Trip Over to Florence – Italy
Home of Artists and Designers
Florence is the beautiful, ancient Italian city that raised many of the world’s great artists. The galleries are filled with art from all centuries, and the streets are filled with shops and museums from some of the fashion’s greats. If they weren’t from Florence, many chose to move there and set up their head quarters in this fabulously inpsiring city. There must be something in the water here……
Trip Over to Florence
David – Florence’s Favourite Son
Our day out in Florence was inspired by David, Florence’s favourite son – Or is Michelangelo her favourite? I’m not really sure. David was created in Florence by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504 – so I’m going to stick with David being the favourite son.
All the flowers are still looking fabulous on the walk around Cremorne Point on Sydney`s North Shore.
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#pinkflowers #purpleflowers #yellowflowers #cremornepoint #sydneylocal #sydneylife #sydneyharbourwalks #sydney #walkinthepark #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Around 45 minutes on the train from Palermo, Cefalu is a pretty seaside resort town with old historic buildings, like the duomo that opened in 1240. The beaches are sandy here so in peak summer they must be packed. I wanted to walk up to the top of the rocky backdrop, but I got to the half way point and someone told me there were another 275 uneven steps to climb up from there, so I opted out, my knees were already feeling it!!
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#cefalù #cefalubeach #cefalusicily #cefaluduomo #visitsicily #solotravel
#solotrip #seeeverythingdoeverything #neverstopexploring
Up in the north western corner of Sicily, I visited an area called Segesta to see a temple built in 400BC, a Greek/Roman theatre (they`re still working on the finer points of its beginnings!). Then to Trapani to see the salt pans, apparently they usually have pink flamingos, but it was too windy for them....
We then went up to the medieval walled city or Erice, the views over the whole area from this vantage point being 800mtrs above sea level were incredible. There is a castle up there from the 1100s and all the other churches, walls, etc from the 1400s.
#trapani #segesta #erice #Sicily #sicilytravel #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #neverstopexploring #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Yesterday was perfect, not too hot, no humidity, a lovely walk through St Leonard`s Park to the Metro, then today, foggy, drizzly, bad hair.....yuk!!
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#stleonardspark #morningcommute #walkinthepark #northsydney #sydneycbd #sydneyharbourbridge #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #changeintheweather
Looking out from Cremorne Point on Sydney`s North Shore, watch ferries go by, sailing boats, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, it`s all there 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🥂
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#sydneyharbour #sydneyharbourwalks #sydneystyle #seeeverythingdoeverything #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldworldwithme #outonthewater #boatsboatsboats #sydneyweekend #sydneylocal #myhometown #sydneyaustralia #sydneynorthshore #sydneybythesea #sydneyinsummertime
Such a beautiful weekend in Sydney, the weather is just perfect!! The sun glistening on the water around Cremorne Point!! 🌞😍
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#cremornepoint #sydneyharbour #sydneyharbourwalks #sydneylife #sydneylocal #Sydney #sydneyaustralia #sailingonsydneyharbour #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #rockformations #sunglisteningonthewater
Walking through St Leonards Park in North Sydney, things took a turn last week when the weather took a dramatic turn, and I got a hole in my "warerproof" shoe covers 🥺🌧!!!
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#stleonardspark #oldstonehut #walkinthepark #blueskyandsunshine #thentheraincame #morningcommute #walktowork #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #holeinmyshoe #Sydney #sydneylife #sydneyinsummer
The public gardens in Taormina on land that was once owned by the same lady who owned Isola Bella in the late 1800s, Lady Florence Trevelyan, a distant relation of Queen Victoria who was exiled from England for having an affair with the future King Edward Vll (why wasn`t he exiled for the same issue??) She moved to Taormina and bought Isola Bella, later marrying the Mayor of Taormina. Together they created the public gardens, which are beautifully looked after to encourage various plants and birds to live there.
