My Blogging Story & Thoughts on Blogging

Recently I've become busier with my online teaching jobs (which of course is a good thing), so I won't have quite so much time for local travels. But fortunately, I've now more or less completed the original local "bucket list" that I wrote last year. There are a couple more places that I've added to the list more recently, and hopefully I'll have the chance to visit them sometime soon. However, I don't think I'll be travelling somewhere new every week like I was before.

An advantage of this is that I'll have the opportunity to write different types of posts, instead of just write-ups of trips I've been on. This will allow me to keep this as an international travel blog, which was what I'd always intended it to be, rather than as a UK travel blog, which is pretty much what it's turned into over the last year. So over the coming weeks I plan to write some more Travel Tips articles, as well as other posts about places I've been to and about the topic of travel in general.

Today's post is going to focus on the topic of blogging, and travel blogging in particular. This is an area that I knew very little about, when I first dipped my toe into it back in June 2017. Over the last four years (has it really been that long?!) it's become a huge passion of mine and a big part of my life. Here's how I got started...

My Blogging Story

I first started blogging in order to document my Year Abroad between 2017 and 2018, and I gave that first blog the very creative name of "My Year Abroad Blog 2017-2018". It's kind of a rite of passage for modern languages students to write a Year Abroad blog and then share it on social media, so that their friends and family can see what they're getting up to, and I felt like it would be a fun thing to try and a good way of preserving memories of the year. So I decided to give it a go, although I was too self-conscious to share it with anyone other than close friends and family.

It took me a while to get into the process of blogging, but by the end of the year I didn't want to stop. I was hooked on living and travelling abroad, and also on writing about these experiences. That's why I decided to start my current blog, now known as Charlotte's Travel Adventures. Again, perhaps not the most creative name, but it does what it says on the tin! I try to look for adventures wherever and whenever possible (even though that's been significantly more challenging over the last 14 months), and that's what my blog is all about. I've now written over 100 posts here, and I plan to keep going for many years to come!

One thing that blogging has taught me is just how much I love writing. Previously, I'd thought it was something I disliked; I would feel overwhelmed when I had to write long essays at school, college and university, and I would struggle for hours trying to get them done. But having the freedom to write how I want about what I want has been a revelation for me. Now I see writing as a fun and creative activity, rather than a difficult, torturous process. I'm really grateful to have discovered this passion for writing, and it's now something I try to do every day.

Blogging has also given me a love for photography that I didn't have before. When I first started, I didn't have much skill in this area at all, but I do think I've improved. I'm no expert photographer, but what I try to do is to give a sense of what it's really like to visit the places I blog about. That's why I make very few changes to the photos I take - too many travel blogs filter and Photoshop the hell out of their photos until they look completely fake. I suppose it's about creating an "aesthetic", but it's not something I'll ever do. I want my blog to be 100 percent authentic, and that won't ever change.

Thoughts on the World of Blogging

That leads me on to this next section of this post, where I'm going to discuss my thoughts on the world of blogging as a whole.

When I first started blogging, I thought of a blog as being a simple website, consisting of a series of posts in which the blogger shares their passion, just for the joy of it. Basically, something like this blog! However, it seems that in recent years the meaning of the word "blogging" has changed a lot from what it originally meant.

After I graduated from university in summer 2019 and was looking for a job that would allow me to live abroad and travel a lot, I started seeing a lot of adverts and articles popping up online promoting travel blogging as a viable career choice. ("Quit your 9-5!" "Travel the world full-time!" "Live your dream!" "It's so easy!") And I have to admit, I was extremely tempted by the idea that I could possibly make this blog into an actual career and spend my days doing what I love most: travelling and writing about travelling.

But when I read more about what I should do in order to achieve this, the idea became less appealing. It would involve relentlessly promoting my blog on social media (not really my thing), churning out posts designed to rank highly in search engine results ("Here is THE ultimate guide to a city I've only spent 48 hours in!") rather than writing about what inspires me, and paying shedloads of cash to turn my simple blog into something that I would describe as a professional corporate-style website as opposed to an actual blog. I would look at online forums and find dozens upon dozens of people asking questions like, "What should I blog about in order to make lots of money?"(Um, maybe try writing about what you're passionate about?) I also came across bloggers offering extortionately-priced courses on how to monetise a blog, which seemed to me to be almost a sort of pyramid scheme. It wasn't exactly encouraging.

