Hello, lovelies! Today is the day I fly out to London to start my month-long Eurotrip. I’ve scheduled this month’s blog posts in advance, so I am currently writing this in the middle of finals. Anyway, there are so many things I’m excited about when it comes to this trip, but here are the top 10 things that come to mind. I hope you enjoy.
1.//Truly Traveling On My Own
This will actually be my fifth solo trip since starting college. The thing is that I visited people I knew when going on those trips, so this will by my first time really traveling solo. I won’t be alone the entire time. I’m taking a tour for the majority of the countries I’m visiting, but I will be on my own before and after the tour. I’ll be completely in charge of my schedule and there will be no one watching over me. I’ve felt exhilarated traveling alone before, so I’m excited to experience that on a deeper level.
2.//Visiting 13 Countries I’ve Never Been To Before
Up until the age of twenty, I had never left the country, and since then, I’ve traveled to Bangladesh and Canada (I’m only 21, so that’s not bad for a year). On this trip, I will be visiting the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy, Vatican City, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. By the end of this summer, I will have traveled to 15 countries! How cool is that! (Well, 16, since I live in the U.S 🙂 )
3.//Seeing The Swiss Alps In Person
Two years ago, this wouldn’t be the most exciting site that comes to mind when going to Europe, but when I flew to Bangladesh, the plane flew over the Swiss Alps, and they were one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
I’m simply excited about seeing all the things I’ve read about or seen on T.V in person. This point isn’t necessarily just about the Swiss Alps but about the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, and the concentration camps we learned about in history class. It’s different seeing things in real life versus reading about it or seeing it on TV.
4.//Taking A Real Break From Everything
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been “on” seven days a week all semester. Whether that’s schoolwork, my job, or blogging, I always have something to do and people to see. I like it that way. I like that my schedule is full but not busy (your girl needs her sleep), but I’m excited to take a real break from everything. Summer vacation will have started and I’m forcing myself not to work. I’ve scheduled out blog posts for every week of my trip so that I won’t have to worry about my blog going silent. (I’ll write travel diaries here and there throughout the month, but only if I feel like it. Otherwise, you’ll get Europe posts after I get back from the trip). Traveling isn’t really resting, but it will be a break from my day to day workload.
5.//Visiting Countries My Family Members Have Lived In & Been To
When I told my grandparents I was going to Europe, their eyes completely lit up. They’ve traveled to over fifty countries together and lived in the Netherlands for a year (My dad’s first birthday was actually in the Netherlands). Needless to say, I’ve heard a lot of travel stories growing up and I’m so ready to see all those things in person. I’m really excited about visiting France because my grandfather got his PhDs in Astronomy there and my youngest brother is named after a French soccer player (Zinedine Zidane).
6.//Eating All The Food In Italy
I’m excited to eat the food all over Europe, but I’m most excited to eat the food in Italy. I’ll be there for a week and am going to be eating pasta, pizza, and gelato every day, mark my words. I’m pretty sure this will be the country I have the least eating restrictions since a lot of the signature dishes of western Europe have pork, so I’ll be taking advantage of the carbs.
My cousin gave me a list of food to eat per country I’m going to, so expect a lot of crepes and macarons in my Instagram feed while I’m in France.
7.//Seeing The Architecture
When I told my grandparents that I’m going to Europe, my grandfather listed all the things that I should do, where to go, what to see (“Don’t ride a vaparetto in Venice. Only gondolas.”), but my grandma told me to just wander around. I plan on walking all day and drinking in everything I see. The architecture in Europe will definitely be different from that of America, so I’m excited to see the difference.
8.//Learning The History Of Different Countries
I’m a huge history buff, so I’m excited to learn about the various cities I’m visiting during the tour.
9.//Roughing It With Other Solo Travelers
When I’m older, I’m sure that I’ll travel slower, staying in nicer hotels and explore one place for a week. Right now, I’m young and fit enough to stay in hostels and campsites and don’t mind jumping from city to city every few days. The tour company I chose has different types of accommodations. The ones where you stay in hotels are more expensive, so you can guess which one I chose. About a third of the time, we’re going to be staying in campsites with sleeping bags in a tent. I won’t be able to do that in ten years, and it’s one of the ways I’ll be saving money on this trip.
The tour also has a group chat, and a good chunk of my fellow travelers will be going solo, so I won’t be the only one. Most of them are from other countries too, so I’m excited to get to know them.
10.//Sitting In Cafe’s And Taking It All In
My trip isn’t going to be “go-go-go” all day. There’s a lot of free time included in the tour I’m going on, so I’ll be able to walk wherever I want. I’m thrilled about seeing all the sites and visiting new countries, but the thing I’m most excited about is the exhilarating high of traveling on my own and doing the things I’ve always wanted to do. I’m just going to sit down and take it all in.
Well, that’s it for now. Follow me on Instagram if you want to watch me explore Europe in real-time. I’ll be in London for a day before the tour officially starts, so bring on the jetlag. (I’m spending a few days there at the end of my trip, so don’t worry. I’ll have time to explore.)
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Have you ever been to Europe? Do you have any advice for me?