my adventure bird tendencies are genetic, as 2006 seen my Mum up sticks and relocate to Lanzarote.  This resulted in quite a few visits from myself, it was such a great opportunity to discover more foreign land with very little finance needed.  Whilst most of my time was spent in the coastal town of Costa Teguise, spending days by the beach and nights by the bar, it was the house of an artist that really sticks in my mind.  The home of  Arrecife's local born artist, Cesar Manrique, his masterpeice's reallyare one of a kind.  With nature being the underlying reference of his work it couldn't be more fitting that the house he lived in was built at the top of a volcanic trail from an eruption many years ago.  The five volcanic bubbles make for unusual living space on the lower level, whilst on the outside and upper layer you can see the portrayal of his inspiration, traditional building designs of Lanzarote.  Throughout the whole establishment Cesar Manrique's artistic talents are represented perfectly.  Even as a teenager this really stood out to me over the typical tourist haunts.

View of Mount Teide from afar, Tenerife, (Source)

Mount Teide National Park, Tenerife, (Source)

One of those walks home along the beach, Tenerife

As soon as age permitted I went on my first independent adventure to the largest of the Spanish Canary Islands, Tenerife.  Lanzarote made such a positive impression on me it would seem I was addicted to life in the Canaries.  My time there included too many busy working weeks, relaxing weekends followed by dancing filled nights and a huge amount of sightseeing along the way.   A whole new lease of freedom empowered me, I made it my mission to visit all of the places I had read about in Tenerife.   The most visited National Park in Spain, home to Mount Teide was first on my list.  Volcanic landscapes fascinate me and I always find it hard to believe I am really there, so close to something that was once untouchable, well kind off this Volcano is still active but hasn't had an eruption since 1909.  The views from the viewpoint are just out of this world, you would only expect to see these sights in books or films, being there was really surreal.  I would go back to Tenerife in a flash, it's one of my favourite places in the whole wide world, a home from home.

I will save my tales about my most recent adventure in Morocco for another day as I have not quite visited everywhere I wish to yet, there is so much to see, but here is one of the most interesting sights I've seen so far.

The Grand Mosque of  King Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco

Who knows where my feet will take me next?  A luxury trip to Rome, where I blindly placed a pin on the world map in the home of a treasured friend, many moons ago?   Maybe a girlie getaway exploring Venice with Charl from Ginger Girl Says? A short journey across the channel to visit the famous Parisian Patisseries and Pharmacies?  I'll need to speak to Round the World Experts to help make my decision.

Little By Little One Walks Far, the quote I have tattooed on my foot has deeper than what first meets the eye.



*this was my entry to the Bloggers Lounge competition in association with Round the World Experts, I received no financial endorsement for the mention of anything detailed above, it is all personal experiences and thoughts written by myself *edit 12/5/14 I was lucky enough to win this competition and recieved a Kindle HD Fire as my prize!