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#oarcotreveltan #publicgardentaormina #taorminasicily #taormina #walkinthepark #solotravel #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinitaly #traveltheworldwithme #solotrip #madeinitaly #madeinsicily #sicilytravel
Flying into London at sunrise, we had to do a few laps before we could fit into the landing schedule. Then straight on to the Underground and into the cool London air, which was so good after the relentless heat and humidity in Sydney.
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#londoncalling #London #thamesriver #toweroflondon #ritzlondon #caviarhouse #qantas #qf1 #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotravel #solotrip #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveltheworldwithme #flyinghigh
I travelled by train between destinations on my solo adventure to Venice, Florence, Siena, Pisa, La Spezia and Cinque Terre. Very easy to use, booking through @trainline I became very adept at handling my luggage on my own, changing trains and enjoying hurtling through Italy in comfort.
For more info on the art of train travel in Italy by clicking the link to my website in the bio.
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#traintravelinitaly #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #madeinitaly #traveltheworldwithme #italytrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveladdict #travelinitaly #italiantrains #cinqueterre #cinqueterreitaly #cinqueterrenationalpark #cinqueterrecoast
Flowers exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea.
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#flowers @saatchi_gallery #kingsroadchelsea #London #londonart #londonstyle #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveladdict
Pitti Palace in Florence is definitely worth visiting, the home of the Medici rulers of Florence in the middle ages, and they lived well. The enormous Palace has a fashion exhibition in some of the rooms, there are sculptures of the family everywhere throughout the palace and the acres of gardens.
#pittipalace #palazzopittifirenze #palazzopittimuseum #solotravelinitaly #solotravel #madeinitaly #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #italytrip #neverstopexploring #italianadventure
It was incredibly hot and humid, then wild winds hammered the trees, then thunder and lightening , then it poured.......
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#storm #sydneystorm #thunderandlightening #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #thunderstorms #sydneylife #sydneyaustralia
Manoel Island, just next to Valletta in Malta, was the Royal Navy Base prior to 1964. Fort Manoel is apparently being renovated to make it safe to visit. But all the other buildings that were used by the Navy have just been left to fall apart. It is the strangest place, all the buildings would have been functional, but have just left derelict for the past 60 years.
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#manoelisland #Malta #derelictbuildings #valletta #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Had a great time exploring the city of Palermo, it`s been quite an adventure!! Off back to London today.....
#Palermo #palermosicily #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything
A big day of wandering all over Palermo. It`s a grubby, gritty city, everything needs a good wash, but you get over that pretty quickly!! Easy to get around on buses and walking, the Ballaro Markets are quite an experience, all the vendors shouting, very crowded, seafood sitting out in the sun, cooking various gizzards to put on bread rolls (no thanks!!) Then I escaped to the calm of the botanical gardens....
#Palermo #palermosicily #ballaromarket #mercatoballarò #botanicgardens #sicilytravel #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme
Taormina has to be one of the prettiest towns, there is a festival on that seems to involve a lot of flowers, and there are a few thousand more people here than I was hoping for, but we all seem to be getting along!!
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#taormina #taorminasicily #visitsicily #flowers #italianhistory #solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything #madeinitaly
A beautiful spring day in London, cool, crisp, but so much warmer than I was expecting 🌞 St James`s Park was in full bloom🌼🌷⚘️🌺
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#London #stjamesspalace #stjamespark #magnolias #pinkblossoms #walkinthepark #traveltheworldwithme #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Up in Lerici Castle they ran film of the battles that happened in medieval times as the beautiful Italian coastline was invaded, I spent a bit of time exploring the Castle waiting for the rain to stop before continuing my walk around the bay, then catching the bus back to La Spezia.
