London + Cambridge
Bath + London
Edinburgh + Southend on Sea
Ireland
Worcester + Cardiff
Stonehenge + London
Sheffield + London
Tag: Travel Blog
Vancouver, Canada
CITY: Vancouver
HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
While in Vancouver, my mom and I stayed at the Hyatt Regency. It was a very nice hotel and the location couldn’t have been better. It was very central and close to the waterfront. Plenty of good restaurants were within a 15 minute walk. Definitely would stay here again.
WHERE TO EAT:
After landing in Vancouver, we headed into an area of Vancouver called Kitsilano. It had a hippie-ish vibe and it was very low-key. No towering skyscrapers to be found here. We were hungry and trying to eat healthy so when we found The Naam, it seemed like the perfect match! It was a vegan restaurant and apparently very popular for UBC students as it is open 24 hours. I got sesame-honey fried tofu and it was delicious!
Looking at downtown Vancouver from Kitsilano
That night we headed toĀ Pacifico pizzeriaĀ for dinner. It did not disappoint! My mom had a yummy caesar salad with prawns on it, and I had a butternut squash ravioli dish. The atmosphere was great and this place is centrally located in downtown Vancouver. Definitely recommend this place.
Mama!
Enjoying our meal
My favorite restaurant of the trip wasĀ Vancouver Urban Winery. One of my good friends from while I was studying in Barcelona lives in Vancouver so he took my mom and me to this restaurant on our last night here. THIS PLACE WAS AWESOME! Great atmosphere. Great open floor plan where the kitchen was exposed. Tons of great alcohol. The food was fantastic. I can’t recommend this place enough.
The waterfront with Ryan after going to the Vancouver Urban Winery
Our last meal was lunch at Cactus Club right on English Bay Beach. It was a great location and had a really diverse menu, which is great for a group that has varying tastes! I had a yummy frozen cocktail called a FrosƩ!
FrosĆ© all day š
WHAT TO DO:
Other than just stroll along the beautiful waterfront pedestrian path, the highlight of our time in Vancouver was renting bikes and exploring Stanley Park. Stanley Park has 27 km of forest trails and a 8.8 km seawall path. THIS PARK WAS INCREDIBLE!! It was such a great place to go for a walk, a run, a bike ride, or just a snooze in the sun. There were beautiful views and play structures for kids. There was something for everyone!
Vancouver on a beautiful day
Mom struggling on her bike
Taken from the bike path around Stanley Park
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Vancouver was incredible!! My mom and I were just about ready to move here! The sun was shining the whole time and it was 75 degrees +, however, everyone was all too happy to inform us that we happened upon the best weather they have had in months and it wasn’t normal. The normal weather is gray and rainy– which put a damper in our plan to move here. We just couldn’t get past leaving sunny California. Overall, my mom and I couldn’t get over how awesome Vancouver is. There is a modern, beautiful skyline and bike paths all over the city. Stanley Park offers a nature refuge in the middle of an urban environment. Public transport seemed to be everyone and there were beautiful waterfront walking paths. All in all, Vancouver is a must!!!
Drinks with Leanne, who I met while I was traveling in Porto, Portugal!
After Vancouver we headed up to Whistler for a night! After dabbling in some hitchhiking in Europe, I made my mom stop for 3 hitchhikers on our way to Whistler. Two Germans and one Italian!
German, German, American, Italian
CITY: Whistler
HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT
ACCOMMODATION:
We stayed in the Hilton while in Whistler. Again, this was a nice hotel, but what made it super special was its location. You could exit the back of the hotel onto the village stroll, which is the pedestrian street through Whistler village. Definitely would recommend this hotel.
WHERE TO EAT:
The standout meal in Whistler was at La Bocca. We sat outside on a beautiful, warm night and were able to enjoy people watching while enjoying our meal. It was bustling on the Saturday night we were there with plenty of bachelor/bachelorette parties along with families, couples and groups of friends. The food was delicious and I had a yummy cocktail as well. Would 100% go back here.
