Hayley Travels

Final Thoughts

hayleythenomad — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 12:18:00 GMT

So I'm back in the States after a four-month long adventure in Europe. I had the most amazing, magical, fun time! I got to eat delicious food, see gorgeous architecture, experience unique cultures, and learn fascinating history. I do not have a single regret about my time spent in Europe. This is my last post for this trip and I wanted to include my final thoughts and advice.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Europe is widely varied and totally fascinating. That being said, there were places and activities I liked more than others. In general I liked most cities. I'd recommend either skipping Madrid or only spending a day or two there. I loved Spain but Madrid was a let down for me. I'd also recommend skipping or limiting Warsaw. Spend more time in Kraków or go to a different city in Poland. I wasn't as impressed with Rome and Athens as I'd hoped and expected to be, so a couple of days in each city was more than enough for me. On the other hand, I spent days (and could have spent more) just wandering around Barcelona, Stockholm, and Kraków, and that's not even taking into consideration the many cool museums and activities you can see and do in each of those cities.

To help you out, I've made some 'Top 10' lists.

TOP 10 CITIES
Barcelona, Spain
Stockholm, Sweden
Edinburgh, Scotland
London, England
Kraków, Poland
Sevilla, Spain
Dublin, Ireland
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic

TOP 10 FOODS
Kielbasa and potatoes, Kraków
Swedish meatballs, Stockholm
Beer battered apples, Munich
Margherita pizza, Naples
Franchesinha, Porto
Bacon & sausage roll, Edinburgh
Fresh squeezed orange juice, Valencia
Croque Madam, Paris
Bratwurst, Berlin
Chicken schnitzel, Budapest & Prague

TOP 10 MUSEUMS
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
British Museum, London
National Archaeology Museum, Madrid
Egyptian Museum, Turin
Louvre, Paris
Altes Museum, Berlin
Skansen, Stockholm
Musee du Oceanographique, Monaco
National Archaeology Museum of Catalunya, Barcelona
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

TOP 10 SITES
Catedral, Sevilla
Parthenon, Athens
La Mezquita, Córdoba
Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, Lisbon
Colosseum, Rome
La Alhambra, Granada
Big Ben & Houses of Parliament, London
Trevi Fountain, Rome
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Prague Castle, Prague

TOP 10 ACTIVITIES
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, London
Loch Ness & Scottish highlands day trip, Edinburgh
Warner Brothers Studio tour, London
FC Barcelona game, Barcelona
Auschwitz-Birkenau, Kraków
Oceanographique, Valencia
BioParc, Valencia
Pompeii, Naples
Canal cruise, Amsterdam
Day trip to Monaco

IF YOU WANT TO BACKPACK THROUGH EUROPE

Planning a trip like this is no easy task, trust me on this. I spent two and a half years planning my trip, although that is partially because the location changed several times. I read dozens of blogs and books for advice and tips. So, I've compiled a list of information, advice, lessons learned the hard way, and tips that will be helpful if you want to take a similar trip. If you are interested in doing something like this and want even more information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I'd love to share my knowledge and experiences because it was an amazing trip and I'd love for more people to travel like this!

I've broken down my advice, etc. into categories for easier reading.

HOSTELS

Hostel World and Hostel Bookers are the two websites I most used for my trip. I'd recommend Hostel World because more people use it, so you'll have more reviews. On the other hand, Hostel Bookers has better filters for narrowing down options. Try both and determine which one you prefer.
As a general rule, do not book hostels that have less than an 80% (Bookers) or 8.0 (World) rating. The lower rated hostels tend to be really cheap but they're not worth it. Sometimes you can find really highly rated hostels for fairly cheap, sometimes you can't, but you can almost always find good priced hostels between 8.0 and 9.0 ratings.
As you travel you will discover what to look for in a hostel and I guarantee it won't be all the same things you looked for when you started. Initially I cared if a hostel included free breakfast, but after staying a couple hostels that did, I realized I rarely ate the free breakfast and that it wasn't a big deal to me. There are primarily four things I care about when reading reviews for hostels. First, safety. If a hostel has a low safety rating I tend to avoid it (it depends on the reviews and the reasons for the low rating). Second, cleanliness. I'm going to tell you right now that you're really never going to find a spotless hostel. There are just too many people coming and going that it's difficult for it to be sparkling, but hostels do their best to keep it as clean as possible. If I read reviews about how it's slightly dirty or dusty, I'll generally be fine with it, but it's when words like 'rats' and 'cockroaches' get tossed around that I look for a different place. Third, wifi. Since I do not have an international plan and am making plans as I go, I need wifi. If the only strike against a hostel is spotty wifi I may still stay there but wifi that cuts in and out when you can't use data is extremely frustrating, especially when I'm trying to let my family know my whereabouts. Fourth, outlets. This isn't a deal breaker necessarily, BUT if there are similar hostels and one has a charging outlet per bed and one doesn't, well, I'm sure you can guess which one I'm booking. It's incredibly annoying when there is limited charging in rooms and you have to get creative. But I wouldn't pay more for a hostel because of better charging.
Bigger is not always better. Big hostels tend to be run more like hotels. Smaller hostels feel more like home, it's easier to meet people, and the staff tend to be more helpful, friendly, and personable. The best hostels I've stayed at only have a handful of rooms and I've met tons of people there.
Going along with smaller hostels, they tend to also have a kitchen and common area that people spend a lot of time in. Use them! Seriously, I hated staying in hostels that didn't have these. It's really cheap to pick up food from a supermarket and make food, plus, again, you have a better chance of meeting people.
I keep talking about meeting people, I know, but it's important! Part of the backpacking experience (as opposed to taking a vacation) is meeting fellow backpackers. My best memories from my trip aren't the world famous landmarks, the fascinating museums, the beautiful town squares, or the scrumptious food. No, my best memories are the times when I'd sit in my room exchanging stories with my roommates, when a group of us from my hostel decided to hike partway up a mountain to see the city at dusk, or when a couple people would be leaving and ask if you wanted to go grab dinner with them. I met people from every continent except Antarctica, from 30+ countries. I met people of different ages, occupations, religions, political views, cultures, and experiences. Even if you are shy or introverted, try to step outside your comfort zone and meet people. I have had cities where I didn't meet many people and I don't have as fond of memories of cities that I should have loved. And the opposite can happen as well. I didn't particularly enjoy Madrid but I had some really great roommates. The people you meet make a huge difference on your experience.
Take advantage of the hostel's facilities and utilize the staff members' knowledge. The staff know all about the city and what they don't know, they can look up for you. This is why it's important to stay in small hostels - the staff at bigger hostels tend to feel less approachable. And seriously, take advantage of the facilities. If a hostel has a rooftop terrace, enjoy pleasant temperatures and read, or have a glass of wine and watch the sunset. If a hostel offers free or cheap meals or activities, think about taking them up on it (for example, my hostel in Granada offered all-you-can-drink sangria for 3€ after 11pm). If a hostel has laundry facilities, especially if it's pretty cheap, use them! Seriously, I wish I had done that earlier. Your clothes will start to smell and get dirty and eventually it gets to the point where washing them does little good. Don't get to that point. Use the laundry facilities.
Are you a light sleeper? Not anymore you're not. The more beds in a room, the cheaper the cost (the most I ever stayed in was an 18-bed dorm) so you'll likely have at least five-nine roommates every night. Some people will go out and come bad at four in the morning. Some will be traveling together and will stay up talking when you're trying to sleep. Need to get up at 6:00 AM to catch an nine hour bus? You can guarantee you'll have a group of five people check in at one o'clock in the morning, turn the lights on, unpack, and talk loudly. You eventually just get used to it. Bring some earplugs and an eye mask and you'll be good to go.
Modesty basically goes out the window, just letting you know. People will change right in the middle of the room with the window open while having a conversation with you. People will see you sleeping (nobody looks good while they're sleeping), they'll see you when you just woke up, they'll see you when you haven't showered in four days and your hair is all kinds of greasy, and they'll see you right after you shower. It is what it is and you'll get used to it, I promise.

TRANSPORTATION

Go Euro and Rome 2 Rio are your best friends for finding transportation between two places. I prefer Go Euro but Rome 2 Rio is good if you're traveling outside of Europe.
If you're traveling within Europe, I highly recommend Flix Bus. This company goes between almost every major city in Europe. It tends to be one of the cheapest options, there is usually a decent amount of room between seats, and there is almost always charging outlets and free wifi.
You may have to take buses that are four or more hours long. Usually these buses stop at a gas station, rest area, or McDonald's at least once. Take advantage of these stops. Even if you don't want to get anything to eat or drink, use this time to use an actual restroom, stretch your legs, or get fresh air. You will thank yourself.
Try to avoid overnight buses if at all possible unless it's by far the cheapest option. They're not particularly comfortable, you won't sleep well, you'll have to leave at a weird time, and you'll most likely get to your destination several hours before you can check into your accommodations.
When you're booking buses and trains, you may find crazy cheap tickets (like less than $5) but the bus/train leaves at two o'clock in the morning. Before you book that ticket, make sure to take into consideration how you're going to get to the station. Metros and buses tend to shut down around midnight and night city buses tend to be infrequent.
Know how to get to your hostel from the bus/train station. Oftentimes hostels will include directions from the main stations but you might not come into one of the main stations, especially if you're coming by bus. If you don't figure this out before you leave, you'll waste a lot of money on taxis, trust me.
Make sure you know the spelling of your destination in the native language. For instance, Praha = Prague and Wien = Vienna. Not knowing this could mean missing your bus or train.
For longer bus or train rides, go to a supermarket and pick up some snacks and water so that you have something to eat and drink while you travel and you don't have to pay for the overpriced food and drink at the station.
You'll find that buses are by far the cheapest option for traveling. Lots of people asked me why I didn't buy a Eurrail pass. My response was always that for the length of my trip it was significantly cheaper and more flexible to not buy the pass. For shorter trips it can be beneficial. Just look at the website and determine what works best for your trip.
You may need to fly while you are on your trip. I used STA Travel for all of my flights. They'll find the cheapest options. You'll hear a lot about Ryan Air and how cheap it is. I never used Ryan Air and here's why: the base coat is really cheap but if you have any luggage at all, it could cost you more than the ticket is worth to check your bag. If you are studying or living in Europe and want to go to, say, Prague for three days and all you're going to be bringing is a school size backpack, Ryan Air is a great option. If you are backpacking through Europe, it will most likely be the same price as any other airline since your backpack or suitcase will most likely not fit as a carry on.
You will spend a ton of time traveling between cities, so have a lot of music on your phone or iPod and have books on a tablet. I much prefer reading the physical copy of books but that's not feasible for a backpacking trip, so I use iBooks on my iPad. Trust me that having music and books will make trips go by faster.
Need some recommendations of good books? I got you covered!
If you like action, suspense, romance, and humor, read the Bluegrass Series by Kathleen Brooks. Technically there are four series all in the same world. The first series is the actual Bluegrass series. It is a trilogy that builds off of the book before. Then comes the Bluegrass Brothers. There are six books in this series and the books don't build off of each other the way the first series does. Third is Bluegrass Singles. There is less action in this series but more background or wrap up from characters you get to know in the first two series. Last is Forever Bluegrass. This series has the action of the first two and is actually about the lives of the children of the people in the first two series. There are currently four books out but there will be a ton more since between the nine couples in the first two series there are almost thirty kids. I've reread these series several times and they're always good.
If you like political intrigue, assassination attempts, romance, action, and drama, I recommend The Royals by Danielle Bourdon. There are fun twists and turns, some that you'll see coming a mile away and some that will throw you for a loop.
If it's drama and romance that you're looking for the North Star Romance series by Suzie O'Connell is a great series. There are four books that cover a span of several years and are great reads.
If you're like, "Hayley, what if I just want something fun and lighthearted? These all seem too dark for me," I got you covered. I recommend The Wedding Pact and Bachelor Brotherhood series by Denise Grover Swank (she is also the author of a pretty good mystery series if that's your thing).

