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Hello everyone,

I am now Queen of my own domain :-)  I’ve set up home on www.lapesoetan.com and moved my blog there.  To continue to read my posts, please go to www.lapesoetan.com  Many thanks to www.nigerianbulletin.com for helping to sort out my new site. 

See you over at http://www.lapesoetan.com/

5 great things to do in The Gambia

The Gambia is a small country in West Africa with the River Gambia running through it.  The English-speaking country is almost completely surrounded by Senegal and bound on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.  Although The Gambia has been a popular holiday spot for Europeans for several years especially as a winter vacation spot, it is now growing in popularity with Nigerians.  The Gambia is generally calm and quiet but there are still a few interesting things to do.

1.    Touch a crocodile

 Relax, the crocodiles I’m talking about here are tame.  There’s a crocodile pool in Bakau, Gambia where you can touch crocodiles (which let you touch them without eating you!).  It is said that if women who can’t have children come to the pool before dawn and take a bath with water from the pool, they will then be able to have children.  Not sure about that but petting a crocodile is definitely an exciting reason to visit the crocodile pool. 

I touched a crocodile and I liked it

2.    Go on a bicycle safari 

Go sight-seeing in an unusual way: by bicycle!  Ask your hotel if they have bicycles to hire and if they can provide a guide.  A bicycle tour through Cape Point, Bakau, Kotu and Senegambia is tiring but fun – especially if you stop often to dip your feet in the ocean at beaches and eat at the different restaurants you come across.

On a bicycle safari in The Gambia

3.    See Kunta Kinte’s roots: 

Kunta Kinte of Roots fame is said to have come from Albreda & Juffureh.  Take a boat ride along the River Gambia to get to this village where you can apparently meet some of Kunta Kinte’s remaining relatives as well as visit a museum detailing Kunta Kinte’s story and the history of slave trade as it relates to The Gambia.  Ask at your hotel reception to find out if they can organise the boat trip.

4.    Hang out in Senegambia

Senegambia is a long road in The Gambia.  It is a bubbly area with hotels, bars, restaurants and nightclubs.  Alibaba, one of the popular restaurants on the road, does great pizzas and has an outside area where you can sit and watch people go by.  There is also a crafts market and a nature/ conservation park in that area.

Advice from Alibaba restaurant

5.    Be a beach bum 

There are many beaches in The Gambia and most of the bigger hotels have their own private beaches.  With so many options, lounging on a beach is somewhat inevitable in The Gambia when you’re on holiday.  So head out to a beach, choose your favourite spot and enjoy the view while sipping on your cool cocktail.

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'Round the world ticket

Picture by Toasty Ken

‘Round the World Ticket is a new feature on www.vacationvisa.blogspot.com  It is a collection of links to articles and posts I found interesting on the internet and will appear once a month.  Enjoy it.

Megan has some great tips on how to travel with friends.  Check out my own tips on the same topic.

Heading to Paris for the first time?  Read Nubby’s Beginner’s Guide to Paris first

The Rio carnival is on at the moment.  Can’t be there?  Check out some great pictures from the event

If you’re like me, you’re desperate to take better pictures on your trips and you’ll find this article useful.

Ever wondered what a holiday in Iceland would be like?  Gala gives us a hint.

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Travelling when you know no-one

Photograph by Nicholas T

I have a knack for doing things I’m scared of.  It’s almost as if I play a game of ‘chicken’ with myself.  You could say this was what I was doing when a few months into my first year at university, I decided to go on an excursion with other students in my department, none of whom I knew.  It wasn’t that I knew no-one exactly; I knew the names of some of my classmates but that was about it.  The excursion was to Ikogosi warm springs in Ekiti state and Erin Ijesha waterfalls in Osun state.  I was worried about spending a weekend with people I barely knew and I could almost hear my mother’s voice telling me all the dangers that could befall on the trip but I decided to go it anyway.

The excursion was supposed to be a fun trip organised by the students as opposed to the department.  Being typical optimistic (and broke) students, the trip organisers had hired a rickety bus to take us on our road trip.  We had been told the journey to Ikogosi would take 4 hours.  It took 7.  This was hardly surprising considering the fact that the bus broke down along the way.  It also turned out that no-one on that bus actually knew the way to Ikogosi.  We had to stop several times to ask for directions.  We arrived at Ikogosi at midnight.  By this time, any barriers I had had been taken down by my fellow travelers who kept drawing me into conversation.  I had abandoned The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes several hours before so the chat was welcome. 

