I've always said I would die while travelling. Maybe I'd go down in a dramatic fireball of a plane crash, or perhaps I'd slip off a cliff in some beautiful exotic location, the possibilities really are endless. And let's be honest with my track record no one would be shocked if the worst were to happen while I'm off on my holibobs.

If I'm not tripping down a flight of stairs and breaking bones, I'm out and about making bad decisions, so between my own clumsiness and the sheer amount of wild things that happen to me on regular basis, it's really no surprise that I've already had a few close calls.

Looking out an airplane window on to the clouds below

So here are 6 times I thought I was going to die while travelling...

That time I was hit by a car in Amalfi

Amalfi is without a doubt one of the most beautiful seaside towns I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. The views across the town are spectacular, and the waters that lap the shore are calm and warm, it really is the perfect place for a short break. But if you've ever been to Italy I'm sure you'll know all too well that the roads are anything but paradise. Never in my life have I seen such dangerous driving on such tiny winding roads.

Now I'm fairly used to being hit by things, I have a habit of stepping out into roads without looking after all, but this incident was far from my fault for once. As I was making my way up one of the twisting roads leading out of Amalfi I was all too aware of the cars zipping up and down, getting ever closer to myself. Ensuring I was strolling as close to the barrier as humanly possible I was fairly certain I would be safe from the speeding vehicles even though my bare legs would be sprayed with a fine layer of dust and warm air with every passing car. This imaginary safety bubble I had wrapped around myself was soon burst when I felt a hard hot chunk of plastic smash into my left arm. I'd been hit by the wing mirror of a car. Luckily I wasn't too hurt, and the only damage I came away with was a sore shoulder, nothing a little Aperol Spritz couldn't fix eh?

Looking out across the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast.

Amalfi, Italy

That time I accidentally ate raw meat in Warsaw

Languages, I've always been fascinated by them but I've never been able to get my head around anything other than English. And it's not like I didn't try, I spent 5 good years of my life trying to learn German and all I've got to show for it is a GCSE certificate and the ability to order a very limited amount of food items with a very questionable accent. So when I travel, apart from using a basic translate app, I often have to rely on old fashioned good luck to survive, which brings me to my next story.

On my second day in Warsaw, I found myself walking down a huge boulevard lined with tall grey communist-era buildings. With my destination still a little while away and my stomach begging for lunch, I decided it was time to grab a snack. Being further out from the city that I would have liked, and also not wanting to lose too much time I nipped into a convenience store for a quick bite to eat.

Most food items are pretty self-explanatory, so regardless of my inability to read anything other than English I was fairly confident I had just bought a banging pack of Polish Peperami. Happy with my snack, and keen to continue on my way I soon started munching away and that's when it hit me. As soon as I bit down on my new meaty treat my mouth was filled with a spicy liquid. Unsure of what I had just chomped on I quickly I swallowed it all down. Panic ensued. Myself and my partner at the time began trying to frantically translate the packet to decipher if I had just consumed raw meat. Convinced it was too late for me, I put the porky snack away and began wondering just how severe my food poisoning would before returning to the hotel. Once back at the reception area I hysterically begged the concierge to translate what was left of the wrapper so that I could be sure just what I would be vomiting up later that evening. "Cured meat" he quickly replied. And so I did not die, this time.

Looking across canal in Amsterdam towards tall thin wonky dutch houses.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

That time I burst a blood vessel in my eye in Amsterdam

My ability to injure myself generally knows no bounds, but apart from the occasional bruises I get while intoxicated, I usually know how I've done it. Well, when I awoke one morning in misty Amsterdam I'd done some damage I couldn't account for. While I was likely drinking fairly heavily the night before I'd not gone too wild, and so as I started to do my makeup in the hotel room mirror I was shocked to see blood within my eyeball. The small drop of blood, which had pooled on the white of my left eye, was alarming but as it was so tiny I didn't panic. That was until I was eating breakfast and my partner at the time noticed that the blood had spread, and quite quickly too.

Sure that I was bleeding out through my eyeball I desperately scanned google for an English speaking doctor in central Amsterdam. By this time the majority of my eye was now covered in a deep shade of red and I could feel the liquid oozing underneath the surface. Having no luck with my search I approached the hotel receptionist who looked just as concerned as I. He quickly discovered a private doctor a few streets away and so off we went, into the cold of the morning to find out if I would live to see another day.

It wasn't long before we found ourselves in the home of a friendly Dutch Doctor who was all too casual about my terminal condition. He quickly checked me over and assured me I wasn't going to die, though the bleed would likely get worse before it got better, fantastic. And so I left the Doctors house reassured and slightly proud that he initially thought I was Norwegian, so I must have looked hot that day. My holiday photos were ruined, but at least I didn't have internal bleeding.

Pizza and beer on a table in front of the blue mediterranean sea.