GEAR

You'll want an actual backpacking backpack, trust me. I've seen people bring suitcases and that's a freaking terrible idea. Most streets in Europe are cobblestone which is no good for suitcases because they ruin the wheels and make suitcases hard to maneuver. Also, there are a lot of hostels that do not have elevators and having seen people struggling to get their suitcase up and down the stairs and it looks miserable. So seriously, get a backpack. You'll probably have to spend a decent amount of money on the backpack. I spent just under $200 on mine. This will be carrying all of your belongings for the trip so you don't want to cheap out. There are many different types so do some research on features you'd like before buying one. Pro tip: go to a small outdoors/sporting goods store to look for your backpack. When I first began searching I went to Academy Sports and Gander Mountain and they both basically had nada. But then I went to this small store called the Bear Mountain in College Station and not only were there tons of backpacking backpacks available, but the people working there were extremely knowledgeable and had actually done backpacking trips. My backpack is Osprey which is one of the most popular and respected brands; I highly recommend it and the employees at the Bear Mountain swore by it. Also, you'll want to purchase a backpack that is between 45 and 55 liters. Any smaller and you really won't have much room for anything (highly seasoned backpackers can go smaller because they know exactly what they're doing, but that's not common). Any bigger and it will be difficult to carry.
You will want to get a good pair of shoes because you will be walking all over the place. Again, prepare to spend a decent amount on shoes. Lots of people will recommend Merrells or Keens and they are both wonderful and respected brands. But I wanted shoes that looked less like walking shoes. I swear by Olu Kai. The pair I got were a little over $100 but absolutely worth it. They look a little like boat shoes and are already broken in when you purchase them. They are extremely comfortable and I never got a blister during my entire trip. Plus, although they're scuffed and dirty, they're still in great shape after four months (plus the times I wore them before I left).
Ladies, although not essential, I recommend buying a Vinyasa scarf from lululemon. My cousin recommended it to me and I'm so glad I got one. It snaps closed and I've used it as a scarf, a shawl, a blanket, and an extra pillow case. Seriously, at least look into it.
Quick dry towels are your friends. They fold up into little pouches and are thinner than normal bath towels so they don't take up much space in your backpack. Plus you won't have to worry putting a wet towel in with your stuff.
Invest in a good travel pillow. Seriously. You will use it way more than you think you will. During my four months I have taken 1 ferry, 9 planes, 14 trains, and 31 buses. That's a lot of traveling. Mine has foam instead of beads and is super comfortable.
Don't forget that the plugs are different overseas, so you'll need adapters and converters!
For ladies, shampoo and conditioner can be a pain when traveling. I've been using bar shampoo from Lush while I've been traveling and while it's not as great as the shampoo I use at home, it does its job and is convenient. It doesn't count in liquids when flying and takes up little room. If you don't want to use bar shampoo, I'd recommend just getting travel shampoo when you're there.
Deodorant in Europe is a different chemical makeup than in the United States. For some people, it's whatever and doesn't affect them. However for others it can give them rashes or at the very least irritate their skin. That is not something you'll want to find out the hard way.
When you're deciding on clothes, simple is key. Plain colored shirts, dark wash jeans, tan shorts, etc. This way you can mix and match outfits since you'll have limited space for clothes. I brought five tank tops (deep blue, deep green, maroon, and two black), a black short sleeve tee, a white long sleeve tee, black skinny jeans, tan shorts, black Nike shorts, and one simple dress.
Pack clothes you're not attached to. They're going to get dirty and you'll probably get sick of wearing them. I only brought back about a third of the clothes I came with. That's not unusual. If you need to get rid of clothes while you're traveling, you can almost always find a H&M for a cheap replacement.
Store your clothes in large Ziploc bags. Packing cubes don't work well in backpacks but Ziploc bags do. This keeps your clothes organized so you're not pulling out each piece of clothing individually when looking for something in your backpack.
When I go on trips with my family I tend to overpack because I try to pack for every possible situation. If you're anything like me, you probably do to. DO NOT DO THIS. Seriously. You are going to have to carry your backpack to every city you visit and it can get heavy. Do not add to this weight by packing more than you need. Also, unnecessary items take space away that can be used for souvenirs.

ACTIVITIES

Make a list of all things you want to do in each city you visit and how much things cost, just so you have an idea for a budget. Then understand that you will for sure not do everything on your list.
There are a lot of castles, cathedrals, and monuments in Europe. Do not pay to go in them unless you're dying to see the inside. I almost never paid to go in but got some gorgeous pictures from the outside. I saved a ton of money that way but still saw some of the most popular sites and landmarks in Europe.
You'll get bored of museums no matter what you think. Plus museums can get pretty expensive. Again, only go to museums you really want to visit.
Much like museums and landmarks, limit the number of tours and day trips you take, because they are even more expensive. The exception being free walking tours. If that's your thing go on as many as you want. For the ones that cost money, narrow down a list to what you absolutely refuse to miss. For me that was Pompeii, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Loch Ness, Warner Brothers Studio, and a double decker bus tour. Don't pay to take a tour just because it's highly recommended if you're not interested or only sort of interested.
Spend your time exploring the city. Most likely you'll be within walking distance of or a metro ride away from a city's Old Town or historical neighborhoods. You'll save so much money and get a great look at the city's culture and history this way. There were so many cities where I never paid for a single activity and just explored the city. You'll find cute shops, stunning architecture, and delicious restaurants filled with locals.
Ask reception and use Google to find free and cheap things to do. For instance, sometimes, especially in Spain, there are days or times that museums or landmarks are free to enter. By utilizing reception and Google you can often find great deals as well as find out places to avoid or not to miss.

SAFETY

Trust your instincts. It sounds too simple and cliche but seriously, trust them. If something feels off, don't try to tell yourself that you're overreacting. Listen. You may very well be overreacting but if you feel something is wrong, it is so much better to be safe than sorry.
Don't be alone after dark, especially if you're a woman. I have done it but usually I was just walking a block from a restaurant to my hostel, but I tried to avoid it at all costs. Some places felt more safe after dark than others and you'll get a feel for the location almost immediately, but as a general rule stick with others.
Harassment. Unfortunately this is a problem for women both in Europe and the United States. If you're a women traveling by yourself chances are you are going to be harassed or catcalled at least once. Rarely will it be anything serious so just ignore it. There were only a handful of times that I actually felt a little nervous. Normally it was just annoying or slightly uncomfortable. Just be careful, because unfortunately, just like in the States, there's always the possibility of it turning serious.

I have a ton more advice and tips, so if you want more, just let me know!

Grand Finale

hayleythenomad — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 12:14:00 GMT

Can you believe that this is my last places post? Because I absolutely cannot believe that it is. Four months has flown by and I am now back in the States. Europe has been incredible but I have written a post with my final thoughts, etc. on my trip. This post focuses on my time in Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London.

DUBLIN

I really enjoyed Dublin even if my time started off a tad rocky. The cheapest flight I could find from Munich to Dublin didn't leave until seven-something at night and was supposed to land in Dublin around 10. Of course my flight was delayed. By the time I collected my bag from bag claim and got on the airport bus to city center it was eleven. My mom, upon learning how late my flight would be landing, had asked me to take a taxi to my hostel. I assured her that I would be fine because the bus had a stop right across from the hostel (or so I was led to believe by the hostel's directions). If you are sitting there reading this and thinking, "Yeah, the bus definitely doesn't have a stop right by the hostel," then give yourself a cookie because you would be completely correct. So there I was wandering around the middle of Dublin as the time neared midnight without any clue of how to get to my hostel. Finally I was able to connect to wifi and use the GPS on my phone to find my hostel. I get checked into my hostel ad forgot the only reason I could afford to stay basically right in city center was because I had booked a 24-person dorm. Yes, you read that correctly, twenty-four person. At this point it's almost midnight when I walk into my room and of course everyone is already in bed and sleeping. I'm trying my absolute best to be quiet because I know how much I hate when people check in late and are really noisy in the room. The lockers are under the bed and metal and seem like a screeching disaster waiting to happen so I leave my stuff next to the bed. Then I look around for an outlet and there's like two charging stations with about eight outlets each for the entire room. On top of that I had forgotten that Ireland and the UK have a different charger than continental Europe so that converter was buried in my backpack. So when I woke up in the morning my phone and iPad were both basically dead. All in all, not a great start in Dublin.

I spent quite a bit of time wandering around city center and The Temple Bar area. Two of the three full days I was there the buses were on strike and while I could have walked to many of Dublin's top attractions, like St. Stephen's Green or Trinity College, trying to go to more than one of them would have been very time and energy consuming. I very much plan on returning to Dublin and will see those things whenever I am able to return.

The big thing I did there was the Guinness Storehouse. Even if you, like me, do not particularly like beer, I still very much recommend going there. While you can buy your ticket at the Storehouse, I'd recommend buying it on their website because you have to pick an entry time and you can sometimes get cheaper prices online, just a tip. I went at 9:45 AM because it was 6€ cheaper than the normal entrance price. The tour is self-guided so you can spend as much or as little time at each exhibit. Throughout the storehouse you will learn about the ingredients used in Guinness, how it's made, how it's transported, the history of the company and its founder Arthur Guinness, its advertising, and much more. There is also a tasting room where you can get a free shot-sized sample of Guinness. If you're like my dad and really enjoy beer, you can pay extra for the Connoisseur Experience in the Guinness. Academy where you'll learn how to properly pour and taste Guinness. There are several cafes and restaurants where you can stop and relax for a bit. I hadn't eaten breakfast so stopped at one of the cafes and ate a Guinness chocolate muffin. It was fantastic. You end your tour at the Gravity Bar which is the top floor and has panoramic views of the city. With your ticket you get a complimentary pint or soft drink. I'd suggest stopping by the Guinness store on the ground floor before you exit the Storehouse. It has about every Guinness related item you could possibly imagine. You can even get pint glasses engraved!

I really enjoyed Dublin but wish I would have had time to go into the Irish countryside. Everyone I have talked to has said Dublin has absolutely nothing on the countryside. If you go to Dublin try to leave some time for leaving the city.

EDINBURGH

I absolutely love Edinburgh. It's right up there with Barcelona and Stockholm for my all-time favorite cities. I stayed in the Grassmarket which is right by the Royal Mile in Edinburgh's Old Town. Unlike basically every other city where I stayed multiple days, I did something different every day.

The first full day I was there I spent my time wandering around just Grassmarket. This area has cute shops, tons of pubs, beautiful cobblestone streets, interesting history, and the inspiration behind Diagon Alley. I liked popping into the little shops, especially the kilt maker's! I also ate so freaking well when I was in Edinburgh. For lunch I had a chorizo & wild boar burger. I saw it on multiple menus and thought I'd give it a try. It had an interesting taste but was delicious! I then went out to dinner with a couple of girls from my hostel on the Royal Mile.

The second day was by far the best day. I went on a day trip to Loch Ness and the Scottish Highlands. The company that did my tour actually also does 3, 5, 7, and 10 day tours and I wish I would have had the time for one of those, but I only had one day so I did the day trip which makes for a 12-hour day.

We made five stops during the day. First, we stopped in the small town of Callendar (and yes, our guide did make a cheesy joke about dates). It's considered the gateway to the Highlands because once you leave the landscape becomes dramatically different. We were given about half an hour to get some breakfast, stretch our legs, and use the restroom. I had a sausage roll which was just a sausage in a buttery pastry. Yummy! Second, we stopped at Glen Coe to take some gorgeous pictures of the mountains.