Ikogosi warm springs is an attraction because the spring is well, warm.  In actual fact, at Ikogosi, two springs flow next to each other; one warm and the other cold and it was amazing to touch both of them.  The springs seemed a bit like nature’s own hot and cold-running taps.  A pool fed by the springs had been created at the site and some students jumped right in.  When we had all marveled at the springs, eaten all the food and drank everything we had, it was time to go to sleep at which point we were told accommodation had not been planned.  Other students simply turned on a radio and had an impromptu pool party.  My new-found friends and I went to sleep in the bus with the mosquitoes.

The following morning, we stopped at some rundown shops to buy breakfast:  bread, biscuits and water then we set off for Erin Ijesha waterfalls.  The falls at Erin Ijesha aren’t particularly high but they are beautiful so we all squealed with excitement when we saw them.  We were warned that the rocks were slippery so those of us who wished to climb up the rocks were advised to take our shoes off.  We climbed up the falls (not to the top though) and danced in its spray unwittingly taking part in a wet T-shirt contest.  Once we had had our fill of the falls, we headed back to our bus.

The ride back to school was much noisier than when we were leaving; at least it was to me.  When we arrived safely back in school, I decided that 1) I wouldn’t tell my mother about the trip for a long time 2) I would never let fear hold me back from travelling and 3) If I ever go on a road trip again, I’ll organise my own accommodation. 

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10 Places I Would Love to Visit

1             Sydney, Australia

I think the reason I’ve always wanted to go to Australia is because it’s so far away.  That and the fact that Australia and Sydney in particular is always being associated with sunshine but not in the stifling, I-can-barely-breathe way we get it here in the Tropics.  Of course, I want to do the usual things like see the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, chill on Bondi beach, maybe take a surfing lesson or two but most of all, I want to be able to say I’ve been to the other side of the world and loved it.

Photo by coquetboy

The Sydney Harbour Bridge 

2             New York

I think anyone even remotely interested in fashion dreams of going to New York or more specifically, of going shopping in New York.  That’s the main reason I want to go to New York.  Or at least, that used to be the main reason I wanted to go to New York.  These days, I want to go there to absorb the atmosphere (pollution and all ;-) )  I want to ogle people wearing whatever it is they like and I want to marvel at how no matter what one wears, New Yorkers never seem fazed

Photograph by Doctor Who

Times Square, New York

3             Las Vegas

I’ve always wanted to go to Las Vegas because of its over-the-top-ness.  Las Vegas can never be described as subtle and its unashamedly glaring, glittering persona is something that draws me probably because I’m a fan of all things shiny myself.  I love being a tourist when I go to new places so I know I would head straight for the Strip once I get into Vegas.  My Las Vegas goals are very few:  watch the ‘dancing’ fountains at the Bellagio, catch a cabaret show and win enough cash at the casinos to pay for my ticket back home!

Photograph by b10lm

'Dancing' Fountains at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas 

4     Barcelona

Barcelona came on my radar because a friend of mine moved there and loved it.  All of a sudden I had to find out everything I could about the place and when I did, I knew it was a place I would love to visit.  The most attractive thing to me about Barcelona is the weather:  the summers don’t seem too hot nor the winters too cold.  Then it seems like the entire city is dedicated to art with several buildings having been designed by Antoni Gaudi.  One of them, the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, on which construction began in 1882 is still being built today!  Barcelona is also said to have great beaches and with Zara and Mango being Spanish brands, Barcelona is also a great place to do some serious shopping.

Photo by Wolfgang Staudt

The Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Las Vegas

5             Zurich, Switzerland

I’ve always wanted to (learn to) ski and for some reason, I’ve decided that Zurich will be the best place for me to do that.  I imagine swooshing down slopes with my heart racing as I glide gracefully to the end of the run.  Naturally, I’ve edited all falls and bruises from the short video I play in my mind.  I recently found out that part of the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, was shot in Switzerland and that sealed Zurich’s fate as one of the top places I’d love to visit.  Goldfinger wasn’t actually shot in Zurich but imagining I’m dodging baddies with swift manoeuvres on my skis in the same country the movie was made is good enough for me.

