After the year of 2020, and given that I came into 2021 in a lockdown, I wasn't too ambitious with my 2021 travel plans. On top of that, I had 7 ACA exams throughout the year and managed to catch covid. Despite this, as I look back I realise that I actually managed to travel considerably in 2021 and it was a very enjoyable year overall.
January, February, March - Lockdown, UK
Carrying on from 2020's round-up, the beginning of the year was spent in a strict lockdown, meaning I was unable to leave my house, let alone the country. Instead, I used this time to sit some ACA exams, read War & Peace, and train for a half marathon.
April - Norfolk, UK
The first restriction that was lifted as lockdown eased was that we were able to travel within the UK (but still not to other countries), and after spending 3 consecutive months in London I was ready for a change of scenery. During 2020, I'd seen a lot of the UK, however I was yet to explore Norfolk, so I went on a road trip with some friends to Horsey beach, where we saw many seals, followed by the Broads National Park, and ending in Norwich. We weren't allowed to stay over as hotels and Airbnbs were still closed, but we had a lovely lunch and it was an enjoyable day trip.
May - Lake District, UK
Another of the few places that I was yet to visit in the UK was the Lake District. Although I'd wanted to visit for a while, it is too far from London for a regular weekend away, however my mum's birthday coincided with the May Bank Holiday, so we took a couple of days off and celebrated her 50th with a trip up North. A lot of pubs were still closed due to the covid restrictions at the time, but we were very lucky with the weather and managed to explore Knaresborough, Coniston, and the Yorkshire Dales and even hired a boat to ride along a lake. It was also here that I had my first roast in months and it was exactly what we needed after several months of Lockdown.
June - Lisbon, Portugal
Although we were legally allowed to travel from the end of May, I had my first set of Professional Level exams for the ICAEW ACA qualification in early June, so had to wait to sit them before travelling. The weekend after finishing my exams however I set off straight for Lisbon, and stayed there for several weeks as I was permitted to work remotely for a few weeks. I had the best time and went on various road trips, including to Sintra, Setúbal, Porto and Culatra and met many amazing people. This was the big turn in my year as I had gone from being in a lockdown to revising, to having (almost) complete freedom abroad and life was great (I was also there during the Euros, which I always enjoy). I've written various posts about my time in Lisbon, as well as my weekend trips and Lisbon bucket list and this was definitely a highlight of 2021 for me.
July - Portugal, Spain & Gibraltar
I spent the majority of June and July living in Lisbon, and after trip to Culatra (an island off of the South of Portugal), my parents joined me for a road trip across the South of Portugal and Spain, with a quick stop in Gibraltar. Initially, the trip was supposed to be from Faro, Portugal to Valencia, Spain, but we just took each day as it came and ended up doing Sagres, Portugal to Madrid, Spain. We visited Sagres, Benagil and Tavira in Portugal and then headed to Seville, Ronda, Gibraltar, Marbella, Malaga and finally Madrid in Spain. Despite the heat, Spain was a lot of fun and after many years of wanting to ride a vespa, I managed it on this road trip.
August - Bristol, UK
After returning from Spain, I was required to take a PCR test in the UK. I was fairly confident that it would be negative, given that the PCR test I'd taken in Madrid just prior to leaving was negative and I'd spent the last week in a closed car with my parents (compared to partying in Portugal and living with covid-infected people for weeks prior and always testing negative), however I was mistaken. I tested positive for covid, which led to me being unable to travel for the whole month of August (as in turn, I had to delay my second covid vaccine for 28 days after testing positive and countries weren't allowing unvaccinated Brits to enter without quarantining on arrival). I had to cancel various events in the UK and couldn't go back to Portugal as I'd planned, but I did manage to spend a weekend in Bristol with some uni friends that I hadn't seen in over a year which was a lot of fun.
September - Malta
After recovering from covid and getting my second covid vaccine, I set off for Malta; despite hearing very mixed reviews from friends who'd been, I had been keen to visit this small island for a couple of years. After several failed attempts to visit Malta with friends and family, decided to go solo. Malta was lovely, with easy transport links, good food, and fascinating scenery. I only went for a few days (en route to Portugal) but I enjoyed it very much and would definitely revisit.
