Edinburgh on the map

Right, last week I had my first whole week off since....since I can't actually remember the last time I had a full week off...maybe it was when I just moved back from Paris, I think it was. Anyway, I digress, as I was saying, last week I finally had a full week off, coinciding with a lot of half terms so my housemate and very good friend Emma could go away for a few days as cheaply as possible as we were both feeling painfully skint. So, after much haggling and lowering of expectations, we both realised that as much as we had travelled globally, we hadn't really explored our own backyard that much, and thus we settled on a 3 day trip to Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Royal Mile

Scotland is somewhere I've had on my bucket list for aaaaggessss, partly due to my obsession with Outlander, partly because I love the Scottish accent, and partly because everyone who goes there always comes back with tales about how great it was, and as it is so close, I knew I had to go and see it for myself.

We had it all booked, a cheap Ryanair (boo) early morning flight from Stanstead to Edinburgh, returning two days later and staying in a budget Airbnb room, all costing about £80 each...not bad for a city break. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, no romantic reasoning except the fact that Emma seems to actually enjoy working with children who manage to make her ill at the most inconvenient times, so she actually didn't make it up to the highlands with me. In the end, I called on my mother who jumped on the train and came to join me.

Staying in our Airbnb on Albany Street meant that we were within walking distance to most of the sights of Edinburgh.

Wandering down the Royal Mile, past the sound of bagpipes and further into the heart of the city to the George IV bright, in true tourist fashion, we headed to The Elephant House Cafe for breakfast - this cafe was supposedly the place where JK Rowling first wrote Harry Potter - whether this tale is true or not is neither here nor there, but one thing about The Elephant House is its breathtaking view of Edinburgh Castle.

From here, we headed to the Dovecot Gallery, an old swimming baths-turned-gallery, which is currently housing an exhibition of Liberty fabrics - very niche for those who like fashion and textiles, but even a complete novice like me can appreciate the beautifully patterned fabrics and dresses from 1920/30s all the way through to modern day.

Following this, no touristy visit to Edinburgh could be complete without a trip to the castle, so braving the biting winds, up to the castle we went. Seeing the Scottish Crown jewels were cool enough, but the best part was definitely the Victoria sponge cake and royal tea in the tea rooms - 10/10 would eat again!

View from Edinburgh Castle

For those on a budget, a great place to go in Edinburgh that I ended up in twice was the Scottish National Gallery, free to enter, it has some pretty cool paintings, and for someone like me who struggles to enjoy galleries to say it, means it must be good.

Great restaurants to check out in Edinburgh that we tried were:

- Chaophraya: a Thai restaurant on George Street, averagely priced, good portions, busy so worth booking - even on a Wednesday night in October, but the selling point of this place is deffo the city views over Edinburgh, and on a good day you can see all the way to Fife!

 - The Magnum: serving traditional Scottish food with a modern uplift, located on Albany Street, I would recommend the Fish and Chips, and the Cullen Skink - classic Scottish creamy fish chowder.

 - The White Witch; an Italian/Scottish Bistro on Broughton Street, this place seems to be open all hours, the lunch and dinner menu looked mouthwatering, but I had the veggie breakfast, served with fresh tomatoes and classic Italian balsamic vinegar which was utterly delicious!

If you do decide to take a city break in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Playhouse is worth checking out as they have some great off-London performances for half the price, especially for under-25s midweek. We saw a great rendition of Saturday Night Fever that had me siging all the way home!

What's your favourite part of Edinburgh? Let me know?!

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of Love, Kate xxx

GUEST POST: A EUROPEAN INTERNSHIP

Hello lovely people, 

There was no post last week because, well honestly I'm slightly useless and forgot. However, I'm back in the game now and I am currently in the process of writing a new post about my short but sweet trip to Edinburgh this past week which should hopefully be coming out soon. 
Anyway, to tide you over, I have asked one of my lovely regular readers, Franceska Azizi, to write a guest post about her European internship at Proymse, an EU initiative that she will explain all about - much better than I would do it justice. Although I am mainly travel-focused with content on this blog, as many of you know I also work for the British Red Cross in my day to day job and I am very interested in development and policy work so Franceska's post fits right in!
Please do share any lovely comments you have, otherwise sit back, relax, and enjoy my second guest post on The Basic Traveller!

