September on The Little Backpacker

Wow, September. What a month. I’m gonna suggest you make a cuppa before reading this post, we have so much to catch up on.

I started this month in Athens in Greece which was the final stop on a two week trip in Greece. I returned on the Thursday before heading off again on the Friday to Blogstock, the worlds only blogging festival which was held in north London. After Blogstock the packing began for moving, between working I spent 10 days in a blur of packing, cleaning and organising. After all I had to coordinate my boyfriend’s stuff as well as my own and this wasn’t just a simple move flat thing either. I was moving into a spare room of a house while my boyfriend is now working on the road until his big move to Rio.

There was a slight interlude to the packing when I hopped over to Amsterdam for two nights of fun and partying with the Clink NOORD guys. I met some fellow bloggers and partied way to hard at the opening party. Reality came crashing down with my hangover the day I left Amsterdam and it was back to mission pack and clean. Another weekend and this time I was moving house, as well as doing more cleaning and of course, unpacking. There was then the small matter of starting university for the second year of my degree in Primary Education before I managed to escape London for the final weekend of September.

I spent my time offline in the New Forest, unpacking yet more belongings into my childhood room at my parents and just having some down time. Lastly I drove back to London and began preparing for the craziness of October to start. October? I actually had to double check as I wrote that, how can October be starting already?!

Where I’ve Been Travelling This Month

Athens, Greece

During August I had been in the Sporades Islands of Greece and for the last few days of my trip (the first few of September) I explored Athens. The city is pretty special with all of the ancient ruins and history oozing from the heart. Over my few days there I tried to check out as much as I could while keeping within the amount of euros I had left. Needless to say I blew most of my budget on beer… because that totally makes sense. This was the last part of my solo travel stint for the summer and it is safe to say drinking is a sure way to make friends.

Amsterdam, Holland

It was September last year that I first went to Amsterdam and this September saw me return. I was invited by the guys at Clink and although I should have said no because I has over my head in packing, I still went. After all Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities and who can say no to another cheeky trip. I’m so glad I said yes because we got to explore the Noord part of the city and party and possible the best party I’ve ever been too.

New Forest, England

It is always fun to go home, but normally the visit is rushed and I don’t have time to chill. This time, however, I had a little more time and no commitments outside of the house. I of course spent time helping with my mum’s horse, as well as sitting in the garden, helping cut down a hedge and baking. I was offline for the majority of the weekend and certainly needed the break after this month.

What I’ve Been Writing

First I want to share an interview Taylor Hearts Travels did with me about rocking a full-time job and blogging. Below are all the articles I’ve written on The Little Backpacker this month.

What I’ve Been Listening To

This month music has been the background to packing and what better time to explore some new music. It has been all about country songs this month and these three are my new favourites.

What I’ve Been Reading This Month

Well, I sorta haven’t finished a book this month. I am however reading City Of God by Paulo Lins.

Bloggers I’ve Loved This Month

I thought I was horrific at reading other blogs last month but this month has been worse. I just have not had the time to keep up with everything on top of my MacBook being in the Apple Store for repair!

Instead I’m going to introduce you to the bloggers I went to Amsterdam with this month. I found being together with them a huge boost to my blogging productivity and it was fun to collaborate together.

Neil of Backpacks and Bunkbeds – I’ve linked to Neil’s posts many times before and have been reading his blog for months. He writes around the same budget travel topic as I do and also holds down a full time job around travel. It was fun chatting blogging with Neil and he took this awesome photo of me.

Katie of The Hostel Girl – I was excited to finally meet Katie who has been taking the blogging world by storm for a while now. She writes about budget travel also with a particular focus on hostel accommodation. Katie was full of energy and created an awesome video of our time in Amsterdam.

Laura of Little Travel Bee – I met Laura at Traverse in Kingston but it was nice to get to know her properly. She too writes around having a full time job. Her subject goes a little beyond budget travel but like me she is similarly small.

Jo of Indiana Jo – Jo was the only blogger I didn’t know was going before hand, I’d heard of her blog but hadn’t been following her as closely as the others. Jo gave a fresh perspective on things and as a full time blogger had a wealth of tips to share with us.

October…

So October, well I’m hoping for a quieter month but I’m pretty sure that isn’t going to happen… I’m off to Newcastle tomorrow for a long weekend of exploring the city, catching some Rugby World Cup action and seeing the boyfriend. Any Newcastle suggestions, let me know! The following weekend I have the classroom part of my TEFL course that I started back in June. Then, yes there is more, the weekend after I’m off to North Devon to photograph another wedding. I think I might finally get a break then before the Traverse Mingle event at the end of the month and of course the Rugby World Cup Final, although I’ll just be watching from the TV. My week days will be filled with uni lectures, uni work and actual work. Safe to say things aren’t slowing down for October.

What did you get up to in September? Comment below with your highlight of the month and any big plans for October.