Category: Travel

24 HOURS IN BRUSSELS

I was not excited or mentally prepared for this trip. It was January 20th and since Thanksgiving, I’d either been traveling or hosting straight through, and even without those factors the weekend’s schedule was daunting. We were traveling/sleeping in buses or airports both Thursday and Saturday night, and only had accommodation booked for Friday. My outlook was more defeated exhaustion than one of energetic excitement. Add in that I had not heard the best things about Brussels, and those 30 euro return tickets started to feel like more trouble than they were worth.

But! I was so wrong! Belgium was amazing. I had heard Brussels was pretty boring but Bruges would be like a fairytale, and while the latter was correct, I loved Brussels! The international vibe, the gorgeous architecture, the super nice people, the bilingual population, and also THE FOOD. So much chocolate. So many frites. And the waffles. Man, those waffles. Brussels is a chocolate and beer lovers heaven on earth.

Also we were there during Trump’s inauguration. There were trilingual protests and a fantastic women’s drumming band from Spain.

Brussels, BelgiumBrussels, Belgium

We only had a day to spend in this amazing city, and while knowing what I know now I wish I had planned more time there, I think we had a good itinerary for the time we had. Check out my itinerary for 24 hours in Brussels below.

Itinerary

First thing in the morning, head towards Grand Place. We took some pictures of the amazing square, and at this time of day the sun is out and makes the gold buildings shine in such an incredible way. It’s also central to everywhere else you’ll want to go.

Brussels, Belgium

From there walk just around the corner to Maison Dandoy, which is SUPER cute and delicious. It has an upstairs that feels like you’re sitting in someone’s living room, and it is a great place for your first waffle experience.

And as delicious as those waffles are, one isn’t nearly enough, but that’s perfect because it leaves room for Fritland, which is AMAZING. Man do they give you an insane amount of insanely delicious frites. Not going to lie, I ate an entire order all on my own. And it was so worth it. Fritland is again, just around the corner.

Brussels, Belgium

After that you can wander around the area a bit heading towards Au Bon Vieux Temps, which is the oldest bar in Brussels, open for over 300 years. On the way, check out some chocolate shops, because that chocolate is amazing. The bar really actually looked like an old bar, and you could feel the history. That said, they were playing 80s pop pretty loudly, so the ambience was a bit compromised, haha. Here we took a little break, had some delicious beer, and discussed how surprised we were with how much we like the city. Maybe our expectations were really low, but we were all really enchanted.

Brussels, Belgium

Then you have time to wander through Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, which was gorgeous but pretty expensive. My camera died, but the window displays were incredibly creative and artistic, well worth the trip. There is also a bookstore that I really wanted to check out, but we didn’t have time to stop in. If you like books, I’d check out both that and Muntpunt, a library and information center, as it is one of the coolest and most unique libraries I’ve been to.

From there, you’re right next to street full of restaurants, but most have people out front trying to force you inside. I don’t trust/like this method, and we ended up going to Chez Leon which didn’t have anyone peddling out front. I highly recommend it! The place looked small but was actually huge, made up of about 10 different cozy rooms connected by maze like hallways. The food was delicious and there was a wide variety of prices on the menu. We got the mussels, which were incredible. If you go, get the mussels.

If you feel like an after dinner walk, Grand Place is beautiful lit up at night, and well worth the quick stroll.

After that we headed back to our hostel, Meininger Hotel, which I also recommend. The common areas were really lively, there was a bar, a kitchen, and our rooms were comfortable and well designed (each bed had a plug and a personal light). At $25 a night in the city center, it’s fairly priced, and they also let us hang in the common room until 4 am on our last night, even though we hadn’t booked a room. We had an early night partly because we hadn’t slept at all the night before, but also because we were waking up early the next day to go to Bruges!

Like I said, I hadn’t expected much from Brussels, and while I do think we got a great feel for the city and saw the most important parts, looking back I would have planned to stay longer. I wanted to check out the flea market and the EU Parliament. Guess it’s just another city I’ll have no choice but to return to!

(feature photo source)

Florence, Italy

DINNER AT IL TEATRO DEL SALE

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Il Teatro del Sale is an all you can eat dinner followed by a show, and the kind of dining experience you’ll remember forever. You’d think it would be overflowing with tourists, but when we went we were the only non-Italians in attendance. It’s the kind of place you immediately feel at home in, almost like you’re all having dinner in someone’s (huge) living room. There are private tables and community tables and as everyone gets up to collect the next dish at the same time, it feels like one big group dinner.

It’s run by a husband and wife team, he handles the food, she handles the entertainment. Together, they make quite the pair and have turned the place into a Florentine treasure. There are hundreds of dinner options in Florence, but you can tell this one is in the heart of the city and its history.

It’s a members only club, so to attend you have to become a member. It’s 7 euros to join and around 35 for the meal. Not exactly cheap, and also the (unlimited) wine that is included is quite literally undrinkable–and this is coming from a girl who thinks Franzia and two buck chuck is surprisingly tasty. We kept checking to see if other people were drinking it, wondering if maybe it had oxidized and no one noticed, but no. It was only a small few, but some people went back for seconds. We tried to power through, if only to be polite, but it was honestly like drinking nail varnish. Suffice it to say, we did not finish our (small) glasses, and they only sell wine by the bottle. The cheapest is another 30 euros, not ideal, and not an inexpensive night.

That said, everything else was amazing. The food was delicious. Like, really, really good. And there was tons of it. I eat a lot and even I was super overwhelmed with the amount and variety in front of me. The service was excellent, though we had an amazing language barrier experience.

The way the place runs is there’s always food being served on a table that you can just go grab. While this is happening the chefs are cooking a ton of other things right from the kitchen, and when that is ready the chef yells out, in Italian, what the next course is, and you line up and wait for them to hand you a plate. Easy enough. However, this was described to us as “when the cook screams, you must go running because there is a situation in the kitchen.” After a slightly concerned second wondering exactly what situation occurring in the kitchen would cause the chef to scream, we realized what he meant. It was hilarious and sweet and so nice to not be the one making little sense in a second language for a change!

