Tour of Europe; Latvia 🇱🇻 Italy 🇮🇹 Vatican 🇻🇦Norway 🇳🇴 England 🇬🇧

Between changing work roles, I took on the opportunity to travel around Europe a little and visit some of my old home countries. I managed to plan a great trip popping into Riga, seeing the fantastic Rome, greeting some friends in Oslo and exploring my old hoods in London. It was lots of fun!

My mum came with me to Rome since it landed on her birthday and museums are more fun with two people! Then I proceeded on alone to meet up with some old friends. I would definitely recommend January and solo travel.

I've often felt sad that I haven't had much opportunity to visit places I've lived in because I've been so busy moving to new places rather than exploring the world from the same base. It was also amazing to have proper time in Rome since I only got to pay it a quick visit while living in Italy. January suited us well because I wanted to have time to visit museums and not be overly crowded. There isn't a single thing on the best museums and places to visit list in Rome that we didn't see!

We also spent two days on the hop-on hop-off bus which was great fun. Rome is huge so you'll definitely get your steps in, the bus was a huge help.

I'm not typically one for tour guides and so on, but we booked a tour for the Colosseum which also included a queue jump. Even if you don't book a tour, you have to schedule your entrance so I would recommend planning on time. The tour was very good, I didn't do research on it in advance like I usually do; we were simply offered it by a group that was about to enter so we joined them for 20 euros each. The tour included a ticket to the Forum Romanum which is right by the Colosseum. It is huge and you can wander around freely, it was beautiful.

You can enjoy plenty of places in Rome for free as well, such as the Pantheon (you just book an entrance as you arrive or in advance during busy tourist seasons) and Trevi Fountain.

We got off the bus by the Castel Sant'Angelo where we had a little exploration and a coffee. You can get a wonderful view of St Peter's Basilica from the top. We then continued to the Vatican where I had rebooked a tour with Viator. It was a ''small group tour of the Vatican museums and a queue jump to St Peter's Basilica'' that cost 58 euros per person. The Vatican museums are huge! The tour took around four hours, but it was amazing throughout. Now that I've heard all the cool little details about the art and the rooms, I'm hoping to go again and spend even more time just pondering over all the wonders. I just wouldn't necessarily recommend such a tour with children; we had one in the group and the poor boy was clearly struggling and not interested. It is a heavy walk; a lot of information and you don't want to stop in the middle. Vatican is something to experience, I can't really tell you more about it! You will be able to visit the Sistine Chapel at the same time but you are not allowed to take photos there.

I also visited Oslo where I had never been before. Visiting a place that was even more expensive than Helsinki was interesting. I met up with some old friends, visited the Oslo national museum, was Scream in the Munch Gallery and ate some amazing food. Oslo is fantastic for just aimlessly wandering around though due to the prices, you don't necessarily want to do a bar or a coffee hop. You can purchase an Oslo pass which includes public transport and museum entrances, I would recommend it if you are keen on visiting more museums.

London never disappoints; I feel at home there. When I first lived in the UK and visited London, I didn't get it. I found it too expensive and large to fully get into on a student budget, however, once I got a job there, we reached a great understanding. I love all the things in London that are not touristy and it's a whole different world.

I visited a Van Gogh immersion experience. It was my first and I was very pleasantly surprised. I wanted to go for a Dali one as well but didn't have the time.

Most days, I spent hours just walking around London, I broke all my step records. And I had the best time. I visited all my old favourite places and discovered some new ones as well. London isn't necessarily a city for walking; the public transport is great and the city is huge, but if you are keen on walking, you absolutely can. Just be warned!

London has some adorable food markets and cafes that will keep you entertained and well-fed.

I also got to try something new! I found out from a game of Trivial Pursuit that there is a cable car connection across the Thames so I went to test it out with a friend. He said it's a great place for dates and I agree, give it a try. We finished the evening with a boat cruise which was lovely and so calming.

My ultimate favourite thing in London is the Camden market and I spent my final day there. I munched all the food I could, people-watched and explored the pastel-coloured streets. The best ones near Camden are Chalcot Square and Kelly Street.

All in all, it was a brilliant trip, wonderful to see some old friends and hood and some new experiences as well. Now I'm refreshed and happy to fill the spring with work before other exciting plans for the summer.

Best,

Mira