Photo by Zach Dischner

The sort of place I hope to go skiing in Zurich

6             Singapore

I love beaches and while I don’t like shopping for clothes (crazy, I know), I like window shopping and love buying books.  Singapore seems like this quiet little island with access to loads of (window) shopping on Orchard Road and Singapore’s Chinatown.  Sentosa Island, a little island off the main island (phew!) of Singapore is apparently also a haven for beach-lovers like me.  I can’t wait to see it.

Photo by Eustaquio Santimano

Orchard Road, Singapore at Christmas

7             Milan, Italy

I’m not going to lie, Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love fuelled my desire to see Italy.  I could have put Rome on this list.  After all, it’s the capital of Italy and more popular than Milan but for some strange reason, my heart has settled on Milan, partly because I’d love to visit the city that hosts one of the most popular Fashion Weeks in the world and partly because I feel it is the less obvious choice for a tourist to visit.  In addition, Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ can be seen there so that would be my first stop in Milan closely followed by an Italian meal and a spot of window shopping.

Photo by Evan Blaser

The Duomo di Milano, Milan

8             Tokyo, Japan

Like Australia, one of the attractions Tokyo holds for me is its distance.  Not only is Tokyo thousands of kilometers away, it also appears to have a completely different vibe from anywhere else in the world.  I’d love to see the neon lights, eat the street food and marvel at the courageous way Harajuku girls style themselves.  Tokyo is associated with setting fashion trends so I would definitely keep my eyes peeled for those.

Photo by OiMax

The neon lights in Tokyo

9             Lagos, Portugal

I love Lagos where I live and have always been fascinated with how the city got its name.  Although it was and is still called ‘Eko’ by the Yoruba people who originally settled here, when Portuguese explorers arrived in 1472, they named it ‘Lagos’ after a city in their home country.  For this reason, I have always wanted to visit Lagos, Portugal.  Today, Lagos in the Algarve, Portugal is a popular holiday destination for Europeans.  It is known for its beaches, resorts and nightlife.  I can’t wait to compare the two Lagos-es.

Photo by lele3100

One of the many beaches in Lagos, Portugal

10          Egypt

Ever since I read Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile when I was about 10 years old, I’ve wanted to cruise down the Nile on a luxurious boat (without a murderer on board, of course).  I could never imagine going to Egypt and not going to see the Pyramids though so that is an absolute must. 

Photo by Michael Gwyther-Jones

A beautiful view of the Nile, Egypt

Bonus Place

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I want to go to Rio to see the famous Rio carnival.  Period.  Apparently, Brazillians take their carnivals very seriously and it shows.  Some of the pictures I’ve seen of the carnival show beautiful women in extravagantly-designed (and very risqué) outfits gaily sauntering ahead of glittering floats of dancing people.  I know I will appreciate the beauty and vibe of the carnival even better when I see it up close.  It has also always been a dream of mine to climb up the statue of Christ the Redeemer and take beautiful (once I get a hang of my camera) pictures of the city below.  I know I’ve talked about beaches quite a few times already but I would desperately love to sink my toes into Rio’s.  I feel happy just thinking about it.

Photo by Paul Mannix

The statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro

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Review: Hotel des Deux Avenues, Paris, France

In August last year, my friend, Yetunde and I, spent 4 days at the Hotel des Deux Avenues in Paris.  Hotel des Deux Avenues is a small, family-run hotel in the 17^th arrondisement of Paris. We had made reservations and paid online several weeks before our arrival and learnt on our arrival that doing so was cheaper than just walking in and paying for a room. 

We had taken the Eurostar to Paris from London.  The train drew in at Gare du Nord in Paris and from there, we took the Metro to Ternes, a station only 5 minutes walk from our hotel.  We saved several Euros by taking the Metro instead of a taxi from Gare du Nord.  At the hotel, the staff was helpful and gave transportation tips, recommended bars & restaurants and seemed ready to chat if you wanted to.  Although I practiced my (broken) French with them whenever I could, the hotel staff spoke good English so there was no need for gesticulating or any drama like that. 

