My Travel Atelier

My Travel Atelier

Travel inspiration, guides and tips

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  • Destinations
    • Belgium
      • Antwerp
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      • Aalborg
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      • Costa Brava
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      • Marrakech
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  • Hotel Reviews
    • True Lebanese hospitality at Beit Douma
    • Perfect little escape from Copenhagen at Helenekilde Badehotel
    • Weekend by the sea at Hostal Spa Empuries, Costa Brava
    • Feeling at home at Casa Bonay, Barcelona
    • Senato Hotel, the most stylish hotel in Milan
    • Terre des Étoiles, the eco-friendly desert experience in Morocco
    • Riyad El Cadi, a hidden gem in the Medina of Marrakech
    • Mas des Pascaux, Provence
  • Travel Tips
    • Favourite travel gear on our Latinamerican adventure
    • Four family travel blogs to inspire you to travel the world
    • Breaking down the search for the right Airbnb – with and without a baby
    • My best tips for a successful road trip
    • Links to my favorite travel sites…
    • Traveling light: The beauty essentials I bring when I travel with a carry-on
    • Three destinations I am dreaming of now…
    • Why you should always remember to sign up for loyalty programs
  • Home decor
    • Decorating with interior design from my travels
    • How to find the souvenirs that will look pretty in your home
  • Meet
    • Meet: Digital Nomad Mille
    • Meet: Yoga teacher Mette
    • Meet: Traveler & mom Debbie
  • Podcasts
    • Six podcasts about full time travel and the Digital Nomad lifestyle
    • Introducing the podcasts series
  • Christina Rovira Mollerup
  • Privacy Policy
Guide Bacalar
November 28, 2019November 28, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Guide to Bacalar, Mexico

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 My Travel Atelier

I have been interviewed for my favourite podcast (in Danish)

October 29, 2019October 29, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Our favourite coffee shops in Antigua, Guatemala

Conscious travel routines
September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Practical tips for a conscious travel routine

Guide to Lake Atitlan Guatemala
August 14, 2019August 15, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Complete guide to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

August 2, 2019August 2, 2019 My Travel Atelier

8 tips for travelling with a toddler

15 photos of Antigua Guatemala
July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 My Travel Atelier

15 photos from our love-affair with Antigua, Guatemala

Coffee shops in Playa del Carmen
July 16, 2019July 24, 2019 My Travel Atelier

5 great coffee shops to work from in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen
June 14, 2019June 14, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Taking a travel break and staying put in Playa del Carmen for some months

Guide to Isla Holbox
June 4, 2019June 4, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Guide to extraordinary Isla Holbox

May 25, 2019May 24, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Favourite travel gear on our Latinamerican adventure

May 22, 2019May 22, 2019 My Travel Atelier

Our 10 days in Mérida (hint: It was not as expected)

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Welcome to My Travel Atelier

Christina Rovira

Hi, I am Christina. A 32-year old Spanish- Danish travel writer, mother and wife. I have written here on My Travel Atelier since 2015 alongside my “real” job in the hotel industry. By the end of 2018 my husband & I jumped right into an uncertain future when we quit our 9-5 jobs to travel in Latin America and work online. Since then, my posts are mostly evolving around travelling with a toddler, working online and all the fabulous and not so fabulous things we experience along the way.

Welcome!

 