Life is good
WHAT TO DO:
Our stay in Whistler was short, but we managed to pack a lot in! Our first stop was at Scandinavia Spa,Ā whichĀ offers a traditional Scandinavian baths experience in a peaceful and natural environment. We enjoyed the many pools and solariums before our 60 minute massage. Unfortunately there are no phones allowed (although it was great to unplug) so I don’t have any pictures, but this place was magical!!
The entrance
Beautiful walk to the spa
The spa itself (they have done a nice job of keeping it private and integrated into the nature!)
The other awesome thing we did while in Whistler was take the gondola up and hike on Whistler Mountain. There was so much snow still, it was incredible! After our hike we took the peak-to-peak gondola to Blackcomb before taking the gondola back down to the village! Super fun experience with amazing views!
On our way up! (Mom was talking to a nice Iranian couple)
Up and up we go
Mid mountain views
CANADA
The lift up to the peak
The lift
Starting our hike!
Plenty of snow
!!!!!! SNOW !!!!!!
Cant’ get over the views
On our descent towards greenery
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Whistler was incredible!! We were blown away at how dialed in Whistler was for both winter and summer. They know what they are doing!! Between mountain biking, skiing, hiking, swimming, and all the great restaurants and shops, you will never be bored in Whistler- no matter what season you are in!!
From the Vancouver Olympics
London + Cambridge
Sadly, this is my last stop on my trip! BUT I made the most of it with a final visit with my favorite British people. (You may remember them because I stayed with them all the way back in June 2016 and then again in February 2017.) Originally I had met them at a hostel in Barcelona in May 2015 and have visited them 4 or 5 times since then. So without further adieu…
CITY: london
HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
I stayed atĀ Astor Hyde ParkĀ while in London for the final time. I booked super late so there weren’t many options left, but I ended up getting one of the last beds at this hostel. This place had large under the bed lockers and an en suite bathroom. There’s a large guest kitchen and two great common areas for socializing. Also the hostel is right next to Hyde Park!! Definitely recommend a stay here.
WHERE TO EAT:
The main thing I did while in England was go to Cambridge for the day with my British friends! To start off the adventure we went toĀ Copper KettleĀ for a full English breakfast. This was the first time I had one, and while I can’t get on board with beans for breakfast, the rest was delicious!
Enjoying brunch
Full English
After a full day of exploring Cambridge, we all went toĀ Bill’sĀ for dinner + drinks. It had a good vibe and could seat all 6 of us. I got a tomato soup because I wasn’t super hungry, but AJ and his gf, Chloe, splitĀ aĀ halloumi burger and it looked great!
I went to Nandos, a staple in the UK, for the first time on my last night in Europe. I met Henry and one of his high school friends for dinner. It’s a PortugueseĀ chicken chain and it’s pretty good, although I was surprised by how spicy it was! There are tons of different menu options. Definitely recommend a visit here if you have the time.
The most perfect hot chocolate I got while Henry and I were waiting for the rest of the crew to show up
WHAT TO DO:
As I mentioned, the main activity of my visit to London was a day trip to Cambridge. Henry and I met up at the train station in London and headed to Cambridge, while AJ & Chloe and Tony met us there as they drove. After getting brunch, we walked around the town before finding a grassy spot to enjoy the sun. Around 2pm we loaded into a boat to go punting, which is very popular in Cambridge.
Meeting Henry at the train station on our way to Cambridge
Cambridge
Enjoying the sun!
The crew
Busy day for punting
Aj, Chloe, Tony, & Henry
We made it on the boat
The bridge of sighs
On the boat!
After punting we again found a grassy spot and just enjoyed the rare sunny day.
Sitting in a park
Henry planting a garden on AJ
My fav’s
The most exquisite roses I have ever seen
Other than Cambridge, I did spend a day at Hyde Park reading my book. A wonderfully relaxing day.
Hyde Park
My last day on this wonderful trip I spent hanging at my hostel, meeting some people, and working on my blog š That night I grabbed dinner with Henry and his friend and we were some of the last people to leave the restaurant.
It was really, really hard to say goodbye to my friends because they ended up being such a big part of this trip!! Each time I visited before, we knew there would be at least one more visit ahead. This time, we knew it would be an indefinite goodbye. HOWEVER, I am trying my hardest to convince them to come to CA to visit me sometime in the future.
