Posts tagged Solo travel
A Different Side
I spent two months in small towns along the Ligurian coast in Italy this year. I was happy to discover a new area of Italy and escape the tourist masses that flock to Rome, Florence and Venice. Not that I wasn’t in a touristy area; thousands of Italians and some Germans flock to the area during the [...]
A Different View
I like taking photographs. It’s a hobby of mine and I’ve taken a few photography classes throughout the years. I don’t have any plans to market and sell my photos, though if someone offered to buy them, I wouldn’t complain! When I travel, I’m constantly behind my camera trying to take photographs [...]
6 Hours in Dublin
Have a half day in Dublin? Your day may look something like this.
Arrive at the airport and head to the information desk to inquire about buses to the city. Realize that even though you only know 300 or so Italian words after living in Italy for 2 months, you understand more Italian than you do [...]
The Slide of Death
Okay, it wasn’t really the slide of death, it wasn’t even a slide I could seriously hurt myself on, but as I sat at the top and pushed off, my heart beat rapidly and I couldn’t help the single thought that went through my head, “What the hell am I doing?”
I landed safely with a large splash in [...]
A Year Ago Today
A year ago today, I rode a horse through the Argentinean Andes, rappelled down a small cliff, and barbequed with new friends at their hostel. By the end of the day, I was sore, tipsy from wine and extremely full; it was one of the best days of 2010. The day was part of my 30 Days of 30. My goal was [...]
Prepare for Take-Off
As I waited for my flight at Genova Christopher Columbus Airport, I had time to think about my pre-flight routine. The routine had gradually emerged over the last few years, mainly because my feelings about flying have been on a roller coaster. I’ve come to accept the routine as a slightly silly, [...]
Get It Off Me!
When you travel solo, you learn a lot about yourself and your limitations. Traveling solo teaches you how to deal with things, both good and bad. Sometimes the problem may be as easy as deciding which hostel to stay in, and other times you may have to figure out how to get out of a sticky [...]
The One Thing I Had to Do
As I took my first step up the trail behind the large blue and white house in Levanto, Italy, I knew that the next two days would be physically exhausting, but I also knew that these steps would take me on a path that I had been looking forward to for five years.
I first heard about Cinque Terre [...]
How Did I Get Here?
I’m sitting in a bedroom in an apartment in Loano, Italy listening to scooters fly by and the sounds of tourists in the distance. I’ve been here a month now and don’t have any plans to return to the US for another month. Or two. Or three. Most people plan long-term travel trips for months, if not [...]
Couchsurfing Virgin No More
I heard about couchsurfing a couple of years ago and since then have repeatedly met people who have done it, but it was never really on my radar to do it myself until recently. I decided to try couchsurfing when planning my trip to Europe. I couchsurfed for two nights in a row; one night in Munich [...]
