The Travels of 2015

There have been quite a few destinations explored this year...some planned and some very spontaneous.

So far, and posts will follow focusing on each location, this year I've been lucky enough to explore around:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague- Netherlands
Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Oita, Beppu- Japan
Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher- Ireland
Rio de Janeiro- Brazil

& tomorrow we are off to explore Athens, Mykonos and Santorini, Greece!

By the end of this year, I'm hoping to make it Dubai and Abu Dhabi- United Arab Emirates; Istanbul- Turkey; Venice- Italy and head back to South America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru) for two or three months before I need to present my bachelor's thesis and take my state exams in February. Has anyone been to these places and give me some recommendations? I'm always trying to find the best coffee shops in any new city I travel to as I am an extreme caffeine addict...or maybe it's just that I love latte art from around the world!


A few of my favourite travel quotes, which I like to remember right before going on an adventure:

"Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller." – Ibn Battuta

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls." – Anais Nin

"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted." – Bill Bryson


This one is especially important:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

Yes, I'm a student and money is usually tight but if you REALLY want to travel, you will make it happen someway. I'm a firm believer in that. I have worked numerous jobs or gone to the United States for my summer holidays to work as a nanny for two wonderful girls in order to save some money and be able to travel to these places. I've spent countless hours in my university lectures with my mind wandering and thinking 'why the hell am I sitting here when I could be out there somewhere exploring?'

I told myself long ago that I will not be one those people to sit in an office job for the next 30-40 years of my life, from 9-5pm, Monday-Friday. No matter what happens, I will find a way to travel around the world and live a life full of adventure, happiness and bring back wonderful stories and have unforgettable experiences. That being said, this quote is spot-on: "I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine." – Caskie Stinnett

Travel on wanderlusters!

BEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD TO GROW OLD

If you are like me, a college student who is trying to figure out their life after college while trying to make it through university and graduate with a degree, the question of "where am I going to live after I graduate" probably crosses your mind a lot. At least, it does for me. So, if you are in the same boat as me or you are getting to that age where you are getting ready to retire but want to experience more of the world, then you should take a look at this list:

15. Finland
14. Australia
13. United Kingdom
12. Ireland
11. Austria
10. Japan
9. Iceland
8. United States
7. New Zealand
6. Switzerland
5. Canada
4. Netherlands
3. Germany
2. Norway
1. Sweden

The countries in bold are the places I am seriously considering moving and settling down in after I graduate from university.

You can read up all you want with this.

Travel on wanderlusters!

2013 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

According to the Travel section of the NY Times, there are 46 places wanderlusters HAVE to go in 2013. It's cool because I have been to some of these places or will be going there sometime this year. Some places I plan to go when I move to South America in a year.

Get your suitcases packed and plane tickets printed: 
1. Rio de Janiero, Brazil (next year)
2. Marseille 
3. Nicaragua (next year)
4. Accra, Ghana 
5. Bhutan
6. Amsterdam, Netherlands (in two months!)
7. Houston, Texas (this summer!)
8. Rossland, British Columbia
9. New Delhi, India (maybe this winter)
10. Istanbul, Turkey (maybe this fall)
11. Singapore
12. Montenegro
13. White Salmon River, Washington (been there!)
14. Hvar, Croatia (been there!)
15. Mongolia
16. The Big Island, Hawaii (maybe next spring)
17. Philippines (very soon, I have family there)
18. Vernazza, Italy
19. The Kimberley, Australia (when I move there in 2015)
20. Ningxia, China
21. The Adirondacks, New York
22. Oslo, Norway (very soon)
23. Constantia, South Africa (I want to!)
24. Lithuania
25. Burgos, Spain
26. Lens, France
27. Changbaishan, China
28. Porto, Portugal (maybe in the summer)
29. Puerto Rico
30. Koh Phangan, Thailand
31. Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka
32. Jackson Hole, Wyoming (maybe in the summer)
33. Bangkok, Thailand (sometime this year!)
34. The Jeseniky, Czech Republic (been there!)
35. Waiheke, New Zealand
36. Yucatan, Mexico (been there!)
37. Charlevoix, Quebec
38. Pecs, Hungary
39. Republic of Congo (the post for later today!)
40. Ireland (been there! maybe going back this year)
41. Getaria, Spain
42. Mergui Islands, Myanmar
43. The Falkland Islands
44. Washington D.C. (been there...way too many times ;) )
45. Casablanca, Morocco (hopefully for my birthday week this year!)
46. Paris, France (been there! going back in June)

Where are you going this year? Where do you want to go this year? I'm just itching to book plane tickets...

