Not all who wander are lost...

Wow, 2018 has been a whirlwind of travel for me. I can't believe all the places I've been able to visit and the amazing landscapes I've seen. Let's see if I can list them all. :) 14 countries you all!! OMG, I've been to 14 countries this year. I think my favorite trips were Scotland and Slovakia. Scotland for overall awesomeness and Slovakia for the most inclusive feeling. 2018: January-July: Lived in Wageningen, Netherlands (1) February: Nuremberg, Germany (2) April: Roermond, Netherlands June: Oslo, Norway (3) Arjang, Sweden (4) Lille, France (5) July-August: Lived in Tarpon Springs, Florida, USA (6) July: Miami, Florida Cross Creek, Florida Myaka, Florida August: Cape Canaveral, Florida September-December: Lived in Lyon, France September: The Luberon, France October : Ispra, Italy (7) Susa, Italy November: Paris, France Monastir, Tunisia (8) Edinburgh, Scotland (9) Vienna, Austria (10) Bratislava, Slovakia (11) Ge...

What's travel without shopping? Or showing off that you've traveled? HAHA I'm joking of course, but travel inspired decorations are a typical shopping purchases for many travelers, myself included. Personally, I have a few items I pick up from each location: a magnet, postcards, patches, pins, and if possible, a small piece of artwork. I sometimes just get a really awesome postcard that doubles as my 'artwork' piece, and if a certain item isn't available in country (like a patch for Tunisia), I sometimes order one when I get home. I also get a vintage travel sticker for my hard case luggage to recreate the 'vintage' travel look. I also just bought a large world map tapestry, which I am now stitching the patches onto. I like the idea of something foldable that I can take with me regardless of where I live. What do you do to showcase your travels? Redbubble.com has some great images you can get to decorate your bags. That's where I've bee...

Flying into Paris during a Yellow Vest demonstration wasn't as bad as I thought, however, I hate the Paris underground metro, the signs are very difficult to figure out and the crowds, even at midnight, are insane. I stayed at Trendy Hostel (2ter Rue Edouard Vasseur, 94200 Ivry-sur-Seine, France) which is a southern suburb of Paris, which made getting a taxi to Orly Airport easier, but I didn't like the actual location. I was in a mixed 16 bed room with 2 toilets and 2 showers. It wasn't noisy, but it was awkward. I won't go again. 21E for the night. The flight to Monastir was a nightmare. I flew Transavia both ways for 288E which was much more than I should have spent. From Paris we flew to Monastir, but something broke on the plane around Lyon so we had to go back to Paris, get it fixed and refuel before going on, which added 5 hours to the trip length. Flying from Monastir to Lyon was delayed an hour and I had to get a taxi when I came back because ...

I was a little disappointed that I didn't have my new camera for the Scotland trip, but I will be able to take it to Tunisia next week, so that's okay. Tunisia, oh my god, I can't believe I've booked there as well. I've gotten braver, living overseas, that's for sure. If you would have told me two years ago that I'd be booking trips to Africa and Asia by myself, I would have said you were crazy. I like to tell people how adventurous I am, but I'm really not. I am impulsive though, which is how Tunisia happened and why I booked my first Asia trip (and first long-trip). Asia! I've always wanted to travel the world and I'm finally going to do it. I booked 12 days in March and April 2019 - 1 day in the Dubai (United Arab Emirates, my first Middle Eastern County), 4.5 days in Vietnam, 5 days in Cambodia, and 1.5 days in Thailand. I kind of wish I'd added a day or two in Thailand, but I've got extra time in Vietnam, so I guess that's alri...

I booked a weekend get-away to Scotland over Thanksgiving (U.S.). How exciting to be going to the UK! I've been dreaming of this since I was a little girl, although I thought I'd be going to Ireland or Cornwall first, but Scotland is the land of fairies so I'm totally fine with it being my first excursion into Great Britain. Since I'm also trying to do my thesis on the U.K. this is even more exciting. Since I am currently in France, flights were not overly pricey. I booked through Brussels Airlines for 340E. More than I wanted, but still, not too bad in price. I wasn't that thrilled about the airlines itself and if you fly into the Brussles Airport, I suggest you have at least 2 hours to get through immigration and transfer, Terminal A and B are not close to each other. I booked two nights at the Light House Hostel , $8.60 down and 31L on arrival plus an additional 10L refundable key cost, in a 4-bed female dorm. Located at 20 Gilmore Place, the hostel...