Tag: Travel

Worcester + Cardiff

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It has now officially been 10 days since I have arrived- and what a whirlwind it has been. Worcester and Cardiff are the latest cities I have explored.

My time in Worcester was spent with a family I met through working at Stanford’s executive program two years ago, which Simon attended. We have kept in touch over the years, and I even met his family when they traveled to Boston this past spring. They were kind enough to host me for a couple days. Cathy, his wife, picked me up at the train station with their adorable dog Molly.

An adorable gate along the walk to Simon’s house in Worcester.

We went to a lovely dinner that night on the river Severn, which is the longest river in the UK. Fun fact: The Queen of England owns all the Swans in the UK and there is severe punishment for hurting or killing a swan!

The next day Cathy and I set off for Stratford-upon-Avon, which is where Shakespeare lived and breathed- and invented about half of the English language! T’was a fascinating and quaint town. On Friday night, we went to cricket match (my first one) and I am still trying to figure out all the rules. After approximately 202 questions, people sitting around us began to chime in and collectively help explain the game to me #teameffort.

Simon supporting the Worcestershire Rapids

Our last day together was spent on their canal lovely canal boat. Although it was a bit drizzly, it did not take away from having a delightful time. I learned how to navigate the canals and use the locks. Pretty cool when you think about how these locks were designed hundreds of years ago and still hold up today. I was sad to say goodbye (THANK YOU SIMON + CATHY), but it had come time to get on my train to Cardiff.

Two and a half hours later, I arrived in Cardiff. My first night I stayed in Nomad Cardiff and met two amazing girls from England who invited me to come out with them that night. We went to Pop World and Pryzm. It was truly an amazing night, but I’ll admit to needing a nap after staying out ’til 3am. Again I was sad to see them go, but after having breakfast at what they described as a “American Italian breakfast place” they kindly dropped me off at my next hostel in Cardiff before they headed back to England.

My room in Nos Da Hostel

I threw my stuff in my room at Nos Da Hostel before walking through Cardiff Castle.  Every time I am in a castle I love thinking about the people that would have called it home hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Not a bad place to grow up!

Today (my last day in Cardiff) I went for a nice 4 mile run through Bute Park and enjoyed all the greenery around me. 

River Taff

Bute Park

I went to Cardiff Bay after my run to do some walking around the waterfront. I managed to find a Starbucks so I could get good enough wifi to FaceTime my parents and my sister before reading my book outside in the sun. I found a cute restaurant on the water called  Bill’s and had a yummy spinach salad with some warm, freshly baked rosemary bread.

Can’t wait for what lies ahead tomorrow in Dublin. Hwyl fawr am nawr! (“goodbye for now” in Welsh)

Stonehenge + London

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After a cancelled flight and a night stuck in Vancouver, I finally arrived in England! One of my friends, AJ, was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and we immediately set off for Stonehenge. We met up with two other friends there and enjoyed the day in the English countryside. It was fascinating to learn about all the effort and time that went into building Stonehenge. Some of the large rocks were brought all the way from Wales(!!).

1st day in England after the red eye from Vancouver

Stonehenge with Tony, AJ & Henry

After leaving Stonehenge, the four of us headed into Salisbury for the evening. It was the most British town I have ever been to. So quaint, quiet, and cute. We walked around the large cathedral and the small downtown. We settled at a pub for dinner. It was such a lovely evening catching up with people I had met in a hostel in Barcelona a year ago. By the end of the night we all decided that Salisbury would be the perfect place to retire.

I stayed with AJ at his place in Milton Keynes my first two nights as I was getting over my jet lag. The two of us explored London yesterday before he had to head back to Milton Keynes. The first place we stopped was Borough Market, one of my favorite places in London. I bought a jar of Lavender and Fig jam (yum!). Next we walked along the Thames River until it was time to meet Henry for dinner.

Tower Bridge in London

Last night I stayed with two more of the people I met last summer in Barcelona, who live in London.

With Guy in his backyard in London

I head to my first hostel tonight and can’t wait to meet the other travelers staying there and then tomorrow I head to Worcester to stay with some more friends.

Talk soon!

Stuck in Vancouver

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UPDATE: Well we knew some things would go wrong during a 6 month trip, but I didn’t know it would be so soon! After landing in Vancouver at 10am this morning, I took off to explore the city as I have never been to Canada before. I had a 8 hour layover so I was going to be able to wander for a couple hours before heading back to the airport.

During my time in Vancouver I had no access to my phone because my minimal international plan doesn’t start until tomorrow. Once I arrived back to the airport and connected to the wifi, I was shocked to see an email from the airline that my flight to London had been cancelled due to maintenance issues. The next email said that they were putting us onto a flight leaving the next day at 1:30pm. This means I will get in on Saturday morning at 7 am and will have to navigate to a friends house after a red eye (no fun). But I decided to take a deep breath and just go with it. Nothing I could do it about now. The one silver lining was that I got to watch the Warriors win their first game of the NBA finals. Go Dubs!

Wish me luck that this next flight actually takes off!