Travel on wanderlusters and keep an eye out for the Congo post later today!

WHERE THE WIND HAS TAKEN ME

Here's the list...starting with America:

• Maryland
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• South Carolina
• North Carolina
• Florida
• Texas
• New York
• Delaware
• New Jersey
• Massachusetts
• Colorado
• Washington
• Idaho
• Montana
• Arizona
• Oregon
• California
• Canada
• Alaska
• Mexico
• Tunisia
• Croatia
• Greece
• Italy
• Czech Republic
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Austria
• Hungary
• France
• England
• Wales
• Ireland

and many more to come! Once I get a hold of some of these pictures, I will post about each trip individually. 

Travel on wanderlusters! 

P.S. For those of you dedicated Gossip Girl fans, like myself, check out my latest article on College Fashionista...inspired by Blair Waldorf! 

The Second-to-Last Day of 2012

The days are flying by and right when I'm in bed each night I think "Ah I need to post on the blog n....tomorrow..." then tomorrow comes and well, you get it.

But I am posting now in the spare few minutes I have to myself since being home for some of winter break. I'm so excited to be going back already, mostly because my good friend (from high-school in America) is coming to stay with me for a few days in Prague and I get to show him around. Also, because all the fun travels of 2013 will be kick-started by I go to Rome at the end of January. Don't get me wrong, I love America- being home and all but I have the urge to travel each day that 2013 nears us.

So far, the travels set and stone planned for 2013 are: 
January- Rome, Italy
February- Berlin, Germany
March- hopefully Amsterdam, Netherlands OR Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's Day
end of March-April- Bangkok and Phuket Bay, Thailand
end of May-June- Budapest, Hungary; Paris, France; Barcelona, Spain then home to America for the summer.

I've been keeping my fingers crossed for a few months now because in January or February I find out if I get to go to Perth, Australia for my fall 2013 semester. My two best friends and I are all wanting to go so we've been dreaming and hoping everything works out. We will see what happens!

Hopefully I made your eyes happy with a new...long...post!

Travel on wanderlusters and happy second-to-last day of 2012! Blog you all tomorrow.

"10 out-of-this-world places"

While checking my email and drinking my MullerMilk this morning, I came across this cool article: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/10-out-of-this-world-places.html

"10 out-of-this-world places"

1. Salt Flats Bolivia
2. The Chocolate Hills, The Philippines
3. Rio Tinto, Spain
4. Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland
5. Spotted Lake, British Columbia
6. Socotra Island, Indian Ocean
7.Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona
8. Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
9. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China
10. Simpson Desert, Australia

Pretty cool, right?! I know where I want to go next, what about you wanderlusters?

Travel on wanderlusters!

Summer Job Hunting...in the Winter?

Definitely had a typed post then deleted it...anyways, I am getting in the Christmas spirit by...looking for summer jobs!

Not just any summer job though, a summer job with EF Tours in either Malta, London or Dublin...leaning more towards Malta though. I mean a summer by the Mediterranean Sea and a beautiful city? What gets better than that. Not much...a summer job where you travel and get paid. My type of job. Plus, I mean come on, who wants to get a minimum-wage, lousy summer job in America where you hate the work you are doing (most of the time). Where I live it's pretty hard to get a summer job so I would have to rely on babysitting.

So, Malta, London, Dublin OR babysitting in a hot house with screaming kids...the answer is pretty evident.

Back to the CHRISTMAS spirit, Christmas is my favorite time of the year by the way, the Christmas markets by my house are open leaving me drooling every time I come up from the metro with the delicious pastries they are baking and hot mulled wine. The big Christmas market in Old Town Square opens this Friday, I CANNOT wait. I've always seen pictures but have never been!

I hope some of you wanderlusters will be spending Christmas in Prague or at least visiting the Christmas markets if you are here before Christmas.

Until then, I will be nose-deep in the books...travel on wanderlusters!