#lerici #lericicoast ##lericicastle #gulfofpoets #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #madeinitaly #neverstopexploring #traveltheworldwithme #italytrip #seeeverythingdoeverything #seekandyoushallfind #medievalcastle #medievalitaly #oldbuildingsmakemehappy #historicbuildingsenrichourlives
First day in Syracuse, arrived early on the ferry from Malta, then a train from Pozzallo to Syracuse. My hotel room wasn`t ready so I walked around Ortigia, had a coffee, checked out the markets, then my room was ready. I settled in then headed off to the archaeological park.....lots of ancient Greek arches, amphitheatres, and lots of modern bronze castings of ancient Greek things!!!
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#syracuse #sicily #sicilytourism #sicilytravel #visitsyracuse #archaeology #ancientgreekhistory #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #traveltheworldwithme #solotrip #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything #madeinitaly
Today I set off on the #51 bus from Valletta to Mtarfa in central Malta, in search of the hospital my brother and I were born in. I had read is was now a college, but it seems to be all closed up behind locked gates. I climbed up on walls so I could get a photo of those magic words above the entrance, "David Bruce Royal Naval Hospital".
A few days ago I found the house we lived in in Tarxien, not far from Valletta. We moved back to England when I was 6 weeks old, so memories are a bit sketchy!!
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#malta #whereiwasborn #myfirsthome #mrarfa #royalnavalhospital #maltalife #neverstopexploring #backwhereitallbegan ##solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes ##traveltheworldwithme
It was hot, then it got very humid, lots of cloud.....maybe rain later, but there was a nice breeze on the harbour. I`m ready for summer to end....
#sydneyharbour #sydneylife #sydneyharbourwalks #lookingforthebreeze #cremornepoint #sydneylocal #sydneyoperhouse #sailingonsydneyharbour #nativeaustralianflowers
Easter Sunday in Palermo, not a chocolate Easter egg to be found!! I caught a bus up to Monreale as I had been told the gold mosaics in the duomo were amazing. I think a catholic church service for Easter is not the place an atheist should be! Even if the building was amazing, dating back to the 1100s. I just can`t agree with them asking the poorest people to donate money to the wealthiest organisation in the world, and giving nothing in return, the homeless will still be on the streets tonight!
I then caught a bus to Mondello, apparently the most famous beach in Sicily. Looks lovely but I have never been hounded by so many Indians wanting to sell me a sarong😧!!
#monreale #mondello #Sicily #eastersundayinsicily ##solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme ##seetheworldthroughmyeyes
This parade has been going up and down Cirdo Umberto in Taormina all afternoon!! Lots of drums, dancing and horses wearing more flowers than any horse is meant to!! I`m still not sure what it`s all about - but is that important??
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#taorminasicily #taormina #cittataormina #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #solotravelinsicily #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme
A few flowers on trees and hanging over people`s fences on the local streets.
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#neutralbay #neutralbaylocal #neutralbayliving #sydneysnorthshore #orangeflowers #pinkflowers #streetsofsydney #sydneystyle #sydneystyle #sydneynativeplants #sydneyaustralia #sydneystreets #sydneywalks #seetheworldthroughmyeyes
Walking all around Valletta, so many steps to go up and down!! Sunrise across Grand Harbour....Upper Barrakka Gardens and all around that area.
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#valletta #upperbarrakkagardens #tritonfountain #malta #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #traveladdict #maltalife
In Westfield shopping centre in Sydney CBD, all sparkled up a ready for Santa 🎅🎄🥂!!
#sydneyaustralia #sydneylife #sydneycbd #Sydney #sydneychristmas #sydneychristmaslights #shoppinginsydney #christmasinsydney #christmasready #westfieldsydney
The Chanel Christmas window at David Jones in Sydney CBD. It`s been sooooo hot lately, adding snow to pics in Sydney really helps!!😉🎄☀️🎄☀️🎄
#christmasinsydney #christmastree #christmasdecorations #christmasiscoming #sydneystreets #davidjones #chanel #chanelChristmas #hotinthecity #sydney #sydneystyle #sydneylife #sydneystyle #sydneychristmas #sydneyaustralia #sydneycbd #sydneylocal #lunchtimewalks
The beautiful little island, Isola Bella, in the bay below Taormina once owned by Lady Florence Trevelyan after she was exiled from England. To get to it you need to walk through the water, only 20 to 30cm deep at low tide, more at high tide, but worth it for the views.