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in England, and it is has furthered cemented my dream of moving here. I hope to eventually find a path to living in London, even if it’s just for a few years.
See ya soon California! While I will miss Europe with all my heart, I am excited to go home and sleep in my own bed for the first time in a while š
Greece
After 6 weeks of solo travel, I am ending my trip with about 8 days with Adam, one of my best friends from high school! Also our friend Matt joined us for Santorini. It was so much fun to see a familiar face and travel with a friend!
CITY: Mykonos
HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
We stayedĀ Orpheas RoomsĀ hotel and it was GREAT. It was reasonably priced and we had two separate bedrooms. The location was perfect and close to everything. The shower was AMAZING, we both had never seen anything like it. It had like 4 different water spouts and was piping hot. We also had a little patio with a table and chairs where we spent hours playing cards and drinking wine. Definitely recommend a stay here!
Our little patio
The coolest door that was next to our place
WHERE TO EAT:
After settling into our place, we wandered out to find some food. We eventually foundĀ Kavos Cafe Bar Restaurant, which is right on the water. I am trying to try new foods in each place I go and thus ordered my first ever plate of gyros– and I think I fell in love. They were delicious! Plus they come withĀ tzatziki and french fries so I was in heaven.
After renting ATV’s and exploring some beaches, we wanted to find a restaurant outside of the more touristy downtown and we were in for a treat when we foundĀ Myconian Plate. It felt homey and local. The food was delicious and the waiters were very attentive. We had such a great experience at this place!
Lunch at Mykonian Plate
Mykonian Plate
After laying out in the sun the next day we found a lovely restaurant right on the beach on the other side of the island calledĀ Yialo yialo. The staff were super friendly and the food was good. The best part was that after we ate we were allowed to use their chaise lounges on the beach.
Our last meal on Mykonos was atĀ Marco Polo. It’s a family run restaurant in the middle of Mykonos Town that had a nice ambiance. I ordered a delicious plate of Greek meatballs and Adam and IĀ shared a bottle of wine. It was a nice end to our food experience in Mykonos.
Dinner at Marco Polo
our dessert
WHAT TO DO:
Other than walking around Mykonos Town, which is quite cute, the main thing to do on the island is rent ATV’s and go to the cool beaches— So that’s what we did. It was so much fun zipping around the tiny island on them. We used them to beach-hop all day. As you can imagine, we played cards, read our books, napped, and swam all day long. Overall, super fun and relaxing!
The famous windmills
Beach day
“Try and look like you are not freezing!”
All the chaise lounges
Adam being inventive
However, as we were here in May, it was a little too early for all the famous partying and clubs to even be open. I think Adam and I were actually pretty happy about that because neither of us are super into that scene. We did end up going out to a bar/club in Mykonos Town and had a blast! They played super fun danceable music and we made some Australian friends.
The “crazy” famous beach clubs that weren’t so happen’ while we were there
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed Mykonos and am not sad about being here in the shoulder season. The beaches were beautiful, although a bit windy. I also really liked Mykonos Town, as it was quite cute and trendy.
Our ferry to Santorini
CITY: Santorini
HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
We stayed at an airbnbĀ that was literally carved into the cliffs. It was accurately described as a cocoon. It was on the small side but had everything you needed. The best part of the airbnb was the incredible patio that offered chaise lounges to view the incredible sunsets every night. The bathroom was spacious and there was a tiny kitchenette. The bed was comfy and there was also a table with two chairs. Really enjoyed this special airbnb.
Our patio
WHERE TO EAT:
Our favorite place ended up being a cafe right near our airbnb called Cafe Galini. I think we ended up eating here about 5 times during our stay in Santorini. We had amazing greek yogurt bowls with fresh fruit + honey. Also the club sandwich was our go-to for lunch. I often enjoyed some hot milk + honey in the mornings because I was feeling a little under the weather while here.
Greek yogurt + fresh berries + honey š
Our other favorite spot was Zafora. We ended up here twice, once for a late dinner, and once for an entire afternoon of playing cards and snacking until the sun had set. We really enjoyed the food, customer service, and most importantly, the view. Ā One night I had a yummy crepe, and the other I had a yummier gyros plate.
Zafora!
