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January saw multiple trips in quick succession to France, Italy, and Morocco. Then, after a mad weekend in Manchester, and a single night in my own bed, I headed off again, this time to the frozen Baltics, but this time solo - Estonia and Finland.
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Emma quite sensibly opted for a rest. I, on the other hand, can’t seem to sit still…
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Flying from Luton Airport, it meant a Thameslink train ride across London from East Croydon and the inaugural use of my “senior” railcard. Blimey 60 years old…. Ouch!
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While waiting, I flicked through my passport. It’s almost ten years old, dog-eared and jam-packed full of border stamps. These days, immigration officials need to hunt for an empty corner of the least used page. It’s fun to watch, but I reckon four more trips and the entry officer won’t let me in… So Cardiff passport renewal office - here I come! It's the most travelled passport I have ever owned. I’ll genuinely miss it when it expires.
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20,000 +/- VISITORS A WEEK - HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
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I’m very much self-taught on this blogging lark; it's been baby steps with lots of trial and error. But I have really enjoyed getting to grips with the technical side, setting up the domain, hosting, learning how to operate WordPress, widgets, plug-ins, media, posts, and all the rest. I must admit that not coming from a 'tech' background means it takes me a little longer, but it’s hugely satisfying when it all comes together (and hopefully most mistakes go unnoticed).
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I never expected anyone other than my family and close friends to be anything but mildly interested in it, so when I checked the anonymised analytics provided by my web-host, I was more than a little surprised. In an average week, the site often attracts over 20,000 visits.
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That’s over 1 million visits a year. That’s bonkers - I really didn’t expect that!
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The travel blogs are first and foremost a diary, albeit a very public one, but the entries are also designed to help anyone who may be heading off to the same neck of the woods with a few useful hints and tips. I don’t go overboard on detail, which I guess is what sets them aside from other blogs. I try my best to write in a relaxed style, adding personal observations and a touch of humour. But it must be said that writing doesn’t come naturally to me - as my old ‘English’ teacher, Mr Carr, will attest. I was far from being a model student in my year group at Mellow Lane school. He did his best, but teaching me must have felt like trying to get a cat to fetch a stick!
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Occasionally I add a few pages with stories about my past and present life; these have absolutely nothing to do with travel and some might think they are a little unnecessary and personal. I call it therapy! It helps me to paint a broader picture of my life and, on occasion, put the record straight, or apologise, as in the case of my Mellow Lane post…
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My latest trip took me to Estonia and Finland, two new countries and a couple of exhilarating firsts. It was awesome!
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There was also a Manchester weekend for an old school friend’s 60th, a seven-day Morocco trip including our favourite coastal town, Essaouira, and my second ski trip of the season to France, this time with Emma, Natty and Hannah. It was here that we managed to meet up with my sister and her husband who were skiing in a swanky resort nearby in Italy. All of these trips were incredible value, taking advantage of cheap flights that are often available in January.
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We also visited a few London restaurants too, one being a special visit to celebrate Emma's mum's 91st Birthday.
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As ever, I’m always tinkering around the edges of the site and enjoying the learning curve.
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I’ll sign off here. I hope you’re finding the blogs useful, I certainly love writing them. I'll drop you another update in a month (or thereabouts).
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