Packing List: 12 months in Europe (2016)

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I am now less than 12 hours from getting on my flight to Europe! As such, I have finally finished packing! And what a task it was. Try fitting 12 months of your life into one European carry-on sized backpack. As my mom said, “That would just never work for me!” But alas, it’s what I am doing.

I thought I would share what my packing list is so it can be a tool for future travelers… or for travelers who have never packed lightly before.

Here’s a link to the company that I bought my backpack through for this trip! I absolutely love it so far.

Packing List For Europe:

Clothes

  • One pair of workout pants
  • One pair of Lululemon’s
  • One pair of jean shorts
  • 3 dresses (two summery, one dressier)
  • 5 Cute shirts
  • 2 sports bras
  • 2 athletic shirts (one to sleep in)
  • Nike Booty shorts (to sleep in)
  • 5 pairs of underwear
  • 5 pairs of socks
  • one nude bra, one black bra
  • running shoes
  • Boots
  • Sandals
  • 2 Scarfs
  • Sweater
  • Northface
  • Swimsuit
  • Sunglasses
  • Rain coat
  • Nylon bag
  • Running band

Electronics

  • Computer + Charger
  • iPad
  • iPhone + Charger
  • GoPro + Charger
  • Headphones (Apple)
  • Headphones (Bose)
  • Plug adapter
  • Portable charger

Toiletries

  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Flosser
  • Any medication you take
  • Retainer
  • Deodorant
  • Makeup
  • Eye makeup remover
  • Razor
  • Conditioner
  • Shampoo
  • Brush
  • Sunscreen
  • Chapstick
  • Ibuprofen
  • Hair ties and bobby pins
  • Moleskin
  • Bandaids
  • Cough drops
  • Topical steroid cream for bed bug bites or regular bug bites to help with itchiness

Miscellaneous

  • Folder of itinerary print outs
  • Extra Passport photos
  • Thumb drive with all documentation
  • Handbag (for personal item on planes as well as day-to-day use)
  • Travel Towel
  • Water Bottle
  • Ear Plug
  • Eye Mask
  • Lock (for staying in hostels)
  • Passport
  • ID
  • Money belt

Here is everything spread out on a table!

It was so hard to determine what to bring with me when I knew I could only bring a few things and it would be the only things I have for 12 months. After doing a lot of research on what I should bring, one common piece of advice was to make sure every combination of outfit you can make from bottoms, to top, to scarf, to jacket, would work well together. This is why I stuck to mostly black, gray, and off white, with a touch of color, such as blue. I brought one warmer scarf (the dark purple and black scarf under my running shoes) and one lighter, more summery scarf (the light blue next to the purple scarf). Both serve a purpose and both worked color-wise with every outfit combination. For warmth, I brought one lightweight packable Patagonia black down jacket for cool nights and a navy shawl for style or when I only need a little bit of warmth. I used 4-5 “toiletry bags” to organize various groupings of items. One for toiletries, one for first aid kit, one for makeup, and one for all my smaller electronics and their cords.

Here is everything packed and ready to go!

Shown: Backpack packed, Outfit for airport, and personal bag (with laptop, iPad, headphones)

Catch you on the flip side (or on the other side of the Atlantic)!

The Beginning

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I am officially one week away from leaving for Europe! Words cannot describe how excited I am… just thinking about all that is to come is overwhelming but thrilling.

My itinerary is as follows:

  1. London, England
  2. Worcester, England
  3. Cardiff, Wales
  4. Dublin, Ireland
  5. Galway, Ireland
  6. Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
  7. Edinburgh, Scotland
  8. London, England
  9. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  10. Stockholm, Sweden
  11. Oslo, Norway
  12. Bergen, Norway
  13. Copenhagen, Denmark
  14. Berlin, Germany
  15. Prague, Czech Republic
  16. Budapest, Hungary
  17. Stuttgart, Germany
  18. Paris, France
  19. Barcelona, Spain (Spanish Language Program)
  20. Granada, Spain (Spanish Language Program)
  21. ???
  22. ???
  23. ???
  24. ???
  25. ???

I will be spending 2.5 months traveling through the first 18 cities and then I will be in Barcelona for 2 months and Granada for 1.5 months. During my time in Spain I am attending a Spanish language program and will be staying in a home-stay to fully maximize my language immersion.

I have booked most of my hostels and modes of transportation between each city (mostly trains and a bit of planes) until Spain. The time I have after Spain (about 6 weeks) I have left open to plan while I am in Europe. If I fall in love with Berlin, I just might go back. If I decide I regret skipping Greece in the first 2.5 months, I’ll go then. If I meet friends while traveling in Copenhagen who will be in Vienna in December, I might go visit them. Who knows? And this is exactly the reason I have left some of my trip unplanned 🙂

This last week I am home before leaving will be spent fine-tuning the exact list of items I am bringing on this 6.5 month excursion. Not an easy process. I plan to bring just a carry-on sized backpack for the duration of the trip, with the possibility of swapping some summer clothes for winter clothes if my parents end up visiting. While it is difficult to imagine spending 6.5 months living out of one suitcase, it is also exciting and cathartic.

If anyone has any recommendations for me for any and all of these cities, I would love to hear it!