Have a great week my loves, 

Lots of Love, Kate xxx

Franceska's Post:

Recently, I had the tremendous fortune of traveling to and attend the Promyse staff training event in Vilnius, Lithuania.

This took place as part of a short-term staff training event put on through IARS International institute among other representatives, including Diesis COOP based in Belgium, Diversity Development Group in Vilnius, ICSE & Co in Italy and finally, KMOP in London. All teams came together to discuss Promyse - a project that was founded by the European Commission, with the objective to promote social entrepreneurship in the health and social care sector.

The whole journey was an unreal experience and greatly expanded my own perspective on the world, youth engagement and of the increasing importance of social enterprise. My fellow colleague, Natalia and I met at Liverpool Street Station to get the train to Stansted Airport. Upon arriving at the hotel at 1am, we retired for the night and prepared ourselves for the busy week ahead.

On our first day, we all ushered into the meeting room where we would experience our first encounter with the rest of the team and prepared for the introduction and team building, along with the social networking. Towards the evening, we had a relaxed walk around the beautiful city of Vilnius. There is a variety of Soviet architecture in the city and remarkable buildings like the Seimas Palace which is a symbol of resistance of the Lithuanian nation against Soviet occupation. The Soviet era and its architecture have left indelible traces in the city and these resonate with its residents.

On the second day, meetings and presentation began at 9am. I was the first person to kick start the session by presenting “Young Carers and Employment in the United Kingdom” and during this half an hour of  presenting I covered the current projects Natwest Skill up and Promyse and how the UK is focusing on socioeconomic development in youth through social programs, education and various empowerment projects.

Afterwards, we would observe the second session which was titled “Thematic presentation of EU situation and good practice” carried out by Diesis COOP. Along with the thematic presentation of the country situation in Greece and Italy. Finally, Social entrepreneurship in Lithuania: development, current situation and future plans”. 

Throughout the week we were exposed to a variety of social enterprise businesses scattered around the city, including Senjoro and Social Taxi - an enterprise revolving around caring for elderly people. It was a heart-warming experience to be exposed to the people coming together to restore justice to the system and make the community as inclusive as possible.

The people I met on the trip, I found to be most gracious and helpful and bonds that I will forever cherish. In the evenings we planned social dinners and sightseeing, one of the visits being Trakai Castle, only before we slowly realised it was the wrong stop, we quickly jumped back in the train!

In the end, I returned from Vilnius as a changed young individual trying their best at life. While there my perspective became more enriched by truly dedicated team members and with a few meaningful relationships fostered with those I had spent time with. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity I had to take part in this trip. Initiatives such as Promyse and Eurodesk UK are ever so important in promoting opportunities for young people beyond the UK.

Now more than ever, I am committed to working towards a more inclusive, global and understanding society.

Working 9-5

While many of my recent posts have been focusing on all things travel, I am facing a little bit of a travel lull at the moment due to the fact I am now working for 'the man' and have limited time off and funds - but don't worry dear readers, you'll be seeing more of The Basic Traveller antics coming up in the next few months as I've got a few trips booked and some more in the pipeline.

Anyway, I thought I might let you into my (albeit quite dull) routine of London living at the moment. Okay, so that's a bit harsh, what I mean is that yes, I have a 9-5, and while some people might disparage that, for the large majority of us, it is needed, because while I am the biggest advocate for travelling, for jetting off to the other side of the world or just falling off the map, sometimes a bit of 9-5 is needed. Firstly, to be able to afford to go anywhere you do sometimes need to be able to bring in the big bucks, it just makes things a little bit easier, and also to be able to get what we want out of life, sometimes that sort of stability is needed.

Now I'm not saying a 9-5 is the only way to achieve this,  or to do it, and there are various other versions of a 9-5, and not all of them are great, believe me, I've had my fair share of brain-numbingly dull 9-5's. Yet, one thing they have taught me is that stability is needed for a lot of people, and for many, that stability is what is keeping their mental health in check, being able to be secure in the knowledge that they can control and know exactly what is going to happen in their day. Sometimes they bring a sense of security that you know what you are doing, they provide measurable progress in a career or work environment.