The show afterwards was my favorite part. It was two older guys, and I’ve never seen anyone love what they do so much. One of them was literally grinning and jumping around the entire time, and if I can be half as happy and content as he is, I will consider myself a success.

They serve brunch as well, and next time I’m in Florence I will definitely be back. I highly recommend this place to anyone wanting an authentic Italian experience!

48 HOURS IN FLORENCE

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YOU GUYS. I had the most incredible Semana Santa in the history of the world. Probably. At least top 10.

Florence, Italy

Just so we have a general timeline to work with here, I left Logroño on Thursday, April 6th, spent the night in Barcelona airport once again (it went better this time). I flew out on the 7th at 6:00 am, and started a whirlwind trip around southern and eastern Europe.

Florence from April 7th to April 9th
Venice from April 9th to April 10th (too short!)
Slovenia from April 10th to April 12th
Zagreb from April 12th to April 16th
Zadar from the 16th – 17th
Split from 17th to 19th
Mostar from the 19th to the 20th
Dubrovnik from the 20th to the 22nd

Whew! It was a LOT of travel and a lot of moving around, but it was the perfect road trip itinerary and a great way to see Croatia. The only things I would change would for it to have been longer, so I could have spent more time in Venice and Mostar. Also so I could have gone to Sarajevo and Montenegro, haha. It’s never enough!

Itinerary

Doing Florence in 48 hours is sad, because you’ll fall in love and have to say goodbye so quickly, but totally doable. The city is very walkable, things tend to be grouped together, and in just over an hour of walking you can see the major sights.

Florence, Italy

  • Start at the Galleria dell’Accademia to check out the amazing artwork and say hello to David.
  • Then head to the Duomo and see the Cathedral, climb to the top if you were smart enough to book tickets, and hang out in the plaza for a bit. Everything is so beautiful.
  • On the way to Ponte Vecchio stop at Palazzo Vecchio before windowing shopping all the gorgeous old jewelry.
  • Take a left and head to San Niccolò, a laid back and artsy neighborhood filled with great places to grab some food and have a few drinks. Even when Florence is packed around Easter holidays, you’ll still feel like you’ve escaped the tourists.
  • From there, make your way up to the viewpoint Piazzale Michelangelo, where you can soak in everything you’ve just seen and done. If the timing is right, you could enjoy the best sunset in town.
  • Head to Il Teatro del Sale for a unique and authentic dinner. You’ll have done all the touristy bits in the beginning of the day and end it with a view, dinner, and show that you’ll remember forever. Not a bad itinerary!

Dinner

We had two excellent dinners in Florence, which isn’t too surprising considering Italy’s renown the world over for its cuisine.

  • As I said above,  Il Teatro del Sale was an incredible culinary experience, as well as an event complete with a show.
  • Our first night we ate at Culinaria De Gustibus Bistrot. And thank god we did. Our food was amazing. We had so much of it, and they kept bringing us free extras. I cannot recommend this place enough. It was cozy, had a great ambiance, and a great place to catch up over a bottle of wine.

Our Trip

Florence was the perfect introduction to Italy, and it was the perfect time to go to Italy, considering my recent Italian news! I arrived at 8 am on no sleep, but as our (amazing, beautiful) flat wouldn’t be ready for hours, I decided to explore the city. I wandered around Ponte Vecchio (in my exhaustion it took me far too long to realize that’s where I was/it was even a bridge, haha), and looked at all the jewellery I’ll never be able to afford. I ended up at Piazza Pitti, where people were sunbathing and locals were selling artwork and crafts.

Florence, Italy

I found the perfect place to lay down and wait for Rach to arrive, and my favorite part of Florence, just by heading to the greenest bit on the map. I walked quite a ways until I got to Piazzale Michelangelo, where I was rewarded with the absolute best view of Florence. I headed down to the gorgeous Rose Garden and read my book, basking in happiness and feeling pretty astonished that I could finally call this country a little bit mine.

Florence, Italy

Rachel arrived and we settled into our flat. YOU GUYS. This flat… there are not words or pictures that do it justice. It was HUGE. And GRAND. Its front door was the biggest door I’ve ever actively used. It had a little old lift that we got slightly stuck in. The windows and shutters were dreamlike. Oh and also it had a mural painted on the ceiling, because why not.

After an early night we decided the next day would be our tourist day. We’d hit all the major sights. Advice: book everything in advance. We didn’t and definitely should have. First we went to the Galleria dell’Accademia to see David. The line was long but there were people selling tickets to skip the line for only about 10 euros more, which seems like a scam, but is not. We decided it was worth it, especially as we had discovered we couldn’t go to the top of the Duomo at the Cathedral of Florence because they were booked for days.

Florence, Italy

I’m not going to lie, we were slightly uncultured and honestly debated if seeing David was worth it. In case you need any convincing, I am here to tell you that it is one million percent worth it. He is stunning. When I was in Amsterdam I was happy I went to the Van Gogh Museum, but none of the paintings really surprised me. I’d seen prints, they were cool to see in person but that was kind of it. David was nothing like that. He was huge. He was a masterpiece that caused awed silence and extended observation. The whole museum was worth it on its own but you guys. Don’t miss David.

Florence, Italy

From there we headed to the Cathedral and Palazzo Vecchio, which are pretty close to each other. After that it was a direct shot across the river and back to my favorite place, the neighborhood leading to Piazzale Michelangelo, San Niccolò. We grabbed a menu of the day lunch at Trattoria Cent’ori (good not great), before heading up to check out the views. We wine hopped our way back to our flat to get ready for the ultimate dining experience: Il Teatro del Sale.

Florence, Italy  We spent the next day wandering around eating, taste testing all the gelato, and checking out Palazzo Vecchio. Even though we only had a weekend there, I feel like we saw the main things, and even got out of the tourist heavy areas for more authentic experiences.