Sunset from Zafora
One night we cooked our own meal with some pasta, prosciutto, garlic, and onions and ate on Matt’s balcony.
Dinner on Matt’s balcony
The sunset the next day from the same spot
Drinks to celebrate our birthdays
WHAT TO DO:
Santorini has plenty to offer in forms of things to do. First up was a walk through Fira. Settled at the top of some cliffs, you are offered some incredible views as you stroll through the town. There were plenty of restaurants and stores to wander through. What we came to realize in our time in Santorini was that given how the town is etched into the cliffs, almost everywhere you go has an incredible view over the water.
Views
Near our airbnb
Santorini at sunset
My favorite wall
The next day, along with Matt, we rented ATV’s and headed over to some black sand beaches. I have never been on ATV’s before Greece and really, really enjoyed riding around in the open air on these things. It’s the best way to explore the Greek islands. After the beaches, we rode 45 minutes over to OĆa, the other main city on the island. We walked around the famous city streets and eventually headed down to the water so Matt and Adam could go cliff-jumping. After, we found a nice lunch spot.
Black sand beach
Snack break
OĆa
Matt + Adam jumping off the cliff!
Another highlight was a boat tour to an active volcanic island and to some hot springs. We got to walk around the island, even seeing some smoking craters. Next up we boated to the island next door and jumped into the fairly cold water to swim towards the hot springs. Pretty quickly we realized a more accurate description would be “lukewarm springs” but we still had a good time spreading the “healing” mud all over our bodies!
Exploring the volcanic island
Santorini in the background
Where the hot springs are
Adam and I enjoyed a nice afternoon at Galini cafe playing cards and reading our books after a couple of action-filled days. We had said bye to Matt, who was supposed to fly to Rome that day BUT he got bumped from his flight and got “stuck” in Santorini one more night. Lucky for us he got put up in a super nice hotel on the other side of the island where all the beaches are. SO the next day (andĀ our last day) Adam and I lugged our luggage over to his hotel to hang pool and beach side until our midnight flight to Athens. We really lucked out because this place was super nice and we were just able to relax all day.
Sunscreen is important!
Attempting to skip rocks
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Santorini is awesome! Incredible views, incredible people, incredible sunsets. Such a picturesque place. It’s definitely not the cheapest place I went, but we had such a fun time exploring the island.
CITY:Ā Athens
HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
We stayed at Athens BackpackersĀ and it was the perfect location. Adam and I were only here for one full day so it was critical to be centrally located. This place also had a guest kitchen and common room. The beds were comfy and there were lockers. They were connected to a bar, restaurant and a laundry facility so there were options to explore beyond just the common room. Definitely would stay here again.
WHERE TO EAT:
We only had the one day but we had 2 great finds. First off, to warn everyone, Athens restaurants were SO AGGRESSIVE at trying to lure in the tourists. Adam and I were harassed almost every where we went. It was overwhelming. But eventually we picked a restaurant and we ended up having a great meal with the first round of drinks on them š
The more important find was aĀ dessert place called Lukumades. They had these fresh, homemade donuts and they you could add ice cream + the donuts in a bowl. WOWOWOW it was good. We got two combos to split.
Lukumades
Apple filled with honey + cinnamon on top
Chocolate on Chocolate on Chocolate
WHAT TO DO:
We started the day with a visit to the Acropolis. Pretty spectacular what the Greeks were able to build all those years ago. After walking around that site, we meandered through all the pedestrian friendly shopping streets before popping into the National Garden to soak up the sun and play some cards. The gardens had some interesting combos of animals in the park. One tiny pond had probably more than 50 turtles. There were goats and rabbits in the same pen. They had all sorts of birds. It was a crazy place haha.
The Parthenon
Exploring the Acropolis
Ancient ruins feat. Adam
National Gardens
Adam checking out the sun dial
approx. 1,000,000 turtles
Walking through the park
Beautiful purple trees
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I went in with low expectations of Athens, and was quite pleasantly surprised! Adam and I had fun exploring Athens by foot and enjoyed everything except the harassment from the restaurants. I wouldn’t necessarily rush back to spend a ton more time in Athens, as there are other places I would rather go back to and obviously there even more places that I want to go that I haven’t been to! BUT I really liked my time in Athens.
