Letter 86

Finally I can visualize a time when I’m not drowning in deadlines and instead drowning in the rush of warm air as I step off the plane. I can finally feel summer creeping up on me, with 4 months of freedom stretching far ahead into September. I’ve written my ‘study’ timetable, I’ve planned out the next 6 weeks including celebrating birthdays, seeing family, catching up with friends, packing up my room, (hopefully) training for a summer job and completing my second year courses. Then the fun will begin.

A couple of days ago I booked the first flight. FINALLY.

Everything has been up in the air recently and I haven’t been able to cement my plans and book a flight. I’ve finally organised my summer enough that I could plan the first couple of weeks. Now I want to tell all of you about it!

FIRST STOP: MALAGA

In less than 6 weeks I will be leaving Edinburgh, only to return after more than 3 months. To celebrate the end of second year my boyfriend and I are going to spend a week sunning ourselves in the south of Spain and relax until our bodies forget the strain of the year. Luckily, I have a lovely auntie who has allowed us to stay in her beautiful apartment in the charming town of Nerja. I’ve been once before and I loved it.

After that week, the world is my oyster.

Well, not quite.

PORTO

The next part of my summer that is planned is a holiday with my mum. We are going to be staying in Porto, in Northern Portugal, for a week which I can’t wait for. It’ll be great to spend some time together after barely seeing each other for the last couple of years! Porto looks like a lovely area and it will be great to get back to Portugal.

UNDECIDED

However, there is a gap between these two holidays. A 2 week gap actually, meaning I have the opportunity to explore even more of Spain and Portugal. I know that I will be visiting Lagos, in southern Portugal and Lisbon on the way up to Porto, but I could still squeeze in another place. I am currently considering Seville, as it’s in the middle of Malaga and Faro, where I’m likely to stop before Lagos. I also thought about detouring up to Cordoba which intrigues me no end! If anyone has any suggestions of where to spend 2 weeks between Malaga and Porto – let me know!

BUDAPEST, ZAGREB AND PULA

From Porto I am planning to take the trip back down to Lisbon, where I can fly out of. I will be flying to Budapest where I’m meeting loads of friends and heading down to Zagreb together. Unfortunately, due to the timing of a festival in Zagreb, I’ll only have a couple of days in Budapest, so I won’t even scrape the surface. In Zagreb, my friends will be camping at a festival for a few days, while I chill in the city centre exploring the area. This highlights the differences between me and my friends. I think it will be great! After the festival, the majority of us are heading across to Pula in northern Croatia. It will be a very busy few weeks from Porto to Pula.

CROATIA

The 25th of June is when my solo trip of 2017 really starts. Almost 6 weeks after I leave Edinburgh for Spain, I will be in Pula with the next 4 weeks free to explore a couple of new countries. I am aiming to travel down the coast of Croatia, with no specific plans in mind, eventually ending up in Dubrovnik, on the cusp of Montenegro.

MONTENEGRO

I have no idea how much time I will spend travelling through Croatia or how much time I will have left to stay in Montenegro, but I’m hoping for at least a week. This tiny country fascinates me and I hope to get a little taster of it’s culture on this trip. I’ll be flying back from the capital, so I will at least spend a few nights there! Really, it’s the Bay of Kotor that I really want to explore.

So there it is. 10 weeks of my summer roughly planned out for you all to see. I will not be booking much beforehand, only flights and accommodation for when I won’t be on my own. Although I have thought about the places I’d like to visit, I am open to changes and I will go with the flow and see where it takes me. I am dreadfully excited for my summer to begin, I just need to get the small task of second year finished first.

Summer is now in my sights! I hope you are as excited as I am!

From Lou

PS. Again, apologies for the lack of letters. I truly am snowed under in work but hopefully, if I’m organised enough, it will get better soon. Or worse. Who knows. Thanks for reading!

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