Berlin, Germany

A WEEKEND IN BERLIN AT CHRISTMASTIME

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This December I was lucky enough to jump around to a few different Christmas markets, and I had the best time doing so. I don’t know if I’ve shared this yet, but I am basically obsessed with the holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas are basically my happiest times in life, and getting to spend December in various European markets was a dream come true. I had a really hard time deciding which cities to go to, because basically every European city becomes winter wonderland during December (except for Amsterdam, strangely enough). It was a whirlwind trip, spending two to three days each in Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, and Wroclaw.

Berlin, Germany

Also, as great as it was, it started with the journey from hell. I live in Logroño, which has a lot of positives, but a huge negative is there isn’t an airport nearby. My roommate and I, who was also flying to Germany, though to a different city, had to catch an early bus to Barcelona, and after six hours we arrive in Barca just in time to catch the last train to the airport.

After a night of absolutely zero sleep, I finally boarded my plane at 6:25 and slept for about an hour and a half before landing in Berlin. G and I timed it nearly perfectly, and he landed about 20 minutes after me, just long enough for me to find his gate. The journey from Berlin Schönefeld Airport into central Berlin wasn’t ideal, as the train only comes twice an hour, once around the :15 mark, and again around the :45 mark. We had just missed the 10:15, and had to wait for the 10:45, which I will not lie, in my tired and messy state I was not super pleased with.

I’ll take a second to admit I was not in a great mood. I was exhausted. I felt so dirty from the airport. I was and had been freezing for nearly nearly 10 hours. I’m not sure either of us was expecting a great day during that 30 minute wait for the train. That said, we went into Alexanderplatz and found a Christmas Market right next to the station. We had some delicious sausage and a glass of warm Glühwein, and I was suddenly feeling much better. We hung around the market for a few hours, eating, drinking, and watching my mood rapidly improve. Guys, Berlin during Christmastime is a dream. It was like being on a Hallmark Christmas movie set. EVERYTHING was decorated. Everything was themed for Christmas. We even found a beer hall that was adorable. It was all wood and rustic, it had a huge tree, Christmas music, and the servers were all dressed in Christmas outfits. And it had a really warm fire that we sat next to. It was the perfect place to wait for our room to be ready.

Berlin, Germany

Eventually, though, it was ready and we headed to our hotel. It was incredible–for Berlin and Amsterdam we used lastminute and managed to book really nice hotels for the same price (or less) than an airbnb.

We left for DasMeisterstück*, which is a craft beer and sausage place that has excellent and well deserved reviews. The day before was Gareth’s 27th birthday, and it was a nice, low key way to celebrate. The food was delicious, I tried sour German beer (it was good), and all the beers G tried were excellent (and this from someone who prefers literally any other drink to beer).

(*This appears to have now become BraufactuM which seems to be less loved)

Berlin, Germany

After dinner we headed to WeihnachtsZauber at the Gendarmenmarkt, one of the main Christmas markets in Berlin. It was minutes from DasMeisterstück, and I’d recommend combining it with dinner there if you go. That said, I would skip this if I was doing it again. You had to pay to get in, and because it is so well known, it was beyond crowded. I’m not sure if it’s because it was so late, but it was 10 times as crowded as any of the other markets we went to. It was impossible to actually see any of the stalls, and just walking down an aisle took about ten minutes. Other than the amount of people though, the market was beautiful, and I would recommend trying to go in the middle of the day when it might be less packed. (Also I think there is live music/performances in the day time!)

Berlin, Germany

The next day I insisted we find breakfast that included eggs, because such a thing doesn’t exist in Spain and it’s basically the first thing I look for when traveling outside the country. We found Wintergarten which was incredible and highly recommended. It was in an old Literaturhaus, and the vibe was great. I’m going to be honest, I got two full meals–eggs and pancakes. I know that’s pretty excessive but the food was amazing and Spain has me feeling constantly breakfast-deprived. Both were delicious.

After that it was Berlin tourism time, and we hit most of the major sights. The Reichstag Building, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust museum and installation, which was incredible but be ready to cry and feel quite low for a while after. They are all within walking distance of each other, though note that if you want to go to the top of the Reichstag Building you should book in advance.

Berlin, GermanyFrom there made our way to the last Christmas market, Berliner Weihnachtszeit, which was the best one. There were little fires to sit by, ice skating, a ferris wheel, and so much mulled wine. It was incredible.

Also there were a lot of JFK relevant things to look at, which makes me happy.

Berlin could not have been more perfect and I strongly recommend it for anyone looking for some of the best Christmas markets in the world. Our journey continued from Berlin and we took an overnight bus to Amsterdam (though nearly didn’t make it–note that the main bus and train station are not the same, and we were left literally sprinting to the bus!).

(Also there was a Dunks)

(Also there was a Dunks)

Copenhagen, Denmark

A WEEKEND IN COPENHAGEN

I’m not gonna lie, when I thought of the European cities I HAD to visit while living in Spain, Copenhagen wasn’t high on the list. Berlin, Amsterdam, Budapest? Definitely. Italy? Without a doubt. But Copenhagen? It didn’t really rank.

That was a mistake, and one I’m SO glad didn’t stop me from booking the tickets when Gareth mentioned how much he wanted to go. I’d been to Iceland before, another trip that I was excited for for personal reasons but wasn’t expecting too much from the place itself, and Iceland is now my all time favorite country to visit.

On the flight over from Madrid, everything was announced in Spanish, and then in English. On the way back it was announced in Danish and English. This speaks to the overwhelming privilege English speakers have, when a flight going to/from non-English speaking countries leaves one of those languages out in favor of English. It was also the first time since arriving in Logrono, that I felt like I understood 100% of what was going on. Oh there will be turbulence? Not a problem, because I know to expect it! Drinks service coming around? Don’t mind if I do!

