Throughout my childhood, I always felt that I was different, I knew that I was very fortunate and that, because my father was English and my mother Polish, the world was my oyster. Not that I suddenly caught the travel bug, rather, traveling has always been an intrinsic part of who I am, simply because we took so many trips when I was small. Right from the start I didn’t mind long flights or sitting around airports, the below-par food and uncomfortable seats and was instead captured by the mind-blowing diversity of people you encounter when you travel. One of my first memories is of sitting in one of the world famous black taxis in London with my mom and dad and staring out the window, mesmerized by the array of individuals of different ethnicities. I was equally taken by the sheer abundance of color on display, people’s varying shapes, sizes and colors and the very obvious display of wealth or lack thereof. A little girl of my age just couldn’t quite grasps this diversity and yet was completely captivated and endlessly fascinated.
I loved growing up in Australia, the freedom and abundant sunshine, but I adored every trip to Europe to visit either my father’s family in the UK or my mother’s relatives in Poland. Visiting Poland and the UK was an unusual experience as every time I stepped off the plane in either place, a strange air of familiarity engulfed me, perhaps there was a genetic or instinctive connection I felt to both countries, at any rate, in some ways it was always a bit like arriving at home.
Somehow, every time you travel, you reinvent yourself a little, you are hypnotized by the country of your destination, the smells, sounds and tastes, all of which have a way of making you feel entirely new. While there was no language barrier in England, learning how to communicate with Polish people was challenging and though I had some previous grasps of the language, hearing native speakers converse at speed opened up a whole other world to me. Perhaps that’s what had me fall in love with Europe, the diversity of language and culture within a rather small landmass which was completely different to what I was used to in Australia.
During most vacations, we would venture further afield, explore Scotland, Ireland or France when in the UK or head to Germany or even as far as Russia when in Poland. By the time I reached my teenage years, I was a well-seasoned traveler and knew Europe like the back of my hand. At that time, it soon became apparent, that just building a career in Australia was not an option for me. I longed for more travel and exploration and soon discovered the art of travel blogging. Having read many travel books and indeed travel blogs along the way, I soon decided to start writing and sharing my travel journals too. My blog was born and I certainly never found myself at a loss for words. I had seen so many places, lived through so many storylines and tasted, smelled and experienced such an array of locations, that the writing just flowed. When you travel, you get a lot of head space and time to yourself and I put that time aside to blog. To my surprise, my readership grew quickly and soon I was in a position to earn some money from selling advertising space on my blog.
Throughout my travels, I had spent a lot of time, commenting on other blogger’s posts, asking questions and sharing my tips as a result of which I made many connections and indeed many friends. I have been fortunate enough to be published on many other travel blogs and this has benefited me greatly, not least of all financially.
Now, I spend my days traveling, writing and communicating with people who share my love of travel and particularly my love of Europe as a travel destination.