“You know… If you trust in yourself, you can do anything!” Sammy’s words echoed round my mind as I looked up, panting, at the Egyptian buildings which surrounded me. It was a sunny July day in central Cairo. The shouts of street vendors blasted my eardrums; the smell of frying meat on spits and pungent piles of […]
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The Day King Tutankhamun Changed My Life
“You know… If you trust in yourself, you can do anything!” Sammy’s words echoed round ...
Springtime Theatrics in Hospital
My dad has spent his life working in the theatre. He’s acted, directed and stage managed; written plays, sketches and pantomimes; taught students, professionals and celebrities, and even met my mother onstage (she was his leading lady, once upon a time). A fortnight ago, my dad rode to hospital in an ambulance. His fibrosis lungs […]
I Joined London’s #WomensMarch with a Hundred Thousand Others. What’s Next?
“We only predicted 18,000 people today…” Sandi Toksvig’s voice echoes through the cardboard placards which fill Trafalgar Square. Faces are turned towards the sun; banners flutter below Nelson’s column, flanked by roaring bronze lions made 150 years ago. If I squint, I can see Big Ben in the distance. We are in the midst of London’s […]
Why Life in Arezzo Really is Beautiful
From the moment I stepped inside Antonio’s small second-floor apartment, I knew I was going to like Arezzo. This jovial Italian B&B owner seemed resolved to ensure that I saw everything important in his home town, even with just eighteen hours at my disposal: so after Antonio had shown me my bedroom (complete with a view of […]
Love, Loss and Jewellery, Eight Years On
My mum once pierced her ears with a needle and an ice cube. Well, not exactly. Mum was eighteen, travelling in the US, and it was her American friends who happily volunteered to do the piercing for her; Mum’s friend Lainey who slightly misjudged the needle’s point in Mum’s right earlobe and made the hole a few […]
Che, Castro and the Legacy of Cuba’s Communism
Hugo and Consuela have a framed photo of Che Guevara above their fish tank. This middle-aged couple, my casa hosts in Santa Clara, have just bought three slices of peso pizza from the hole-in-the-wall round the corner. We sit at their small kitchen table, fans whirring overhead: I nibble at a corner of the greasy slice while Hugo sips […]
Who is Flora The Explorer?
I’m Flora, a freelance writer, traveller and avid volunteer with an obsession for hunting out the weirdnesses of the world.
Over the last seven years I've lived in Florence & San Francisco, worked in India & Iceland, volunteered in Nepal & Lithuania, and more recently spent eighteen months attempting to become fluent in Spanish while journeying around South America. After stints as as a Colombian journalist, a Bolivian artificial limb maker and a Brazilian builder, I’ve come back to London for my Masters degree - and to plan my next adventure.
My vague aim is to visit every continent twice before I turn thirty one – and explore as much of the world as possible in the meantime! Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Find me on Snapchat!
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Sexism and Machismo: the Attitude to Women in Latin America
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Happy, Safe and Solo: Travelling in India by Yourself
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Am I Incapable of Learning Spanish?
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Six Days for $900: Doing the Galapagos on a Budget
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Five Things to Know Before Travelling to Bolivia
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The Day King Tutankhamun Changed My Life
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Springtime Theatrics in Hospital
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I Joined London’s #WomensMarch with a Hundred Thousand Others. What’s Next?
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Why Life in Arezzo Really is Beautiful
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Love, Loss and Jewellery, Eight Years On
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Stefania - The Italian Backpackerte: I loved this post. It reminds me a little of the f...
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Flora: Thanks Amy! It's always amazed me what a superhum...
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Will: I think you shouldn't be so worried about stuff l...
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