Third, we stopped at Fort Augustus where we most time. Part of the tour included a lunch so we are there but there were several restaurants and takeaway places to eat there. We had two hours to explore the little village or, in the case of most of us, take an hour long cruise on Loch Ness. It was absolutely fascinating. I normally do not put much credence in mythological creatures or conspiracies, but I have always believed in the existence of Nessie. Although I obviously did not spot Nessie, I believe even more strongly in her possibly. Let me explain what I learned. First, Loch Ness is the largest loch (lake) volume-wise in Scotland. There is so much water in Loch Ness that if you were to drain the water and take all of the water from lakes and rivers in England AND Wales and put it into Loch Ness, you would not fill it. It's absolutely massive. And there are dozens, if not hundreds, of caves and crevices so it is entirely possible that there are creatures in the Loch that we know nothing about. Second, there is a lot of peat in Scotland's lochs. This makes is basically impossible for sunlight to penetrate the water making it look black. You can look straight down into the water and not see anything. Third, people can dive in Loch Ness; it's too cold. Year-round it is 5 degrees centigrade. If you were to fall into the Loch with a life jacket on you would could survive up to 10 minutes before you died of hypothermia. If you were unlucky and didn't have a life jacket your chances of survival greatly diminished. You would maybe survive 2-4 minutes. Thus, it's impossible for humans themselves to explore Loch Ness. Fourth, there are historical accounts of Nessie. Historians and archaeologists have found many historical accounts and depictions of encounters with Nessie by the clans and ethnic groups in the area. Fifth and finally, sonar. All the cruise boats use sonar to determine how deep the Loch is as well as to catalogue animal detections. Size ranges of animals in the Loch are represented by different colors. Well, in the 30-something years they've been using sonar, five times they have detected a creature larger than a Great White shark under the boat. But, even if you don't buy into the existence of Nessie, the cruise is still very interesting with stunning views.

The fourth place we stopped was at the Commandos Memorial. The Commandos are an elite force in the Scottish military and the location of the memorial is also their training ground. Once they've made it past basic training they then have to survive on their own in the Highlands for two and a half months. If anyone sees them they have to start their two and a half months over again. It is also a great place for pictures. The last place we stopped was Pitlochary, which is a cute little town.

If you get the opportunity to spend time in the Highlands, please do. My 12-hour day trip cost about $75 plus another $15 for the boat cruise. I talked to a girl in my hostel who was leaving the next day for this company's 10-day tour and she said it cost her about $1000. For what you get, the tours are super expensive. You do spend a lot of time in the bus but the views are spectacular. Plus you have a tour guide that will explain the significance of much of what you will see. I've always found Scottish history to be more interesting than English history and if you know nothing about Scottish history you'll learn so much. As my guide joked, he could basically put on Game of Thrones and you'd have Scottish history.

After the long day, I knew I needed food and decided I had to try Scotland's favorite food: haggis! I'm not going to explain to you what haggis is because, quite honestly, if you think about it too much it will completely gross you out. But I didn't want to get a full meal of it in case I didn't like it. So I got haggis nachos! It was actually pretty good, if very salty.

My third day in Edinburgh I walked the entirety of the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile, which is actually longer than a mile, is the street that stretches from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace (which is where the Queen stays when she visits Edinburgh). In between are gorgeous churches, shops, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and pubs. I spent several hours walking the Royal Mile, stopping in many of the shops and doing way more shopping than I intended.

My last full day I walked around the area adjacent to the Royal Mile which includes the University of Edinburgh. Much like any part of the city I saw, it was beautiful. I made sure to stop by The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote part of Harry Potter. You can find many places like that in Edinburgh because that is where she is from. Anyway, I walked near the University of Edinburgh before going to the National Museum of Scotland.

The museum is absolutely incredible. It states that it aims to bring Scotland to the world and the world to Scotland. What I loved about this museum was how diverse it was. There were exhibits on fashion, world cultures, animals, space, innovation, technology, geology, interior design, transportation, communications, and so much more. There's literally something for everyone and even more fascinating is that much of it is hands on. For instance there's a Formula 1 simulator in the transportation display, a screen that types out your message in Morse code, rocks to touch, world music to listen to, buttons to push, games to play, and experiments to try. Some of it reminded me interactive displays at a children's museum, but geared towards adults. The best part about this museum? Except for special exhibits, the museum is free!

I finished my wonderful time in Edinburgh by meeting up with some friends I made while I was in Athens who go to university in Edinburgh. It was so much fun to catch up on what we've been up to since leaving Athens six weeks prior. All in all I absolutely loved Edinburgh and did not want to leave.

GLASGOW

Quite honestly, I think most places would be a let down after Edinburgh, and I was only there two nights, but I wasn't all that impressed in Glasgow. Really the only thing I did was walk around one of the main shopping districts, Buchanan Street, and a major plaza, George Square, for a few hours. Then I was bored and went back to my hostel and was bored in comfort.

My friends in Edinburgh told me Glasgow is great for nightlife and shopping. I can't comment on the nightlife but I can attest to the good shopping. They also told me that I'd like Glasgow but I wouldn't like it more than Edinburgh. I can definitely see that. My suggestion is to go to Edinburgh and the highlands rather than Glasgow.

LONDON

Whooo boy. I spent a lot of time in major cities that are major tourist destinations, especially for Americans - Paris, Rome, Madrid, Florence, Munich, Brussels, Athens, etc. - and in general I enjoyed my time there but wouldn't necessarily go back; I've seen most of what there is to see. I guess I thought that London would be the same way. Except that it wasn't. I really, really loved London. I was there for five full days - and I do mean full - and there was so much I didn't get to see and do.

I didn't have the time or money to go into most of the main attractions (Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London), so instead I did a vintage double decker (routemaster) bus tour that also included a Thames cruise. It was about four hours long and you get to see all the main sites and if you do the morning tour they'll take you to a great place to see the Changing of the Guards without having to squish in with thousands of others in front of Buckingham Palace. Plus the guide explains the history and significance of many of the sites.

What you'll learn about London is that while attractions can be quite pricey, most museums are free. And there are some 400 museums in London so there are plenty to check out. Unfortunately I only had time to go to one museum and even then I only had a little over an hour to see it. I went to the British Museum. It was recommended to me by several people because I like archaeology and history. It was wonderful and I wish I had more time to explore it. I've also heard wonderful things about the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Tate Modern, and Tate Britain, as well as many others.

If you, like me, absolutely love Harry Potter, London's got ya covered. If you go to King's Cross Station, you can take a picture of you pushing a luggage trolley through Platform 9 3/4 (there's also a gift shop there). There's also a Harry Potter walking tour you can go on. I was going to do it but it was going to take up most of my last day and there was so much I still wanted to see. Plus it was rainy and my feet hurt.

I definitely recommend the Warner Brothers Studio tour: The Making of Harry Potter. This is where they filmed the movies and it's absolutely fascinating. You can see the actual sets they used, props, costumes, and concept art, among many other things. You can even get butterbeer! What impressed me so much was the attention to detail. For instance, in Ollivander's wand shop, each box was hand inscribed for authenticity. There's the tapestry from Sirius's childhood home that has name and Andromeda's (as well as several other names) burned off. The people who made the props and set definitely do not get enough credit for their hard work and talent. The tour is self guided and you can take as little or as long a time as you want. They recommend allowing for about three hours but that's just a ballpark guess. That's about how long I took but I probably would have taken longer if I hadn't been by myself. There's also a massive gift shop and I may or may not have spent an amount of money that I am not yet willing to discuss on souvenirs and gifts. Oh, and fair warning, it takes awhile to get out there. I'd allow for at least two hours each way. You'll have to take a train to Watford Junction from London Euston and then take the shuttle from the station to the studios.

Happy birthday to me! I spent my 23rd birthday in the best possible way: seeing Harry Potter & the Cursed Child. I have not yet read the script because I wanted to be completely surprised for the play but I've heard it's gotten mixed reviews and some backlash. But the play was phenomenal! The problem with scripts is that they can't adequately portray mannerisms, sarcasm, or body language they way actors can and wow were the actors fantastic. Theatrically it was one of the most incredible stage performances I've ever seen. There were so many times I had to remind myself that they were using special effects, not magic. It was spellbinding (get it? Spellbinding? I crack myself up). If you get the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend it (although it will be difficult to get tickets. When I looked for one single ticket three months in advance, there were a grand total of five remaining). Thanks Mom and Dad for paying for the ticket (well, technically tickets since it's two parts)!

Other things to do: walk around Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and Harrod's. I went into Harrod's on my birthday before the play because it was the only time I was dressed nice enough to go in (I was wearing a dress). I drooled over the gorgeous bags and purses before going to the one place in the store I could (barely) afford: the chocolatier. I bought myself some fancy-schmancy truffles for my birthday (red velvet, passion fruit, raspberry, popping champagne, strawberry champagne, and pink champagne).

London transportation is super expensive so get an Oyster card. I think it's like £5 (a girl I met in Prague still had hers and gave it to me so I'm not positive) and then you preload money onto it. Every time you swipe to get into and out of a station it deducts for the trip and a slightly cheaper price than you'd pay for an individual ticket. Plus at the end of your trip you can redeem it for the money left on the card. Unfortunately I was unable to redeem my card so if anyone is going to London soon (or knows someone going to London soon) and wants mine let me know! There's still a decent amount of money left on it, enough for several trips.

Overall this has been a wonderful experience that I will never forget and always be grateful for. If you're interested in my thoughts and suggestions, then read my other blog post!

Photos: Ireland + UK

hayleythenomad — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 11:39:00 GMT

Eastern Europe

hayleythenomad — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 23:46:00 GMT

Howdy y'all! Well, it's been awhile since I last posted. Yikes! As my trip comes to a close soon I am changing cities more frequently and giving myself less time to write, so, sorry about that! I landed in Dublin last night and that marks the beginning of the end of my time in Europe. Only sixteen days until I fly back to the States! Time has flown and that makes this post my second to last blog. Sadness! Anyway, here's what I've been up to since Barcelona!

WARSAW

All honesty, you could skip Warsaw and be a-okay-coolio beans. I only went to Warsaw because when I was looking for flights from Barcelona to either Kraków or Budapest I found that the cheapest flights would take me through Warsaw and that it would just be cheaper to fly directly to Warsaw and stay a couple of days there rather than fly to either Kraków or Budapest.

Because so much of it was destroyed during the Second World War, a lot of the history pre-WWII was also destroyed. I mostly stayed right by my hostel since I was close to a couple of main streets and shopping districts. The buildings are quite beautiful and the food is very cheap. 1 USD = (about) 4 zloty, just to keep in mind. I did see this street exhibition about the Warsaw Uprising, which was quite fascinating. Besides that I did not do much. It did not help matters that it poured one of the days I was there.

KRAKÓW

My time in Kraków was the polar opposite of my time in Warsaw. I freaking love Kraków, so much so that I extended my stay there by two nights. I stayed right in the city center by the main market in town (no literally, the street address to my hostel was Main Market Square). The market was ah-may-zing. I bought so many souvenirs and gifts there because so much of the art, jewelry, and clothes was hand made and crazy cheap. Plus there were food stands with stupid cheap food. I got a sausage and plate of seasoned potatoes for about $5 and it was insanely filling. I ate at the market for lunch and dinner every day.

I also explored the different areas around my hostel because the architecture is gorgeous and there are really cheap shops (I went into a boutique and bought a dress for a play I'm going to in London that cost 12€). There were several parks nearby where I would stop and people watch or read.

The main thing I did while in Kraków was go on a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The largest concentration camp complex of the Holocaust is located about an hour and a half away from Kraków and while it is free to get in, I highly recommend spending the money on a tour. Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau was one of the most incredible and horrible things I've ever done. I've studied the Holocaust and read first hand accounts of this camp and none of that prepared me for actually visiting. I left feeling a little bit like throwing up and a lot like crying.

The tour started in Auschwitz I which is fairly well preserved. It did not look anything like I expected a concentration camp to look like. There were many decent size brick buildings with courtyards and well kept lawns. If it weren't for the occasional gallows and barbed wire fences, you wouldn't guess it was part of the concentration complex that resulted in the deaths of the most people during the Holocaust. Many of the buildings have exhibits inside that you can view. You can see pictures of many of the people who arrived and see how long they survived. You can see all of the pots and pans that the Nazis confiscated from those deported there. The most jarring display, to me, was the hair. The Nazis would cut off long hair, especially from women, and sometimes use it to make clothes/textiles but there is a huge room in one of the buildings that contains several tons of hair that actually belonged to people who were in Auschwitz I (no recreations or replicas here). It was truly horrifying. Also in Auschwitz I you can walk through an old gas chamber and crematorium. It was sickening.

