It’s Been Too Long Since The Last Trip

Well it has been a long time since I put together a post on the blog. There have been several reasons for this. The main one is that I not been travelling. New job and new interests in life meant the urge to travel had gone.

So what’s new in my life. Well I will be off the Cyprus next month. This will be a family holiday to Paphos. While there we will be holding a double celebration. First up my sister Helen will be celebrating her 50th birthday. This will be followed by the wedding of my niece Rebecca to her fiance Nick. It has been a long time since we have had a holiday as a family. We will probably end up being at each other’s throats. We will be staying at a all-inclusive resort. This is going to be my first experience. I’ll be alright as long as I can get out to explore.

As for the blog I am going to resume the post. It will start to encompass more about my life. My interest in buying music again and eventual move towards a vegan diet.

I’ll end it there for now. Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep on smiling.

Steve

 

March 2016 – A Review

Reviewing the past month is something I have not done in a long while. Now I have returned to blogging I feel it would be a good habit to get back into.

The big news for me was regaining the urge to travel again. Sometimes you lose the drive that made you want to travel in the first place. The good news that it has returned and I have made the commitment to book a trip to Bulgaria for late September. I cannot wait for it to come.

March also saw me start using the gym again. My physio recommended to help with the arthritis in my left knee. It has been successful. I have managed to lose 3.2 kg. This with the change of diet has helped the knee. It is important not to let arthritis take over your life.

I do not have much planned for April except saving and planning for the trip. More sessions in the gym are planned. The blog post this month will reflect my past travels. Overall I am feeling good about myself and look forward to what April brings.

Before I close I will share again the links to all March posts.

Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965!

The Next Trip

Hill of Three Crosses, Vilnius

Monument to Nothing Happening

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

Monument to Nothing Happening

When traveling I love coming across the quirky things. This happened while I was visiting Kaunas. I came across a monument that celebrates the fact nothing happened on 11 May 2014.

Today is a public holiday in the UK and nothing much is happening I thought I would share this photo with you.

Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

 

Hill of Three Crosses, Vilnius

Being Good Friday I thought it would be appropriate to write about the Hill of Three Crosses in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The hill is known locally as Plikasis kanas (Bleak Hill) is found in Kalnai Park.. Crosses have always been popular on this hill. Local legend states that this was the spot where seven Franciscan friars were beheaded. They had been guilty of preaching the bible and putting down the local gods.

In the 17th century to commemorate this wooden crosses were erected. It was soon to be visual highlight of Vilnius. The problem with wood is that it rots away in time and in 1869 the crosses collapsed. Eventually in 1916 they were replaced with a new monument made of concrete. It was designed by Antoni Wiwulski.

In 1950 the Soviet authorities torn down the monument much to the anger of the local residents. The monument was rebuilt during the period when Lithuania was looking for independence from the Soviet Union. The new monument was unveiled on 14 June 1989.

The best reason I give to visit the monument is that you get great views of Vilnius. I would recommend that you visit as dusk starts to bring in nightfall. My visit was in September 2014. It is a climb but once you get to see the views it is well worth the effort.

I would recommend a visit to the Hill of Three Crosses. It is a perfect place to come and reflect.

Until the next post, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

The Next Trip

Now I regained the desire to blog I needed to plan the next trip. This will be the first trip in two years. I had plenty of ideas floating around in my head. After much deliberation I have decided that I will be visiting Bulgaria.

The visit is going to take place towards the end of September. I have set the following itinerary for myself:

1. Sofia (3 nights) 27 – 29/09
2. Plovdiv (3 nights) 30/09 – 02/10
3. Varna (3 nights) 03 – 05/10
4. Veiliko Tarnovo (3 nights) 06 – 08/10
5. Sofia (2 nights) 09 & 10/10

There were other places I wanted to visit but on researching I found that accommodation was limited. It should allow me to see a fair chunk of Bulgaria allowing for day trips outside the cities.

For me the fun will now start with the planning and as I check the Easyjet app on my phone there are 191 days until I leave. Maybe there will be a chance that I can sneak in another quick trip.

What do you think of my trip? I would love to hear from you.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965!

Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965 seems a dramatic title. However, there is some truth with it. The end of January say the end of midlifewanderlust1965.com. I chose not carry with the hosting agreement and allowed the blog to die a natural. All those posts no longer exist.

Why did this happen? In truth, 2015 was a memorable year. I started my new job. Three months into the job my contract was transferred. I am now a civil servant. I also turned 50 and I seemed comfortable with this. All in all life was feeling good. However, 2015 was the year I did not travel. This is not good when you have a travel blog. Also my creative juices and inspiration were missing. I had stopped reading other blogs and using social media. Without realising I had taken a digital break.

With the loss of the blog I thought this would bring the end of my midlifewanderlust. I was happy in my job. I had also been volunteering four hours a week at my local Oxfam store. Their values pretty much match mine and I feel that I am giving back. After much deliberation I decided to grow a beard. At my age I have gone past caring on how people think I look.

There have been two reasons why I have decided to restart the blog. First is medical. Towards the end of last year I had been suffering pain in my left knee. It felt worse after exercise and after Christmas was starting to affect my movement. I have arthritis in the knee. The way I have walked over the years has worn out the joint. Thoughts came flooding back on how my mother allowed arthritis to take over her life. I was determined not to allow this to happen. So I have joined a gym on the advice of my physio in order to build up the muscle in my knee.

Secondly, I had been watching ‘David Baddiel On the Silk Road‘ on the Discovery channel. The interesting stories and stunning camerawork brought back my wanderlust. I knew I needed to get the backpack out of retirement. I have booked my next trip for the end of September, location I will share in a future post. As I am going to travelling I felt it would be good to resurrect the blog and the name.

What next for the blog? It is going back to being a hobby. I am lucky that I work five days a week having the weekends off. This will give me plenty of future travel time. I will start again Travel Blog Success. But, it will be completed at my pace allowing a lesson to be completed once a week. I will also start adding post from previous travels.

So, I am back blogging. Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

February – A Review

February had been a momentous month for the blog. As you may be aware I had purchased the domain name and I am now blogging as midifewanderlust1965.com. With this I also introduced a brand new look. So far I have received positive feedback.

With the new look there will be some changes. Gone is the monthly stats post. To be honest who is really interested in reading about the number of visitors I receive. Moving foward I will use the first post of the month to review the previous month.

My main travel in February was to visit London to attend “The Times Destination and Holiday Show.” I also had to amend my travel plans for 2014. Given that I had to replace my washing machine, my planned trip to Lisbon in March has been cancelled. Instead, I will be visiting Portugal in June. Also, I have revised my Baltics trip. Sadly, logistics mean that I will have to drop Helsinki from the itinerary. This problems of having to mix work and travel.

Confirmation of the flight to Porto

My plans for March are to travel some more in the UK. So I will be travelling to Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield and London. Also I will be further planning my Baltics trip in September.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

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The Last Post

Today is a sad day. This is the last post on midlifewanderlust1965.wordpress.com.

However, do not be sad, as I have registered the domain and now will be posting as midlifewanderlust1965.com. So hop on over and follow me on there.

Before I go I would like to thank everybody who has followed me over the past 20 months. Your comments , encouragement and support have been greatly appreciated. I look forward to your continued support on midlifewanderlust1965.com

As ever, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

Statistics – January 2014

These are the site stats for January:

Posts – 16

Views – 1,846 (a new high)

Comments – 13

January was a quiet month for travel. February will see me making a couple of trips to London. Next week I will be attending the Destinations and Holiday Show at Earls Court. February will also see big changes to the blog. After much thought and procrastination I have finally purchased the domain name. Next step upload everything and soon the blog will be known as midlifewanderlust1965.com (scary stuff)

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

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Photo of the Week – Life on the Canal

This week's photo comes from my home city of Birmingham. One of the well known landmarks in the city are the canals. As I may have mentioned before the citizens of Birmingham will tell you there is more miles of canal than in Venice.

The canals were built to transport goods across the country. Birmingham was one of the major industrial centres of a booming Great Britain. Today, as the photo shows it is now used for more leisure pursuits.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

 

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