Category Archives: Solo Female Travel

One Week Until Europe!

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I need this vacation so bad.  I can not wait to be out in the world where my biggest stress is not being able to find iced coffee.

I am STILL not ready to leave.  I am not even sure how this happened.  I am one of those “packs months in advance!” neurotic kinda gals.  My life is just so hectic right now. I can not wait to escape it.  I can not wait to be standing HERE:

061_001_Belogradchishkakrepost.jpg

How do places like that exist on this planet and why the hell have I waited so long to see them?

I am also insanely excited to take my first steps on the continent of Asia.  Sure it’s cheating as I am doing this in Istanbul.  But I’m counting it.

Yesterday, my job asked us to pick which summer Fridays we want.  I love picking summer Fridays.  I love how I was already off for four of them, so I am gaining back more vacation time.  This also means I now have an additional two long weekends that I need to make plans for.

My head is all over the place today.  My job is insane. The people who work here should not be allowed to see daylight.   I can not wait to be far away.  Come on one week from today…..just one more week.  I can do this.

 

 

 

Three Weeks Until Euro Extravaganza!

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This morning I got up for work.  My first thought was “THREE WEEKS UNTIL VACATION!!!!”.  While getting my morning iced coffee out of the refrigerator, I noticed a fortune cookie that was leftover from last weekend.  I opened it and got THIS:

goningYes misspelled fortune cookie, yes I am.

My trip is so soon and I am still not ready.  Today I have decided to redo my itinerary again.  This is all because I can not find out if the Nis, Serbia bus station has luggage lockers. I had planned to stop there for a few hours between Sarajevo and Sofia.   If i take a chance and leave my trip the way its been cemented in for weeks now, I may find myself carrying my bag around sightseeing.  The internet tells me nothing.  So here I am right now taking a break from going  nutso and redoing my itinerary to switch out the “stop there for a few hours” part with “spend one night in Nis”.  Then I have to find a night in Bulgaria to give up so that I have a night to spend there.  I really need to consider booking more flexible trips, where I don’t insist upon seeing so much at one shot, so that I do have spare days.  But I don’t want to, because I want to see every inch of planet earth right NOW.

So my updated upcoming travels are now:

April 26 – May 20 – Europe

May 22 – May 27 – Seattle, WA

May 29 – June 3 – Austin, TX

June 6 – June 9 – combo of Chicago and Toronto.

I am the opposite of a fan of my job.  But I will admit that I am in love with both the amount of vacation time I get, as well as the fact that they let me take it all in a row like this.  Most places would not.

 

 

My 26 Hour Greyhound Bus Trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Just about every trip I have ever taken has revolved around either bands or casinos.

A few years ago, I was booked for a fest in Austin.  Shortly before, I ended up backing out. But I did not want to undo my vacation time, so I had to find somewhere else to go.  Armed with a free roundtrip Greyhound bus ticket to anywhere Greyhound travels to, I decided to take a long distance bus trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Why Milwaukee?  Who knows.  I wanted to go somewhere around 20 hours-ish away so Wisconsin won.  It’s really that simple.

I had booked two nights via Priceline at the Hilton City Center.   Gorgeous hotel.  Just in case you are unaware, www.biddingfortravel.com is the most useful tool when Pricelining a hotel.

When I was researching things to do in Milwaukee, I stumbled upon a bed and breakfast inside a mansion.  This looked so cool!  So I extended my trip to leave a day earlier so I could spend one night here.

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Milan, Italy: Last Stop on First Backpacking Trip

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duomo milan italy

After a full day in Florence, it was time to head to Milan, my last stop on this trip.

Upon arriving at Milan Central, I was really surprised to see how elegant this train station is.  I was not expecting that.  You could seriously spend some time here just admiring it.

milan train station, milan italy

milan train station, milan, italy

 

train station, milan, italy

Even though this is my last stop, I am still staying near the train station so that I can take a shuttle to the airport.  I am at Hotel Cristallo, which is a mere two blocks from the train station…if you don’t get lost.  I did, as always.  So it took me about an hour to get to my hotel.  I wish I were kidding or exaggerating.

