One Girl One Rucksack One World

03/09/2026

Just a quick one. 📥

If you’ve messaged me and I haven’t replied yet, I promise I’m not ignoring you and I will get back to everyone at some point this week.

I haven’t let this Facebook fame go to my head and decided I’m a celebrity now and simply don’t mingle with the general public.

I’m just absolutely knackered. 😴

I got home from France at 4am yesterday and was logged on for work at 6.30am.

Yes. You read that correctly.

Two and a half hours.

Not even enough time for a proper sleep. Basically just shut my eyes for a bit, opened them again and thought right then, best go and earn some money to pay for the next Ryanair flight.

I spent most of yesterday looking at my laptop with absolutely no idea what was going on.

Body in Rotherham.

Brain still somewhere in Toulouse with a glass of red.

And I’ve come back to so many messages that I’m now scared to open Messenger.

So if you’re waiting for me, bear with me.

I will reply.

I just need to locate some sleep and get my remaining two brain cells talking to each other again first 😂

01/09/2026

My favourite picture from my Toulouse travels 🇫🇷

Not the Capitole.
Not the Garonne.
Not some magnificent old church.

Someone’s bloody balcony. 😂🌿

39 years old and apparently this is what gets me excited now.

Look at it though. Plants everywhere, gorgeous old railings, slightly chaotic… absolute balcony p**n.

Toulouse, you really know how to show a girl a good time 💕🇫🇷

01/09/2026

Toulouse… that’s a wrap 🇫🇷

This one wasn’t one of my usual solo DIY jobs. I booked it with a couple of the rugby lot and the actual reason for going was the rugby.

£160 each for flights and 3 nights at The Social Hub.

We flew from Stansted though, so add £20 each towards petrol, £40 each for a hotel near the airport the night before and £8 a night for airport parking at the hotel.

So obviously there were a few extras on top of the £160, but still a decent Bank Holiday weekend away.

Now, I’ve actually been to Toulouse loads of times before.

However…

Until this trip I’d seen a suspicious amount of The Melting Pot and Pub O’Clock and not a great deal of Toulouse 😂

Ask me where a historic monument was? No idea.

Ask me where we were drinking later? I could probably get you there blindfolded.

So this time I thought I should probably have a look around.

Turns out Toulouse is actually really nice 😂

Who knew there was all this stuff going on outside Pub O’Clock?

It’s a proper bustling city. Loads of bars, restaurants and pavement cafés, gorgeous old buildings and loads of little streets to have a nosey down.

There’s Place du Capitole, Saint-Sernin, Couvent des Jacobins, Pont Neuf, the Garonne and Canal du Midi, plus loads of museums.

I also went to the Japanese Garden, which was lovely.

I did have a moment walking around there thinking…

39 years old, wandering around a Japanese garden admiring the plants.

There was a time I’d come to Toulouse and the only greenery I was interested in was the lime in my drink.

We move 😂

I also booked a sunset cruise along the Garonne for €14 through GetYourGuide.

Really enjoyed that. Toulouse looked gorgeous from the river as the sun went down.

And €14!

Previous Toulouse me would have spent that at the bar without even remembering what I ordered.

Current me is photographing bridges from a boat.

Apparently this is personal growth 😂

And then I discovered the liO €1 trains.

Well, that was dangerous.

You cannot give me public transport for a euro and expect me to remain within city limits.

So I went to Foix for €2 return.

Lovely old streets, gorgeous views and a huge castle overlooking the town.

Then I went to Cahors for another €2 return, wandered around with absolutely no plan, found a secret garden and then discovered Pont Valentré.

What a bridge.

It got an entire Facebook post to itself.

I used to give nights out that level of attention. Now it’s medieval bridges.

Make of that what you will 😂

And for any rugby fans heading to Toulouse, have a look at Bistro XIII.

Sofien the owner sorted our match-day tickets and transfer to the game when we ate there.

I had a cracking steak and then got transported to the rugby.

Honestly, feed me, hand me a ticket and make sure I end up where I’m supposed to be and I’m delighted.

So what was meant to be a rugby weekend somehow became rugby, Toulouse, Foix, Cahors, €1 trains, a sunset cruise, a Japanese garden, French cafés, a cracking steak and an unreasonable number of photos of shutters and old buildings.

I walked miles.

I barely sat still.

And after years of visiting Toulouse, I can finally confirm…

there is an entire city between The Melting Pot and Pub O’Clock.

Would recommend having a look 😂🇫🇷

01/09/2026

Just sat watching the world go by 🇫🇷

Not doing anything particularly exciting. No rushing around trying to squeeze another sight in. Just sat here with a drink, being nosey and taking it all in.

And these are probably the bits I love the most.

Travel has made me realise that you don’t need to be doing something amazing for a moment to feel special.

Sometimes it’s a €1 train somewhere random. A little street you stumbled across. A café you only stopped at because you fancied a sit down.

Or just an ordinary afternoon somewhere that isn’t home.

Because I’m starting to think a good life isn’t necessarily made up of huge moments.

Maybe it’s just lots and lots of little ones that make you stop for a second and think…

I’m really glad I’m here. ❤️

01/09/2026

Last day in Toulouse 🇫🇷

So obviously it shall be spent drinking red w**e, wandering around markets and disappearing down random snickets to see where they lead.

Purely for research purposes, obviously.