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#isolabella #isolabellataormina #taormina #taorminasicily #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #neverstopexploring
Walking around Cremorne Point from Mosman Bay out to the point, with great views everywhere you look🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
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#cremornepoint #cremornepointwalk #sydneylocal #sydneycoastalwalks #blueskyandsunshine #walkinthesun #seetheworldthroughmylens #seeeverythingdoeverything #sydneyweekend #sydneynorthshore #sydney #sydneybythesea #sydneynativeplants #sydneyferries #sydneyharbour
St Thomas` Bay in Marsaskala out on the east coast of Malta is really pretty, I walked all around the harbour and came across St Thomas` Tower built in the early 1600s to repel the invading Ottomans, they were sent packing once they saw what the Maltese were made of!! There were salt Pans along the way, and as usual for Malta, a lookout bunker on every headland.
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#marsaskala #stthomasbaymalta #stthomastower #maltascats #exploremalta #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #traveladdict #traveltomalta #visitmalta
My last evening in Syracuse, it has been a really lovely place to explore. Making my way up the east coast of Sicily, I`m off to Taormina today.
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#syracuse #syracusesicily #syracusesicilystreets #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotravelinsicily #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything #madeinitaly #traveladdict
Pisa is a short train trip from my base in La Spezia, finally a lovely sunny day🌞!! Arriving in Pisa, after crossing the river, I walked up the main street, looked in a few shops, then wandered through a few piazza`s until I caught my first glimpse of the Leaning Tower - amazing!!! The whole area was so well managed, all the lawns are there to keep people back from all the monuments, that way everyone can see, instead of just a few. A fantastic day trip💖
#pisa #torredelpisa #torredelpisa #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #neverstopexploring #madeinitaly #tripovertoitaly #traveltheworldwithme #italianarchitecture #italianhistory #italytravel #italianadventure #historicbuildingsenrichourlives #oldbuildingsmakemehappy #seekandyoushallfind #seeeverythingdoeverything #experiencelifethroughtravel #traveladdict #daytripfromlaspezia
We`re all ready for Santa here in Sydney 🎅🎄🥂!! Best wishes for tomorrow - hope you`re not on the naughty list!!!!
#christmasinsydney #christmasready❤️🎄🎁 #waitingforsanta #merrychristmas🎄
All the action out on Sydney Harbour last weekend🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞, this weekend it has done nothing but rain, or rain more🌧🌧🌧
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#sydneyharbour #sydneynorthshore #sydneyharbourwalks #sydneyaustralia #sydneylocal #myhometown #sydneylife #sydneystyle #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveltheworldworldwithme #outonthewater #boatsboatsboats ##sydneyferries #cremornepoint #cremornepointwalk
When I was in Mdina a few days ago, I could see the giant domestic of the Mosta Rotunda off in the distance (have a look at that reel). So I caught the bus to Mosta!
The Rotunda was built in the early 1800s, so quite modern by Maltese standards! I walked up 75 steps of the narrow stone spiral staircase into the dome, then back down to check out the WWll air raid shelter underneath, and the bomb that landed here but fortunately didn`t explode.
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#mosta #mostarotunda #mostarotundachurch #maltalife #malta #solotravel #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #traveladdict #exploretheworld #exploremalta
To get a better shot of the Cannon firing, I waited in the freezing cold at Upper Barrakka Gardens to I could secure this spot, the crowds were 10 deep behind me!!