For many, they don't want this, they thrive off being out of control, and I get that, I love waking up in a different country and not know what the day is going to bring me, and while I've heard it so many times that your twenties is the time to be free with your career, to quit your job and go wherever the mood takes you, and don't get me wrong, I love this idea, I guess what I'm trying to say is that a 9-5 is not all bad if you are doing what you like, working towards an end goal, working for something bigger than yourself, or whatever reason you are working for you. Maybe it is to support a family, maybe it is to buy your dream house, perhaps you simply need that mental stability that routine brings, or simply just to be able to pay rent this month, whatever reason is you, then that's fine. I have seen so many things floating around on the internet on the moment talking about how travel is the only way to go, how those who haven't travelled haven't lived, how everyone needs to quit their job and go travel, and I've been thinking about, while this is aspirational for some, it is also detrimental for others that don't have this luxury, those with responsibilities, or for those who simply don't want to. Wherever your goal lies, whatever aspiration - that's you.

I've been properly working full time for the British Red Cross for 2 months now, and while I finally feel like I might be getting somewhere and actually know what I am doing, it is easy to get caught up with seeing how the other half live, Instagram pictures of sandy beaches and beautiful sunsets, I know what I am doing is making a difference to someone somewhere. I know that I am lucky to be able to work for a charity/auxiliary governmental organisation that can actually make a big difference, but nonetheless, it is still a 9-5 like everyone else.

I think what I am trying to say in all these mad ramblings is that, if you want to travel your life, that's fine, if you want a job, that's fine, if you need to have a job to fund your travel that's also fine too. Recently, I've been thinking that just because I have a 9-5 now that I've kinda 'sold out' or become boring, but I know that to be a load of bullshit, I just gotta do what I have to in order to be able to finally move out (which I've done) and support myself (which I can). So suck it world.

Have a good week my loves,

Lots of Love, Kate xx

Airbnb vs. Hotels

As I may have mentioned just a few times before, I have a love of Airbnb just a little bit. So it was suggested to me by my contact at STA for me to write a comparison piece, and while STA are getting something else, I thought it was a good idea anyway.

So, enough rambling!

Airbnb:

Let’s start with Airbnb, a phenomenon that took off about 10 years ago now, Airbnb works on the premise of a kind of house sharing community vibe. You can rent whole apartments to yourself or just a room in someone’s house – and there are options to stay on boats, in castles, in yurts, up treehouses, etc. wherever you could sleep, Airbnb has it in some shape or form. They have also recently launched into providing Airbnb experiences in which local people or freelancers can advertise their services. While I haven’t yet tried the experiences side yet, I have used Airbnb for the last 2 years, staying in many different properties, from riads to city apartments to holiday villas, and I have never had a bad experience. Personally, I think Airbnbs are great because they give you the flexibility of cooking for yourself and most come with a kitchen or at least kitchen access, although I have only ever rented the whole apartment.

The down side to Airbnb, like a hotel, is that sometimes you can end up with some dodgy places that actually aren’t anything like the photos, so make sure you read the reviews and trawl through the options before you settle on your dream holiday accommodation. Another negative is that Airbnb is running the more independent hotels and B&Bs out of business which I don’t appreciate, although I see I am part of the problem and don’t profess to have the answer to this quite yet. Also, many places, like Barcelona, are imposing fines on Airbnb for setting up in their area.

As I’ve mentioned before Airbnb did save my ass in Calais once when I was left without accommodation so I would definitely rate it on that alone, within an hour of booking it we were in the apartment, couldn’t ask for any more than that!

Say what you will about Airbnb but it is defiantly changing the face of the way we travel.

Don't forget to sign up to Airbnb through my link here and save yourself some dolla on your first trip!

Hotels:

As much as I love Airbnb, I do love a good hotel. For me, this is the difference between a holiday (where I might go for a hotel) and travelling (more likely to use an Airbnb or hostel – apart from city breaks).

If I’m going to book a hotel it means one of two things for me – either I have cash to burn and want to be pampered in a luxurious hotel, or I’m going for the all-inclusive beach type holiday. I love that I can have dinner from my bed, that there’s a pool, a bar, a terrace, etc. all the things in life you would want to relax – this is my idea of a hotel and a holiday. 

Hotels are brilliant, all service venues, but I would say that their downside is the lack of ability to cook for yourself – but then if I am picking a hotel, I would know I would be eating out every day and account for that. Also, generally they are more expensive than Airbnbs, although obviously you usually get more provided for this. And finally, I wouldn’t book a hotel if I was going away as part of a big group due to the lack of private communal areas.