My plane ride was super fun–I was sat next to two girls from Burgos who knew some English, and in a mix of our two languages we chatted throughout the flight. I’m going to visit them when I go to Burgos! About halfway through a man came on the speakers singing a really lovely song in Spanish, and he proposed to his girlfriend! It was so so nice and really romantic.

When I landed Gareth was there waiting for me. I’ve gotta say, nothing will be as hard as LA to London long distance, but seeing each other every few weeks is its own form of torture. We are constantly saying goodbye, and that is really hard! I used to hate people who complained about distance when they could see each other every few weeks, and while I would NEVER go back to what it was before, I will finally admit this version can suck too. That said, if the way we get to see each other is by meeting up in random cities every few weeks, we are so, so lucky.

Our airbnb was a bit outside of the city, but on the main metro line connecting Copenhagen to the airport, so it was incredibly convenient and much cheaper than it would have been had we stayed more central. We only had to ride that one metro the entire time. And much like our trips to Portland and Seattle, we bought a transport pass and then proceeded to walk unchecked onto every train/boat/bus we rode.

The first night we dropped off our bags and headed back into the city. After a few wrong turns and an extra 45 minutes of walking, we ended up in a really hip area our host recommended, and had a delicious dinner and shared a bottle of wine. The whole evening was so nice–the fact that we got lost meant we walked along the canal for ages, checking out the swans and the lights–because Europe doesn’t have Thanksgiving, everything is already decorated and ready for Christmas! It was freezing but everywhere we went was warm and had such great ambiance. Though much like Iceland, Copenhagen was insanely expensive. That romantic dinner? Over $150, which is the most I’ve ever spent on a meal in my life. We decided to not worry about it, and started a system where we kept track of our spending in the krone, so we wouldn’t have sticker shock after every purchase. (Just once at the end of the trip, much better.) Back in our airbnb our host had gone to bed but left us mint infused water and candles lit everywhere. Not too shabby.

The next day was unseasonably warm, meaning it was around 33 degrees. Because of the nice weather, we decided to do all the activities near the canals. We walked to the Little Mermaid statue, and checked out Kastellet, an old (but still functioning) army fortress. Then we took the riverboat metro to Nyhavn, which was my favorite part of the trip. The houses were gorgeous, there were tons of little Christmas market stalls set up, and mulled wine everywhere. Heaven.

Nyhavn, Denmark Nyhavn, Denmark

We wandered the area for a bit, and I bought gloves, a Christmas ornament, and we got a magnet to add to our collection. Then we crossed the bridge, and went to Copenhagen Street Food, a market with tons and tons of food stalls. It was insanely busy, and I was super overwhelmed because there were so many different options. I LOVE the food in Spain, but there is no variety. It’s all Spanish food, all the time. I wanted ethnic, and suddenly there were about 100 different kinds. I made us check out each booth while Gareth tried not to kill me, before settling on the first one we saw–BBQ pulled pork and curly fries. Delicious.

Copenhagen, Denmark

yoko ono had an art exhibit going on

After eating we had to decide–would we go to Christiania? Christiania is a self proclaimed autonomous region right next to Copenhagen. People basically took over an old army barracks and town in the 1970s, and decided it wasn’t part of Denmark or even the EU. It has its own laws, and has a long history of fights with the Danish police, but it’s also a progressive, artistic, hippy area. We had been going back and forth for a few days. G really wanted to go, I had heard it was seedy, dangerous, and didn’t live up to expectations. We asked our host and she said if we went through the main gates, yes, we would find the seedy side. It’s where all the pot is sold, and it the more sketchy part of town. But if we went in a side entrance, we’d be going into the actual parts of town where people lived. Not tourists looking to buy drugs, but homes and shops and bars. She convinced me, and by pure luck we happened upon one of the side entrances, and we were very suddenly and very obviously no longer in Copenhagen.

Everyone was smoking pot. I don’t smoke and because of a past experience don’t love being around it, so this put my guard up a bit at first. But G got a beer and I (who was freezing) got a hot chocolate, and suddenly I felt so much better. There were families and dogs and everyone we talked to was so, so nice. It was a very laid back, hippy sort of place, and if you relaxed a bit, it was easy to get caught up in the vibe.

That said it was freezing. And it was time to make our last decision. I had asked our host if she had any saunas she could recommend, knowing we’d be walking in the cold all day. She said the best one was in Christiania. That it was all nude, and coed, but it was a place people went with their kids. I think at first I was all for it and G was more reserved, but then as Gareth felt more and more comfortable in Christiania, he was definitely down to try and I was more hesitant, faced with the actual decision. The fact that I was freezing won out, and we headed over.

It wasn’t what I expected, but fit the town perfectly. At first, it was all dudes. Just totally naked dudes. I had to try so hard to look only at their eyes, whereas I never felt like anyone was looking at me where I wouldn’t want them to. It was on the first floor and the windows didn’t have curtains, so people outside could see right in. No one cared. There were people shaving, and showering, and apparently the sauna is used as a community bathing space, especially because some people work in town but live out in Copenhagen, too far from convenient showers, I guess.

We were given a paper bag to write our names on and put our valuables in (the people here obviously trust each other a lot more than I trust the people at my gym at home). G kept giving me chances to back out, and I stripped down to my underwear before realizing no one thought this was weird but me, and as soon as I was naked I stopped feeling weird about it at all. I did something like this in Istanbul, but it was all women and I think I might have kept my underwear on, though I can’t remember. Here you had to be naked. We showered and went into the sauna, where there were other women, some people doing yoga, some people smoking, and other just relaxing. It was REALLY nice after walking in the freezing cold all day, and we stayed for about a half an hour until the heat got too much. When we came out there were kids playing in the pools. It did feel like a community space and not uncomfortable at all.