Lunch with a view in Amalfi

So what have I learned from this? 1. I panic VERY easily 2. I bother hotel receptionists way too much with my medical concerns. And 3. One day I will probably die while travelling...

Don't forget to come back to read part two of the times I thought I would die while travelling! Yes, there are MORE stories!!

And please feel free to leave your own little travel mishaps in the comments below! I love hearing about your stories too!

Thanks for reading!

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Birmingham, UK

6 TIMES I THOUGHT I WOULD DIE WHILE TRAVELLING (PART 1)

lifestyle, travel

Hiya guys! How are you doing?! Today I'm taking things right back to the good old days of blogging with a classic 'What's in my bag post! Back in the early 2010's (the prime days of blogging) everyone who was anyone was pushing out these kind posts like their lives depended on it! And I should know, I published a fair few myself!

But let's be honest, while blogging has changed and evolved a hell of a lot over the last decade, we're still as nosy as ever and we still want to know what everyone is carrying around in their bags! So I'm going to tell you! I can't promise I have anything particularly interesting in my little leather Zatchels bag BUT I can promise you nothing but honesty.

Grace is holding a black leather messenger bag up to the camera

So what is in my bag?

Lip Balm

Okay I'm going to be honest, I am a Lip Balm hoarder! It's actually starting to become a bit of an addiction, but I'm telling you now I wouldn't be caught dead without my favourite Nivea Peach Lip Balm.

Hand Sanitiser

Shocker - I've got a bottle of Hand Sanitizer in my bag. Before the pandemic Sanitizer was something I would occasionally take out with me on day trips or holidays, you know any time I'd be going on planes or trains, but now I can't see myself leaving the house without it. I've tried out a fair few bottles over the last 12 months but I can safely say the one liked the most was a Strawberry Laces Hand Sanitizer from Carex.

Grace is holding two lip balms in her hand. One is an original Nivea lip balm, the other is a Nivea Peach Flavoured Lip Balm.

Hand Cream

As a someone who suffers with eczema this pandemic has been an extra nightmare. all the excessive hand washing has dried my hands out more than ever before so I'd be crazy not to have a cream on hand (ha) at all times! I've been through my fair share of creams over the years, but right now I'm loving the Body Shop Grapefruit Hand Cream. It's pocket sized, smells unreal, and does a pretty decent job on my dry skin.

A facemask (or 7)

I couldn't write about my pandemic survival guide kit without mentioning facemasks! They're the accessory of the season for all the wrong reasons but they're kind of a must have right now. I seem to have an ever growing collection of masks, most of which I picked up from Savers for just a couple pounds each.

A black leather handbag is lying open on a bed. Multiple items are spilling out from within.

Beat up old Asos purse

One day I will be the proud owner of a beautiful Vivienne Westwood purse, but until then I am the slightly less proud owner of this beat up Asos purse which I've had for far too long. I've been wanting to replace it for quite some time now but I just haven't found anything that is the right size with the ideal amount of card spaces and room for coins too!

Perfume

Not sure who I'm trying to impress right now with my sweet scents but I always carry a perfume with me. Even if I'm just nipping to the supermarket, and let's be real that's all we can do right now, I'll still pack my all time favourite Avon perfume - Rare Pearls!

Grace is holding a small clear bottle of hand sanitozer.

So that's it! All the goodies I lug around with my in my bag while the pandemic rages on around me. While this 'what's in my bag' post is quite a bit different to the others, it was nice to get back to blogging basics again, and who knows maybe I'll write another in a few years (minus the rona protection of course!).

What are your pandemic handbag essentials?

Thanks for reading!

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Birmingham, UK

WHAT'S IN MY BAG - PANDEMIC SURVIVAL KIT

lifestyle

Trigger warning

Ever since I can remember, prepping for a holiday has been one of my favourite things to do. Rushing around the shops grabbing some last minute toiletries and adding a few too many new outfits to the trolly has always been a fond past time for me. And so when I arrived at Merry Hill shopping centre in March 2008 to do just that I was excited, little did I know what I would actually be taking home with me.

Grace sits in front of a mural. she is looking off to the side.

Myself and my family spent the day in and out of shops picking out new clothes for our trip to Dorset the following week, and while the shopping spree was hell on earth for my Dad, I was having the time of my life trying on all my new outfits. After what would have been hours of browsing, were came across a fashion show on the bottom floor of the shopping center, and me being me I had to watch it. Luckily we were on a higher floor and so our view of the catwalk beneath us was perfect. I could see every beautiful model, every pretty little dress, and better yet my parents weren't finished shopping yet so I could enjoy the whole thing in peace.

With my little sister sat happily on a bench a few feet away I leaned over the glass barrier to watch the show below. Within minutes I was consumed by the catwalk and completely oblivious to the world around me, that was until I heard a group of boys walk up behind.