If I thought Auschwitz I was nauseating, it had nothing on Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Auschwitz I was more of a work camp while Auschwitz II-Birkenau was almost purely a death camp. There were four crematoria on the grounds of this part of the complex. When the Nazis found out the Soviets were closing in on the camp and would be liberating it soon, they destroyed the crematoria, leaving Auschwitz II-Birkenau to look much more like you'd expect a concentration camp to look like: squat buildings, high fences, sprawling fields, shielded from the outside world by trees. You could see the remains of one of the crematoria and walk through one of the barracks that people slept in. You could also see the railroad tracks that went through the camp, walk along the path those deported there would have to walk, and view the cattle car the people would be transported in. It was disgusting to say the least.

More than one million of the eleven million killed in the Holocaust were murdered in the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex. It's disturbing, sobering, and absolutely awful. No amount of reading, pictures, or studying will prepare you for it. But if you visit Kraków (and you absolutely should), do not miss visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau.

BUDAPEST

Budapest is a beautiful city. I didn't actually do much while I was there but there was plenty of options. I stayed in a hostel not far from the Opera house which is absolutely gorgeous. I spent the majority of my time just wandering around the neighborhoods near my hostel. That and eating yummy, cheap food. I did go walk near Castle Hill one day but did not walk through the actual district. I wish I would have done a little more but at the time I had been traveling for three months and had not really given myself time to relax and rejuvenate, which I badly needed.

Crazy story time: my bus left Budapest before seven in the morning. I had to get up before five am because I had to take two metros to get to the bus station. The bus station I was going to is connected to a metro station, but there's this weird area of no man's land in between the two. Because it was only 5:45 am, the metro had only been running for about an hour, there were no security guards like there normally are, and there were several homeless people sleeping along the edges. As I'm passing this area, two of the homeless guys started fighting. Then one of them, who was shirtless for some reason, turned back and all I could think was "he's going to grab a knife." Sure enough, he turns back around with a switchblade in his hand. At this point I hurry part them so as not to get caught in the middle of the fight. I get to the bus station still unable to believe I really just saw that. I knew my family would be awake because it was not quite eleven at night in Lincoln so I texted the group message I have with my parents and sister to tell them I was at the bus station and also what I had just witnessed. Well, apparently the wifi cut out before they responded. I thought I had made it clear that I was safe, but apparently that was not the case. Seven (yes SEVEN) hours later when I had wifi again, I had worried messages from my parental units. Sorry Mom and Dad! Needless to say, I will never be able to think of Budapest without thinking of this incident.

BRATISLAVA

The reason I was taking such an early bus was because of Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia). I had heard from many people that I didn't need to spend much time in Bratislava, so I decided to take the early us, get there in the morning, and then leave the next day. So I got to Bratislava around 9:30 in the morning, dropped my bags off at the hostel's luggage room, and went exploring. I spent some time wandering around city center and Old Town as well as reading in a park. I basically saw anything I wanted to see and left the next day at noon.

VIENNA

Vienna is a very beautiful city, but is more expensive than many of the nearby major cities, so I stuck with my game plan of wandering around the areas near my hostel to save money. I stayed by one of the main train stations and near that is one of the city's main shopping districts so I just walked around there for the two days I was in Vienna. I did try to find Schönbrunn Palace because it was like a mile from where I was staying but I walked for awhile and never found it so I turned back.

PRAGUE

Prague is amazing! It's gorgeous and so cheap! My hostel was a little ways from city center but about a ten or so minute walk to the river. I spent quite a bit of time walking along the river and near my hostel. I also met some really amazing people and we spent one day walking to Prague Castle and into Old Town. We walked 22,000 steps that day! Old Town is so cool and it houses the astronomical clock. My hostel had a small bar in the basement with cheap drinks and that led to several nights spent meeting people, playing cards, or just talking over a beer or cider. Overall I had a wonderful, fun filled time.

MUNICH

I really enjoyed Munich. I stayed about fifteen minutes from Marienplatz, the main area in town. There are tons of shops, restaurants, cafes, and markets in the area and I had so much fun exploring the whole district. The food in Munich was fantastic. My favorite? Beer-battered apples with cinnamon and sugar. I may or may not have had them three times. I also had quite possibly the most German meal imaginable: two different types of sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes with onions, fried bacon, brown bread, and mustard. The only thing that could have made it more German would have been beer, but I had that for lunch and while it is extremely common to have beer with lunch in Europe, especially Germany, it still seemed a little too early in the day for that.

Now it's down to the final four cities of my trip: Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London. So far my time in Europe has been absolutely incredible and I have high hopes for the last bit of my trip!

Photos: Eastern Europe

hayleythenomad — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 23:02:00 GMT

Goodbye to Northern Europe!

hayleythenomad — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 07:04:00 GMT

I've now spent over two weeks in Northern Europe (and Barcelona) and I'm loving it! It's been a great reprieve from the intense heat and sun of Southern Europe that I battled for nearly two months. I have found that Northern Europe is much more similar to the United States than the southern part. Most people speak English fluently (to the point that I felt a bit ridiculous thanking people in their native language - something I always did in the south). While there definitely are distinct cultures, customs, and practices in the north, they are more familiar. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved Southern Europe (aside from how hot it was!). The food was incredible, the people were friendly (for the most part), the cultures were fascinating. This is a comparison of the two, not a criticism of Southern Europe!

STOCKHOLM

Oh. My. Goodness. If Barcelona was my first love, then Stockholm is my second love. I quite honestly cannot believe that Stockholm is for real. The skies and waters are so blue and clear, the clouds are white and fluffy, trees/shrubbery is vibrantly green, the architecture is gorgeous, and the food is delicious. How can one city have so much going for it?

My days in Stockholm were very relaxed. I spent the majority of my time in Gamla Stan (Old Town). It has narrow cobblestone streets that run between old colorful buildings housing souvenir shops, boutiques, cafes, and restaurants. In the area you will find picture perfect churches and buildings. I literally spent hours walking down every street, looking into different shops and looking at the menus of the different restaurants. While you're there (or Stockholm in general you need to try the typical Swedish dish of Swedish meatballs in cream sauce, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumbers, and lingonberries. Unless it's an international restaurant, I guarantee that they will have that meal. I grew up eating Swedish meatballs and love them, but the ones I've eaten in the United States - even in Ikea - can't compete with Swedish meatballs in Sweden (sorry Mom and Grandma!). I may or may not have had Swedish meatballs three times while in Stockholm.

If you get the chance, walk along Hornstull Strand. There is a big park and walking path right along the waterfront. The pictures I took there look like they were professionally taken (if I do say so myself) but they have literally no filter on them! On Sundays there's a small market nearby that is like a mixture of a flea and craft market that has a wide variety of food trucks at the end. I spent a couple of hours just walking along the waterfront. You'll see people jogging with their dogs, pushing babies in strollers, riding their bikes, swimming, tanning, walking with friends, and sitting on benches reading. It's so peaceful and gorgeous and idyllic. There's also an outdoor gym at the park which is really cool.

If you like museums, Stockholm has got you covered. I didn't have the money to see all of the ones I wanted to see, but I am definitely planning on going back to see them. There's the ABBA Museum, Spirit Museum (like alcohol spirits, not ghost spirits), Nordiska Museet (Nordic history), Vasamuseet (where there's a really big ship), and the Nobel Museum, just to name a few. The only museum I went to was Skansen, the world's first open-air museum. For my Nebraska friends, think of Living History Farms in Des Moines. It was super interesting with the buildings not being replicas, but being buildings that had one time been used and then transported to Skansen to showcase the Swedish ways of life. There is even a zoo with Nordic animals! It was a lot of fun even if it was mostly families. At the end there is a little market where you can buy traditional Swedish crafts and foods (bear jerky anyone?). It is right by Nordiska Museet and Vasamuseet.

Stockholm was absolutely amazing and I totally encourage y'all to visit if you ever get the opportunity. It is tied with Barcelona for my favorite city I've visited (and that is a surprising statement coming from me because I fell head over heels in love with Barcelona).

BERLIN

Berlin is a bit of a confusing city. It's all at once gritty and glamorous, historic and cutting edge, industrial and modern. You can't really put Berlin in a box and from what I could see, its residents prefer it that way. At first I wasn't super impressed with Berlin (although I'll be the first to admit it's probably because no city was going to measure up well immediately following Stockholm), but the more time I spent there, the more I liked it.

Berlin basically has three city centers: the historic center, the West Side center, and the East Side center. I spent most of my time in or near the historic center. There was always a lot going on, so it was prime for people watching, and there was a street fair right outside the metro station so I got to eat quite a bit of food for cheap!

There are a couple things that I recommend you do if you visit Berlin. Spend some time in the area of Brandenburger Tor. It's a recognizable landmark a ways from the historic center. Right next to it is the Holocaust Memorial. I definitely recommend that you go there. It's quite incredible to look at but what surprised me is that the main part of the memorial is not nearly as somber as I expected. It's poignant and thought provoking, but not somber. There are several parts to the memorial in the area that you can check out. There is also a beautiful park that is super relaxing.

I also recommend you spend some time at Museuminsel (Museum Island). This district is home to five museums. You can visit them individually or you can get a museum pass. If you plan on seeing more than one, it makes more sense, financially, to get the museum pass. I went to the Altes Museum, which houses art and archaeological finds from the Romans, Etruscans, and Greeks. I also went to the Neues Museum, which is the Egyptian Museum.

There are many other museums, galleries, and districts to visit. I did not visit as much as I had planned because it was rainy and kind of cold while I was there. But even so, I saw some wonderful things, so I can't complain!

AMSTERDAM

If you're interested in canals, I'd recommend Amsterdam over Venice. I wasn't sure how i was going to find Amsterdam. I had heard a wide range of stories and thoughts about the city, ranging from wonderful to mediocre to crazy, but I really liked it! It was chilly and rainy the day I was there, but I still had fun. There is an almost overwhelming amount of museums you can visit and because I'm on a budget I visited exactly zero of them, but I'd like to return one day to visit many of them. I saw the Anne Frank House, but did not go inside. I walked around a couple of the main plazas and squares in the city.

But the best thing I did was take a canal cruise. It was 10€ for an hour long tour. The captain of my boat was really funny and interesting. We went all throughout the city, from the main train station to the Red Light District. I learned about the history and culture of the city and it was absolutely fascinating.

BRUSSELS

Even more so than Amsterdam, I heard mixed reviews of Brussels before I went. It seemed people either love the city or recommend going elsewhere in Belgium (like Bruges or Antwerp); there really was no in between.

Like Amsterdam, I only had one full day in Brussels. It was also cold and rainy that day. I didn't really want to spend money on museums or tours or anything, so I just went to this area called Grand Place that has beautiful buildings, shopping, and lots of food. I highly recommend spending a couple of hours in the area. Because it was cold and rainy, that's the only place I really went in the city.

I spent my day in Brussels basically eating my way through the city. Belgium is known for its frites/chips/French fries (whatever you prefer to call them), chocolate, waffles, and beer. I had three of those four things. I started with getting some fries at one of the stands. I talked about these shops in my post on northern Italy, and you'll find these shops all over Italy, but especially in Amsterdam and Brussels. I stopped by several chocolatiers. Many will give you free samples, so take advantage of that. I ended up getting some chocolate covered strawberries at one of them. Then I got a Belgian waffle topped with strawberries and Belgian chocolate. I finished my day of eating in Brussels by getting a lookwurst. I may not have done much in Brussels, but I sure ate well that day!