When we left, we were totally ready to face the cold again. One of the guys who might have worked there, or might have just been a customer, was talking to us about energy and chakras, and it made me sad that Christiania gets such a bad rep. We walked out through the main gate, and passed all the stalls selling things to tourists and I’m so happy we came in a different way and that wasn’t our first impression of the town. We had a great time there.

freetown christiania, copenhagen, denmark

you can’t take pictures inside town, but here outside

We went back to Nyhavn and sat under a heater and drank mulled wine and just talked and hung out. It was a really, really nice day. We finished it with hot dogs from 7/11 which sounds gross but oh my god is 7/11 so much nicer in Copenhagen than it is in the states.

The next morning we packed our things and I tried not be sad that the weekend was already over, but excited about the fact that it had been so good and we have plans to do so many more trips like this in the coming year. Our host let us leave our bags and we went up Christiansborg Palace and the Round Tower. The former was free and the latter was I think 2.50 euros, but we both enjoyed the Round Tower more. It was so cool–to get to the top, instead of stairs it’s a stone ramp that you walk all the way up and all the way down. There was a lot more to see here, and the place was well marked with historical info and papers in both Danish and English. Also I caught a squirtle on pokemon go which has been a goal for a really long time.

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark

Afterwards we decided to go back to Nyhavn and have more mulled wine and just chill a bit before leaving for the airport. At the start of the main street, among all the stalls, was a hot dog stand. DO NOT GO TO THIS HOT DOG STAND. Please note this was the weekend after the election and I had been having a really hard time feeling any sort of happiness at all. This trip was an escape from the depressing reality my country was now in. Anyway, we decided to get hot dogs. The menu was just pictures of different hot dogs with no descriptions of what they actually were. So I asked him what three different ones were and ordered two of them. He only got out one bun, and as there were some pictured on the menu sans bun, I asked if we could both have buns on our hot dogs. Apparently this was a HUGE INSULT and the guy went off. He really rudely asked me if I was okay with him toasting the buns one at a time, and embarrassed I had offended him so much, I was like, “Yes of course, I was just making sure you knew what we wanted.” He huffed at me and turned to Gareth and started a REALLY sexist and sexual rant about women. It was horrible. We were both so shocked, and then he turned back to me and asked what I would allow him to put on the hot dog. I was so frozen. I think if it had happened two weeks earlier, I would have yelled back. But I was already feeling so defeated and hopeless. I stood there in shock for a moment, said we didn’t want them anymore, and walked just far enough away so he couldn’t see me and burst into tears. Now I wish I had the name of his stall so I could post all over the internet to never give this man your business, but I didn’t plan that well. It was the only hot dog stand on the street. He was a grumpy old man with a runny nose. Those are the details I remember.

UPDATE I found a picture of the stand!

Copenhagen, Denmark

hos michael, you suck. sincerely, women.

Copenhagen, Denmark

found this cool graffiti though

Anyway, after that we decided to just head to the airport. We got in early enough that we were able to get dinner there and play some cards. And though the trip ended on a sour note, it was actually SO lovely and such a nice time, and the mean hot dog man didn’t ruin the trip at all. I highly, highly recommend Copenhagen, and really hope I can go back some day. I think we had the perfect itinerary for just two days, but I’d like to stay for longer. I’m also feeling really motivated to check out Norway, Sweden, and Finland now too!

San Sebastian

At the end of September one of my roommates and another girl we’ve become friends with took a weekend trip to San Sebastian. We had a fantastic time – we took a short hike along El Camino del Norte, swam in one of the best beaches, ate delicious food, and went up the funicular that overlooks the iconic U shape beach.

El Camino Del norte

I actually just found out this was along the camino and not just a cute hike in San Sebastian when looking up details for this post! We went from San Sebastian to Pasajes de San Juan, which took about two and a half hours. It starts next to the pumping station at the beginning of Avenue Navarre – just follow the stairs up. I used this website for logistics/directions.

The walk was far more gorgeous than my iphone photos can do justice, but it was lovely and ended in the cutest little fishing village. Once in town, head to street Juan XXIII, where you can catch a bus every 20 minutes back to San Sebastian.

San sebastian

San Sebastian was great. The beach was amazing, the water warm, the food delicious and the view gorgeous. I highly recommend spending some time here if you get the chance!

VEGAS

I finally went to Vegas! I have a terrible habit of never traveling to places nearby because I’m always sure I’ll get around to them eventually, and then eventually never comes and I end up leaving Boston without doing a proper trip to NYC, or the UK without seeing anywhere but London and Gareth’s town in Cornwall. But I did see Iceland, Istanbul, and Morocco!

Vegas was one of those places. Close enough I never felt any urgency to go, and also not really my scene. I’m not a gambler, I don’t love clubbing or going to very fancy places. I was always happy to miss it but knew I’d regret not going if my friends went without me. Which they almost did!

This time was the perfect time though, I still can’t believe how inexpensive it was. My friend started working for Vice relatively recently, and she was sent to cover Kesha’s tour kickoff in Vegas. And to be clear, we love Kesha. She hasn’t been able to perform or do new music in a while, and it’s horrifying and so sad that her career is slowly dying while she holds onto any shred of dignity and self worth. But anyway! We were going to Vegas!

We got a free room and oh my god was it nice. Definitely the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at, and apparently Selena agrees! When we arrived it was around 110* and it was a nightmare. Not as bad as Morocco, but still pretty debilitating. Luckily, literally everywhere is air conditioned in Vegas, and not the kind that makes a dent but doesn’t stop the heat. I was cold as often as I was hot.

We went to the pools for a bit earlier in the day, though it was almost too hot to be outside, even in a pool. Eventually we gave up and went to dinner, and had the best buffet you can imagine. I didn’t know Vegas was also known for its food/buffets, or I might have made it a priority to come earlier. We stayed for a few hours and had I think four courses each, making sure to really get our money’s worth. We also had unlimited wine/beer, so we had a few drinks as well.

From there we headed to the Cosmopolitan Casino, where I lost $25 and Katie won $100. Ugh. We also got free drinks while gambling, which was very on theme. We arrived at the Kesha show and were given free drink passes, because we were with the ~press. Which was GREAT because a WATER BOTTLE was $10, I kid you not. So, I was forced, against my will, to drink more!

