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)