The hotel was expensive (in my opinion).  Our room cost roughly 120 Euros per night excluding breakfast.  The room and bathroom were tiny though it had a little fridge and a TV with CNN, a few other English-speaking channels and some French channels.  The hotel was on a quiet street only a few steps from a boulangerie where we bought croissants every morning.  The best thing about Hotel des Deux Avenues though was that it was only about 15 minutes walk from the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees and was close to several cafes and restaurants so finding a place to eat, window-shop or people-watch was easy.

All in all, although the hotel was small, the size gave it a homely feel and the staff were nice and attentive.  In addition, the hotel is located close to one of the most famous sights in Paris and was a short walking distance from shops and restaurants.  With a bigger budget, I would try somewhere else but the Hotel des Deux Avenues is a great place for anyone visiting Paris for the first time.

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Going Places with Boye Adefila

The Pyramids in Egypt are a sight Adefila plans to see someday.

Going Places is a new feature which will appear regularly on this blog.  It is an interview-style feature where different personalities tell us about the highlights of their holidays.  Enjoy it.

Tell us about your very first holiday.

My first holiday was a train ride between Lagos and Kwara states in Nigeria when I was about 7 years old.  I come from Kwara state and my parents, brothers and I were going there to spend a few days but oddly enough, I consider the train ride and not the stay in Kwara the actual holiday perhaps because it was new and exciting to me. 

What is your most memorable holiday?

A trip to Cannes in France. It was actually an official trip but it had the trappings of a holiday since I went for a week-long event. The food there was different and the sights were awesome. Since I love taking pictures I had a field day. I don’t speak French so when I kept hearing the same phrases repeated over and over everywhere I went, I had to guess what they meant.  ‘Ca va’ seemed to perform a host of functions; ‘S'il vous plaît’ sounded suspicious and confusing because I heard it used by both a stern but smart looking immigration official at the airport and attentive hotel staff.  Imagine my relief and private feeling of prolonged embarrassment when I realised ‘S'il vous plaît’ simply meant ‘Please’!

What do you like most about vacations?

Distance from the chaotic city of Lagos and assurance of steady power supply wherever I go.

What do you hate most about vacations?

Immigration officials trying to read my mind.

How would you spend your perfect day on holiday?

Depends on whether or not I have company and where I am. If I am alone and in Egypt (minus the current chaos), my perfect day would go something like this: Wake up at a 3-star hotel (they often offer better service!) with a view of the rising sun and a sandy beach. Do Yoga stretches in a garden attached to my suite then down an exotic natural fruit blend ahead of real breakfast.  Real breakfast would come after a very hot bath in an ancient-type bathtub like royalty used in days gone by. Real breakfast would be lots of fresh veggies and a hot cup of tea.  Next would be a walk around the hotel appreciating the view, taking odd shots and sending BB messages to my favourite friends while an air conditioned taxi waits patiently for me in the hotel parking lot.  Ten minutes later I would be chauffeur-driven to the following places; the Great Pyramids, museums and other ancient sites. Lunch would be Egyptian cuisine in a traditional setting and after a siesta between 7 and 9pm (because I assume I would be dog-tired after all those visits!),  I would then see an Egyptian movie then maybe watch some belly dancers at a club before allowing the night to take me away.

Where would you most like to go on holiday? Why?

Egypt: to see first-hand some of the wonders of ancient civilization

Boye Adefila is the former Creative Director of an ad-agency turned SME Business Consultant and CEO of Copycoach, a training school for copywriters and resource centre for creative marketers.

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Photograph by gloria_euyoque

How to apply for a visa successfully (Part 2)

Photograph by Ho John Lee

This is the second part of my How to Apply for a Visa Successfully post.  You can read the first part here. 

