We are all packed and ready to go.
Just arrived at the airport and finished boarding our flight. We are still in Anchorage and based on the airline and other passengers we already feel like we are over seas.
And so our adventure begins...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Packing
We leave tomorrow and we still have a million and one things to do, including the arduous task of packing.
A couple of notes about the volcano...it has officially stopped erupting! This eruption came almost exactly 1 year after another Icelandic volcano eruption, which cancelled flights to and from various parts of Europe for almost a month. It is important to point out that last year, airlines and travel insurance companies were not sure how to handle rerouting, compensation, and other travel fees and they were reluctant to cover passengers' costs. However, the European Union has strict regulations regarding passenger rights and airlines were forced to comply.
It is very important to know your rights before you purchase any tickets and/or travel insurance. Read the fine print and familiarize yourself with passenger regulations before you travel. BBC News (www.BBC.co.uk/news/business-13514190) proved to be an excellent resource for EU passenger rights and regulations.
Now that we know our flight is set to go tomorrow it's time to get packing. We decided since we are moving around the country so much that backpacks would work best for our travel needs. If you plan on using a backpack, I highly suggest going to an outdoor store (like REI). The employees there can help you get fitted into the right style of backpack for your body, they can help you pick the most practical pack for your trip, and they can even show you how to pack your bag to evenly distribute weight. Being able to walk around with a weighted bag before you buy it is essential to getting a pack that is comfortable.
Backpacks are obviously not for everyone. Your luggage choice will depend on many factors including: the type of trip you are taking, how many places you are visiting, and how much you really want to bring with you. Many travel gurus recommend packing your luggage and walking around for a few hours, when you realize that you have packed too much empty half of your luggage and do the exercise again, continue removing things out of your luggage until you are comfortable carrying it around for a few hours. This is a great exercise if you have time to pack your luggage multiple times. Like most people, I don't pack my luggage till the day or a few hours before departure, making it easy to over pack. I'm avoiding over packing this time by restricting myself to a certain number of outfits, remembering that I will likely go shopping and leaving room in my bag is essential, and realizing that anything I forget or leave out can be bought if need be. A common mistake people make when traveling to Europe is to bring their whole house with them, not realizing that Europe is a civilized world with pharmacies, grocery/convenience stores, department stores, etc. I am trying my best not to fall into this trap by bringing only the bare essentials.
The packing will begin tonight and will hopefully end tomorrow morning as I still have last minute errands to run. You'd think leaving for a month would be easy, but in this case it's more about what you are leaving behind instead of what you are taking. Getting bills, mail, laundry, etc together has proven to be more of a hassle than the trip planning itself. It will all be worth it when we arrive at the airport tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
A couple of notes about the volcano...it has officially stopped erupting! This eruption came almost exactly 1 year after another Icelandic volcano eruption, which cancelled flights to and from various parts of Europe for almost a month. It is important to point out that last year, airlines and travel insurance companies were not sure how to handle rerouting, compensation, and other travel fees and they were reluctant to cover passengers' costs. However, the European Union has strict regulations regarding passenger rights and airlines were forced to comply.
It is very important to know your rights before you purchase any tickets and/or travel insurance. Read the fine print and familiarize yourself with passenger regulations before you travel. BBC News (www.BBC.co.uk/news/business-13514190) proved to be an excellent resource for EU passenger rights and regulations.
Now that we know our flight is set to go tomorrow it's time to get packing. We decided since we are moving around the country so much that backpacks would work best for our travel needs. If you plan on using a backpack, I highly suggest going to an outdoor store (like REI). The employees there can help you get fitted into the right style of backpack for your body, they can help you pick the most practical pack for your trip, and they can even show you how to pack your bag to evenly distribute weight. Being able to walk around with a weighted bag before you buy it is essential to getting a pack that is comfortable.
Backpacks are obviously not for everyone. Your luggage choice will depend on many factors including: the type of trip you are taking, how many places you are visiting, and how much you really want to bring with you. Many travel gurus recommend packing your luggage and walking around for a few hours, when you realize that you have packed too much empty half of your luggage and do the exercise again, continue removing things out of your luggage until you are comfortable carrying it around for a few hours. This is a great exercise if you have time to pack your luggage multiple times. Like most people, I don't pack my luggage till the day or a few hours before departure, making it easy to over pack. I'm avoiding over packing this time by restricting myself to a certain number of outfits, remembering that I will likely go shopping and leaving room in my bag is essential, and realizing that anything I forget or leave out can be bought if need be. A common mistake people make when traveling to Europe is to bring their whole house with them, not realizing that Europe is a civilized world with pharmacies, grocery/convenience stores, department stores, etc. I am trying my best not to fall into this trap by bringing only the bare essentials.