September - Albufeira, Portugal
As mentioned above, after Malta I flew directly to Albufeira in the south of Portugal, where my boyfriend was living at the time. Despite being Portuguese, I'd never been to Albufeira as it is know amongst the Portuguese as being where all the Brits come to get drunk and for that I'd rather stay in the UK. Although the area was very heavily catered to the Brits (in the music they played, the food they served and the nights out), I enjoyed it a lot (after all, I am also British) though I think one visit is enough. This trip also coincided with my study leave for some ACA exams, which meant that I had a lot of time to explore in the afternoons (though this wasn't great for my studying).
September - Manchester & Brighton, UK
I also managed to go on two smaller trips in the UK in September, one to Brighton with my brother after being given an afternoon off work, and the other to Manchester with some uni flatmates, which we'd wanted to do for years and had never gotten round to. We spent the weekend trying out different pubs and bars and I had a lot of fun exploring the city. The cherry on the cake was that my mate had recently gotten a puppy who was very energetic and a lot of fun to be around.
October - Latvia & Lithuania
I actually don't remember how this trip came about, except that it was fairly last minute and flights were very cheap. My friend and I had planned to go to Thailand before covid hit, and although we still want to go within the next couple of years, we decided to take a little trip to the Baltics first, which neither of us had been to. Unfortunately, these countries also happened to have the highest cases of covid in Europe at that point and we spent one day in Latvia in a lockdown, however we were very lucky to be able to visit at all and we had a great time in both countries. The food was delicious, the history was fascinating, and I managed to finally catch-up with one of my uni mates who lives in Vilnius, which was lovely. Despite the cold, the highlight of the trip was definitely drinking a beer inside a former prison in Vilnius (which is one of the film locations for Stranger Things).
November - Nice, France
Despite having two Professional level ACA exams in early December, I took a last minute flight to Nice to celebrate my dad's birthday in mid-November. One of my closest mates from Imperial lives in Nice and I hadn't managed to see her since covid hit whilst we were in Barcelona together. Coming from London, it was a shock to see people sunbathing in November, but the weather was great and the food delicious. I would recommend Lou Balico as the food was incredible (especially the beef ravioli) and Clay offers a great brunch too (both of which were recommended to me by my friend). We spent a lot of time walking along the Promenade des Anglais (fittingly), and the old town was stunning. We managed to get caught up in an anti-vax protest, but overall had a really great time.
December - Tallinn, Estonia
December was one of my busiest months in 2021: I sat two more ACA exams, then my boyfriend came to visit for a week, then I spent the next 4 weekends in different cities. This was all whilst a new variant, Omicron, was spreading like wildfire across London (and globally) so everything was very unpredictable.
The first place I travelled to was Tallinn. This was the last Baltic State and having been to Latvia and Lithuania recently, I was very excited to visit. This was aided by the fact that Tallinn's Christmas markets are often voted the best in Europe. Tallinn was beautiful, and I went with one of my close uni mates and travel buddies, who I hadn't been on a trip with since Mexico and Cuba in early 2020. We managed to go ice skating, visit the Christmas markets, and explore the Creative City (which was my favourite place that we visited). Tallinn has loads to do and I'd strongly recommend visiting.
December - Dubai, UAE
After a very busy year of work and exams, my family decided that we'd spend this Christmas properly relaxing somewhere warm. We settled on Dubai as my brother and dad had been a couple of years ago and loved it, and it was exactly what we needed. The weather was perfect for sunbathing, at about 24°C and there was plenty to do on the trip. My birthday's on Boxing Day (26th Dec), so we spent the day sightseeing in the city, which was lovely, and although I usually find shopping tedious, I was very impressed with the Dubai Mall (despite a lot being out of stock). I'd definitely recommend visiting the Expo if you can too as it was very cool and there was endless entertainment as each country showcased what it had to offer.
December - Lisbon, Portugal
Having arrived in the UK on the 30th, I had less than 24 hours to unpack, repack, do a lateral flow test, and get on a plane bound for Lisbon. I spent New Year's Eve in Lisbon with my boyfriend and some friends, before heading to Madeira a few days later for my cousin's wedding in Madeira. Lisbon is often voted one of the best cities in Europe to spend NYE, however due to the rising cases of covid, the official fireworks display was cancelled and clubs were closed, but bars remained open and we had a perfect NYE dinner at Aprazível, followed by a couple of days chilling, which was a great end to the year.
2021 was a very strange year but I am very grateful to have been able to explore other countries and to have seen so many uni friends that I hadn't been able to due to the pandemic. Here's to a happy and healthy 2022!
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