Life

Everyday Beauty: Weekend

This whole weekend was full of magic moments. There was the evening we went for gelato and got the best flavour combos ever: roasted marshmallow & watermelon, peaches & hazelnut, raspberry & milk chocolate. One morning the my sisters and I spontaneously gathered in the kitchen and made a big pancake breakfast. We had two family BBQs, two evenings in a row, and the food was simple and amazing. There was the night I spent at the kitchen table while my sister baked lemon squares like the pro she is. The weather was a bit mercurial but on the whole we had plenty of sunshine and beautiful dusks. It was a gorgeous weekend, a perfect summer solstice, the kind of simple, relaxed time that reminds me why I love being home so much.

Which isn't to say I wasn't also a bit overwhelmed and stressed at points throughout the last few days – it's only 6 days now til I fly to Europe, after all. But I'm very thankful to have this normal time with my family before I leave. So much love!

FAQs About My Trip

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It’s possible that writing a FAQ post comes off as totally pretentious, because my blog is not that big and I’m not at all famous and I don’t get asked that many questions. However, I think the Q-and-A format is a good way to summarize things without rambling on and on, so here we are. Plus, since I’m not really frequently asked questions on the blog, I’m going to mix in the questions that I am frequently asked in real life, by everyone from my Grandma’s favourite butcher to my ex-landlord.

What is this Great Safe Adventure you continually refer to?

It’s a reference from one of my most favourite books, Come, Thou Tortoise. I reviewed it here! The phrase makes me feel that the trip is (exactly as it sounds): both adventurous and safe at the same time. It brings it down a notch in my brain from “Terrifying, All-New Adventure”.

How long are you travelling for?

Three months! Beginning of July to the first week of October.

Are you travelling with friends or alone?

Both, actually. I am starting my trip with a friend of mine, and meeting up with friends who live in Berlin and Paris along the way! For the remainder of my trip, I’m going solo, but I’ve read that I’ll make friends wherever I go, so I doubt I’ll ever really be alone (unless I want to be!).

Are you scared to travel alone?

Yes and no. I’m not the kind of person who minds being alone (in fact, I love it), but I am a little nervous about navigating foreign metro systems and finding my way in cities where I don’t know the language. But I firmly believe that getting outside of your comfort zone every once in a while is the only way to grow as a person, so I’m feeling the fear and doing it anyways.

How can you afford this kind of trip?

I have been saving up for a long time. When I was living in and going to school in Montreal, I was waitressing at a busy restaurant, which means I was able to make enough money to take myself on this post-grad trip. I’ll also be on a fairly strict budget the whole time.

What are you packing? How much luggage are you bringing for a three month trip?

I’m bringing just one bag! Read more about my decision to travel with a carry-on bag only here. You can also see my full packing list (with photos!) here.

Where are you going?

Lots of places! Croatia (Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar, Split), Berlin, Paris, San Sebastian, Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Montpellier, Marseilles, Nice, Cinque Terre, Venice, Florence, Rome, Sorrento, and Wales.

Why aren’t you going to X country? Why aren’t you going to more places?

Italy, Spain, and the South of France were at the very top of my list from the moment I started planning this adventure. I have always wanted to visit them, so they were my absolute top priorities this trip. Croatia, because the friend I’m travelling with is Croatian, speaks the language and raves about the coast! And I’m visiting friends in Berlin and Paris. The rest of the cities sort of fell into place based on recommendations from travel blogs and the routes that the trains run in Europe!

As for the number of places, I think I’m going to have plenty to keep me busy! I’m spending more nights in the cities that I am the most excited about (Paris, Lisbon, Barcelona, Florence, Rome) and in the cities where I am being graciously hosted (Berlin, Penarth, Wales). This timeline feels right to me – I didn’t want to be always rushing around, I wanted to try to experience each city as much as possible.

Why aren’t you going for longer? You could get a job waitressing or as an au pair!

