Tag Archives: connecticut

The unplanned journey, in review

Posted on by

0

When I purchased my tickets in October, I had no idea where the journey would take me. I started with a road trip to SoCal before returning to pack up my life in San Francisco. I spent 7 weeks visiting friends and family in the U.S. before flying to Australia to spend 2 1/2 weeks with a friend. I then did the most frightening thing I’ve ever done, I flew to Germany to begin 3 months of solo traveling in Europe where I had no plans. I worked a full time job in the evening to keep up with West Coast business hours hours, exploring each city in the day while planning my next move.

I traveled between 7 states and 15 countries on 3 continents. I made 5 stops in the U.S., 3 in Australia and 30 in Europe. I took 7 NewEurope Free Walking Tours, 6 paid tours, rented a bike in Holland and a car in Ireland (I drove on the other side of the road in the other side of the car!). I visited more museums and churches than I endeavor to count.

I spent money in 7 currencies., including the $4469.64 spent on 23 flights, 14 train rides and 4 buses over 154 days of traveling. I stayed with friends and friends of friends, couch-surfed in 4 cities and spent $934 on AirBnb room rentals (less than what I paid for 1 month’s rent in San Francisco). Including travel and accomodations, my monthly expenses were $289 less than they were in San Francisco!

It was a challenge for me to be without plans, it threw me completely out of my comfort zone but I’d say it was better than I ever could have organized. I went to some places I didn’t even have on my radar before I left for my trip.
10/19 – 11/2 SoCal (Ventura, LA and San Diego)
12/7 – 12/17 Washington, DC
12/17 – 12/28 Port Saint Lucie, Florida
12/28 – 1/4 Detroit, Michigan
1/4 – 1/29 Connecticut (plus a day trip to Rhode Island)
1/4 – 2/15 Australia (Sydney, Bondi & Melbourne)
2/15 – 3/5 Germany (Augsburg, Frankfurt & Berlin)
3/5 – 3/9 Poland (Warsaw, Krakow & Auschwitz)
3/9 – 3/13 Czech Republic (Prague & Kutna Hora)
3/13 – 3/28 Italy (Rome, Cinque Terre, Venice, Florence & Pisa)
3/28 – 4/11 Spain (Madrid, Seville & Barcelona)
4/11 – 4/16 Portugal (Lisbon, Cascais & Sintra)
4/16 – 4/19 France (Paris)
4/19 – 4/20 Belgium (Brussels)
4/20 – 4/24 The Netherlands (Leiden & Amsterdam)
4/24 – 4/26 Denmark (Copenhagen)
4/26 – 4/27 Scotland (Edinburgh)
4/27 – 5/3 Ireland (Cork, Dublin, Galway & Cliffs of Moher)
5/3 – 5/7 England (London)

Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 12.56.35 PM Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 12.57.19 PM Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 12.57.55 PM Screen Shot 2015-04-05 at 12.57.43 PMworld here i comeworld traveler wrap photo - last plane home

Cold toes, warm heart

Cold toes, warm heart

Posted on by

1

It has been 3 1/2 of braving frigid temperatures while creating warm memories. This is the third time I’ve visited my home state of Connecticut since I moved to San Francisco over 3 years ago. It is the first time … Continue reading →

Well, the weather outside is weather

Posted on by

0

The international portion of my trip has been delayed. I was supposed to leave from JFK this morning at 8:30am but instead I am relishing in the few extra days I get to spend with family and friends. I was able to switch the flight (at not cost) to leave on Thursday instead. It also allowed for me to save a vacation day by working on the day I was set to be traveling! And I enjoyed chatting with the customer service representative from British Airways as she updated my flight ‘shed-yule’.

Always look for the silver lining, right?

10906427_10152599365328045_4619104567514302533_n

Sometimes, you just have to say “fuck it”

Posted on by

2

When you’ve dreamt of something for as long as you can remember and you’re teetering on the edge of big life decisions… sometimes the best solution is to slug back a few glasses of wine and say “fuck it”. That’s what I did last Tuesday evening when I charged airplane tickets to my credit card for 2 months of visiting family and friends along the east coast, 3 weeks in Australia and 3 months in Europe!

As said best in Billy Joel’s ‘Vienna’ (a longtime inspiration of mine) – “You can get what you want, or you can just get old.”  I’ve learned that time is the most precious resource I have – both abundant and limited in the same regard – I’m thrilled to be taking full advantage of mine. And while it’s one of the crazier moves I’ve ever made, it feels right like the right time to take the right risk.

And hey – some of the best decisions I’ve made have been while intoxicated, so let’s hope this one follows suits (I mean, that one way ticket to San Francisco turned out to be the greatest choice ever, right??). Drunken courage surely takes action for the sober heart! 

I’ll spend the next two months packing up a storage unit (sadly giving up a great apartment), figuring out what to do with my car and sorting out the hundreds of little details to leave my life in San Francisco not knowing where I’ll be when I return in June. I’m lucky and grateful to have a remote job so I will be able to continue working during this time and will also be tapping into my abundant bank of vacation hours (cheers to being a workaholic and having that shit saved up).

I’m also beyond grateful that I will be spending long overdue time with family and friends all over the world and very excited for the new connections I will make! I’m already overwhelmed with the love, support and offers that have come in within a week of making this decision – I’ll keep everyone posted throughout this process and of course when the traveling starts. Cheers to adventure and bold decisions!

Flight itinerary:

12/7 San Francisco –> Maryland to visit Kaley and my nieces
12/14 Maryland –> Florida to visit my grandparents and Ashley for Christmas
12/28 Florida –> Detroit to get a New Years kiss from Jon
1/4 Detroit –> Connecticut to visit friend and family for 3 weeks (hoping to make it up to Rhode Island to visit Josh’s restaurant in Newport and reunite with friends in Providence after 4 years of being gone)
1/27 Connecticut –> Australia for 3 weeks of adventure with Nicola!
2/16 Australia –> Germany to begin 3 months of European travels!
5/9 London –> Connecticut for a few weeks before returning to California

10402958_10152339963038045_3965007728065571623_n