switching off | is a relaxing holiday allowed?

I went to Tenerife last week, did I mention?  Just thought I’d best say, in case my holiday spamming on Instagram hadn’t made it obvious enough.  This gal was enjoying time with the fam and sitting by the pool, reading, quick dips when it’s hot hot hot, all that jazz.  Most definitely the most ‘switched off’ I’ve been in a long while and it felt goooood.

I can’t remember the last time I did a puzzlebook.  I probably took fewer photos in 10 days than I usually would in one on another trip.  I reacquainted myself with that lost feeling you get after finishing a book you’ve been completely absorbed in.  It’s bad that I hadn’t felt that in ages, I know!  I’ll admit that I don’t read for the sake of reading anywhere near as much as I used to, and regrettably haven’t had that feeling of being engrossed in a book and not wanting to put it down for a long while.  Hoping the bookworm in me is back to stay tbh.

Over the past year or so I’ve been fortunate enough to go away quite a few times, and every other trip I’ve been on in the past year has been about making the most of my time there.  Whether it’s a press trip (with a busy itinerary planned by someone else), or a trip planned by myself, I always try to see as much of the place as possible.  If that means getting up and out at 6am, then so be it!  With cities especially, there’s always a list of ‘must sees’, plus obviously just wandering to see what you find.  And I wouldn’t change that at all.  Not this time though!  This trip went at a much slower pace and I am a OK with that.  If I had to put my finger on what the main difference in my mindset was, it’s that I didn’t even try to be productive or ‘make the most of’ time.  Not one bit.  I mean, I’m hardly the best at being productive and my time management leaves room to be desired, but usually I’m at least half trying to be.  Which in turn makes for a Lily who is very bad at switching off.

Somebody took it upon themselves to tell me that I should’ve been out hiking gorges and exploring the island rather than chilling out, and no, I didn’t leave having witnessed Tenerife’s natural wonders or experienced a load of culture.   I couldn’t give you a top 10 list of things to do.  However, the purpose was just to relax with family and I definitely achieved that.  It almost seems like there’s an expectation that as a blogger you’ll see as much ‘stuff’ as possible to share with your readers in a ‘do it for the blog’ kind of way, but I actually quite enjoyed having no obligations to write blog posts or shoot certain content.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, it’s just nice to have a change, that’s all.   On my next trip (Zagreb in a couple of weeks – hit me up if if you have any recommendations!) I’ll be doing all the sightseeing and exploring I can, but not this time.  If it makes me a failure of a travel blogger to go overseas and not cram every minute with adventures, then so be it.  I enjoyed my time by the pool, anyway!

Lily Kate x

Follow me on Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn | Email me

Save

Save