Ten Favourite Travel Memories from an Expiring Passport

I was sad to bid farewell to my old passport this week — not just because it was an EU one (*sob*) but also because the stamps inside remind me of the many great travel experiences I've enjoyed over the past decade. To highlight some of these wonderful memories, I decided to pick out one photo from each year, and boy was that hard! (I cheated because the header image features an 11th photo. Sorry!) And at the end of the post, you can find more details about my experience of renewing my UK passport during these incredibly hectic times.

Five Travel Stories from 2021

For the second year running, rather than picking my top five leaps of the year, I've picked five stories that sum up my travel highlights of the year. It has, of course, been a year with very little foreign travel. It's also the first year in 15 years where I haven't been to New York a single time. I miss the city so much and can't wait to return. But I'm grateful that I was able to travel to one new country (Malta) and one new European city (Porto), as well as taking short trips to Edinburgh and Canterbury. I've also spent time with family in Oxford and Walsall, and spent a little more time in Birmingham, usually on the way to Wolves matches. My motto for the second half of the year was carpe diem — if a trip or event was possible, I would try to do it as soon as I could, before the situation changed again.

1. Leaping into Malta's Blue Lagoon
Like many people, I had to cancel a lot of travel plans last year, including seven international trips, as well as a few more within the UK. As such, I couldn't quite believe that I was finally able to leave the country for the first time in 18 months until I arrived at Luqa International Airport in Malta in September. I spent nine gloriously sunny days in Malta, including a city break in Valletta, and a stay on the island of Gozo. Malta is a beautiful country with stunning landscapes and geological features, and a fascinating history. But nothing could compete with the feeling of leaping into the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Blue Lagoon on Comino Island. At last, I was able to enjoy some of the R and R that I had been craving for so long.

Bex's Coffee and Food Awards: 2021 Edition

Welcome to the 11th edition of my annual speciality coffee and food awards, where I am highlighting some of my favourites from the coffee shops and eateries that I visited for the first time this year. For obvious reasons, I travelled much less than normal this year, although I did manage a holiday in Malta in September, as well as city breaks in Porto, Edinburgh and Canterbury, and regular visits to Oxford, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. As such, just like last year, I've rejigged the regions covered in each category so that I can showcase as many of the places I've loved closer to home and further afield. As the pandemic continues to disrupt life as we knew it, it's more important than ever to support the hospitality industry — respecting all local guidelines that may be in place, of course.

If you're keen to read more of my speciality coffee recommendations, you may find my London coffee guide to be a useful starting point; there are currently more than 150 coffee shops featured. For coffee suggestions both in London and the wider world, you can find all of my posts here. And you can read all of my food-related blog posts here.

Coffee

1. Best new London coffee shop

Nostos Coffee

It's no coincidence that my favourite new London coffee shop of 2020 and of 2021 are both places where I found a sense of connection and community in these COVID times — as well as excellent coffee, of course. In fact, it was from Laith at Saint Nine that I first heard about Nostos Coffee, a wonderful neighbourhood coffee shop near Battersea Park. At Nostos, they pride themselves on serving coffee you can't have anywhere else and indeed, they always have a well-curated selection of coffees from different roasters, expertly brewed as espresso-based drinks or as a pourover. You'll also get a very warm welcome from Edison and Anna.

How To Spend Nine Days in Malta

This is the last of my posts about my recent holiday in Malta, rounding up my overall experience: my itinerary and how it worked out, where I stayed, what I did and how I travelled around. You can also read my other Malta posts here: Valletta city guide; day trips from Valletta; and four days on Gozo. And there are even more photos over on my Flickr.

How To Spend Four Days on Gozo, Malta

This is the third of four posts about my recent trip to Malta. You can read the other instalments here: Valletta city guide; day trips from Valletta; and how to spend nine days in Malta.

Gozo, known locally as Għawdex, is the second-largest island of the Maltese archipelago, lying just north of the island of Malta and about 50 miles south of Sicily. Second-largest doesn't mean much when it comes to Maltese islands: it has an area of 26 square miles and a population of about 33,000. Its name comes from the medieval Aragonese word for 'joy', which is appropriate given how much joy its beautiful cliffs, cobalt waters and geological features brought me. I spent four days on Gozo after my time in Valletta; read on to find out what I did.

Three Great Day Trips from Valletta, Malta

This is the second of four posts about my recent trip to Malta. You can read the other instalments here: Valletta city guide; four days in Gozo; and how to spend nine days in Malta.

Malta is small — the main island is just 17 miles long by 9 miles wide — and because it's easy to get around by public transport, I decided to base myself in Valletta and take day trips to visit some of the other locations. It's even easier to get around by car, of course, but I prefer not to rent cars unless I have to — I find the flexibility it affords usually isn't worth the cost (economic and environmental) and the hassle. And you can get from Valletta to almost anywhere else on the main island by bus in under an hour for a €2 fare. It just takes a little planning, as most buses run only once or sometimes twice per hour.

I took three amazing day trips from Valletta by public transport; read on for turquoise waters, ancient fortified cities, stunning geological features and perfect sandy beaches!

City Break in Valletta, Malta: Bex's Guide

After I got back from Edinburgh, I had a day in London to unpack and repack before heading out to Heathrow. I spent nine days in Malta, my first trip out of the UK since Seattle in February 2020. I originally booked a shorter city break to Valletta, Malta's capital, for March 2020, but for obvious reasons, that didn't happen. Luckily, I was able to reschedule my hotel booking and extend the trip to include a stay on the Maltese island of Gozo when I was eventually able to travel again.