I could hear them talking but as the show still had my attention I paid it no mind and continued enjoying the presentation. Then I realised how close they had gotten to me. As a shy teenager I would avoid confrontation like the plague but these boys were getting a little too close for comfort, and just as I was about to turn around I felt it. Like an electric shock hitting my spine I felt a hand touch my back and slowly move downwards. I could hear them giggling as their friend touched me, gradually moving down further and further. "You're going all the way down her back!" one of the bunch exclaimed, but it wouldn't be long before his hand had reached the top of my bum.

They say when faced with danger your fight or flight reaction kicks in, but they rarely mention that actually sometimes you freeze. Sometimes you are so overwhelmed by the situation that your body tenses, you can't escape, and so you just stay, frozen by fear but unable to even scream. That's exactly what I did.

The lads, who seemed maybe a few years older than myself, soon left but I didn't dare turn around. Why on earth didn't I turn around? Why didn't I stop them, or at the very least push them away? I'm not sure I'll ever truly know why I didn't fight back in that moment.

And so I watched the show until the end, unsure if I'd imagined everything that had just happened. I couldn't bare to ask my sister if she had witnessed anything because what even was there to see? A couple of boys touched my lower back and bum for a few seconds? And I never spoke about the ordeal with anyone because it just seemed so trivial when I compared it to what others had been through. I never spoke about it until now that is because actually, I've come to realise it was assault. I was sexually assaulted at 13 and even if I can sometimes brush it off as 'boys being boys' it's stayed with me, always.

I've replayed the situation in my head a thousand times and to this day I can't make sense of it, but I guess that's the thing with situations like that, they don't need to make sense. I was a child, I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't encourage attention, it was just something that happened to me.

There have been other instances since then of course, unwanted touching by male acquaintances, inappropriate kissing by much older family members and friends, or just straight up grabbing by strangers in bars, but thankfully all have been quite mild compared to other's experiences. Growing up these things were just a fact of life for a girl but no more.

I am done with listening to horrible statistics of women being assaulted and raped and murdered by men. This shouldn't be the way things are. And so I'll add my story to the mix, as minor as it may be, and I'll stand up whenever I see injustice against women because I cannot take history repeating itself with girl after girl after girl.

Every woman has a story like mine or worse, and that's not okay.

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What can we do to change this for future generations of women?

While I agree not all men are like this, it's a fact that almost all women have been inappropriately touched by men, or catcalled as they walk the streets. So while women can (and always have) done things to try keep themselves safe this is a male issue.

Men, we are going to need you to take a good look at yourselves and the way you have been brought up to treat girls and women. We need you to call out your friends when they make unwanted comments or advances. You are going to have to stop honking your horns at children as they walk home from school. The list could go on, there is a lot of work to do.

We need to end this violence against women.

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There is currently a petition to make street harassment a crime in the UK. If you feel strongly about protecting women, please click the link below to sign it.

Make public sexual harassment a criminal offence in the UK

Thank you for reading!

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Birmingham, UK

THE FIRST TIME I WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED I WAS 13

lifestyle

This year Mother's Day falls on the 27th of March, so if you haven't got that special lady a gift just yet, you'd better act fast! But what do you get the most influential woman in your life? Well if you're from Birmingham, I already know one thing you're definitely going to be hunting down this March - a "Mom" card. We don't do "Mum", "Mam" or "Mother" here!

I'll also assume (because you're reading this gift guide) that you're a good Brummie who is looking to support some great Birmingham businesses this Mother's Day, so I'll try to help you out the best I can!

I've popped together a list of fantastic Birmingham independent's supplying all of the things your Mom could possibly want. From flowers arranged by born and bred Brummies to bevs brewed right here in the second city, I'd like to think I've got it all covered!

Oh and I've even tracked down a couple of Mom cards too! You're welcome!

So here it is, my ultimate Brummie Mothers Day Gift Guide...

Plants and flowers

Jungle Houseplants

Birmingham based houseplant shop with delivery across the UK. Gifts, greetings cards, and gift cards are also available.

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So here are 6 times I thought I was going to die while travelling...

So what have I learned from this? 1. I panic VERY easily 2. I bother hotel receptionists way too much with my medical concerns. And 3. One day I will probably die while travelling...

Don't forget to come back to read part two of the times I thought I would die while travelling! Yes, there are MORE stories!!

document.write(ssyby); Birmingham, UK

6 TIMES I THOUGHT I WOULD DIE WHILE TRAVELLING (PART 1)

So what is in my bag?

document.write(ssyby); Birmingham, UK

WHAT'S IN MY BAG - PANDEMIC SURVIVAL KIT

*Trigger warning*

document.write(ssyby); Birmingham, UK

THE FIRST TIME I WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED I WAS 13

So here it is, my ultimate Brummie Mothers Day Gift Guide...

document.write(ssyby); Birmingham, UK

THE ULTIMATE BRUMMIE MOTHER'S DAY GIFT GUIDE

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