The packing will begin tonight and will hopefully end tomorrow morning as I still have last minute errands to run. You'd think leaving for a month would be easy, but in this case it's more about what you are leaving behind instead of what you are taking. Getting bills, mail, laundry, etc together has proven to be more of a hassle than the trip planning itself. It will all be worth it when we arrive at the airport tomorrow.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Planning
It's been two weeks since my last post and a lot has happened. Less than a week to go and we finally have hotels and travel arrangements booked.
Planning for this trip has been more difficult than I had ever expected. My previous trips to Europe were incredibly easy to plan, but because we are gone for a month and because we are visiting many cities, this trip is totally different.
Some things I've learned this time around:
-many booking websites won't charge you cancellation fees for hotels, however the fine print often suggests that the hotel will, consider getting insurance if you aren't sure about your stay...
-when booking anything online the travel insurance is often automatically checked, make sure to review your purchases prior to confirming your reservations...
-flights booked online are sometimes charged to your account individually and are divided between website and airline fees, when you check your bank account you will see several charges adding up to the total...
-most rental cars in Europe are manual transmission vehicles, automatic vehicles are available however they can sometimes cost twice as much as a manual...
The biggest lesson learned from planning this trip is to not procrastinate. If you plan on winging it, then truly go for it. There are plenty of transportation and hotel/hostel resources all over Europe that will make your adventure fun and easy to manage. If you don't really want to wing it and prefer to have some things planned, then it's best to have all transportation (except euro rail pass train reservations which can be booked in Europe) and hotels booked at least a month in advance. This ensures availability and better rates.
Although we procrastinated, we were able to book 8 hotels, 3 flights, and a rental car and still be within our budget.
As we count down our remaining days, we have shifted our focus to the little stuff. Packing, laundry, and last minute errands are on the agenda for the holiday weekend. We depart Alaska at 5pm on Tuesday, until then we will be frantically getting our bags together and hoping for the volcano to go back to sleep. More to come on the volcano and how natural disasters can effect your travel plans in the next post.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Planning for this trip has been more difficult than I had ever expected. My previous trips to Europe were incredibly easy to plan, but because we are gone for a month and because we are visiting many cities, this trip is totally different.
Some things I've learned this time around:
-many booking websites won't charge you cancellation fees for hotels, however the fine print often suggests that the hotel will, consider getting insurance if you aren't sure about your stay...
-when booking anything online the travel insurance is often automatically checked, make sure to review your purchases prior to confirming your reservations...
-flights booked online are sometimes charged to your account individually and are divided between website and airline fees, when you check your bank account you will see several charges adding up to the total...
-most rental cars in Europe are manual transmission vehicles, automatic vehicles are available however they can sometimes cost twice as much as a manual...
The biggest lesson learned from planning this trip is to not procrastinate. If you plan on winging it, then truly go for it. There are plenty of transportation and hotel/hostel resources all over Europe that will make your adventure fun and easy to manage. If you don't really want to wing it and prefer to have some things planned, then it's best to have all transportation (except euro rail pass train reservations which can be booked in Europe) and hotels booked at least a month in advance. This ensures availability and better rates.
Although we procrastinated, we were able to book 8 hotels, 3 flights, and a rental car and still be within our budget.
As we count down our remaining days, we have shifted our focus to the little stuff. Packing, laundry, and last minute errands are on the agenda for the holiday weekend. We depart Alaska at 5pm on Tuesday, until then we will be frantically getting our bags together and hoping for the volcano to go back to sleep. More to come on the volcano and how natural disasters can effect your travel plans in the next post.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Primero +extras
So in my excitement to get this thing up and running I forgot to mention some key places I have visited in the past five years. In addition to the places I previously listed, I have had the privilege of experiencing Vancouver, BC, Washington DC, New Orleans, Boulder, Ft Collins, and various ski towns within Colorado. These places are near and dear to my heart and the time I spent there will never be forgotten.
From here on out I will be writing and sharing my new adventures. I will add my past as it pertains to my present, since each travel experience yields lessons for the next.
My journey back to Spain will be the first time back in 10 years. I am hoping for it to be just as eye opening as when I was last there. This time I am returning as a citizen, as a more seasoned traveler, and as someone looking for more than just museums.