• When applying for a visa, one of the first things I do is get a folder, one with an inner flap that I can tuck documents so they don’t fall out.  Avoid folders that need documents to be perforated to be filed.  Some of the documents you will need in your visa application will include important things like birth certificates, school certificates or share certificates.  These are not the sort of documents you want holes in.  Other than that, the kind of folder you choose really doesn’t matter.  The last folder I used was bright pink to put a smile on my face as I went through the (long and boring) visa application process.
• Never assume that you need a visa application ‘agent’ to get you a visa.  You can make most visa applications yourself and save yourself (shopping) money in the process.
• Go on the internet and research the application requirements of the visa you want to get.
• Make a list of all the documents you are required to present to make a visa application then make a list of documents you think would assist in showing you in a favourable light even if such a document was not asked for.  You never know what might be useful.
• Apart from a letter of invitation from a friend inviting you to stay with them, documents that might also aid with your visa application particularly to the UK are your friend’s payslips and bank statements.  These are very sensitive documents but I have been pleasantly surprised by friends who have willingly sent me these documents to aid my visa application. 
• I usually write a personal statement addressed to the Consular Officer of the Embassy or High Commission and present it with the regular documents required by the office.  The point of my personal statement shows that I’m a responsible citizen and that I intend to come back to my country after going on holiday.  It usually contains why I’m going on holiday to that particular place, who I plan to stay with or where I plan to stay, information on where I plan to stay if I won’t be staying with friends, my career history (in brief!), how much money I have saved and what I have going for me here that illustrates I’ll return home.
• The visa application process can be long and frustrating especially when it comes to getting documents from banks, tax offices and so on but if you give yourself a long time to prepare, write a To Do list and tick things off that list as you go it becomes less frustrating and almost fun because each step you take moves you in the direction of a wonderful holiday.

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How to apply for a visa successfully (Part 1)

How to apply for a visa successfully (Part 1)

As this post turned out longer than I expected once I had it all written up, I decided to split it into two.  This is the first part.  You can see the second part here. 

The first thing I have to point out is that this article doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get every visa you apply for from now on.  What it does do is show you how to apply in such a way that you are very likely to get the visa you apply for.  Another thing to note is that different embassies require slightly different documents and information from visa applicants.  Indeed, people applying for different kinds of visas from the same embassy need to provide different types of documents.  This post cannot cover how to apply for every single type of visa for every country in the world but it will offer general advice that will probably be useful to visa applicants. 

Having said that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of applying successfully for a visa.

• My basic belief when applying for a visa is ‘honesty is the best policy’.  I don’t say that my father is sponsoring my trip when in actual fact, it’s my boyfriend who is doing so, I don’t say I earn N5million naira a year if I earn N2million and I don’t present false documents.  If inspite of my being honest I don’t get the visa, I believe it wasn’t meant to be/ I can re-apply/ there are loads of other countries in the world to visit some of which don’t even need a visa for entry.
• First things first: start researching how to apply for the visa you want several months before you plan to go on holiday.  This gives you plenty of time to apply for documents such as bank statements and health insurance which you may need to present at the embassy. 
• It goes without saying that you need a passport (that will not expire within 6 months of you applying for a visa) and to pay a visa fee when applying for a visa.  This may seem obvious but you would be surprised at the number of people who try to apply for visas with expired or nearly expired passports or who don’t realise they have to pay a visa fee or who pay the wrong amount.
• Apply for the visa you want a few months before you intend to travel.  This is particularly useful as if you apply for visas at peak periods like summer or Christmas, it’ll probably take a longer time for your application to be processed.

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Photograph by Ken Mayer

How to Pack for Short Trips

There are people who seem gifted at packing; their packing process is organised, clothes come out of the suitcase or bag wrinkle-free and they seem to have the right outfit for each event.  It’s admirable.  For most of us though, packing is a nightmare and packing for short trips, say 4 or 5 days is even more difficult as dumping most of your wardrobe into a small suitcase wouldn’t work.  If packing has never been your forte, you’ve come to the right place.  This post will give tips on how to pack for short trips and in the future, I’ll do a post with tips on how to pack for long trips.

• When packing for short trips, you need to know how many days exactly you’ll be gone for so you can plan properly.  You also need to be sure what sort of trip you’re going on.  The clothes you would pack for a business trip with a possibility of a few formal dinners would be different from the clothes you would need for a beach holiday.
• Choose one style of packing.  This means, if you want to roll your clothes into your travel bag, roll all of them.  Don’t roll some of the clothes and fold the others.  It’s a sure way to make sure all your clothes come out wrinkled.
• Think creatively when it comes to your clothes and learn to combine what you’ve got.  If you’re going away for 3 days, there’s no point in taking 3 pairs of jeans.  All you need is one pair and 3 different tops.  Then maybe pack a dress and heels or a pair of proper trousers and a dress shirt for going out.
• To save myself the stress of ironing (one of my least favourite activities), I generally pack clothes that stretch or that contain Lycra as these ones are less likely to need ironing.
• I love shoes as much as the next girl but there’s no need to pack 5 different pairs even if you’re going to be away 5 days.  At most, you need a pair of comfortable walking shoes (which you can wear when travelling), a pair of proper shoes for dinners or formal events and an extra pair just in case ;-)
• Put soap, shower gel and body lotion and anything that can spill or stain clothes in a Ziploc bag.  Decant your favourite gels and lotions into small containers to save space in your travel bag.
• Packing underwear is easy.  Simply toss your smalls on top of your packed clothes and smile at immigration officials’ discomfort if they search your bag.  Naturally, this only works for women J
• Mentally wear the clothes you’ve packed for each day and each event you plan to attend to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything and that’s it.  You’re packed and ready to go.