PARIS

Man, oh man, Paris is magical. It really, truly is an incredible city. The first day in Paris I window shopped along Champs-Elysee. It's a huge street filled with shops and cafes. One of the streets of the main avenue is lined with designer stores. I walked along it and gazed longingly at Elie Saab (my all time favorite designer), Jimmy Choo, Celine, Valentino, among many other high end designers. I did not go inside any of the stores, however, since some of their clothes and accessories cost more than my entire trip. Besides, Loft jeans and an Old Navy tank don't exactly scream, "Hi, I'm here to drop $500 on a pair of gorgeous heels." Along Champs-Elysee itself there are more reasonably priced shops, like Zara and H&M. I recommend that you stop in Laduree, the famous maker of macarons. You can buy a box of six macarons of your choice, which is what I got. I chose cherry, rum vanilla, salted caramel, chocolate, lemon, and peach.

After I got back from window shopping, I spent some time walking around my hostel. I stayed a little ways from city center but my hostel was right on one of the canals, which was really cool. There was some sort of fair or celebration going on along the canal and although it appeared to mostly be families with young kids, I checked it out briefly. It was relaxing and fun.

My second day I started at the Louvre. I knew it was a large museum but it is so much bigger than I anticipated. It's absolutely massive. I almost got my 10,000 steps in for the day while I visited! As I have previously mentioned, I am not a huge fan of art museums; I much prefer history or archaeology. That being said, I loved the Louvre. It has a wide variety of art mediums, from paintings to sculptures to furniture to ceramics. While I did make sure that I saw the Mona Lisa, it by far was not my favorite part of my visit.

If you, like me, are not as interested in paintings, I have some recommendations of what to see while there. The gallery of Near East (that is, Middle East) antiquities is wonderful and fascinating. The Egyptian gallery was beautiful set up (are you sensing a theme here?). But I had two absolute favorite exhibits. First, there is an area dedicated to art from Africa, Asia, the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, etc.), and the Americas. There really weren't paintings so much as hand crafted masks and statues and jewelry. It was intriguing and gorgeous. Second, Napoleon III's apartments. This area is lavish and opulent and ostentatious. I loved it. There's an abundance of spectacular chandeliers, plush furniture, gold accents, and stunning artwork. Surprisingly, the Louvre ended up being my favorite part of my time in Paris.

After the Louvre I went to the Eiffel Tower. To be honest, unless you want to pay the money to go up, you really don't need to go there. You can get better pictures from other parts of the city, simply because it is such a massive structure. Going right by the Eiffel Tower is like going right by the Washington Monument in DC - it's too big to get a good picture. But, there are a lot of stands selling food, crafts, and souvenirs which was fun to look through.

My last day in Paris was only a partial day. I took an overnight bus to Barcelona that night, so I had a few hours to kill before I left to catch my bus (which I almost missed. More on that in a minute). So, I decided to do a little more sightseeing. I first went to see the Notre Dame. I did not go inside because the line was so long but I did take some beautiful pictures and admire the building. Then I walked around in that area and took some gorgeous pictures of the river. Afterwards I went to see Sacre Coeur. Again, I did not go in but took some pictures and looked around nearby. By that time it was time for me to head back to my hostel where I had stored my bags and grab some dinner. The hostel I stayed at had a sport bar attached to it and hostel guests got 25% off their meal, which was great. Most of their menu was pretty American but they did have one traditionally French dish: Croque Monsieur. It's a grilled ham and cheese sandwich topped with a kind of cheesy sauce. It becomes Croque Madame if it's topped with a fried egg (which is how I had it). It's not super different from something you could get in the States but the difference is that it typically uses European cheeses which have a richer flavor. I recommend that you try that, crepes, and pastries while in Paris.

Now, story time! I mentioned I almost missed my bus to Barcelona. That's not an exaggeration. I left my hostel almost two hours before the bus was supposed to leave. I got to the general area and literally could not find the bus station. I spent over an hour looking for it and was getting super frustrated. Bus has been my main mode of transportation between cities during this trip because it's so cheap. So far I have taken 22 buses (not including city buses), so I am well aquatinted with bus stations of many types but I did not see anything that looked like a bus station. Finally I saw a smallish sign with the busline I was using next to what looked like an industrial garage. Guess what it was? If you guessed the bus station, give yourself a cookie. I see my bus and was then told that I need to check in downstairs, which is something I had literally never had to do up until that point. I finally get checked in and the bus driver has to reopen the luggage hatch so I can put my backpack in. I find an empty row (because a family moved closer together so I wouldn't be squished against a stranger) at the back of the bus and sat down. I looked at my phone. 6:59. My bus was scheduled to leave at 7:00. I had basically sprinted from check in to the bus so my throat was sore and I hadn't had a chance to buy a bottled water. But luckily we stopped three times on the way to Barcelona for people to stretch, use the restroom and get food (at 8:30, midnight, and 3:30 in the morning). It was a fourteen hour bus ride. I slept a little but it was only for an hour or so at a time and was super restless. By the time we arrived in Barcelona, my back hurt, my neck hurt, and for some reason my knees hurt. Needless to say, despite arriving in Barcelona at 9 AM, I did literally nothing that day.

BARCELONA (Round 2)

My second foray into Barcelona (my one true love) was very laid back. The day after I arrived there I was still pretty tired (even though I went to sleep before midnight - something I haven't done since Portugal), so I relaxed at the hostel for a bit before going to Sagrada Familia. This is Gaudi's famous unfinished cathedral. I didn't pay to go inside (again, sensing a pattern?) but the view from outside is spectacular. I also spent awhile walking around in the area. I called it a day around mid afternoon and went back to my hostel to relax.

My second full day in Barcelona didn't start until around noon. I knew I was going to be up late that night so I didn't want to be too tired. I went back to La Boqueria and continued my quest to eat my way through the market. I ate ham croquettes, which were good but we're cold - they would have tasted better warm. Up next were mini cured sausages, which were quite tasty. Following the sausages was a huge slice of cheese pizza. The pizza wasn't as good as what I had in Naples but was still delicious cheesy goodness. I wandered by the same crepe place I went to last time and couldn't resist, so I got a cheese, tomato, and black olive crepe. I finished my eating with an Oreo macaron ice cream sandwich. I walked along La Rambla, the street La Boqueria is off of. I spent a little time there the first time I was in the city, but spent more time there this time around.

That night was what has so far been the highlight of my trip: the FC Barcelona game. Barça is my favorite professional soccer (football) team. If you don't know much about the sport except for watching the World Cup, Barça is the team that Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez (yes the one that bit another player in the 2014 World Cup) play for. The game was the second leg of the Spanish Super Copa final against Sevilla. Series that are played in legs like this are decided on aggregate (meaning a team could lose one game but win the other game by more than they lost by and thus win the series). Barça had played at Sevilla three days before and had won 2-0 so unless they lost the game I went to by three goals, they were going to be Super Copa champions. Instead they won 3-0 so it wasn't a concern!

The game was so much fun. I didn't get to see all of the main players play because a lot of them were being rested since the regular season begins soon, Neymar was in Brazil for the Olympics, and one of my all time favorite players (whose jersey I have), Iniesta, had gotten hurt in the first leg of the series and was unable to play. But I'm not complaining, because I still got to see one of the sport's all time greatest players play. Messi is spectacular to watch. I've seen him play on TV many, many times but that doesn't even compare to seeing him play in person. It's simply amazing.

I spent quite a bit of money on my ticket but it was worth every penny. I was on the teams' side of the pitch and was only about 10-15 rows from field. I could see the players' faces and the abs of the Sevilla players' sweat-soaked white jerseys, and could hear the coaches yelling. It was also really awesome because this was a lower stakes game, a lot of the players who played were younger or the players who were just signed during the recent transfer period, so we're being given a chance to show what they can do. Camp Nou, Barça's stadium, seats just under 100,000 and even though it was definitely not filled to capacity, it was loud and passionate and full of pride for the team. Camp Nou is absolutely one of meccas of sports in the world. One day I plan to go watch El Clasico (the game against Real Madrid, the team Cristiano Ronaldo plays for and Barça's biggest rival) at Camp Nou - I cannot imagine how incredible that would be. All in all it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

The game did not even start until 11 o'clock at night. I chose a hostel that was within a 5-10 minute walk of the stadium since I knew it would be a late game. Since they won a trophy it was an even longer night and I didn't get back to the hostel until around 1:30 AM. I was so amped up after the game I didn't fall asleep until close to three. Knowing that, I slept in and planned for another low key day.

I went to Park Guell, Gaudi's park. There are two parts to the park: the free area and the monuments zone. If you really love architecture, it's probably worth the money to enter the monuments zone. As it is, I don't regret buying the ticket, but if I were to do it again, I wouldn't have. There's plenty to see in the free area and you can still see some of the buildings in the monuments zone, you just can't go inside them. If you do want to go into the monuments zone, I recommend buying your ticket online. For me it was actually 1€ cheaper than buying at the park and you can pick from available time slots ahead of time. Try to go in the morning. You'll thank yourself. When I was choosing my times, I had the option of 8 AM or the afternoon. There was no way I was going to be getting up for the eight o'clock time slot after staying up late for the game the night before, so I had to settle for the afternoon and it was really warm and sunny with little breeze.

I am sorry for the delay between posts! I meant to post after Amsterdam or Brussels but did t have much written by the time I would have posted so decided to lump these six cities since I'll be in Eastern Europe for about three or four weeks. I can't wait to see what Poland has in store for me!

Photos: Amsterdam + Brussels

hayleythenomad — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:13:00 GMT

Photos: Germany

hayleythenomad — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 06:00:00 GMT

Photos: Stockholm

hayleythenomad — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 05:44:00 GMT

Photos: Athens

hayleythenomad — Mon, 1 Aug 2016 04:41:00 GMT

Hej från Sverige (Hello from Sweden)

hayleythenomad — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 04:24:00 GMT

It's goodbye Southern Europe and hello Northern Europe! With the exception of returning to Barcelona in a few weeks, I finished up my time in the south with Rome, Naples, and Athens.

ROME

Rome is a cool city, no doubt, but if I'm being honest, I was kind of...underwhelmed, I guess. It's a huge city and there's a ton of history, which is awesome, but again, in the spirit of honesty, I was kind of bored. I was there three full days and really did not need all that time. BUT with all that being said, I am glad that I went because I saw some amazing things.

Throughout my blog posts I've offered y'all several pieces of advice and I am sure I will continue to do so. However, if you are only going to follow two pieces of my advice, let it be what I'm about to say. First, do NOT go to Rome during the summer, especially July, if you can help it. It's in the nineties pretty much everyday, it's humid, and there's almost no breeze or shade, plus there are thousands of tourists crammed together. It is not pleasant. Second, although it is possible, do NOT try to see all of Rome's famous landmarks in one day. Your legs and feet will hate you. I'm not speaking from experience or anything...or maybe I am

I spent ten hours during my last day sightseeing. I walked over 18,000 steps that day. I saw the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, a small glimpse of the Vatican, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza del Popolo, and Piazza Navona. The only thing I didn't see was the Pantheon and that was mostly because I simply could not find it. Not for lack of trying, however. But eventually I gave up because it was getting late and my legs and feet were aching.

In many cities in Europe you'll see hop on/hop off bus tours. Basically you pay for a period of time of your choice and they have stops by the major attractions. I was never willing to spend the money on one but decided to try it in Rome. One more piece of advice: don't waste your money. Instead of paying 21€ for a 24-hour bus pass, pay 7€ for a 24-hour metro pass. The metro is kind of dirty but it will take you to basically all of the major attractions and there are more of them.

Overall, I enjoyed my time in Rome, but not nearly as much as I thought I would.

NAPLES

Oh man, where do I begin with Naples? Naples differs drastically from Northern Italy (not so much from Rome but from Florence, Venice, etc.). The north is very cosmopolitan, stylish, expensive, and artistic. Naples is more laid back, historic, cheap, and electric.