When beginning the planning for this trip, I naturally went to my dad and stepmom for advice. Being from Madrid and growing up in Mallorca, my dad has a wide lens view of Spain, and is able to provide well rounded opinions of where to go, what to see, and what to eat. He sees the country as a whole and is proud of every region and what each one offers. My stepmom on the other hand is from Girona, a small town about half hour outside of Barcelona. She is proud to be from Cataluña, and although she is proud to be from Spain, and is open minded about sight seeing and visiting the entire country, she definitely prefers her native northern region. Their heritage has created a playful rivalry between them that has been quite entertaining for me to be a part of.
They have both given me amazing advice and guidance when planning this trip. So much so that my travel partner and I are almost overwhelmed with reading material, none of which we have managed to fully digest.
Planning for this trip has been a struggle. 20 days to go and all we have are plane tickets to Madrid, Euro Rail passes, backpacks, and stacks of travel guides and newspaper clippings.
This weekend will be dedicated to intense googling of hotels, ferries, miscellaneous transportation methods/routes, and country wide hot spots. Cheap or "barato" will be the keyword from now on.
Fingers crossed things come together.
From here on out I will be writing and sharing my new adventures. I will add my past as it pertains to my present, since each travel experience yields lessons for the next.
My journey back to Spain will be the first time back in 10 years. I am hoping for it to be just as eye opening as when I was last there. This time I am returning as a citizen, as a more seasoned traveler, and as someone looking for more than just museums.
When beginning the planning for this trip, I naturally went to my dad and stepmom for advice. Being from Madrid and growing up in Mallorca, my dad has a wide lens view of Spain, and is able to provide well rounded opinions of where to go, what to see, and what to eat. He sees the country as a whole and is proud of every region and what each one offers. My stepmom on the other hand is from Girona, a small town about half hour outside of Barcelona. She is proud to be from Cataluña, and although she is proud to be from Spain, and is open minded about sight seeing and visiting the entire country, she definitely prefers her native northern region. Their heritage has created a playful rivalry between them that has been quite entertaining for me to be a part of.
They have both given me amazing advice and guidance when planning this trip. So much so that my travel partner and I are almost overwhelmed with reading material, none of which we have managed to fully digest.
Planning for this trip has been a struggle. 20 days to go and all we have are plane tickets to Madrid, Euro Rail passes, backpacks, and stacks of travel guides and newspaper clippings.
This weekend will be dedicated to intense googling of hotels, ferries, miscellaneous transportation methods/routes, and country wide hot spots. Cheap or "barato" will be the keyword from now on.
Fingers crossed things come together.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Primero
The twenty something traveler, that's me. This is my first blog so my writing is a little rusty :)
I am a 25 year old Alaskan, a dual citizen of the US and Spain, and I have been to 8 different countries around the world. I am by no means a world traveler, or even well traveled. I am, however, incredibly passionate about traveling and I have an insatiable appetite for seeing the world.
Since I was about 13 years old I have felt the need to see and experience the world outside of my ordinary life. And since high school I have made every effort to do so. In the past five years I have traveled all over Alaska, visited Paris, NYC, Charlotte, Phoenix, Cabo San Lucas, Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Bend, and Denver. My next adventure will take me back to my roots, exploring Spain for the entire month of June.
My goal with this blog is simply to share my experiences, show that you really can travel on a budget and experience everything, and hopefully provide a different perspective on traveling and indulging in other cultures. For me, traveling and investing in different ways of life is the best way to learn about myself and expand my mind, body and soul. I hope to unlock curiosity and passion in my fellow twenty somethings.
Happy travels :)
I am a 25 year old Alaskan, a dual citizen of the US and Spain, and I have been to 8 different countries around the world. I am by no means a world traveler, or even well traveled. I am, however, incredibly passionate about traveling and I have an insatiable appetite for seeing the world.
Since I was about 13 years old I have felt the need to see and experience the world outside of my ordinary life. And since high school I have made every effort to do so. In the past five years I have traveled all over Alaska, visited Paris, NYC, Charlotte, Phoenix, Cabo San Lucas, Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Bend, and Denver. My next adventure will take me back to my roots, exploring Spain for the entire month of June.
My goal with this blog is simply to share my experiences, show that you really can travel on a budget and experience everything, and hopefully provide a different perspective on traveling and indulging in other cultures. For me, traveling and investing in different ways of life is the best way to learn about myself and expand my mind, body and soul. I hope to unlock curiosity and passion in my fellow twenty somethings.
Happy travels :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)