Two Traveling Feet

Street in Morella After our trip to Amsterdam, the whole USAC crew seems to be going somewhere new every weekend and hey, I'm not complaining. I am finding that traveling here is more expensive than you think, especially when you have a school schedule to work around. Apps like Hopper, Sky Scanner, and Hostel World help a lot when trying to find cheap travel but you've got to book as soon as you find a good deal. Luckily, the USAC program is great at giving us weekly updates on events and cheap tours going on within the city and this weekend we got to travel to two small cities in Spain, Morella and Peniscola, for extremely cheap (25 euros total). Castle above Morella Morella was a tiny town with white buildings pushed together behind a rock wall that fenced in the whole city. A castle sat above the entire city and you could see the entire country side from the top. Most of the population is older couples which isn't surprising because of isolation and the lack th...

Before I dive into the fun parts, here are some things that came before it all: 8 hour flight delay (never use Vueling airlines) Valencia airport security is questionable (my passport was never checked but hey not complaining) 6 out of 15 people bailed on our hostel last minute (do not travel in large groups) Learned how to take the metro from my apartment to the airport (much cheaper than a cab) When we finally managed to arrive in Amsterdam, it was 3am. The Amsterdam airport is huge but also super nice and cute with Tulip shops and fairy lights. We never went through customs and I am lowkey sad I never got to have my passport stamped. There was a layer of fog surrounding the city when we got to the hostel that made Amsterdam feel old and mysterious, and it ended up being both. Our hostel was supposed to have 15 people but long story short we ended up with 9. A little advice: don't travel in large groups. People will bail on you, paying the bill in Europe is har...

As some of you may know, Spain is famous for many things but especially their paella. Something I did not know about paella is there are different types, mainly veggie, meat, or seafood. Over the weekend, we took a small fisherman boat for an hour long ride to a small town on the water where I tried the famous paella. The water was murky but apparently on a few meters down. It's crazy to think that the fish they catch on these boats are the same ones I buy at the open market near my apartment. The idea that this is what these people do, everyday, for a living was so cool to me, especially the fact they were willing to share it with a few American travelers. The open waters seemed endless and had tiny islands in the distance, occasionally. Sometimes the channels we went through were so tiny that plants were reaching into both sides of the boat, then all of sudden it would give way to plant-free open water. Yes, the scenery got a little repetitive but I still found it be...

I am still trying to figure out this whole blogging thing. I know the layout of these are horrible so I'll work on it. These were supposed to be part of the last post but I had technical difficulties oops. How I start my mornings: a cafe that is a 30 second walk from my front door. The view from my balcony in my room. The streets are always noisy but it never bothers me.    The buildings around my apartment are all old and cute. Orange trees are everywhere and pigeons will approach you if you feed them just fyi...  

If you're reading this, know that I have made it to Valencia! It was a long journey and even though it's only been two days I've learned so much. So get ready ladies and gentleman because this is gonna be a long one. Traveling Four airports and three flights later, I made it to Valencia. Both of my bags were under 50lbs (woohoo more European shopping for me) even though my mom was convinced they would be more. Learn to pack light and less! I flew Jetblue, an airline I had never flown before and ended up getting a great deal on bag prices. I thought I had calculated the cost of the bags correctly the day before but I had not. I was so stressed with making sure I had everything and packing that I really just skimmed the websites and articles telling me the cost for bags. Even though I got lucky and it ended up being cheaper than I thought, always do your research! In Boston, I had a two hour layover which ended up being super nice. At my terminal I found a girl in the sa...

Today, is the day before I leave. Tomorrow will not only be my 20th birthday (feliz cumpleaños a mi) but also the start of a life changing adventure, I hope. The days of winter break have flown by much faster than I expected and the only thing to do from here is jump in, head first. Packing was harder than I had expected. I did pretty well at sticking to only packing the bare minimum but my mother is still worried both of my bags will be over weight. I am taking two large suitcases with a duffel bag folded flat in one so I can bring some souvenirs back. My carry on will be my backpack loaded with my kindle, headphones, computer, and a sweatshirt. My goal was to pack half of each suitcases and I did that, for the most part. They might be just a littleeee over. If I could do something differently I would pack them a few days before I left, zip them, and put them down stairs. Since I left them open sitting in my room, I feel like it was easier for me to throw things in that I "ne...