I've stayed in a lot of hostels during my time in Europe. Some of them have been good, some have been just okay, and some I would not recommend. But until Naples, there weren't any that I would seriously recommend. I loved my hostel in Naples and if anyone is ever traveling there I would seriously recommend it. It is called 6 Small Rooms and is located right off Via Toledo. The amenities themselves are okay, but the real draw is the atmosphere. Hostels can really make or break your experience in a city, and atmosphere is one of the biggest contributors, especially if you're traveling alone, like me. If a hostel doesn't have a common/living area, it can be hard to meet people and be social. At 6 Small Rooms, basically everyone spends their free time in the living are or kitchen and because of that I met a ton of awesome, interesting people. The hostel is run mostly by people in their twenties who either live at the hostel or nearby and when they're not working, a lot of times they'll take guests out into the city. For instance, one night a bunch of us hiked up this huge hill to a castle go see Naples at dusk. Then we all hung out, getting to know each other and just having fun. Two of the nights one of their frequent guests cooked dinner for everybody.

I did do more things then just hang out at the hostel, however. The first day I went to the National Archaeology Museum and walked along Via Toledo, the main shopping district in Naples. To be honest, as much as I love archaeology museums, I was pretty underwhelmed by the one in Naples. It had some cool and interesting displays but it was not worth the price. The second day I walked around near city center and the waterfront. I do recommend doing that. It's not far from Via Toledo and has beautiful architecture and gorgeous views of the coast. My last day I went to Pompeii. I was really incredible. It's so much bigger and better preserved than I had imagined. If you go to Pompeii (which was, incredibly, cheaper than the National Archaeology Museum) do not forget to bring water! It gets really hot and there is very little shade. There are fountains throughout the complex with drinkable water to refill your water bottles. Plan on spending most of the day there because the complex is huge.

No matter what you see while in Naples, you must do one thing: eat pizza. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and it's obvious. If you want Naples style pizza there are only three things on it: mozzarella, tomato sauce, and basil (margherita). It's absolutely delicious and crazy cheap. I don't think I ever paid more than 5€ for a whole pizza. Oh yeah, that's the other thing, you get a whole pizza for yourself. Seriously, do yourself a favor and eat as much pizza as you can.

ATHENS

My stay in Athens had a bit of a rough start. I got up on my last day in Naples and took a bus to Bari, which is a city on Italy's eastern coast. I went to check in for my ferry, only to find out that there had been a mixup in the booking process and I didn't have a seat reserved. Luckily they still had seats available and I could buy one right there. Then I had to wait three hours for boarding to begin and another three hours for the ferry to depart. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have splurged and booked a cabin. But, since I'm on a budget I just booked a seat in the air seat gallery which is just a room with aircraft style seats. That wasn't a big deal in the evening when I was reading a book or walking around the ship, but it was highly uncomfortable to sleep there (the ferry ride was fifteen hours long). Then we got to Patras, Greece around midday the next day and I had to take another bus, this time to Athens. By the time I got to my hostel in Athens, I had basically been traveling for the better part of two days.

But once I got to Athens it was amazing. I had really cool roommates and I stayed in another great hostel. It was a five minute walk to the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum. There were two locations, both within about three minutes of each other. My location had a sports bar and restaurant and the other location had a rooftop bar with views of the Acropolis.

I was only in Athens a couple of days, so most of what I did was Acropolis related. Unlike in Rome where I did not go inside the Colosseum or Roman Forum (because I could see so much of it from the outside without having to deal with thousands of other tourists), I did go into the Acropolis. It's seriously amazing. There is some construction on the Pantheon but that doesn't make it any less amazing. On top of the gorgeous architecture and fascinating history of the Acropolis, it also offers stupendous views of the city.

While I was in Athens, I tried three staples: gyros, yogurt, and ouzo. If you're in Athens you have to try a gyro. There are different types of meat to choose from, but the most common are chicken and lamb. I had chicken. It's a pita filled with meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, French fries, and tzatzaki sauce which is a cucumber-yogurt sauce. Gyros are delicious and filling and super cheap (I paid just over 2€ for mine). You also must try yogurt. I don't know about y'all, but there's something about the texture of Greek yogurt sold in stores in the States that I cannot get on board with. But the yogurt I had there was incredible. I tried a sample at the yogurt shop and then got a smoothie made from it along with pineapple, mango, and local honey. I would take a hard pass on ouzo. It's disgusting. It is a licorice flavored liquor that is on every single menu you will find in Athens. Do. Not. Try it.

Now I'm on to Northern Europe. I've loved my time in the south, but I'm ready for more moderate temperatures!

Photos: Italy

hayleythenomad — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 04:49:00 GMT

Bonjorno Rome!

hayleythenomad — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 02:07:00 GMT

Normally I keep my posts upbeat, but I wanted to start this one off with a little bit about the Nice tragedy. Some of y'all may have seen my Facebook post so you know that I was in Nice in the same location as the attack just seventy two hours earlier. You also know how close I came to actually being there that night. But it was weird finding out about it. I heard about just five or so minutes after it happened. I was in my room at the hostel in Genoa, where I was just staying for that night. There was another girl in the room with me and we had been talking earlier but had gone back to doing our own thing. All of a sudden she just exclaims, "Holy shit!" I asked her what was up and she told me that she had been talking on FaceTime with her brother, who works on a boat in Cannes (which is right by Nice), and he had been watching the fireworks and he had told her what just happened. At first, I just felt shock, you know? Like, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had just been in that exact spot three days prior. And then I came to realize how I was almost in Nice that night and how undoubtedly I would have gone to the beach to watch the fireworks. Then I realized that three days earlier I had seen a sign about the festivities for Bastille Day and had wished that I was going to be there for them. The night I found out about the attack, I honestly didn't think much of it, as terrible as that sounds. At the time there were no numbers of the dead and wounded and it was unclear if the attack was malicious or if someone had had too much to drink and got behind the wheel of a car. It wasn't until I was on the bus the next morning and reading about the attack that it really sunk in and then I couldn't get it out of my mind. I am so grateful that I was not there, but knowing how close I came to experiencing the horror firsthand makes me grieve those who died that much harder.

ANYWAY, on to happier, more fun things! I have spent the past week in Northern Italy. It's absolutely gorgeous, but also expensive. I hope one day to be able to come back and do Northern Italy right: wine tastings, going into the mountains, Lake Como, Cinque Terre (not really Northern Italy, but since I'm including Florence in the region, Cinque Terre can be included), gondola ride in Venice, Milan shopping. But, since I am on a budget I had to limit my time in the area.

TURIN

I had so much fun in Turin! This city, while large, is not as well known as many of the other cities in Italy. My dad has done business with a company here and one of the people he knows, Monica, offered to let me stay at her house. It was so great! The first night she made a homemade dinner (please picture the heart eyes emoji here). She made carbonara, chicken, and grilled eggplant with oil and Parmesan. We also had Russian salad, figs grown in their backyard, wine, and ice cream. It was amazing.

She has a daughter that is Shelby's age (20). Sara, her daughter, spent the two days I was there showing me around. It was so awesome being shown around by someone who really knows and loves the city. Since I didn't have anything I really wanted to see or do, we went to the places Sara thought I should see.

The first day I took a bus from Nice to Turin. I met Monica and Sara at the bus station. Monica took my bags and Sara and I set off to see Turin. We walked all over the place. We mostly walked around the main square and that area. At one point we met up with one of her friends. Between the two of them, I got a lot of really interesting history and information on the different squares, statues, and buildings we passed. After awhile we naturally went for gelato. The place we went had really interesting flavors. I got two flavors: lemon with basil and mango with ginger. It was super refreshing. Not long after that Sara and I needed to catch the bus back to her town (they live in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Turin).

The second day we slept in and took the later morning bus into Turin. We met up with her boyfriend and went to this really interesting sandwich shop. The sandwiches are made in a bunch of different ingredient combinations. They're actually half-sandwiches: a slice of bread is cut diagonally and filled with various ingredients. They have a meal special where you can pick two. I got a standard ham, tomato, and lettuce. Then I got one with ham, mozzarella, and oregano. Side note: the sandwich was made with fresh mozzarella, not the mozzarella you probably get if you buy it shredded or in a block or in string cheese form from the grocery store - it tastes so much better than that. With the meal we also got a bottle of water and these crunchy sweet cookie snacks. We took our lunches to a nearby park and found a bench near the river.

Afterwards we went to the Egyptian Museum. I heard from multiple sources that this is the second best Egyptian museum in the world, behind the one that's actually in Egypt. It was fantastic. All of the signs are in both Italian and English. Plus, you get an audio guide with your ticket and there are at least a dozen language options. Everything was well displayed and informative. The real show stopper is at the end: The Gallery of Kings. It's dark and imposing and breathtaking. I can't really adequately describe it but I did include a picture in my album to sort of give you a sense of what it looks like.

When we finished with the Egyptian Museum, Sara's boyfriend had to leave but we continued on. We then went to the National Cinema Museum, which I probably wouldn't have gone to if I had visited Turin on my own, but I'm glad I went! It's very interactive and interesting. We probably spent a couple of hours pressing buttons and looking into cameras and learning about the history and process of cinema. This museum is housed under the Mole, which is a recognizable symbol of the city. At the end of our museum exploration we took the lift to the top of the Mole. You can just buy a ticket for the lift if you don't want to go to the museum (I'm pretty sure). Go up to the top of the Mole. Seriously. The views are gorgeous. You can see the whole city and the river and the mountains.

We left the museum right before it closed and met Sara's boyfriend and another of her friends for pizza. Oh. My. Goodness. It was sooooooo good. I technically got focaccia which doesn't have tomato sauce (and come to think of it, I don't think it had cheese). It was called Focaccia Bruschetta. It had fresh tomatoes, basil, oregano, oil, and sea salt. We finished the evening by going to get gelato. This time I had lemon (not with basil this time) and peach.

I was sad to leave, but I needed to continue on. I had planned on going to Milan next but because I wasn't sure how long I was going to be in Turin, I didn't start looking for a hostel until midnight the day I was leaving. And because of that, I only found a couple of hostels that were pretty expensive. Since there wasn't anything in Milan I really wanted to do, I just decided to skip it. But it wasn't going to work for me to go straight to Venice, which was the next stop after Milan. I found a cheap train to Genoa and a fairly cheap hostel and spent one night there before moving on to Venice.

VENICE

I only actually spent one night in Venice because hostels are super duper expensive, but unlike Milan, I actually wanted to see Venice. My bus drives around 4:30 in the afternoon and I had to take a boat to my hostel because it was on an island across the Grand Canal from Venice. Obviously in Venice proper, you can drive around, but honestly the easiest way to navigate the area is by boat. You can take a water taxi that holds maybe half a dozen people or you can ride a vaporetto which is kind of like their city bus only in boat form. There was a stop like two blocks from my hostel so I needed to take it anyway but decided it would be easier to take to the main area, walk around a little bit, and then go to my hostel. The trip through the Grand Canal is not particularly short (expect it to take at least half an hour depending on where you get on and off) but you get to see all of the main buildings and the views are beautiful. I spent probably two or three hours riding the boat and walking around a little bit along the canal.

FLORENCE

I only had one full day in Florence, which is unfortunate. The major thing I did there was go to the Galleria dell'Accademia. Normally I'm not a big fan of art museums but this museum houses one of the most famous sculptures in the world: Michelangelo's David. That's literally the only reason I went. If you like Renaissance art, this is a great museum for you, but I don't particularly care one way or the other so I was in the museum for a grand total of twenty minutes. Even with buying my tickets online (which makes the wait shorter) I waited to get in longer than I was actually in the museum. But, with that being said, David was very impressive. I don't know why but I didn't expect him to be so...large. Get your mind out of the gutter! That's not what I meant. Well, not entirely. The statue was so much taller than I thought it was going to be and with its prominent display, it's definitely eye catching and worth the entrance fee.

Walk then minutes away from the Galleria and you'll come across the Duomo. In fact you'll see it long before you come upon it. I didn't go inside but the exterior is exquisite. It's huge and ornate and gorgeous. I spent most of my time in Florence walking around that general area because that's where my hostel was. There are tons of shops and restaurant and cafes.

I ate quite well in Florence. I had gelato a couple of times, of course. I highly recommend you go to the gelato place I went to. It's in Piazza de San Marco, the square right by the Galleria dell'Accademia. It only has a sign that says "Gelateria" and I included a picture of the sign since I can't give you more details about its name. They have limoncello gelato and their peach gelato tastes exactly like you're eating a peach. I also went to this French fry place a couple of times. I've seen similar shops several times in Italy. All they sell are French fries and beverages. You pick the size of the order of French fries you want and what sauce you want on top. I had barbecue one time and curry sauce one time. The second time I went my French fries came with a side order of being asked out. So that happened....

