Let me start by putting your mind at easy and confirming that no, we are not getting married, nor buying a house in one of the most expensive cities of this country, nor adopting a litter of puppies (to my great regret). Sadly all of the above will have to wait for a little bit longer, for we are doing the only other thing that a young couple on their early thirties without commitments can do: go and travel the world for a few months! Yay!!!

If you read my last post of 2017, you could see what my priorities were going to be this year:

• spend less time on my phone
• connect with nature and friends
• learn to live with fewer things
• travel more often

Well, you could say I took my resolutions to heart (for once) and so this year will be an eventful one!
I am aware that, in recent years, travelling has become everyone’s favourite sport, so this post may sound like yet another gal jet-setting to far off lands in search of great backdrops for pictures, but if you allow me I will tell you a bit more about my love for travelling and what this adventure means to me. Do you wanna grab a cuppa? I’ll wait 🙂

Let’s start from the beginning…

I was bitten by the travel bug when I was very little. My parents were frequent travellers so we grew up with sporadic stays at our uncle & auntie’s place, after which a suitcase full of exotic goodies was presented before my sister and I for us to play with, draw on and marvel at. A Barbie onesie that was impossible to find in the small town where we lived, a colourful beaded necklace and matching bracelet that smelled of incense and reminded us of places we had only seen in the movies, a pair of silky dresses that transformed us into fairy tale princesses within the realm of a playroom…

Even though we didn’t have an real understanding of where my parents were when they were not at home, my sister and I knew that we would get to see those wonderful places with our own eyes some day.

My passion for discovering other cultures has always gone hand in hand with my passion for languages. The first time I crossed the border of our native Mediterranean country, a 14-hour bus took us to a small town in the south of France. I lived with my exchange student’s family for a week and learned that you don’t need to speak a foreign language to feel at home and that non-verbal communication can take you wherever you need when accompanied by a smile and a willingness to understand the other person. I also discovered I like artichokes with vinaigrette and that French houses have a separate room for the toilet seat and the rest of the bathroom stuff. Crazy or brilliant, what are your thoughts? 😀

That same year I got to jump on a plane and visit England for the first time. With a bit of luck I would be able to put my English to good use! My mum had already told me a lot of things about England, like how good English tea and orange marmalade were, but I have to admit I was not very impressed by these (who would have guessed all these years later I would be living in this country and drinking more tea than the Queen!? Ha!). However, I was really lucky for I got to spend a month in a small southern coastal town, which turned out to be a little sunny paradise with a beautiful promenade and the most friendly people I had ever met.

After that, every year I patiently awaited for summer to arrive so that I could set my foot a bit further away from home. With each one of these trips, my little mapamundi (world map) got a tiny bit wider and with it, the desire I felt for discovering new cultures, trying new flavours and meeting new people.

And not only that, for I always found that being away from my comfort zone pushed me to be more patient, bold and creative; to question and explain my traditions and to learn from other ways of doing things. With each one of these trips, the Saida that came back home was somewhat different to the Saida that had left, and I loved that feeling…

I also love the fact that my travel memories always have a proper name. I have never been a huge fan of solo travel, for I think happiness is always best when shared, so that’s why I will always remember the name of the boy who walked beside me while we discovered the streets of Paris for the first time, or that of the girlfriend who warmed my freezing hands on a Berlin platz…

Throughout my life, I never stopped stumbling upon people who were as passionate about travelling as I was (I guess kindred spirits find each other?), and not only have I met magical people along the way, but sharing these experiences with people I love has brought immense happiness and fulfilment into my world, so we are not going to stop now, are we? 🙂

This time round, I will be so lucky as to travel the world with my partner, someone who knows me in the familiarity of our home and who is used to my obsessive way of cleaning and organising things; someone who knows I am terrible with numbers and very fussy about my hair, but most importantly someone who loves me as I am and shares the passion for exploring all the corners of this beautiful planet we live in. And for the food these corners have to offer, let’s be honest!

It has taken me the longest time to write this post because a part of me still can’t believe this is really happening (only 10 days left in fact, hello?!), but I wanted to share this exciting moment with you, glamistas, for I hope you will follow along!

I will talk about our itinerary in a different post as this is getting reeeeaaaally long, but as a heads-up let me tell you that I am not bringing a lot of glam into my light & minimalist backpack 😛 I have also decided to leave my blogging persona a bit out of the picture to try and live this experience to the fullest and not obsess about content creation, but I will be updating Instagram as much as possible and I hope you guys will enjoy the new colour palette that I suspect will take over my feed 😉

Do you have the travel bug too? What would be your ultimate destination?

Thanks as always for reading, commenting and supporting this little world curated with so much love and for being fantastic human beings!

Peace&Love

Saida

{MANGO white dress} {ASOS straw hat} {Paperchase pen and pencil} {Caroline Gardner notebook}