Bridget McNulty

A lovely place to live.

// August 23rd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Cape Town, Decisions, Time, travelling

While I am and always will be a Durban girl at heart, I have to say that Cape Town is a lovely place to live. It’s such an easy city to live in – we have an independent cinema on our doorstep, bakeries on practically every corner, and you can walk around town. I absolutely love being able to walk around town, it reminds me of my days in good ol’ Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when I was a college student and spent hours wandering around the city…

Nowadays, of course, I am a Career Gal (believe it or not!) and I have to occassionally go on Business Trips to Big Cities. I was in Joburg for most of last week, a city I do not love (sorry to all those who live there, but it’s true…) Everyone is in such a hurry, there’s so much going on all the time, and I always feel tiiiired when I’m in the city.

I was there, oddly enough, to interview farmers for work (so that I can make videos of them for the website), so I got to meet a cucumber farmer, a strawberry farmer, a roasted seed producer and a man who sells grow-your-own-tree kits! More on that later… Nevertheless, it was still Joburg, with traffic and long distances to drive and altitude.

So I was very happy to return to Cape Town yesterday. Even happier when I discovered the MyCITI shuttle! It’s like overseas! Only here! A clean, spacious bus that arrived at the airport right on schedule and took me into town for only R50. What a pleasure! My only concern is that unless we all start using it more, it might stop running (there were only two of us on the bus yesterday). I think for solo travellers an airport shuttle makes so much sense – it’s kinder to the environment, kinder to your family and friends, and much much quicker than getting a ride. And it’s totally guilt free… What a pleasure!

Check out the schedule here, and tell all your friends. One more reason why Cape Town is a lovely place to live, hmm?

Photo: eguidetravel

Day 7: Thank you gift

// July 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Inspiration, Love, food, travelling

My man and I have had such a wonder-full time in Knysna… We arrived worn out, frazzled and in need of some quality down time. We’re leaving rested, relaxed, full to the brim of oysters and champagne, and having had a really lovely holiday.

The reason for that is one woman: Jeannine Orzechowski, the lovely PR who made our stay so great. She pulled out all the stops – a sunset cruise, a massage, whisky and wine tastings, an oyster bed cruise around the lagoon… Really, it’s been one pleasure after another.

So to say a (small) thank you, we bought her a gift. Because I think a lot of the time if being nice to people is your job, you don’t get the thanks you deserve. And isn’t it lovely to say thank you once in a while?

Spreading the bloggy love

// June 26th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Blogs, Cape Town, travelling

Another reason I’ve been so quiet on the bloggy front lately (aside from, oh, I don’t know, one of the greatest sporting tournaments EVER being held in my country) is that I’m spreading my bloggy wings.

You’ll now find me, once a week, over at Travelstart Street, writing about a few of my favourite things (because blogging is one of those favourites, don’t you know). And remember Just the Planet? The lovely folks who made sure my man and I didn’t sleep in airports while we were travelling all over the world? I’ll be blogging from there, too, about Cape Town and travel and some beyootiful places to spend the night.

So head on over to Travelstart Street – http://www.travelstart.com/street/
And the Just the Planet blog – http://blog.justtheplanet.com/
if you’re in the mood for something a little different.

Never fear, though, with my birthday fast approaching (one week today wooohoooo!) I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and unknotting a couple of thoughts I’d like to chat to you about… For now, though, I have a stew bubbling on the stove, a man in need of one big hug (he doesn’t know it yet, but he needs it) and another soccer game to watch!

Have you been following the World Cup at all? Or is it just me who feels as if life now revolves around the results of two teams of strangers trying to shoot a ball into a net?

A big bloggy realisation:

// November 17th, 2009 // 7 Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Links, travelling

I don’t actually think I’m a good blogger.

It just hit me!

Take a look at some of my favourite blogs, the ones I still read even though I’m in foreign countries and have sketchy internet connection…

* Naturally Nina – http://www.naturallynina.com/
This has grown into my favourite blog of the moment… Nina writes honest, heartfelt and inspiring blog posts about life, love and everything else. And her blog is beautifully designed.

* A Cup of Jo – http://www.joannagoddard.blogspot.com/
I hate that I love this blog so much (because so many other thousands do), but what can I say? Joanna is a master blogger – probably one of the best out there. Despite her many followers, the blog feels personal and heartfelt, and she always has hundreds of fabulous links all over the web: seriously, you could save hours just by looking at the treasures she’s unearthed for you.