Kesha did Tik Tok, We R Who We R, Timber, and Your Love is My Drug, which was a favorite back in the day. She was great, though gone too soon. Maybe a good thing though, cause we were let into a roped off area that apparently a group of people had bought, and those girls were PISSED. Like, calm down.

Then I called Gareth and had an emotional heart to heart about how much long distance sucks. Because it does you guys, it really, really does. It also might have been fueled by some of the free alcohol I was forced to drink? But probably not. Anyway, that devolved into me listing all the reasons why we’re the best in the entire world, which is one of my favorite things to do when drunk. But also? We are the best in the entire world!

Then it was suddenly 4:00 am and all the bars were closed, so we went back to the room, watched New Adventures of the Old Christine, had a long, in depth conversation about the wonder that is Julia Louis-Dreyfus (but HONESTLY, she is amazing. Watch Veep, watch it now).

We woke up and things were looking pretty bleak, hangover wise, until my friend mentioned a secret, beautiful, lifesaving cure. Dramamine! Honestly, I’ve never felt so sick and then so fine before in my life. And thank god, cause the drive home took around nine hours including our breakfast stop and our stop at the Hoover Dam, which was a sight to behold but also potentially life threatening in the heat. Or so it felt. They had “cool down stations” that were just giant fans that you could walk up to–I honestly don’t know how locals live in that heat, but I certainly couldn’t do it.

It was the perfect way to do Vegas. The hotel was nice and very free. All my drinks were free. I spent $40 gambling, saw a concert for $25 and other than dinner and breakfast, didn’t pay for anything else. I don’t know that I’d ever want to go for two nights in a row–it doesn’t feel like you’re doing Vegas right unless you go out and dance and drink, but I am past the point of being able to manage that multiple nights in a row. I could barely handle it then. Kesha didn’t come on until 1:30 and I was SO proud for making it!

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SEATTLE

While I was surprised to be a little underwhelmed with Portland, Seattle was AMAZING. It was everything I thought Portland would be. It was clean and green and walkable and outdoorsy, and really technologically advanced. We stayed at the coolest hotel in Capitol Hill that is also long term housing (I looked it up and it’s over 2,000 a month for just a bedroom with a shared kitchen, otherwise I’d probably still be living there now). We walked basically the entire city and by the time we left we were planning our future return to buy a house in the city. I loved Seattle.

We got in a bit later than planned because of the train delay, but the day was perfect. It was LA weather, with clear blue skies and the city stretching out before us. We pulled in right next to Century Link Field, and I’m not going to lie, my love for Seattle has eased my dislike for the Seahawks (though the Super Bowl outcome probably helped with that as well). It was cool to see the stadium, and man is this town into football. I love it!

We went straight to the Link, which went from the Stadium to Capitol Hill. It was a super quick journey, and the neighborhood was amazing. So many great bars and restaurants. So many great houses. It felt a lot like the east coast, actually.

We stayed at Roy St Commons They gave us codes for the main entrance and our room, and we never had to talk to anyone else (I’m a fan of this, haha), but it still felt homey. We walked around checking out the different dinner options, before picking a random Italian place. Gareth got something delicious and I got a pasta thing and once again Gareth ordered better than me. I honestly need to start just copying his orders exactly. Then we considering doing a comedy show, but instead decided to bar hop. We went to Unicorn, which was pretty excellent. There was a wedding party there at the time, and they ordered every cocktail on the menu. I offered to help carry and they turned me down but gave me a unicorn jizz as a thank you, and that was a strong, sweet, fun drink. We took some terrible photobooth pictures (I’m really bad at photobooths!), and continued wandering around Seattle. The walk back home was really nice, and felt totally safe even though it was pretty late and we weren’t 100% sober. I love how the area felt like one big neighborhood. It felt really liveable.

Seattle, Washington   

We crashed pretty hard because of continued jetlag/the illness that would not end, but this room had a fan, which I have been trained since I was a baby to require for a good night’s sleep (thanks mom!).

We woke up the next morning and the clear blue skies of the first day had become gray clouds that every once in awhile let out a few drops of rain. The place had free homemade apple danishes (or some sort of apple baked good) for breakfast. Again we didn’t see another human, as we stuffed our faces and plotted where to hide my bag for the day. They didn’t have a lockbox but we didn’t want to carry our heavy bags during our hike around the city, so (thinking I was somehow doing us both a favor) I hid my bag in the main room and transported my valuables into Gareth’s bag, which he carried. I don’t know why I thought that was mutually beneficial, but Gareth never pointed out the huge flaw in my logic and quietly waited a few hours until I realized on my own. Oops. Thanks, buddy.

Then we headed out! We stopped at Portage Bay for brunch, where Gareth ate like he gave a damn, and I realized it was mother’s day and called my Momma. Then we walked over to the Center for Wooden Boats, where you can sail free every Sunday! However by the time we got there all the boats were signed up for except a canoe, and we decided that because it was freezing and we had both canoed before (I’ve never been sailing, take away any islander credibility I have right now), so we decided to skip it. That said, what a great way to spend a Sunday. And it’s all volunteer run. I’m a big fan.

From there we wandered to the Space Needle. Fun fact, I am terrified of heights. I honestly really didn’t think this would bother me much, BUT IT REALLY DID. I felt like I could really feel it swaying (though Gareth insists he couldn’t, I’m still sure I felt it!). I also hated that there was a line to get down, meaning I was temporarily trapped. So we walked/ran around the outside viewing area, took some pictures, and headed back down to the gift shop. I’m not usually about gift shops but Gareth and I are starting a magnet collection, and we needed to tick that off the list. And we got a pretty sweet one, I’m happy to report.

Seattle, Washington

From there we wandered to the Pike Place Market, which was amazing. I wanted to buy everything, but mostly the gorgeous handmade notebooks. Oh my god, they were great. After that we went into the Left Bank Book Collective, which was great and super independent. What a great bookstore run we had.