Verdict: As always, depends on your budget, for me, I truly can’t decide unhelpfully! Let me know what you prefer!!

Have a good week my loves,

Lots of Love, Kate xxx

The Beginning of: The London Series

After last year when 'The Paris Series' began, I thought that it was time to begin 'The London Series' in which part of my weekly posting schedule will contain various tales of my life in London... when I've done something interesting or worth writing about that is.

I moved to London just over a month ago now (!) where has that time gone, and I've now been in my job at The British Red Cross for nearly two months of my four-month contract!! And without giving too much away (and being a dick bragging about my new house)... my new house is amazing!!!

And after the hassle that it took us to find a place, it better be! When people said finding a place to rent in London would be hard, I didn’t quite believe them – after all, it’s only renting a house – but man was I wrong. 15 viewings later, 3 unsuccessful offers, 1 returned holding deposit and many many frustrated emails, we finally managed to get a house that had space, a garden, and it’s completely beautiful as an added bonus. After a few hiccups and one failed move in date, it is so great to finally be in a real adult house that is clearly cared for, unlike the many student places I’ve been in.

It also means I get to go out and explore North London every weekend and find new and exciting places for you lovely people, reporting back right here on the blog. As you may have noticed if you are a regular reader (and if you are new, welcome, and why haven’t you been here sooner?!) I am trying to have more of a regular posting schedule. While I’m sure you have heard me bang on about how I hate writing for the sake of writing etc. but nonetheless I have recently had an outpouring of various travel-y ideas, and so as not to overwhelm you all, at the beginning of each week – usually a Monday evening – a new post will be published on my site. I have a large backlog of drafts saved and a couple of trips in the pipeline so hopefully, this will be enough to keep you all reading and enjoying my content, and like I said, many London posts too!

This weekend I went to FriendsFest in Kennington Park, basically a day out with all things Friends, and made a trip to the British Museum for the latest Ian Hislop exhibition which I could not recommend enough. I’m thinking, like Paris, I should maybe make a London list, what do you think? I am going to be here for the next two years at least so if you’ve got any suggestions of cool and underrated things to do in London, let me know!

I’m also trying to put together an itinerary for when Harley and Morgan come for graduation at Christmas – a Paris reunion in London!

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of Love, Kate xxx

Slapping on the Sunscreen in St Ives

It is coming to the end of the summer and supposedly the end of the nice weather (?) but with climate change who knows anymore!

Surprisingly, I can’t believe I have never done a post on St Ives. It's crazy to me because ever since I was probably about 5 years old my family has gone down to St Ives in Cornwall every summer for the school holidays without fail. They love it so much that we actually have a house there – how very middle class!

Anyway, I would like to share with you lovely people the wonder that is St Ives. For all my non-UK readers, St Ives is located in the English county of Cornwall, the bit in the south that sticks out right at the bottom, so it is on the coast which means miles of beautiful sandy beaches!

During the school summer holidays, St Ives is always absolutely rammed with holidaymakers who decided not to go abroad but wanted a UK holiday all the same. With its 4 large beaches, St Ives is very popular with surfers, home to the St Ives Surf School, but all other water sports are available too. Although it is still the Atlantic in the UK so a wetsuit is definitely advised!

If you wander the streets of St Ives, you will find the embodiment of all English beach holidays, from the oversized ice creams (look out for the seagulls), the traditional Cornish pasties and cream teas to the fish and chips and smell of sea salt in the air, it is a joy to behold (better when there are fewer people there of course!)

Having spent every summer there when I was younger, I like to think I am somewhat an expert on St Ives, so my top restaurant recommendations would be:

-          Porthmister Beach Café

-          Blas Burgerworks

-          The Seafood Café

-          Harbour Fish & Chips

-          Porthmeor Beach Café (for breakfast and tapas)

But there are over 50 restaurants tucked away in the few tiny cobbled streets of St Ives so there is something for everyone.

What often brings the crowds to St Ives is The Tate Gallery, one of three in the country, the others being the Tate Modern and Tate Britain in London, the Tate St Ives is an imposing building overlooking Porthmeor beach, and while worth a visit, there is so much more to St Ives than this.

If you are looking for some evening entertainment for all the family then be sure to check out performances from the amateur company, Kids R Us, who can be found opposite the old cinema. They are a registered charity but the standard of performance will make you feel like you are in the West End!

