You know what one of my pet peeves is? People who bang on about how much they love to travel, of all the benefits of travel, like it’s a revolutionary concept.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually agree with them. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love a good adventure. Travel, holiday, trip; whatever you want to call it, abroad or in the UK, I’m probably a tad obsessed with exploring new places. I get kinda angsty about always having something booked in, a trait that regularly causes G to roll his eyes and hide the credit card.
But I just can’t get on board with the patronising, ‘gap-yar’ vibe coming from those people. You love to travel? Yeah well, you and every other freakin’ millennial pal; have you seen the number of passport-at-the-airport Instagram shots? *insert eye-roll emoji*.
(Just think about it, a reason to holiday at home is that you AVOID THOSE PEOPLE. Oh the smugness.)
Anyway, rants about gap-yar wankers aside, this post is actually about not travelling. G and I both had five days off at home at the end of August but didn't actually go anywhere. We booked leave, we had a holiday, but in our local area and now I am very much an advocate of doing this every now and again. Here’s why (spoiler: it's not just cos you save on the pennies):
You get into usually-rammed local restaurants
Or have the time to actually go to local restaurants.
We kicked off our holiday at The Boot, a local pub two minutes from our flat, with their Fish ‘n’ chip Friday. We’ve wanted to do this for a while but it’s very popular and by the time we get back from work, the place is rammed and we can’t get in. But this time round, we arrived early, got a table no probs and ordered our food. The deal is essentially two fish ‘n’ chip meals for £20 and you can choose from beer battered haddock, cod or halloumi served with triple cooked chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. We ordered one cod and one halloumi and then shared between us and it was crackin’.
We also finally got to try out The Breakfast Club. Every time we’ve attempted to go here on a Saturday, the queue has been coming out the door and down the street and I have such little patience for queuing to get into a restaurant. But when we showed up on a Tuesday morning, boom, tables to spare. We enjoyed amazingly thick and soft blueberry pancakes with bacon and maple syrup plus smoothies and it was all so good.
You can be a tourist in your own backyard
Because when do we ever make time to do this? Sure, it depends where you live, but I live in an area people actively come to visit and yet I’ve gone and done tourist activities in several other places before taking the time to do touristy stuff in St Albans. We chose to do the Cathedral Tower Tour (more here) and I loved learning all about the cathedral and a bit of local history. Nearly everywhere has something interesting do to locally – do some research!
Treat yo’self
One day, I had my hair cut, had a snazzy pedicure at the city spa, went shopping and then came home and made us a huge plate of oh so cheesy nachos with a big pile of guacamole and sour cream. Being on holiday is about treating yourself and, well, you've saved all that money on flights and hotels by staying at home…
You appreciate your own area more
Holidaying at home is like the longest, sexiest weekend you can imagine. You’re not running for the train, doing your weekly shop or in any kind of rush. You can walk the long way home, stop to take pictures of the cute bunting they’ve put up in the centre of town and while away an afternoon in the pub because you have the time. It gives you such an appreciation of your local surroundings and that feeling continues way after you’re back in the office.
There’s no packing
No un-packing. No post-trip washing load. NO WAITING IN BAGGAGE CLAIM. Oh so beautiful.
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