Montenegro
After Dubrovnik, I crossed into Montenegro! This was my first time to this tiny country of Ā only about 700,000 people.
CITY: Kotor
HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
I stayed at Montenegro Hostel 4UĀ and had very mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, the facilities were great- Big rooms, big lockers, nice bathrooms, and good kitchen/common area. There were kayaks and bikes available to rent and it was right on the water. HOWEVER, this hostel had the most aggressive organized drinking I had ever seen. I mean it’s one thing for the staff to encourage people to socialize and drink, but it’s another to pressure a kid into drinking so much that he had to go to the hospital. I found the staff to be very sexist and too involved with getting people to drink. When I would say that I was fine drinking water, they seemed to be upset and continually asked me to drink alcohol instead. Despite the aggressive staff, I did meet some awesome people here!
WHERE TO EAT:
The hostel had organized BBQ’s most nights so I tended to join in to meet people, but my favorite restaurant I went to was calledĀ Konoba Akustik. They had delicious Cevapi and other yummy food.
WHAT TO DO:
The most important thing to do while in Kotor is hike the old fortress. It’s not the easiest hike (about 1,300 steps straight up the mountain) but the views make it worth it. It was only 3 euros (as opposed to the 20 euros it costs to do the city walls in Dubrovnik).
Walking across the bridge into Old Town
Heading up with Jacob, a guy I met at the hostel
View over old town
Up we go!
The old fort at the top over looking the bay
OldĀ Town
Next up was renting some kayaks with some new British friends (Yay Louisa + Matt!). We spent many hours joking about our mutual appreciation for good butter (butterbaes for life) and Louisa does an amazing valley girl accent so we also had many made up conversations about our alter egos Becca and Ashley! We literally couldn’t even….
Lastly, I decided to do a day tour of Montenegro because apparently with one day tour you can see about 60% of the country. Crazy right?! While I did see some cool things and we went for a boat ride on a river, the tour wasn’t anything special. I probably would’ve preferred to just hang around Kotor.
View over Bay of Kotor
the Mausoleum (the second highest peak of mount Lovcen) where is buried the great Montenegrin ruler and poet Petar II Petrovic Njegos
Cetinje Monastery
River Crnojevica
Budva
Budva
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Despite my hostel being less than ideal, I met some fun people and enjoyed exploring Kotor/ other parts of Montenegro. Kotor and Montenegro in general are so untouched compared to many other parts of Europe. But, slowly it is being discovered. In Kotor, more and more cruise ships are stopping for a visit and surely, it will become a hotspot in the next 5 years.
CITY:Ā Ulcinj
HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS
ACCOMMODATION:
I stayed atĀ Hostel PirateĀ and it couldn’t have been more opposite to my hostel in Kotor. It was so relaxing and because Ulcinj is not very big, there wasn’t much to do at night so all the guests would drink beer and just hang at the hostel. I had a great time meeting new people and playing cards. The rooms were nice and the lockers were big enough for valuables. A large guest kitchen and common room were available for use. Also the staff were super awesome, helpful, & generous. ALSO as a bonus there was a Belgian Shepard and the house cat had just had kittens!!!!
WHERE TO EAT:
I mostly cooked my own food while I was here so don’t have any recommendations unfortunately.
WHAT TO DO:
Despite being fairly small, Ulcinj has plenty to do! First up for me was a walk through the old town, which was literally empty (again polar opposite to Dubrovnik). Fun views of the little cove and town below the old town.
Walking through the Old Town
View of Ulcinj
Next was a day trip to ALBANIA!! I went to ShkodĆ«r which is near Skadarsko Jezero, a huge lake that is half in Montenegro and half in Albania. I spent a couple of hours exploring the town and went to some castle ruins. Rozafa Castle was built around the 14th century. Definitely cool to walk around the ruins, and it wasn’t really regulated in terms of where you could go, so you can essentially walk everywhere and can climb up all the old walls.