I also stumbled upon the Magnum ice cream store. The best part is you can customize your own ice cream bar. You start by choosing whether you want a vanilla or chocolate ice cream bar. I chose you can choose up to three toppings. I chose caramel popcorn pieces, pretzel pieces, and brownie bites. Then they dip the ice cream bar in your choice of white, milk, or dark chocolate (I chose dark) and they top your dipped ice cream with your chosen toppings. Finally you can choose which of the three types of chocolate you want your bar drizzled in. I chose milk chocolate. It was fantastic!

My time in Northern Italy was a lot of fun! Italy is a gorgeous, amazing country with delicious food. I am so excited to see what Rome and Naples have in store for me!

Hello France, Goodbye France

hayleythenomad — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 06:50:00 GMT

So far I have been traveling for a little over a month and during that time I have met so many awesome, interesting people from all over the world. Almost every one of them has talked about that one city that they've visited that they could picture themselves living in. I have heard places from Lisbon to Berlin. I've liked a lot of the cities I've visited but with MAYBE the exception of Sevilla, I've never really had that feeling. Until now. I am head over heels in love with Barcelona. I absolutely, 100% could see myself living there.

BARCELONA

I was only there for two full days because I'll be back in Barcelona for four or five days in August for an FC Barcelona game (coincidentally it's against Sevilla). But my two days were amazing. Aside from the crappy wifi, I liked my hostel. It was near some great museums and attractions and like two blocks from a metro station. I really didn't do much except for explore the city near my hostel because most of the things I want to see and do are a little ways away from my hostel and I'll have time for it during Barcelona Round 2.

My first full day was spent attempting to find Mercat de la Boqueria. This is an awesome market that is quite famous. If you go to Barcelona you have to visit La Boqueria. The directions I had to the market weren't great so I ended up walking around the neighborhood surrounding it for quite a while before stumbling on the market. La Boqueria is an awesome mix of food stalls and restaurant booths. I absolutely blew my food budget for the day at the market. Basically every produce stall has fresh squeezed fruit juice. It generally costs 1.50€. I had orange-mango, pineapple-mango, and raspberry-mango juice (I would have never thought of combining raspberries and mangos but it was delicious!). Most of the produce stalls also have fresh fruit cups. You can buy fruit, vegetables, bread, meat, seafood, cheese, and candies at the dozens of food stalls. But let's not forget the restaurants. There was a Latin American takeaway place where I got battered sausage and cheese on a stick. There were also these weird burrito cones that looked delicious. I had a cone of kettle cooked potato chips topped with iberico ham. I also had a bacon, cheese, and tomato crepe. There were so many other things I wanted to try!

My second day I went to the Archaeology Museum of Catalunya. If you don't know, Catalunya is the region in Spain where Barcelona is located. While most regions have a lot of pride, Catalunya goes above and beyond that. I heard Catalan spoken as much if not more than Spanish. Most signs were in Catalan first and Spanish second. The Catalan flag is displayed everywhere. But the big thing that sets Catalunya apart is that there is a very real desire by many Catalans to separate from Spain to create an independent state (this has been an ongoing issue). Anyway, moving on from the history lesson. The museum was fascinating but the signs were all in Catalan and Spanish. I spent awhile there and then walked around the nearby area. I don't know if it's actually called this, but I consider the area the museum district because the are about a dozen museums and theatres in the area. One of the most beautiful is the National Art Museum of Catalunya. It's up on top of a pretty steep hill, but good news! There are escalators to take you up (but not down). Even if you, like me, don't go to the art museum, still go to the top because the building itself is beautiful and you will have gorgeous views of Barcelona. Going down the other side of the museum will take you to a cool fountain that apparently does light shows at night.

Obviously I love Barcelona and I cannot wait to tell y'all about my adventures there in Barcelona Round 2!

MARSEILLE

Marseille is a beautiful city, especially if you are down by the port. I stayed in Vieux Port, about three blocks from the harbor. There are literally dozens, if not hundreds of bars and restaurants near the harbor. Fair warning though: France is very expensive. I don't just mean with lodging (although I did pay 15€ more per night for Marseille and Nice than I did in Spain) and transportation, though. I went to a supermarket and spent three times as much for the same things I had bought in Spain. I went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch my one full day there and spent 25€ on a cocktail and a quesadilla. The burgers there were almost 20€ alone and it was not as if the Hard Rock was an anomaly. I looked at the menus of at least a dozen different restaurants and the prices were all crazy expensive.

Also, another heads up: most people will only speak French. Yes, that seems obvious. And yes, it makes sense. But unlike in Portugal and Spain where they often have the English translation on signs/menus/maps and where people are willing to speak to you in English, that is not the case in France (or at least what I've encountered). Menus are all in French, signs are all in French, taxi drivers and servers basically only speak French. I, on the other hand, do not speak French. I know how to say hello, please, and thank you. Oh, and excuse me. That's all I got. So there was a lot of pointing and miming. But it's not a big deal.

I did have a wonderful time in Marseille however. Although, that had less to do with the plethora of things to do in Marseille (that is sarcasm - there are not many attractions in Marseille aside from tours and day trips) and more to do with meeting some really awesome people in my hostel. I've been really lucky because I have had some super interesting and fun roommates during my travels through Europe. So far I have met people from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Korea, Canada, the US, Australia, and New Zealand. It has been amazing meeting these different people and hearing their stories.

NICE (and Monaco)

The Côte d'Azur (or at least the two places I visited) is absolutely beautiful. I really did not spend a lot of time in Nice. I had one full day there and mostly spent it in Monaco. Monaco is incredibly beautiful. There is plenty to see but you could easily visit in one day like I did. It's a twenty minute train ride from Nice and for a youth (12-25) it was 3€ each way. I mostly wandered around the city but I did do a couple of things. First, I went to Musee Oceanographique de Monaco. This is both an aquarium and a museum. Both parts were fascinating. The aquarium, for those that will not take my advice to download Google Translate or something similar, has more information in English. I recommend that at the end of your visit to the aquarium/museum you take the elevator to the top floor because there is a terrace with gorgeous views of the coast. I took the bus up to the museum, but I walked back down because there is a lovely garden with more beautiful views.

The second thing I did in Monaco was go see Casino Monte Carlo. I mean, if you didn't go see Casino Monte Carlo, did you even visit Monaco? I didn't actually go in because A) it costs money, and B) in my Old Navy tank top and Target shorts (both of which desperately need to be washed) I was severely underdressed. But the exterior is gorgeous and is definitely worth a visit. I spent about five or six hours in Monaco and could have spent more, but it was really humid and I was tired. Oh, and be warned: with the exception of Musee Oceanographique and Jardin Exotique, basically all of the attractions and sights of Monaco are downhill, which means after several hours of walking, you'll be exhausted and have to walk uphill. Do yourself a favor and pay the 2€ for the bus ride back up. Seriously. Do it.

Although I did spend most of my one full day in Monaco, I did do a couple things in Nice. I spent a little while walking around near my hostel. But my favorite thing is actually what I'm doing right now as I finish this post which I began several days ago: eating a picnic on the beach along the main promenade while the sun sets over the French Riviera. Does it get much better than this? I'm not sure but it seems unlikely.

Although my four days in the South of France have not been spent exploring or visit cool sites or museums (and have been a drain on my bank account) they have been very relaxing, which I definitely needed after five weeks of basically always being on the go.

For now I say so long to Spain and France, but the goodbye is not for long: I return to both next month as I visit Paris and then Barcelona for Round 2. Now: onward to Italy!

Photos: France + Monaco

hayleythenomad — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 06:39:00 GMT

Madrid and Valencia

hayleythenomad — Tue, 5 Jul 2016 04:41:00 GMT

My time in Spain continues with Madrid and Valencia. A quick side note: I know some of y'all were concerned due to the attack on the airport in Istanbul. I had originally planned on going to Turkey, yes, but in light of recent events I have decided that I, unfortunately, need to skip Turkey. Anyway, continuing on!

MADRID

My time in Madrid was pretty relaxed. I was there for four full days but could have easily been there for one or two days and been perfectly fine. I mostly wandered around various places in the city and did not really do much "tourist" stuff. There were two things, however, that I definitely recommend that you do if you find yourself in Madrid.

1. Parque del Buen Retiro. It's kind of like Madrid's Central Park. It's huge with lots of benches for reading and people watching, grassy areas for picnics, and cafes for bocadillos (sandwiches on baguettes)' churros with hot chocolate, and other lunch foods. Toward the middle of the park is a decently large, man-made lake where you can rent boats for. I went there like everyday just to relax and people watch.

2. National Archaeology Museum. This museum is pretty incredible. It's four floors of displays from throughout history. There are also many interactive and multimedia displays as well. All the displays have information in both English and Spanish. Everything is well displayed, informative, and fascinating. The bonus is that it only costs a couple of Euros!

Overall, I wasn't super impressed with Madrid. I'm glad I went and it was fun but I didn't looooove it the way I did with Sevilla and I would be perfectly okay if I didn't go back. I know a lot of people rave about the art museums in the city, but they were too expensive for me to consider going since I'm not a huge fan of art museums, so if that's your thing, Madrid may be a great place to visit.

VALENCIA

I really enjoyed Valencia. My days in Valencia were different from the other cities I've been to. I didn't go to a palace or cathedral or park. I went to one museum but even that was different from other museums I've been to. The activities I did were a little bit pricier, but I think they were totally worth it. Here's what I did!

1. Science Museum. This museum is a part of the City of Arts and Sciences, which is an area of land that houses several attractions. I went to two of them and would have loved to visit the others as well. The first one I went to was this museum. I loved this museum because it's really hands on and interactive. Part of the museum is called the Exploratorium. There are dozens of stations where you can touch and experiment. There are stations about magnets, light, sounds, light waves, and many more. Every station is explained in Spanish and English. The information tells you what you need to do and why the what happens actually happens. Another part of the museum is an interactive area about smart living. There are exercises to test your posture, displays about different types of mattresses, and information about car safety. When I was there the museum had a temporary exhibit on Tesla and his contributions to science.

2. Oceanographique. This was the second part of the City of Arts and Sciences that I went to. Oceanographique is an aquarium, technically, but it's so much more than that. First of all, it is the largest aquarium in Europe. Second, it is set up more like a zoo than a typical aquarium. What I mean is that it is not on large building but is several buildings and distinct areas spread over a large area of land. It's absolutely incredible. I spent several hours there and could have spent more. There are exhibits for the Mediterranean Sea, the tropics, sharks, the Arctic, the Antarctic, butterflies, birds, and dolphins. Yes, dolphins. They have the largest dolphinarium in Europe. It consists of five pools, 26 million liters of water, and thirteen dolphins. A few times a day they do a dolphin show which was really cool.

3. Bioparc. Much like Oceanographique is not your average aquarium, Bioparc is not your average zoo. First, its entire focus is on Africa so you'll see plenty of elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, gorillas, and hippos. Second, the habitats are designed to look like they would in the wild. Barriers are big boulders and deep ravines, meaning that you'll rarely see any plexiglass or acrylic barriers between you and the animals. In some cases there were no barriers, like in the Madagascar section when I looked up and there was a tree full of lemurs right next to me. It was incredible and so much fun.

While you're in Valencia there are several things you need to try, as well. First and foremost, oranges. Valencia is known for its oranges and holy cow is it deserved. I ate several oranges during my three and a half days there and had several glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice (and by fresh squeezed, I mean I physically saw the machine squeeze the juice for me). Second, paella. Now, to get the good paella, you're going to have to pay more, but some girls from my hostel and I went to try paella my last night there and ate it at a little cafe. It was pretty good but not stupendous. But we also didn't pay a ton. Third, Agua de Valencia. This is only if you drink alcohol, but this cocktail consists of orange juice, vodka, gin, and cava. It's freaking delicious, especially because the orange juice in mine was definitely fresh squeezed.