* Color Me Katie – http://www.colormekatie.blogspot.com/
This New York photographer is zany and playful, and posts beautifully photographed, wildly colourful short blogs about her life and loves. A delightful break to any day.

Now, what do all these blogs have that make them intensely readable? Short, snappy blog posts that are highly visual and that engage the reader.
Now take a glance over at Sweet Life, the blog I’ve been regularly updating as we travel around the world: www.justtheplanet.com/sweet-life

High-quality, well-written blog posts, even if I do say so myself (this was what I was told to write when I first started a blog). Original content and all that jazz, but not a whole lot of images and I just don’t know how to write those snappy blog posts that make people feel they have to comment. And so it hit me: I’m not really a blogger. I’m a writer, yes, and I’ve been loving writing travel pieces and trying to paint word pictures about the places we’ve been visiting. But at heart, this is the kind of writing that comes naturally to me – far too many words, and something you’d read in a book or a magazine. Not ideal for blogging.

Now how am I supposed to fix that? Tell me, please!

PS – I joined NaNoWriMo and took up the challenge of writing a 50 000 word novel in one month. But it’s 17 days in and I’ve only had one day when I’ve been able to get my hands on the computer not for work but for play. Eek.

The Travelling Life

// October 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life (and the living of it), travelling

You know, I was pretty sure I was going to get sick of traveling. That might be a foolish thing to be sure of when you’re on a nine month journey, but I’ve always been such a homebody that I thought the allure would wear off. I was wrong.

So far, so good. We’re 6 weeks in and going strong, with not a hint of travel weariness or being sick of living out of a suitcase or being in a different bed every second night. Both Mark and I have become champions at sleeping in strange beds (hard, soft, long, short, small, massive, pillowy, bricklike) and apart from the odd sleepless night, we appear to be doing well. It’s not only about the beds, though (obviously). It’s about the whole malarkey – the finding out how to get from one place to another, finding a place to stay when you get there, making sure it’s the right kind of place (and within your budget), finding somewhere to eat, taking in the sights, and sometimes, every so often, finding a spot to chill out. I think if we were hardcore tourists, it would be completely exhausting. But we are, for the most part, quite laidback when it comes to traveling.

We’re doing it for such a long time, you see. And I think this is what I’ve learnt, so far: that traveling is a lot like real life. You have days that are hard work and admin, days that you have piles of paperwork to plough through (especially when you’re documenting it as thoroughly as we are!), days when you don’t feel so good and you just want to take it easy, and days when you really just need to chill. The beauty of traveling, as opposed to real life (apart from seeing amazing things and experiencing new cultures, of course) is that it’s easier to be good to yourself. There’s no point in pushing through, no reward from a boss at the end of the road if you get all stressed out and work yourself into the ground. And I think that’s what I’m really enjoying about it… The immediacy. It is all about right here right now. What do you want to do today? How do you feel? What do you hope to get out of the day? Okay, let’s work with that.

It’s something I hope to carry home with me, along with my already-battered suitcase and my taste for lime and black pepper (which I picked up fairly recently, in Cambodia!)

If you’re looking for more up-to-the-minute updates about our travels, videos, photos and video blogs, visit us at Sweet Life – www.justtheplanet.com/sweet-life

In the meantime, aren’t you tempted to take a travel day? A day where you do what you feel like doing, right here, right now?

Seaside musings…

// September 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), travelling

So we’ve been by the sea for nearly a week, and I have to say I love it. Absolutely love it! Forget cities, forget towns, I love love love being by the sea. I always knew this, of course, but now I’m 100% sure.

We arrived in the sleepy seaside town of Ban Krut last week – exhausted, sweaty, a little strung out. Sick of being on the move. 5 nights later we emerged (like butterflies out of a cocoon!) rested, relaxed, happy and calm. We’ve spent the last six days getting enough sleep, swimming in the sea, waking up early to watch the sunrise, eating delicious food, reading a lot and spending real quality time with each other. Most days we had a vague itinerary when we woke up (rent a motorbike and explore the surrounds, walk the length of the beach, do some photographic or writing work), but nothing too strenuous. We left plenty of time for afternoon naps and long picnic lunches and spontaneous swims…

It was a delight! Which was why I was so surprised to wake up on Monday feeling down. Nothing specific, nothing related to traveling or being away from home (I went through the checklist and none of the possible problems rang true). Just a bit… off. Now, my initial impulse was to say, “How could you possibly be feeling down? Look around you! You’re in a beach paradise!” but I decided not to fight against it (what’s the point when you’re already not feeling great?) and spend the morning lying in our little air-conditioned bungalow, watching movies on TV. I gave in to feeling down.