Rozafa Castle ruins
Albanian flag
Ebu Beker Mosque
The best day was my first proper beach day in a while. I ventured out with an American couple I had met on the bus from ShkodĆ«r that also happened to be staying at my hostel. First, I went with Tess to a women’s only nudist beach, which is interesting as this isĀ a Muslim dominated area, but we had a very relaxing time. After an hour in the sun we walked 40 minutes along the coast to another beach (14km long!!!) We met up with her boyfriend, Aaron, here. Our hike endedĀ with aĀ treacherous bridge, but we survived! I honestly thought this might be how my life ended (or at least how I ended my trip with a broken leg). After the adrenaline wore off, the three of us enjoyed the breeze and sun rays for a couple of hours.
Views along the hike to the beach
The beach all to ourselves
THE CRAZY BRIDGE
I ran out of time so was not able to do all I wanted to do in Ulcinj, so if you have time definitely explore all the forests and hikes in the area!!
OVERALL THOUGHTS:
Ulcinj was awesome!! I barely heard any english being spoken as I walked around and all the locals were so friendly!! There was so much to do and I enjoyed everything I did while here. I would love to come back some day!
Dubrovnik
City: Dubrovnik
How Long: 4 nights
Accommodation:
I stayed atĀ Hostel Villa Angelina Old TownĀ while in Dubrovnik. I had very mixed feelings about this hostel. The beds were comfy and had individual plugs and lights, which is always appreciated. Small lockers for valuables in the room. Guest kitchen and common room were available for use. BUT the staff were sorta of rude and the staff wake you up every morning. The shower always flooded the entire bathroom, which is gross. The kitchen was quite small so only one person could really be cooking at one time. I would not stay here again.
I did have a nice view from my dorm room though š
Where to eat:
2 highlights for eating: PreÅ”aĀ and Dolce Vita. PreÅ”a is a cheap restaurant in a sea of overpriced, touristy restaurants inĀ the old town. It’s yummy food and it has tons of options ranging from burgers, traditional Croatian meat platters, salads, & crepes. Came here a few times during my stay in Dubrovnik. Secondly, DolceĀ Vita was the go to ice cream place. Need I say more?
The alleyway where Dolce Vita lives
What to do:
Dubrovnik has so much to offer in terms of things to do!! The first thing I did was go on a kayaking tour that took us to Lokrum, an island right next to Dubrovnik. I went with a Scottish guy I met at the hostel, George. We kayaked around the island and even visited a cave. After rounding the island we headed to a beach that you can only reach by boat. They provided snorkeling gear so George and I quickly jumped into the cold water to explore!
Grabbing our kayaks
and we’re off!
Exploring caves
Beach only accessible by water
Snorkeling
George!
Heading back to Dubrovnik
After getting back, George and I decided to walk the ancient city walls of Dubrovnik. It was annoyingly expensive, but I thought it was worth it. It provided incredible views, and we went at sunset, making it even more special.
Starting the hike around the walls
Main street from above
Old fort
George and me
City walls
Outside the walled in part of town
Old port
The old roofs
What a unique city š
Next up was a trip up the gondola to an even more incredible viewpoint before hiking down the hill with an American girl I had met at the hostel. You can also just hike up and not take the gondola.
After the gondola ride
On our way down
Other than the more organized activities, you must just wander through the town.
The amazing alleyways
Main square
One of the entrances
Another entrance
George!
Sunset
Outside the walls
Overall thoughts:
Despite being the most touristy place I had been, and by far the most expensive, I really enjoyed my time in Dubrovnik. As I walked around I felt like I had been transported to another time period. Loved being here, but I was SO happy to be here in May and not in peak season. I can’t even imagine what it is like in August, but it would be a nightmare.
Now I’m making my way to Montenegro!
Warsaw + Krakow
After wrapping up my time in Spain (sadly), I flew to Poland to start the final chapter of my trip! I will be traveling from Poland all the way down to Greece, mostly by bus. Ā I will be traveling toĀ 10 countries in about 7 weeks. First up: Poland + Austria.
City: Warsaw
How Long: 3 nights
Accommodation:
This was a bit of a different type of travel for me as I was here for a tech conference! My former boss invited me to help him at a conference he was speaking at so I got to stay at the same hotel he was staying at. It was quite the treat after staying in hostels with 5 to 11 other people for most of my trip.