christinarovira

Christina - Freelance Creative
The happy face of an entrepreneur who received SO The happy face of an entrepreneur who received SO MANY responses on my survey about my upcoming newsletter last week (in stories) 🙌 Thank you to all who voted and commented. And it was only in Danish, which left many of you out (sorry about that - International version might come in the future 💫). Thank you, thank you, thank you 😘 I’m currently making drafts, deciding the layout, planning the content and selecting photos for the newsletter 💌 It will be full of business tips, advice for freedom seeking souls and ALWAYS with a glimpse of the sweet Mediterranean life in Barcelona ☀️❤️🌿 Also sending warm thoughts to my business coach @pascalecote who has taught me the importance of market research. In my life pre-Pascale I would simply have drafted a newsletter without asking the recipient (aka YOU!) first. Foolish, right? Because some of the responses really surprised me. For instance, a lot of you were interested in knowing more about how to make new friendships and connections when living abroad (or even when living home new connections can be necessary if you dream of a change in your life). A topic I love and can’t wait to share more about 😃 So here’s to market research and the excitement of new things happening in my biz 🙌 Wish you all a beautiful Wednesday 🌿 If you didn’t get to answer the survey, I’ve saved it in highlights. You can’t vote any longer, but if you’re curious to know the topics they’re there☝🏼 Pic by @jul.malinowska 💫
These weeks I’m looking into my business and fin These weeks I’m looking into my business and finding new ways of working🌱 I work on streamlining work flows, creating new income streams and I am reviewing and taking note of all the projects I have done over summer to see what I enjoyed the most (I know that the projects I’ve enjoyed the most are also the ones I’m best at, so my focus should be there for the future) ✨⁠ ⁠ I’m digging into all of this to optimize my business. Both for my clients, for myself and for the future. I could continue like I have since May and It would be a solid business, but I want more structure and I want to involve people around me more. I want to inspire the ones who want to be inspired ( = a newsletter for creative and/or freedom seeking souls is under construction 🥰🙌💌). ⁠ ⁠ I’m working to build a business that’s solid enough so I can take the summer months off and enjoy the best time of the year with my family ☀️ Not take in any client projects from start July to mid September. To solely dedicate a few hours a week on ongoing projects and the creative development of my business during those months. Because as I’ve said before, then my creativity only flows when there’s mental space 💫⁠ ⁠ It might sound like wishful thinking, but this is what I’ll do. And I know it’s going to work, because I’ve decided it will🤝⁠ ⁠ (Just for info: We need my income. I can’t just take some months off and live of my husband’s income. To keep the wheels running I need a solid income, which is why I am planning ahead now.)⁠ ⁠ Building this business is teaching me so much, and most importantly, it is teaching me that I decide, and that when I trust the process it will be fine. My intuition tells me this is the right thing to do. And my intuition knows me quite well 🍀⁠ ⁠ Does it sound crazy to take 2,5 month almost off every summer? Would you dare to set the same goal? Would you believe it could be possible? 💫
Back in Barcelona 🙌 Now you might think: “Bu Back in Barcelona 🙌 Now you might think: “But hasn’t she been back for a while now?” Yesss, we’ve been here for more than a month, but gosh time has flown! And when time flies, so does my activity here on Instagram👋 In between wonderful client projects (which I’ll soon be sharing), Julian starting school (they begin school at the age of three here and it’s in Catalan …!) and lots of other things happening, this first month has been quite a whirlwind of events. But now, I’m taking a few weeks “off” and not taking in any new projects for the next 3 weeks-ish. Since I relaunched my business back in May, I’ve been so extremely busy with client projects (very thankful for that🙏), that I haven’t had the time to look into my own business. I haven’t had the time to share any projects, to update my portfolio, to start the design course I wanted to do, or the e-book I want to write and so on. Most are things that require my creative skills. But for my creativity to flow I need to unwind. To go for strolls without an agenda. Bring my notebook and not my laptop. Look at people and take in the nature. And that’s exactly what I’m planning to do the upcoming weeks. Those weeks with nothing on the agenda won’t bring instant cash flow for sure, but I know from experience, that those weeks with less activity and more mental space, will bring in double up on the economy afterwards. It’s taking a step back, to take two steps forward. I feel like I’ve been running a marathon since Covid, with lots of hills, and now it’s the time to go for a quiet walk. I wonder, if you’re self-employed, or even if you aren’t, are you good at stopping up, taking a step back and breathe? Wish you all a wonderful Friday and weekend😘 Picture by my photo-partner in crime: @jul.malinowska ❤️ (And how beautiful is Barcelona? The architecture🙌)
✨20.09.20✨ Today marks 10 years since our fir ✨20.09.20✨ Today marks 10 years since our first kiss and 6 years since our wedding. When we met, I didn’t want a serious relationship. I was only 23 and knew that this guy could be something. And I was scared. Not scared to commit, nor scared to open my heart. I was scared to loose my freedom. I was sure that committing to a serious relationshop would lead to buying an apartment, a shared mortgage, getting married, having one child, then one more, be so busy with daily life and practicalities that I would basically just see life pass by… What was pretty much anyone else’s dream scenario was my nightmare at the time: All I wanted to do was to travel and see the world. Luckily, this handsome man who has become my rock when my mind floats in a million different directions, said very calmly “You know, we are the ones to decide what to do with our lives and I’m pretty sure that all the travels you want to do, will be even more fun if we do them together. Trust me, this will be good.” And boy he was right💥 The past ten years have been fun, exciting, challenging and so much more (the past year has maybe been a liiiiittle bit too “exciting”, but we still toasted in cheap red wine every night and laughed in panic when everything went wrong during our first months in Barcelona. That’s love: laughing together when there is literally 0€ on the bank account, your rental is covered in mold, the job opportunity you thought you had is gone and the Spanish police is making it impossible to get your residency papers…). If he back then had given me the list of things we would experience together, I would have screamed “YESSSSS let’s start a life together NOW! It sounds amazing!”