If you want to know any more about St Ives  just get in touch, I can tell you where to stay, etc.

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of Love, Kate xxx

Top 5 European destinations for students

This week's blog features a special guest post from the lovely people at STA Education talking about all things student breaks in Europe! Let me know how you like it, and if anyone else fancies writing something, just get in touch!

Cheese for breakfast, casual cobbled streets and fists full of inspiration, we’ve got to be talking about Europe. Just a stone’s throw away and as diverse as it is beautiful, we spoke to self-confessed student travel experts STA Travel Education about what Europe has that nowhere else does!

Barcelona

Known for its intricate architecture, rich history and claiming football fans from around the globe. This city is the perfect blend of ‘La Playa’ and all things educational. Aside from the obvious tourist attractions: La Sagrada Família, the Gothic Quarter and Camp Nou. The Garrotxa Volcanic Park will pull in geography students. While ordering tapas and local breakfasts will be a challenge for any language students.

Paris

Students will say ‘bonjour’ to the effortlessly chic Pari. ‘Oui’ can’t recommend Paris enough for inspiring the next generation. Littered with iconic monuments and tiny bakeries where diets go to die, what’s not to love? In the Palais Garnier & Théâtre de Paris, students will find their voice. The Foundation Claude Monet, Lourve and Mussee d’Orsay should keep creative students going for a while. Trying out language skills on the locals will be a test of wits for your students.

London

It’s the very essence of all things British! Call us patriotic, but there is little that can’t be done in our capital. The very royal architecture and the ever changing science is just the starter. Geography students should head to the Thames or the pioneering eco-community BedZed for some applied learning. Art students will get lost in Shoreditch, spotting street corners splattered with little known names, yet to line the walls of galleries.

Rome

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and by the looks of the architecture, they weren’t kidding! Steeped in mythology & history, students can walk amongst fearless gladiators, make a wish at the famous Di Trevi Fountain, trudge the Spanish Steps and see the highlights of St Peter’s. If that didn’t sell it to you, they have more Gelato then you can shake a stick at! 

Berlin

Fast becoming an educational hotspot, this is where famous history sites double as educational opportunities; the Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate. One of the most immersive ways to experience the city is a Religious tour. If you’re looking for something a little outside of the city head to Potsdam, for beautiful gardens and historical buildings.

Fun Fact: The highest toilet in Europe is on Mont Blanc at over 4,200 meters!

Like what you see? The fun doesn’t have to end, enjoy more blogs from STA Travel Education here.

Socials

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/STATravelEducation

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sta_education

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/statraveleducation

I have an announcement!

I promised this announcement quite a while ago now, and actually, the news I had to share has changed somewhat.

After my last post about the internship I did at the British Red Cross, I have now been offered a job there – although thankfully not in fundraising! While I’m not knocking it at all, they all do very good work; it is just not for me. This job is working as a Technical Team Assistant for the International Directorate so it is more to do with the actual projects that BRC does rather than raising money for them. It is only a 4-month contract so will run until December but this actually works out well for me as it means that I will be free when Harley and Morgan come to London for graduation – so that’s really exciting!

My other good news is that finally, finally, I think we have got a house sorted. I don’t want to get ahead of myself too much because the last house that we put a holding deposit down for fell through after about a week but I have a better feeling about this one. So there is now the fun of beginning to pack up all my stuff, but by the end of the month, I will be finally living in London!! I’m so excited, and this house is so beautiful, we can just move straight in, nothing needs to be done, everything is so perfect, I don’t want to jinx it but if we can pull this off I will be living on cloud nine.

Also, ANOTHER great bit of news that I have been trying to keep under wraps is that I have been approached by STA Travel, just about my favourite travel company (that I can afford), to work with them in a collaboration or two, so look out for your favourite Basic Traveller posts coming at you from the STA Education blog, I am hoping that this will lead on to some bigger and better things for this blog too. Let's make it a well-established spot on the map, eh? Although I can't do it without your help, so get hashtagging, tweets, and sharing as many posts as you can and if you send me a message with a screenshot of this, I'll send you some Basic Traveller goodies!

What’s all your news? Get in touch and tell me what you are up to? Anyone else had any housing disaster stories??