Seattle, Washington

From there we needed a break from all the walking, and popped into a coffee shop. This was such a nice part of the trip, because it was winding down, and we were tired and just wanted to sit and be together. Gareth got a big thing of pour over coffee, which I had never had before, and the bar area we were at was covered in a huge world map. We looked at the map and planned our future travels, and told stories about places we’ve been, and it was just a really nice moment.

After that we went on a mission to find me a bakery. We stopped into Le Panier, and a few other places, but kind of gave up and took an uber back to Capitol Hill. We finally had Dick’s Drive In burgers, and then on the way back to our place I realized we were close to Bakery Nouveau. I don’t even remember what I got, but I remember it being the most delicious thing in the entire world. It was some kind of chocolatey cake thing, and I still have dreams about it.

From there we walked back to our place, grabbed my bag (which was still there, thankfully), and took the link right from Capitol Hill all the way to the airport. SO easy. And once again, no one checked our ticket. Also, even though we didn’t HAVE to pay, it was SO cheap. It was around $2.50 to get from Capitol Hill, which is fairly north, all the way to the airport. It was just so insanely easy. And while we were waiting for a train, two of the guys who worked security there came over and chatted with us, and they were hilarious and friendly (and obviously a little bored). I can’t get over how much I loved Seattle and the people in it. That is my kind of city, for sure.

(source for feature photo)

PORTLAND

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The morning after Gareth arrived, we woke up bright (or not) and early at 4:15 am to make our way to LAX. With the happy discovery that an uber at that time would cost over $40, I decided to book parking last minute for about the same amount, but with the added convenience of having my car nearby. It was really quick and totally doable last minute, which allowed us to check the uber price and decide which way made more sense.

We got to the airport and immediately realized it was the first time we were at an airport together not doing a pick up or horribly depressing drop off. Once we both flew to London on the same day, but with different airlines at different terminals, so we got to Logan, had one last trip to Dunks, said goodbye for about 13 hours, and met back up at Heathrow. So we took a million pictures documenting our first plane journey together, and were probably pretty embarrassing.

The flight was only a bit over 2 hours, and I slept through pretty much all of it. (Though not before taking more pictures.) We arrived in Portland and tried to figure out if it was cheaper to rent a car there and drop it off at Seattle, or to take the train. We wanted a car to get around and not be tied to the train schedule, but it was going to be more than double our train tickets, so we went without. (This was definitely the right call, we were in the center of both cities and never went anywhere that wasn’t in walking distance.) Then we went to the metro at the airport which took us right to the center of the city/right by our hotel. And we started an amazing chain of train rides, where we never needed to buy our tickets. We always did buy them, because I fear authority and cause Gareth is the most moral person I’ve ever met, but not one of our trains in the PNW, including the Amtrak between Portland and Seattle, ever checked our tickets. It was crazy.

We arrived before check in, so we went straight for brunch. I tried to be fancy and celebratory and had a pomegranate mimosa, but it made me SO sleepy, so that was probably a mistake! The food was great and Portland was so cool. After breakfast we went to Powell’s Books, which was AMAZING. We could have spent our entire weekend in that store. Gareth found these old books he loves, and I picked up this book about anthropologists, which was fun though kind of dark and also it was kind of annoyingly predictable where if the main character had just stood up for herself once it might have all been avoided. But anyway! Powell’s was perfect.

After that we went and sat by the waterfront and read. To be honest I was already feeling a little weird, because we were the only people around who weren’t homeless. I know I live in LA where homelessness is a huge problem, but Portland seemed so much worse. It definitely could have been the area we were in (we stayed right in the middle of the city), but it was really shocking and not something I expected. We settled in reading and that was really lovely and great cause, in case this wasn’t already clear, this was our first day together! He had arrived in LA the night before, and it was the first time we’d seen each other since my birthday. So we were all cuddly reading by a tree, when all of a sudden these two groups of men started brawling RIGHT where we were. So we had to jump up and move out of the way, but our bags were still there and we kept having to dart back in to get our stuff. Luckily they all seemed nice (for having a brawl in the park), and tried to give us room/time to get our stuff before carrying on. It was super surreal. We hung around for a bit after that, but it continued to feel pretty sketchy to me, and eventually we decided to just head to the hotel.

Portland was so weird because there was a whole side of it I hadn’t expected at all. The amount of homeless people was shocking. Its crime rate is comparable to Los Angeles, but with WAY less people and in a much smaller city. It also has the most strip clubs per capita in the US. None of this was bad, it was just so different than what I expected! I will say, I’ve been to a lot of places, and definitely some considered relatively dangerous, and Portland was the place I’ve felt the least safe.

We stayed at The Society Hotel, which I definitely recommend. It was walkable to everything and had a great vibe. At this point we were pretty tired/jetlagged and I was (as always) sick, so we took a nap which was glorious. We wanted to go here for dinner, but the wait was over two hours(!), so instead we just walked around and found this SUPER weird, hole in the wall, dungeon looking restaurant. It was such a funny place–they seemed annoyed to have to seat us, our server was so strange, and there was a guy unaffiliated with the restaurant going from table to table doing magic tricks.

Then we went up to the rooftop bar, played cards (I won, obviously), before going to bed relatively early cause Gareth was still on London time and I was still sick.

The next morning we went to the Saturday market which was great. I almost bought a million things, but then didn’t buy any of them, which I was proud of. Gareth had a philly cheesesteak sub, and then another one cause it was SO GOOD. Then we wandered to Voodoo Donuts, but the line was insanely long and neither of us are big donut fans (I know this makes us monsters), so we skipped it. We walked to the train station which was really pretty. It looked like it hadn’t been changed much since it was first built, and I love old, historic buildings.