What are your top packing tips?  Go ahead and share them in the comments box.

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Photograph by jetheriot

Stay healthy on holiday

Holidays are supposed to be fun, exciting, relaxing times (depending on what kind of person you are) but illness can pretty much spoil them.  Even mild illness can ruin a vacation and mar the memories of what would have been a great time.  It doesn’t have to be that way though.  Here are a few things to keep in mind in a bid to have a healthy holiday:

• If you’re going to a country where there’s a possibility of getting malaria like Cheryl Cole did when she went she apparently went to Zanzibar, make sure you take anti-malaria medication before you go on your trip.  Ask your doctor for more information about what medication to take.
• In the same vein, if you live in an area where malaria occurs, take anti-malaria medication before you go on holiday to a country that has little occurrence of the disease.  This is so that you don’t fall ill with malaria in a country where knowledge and perhaps treatment of the disease hardly ever happens.  Take the same medication with you on holiday as sometimes malaria doesn’t rear its head for days after being bitten by the mosquito that causes the disease. 
• Take basic medication like painkillers and medication that treats running tummy with you on holiday.  This is so that if you do get the odd headache or tummy upset, you can easily take care of it without worrying about where the nearest pharmacy is, whether you need a prescription or how to say “I have diarrhoea” in a foreign language.
• While it’s good to be adventurous with food when on holiday, do so within reason.  If you’re not sure what’s in a particular meal, ask.  This is particularly important if you’re allergic to certain foods.  For example, I have a friend who is allergic to a particular kind of fish and will fall ill if he eats anything that has been cooked with it even if he doesn’t actually eat the fish.
• When eating street food, choose food from stalls that have lots of customers.  If the food from a particular stand makes people ill, it’s unlikely to be popular especially with people who live in the area.
• If you’re staying in a hotel in a new city, ask the hotel staff for their own personal favourite places to eat (outside the hotel, of course).  They will often recommend food that is delicious and cheap!
• Above all, use common sense.  If the food looks dodgy, trust your instincts and avoid eating it.

*Please speak to your doctor before taking any medication.

                                             Nina Matthews Photography

How to stay happy when you get back from holiday

Photograph by xtheowl

If you’re like most people, you look forward to your annual holiday desperately and anticipate your return to the daily grind with dread.  Of course, this isn’t ideal.  Everyone should be as eager to return to their ‘normal life’ as they are to go on holiday.  This doesn’t hold true for many people though so until we all find a way to be as happy to get back to our lives as we are to go on holiday, here are a few tips to make returning to the normal schedule as happy as possible.

·         Make sure you’ve stashed some money at home/ in an account you didn’t have access to when you were on holiday so you’re not flat broke when you get back.

·         Make your bed and clean your room/ house before you go on holiday.  This makes it easier for you to settle in when you get back.  Besides, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as lying down on a well-made bed when you’re tired.

·         If you took your laptop with you on holiday, download your photographs onto it at the end of each day otherwise download them onto your laptop as soon as you’re home so you can re-live those great moments whenever you want.

·         Plan lunch, a night out with friends or whatever takes your fancy for the day after you return from vacation.  It gives you something to look forward to plus gives you the chance to re-live your holiday. Again.

·         Start wearing the clothes and displaying the curios you bought while on holiday to lift your mood instantly.

Perhaps the most important tip though is to create the sort of life that you would love to come back to after a refreshing holiday.

What do you think?  Are there any things you do to keep yourself in a good mood when you come back from a vacation?  Put them in the comments so we can learn new tips.

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