Thankfully, in the end I did find a career that I love (teaching English as a foreign language) and which also allows me to travel and live abroad (well, at least in theory it does...). Blogging is such an competitive market, and even if you do follow all the steps mentioned above, it still doesn't guarantee success, which is why I'm happy to just continue blogging the way I want to. But I'm hopeful that in the future more authentic blogs will become the fashion again!

Thoughts on "Influencers"

Speaking of authenticity, or a lack thereof, so-called social media "influencers" and bloggers are two things that are often confused for one another nowadays, although they are definitely not the same thing. Obviously, bloggers write blogs, whereas "influencers" use social networks like Instagram or YouTube to make money. They are two separate categories, although some "influencers" are also bloggers and vice versa.

Now I have nothing against people earning money from creating content online; personally, I enjoy using content from food bloggers and fitness YouTubers for instance. If you have a talent or expertise that you can share online in a way that's useful or entertaining for people, then of course you should be able to make a living from that. 

The problem I have is with the influencer culture that exists nowadays, which means people can get very rich and famous, without demonstrating any discernible talent or creating any valuable content. These people can get paid thousands of pounds simply for making a short, basic social media post to advertise a product, and often get showered with free gifts, ranging from small things like snacks, all the way to hugely expensive things like luxurious holidays. I just find it distasteful, when many others are struggling to get by.

Some "influencers" also have blogs, but these blogs cover such a wide range of topics, that it's obvious their authors cannot have a passion for, or a special expertise in everything they write about. Many claim to be experts in several areas at once, e.g., travel, lifestyle (whatever that's supposed to mean), fashion, beauty and fitness. To me that translates to "give me lots of free holidays, makeup and clothes". And sure enough, if you look at any of their blogposts, they're packed full of advertising.

Clearly, there's a market for this kind of content, but I do find it quite unethical, and I think it's sad that blogging is now associated with the world of "influencing."

My Blogging Future

It may sound like I'm pessimistic about the world of blogging and online content creation, but my issues with the increasing inauthenticity and monetisation of the area haven't stopped me from enjoying working on my blog. 

I'm not going to deny that it would be nice to earn money from blogging, and it's definitely not something I'd rule out! However, it would have to be in a way that is ethical and that doesn't compromise the authenticity of my blog. 

As for the future direction of Charlotte's Travel Adventures, I'm desperately hoping that I'll be able to move back out to Chile soon, but every time it looks like it's on the horizon, the goalposts get pushed back again. By now it's been over a year since I should have been starting my job out there and moving in with my boyfriend, but I'm still living in a boring, isolated village with my parents, at nearly 26 years old. I can't lie - it feels so unfair and frustrating that my life has continued to be put on hold, all because of a disease that has never posed any real risk to me personally. 

Sometimes it feels like I'm going to be stuck here forever, but I need to keep hoping that the situation will change eventually. One day I'll be blogging again about my adventures in South America and beyond. Let's just hope that day comes sooner rather than later...

Image by Pixabay from pexels.com

Sezincote: India in the Cotswolds

I first heard of Sezincote completely by accident late last year, when my boyfriend Claudio was staying with me and my parents. I'd been looking up places for us to visit in our local area, and obviously my Google account was aware of this, as an article popped up on my newsfeed suggesting Sezincote as a local travel destination. (It's located in the north of Gloucestershire, just a short distance away from Batsford Arboretum.) I was amazed by the picture, which showed a beautiful Indian-style palace with statues of elephants in front of it. It was hard to believe it was really in England! Unfortunately, Covid restrictions meant that I couldn't go with Claudio last year, but this week I finally had the chance to visit with my parents.

Even though the weather was very cold and rainy during our visit, it still felt like we had stepped into a different part of the world. Shortly after passing through the entrance to the garden, we found ourselves on the Indian Bridge, a bridge featuring statues of sacred cows, with views across to a temple and the Snake Pool (more on those later).

We made our way over to the house, where we found this cute wedding car, which even had Indian upholstery! The estate is a very popular place for weddings, as it's such a beautiful setting.

Then we walked round to the front of the house, which really was incredible to see. It was built in the Neo-Mughal architectural style inspired by the state of Rajasthan in northern India, and includes a big green onion dome and a long, curving orangery. In fact, it was the inspiration for the Brighton Pavilion, a palace that Claudio and I were able to visit last year. However, I would say that Sezincote was possibly even more impressive to see than the Pavilion, even though it's not as big. I think that is partly because of the garden in front of it, which is designed in a Persian style, and the elephant statues just above the garden, which really add to the exotic atmosphere of the place.