Our train was an hour late, which was annoying because they never announced that, so everyone got in line, and stayed in line for so long. I’m not sure why, because we all had assigned seats. It seems really illogical we waited in line for so long without just sitting back down, but, uh, we did. I think because it always seemed like the train was just about to pull in. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

The train ride was gorgeous. Again no one checked our tickets, though we did have assigned seats, so I guess there’s always the risk the train could be full, but ours definitely wasn’t. About 20 minutes in an alarm started going off, and happened off and on (mostly on) for about an hour while they tried to fix it. Gareth really loved that part of the trip. We mostly read our books and watched the landscape. I really love train rides, and this one was no different. Then we were in Seattle!!

(feature image source)

HOW I AFFORD TRAVEL: CREDIT CARDS AND FREQUENT FLYER MILES

One of the questions I get asked most often is how I can afford to travel as much as I do. The answer is I pretty much refuse to pay for flights, because in my mind, that is an optional fee of which I choose to opt out!

Considering I didn’t travel beyond North America until I was nearly 20, my 16 international trips have all come fairly close together. Below I’ve laid out exactly how I did it–and no, you do not need a ton of money or a rich uncle to afford plane tickets. All you need is some determination, organization, and innovation! If I can do it, you definitely can too!

If you care to read, click below. And please excuse the length, I was as detailed as possible, but didn’t anticipate just how many details there are to include!

The first few trips were relatively discounted because I had a family friend working at Delta. While I was in college, all my trips to London were about $500-600 round trip, and I almost always got to sit in first class (I’m aware this makes me obnoxious). And while first class was amazing, and probably not something I’ll ever experience again, the biggest perk was the flexible dates. I could change my ticket dates at any time and usually pay no fee. But, midway through college this stopped being an option, and while my dream to befriend a kind but lonely airline pilot who wants nothing more than to gift me his Buddy Passes is still very much alive, in the meantime I needed another plan.

After graduating I had rent, utilities, loans, and an entry level job in Los Angeles that paid like they were aware there were thousands of people who would do my job for free. Around this financially tight time, I decided to get a credit card for emergencies and to begin building credit. I got the Premier Card for Southwest and had my first taste of airline miles. Back then I got 50,000 miles for what I believe was a $1,000 spend in 3 months, which I was able to do fairly easily using a mix of actual spend and Amazon payments (where you could transfer funds to a friend and then have them write a check back to you–this is no longer an option). I flew round trip to Boston for $12.00 and realized this could be the way forward. Flying with airline miles also allows the flexibility I had with Buddy Passes, but none of the risk of being the first one booted off an oversold flight (I was once stuck in London for 6 days with a bunch of other Buddy Passes camped out, another time had to fly into Minneapolis and then find a connection back to Boston, and another time I was almost stranded in Guatemala City alone while my travel buddy boarded with the confidence of one who had a real ticket).

Luckily I had a friend who had been collecting airline miles for years who tried to show me the ropes. Unluckily we had different financial backgrounds (read: he was incredibly wealthy), so he bought plane tickets to do what are called “mileage runs,” where he’d buy cheap tickets solely to gain more miles. I don’t know much about this and really can’t help with it, but I can tell you he has millions of miles for the price of a few domestic flights.

I can, however, help with how to reach credit card minimum spends while trying to keep actual spending down. First, you want to transfer all your bills to that card–things like cable/internet, water/electric, car payments, car insurance, phone bill, Netflix, and anything else you subscribe to. Sometimes it’s possible to pay rent this way as well–something to check with your landlord. If that’s a no go, you can pay rent (and make any checks) here, if you’re will to pay 3%. I also use this card for any online purchases–Amazon, food delivery, and was able to put company lunches on it for a few months (something to ask your boss about).

I’m often told by my friends that this credit cards for miles, but they think it feels too risky. I’m constantly questioned about my credit score. The answer is that it’s really not risky if you are organized. I have excel spreadsheets tracking my spending to make sure I hit the minimums, and to remind myself of annual fees so I could consider closing the account or downgrading it to a no fee card. The only other risk comes with overspending–it is incredibly important to pay off your balance every month. It helps your credit score, minimizes the risks of building debt, and allows you to avoid paying interest and negating the savings your are netting by getting miles in the first place.

Second, my credit score is GREAT. Like 800+. When I applied for the apartment I currently live in, my landlord said he’d never had an applicant with such a high score. It’s important to educate yourself on how credit scores are calculated, but overall, having multiple credit cards that you are using responsibly is great for credit. If you’re paying off your balance every month, you are building up your payment history, and your credit utilization (the amount you owe versus your total credit line), both of which positively impact your scores. In fact, the more unused credit you have, the better. For example, if you have one credit card with a $1,000 limit, and you have a $500 balance (50% is utilized), your utilization score will be lower than someone who also owes $500 but has five credit cards with a thousand dollar limit (only 10% utilized). As utilization is 30% of your credit score, this has a high impact.

The two factors that are negatively impacted by multiple credit cards are length of credit history and new credit (credit inquiries). Length of history is an average age of all accounts. This matters, but will eventually work in your favor as your accounts age–so while they may drop you a few points initially, they will eventually start to make your score go up. New credit, or credit inquiries, may also cause you to drop a few points, but fall off your account after two years. I will say from personal experience that though my length of history and credit inquiries are not great, the fact that everything else is perfect outweighs it. And that’s with 10 credit cards. Don’t know your score? Here’s a list of ways to check (my citi cards give me an updated score monthly) and you can also use creditkarma, which is an awesome tool for not only finding out your score, but learning more about your spending habits and your score breakdown.

I’m more than happy to answer any questions–using this method I’ve taken 15 round trip flights (5 international) and only had to pay airline fees and taxes. That much travel would have been completely impossible for me without using miles, and by never having to worry about flights, I was able to take multiple last minute trips and spend money on the places I was going instead of using it all just getting there. It also allowed me to start dating my boyfriend who lives 5,437 miles away.

I promised myself when I was much younger I wouldn’t let anything keep me from my travel dreams, and there are too many potential excuses. Finding the time, finding the courage… this way I knew I’d never need to find the money (at least for flights).