Who am I?

Hi, I’m Lauren, the face behind the writing and the eyes behind the camera lens!

I’m a London-based, travel-obsessed sun-worshipper exploring the globe one footprint at a time – and indulging my passions for photography, design and travel writing along the way! My work life and personal life is filled with travel – never a day goes by when I’m not planning or thinking about my next trip (or three)!

Name: Lauren

Age: 30

Lives: London

Interests: Apart from travelling and blogging, I love photography, reading, art, painting and sketching, sunny walks, outdoor markets, brunching, the beach and the sea, and I’m slowly getting into yoga!

Strengths: Positivity, creativity and calm nature

Weaknesses: Too honest/open and being on time

Once upon a time, I quit my job to follow my dream and travel the world. I started Footprints Around The Globe to keep my family and friends at home up to date on my adventures. Now, it is a collection of my travel stories and experiences built up over the years, destination guides, practical travel tips and advice and photography, as well as personal inspiration, memories and thoughts. For anyone with an insatiable case of wanderlust, I hope it inspires, informs, entertains and empowers you to explore our beautiful planet.

So where did it all begin? Childhood…

I think my life has always been fuelled in some sense by travel. When I was little I had a Flags of the World poster on my wall, my favourite books as a kid were Children Just Like Me and Journey Through The River Sea and my favourite subjects at school were foreign languages. I collected foreign coins, travel journals and had a shoebox full of souvenirs and postcards from everywhere I went. I would always be the one to cry when we had to come home from a holiday and found it hard to adjust back to reality.

Maybe it was my dad, who would travel the world on business, sometimes weeks at a time, who inspired me. He taught me the word Globetrotter, would buy me flag sticker books and make me recite capital cities of countries all over the world, and would always make sure he bought me and my sister a little something back from the places he visited. Or maybe it was my mum and her endless chasing of the sun and exotic places, which has without doubt been passed on to me. I am eternally grateful to have been whisked off to different corners of the world, definitely sparking my curiosity, desire and passion for travel at a young age.

What happened next?

After graduating from Durham University with a Foreign Language degree, during which I spent a year living, working and travelling abroad in France, Spain and Italy, I set off on one of my first independent trips – interrailing around Europe. If I didn’t already know then that travel was the love of my life, I definitely did after that. Previous to that summer, the majority of my travels had been family trips and short-term holidays (amazing destinations and life-changing experiences, don’t get me wrong) but going off into the world with just a backpack and an itinerary which I had planned and funded myself made me realise just how incredibly empowering, inspiring and eye-opening travel can be.

The year following that summer, I dipped my feet into the travel industry as a workplace, confirming what I already knew which was that I was going to have a career in travel. It gave me the invaluable insight that I needed, but at that time one year in the office was enough. I decided to quit my job and divert from the classic university —> career life path and make the whole ‘gap year’ ideal into a lifestyle for a while.

Leaving home behind

I left my home, family and friends and job behind and booked a one-way plane ticket to Bangkok. In the months that followed, I backpacked around Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia, before settling for a while in Australia. I made Melbourne my base and it is there where I worked to fund the next part of my trip and subsequently met people who I can now call some of my closest friends. I fell completely and irreversibly in love with Australia as a country and when I left, in a way it did feel like I was leaving behind my home. If anything, coming home made me appreciate that bit more the incredible experience I’d had.

What am I doing now?

After taking some time to adjust to life at home, I launched myself into the next stage of my life: focusing on my career. I can now proudly say that I work for the biggest (and the best, naturally!) travel company in the UK. As part of the destinational product team, we are responsible for travelling to the countries to gain first-hand knowledge and expertise on the destinations so that we can source and create exciting travel opportunities for our clients! Whether that’s experiencing local cultural events, amazing accommodation or even exploring new travel routes or regions, the ultimate aim is to create memorable and once in a lifetime travel experiences…as this is what it’s all about! I feel lucky that my passion for travel isn’t just limited to my personal life and that I can get up and go to work everyday doing a job that I love!

Travel gives me new eyes and a constant curiosity, changes the way I see the world and helps me to appreciate what matters in life. For anyone with an insatiable case of wanderlust, I hope it inspires, informs, entertains and empowers you to explore our beautiful planet! Follow me on my adventures…

Want to know where I’ve travelled to around the world? Check out my Travelist here…