We climbed up the hill behind the elephants to see some other parts of the estate, including the Head Gardener's Cottage and Old Dairy (which also has Indian design features), the Tennis Pavilion and the Dionysus Urn (a classical monument that's reminiscent of more typical English country gardens).

By this point, it was definitely time for tea! Sezincote's tearoom is located in the orangery, a really special setting with lots of plants, including palm trees and orange trees, as well as various pretty decorations. There wasn't any vegan milk for my tea, but on the positive side, there was a very tasty vegan coffee and walnut cake!

After our tea and cake, we explored some more of the grounds, starting with the Tent Room round the back of the house.

The next thing we saw was the Temple to Surya (the Hindu sun god), which we'd seen from the bridge earlier. Aside from the house itself, this was my favourite part of the whole trip. The temple is very beautiful and peaceful, and there are palm trees next to it. It almost made me feel like I was actually in India.

Then we crossed over to the other side of the Indian Bridge to see the Snake Pool, a statue of two snakes wrapped around a tree in the middle of the water. We also took a closer look underneath the bridge.

The final thing we went to see was the Island Pool. What I really liked about this part of the grounds was that there were two swings attached to a tree! Of course I had to have a go on one!

All in all, it was a great day out. I really enjoyed discovering Sezincote, and I'd love to go back in the future, hopefully when the weather's sunnier and when Claudio's in England again! 

Another Day in Cheltenham

This Thursday my parents and I returned to a town we last visited in August: Cheltenham. Our last visit there was an incredibly rainy one, and after getting soaked to the skin, I eventually had to admit defeat and give up on sightseeing. Despite that, I still really enjoyed the trip and wanted to return as soon as possible. Luckily, this time there was only a small amount of rain, so I was able to see a lot more of the town and take some less dreary-looking pictures. 

After we arrived, my parents went off to do some shopping, and I started my walking tour of the town. The first important site I passed by was the Promenade, which is probably Cheltenham's most famous street. It's a long avenue with a pretty garden, grand Regency buildings, and plenty of shops. To me, it's a bit like a small, English version of the Champs-Élysées.

The next place I wanted to see was the Royal Crescent. I'd only found out that it existed fairly recently, and I was interested in seeing how it compared to the street of the same name in Bath. It's not anywhere near as big or impressive as its Bath equivalent, but it's still very elegant and definitely worth taking a look at.

After walking along the crescent, I came back round to the other end of the Promenade and found my favourite sight in the entire town: the Neptune Fountain. Last time I was in Cheltenham, I only took a quick look at it because of the heavy rain, but this time I took a few minutes to enjoy contemplating it. Inspired by Rome's Trevi fountain, it really does make you feel like you're on holiday in Italy.

Next I went to the Imperial Gardens around the back of the Town Hall. I only got to see them from the car last time, so it was nice to walk around them this time. In the gardens, there are many pretty flowers, a statue of the composer Gustav Holst (who was born in Cheltenham), and a signpost which shows all the places around the world that Cheltenham is twinned with, which include Annecy in France, Sochi in Russia, and another town called Cheltenham in the United States, as well as towns in Germany, the Netherlands, China and Kenya.

On my way to the next stop on my tour, I came across a hidden treasure in the corner of a building. From reading the plaque in front of it, I discovered that it is known as the Imperial Fountain and is originally from Italy! It was looted by the French in 1800 and then captured by the English. Eventually, it ended up in Cheltenham and is still there to this day. The little fountain is very elaborate, and really adds to the overall European vibe that the town has.

A short walk later I arrived at Montpellier Gardens, a well-known park in the Montpellier district. I was interested to see what it was like, partly because of the fact that it shares its name with one of my favourite cities! It's quite a big space with an art gallery, a café and one of England's oldest bandstands.

Finally, I made my way back to the centre of the town, seeing the Town Hall on my way.

I always enjoy visiting Cheltenham; it's a very elegant town and is also great for shopping. And one thing I like about it is that there's something about the shape and colour of the buildings that reminds me of Paris, so going there feels like a bit of an escape during these times in which travelling abroad is nigh-on impossible.

There are a couple more places around the town that I'm interested in seeing - especially Pitville Park - so I hope I'll be able to revisit not too far in the future!