I know I could. And don’t get me wrong, the idea really appeals to me! Who knows, maybe I’ll find a job and not come back (I haven’t bought my return plane ticket yet, but I’m keeping money aside for that) – it’s possible and it may very well happen! I don’t have any other plans or job prospects, so I have no real reason to come home except for running out of money along the way. So we will see. Considering this is my first big trip on my own, I am not making any decisions regarding jobs abroad until I’ve done a bit of travelling by myself and gotten my feet wet, so to speak. I’ve got to get my traveller’s legs before I decide!

What kinds of things are you most excited about doing?

Wandering around, people-watching, eating (of course!), reading, writing, taking lots of photos, seeing beautiful things, gelato.

Throughout the whole trip, do you think you will be blogging?

Definitely! I’ve downloaded an app to help me out with the process, and I’m hoping to update the blog fairly regularly. I can’t say for sure how often it’ll be, but a good bet is that I’ll update when I’m on long train ride travel days. So stay tuned for lots of photos (with captions, as a friend of mine insisted!).

Got any more questions for me? Ask away in the comments below or on Twitter, @spellett!

Everyday Beauty

Even though it feels like I’ve barely used my camera over the last few weeks, (I’ve been relying heavily on my trusty iPhone camera) I’ve still gotten some summery shots that I love a lot. One of the things I’m most excited for about my trip is the chances I’ll get to practice my photography in some of the most beautiful places in the world. That, and the amazing food I’ll get to eat. Mmm.

Travel Jitters

Lately, my days feel pretty similar. There's an underlying feeling of stress, a current of urgency running through me as I wake up, make myself food, and try to curb panic by planning and selling and booking and researching. I feel like I do nothing all day, but it's my brain that's doing all the work, problem solving constantly, looking for answers to the questions I only just came up with a few minutes before. It would be impossible to break it down and explain all the little successes and solutions I've discovered after a half hour of Google searches, or to outline all the times I've searched for an hour and still didn't find any easy answer (donating books in Montreal, I mean honestly.) I know this is coming out sounding more dramatic than I want it to, but it's actually the opposite of dramatic. I'm surprised to discover that this time in my life, one of the most crazy periods of change that I've experienced thus far – it's a lot more like a slow boil, a quiet, solitary time.
 
My apartment is getting sparser, day by day. My plans are getting more solid, my travel itinerary is coming together. Last night, I had a small attack of doubt, when I began questioning my decision to stay in one city longer than another, and whether I had chosen the right places in the first place, and feeling down about how somewhat arbitrary my plans suddenly felt. But I just breathed, and decided that none of that mattered because really, life is sort of arbitrary, isn't it? The courses I chose for my degree were arbitrary, to some extent, but I still graduated. Life is a process of arbitrary trial and error, I decided, then went to sleep. I feel slightly better this morning.
 
Since none of this traveling has begun yet, and since I don't have that much experience with travelling, let alone by myself, I think part of the problem is that I have no real idea what it's going to be like for me. I have to just go on the accounts of friends and bloggers and my imagination and faith that its going to be, like everyone says, the best experience of my life. Since it still feels so surreal and far-off and unimaginable, I occasionally get bogged down by all the researching and decisions and forget that these are real places I'm going to experience, these are real ocean-side towns and real tapas and real cliffs for jumping off of. But even if I still struggle to actually picture myself doing any of the things I'm planning, do them I will, in just 30-odd days. I know in my heart what an incredible time I'm going to have, and how lucky I am, and how beautiful and life-changing it will be, and I'm trying to hold those feelings tighter than I hold the feelings of uncertainty. But to say I wasn't feeling a little uncertain or scared would be to lie to you. I just gotta keep it real!
 
I also want to put out the call: I'm taking with me one backpack and all the advice and recommendations I can get. So if you have any general travel tips, specifically European travel tips, recommendations for hostels/restaurants/attractions in Paris, Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, the south of France, or anywhere in Italy (I'm planning on visiting most of the major cities) – let me know! I would love to hear your travel stories and advice.
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