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of Love, Kate xxx

Inside the Internship: The British Red Cross

This title makes this post seem like it is a secret expose with some huge scandal. I wish it was, but hold onto your seats ladies and gentlemen because this is going to get exciting! It is the long awaited post I know you have all been waiting for – all about my recent 3 month internship at the British Red Cross.

I know, I doubt many of you are actually interested in this, so feel free to just scroll to the end, it won’t be long and I won’t be offended!

While I was at BRC I worked in the Restricted Funding team (no, I had no idea what that meant either) but essentially, from what I have understood, this team collects together restricted ‘asks’ (specific allocations of money that go to specific products) and then write up all the documents for this to pass on to other high value giving teams (Corporate, Philanthropy, etc). There is a lot of copy writing as part of it and so many spreadsheets.

My first month here was pretty good, really interesting and I had a lot of different things to write and decipher, a bit of a learning curve but definitely manageable. What I found the best was the fact we were responding to real life, in the moment situations, like writing reports for the disaster fund on the recent Guatemalan volcano eruption or the recent violence in Gaza – that was pretty cool.

My experience here has been invaluable, but as it was an unpaid internship there is only so much value in working for free, so I am glad it is over now.  

Have you guys done any internship you would or wouldn’t recommend? Get in touch and let me know!

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of Love, Kate xxx  

My 5 Top Travel Apps

So we all now live in a scarily connected age of technology and the way we travel has certainly changed over the years, and therefore I thought I might share with all you lovely people my favourite and most used travel apps. (And before you ask, no, this post is not sponsored, just my honest thoughts and feelings). While there are definitely more (SkyScanner, HostelWorld, Uber etc. these are my favourites)

1.       Airbnb

Now as you are all very aware I am a massive fan of Airbnb as I probably don’t stop talking about it and recommending it enough in all of my travel posts (more on this to follow). However, the Airbnb app has been a lifesaver for me as it has helped me get out of many a sticky situation with no accommodation. The interface is really easy to use, the messaging system is great, the only downside I have found is that obviously you need WiFi or a data connection to be able to use it which is fine when you are at home or in the city, not so great when you are stuck in a field in Calais in the middle of January with nowhere to sleep for the night… (See my Calais post for reference).  Also, if you use my link on the Links and Discounts page here you’ll get money off your first stay!

2.       Touch Note

This app is definitely less commonly heard of, I have had it on my phone for a couple of years now after I saw it recommended on Channel 4’s Travel Man, although the other week I did see it advertised on TV, so hopefully it is going to pick up soon.

The basic premise of this app is that it turns your holiday photos into a postcard, allows you to write a message and will send it to your recipient all from the app. While the app itself is free, you do have to buy credits to be able to send each card. However, I think it is great, especially in world where we are always on our phones and are often in places where it is hard to find a stamp, this app solves the problem. Also, the cards are really professional and make great holiday souvenirs. I always send them to my grandma and friend Sophie who love getting postcards!

3.       Gratitude Tipping

This app is relatively new to me as I was contacted on Twitter about this, but after playing around with it I would definitely rate it. Gratitude Tipping works both online and offline (bonus when you are in those hard-to-reach-WiFi places) and will tell you from your location, bill amount, service and people shared, how much the average tip should be for your bill. It has a wide range of countries and is essential for a Brit like me who almost never tips in the UK (we just don’t really do it here). Saves the embarrassment of under-tipping someone and saves you money from over-tipping too!

4.       TripSoSo

While TripSoSo may not be the most streamlined or stylish app, it is quite good in providing you a jumping off point for finding things to do in your travel destination. Allowing you to use it online and download location guides for offline use, this app also has in-app purchases allowing you to book tours and excursions through them. While it certainly doesn’t have everything you can do, it is a good place to start and often has some less-thought of ideas that aren’t always in the Lonely Planets (A post on this will also follow soon!).

5.       CityMapper

My final top-rated app is CityMapper. If you haven’t heard of CityMapper, what rock have you been hiding under the last few years? CityMapper is fairly self explanatory, only working in major cities (although they are always adding more locations), it provides you a map of the city and shows the quickest ways of getting from A to B. It also provides price, how many calories you will burn, and live updates on public transport arrivals. In some locations is has also launched its own bus service. If you haven’t got it already, download it now!

Have a good week my loves!

Lots of Love, Kate xxx