And wouldn’t you know it, a couple of hours later I got up for lunch and felt much better. I think maybe I just needed some nothing-time. Weirdly enough, I remember having a conversation about this exact thing with a friend who asked how we’d avoid burn-out. I said, “If we need to take a day out watching TV we will – no problem!” When it came down to it, though, I actually felt a little guilty… Isn’t that silly?

Of course, not having to move around so much has also made it a lot easier to keep an eye on my diabetes, and get back into tighter control. When you’re hopping between trains and buses and walking unknown distances it’s not a good idea to be too tightly in control, but when you’re in one place it’s easier to make sure my blood glucose readings are closer to what they should be. This also means, though, that I’ve had more lows this week than at any other time during the trip. I hate lows! I’m sure all diabetics do…

So we had a blissful (for the most part) six days in Ban Krut, and then got an opportunity at the last minute to spend a night on Koh Talu Island, less than an hour away – a private island with a low-key resort and a truly inspiring coral regeneration project. I’ll be writing about it soon, I’ll keep you posted. We had such a wonderful time there – snorkeling, swimming, and finding out all about the project (see Mark in snorkeling mode here!)

And now we’re about to catch our train back to Bangkok (no running to catch it this time, thank you very much – we’re going to be very early!) Tomorrow night I head off to Vienna for the Novo Nordisk International Diabetes Media Prize Conference (keep your fingers crossed for me!) and on Friday morning Mark will fulfil a long-held dream and go to Singapore to watch the F1 Grand Prix live (the ticket is a little early-birthday-gift from me).

So it’s an exciting couple of days ahead! I’ll keep you updated when I can…

(This blog was first published on Sweet Life, our Traveling with Diabetes blog).

Around-the-World-ing:

// September 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Blogs, travelling

I know, I know, I’ve been useless at updating you guys on what’s going on!

But I’ve been pretty terrific over at Sweet Life, our traveling blog. Well, not terrific, maybe, but quite good. And combine the blogs with the daily Best Moments of the Day (short video snippets of our best moments each day) and the weekly video diaries, and I think the result is pretty good.

Check out our Best Moments here: http://bit.ly/1amRtW

And our blog here: www.justtheplanet.com/sweet-life

And let me know what you think…

Thanks

And we’re off!

// September 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Life (and the living of it), travelling

For reals.

We leave this afternoon.

Our bags are packed, our tickets are confirmed, we’re outta here!
I can’t quite believe it…

For regular updates, check out our Sweet Life blog, and to find out exactly what we’re up to, you can watch this little video we made:

http://bit.ly/3YGoog

I’ll still be popping back here, though, so come and visit!

Byeeee….

Finished.

// August 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life (and the living of it), travelling

I’m finished. Exhausted, yes, and done with packing, yes (nearly), and done with goodbyes, yes.

We move out tomorrow, and then spend three heavenly no-packing-up, no-million-things-to-do days at my brother’s, so I’ll have time to spend with the baby (my neice), which makes me very happy! And time to unwind a little, and catch my breath. I feel as if I’m extremely tightly strung at the moment. I had forgotten how stressful moving was!
Now combine moving with trying to plan 9 months on the road… Yikes.

I also just wanted to say, in this brief moment of respite in between boxes, that I’ll still be popping in here now and again, but that my main bloggy emphasis will be over at Sweet Life (once again, for those who haven’t been paying attention! www.justtheplanet.com/sweet-life)

It’s such an integral part of our journey, the personal perspective, that I don’t want to dilute it by writing on two blogs at once and splitting myself in two. That said, sometimes I’ll think of something particularly suited to this blog (I’m sure) and I’ll write here too – so don’t stop visiting, please.

It’s funny, throughout all this extremely busy, frantic, preparation time I’ve felt stressed at the amount of work to do, but by no means stressed about the upcoming journey. I’m ready for it. It’s such a lovely feeling…

I hope you’ll come follow us and join in the journey!

Any travel tips?

// August 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Life (and the living of it), travelling

With only a week to go till our Big Adventure begins, we’re gathering travel tips like squirrels gather nuts for the winter… Head on over to Sweet Life, our travelling blog, to see the great suggestions we’ve got so far – and please feel free to add your own!

It’s getting exciting…