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Pisa, Italy: Leaning Tower of Pisa and Baptistry

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The second biggest highlight of my trip to Florence, right behind Ponte Vecchio, was my side trip to Pisa.  Before leaving home, I stopped at Target to buy a diary to bring with me.  I found one with the Leaning Tower of Pisa on it.  I thought how much I would love going through this trip, writing in my diary and then getting to take a picture of it in front of the tower.
diary

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Florence, Italy: Ponte Vecchio, Duomo, Boboli Gardens and Piazzale Michelangelo

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ponte-vecchio-from-piazzale-1024x768I am in love with bridges. I love the way they look, I love walking over them.  I have several bookmarks of bridges I am dying to visit on my computer.

Once I had my airfare figured out for this trip and discovered I would be flying home from Milan, the first thing I did was check and see if a trip to Florence to see if Ponte Vecchio was feasible.  It was!  I am going to see Ponte Vecchio!

The train from Venice to Florence was one of those where you are forced to sit facing someone.  The couple across from me were actually in the wrong car.  They belonged in first class.  When they were told this by the attendant, they opted to stay in their seats, across from me, facing me.  MOVE GOD DAMMIT.  YOU BELONG IN FIRST CLASS.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

I arrive in Florence in the evening.  I am staying at Hotel Bellavista, located right near the train station.  I always prefer being in walking distance of the train station so that I don’t risk being late and missing my train when it’s time to leave.  I of course get lost, because this is what I do.  This time it was because my map showed that if I were to make a right at the McDonalds, the street my hotel was on would be right there.  Turns out it was, but I was making a right at the McDonalds near the train station exit and my map was referencing one right outside the train station.  Who needs all these freaking McDonalds?  We aren’t in America for crissakes.

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Venice, Italy: You Are Beautiful But I Still Don’t Like You

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rialto bridge, venice, italy

Ahhhh….Venice.  The city once dubbed by The New York Times as “the most beautiful city built by man.”  Who would not love Venice?

Me. That’s who.  Allow me to channel my inner Grumpy Cat for this post.

I could not wait to be in Venice.  I bought not one, not two, but THREE Venice guide books.  I even carried one around with me on this trip so I could gaze lovingly at the colorful pictures in anticipation.

And as it turns out I hated Venice. Hated it.

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A Fantastic Afternoon Spent in Ljubljana, Slovenia YAY Funicular

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I have absolutely nothing written in my diary from Slovenia.  Luckily, I am armed with pictures to remind me.

I left Croatia very early in the morning.  The views on the train ride from Zagreb were absolutely stunning. I want to live here:

i want to live here slovenia

I got to Ljubljana, put my bag in a storage locker and took off.  This was the first place I found canned iced coffee.  ICED COFFEE.  I had been craving it for so long.  I drank it in like one continuous gulp.

Ljubljana is beautiful.  It also features my three favorite things:  bridges, funiculars and castles!.  I love bridges, I love funiculars and I love castles! Continue reading →

Croatia – Zagreb and Plitvice National Park – May 2012

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plitvice national park croatia rainbow

I left Budapest when it was still dark out, headed for Zagreb, Croatia.  My time in Zagreb was really to visit Plitvice National Park.  I had gone back and forth so many times between staying in Zagreb and staying at Plitvice.  Staying in Zagreb meant it was easier to leave once my Croatia stay was over. Staying at Plitvice meant it was easier to get to the park.  In the end, I opted to stay in Zagreb.

I boarded the train at Keleti Station and found my seat.  Someone was sitting in it. I try and show him my ticket and he will not acknowledge me.  Fine, I’ll just sit across from you. His body language told me my presence annoyed him.  Well feel free to move…out of my seat….

My train was one of those trains that had cabins with six seats in each cabin. I don’t like these trains. I don’t like facing someone, being locked in a cabin with a stranger.  Well okay you aren’t LOCKED inside a cabin with a stranger, but that’s what it feels like. I had just really wanted to sleep for the bulk of my six hour trip, but having this person directly facing me inside a locked cabin (okay again, not LOCKED) made it awkward.

At some point, the train stopped and a very menacing man in a uniform came and barked at us in a language I did not understand.  Turns out we were crossing into Croatia and needed to show our passports.  Yay!  Croatia stamp in my passport!

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