Where to Eat:
Most of our meals were centered around the conference, so nothing too exciting, but we did eat dinner our first night in Warsaw at a great restaurant called Karmnik. We had delicious cocktails and traditional Polish dumplings. Definitely worth a visit!
What to do:
As I have said, most of my time was spent at the conference so sadly I did not do anything noteworthy. However, one thing I learned was that during WWII, Warsaw was pretty much leveled so all the “old” buildings we saw had are actually reconstructions and are not the original buildings.
Warsaw
Overall Thoughts:
I did not really get a full sense of Warsaw, but I am not sure I would go back as there are so many other places in the world I want to go to. In general, I would not say Warsaw is a must see.
City: Krakow
How Long: 3 nights
Accommodation:
I stayed at an amazing hostel called Mosquito Hostel. Great sized lockers. Guest kitchen. Free breakfast and free dinner. Free laundry. Great location. Every night there were organized social activities and it was super easy to meet people. I HIGHLY recommend this hostel š
Playing Monopoly with some people I met š
Where to Eat:
Because there was free breakfast and free dinner, I ended up mostly eating at the hostel. However, some friends and I found a delicious cupcake place in the old town called Cupcake Corner. Great cupcakes, but even more fun, we got bagels. For some reason I often crave bagels while I am in Europe, which is odd because when I am home I rarely eat them. Anyway, I got a cheese bagel with thyme cream cheese. SO GOOD.
What to do:
I booked a tour to Auschwitz through my hostel and it worked out really well. They picked us up from the hostel and dropped us back after. We had an incredible tour guide, who had worked directly with Holocaust survivors for many years. Overall, my time spent at Auschwitz was sobering, tough, enlightening, and so very powerful. I think it is incredibly important for us to understand the past and ensure we learn from it as we move forward. Auschwitz is a must while you are in Krakow.
In addition to Auschwitz, I went to Oskar’s Schindler’s Factory museum. Overall it was in interesting museum on the history of Krakow and a little bit on the Schindler’s role in WWII, but it was very heavy on the reading. I found that I didn’t get much out of it because there was an overwhelming amount of words on the walls. If you are interested in visiting this museum, you might consider going with a guide.
I also went to the Easter markets, which were in the main square in the old town. Very similar to Christmas markets, but with less Christmas ornaments and more decorated eggs.
Main Square
Tatum with her favorite new store
Streets of Krakow
Some friends!!
Almost died in Krakow
Wawel Castle
Inside Wawel Castle
Lastly I went on a free walking tour that ended in the castle, which was super cool. Krakow has a very tough, interesting history.
Overall Thoughts:
Overall, I absolutely loved Krakow. I wish I could have stayed longer! I met amazing people and ate some delicious cheap food! I am already looking forward to returning to this city in the future. Krakow has easily entered into my top 5 favorite cities in Europe š
Estonia + Finland
Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve posted! Sorry about that….After arriving in Barcelona to study Spanish for 4 months I got immersed with my day-to-day life and decided to stop posting on here. But I’M BACK! I’m also going to try a different posting style to see if I like it better.
City: Tallinn, Estonia
How long:Ā 3 days
Accommodation:
I stayed inĀ Red Emperor Bar&Hostel, which was right outside the walled in Old City. It was a perfect location and was easy to get to from the bus I took from the Tallinn Airport. The rooms itself were fairly basic but had everything you needed. The only issue I really had was that the lockers provided in the rooms were too small to fit my bag so I had to remove my valuables from my bag instead of just being able to put all my stuff securely away. I tend to find that people don’t go through your stuff though so I wasn’t too worried about people stealing my clothes. The hostel had coed bathrooms but this wasn’t an issue for me. The hostel also had a kitchen so I prepared most of my meals there. There was a bar attached to the hostel which had some activities most nights. I only went for one of the activities which was a trivia night. I was lucky to find a pair of girls (British + German) who let me join their team. We didn’t win but the British girl, Katharine, and I hit it off so we planned to meet for dinner one of the other nights I was there. She also gave me some recommendations for places to go which was great! Overall the hostel was fairly empty, meaning it wasn’t very social which is tough on solo travelers. But I don’t think this is the hostels fault, it was more a by-product of it being January in Estonia. Not exactly prime time for travel in Estonia!
