Meet Elle.
Hey, I’m Elle, currently working as a digital marketer in Nottingham in the UK, but dreaming (and saving up!) for a move to Copenhagen, my favourite city in the world!
My two main passions in life are travel and fashion, and I love combining the two wherever I can. During the weekends, you’ll often find me travelling through Europe, searching out the best shopping, and sipping some amazing cocktails!
What inspired you to go travelling?
When I was growing up, my parents would take my brother and me on holiday every year – usually, it was your standard fortnight summer holiday in Greece.
Then, when I got a bit older, we discovered the joy of cheap flights that is Ryanair and went on our first city break to Gothenburg, Sweden.
I loved being able to explore a new city – there was so much more to do than just simply lying around on a beach. After school, I’d spend a lot of time on Ryanair pricing up flights to different destinations and convincing my parents we just HAD to visit all of these different countries… and usually they’d cave in and agree with me!
Living in the UK, we have the rest of Europe right on our doorstep, so why would we waste that opportunity of getting to travel and see different cultures, even if it’s just for a weekend at a time?!
What is your travel style?
I wouldn’t say I’m budget or luxury: I fall right in between. Personally, I don’t like roughing it and have never stayed in a hostel (and never will!).
So I’d say my travel style is a mixture – I like luxury for less: if I’m going away somewhere, I’ll book a nice, reasonably priced hotel or apartment (a private bathroom is a must!).
As I travel quite a lot, I’m quite savvy when it comes to accommodation costs, and know roughly what price to expect in different European cities. For instance, when I’m in Eastern Europe I’ll usually book an apartment, as they’re a fraction of the price of hotel rooms, and you get so much more space – and your own cooking facilities.
When it comes to physically travelling, I’m a huge advocate of budget airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizzair. I know a lot of people who turn their noses up at the likes of these; but these airlines opened up the ability for me to travel to a range of city destinations.
There’s no way I could have afforded to have done as many trips as I have done on a national carrier (I would, however, LOVE to fly first class one day!).
If you had a one-way ticket, where would you go?
Without a doubt, Copenhagen, even though it’s only 90 minutes away! I’m absolutely in love with the city and am making plans to move there. So a one-way ticket would convince me that I may as well make the move now!
What’s your favourite destination?
Aside from Copenhagen… it’s a tough one!
I’d probably say Oslo – especially in the summer. It has such a lovely, laidback atmosphere, the nightlife is good and the locals are friendly. I just got a really nice feeling about it when I visited for the first time.
I’d also give a special mention to Vilnius in Lithuania. Whilst the city may not be as pretty as Tallinn or Riga, again the nightlife is amazing, and it’s such a cute little place. I’ve been twice, and I’d love to go back again!
Do you prefer solo travel or with a group?
I’ve yet to travel solo by myself, and whilst I’ve heard amazing things from solo travellers, I’m not sure it’s my thing… I think I’d like to share those experiences when travelling with family or friends.
Saying that, I don’t particularly enjoy travelling with a large group of people because I think you have to make a lot of compromises and if you’ve only got a short amount of time whilst on holiday, it can get quite frustrating.
My favourite way to travel is with a close friend who has similar interests to me – that way, we both get to do everything we want to, without worrying we’re boring the other one!
Who’s your ideal travel mate?
My ideal travel mate would have similar interests to me, so we wouldn’t be arguing where to go and what to do!
I’m quite organised and like to plan in advance what I’d like to do, but I appreciate it when others help too and don’t expect you to do all of the work!
However, I think it’s important that alongside the planning, my ideal travel mate would also have a sense of adventure and like to be spontaneous sometimes because that’s often when you have the most fun.
… So not too much to ask for then!
How long have you been a blogger?
Not very long! I set up my own blog when I was at University back in 2012 (it was a .wordpress blog), but my posts were very sporadic, and I didn’t have a content plan in mind – I was merely blogging for blogging’s sake.
I decided to give it a proper go at the beginning of the year, and Dressing Danishly was set up in February 2017 with the help of a friend.
Having worked in digital marketing for the last few years, I’ve managed company blogs in all of my jobs, so I’ve had plenty of experience and know the do’s and don’ts in terms of writing interesting copy, SEO optimisation and the importance of social media.
It’s been nice to be able to take what I’ve learnt professionally; and create my own blog where I can write about what I’m truly passionate about: travel and fashion.
It is however, a lot of hard work and long hours – but you kind of forget about that when you enjoy it! I’m really looking forward to building my blog over the coming months and years.
How do you like to plan adventures?
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m quite an organised person; and because the majority of my trips are short city breaks, I like to have a clear plan in mind as to the things I’d like to see, so I don’t waste my time.
I’ll do some research a few weeks before I go away: the sights to see, the shopping, the bars… to be honest, I spend most of my time researching the best cocktail bars! Then I Google map the distance of the bar from my hotel so I can plan which heels to take with me, and whether I can walk or will need to order a taxi!
I hate not being able to go on holiday for any longer than three months at a time; and I always make sure that I’ve booked another trip so that I don’t go away on holiday with nothing to look forward to when I’m back!
I spend a lot of time researching where to go next and trying to convince people to come with me… I’d love to go to Kiev, it’s just a case of finding someone else who wants to go too!
Do you think there is any difference travelling as a woman?
As a woman, you’re taught to be more careful when you travel: but I think in terms of a different experience, it all depends on the countries you visit and the culture there.
My family went on holiday to Morocco when I was 14 and I hated it – despite being a child, men in the streets leered at me, made rude gestures and even spat at me. It was awful, and I hated leaving the hotel. My dad and brother however, had a completely different experience, and weren’t treated with such disgust.
Visiting European cities however, I can’t imagine that I would have any different experience to men. I think you need to be careful about things like walking alone at night and getting into taxis by yourself – but that’s just the same as being back at home.
Do you have any advice for female travellers?
I’m aware I’m sounding like a broken record, but I think you just need to be careful! Let friends and family know where you’re travelling to, and don’t put yourself in a situation where you could be vulnerable.
I think the worst thing you can do is be put off travelling (especially solo travelling), as it’s such an exciting thing to do. But be careful!
Want to learn more about Elle?
Meet Isabel.