It’s important I provide a thorough service. 😂🍷

Someone has to investigate the cheap w**e, old cafés and suspicious little side streets of France, and unfortunately that burden has fallen to me.

01/09/2026

2 years ago today… 😂🇨🇭

I threw myself off the 220m Verzasca Dam in Switzerland attached to what was essentially a massive elastic band.

Although “threw myself off” is doing some VERY heavy lifting there.

I got to the edge and suddenly became very fond of being alive 😂

There was no heroic leap.

No graceful swan dive.

No dramatic countdown followed by me launching myself into the gorge.

I just stood there.

And stood there a bit longer.

The bloke was telling me to go.

My brain was telling me to go.

My feet had apparently applied for permanent residency in Switzerland.

Eventually I started shuffling towards the edge about half an inch at a time.

Honestly, I’ve approached a cold swimming pool with more commitment 😂

And when I finally did go, I didn’t jump.

Absolutely not.

I walked off it like I was being made to walk the plank on a pirate ship.

All that was missing was someone behind me with a sword 😂

I did it for charity, and I genuinely think that’s the only reason I went through with it.

If people hadn’t sponsored me, I’d have been back over that barrier and ordering a coffee before they’d finished the countdown.

But people had donated.

There were witnesses.

I’d told everyone I was doing it.

Bit awkward to come home and announce that I’d had a lovely look over the edge instead 😂

So there I was.

220 metres up, attached to an elastic band, doing my best impression of a condemned pirate.

And off the plank I went.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

I’m fairly sure that saying was intended for things like changing jobs or travelling solo, rather than having a lengthy disagreement with your own legs before walking voluntarily off the side of a massive Swiss dam, but here we are 😂

Still one of the scariest and best things I’ve ever done.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely.

Would I get back up there and immediately think why have I been telling people that for two years?

Also absolutely 😂

But it did teach me something.

You don’t have to be fearless to do brave things. You can hesitate, wobble, question every decision that got you there and still do it.

And I think I’ve carried that with me ever since.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Because fear has talked me out of enough things over the years.

These days, I’d rather be scared of doing something than spend years wondering what might have happened if I had. ❤️

31/08/2026

I love cafés like this. 🇫🇷

Old sign, tables shoved wherever there’s a gap and everyone just sat about drinking, chatting and watching the world go by.

Nobody rushing you. Nobody hovering because they want the table back.

Just sit down, order a drink and lose a couple of hours doing absolutely bu**er all.

The French have got this bit of life very right. 🇫🇷

31/08/2026

Lorraine has recently started sharing her travels after losing her husband just over four years ago. She’s now getting out there, travelling solo as well as with family and friends, and sharing the lot.

I know a lot of you follow my page because you’re trying to find the confidence to travel on your own, so I think you’ll really enjoy following her journey too.

Starting again after life has completely changed takes some doing.

Go give Wander with Loraine a bit of love from us lot ❤️🌍✈️

Losing my husband just over 4 years ago changed my life forever, and for a long time I wasn't sure what my future would look like. But I've come to realise that while grief never truly leaves us, it doesn't have to stop us from living.

I chose courage over fear and adventure over staying still, snd i set out to explore the world, sometimes on my own, and when i get the chance with family/ friends. one journey at a time, not because it's always easy, but because life is too precious to wait.

I want to inspire other widows, and anyone who feels alone or unsure, to believe that there is still so much life to be lived. If I can find the strength to pack a suitcase, board a plane, and embrace new experiences then maybe you can too.

I'll be sharing the beautiful moments, the difficult ones, the lessons I learn, and the incredible places I discover.

Most of all, I hope my journey reminds you that it's never too late to start again, to find joy again, and to create a life you're proud of.

This isn't just about travelling. It's about healing, rediscovering who I am, and proving that even after heartbreak, a new chapter can begin.

31/08/2026

Cahors. 🇫🇷 💕

For everyone asking about the €1 train fares, they’re the liO €1 fares in Occitanie. They release limited €1 tickets on certain trains and routes, so I basically have a nosey on SNCF Connect, see where a euro will take me and off I go.

There’s been considerably more thought put into choosing a meal deal.

And that’s pretty much how I ended up in Cahors.

It’s around 1 hour 20 minutes from Toulouse by train and I arrived with absolutely no plan. Got off the train and just wandered.

I’m also a sucker for an alley. Or, as we say in West Yorkshire, a snicket. If there’s a little street disappearing between two old buildings, obviously I’m going down it.

Could be a beautiful hidden courtyard. Could be someone’s bins. Only one way to find out.

This time my wandering actually led me to a secret garden, so the snicket method remains undefeated.

Cahors is lovely for just pottering about. Old streets, little balconies, wonky buildings, nice shutters. I’m very easily pleased. Stick some blue shutters on an old French building and apparently I’m entertained.

And then there’s Pont Valentré.

Bloody hell, what a bridge.

Even if you did nothing else, I’d say Cahors is worth the trip just to see that.

€1 train (€2 return) no plan and several hours wandering around looking at bridges, balconies, shutters and snickets.

Cheap date me. 😆

31/08/2026

Bank Holiday Mondays used to be spent nursing a Sunday sesh hangover so bad that breathing felt unnecessarily loud.

Now I’m excited about a €1 train and quite happily sat on a bench admiring a bridge.

When did I become this person?

At what point did my idea of a wild Bank Holiday go from “whose round is it?” to “bloody hell, look at the arches on that.” 🏰🚂🇫🇷