Where to Eat:
As I said I mostly cooked my meals in the hostel to save money, but I did go to a pancake restaurant at the recommendation of Katharine. Kompressor was within the Old City and is definitely worth a visit. It was delicious! The pancakes were sort of thick crepes and there must have been 30 different types. I ended up with bacon, egg, and cheese–my favorite combo. Definitely recommend a stop here during a visit to Tallinn.
Another restaurant that was good was Must Puudel. I had a burger that was awesome and KatharineĀ had the steak, which she raved about.
On the way to Must Puudel, KatharineĀ had actually wanted to go to Popular but it was too full. The place looked super cute and trendy so this would be another spot to try.
What to do:
The first full day I was there I went on a free walking tour, which left from the tourism office within the Old City. It was about 2 hours long and took us through the history of Tallinn/Estonia, which is quite long as I found out! We walked all around the city and saw some great views and some very old buildings. During the tour I met an Aussie and we decided to get some hot chocolate after the tour because we both froze our butts off during the tour. Highly recommend approximately 16 layers of clothing if going on a walking tour during January in Estonia!
Overlooking the Old City
From a different view point
The next day I headed out on my own and just walked around the Old City, popping into shops and exploring some of the old walls and buildings. It’s so different from walking around cities in the US!
Overall thoughts:
I really liked Tallinn and would love to come back during the summer when it’s easier to spend time outside. I’m sure it would be beautiful. Also the hostel would probably be more social and fun during the summer. Definitely recommend a visit to Tallinn if you get the chance. Also Estonia is super cheap, which was great on my budget before heading to the EXPENSIVE Finland!
City: Helsinki, Finland
How long: 3 days
Accommodation:
I stayed atĀ Hostel Diana Park, which was fairly centrally located. I took the ferry from Tallinn and was able to walk about 20 minutes from the port to the hostel. Easy when all you have is a backpack. When I arrived before check-in time, they were nice enough to let me into my room early because I was super tired. I took a quick nap and then a British guy showed up in the room so I ended up talking to him for a while. He was about to take a train from St. Petersburg all the way to China! That is practically halfway across the world! Then he heads to Australia, South America and eventually the States! It’s going to be a bout a 2 year trip he said. Pretty cool. The room was fairly basic and the bathrooms were TINY, but again not really an issue for me. There was a kitchen so I was able to save money by buying groceries and cooking for myself because Finland is SO expensive. Again, however, because it’s winter in Finland, there weren’t many guests and there wasn’t much social interaction at the hostel. I did run into the Aussie I had lunch with in Tallinn and he was actually staying in my room!! Coincidences like this happen a lot when traveling for a while I find.
Where to Eat:
Because it was so expensive to eat out in Finland I ended up cooking most of my meals, however, I did go to breakfast at CafƩ Engel. It was good but nothing spectacular. Also, it was about 16$ for some eggs, toast, and an OJ so that ended my attempts at eating out.
What to do:
I walked around Helsinki for about 2 hours on my first full day and saw the Uspenki CathedralĀ which was quite beautiful. Also theĀ Helsinki Cathedral, which is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral, was stunning on the cloudy day I saw it.
Helsinki Cathedral
The highlight of my trip to Helsinki was actually not Helsinki itself. It was a town about 45 minutes away, which I went for a day trip on my last day there. The name of the town is Porvoo. It is one of the quaintest towns I have ever seen with all of its buildings painted in different colors. I REALLY enjoyed my time there.
The colorful houses!
Porvoo
Next to the church
Exploring the site where a medieval castle used to stand
Overall thoughts:
I didn’t love Helsinki, in fact I was supposed to stay longer but with the short days and lack of sun, I was starting to feel depressed so I decided to head to Barcelona a few days earlier than scheduled! I really regret not going to the northern part of Finland instead of Helsinki so that at least I would have been able to see the Northern Lights and maybe a reindeer or two, but it just means I have to come back! However, I really liked going to Porvoo, although it only requires a day so it wouldn’t make sense to stay overnight there. Also it was super cold in Finland, so again bring layers upon layers.
Now off to Spain because I can’t seem to stay away for too long š
The Pursuit Of Travel