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#vallettacannonshot #vallettasalutingbattery #cannonfire #cannonfireinvalletta #Malta #maltalife #solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #seeeverythingdoeverything
Robertson`s Lighthouse at Cremorne Point on the north shore of Sydney Harbour, and beautiful plants in the gardens on the walk, and a lovely view of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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#cremornepoint #cremornepointwalk #robertsonslighthouse #neverstopexploring #sydneyweekend #sydneynorthshore #sydney #sydneystyle #sydneyharbourwalks #sydneybythesea #sydneyaustralia #sydneylocal #sydneycoastalwalks #blueskyandsunshine #sydneyharbour #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #sydneyharbourbridge
Beautiful weather to walk around Cremorne Point....finally.....for weeks it has been too hot, too humid, too stormy, too windy, too just generally unpleasant - then today...Perfect, just right 🌞🌞😍!
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#sydneyharbour #sydneyharbourbridge #sydneyoperhouse #sydneyharbourwalks #perfectday #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #boats #outonthewater
Walking to North Sydney to catch the Metro into the city in the morning.
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#northsydney #walktowork #pinkflowers #sydneyharbourbridge #sydneylocal #sydneystreets #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #morningcommute
Flowers hanging over someone`s fence in Neutral Bay, then on to St Leonard`s Park.
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#stleonardspark #stleonardsparknorthsydney #yellowfliwers #yellowflowersoftheday #walkinthepark #sydneylocal #sydneylife #sydneyaustralia #northsydney #sydneystreets
Caught the bus down to the seaside today, the pebbles were bigger than I`ve seen on any beach anywhere, it was like a rock quarry!! How people were sitting on it was a mystery! Then to top it off it was high tide and I was ill equipped to walk thigh deep through the water to get to Isola Bella. Now I know what to prepare for, I`ll have another go later......
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#taorminasicily #taormina #isolabella #isolabellataormina #sicilianbeach #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinsicily #downbytheseaside
The things you see just ambling around Valletta, sometimes I take the long route around to avoid more really steep and uneven steps, but this always leads to finding more things to see.
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#valletta #vallettamalta #vallettastreets #malta #maltalife #streetsofvalletta #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #seeeverythingdoeverything
The never ending parade in Taormina continues.....
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#taorminasicily #taormina #sicilytravel #sicilytourism #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotravel #traveltheworldwithme #solotrip
The walled city of Mdina, the old capital of Malta, sitting high up on the hill looking out over the country.
It was a bit like arriving in Disneyland at first, actors dressed up as whatever they thought medieval Maltese dressed like and whipping people in stocks, while the horse carriage drivers touted for business, but once you get through all that, it was very beautiful.
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#mdina #mdinamalta #mdinathesilentcity #mdinastreets #maltalife #malta #solotravel
#solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #neverstopexploring #exploretheworld
Right in the centre of Taormina is this over grown 2000 year old Roman Baths, inhabited by stray cats. There is a sign pointing to it, but it`s a bit of a mess.....then on the other side of the square is an old Roman theatre, also dating back to the 1st century.
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#romanbaths #romantheatre #taormina #taorminasicily #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #seeeverythingdoeverything #solotravelinsicily
Big day yesterday, out and about on Malta`s buses, so far so good, with my 7 day ticket in hand, went off to Tarxien, Marsaxlokk, Sliema and back to Valletta.
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#malta #marsaxlokk #fishingboats #maltalife #solotravel #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #traveladdict #seeeverythingdoeverything
I started the day by walking a couple of kms up the coast, then came back and walked all around the edge of Ortigia visiting castles and forts along the way. At least Syracuse and Ortigia are relatively flat!!!
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#syracuse #ortigia #ortigiaisland #ortigiasiracusa #italianhistory #solotravel #solotravelinitaly #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #solotrip #traveltheworldwithme #neverstopexploring #madeinitaly #traveladdict #italytrip
I`m in planning mode getting ready for my next Trip Over The World. Read the new post about my planning process by clicking the link in the bio.
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#tripplanning #tripplanningtime #malta #sicily #solotravel #solotrip #seetheworldthroughmyeyes #neverstopexploring #traveltheworldwithme