That concludes my time in Madrid and Valencia. I have had the chance to upload pictures from Madrid or Valencia, but I plan to sometime this week!

I hope y'all had a wonderful Fourth of July!

Andalucia

hayleythenomad — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 03:43:00 GMT

It's official: I'm in love! With Spain that is! Since I'm spending less time in cities, I'm going to combine two or three cities into one blog post. So on that note, let's begin!

SEVILLA

I LOVE Sevilla! I was there for three full days and it was absolutely perfect for my budget and timeline. I saw and experienced some absolutely amazing things. My hostel was in a perfect spot: within a mile of all the main attractions and above some offices, so it felt really safe (i.e. No narrow side streets to walk down at night). It still feels a little surreal that I'm in Europe. Sometimes I forget and then I realize that I'm sitting and eating churros with hot chocolate at a cafe that looks out at Alcazar and Catedral de Sevilla. Speaking of, here is what I saw and did!

1) Catedral de Sevilla. If you can only do one thing in Sevilla, make it this. Some will argue that it should be Alcazar but I disagree! This cathedral is considered to be one of the largest and most impressive in the world. It is absolutely spectacular! In my Spain photo album I included some pictures just to give y'all a small idea of how beautiful it is. But, the most incredible part is La Giralda. Before this site housed the cathedral, it was home to a mosque. La Giralda, which was the minaret of the mosque, became the bell tower for the cathedral. It takes 34 ramps and a staircase to get to the top but BOY are the views worth it. Plus, on the way up, here are several large windows and exhibits if you need to stop to catch your breath!

2) Alcazar. The Royal Palace is gorgeous. The gardens are beautiful and the architecture is stunning. There are plenty of exhibits if you, like me, enjoy learning about history. There are fantastic photo opportunities as well!

3) Archivo de Indias. This museum is situated between the Cathedral and Alcazar. It's free (holla!) and houses artifacts and manuscripts regarding the Spanish exploration and habitation of the Indies. All of the information is in Spanish, so I would download the Google Translate app, which does offline (I.e. Not connected to Wifi) real time translations. It's definitely worth a little bit of time, especially since it's right by two of the city's biggest attractions.

4) Jardines de Cristina. The garden and the plaza it accompanies is right by the Cathedral and Alcazar. It's a great place to relax and grab a bite to eat. There's a good fast food burger place right there called The Good Burger (I recommend it if you want a good ole American style hamburger and French fries).

5) Parque de Maria Luisa. This park is absolutely massive and totally gorgeous. It's full of fountains and pavilions and sculptures and little stands selling water and frozen treats. Within the garden are several museums and you can also get a ride in a horse drawn carriage (as you can basically anywhere else in Sevilla).

6) Museo Arqueologico. This is one of the museums within the park that I just mentioned. It's really cheap and very fascinating. If you go to the park, I recommend stopping by this museum if you like history or archaeology.
Plaza de Espana. This is literally right next to Parque de Maria Luisa. It's incredibly beautiful with stunning architecture. There is a little pond that curves around the interior of the plaza where you can rent a boat. There are places to buy souvenirs and often times people performing flamenco which is worth stopping to watch for a little bit.

There are a couple more things that I would do if I were to go back to Sevilla with a little more money. First, I would go to a professional flamenco show. Many shows include drinks and/or dinner in the ticket price. For most shows the ticket price isn't super unreasonable if you're not a twenty-two year old recent college graduate on a strict - and super limited - budget. Oh wait. Second, I would tour the bullfighting ring. I walked past it multiple times and took pictures but never went inside. Third, I would go into Torre deal Oro and walk to the top. Once again, I walked by it multiple times and took pictures, but never went inside. Lastly, I would spend some time in Triana, a neighborhood across the river that is said to be the birthplace of flamenco.

GRANADA

My journey to get to Granada was...unexpected. After Sevilla I went to a smallish town in southern Spain, Tarifa. It's mostly known for its adventure water sports (surfing, paddle boarding, kite surfing) and its port has ferries that go back and forth to Tangier, Morocco. And that was the plan, to go to Morocco. Well, I woke up the morning my ferry was supposed to depart with an email from the ferry company saying that because of strong winds all ferries were cancelled the day. Looking at the weather forecast showed that strong winds were most likely going to continue for at least another day or two. So I had to figure out what to do. Tarifa is kind of expensive to spend more than one night in if the only reason you're there is for the ferry. I eventually determined that it was going to be more expensive and inconvenient to attempt to rearrange my Morocco plans than to scrap them altogether. So unfortunately, I will not be going to Morocco. So I then booked a train from Algeciras (a town about a half hour away) to Granada because Tarifa only has a bus station and no direct line to Granada. So I had to take a bus to Algeciras and then a train to Granada. But, naturally, it couldn't have been that easy. Because then we were informed that there is some infrastructure damage or construction or something on the tracks so we all had to switch to a bus at a train station in the middle of nowhere. I was basically dead on my feet when I arrived at my hostel. I didn't do much in Granada. I was only there for two full days and went there really for one reason only: La Alhambra.

If you ever get the chance to visit La Alhambra, do it. It's a huge complex that houses several castles/palaces and gardens. The architecture is beautiful and there is plenty of history to learn. One of the most incredible parts is that it looks out over Granada and has beautiful aerial views of the city. When you get tickets, you get them for either the morning or the afternoon. During your session you can spend as much time wandering around as you want. However, there is one part of the complex that only allows a certain amount of people in a time, so your ticket will show your specific time. Mine was at three o'clock in the afternoon, when the sun was high overhead, and it was 95 degrees out. I would recommend going in the morning.

I would also recommend spending some time in Albacin, the Arab quarter. I didn't get to spend too much time there and wish I had spent more. I also saw various advertisements for flamenco shows in caves which would have been amazing!

CÓRDOBA

I only spent one full day in Córdoba because I basically went there to see La Mezquita. This is an important mosque (that is also a cathedral) and is absolutely beautiful. The interior consists of rows upon rows of red and white striped arches. There are also several displays pertaining to the cathedral part of the structure.

Photos: Spain

hayleythenomad — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 05:58:00 GMT

Ciao Portugal!

hayleythenomad — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 04:37:00 GMT

This morning I said goodbye to Portugal and hello to Spain! Lisbon was amazing. I was told by more than one person in Porto that I would love Lisbon and they weren't wrong! Lisbon is the capital and the largest city in Portugal. Attractions are much more spread out than they are in Porto, which meant I spent less time just wandering around in Lisbon. BUT, I did actually see some sites and go to some museums. If you get the chance, I'd highly recommend visiting Lisbon for a few days. I spent five [full] days there, but could have easily seen and done everything in three. But then again, I'm on a budget and by myself so there definitely more things to do and see than what I did. Here are my recommendations for "must sees" in Lisbon.

1) Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. This was my favorite thing I saw/did in Lisbon. It's an absolutely massive monastery in Belem, an area of Lisbon a little ways from city center. It's a little pricey (10€ for a full priced ticket) but I think it's worth it. There are two levels with interesting history and beautiful photo opportunities. If you don't want to spend that much, you can view the church for free. A word of advice though, avoid mass times. I was leaving as mass was getting out and it was an absolute mad house!

2) National Archaeological Museum. It's literally attached to the monastery and you can get combined tickets that are cheaper than buying individual tickets for each. It's an impressive museum with some fascinating exhibits. I found the Egyptian exhibit and the exhibit on Lusitania particularly interesting.

3) Torre de Belem. In case you hadn't noticed a theme, you should go to Belem! The tower juts out into the water. My original plan was to go inside and walked to the top, because apparently the views are incredible, but I decided to save my money and just view it from the outside. In the area near the tower there is a bunch of trees and benches, which is perfect for people watching and relaxing.

4) Oceanario. I'm torn about recommending this. There's no doubt that the Lisbon Oceanarium is really cool. The exhibits are split up into the four oceans and are extremely well done. My reservation is the price. It's 17€ or just under $20 for an adult. If I had spent all day there maybe it would have been worth the price, but I was only there for maybe an hour.

I highly recommend spending time in Belem. Aside from the three attractions I mentioned there are also several museums. I went to the National Coaches Museum where former royal horse drawn coaches are now displayed along with their history. The maritime museum and presidential museum are also in Belem. And if you go there you must stop by Pasteis de Belem. These sweet treats are well known and delicious! I'm not 100% sure how to describe them, but the best I can do is say that it's kind of a custard-y food wrapped in a flaky pastry. They're really rich and one of those must-try foods!

There were other things I would have liked to see if I had some extra spending money, so if you ever find yourself going to Lisbon and want some ideas, let me know! Ciao!

Goodbye Porto, Hello Lisbon

hayleythenomad — Thu, 9 Jun 2016 04:30:00 GMT

One city down, many more to go! This morning I left Porto and took the train to Lisbon. Porto was the perfect place to start my trip. It's a major city but not huge. There is plenty to see and do, but no real major tourist attractions. It's right on the river but with a little effort you can get to the beach. Porto is known for port wine and francesinha. Let me tell y'all right now, if you get the chance to try francesinha (especially in Porto), DO IT! Francesinha is a huge sandwich that's contains like four different kinds of meat and has a ton of cheese. It is then covered with a tomato-beer sauce/gravy and served with French fries (the girl I split it with is from Canada and called it a poutine sandwich). Sometimes, like at the place I tried it, it also has a fried egg on top. They are super rich and are typically around a thousand calories a sandwich. I did not actually drink port wine but I did have a pastry in port wine sauce that was fantastic. But, despite what my parents and sister think, I did do more than just eat food (I probably shouldn't have sent so many pictures of my meals...oops).

Most of my time in Porto was spent just wandering around. There are a lot of cool neighborhoods and areas in Porto. The metro system doesn't reach every main attraction so I did a ton of walking. On average I walked about 15,000 steps a day! If anyone decides to go to Porto (and I highly recommend you go there for at least a couple days if you ever end up in Portugal) there are a few things I'd recommend that you see or do.

1) Go to Serra do Pilar. It's a church in Vila Nova de Gaia, which is right across the river from Porto (it's super easy to get to). The church isn't the attraction (well, actually it is but not the one I'm talking about right now) but the lookout point is. It's a pretty steep hill to get there but boy oh boy are the views worth it. This is one of the, if not the, highest point in the Porto district and the views are incredible.

2) Walk along the river. I'm not going to lie to you, getting back up after walking along the river is the worst. There's a lot of stairs and steep hills, but the riverfront area on both the Porto side and the Vila Nova de Gaia side is very beautiful. It is full of cafes and stands of people selling homemade goods and it also has very beautiful views.

3) Go to Mercado do Bolhao. Rua Santa Caterina is one of the main streets in town, especially for shopping. I stayed in a hostel that was on a street right of Santa Caterina and the market was like a five minute walk away. I got my lunch there almost every day. It's really cheap (for instance, a ham & cheese sandwich on homemade bread, a small basket of strawberries, and a peach - all from different vendors - costs less than $3) and everything tasted delicious.

4) Visit Livraria Lello. It's considered to be one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world! It costs 3€ (about $4) to get in but if you buy a book they subtract the entrance free from the book's price. If you're a Harry Potter fan like me, you'll especially want to visit because this bookstore was part of the inspiration for Hogwarts (particularly the staircase). JK Rowling spent some time in Porto pre-Harry Potter and there are several places in the city that inspired her (you can also eat at the cafe where she first began writing the series!).

5) See the Sao Bento Railway Station. Just to clarify, this is different from the Sao Bento metro station (it's right across the street from the metro station). Azulejos are gorgeous blue and white tiles that Portugal is well known for. Well, almost the entirety of the foyer of the railway station is covered in those tiles. It's spectacular.

So those are the top five things I'd recommend seeing/doing in Porto. I uploaded some my pictures into my photo gallery on this site if you want yo check them out! I'm going to try to plan on posting after every city. I can't wait to see what Lisbon has in store for me!