. Extra thankful today that he didn’t give up back then and thankful for the in-laws, nieces, nephews and friends that came along when saying yes to him❤️ To many more years and adventures🍾 And to a big 10 years wedding anniversary party in 4 years for everyone who were at the wedding + for all the amazing people we have met the past years!
The fields are harvested, the bright summer evenin The fields are harvested, the bright summer evenings are over, temperatures are indicating that fall is just around the corner and I’ve had an umbrella as my companion the past week 🌨☔️Clear signs that it’s the perfect time to head back to Barcelona for another round of summer ☀️ I never thought I would appreciate a Danish summer so much, but these past 2,5 months have been absolutely wonderful 🌻 Now it’s time to go back, time for Julian to start school, time for me to give my business some love during daytime (it has been a little stressful to mostly work at night 🙈) and to get some routines again (hopefully🙌) after we lost them all 6 months ago. Hasta luego friends & family here in Denmark 👋 It has been AMAZING! See you in 3,5 months for Christmas 🎄 🏖 Amigos in Barcelona: Can’t wait for beach time, tapas, vino and coffee in the sun all fall. Hasta pronto 😍💦☀️
“Should I show myself more in my business?”⁠ “Should I show myself more in my business?”⁠ ⁠ Question from a self-employed friend. My answer to her was: “Yes, I think you should.”⁠ ⁠ Not necessarily what you have for dinner (except if it’s relevant for your potential clients), but show your values. It can be done in a private, but still personal manner. ⁠ ⁠ Example:⁠ ⁠ For my own business, I focus on intentional living and the sweet Mediterranean lifestyle (among other things). ⁠ ⁠ We chose to quit the 9 to 5 in Denmark to seek adventure and have more flexibility as a family. People resonate with it because they: ⁠ ⁠ A) Also did something similar or are planning to do it.⁠ ⁠ or⁠ ⁠ B) Love the idea, probably won’t do it, but like to follow along and be inspired.⁠ ⁠ What I offer in my business can also be found elsewhere (I mean; design websites, give advice on personal branding and create stories around you and your biz… I’m not the only one on the market). ⁠ ⁠ BUT I am the only ME who does it. And that’s the key factor. But for people to know who I am, I need to show a bit of myself, and that’s where it comes to personal branding because I AM my brand 💃🏽⁠ ⁠ Gone are the days where we just called an anonymous agency to get help🙅🏽 We want to have fun while we work and we want a personal relationship. And why shouldn’t we?⁠ ⁠ Working should be fun 😍⁠ ⁠ If you’re thinking “Okay, okay I get it, but I’m still confused and my website/SoMe/visual identity isn’t really reflecting me”, send me a DM and let’s plan a free 30-min clarity call where we look into your business, so we can show off the best version of YOU in YOUR biz 🙌⁠
Do you have a passion you’d like to make your jo Do you have a passion you’d like to make your job one day?⁠ ⁠ I always knew I wanted to do something by myself, but I wasn’t sure what.⁠ ⁠ Back in 2015 I created my first website in WordPress. It was for my travel blog. It wasn’t fancy and it didn’t have many visitors.⁠ ⁠ I could easily have told myself back then: The blog is a failure. ⁠ ⁠ But I didn’t. Because it wasn’t.⁠ ⁠ All the hours I spent on that blog taught me how to: ⁠ ⁠ Build websites⁠ Edit pictures⁠ Write interesting stories⁠ SEO optimise⁠ Plan content⁠ Pitch ideas ⁠ ⁠ The blog didn’t have many visitors, but it did something else that was much more important: ⁠ ⁠ It reflected me. ⁠ ⁠ It became my ticket to start writing for Danish magazines and newspapers. ⁠ ⁠ I used my blog as a reference when I pitched stories to the editorials, and guess what: Except for one story, I have sold EVERY single travel story I have ever written.⁠ ⁠ Thanks to my (un)successful blog it was easy for anyone to quickly get a taste of me and my writing. ⁠ ⁠ My best tip for you, if you’re thinking about starting your own business, is to slowly start building a platform around yourself (if it’s a personal business of course). The most important thing is to start. Simple as that. Just do something, anything. Start.⁠ ⁠ If you need help to get started creating content and visuals that reflect you, let me know. I offer a free 15 min clarity call for all lovely aspiring or established, business owners.⁠ ⁠ Pic by @jul.malinowska ⭐️⁠
When it's good, it's really good: Summer in Denmar When it's good, it's really good: Summer in Denmark. The fields, the sea, the sweet island life🌱 ⁠ ⁠ This week I'm working super structured every morning from 6 am - 1 pm, so I can enjoy the rest of the day with my little family. It feels like a luxury to get 7 hours a day to work on my business and for my clients without interruptions🙌⁠ ⁠ I'm longing for routines. For daycare to open again once we return to Barcelona. For now, I'm enjoying this week, until husband starts working again on Monday and I'm back to juggling a 3-year old and my little business. We've done it since March 13th, so we can take another month and a half until school/daycare opens in Barcelona on September 14th if everything goes well. ⁠ ⁠ 2019 was a year to remember when we traveled around Latin America. 2020 kind of beats it, not in a positive way though, but it's okay. When we get older and Julian is a teenager and never home, we'll say "Do you remember the year there was no daycare for 6 months?". And we'll probably miss all the hours we had together❤️ ⁠ ⁠ We'll also remember this summer as the one we enjoyed coming to the island more than ever. The view to the fields we didn't see in 2019 because we were on the other side of the globe 🌾 ⁠ ⁠ Life ✨
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