Could it possibly be summer, maybe?
I think so!
Yes, it's true. It was a long time coming but summer has arrived here in the UK and I am attempting to make the most of the positively tropical weather by... sitting inside and typing on a laptop (the life of a blogger is seldom social/active, hehe).
All joking aside, I really do love summer and the endless promise it seems to bring. The days are longer, the evenings are lighter, you can eat ice-cream everyday and there's the holidays to look forward to. In summer, anything seems possible.
And, of course, there's the holiday every family in the world seems to go on (or every family in Britain, at least). Everybody is desperate to escape the mundane realities of their own countries and swap them for exotic fantasies that faraway locations seem to offer.
Me? I'm promoting the staycation this year.
What is a staycation, you ask? Well, according to Google (ha, professionalism), a staycation is "a holiday spent in one's home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions", and this year I firmly believe that the staycation will make for a better holiday all around for my family and I.
Why? Well, first there's the matter of money. Obviously it's cheaper to stay in your own country for a holiday than forking out extortionate prices for aeroplane tickets and travel to and from the hotel/villa/house you'll be staying in abroad. In the world of staycation, it's acceptable to take your own car on holiday, saving you the faff of waiting for hours at a car hire company only to find the car you wanted is now "not available" (yes, I speak from experience), and the cost of hiring the car which you may or may not receive.
Second, there's the weather. Yep, I know what you're thinking: "but the weather in England is rubbish". Well, have you SEEN the heatwave we've had recently? Temperatures here have been sizzling at levels usually seen in countries like Portugal or Spain. If the weather keeps, I'll get the tropical weather I crave for my holiday without doing any travelling abroad at all. Brilliant! And even if the weather doesn't turn out completely perfectly, we'll be in Britain. Brits are well prepared for wet weather as it's our normal climate, so a destination in England is likely to have lots of attractions based indoors when the weather turns sour. If you get wet weather in a hot country, chances are there won't be much to do.
My next point is rather specific to my own family, and it involves the issue of family pets. I have a pet greyhound whom I love dearly (blog post on that coming soon - keep your eyes peeled), and last year to leave her for nearly three weeks was, to say the least, very hard. I loved our holiday, but missed my dog even more. This year, the dog is coming with us, making the holiday all the more special because ALL the people (or animals) I love will be with me for the duration of the stay.
Lastly, I just really, really, REALLY love the place we'll be visiting on our staycation - Dorset. It is a truly beautiful place and I'd highly recommend a visit there. England is such a beautiful and diverse country that it seems such a shame not to enjoy it in the summer months, while the weather's right.
So, there you have it. That's why this year I am firmly flying the flag for the staycation and all it represents. I do love my holidays abroad, but this year I feel in need of a change, and I'm excited to visit a place that has so many special memories for me.
What are your opinions? Do you favour the staycation, or are you firmly for travelling abroad? Let me know in the comments!
Much love,
Olivia x
PS: Short note to say that since I've mentioned where I'm going on holiday this year, I ought to tell you that I'll be blogging every day of my stay in Dorset as it happens. I'm calling it Daily Blogging! (I'm not sure if this has been done before by any other bloggers, but I think it's a neat idea, so I'm giving it a go). Be sure to check my blog every day from the 2nd to the 16th of August for updates on my holiday.
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