Why You Should Travel Solo At Least Once In Your Life

Why You Should Travel Solo At Least Once In Your Life

In 2017, I found myself alone in two different countries (Japan and Korea) for 17 days. That was not what I had planned, but it paved the way for my love for solo travel. So much that I booked a 5 week trip to Europe last year, travelling through 9 different countries, and loving every incredible moment of it. 

When people say you should travel alone once in your life, they’re not wrong. It’s a cliche, (at least I think it’s a cliche expression right?), but it’s so true. It’s absolutely daunting and no one ever chooses to really be alone when they have the option of experiencing different cultures with others, but what you gain from travelling solo makes everything worthwhile. Here are the reasons why I love solo travel and why you should embark on a journey alone once in your life:

Meeting New People 

I’m fairly sure this would make the top of the list for a lot of people who have travelled alone. You are guaranteed to meet some exciting people who are either travelling alone or with some friends, or locals in the area. The friends I’ve gained from both trips and my travel abroad semester has brought me so many memories and utter joy. In fact, I can safely say some of the people I met will surely be life long friends, friends I can catch up with on the other side of the world and still have a laugh and reminisce on our old times whilst creating new memories. One of my favourite people I met in Europe last year and he holds a special place in my heart. It’s also a great excuse to jet off on a holiday once in a while and I love that I get to experience the different countries through a local’s perspective - Berlin was a great example with my friend Lan who hosted me and took me around the city!

Being Alone

This is kind of a weird point, but for me, travelling alone is great because I’m alone. I get to do things at my own pace, decide where I want to go, what I want to eat and when it’ll all happen. Planning a trip for yourself means you know you will make decisions that will make you happy and excited because it’s what YOU want to do. Seriously, experience it once in your life. It may sound selfish but you also need to put yourself first. Sometimes it is hard to say no to a friend or to prioritise someone else’s needs before yours, so let yourself enjoy a trip that you perfectly catered for yourself.

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Travelling alone isn’t easy. Meeting new people and enjoying your company requires you to really step out of your comfort zone and it’s this challenge that makes me fully appreciate being alone in a different country. You’re forced to make conversation first, extend an invite to join you for a night our or lunch during the day. I find that my confidence has greatly increased since finding that I enjoy travelling alone. So often we’re use to someone approaching us or walking straight past someone, even if they could potentially be a great friend in the future. Moreover, the activities you get up to could well be things you never thought you could accomplish or even enjoy alone. I loved that I was able to hike the tallest mountain in Seoul, go on a pub crawl through Paris and attend a 4 day, 12 hour night festival in Barcelona. It also forces you to be okay with being alone. You’re not always going to be surrounded by people, I found that there were days where I would just be by myself and my thoughts. Honestly, it made me appreciate my “me” time whilst also being able to reflect on my surroundings and myself. I did learn a lot about myself, as cliche as that sounds.

Have You Ever Travelled Alone Before? Do You Plan On Travelling Alone?

Read More

Travel Diary: And So It Ends, In Beautiful Geneva

 These are a series of posts covering my 5 weeks in Europe, and each country I see in bite sizes. Or as my best friend likes to say, “speed touristing.” I visited most places for 4 days, with the exception of Germany and some day trips. This is my way of taking you guys on my adventures through Europe, giving you guys my thoughts on each place and any tips I’ve picked up!

And So It Ends, In Beautiful Geneva

Alas, we have reached the end of my five week trip … that happened almost a year ago. Yep. Guys I am back to complete my bitesize travel posts. 

Five weeks of flying through Europe made me really appreciate ending my trip in the beautiful city of Geneva. It was the perfect opportunity for me to wind down before heading home. I had 4 days to discover Geneva, which, thankfully, was enough time as the city itself is quite small. I was also grateful that I had a friend to stay with, making it a lot more convenient to visit different sites in the city and learn how to access public transport. We spent our days walking around the city, seeking out look out points and having picnics in the local parks. Geneva isn’t a cheap place to travel to though, much like the rest of Switzerland. I barely ate at restaurants, instead accompanying my friends on her grocery trips and grabbing local cheese and bread, coupled with fruits and other cold meats. Look, if there’s cheese involved I cannot complain.

Geneva being crazy expensive also didn’t help when I wanted to do a final shopping trip. I picked up a bottle of perfume for almost AUD$250, eeeep. Luckily, Lyon is just a two hour bus ride across the border. I booked myself a ticket and spent a day in France, planning to just eat and shop to my hearts content before I left. The amount of croissants I consumed could be considered alarming, but we’re not going to go there. I found a really cute restaurant for lunch, which changes their one item menu daily. There’s a communal feel that, despite eating alone, I felt welcomed and comfortable as everyone in the restaurant was sharing the same meal and experience. If you’re not up for dining in, there’s also a takeaway option that’s packed into a lunch box as well! I walked and window shopped, finding a shop with an immense amount of French wines, before picking up some more skincare I didn’t get the chance to buy whilst in Paris. Lyon itself is also quite pretty. I found that I liked being there more than when I was in Paris.

Both Geneva and Lyon are quiet cities, perfect for spending some alone time or just wanting to relax and enjoy the scenery. Places do close super early in Geneva, with most shutting just after 5 or 6 and on Sunday being closed - just to keep in mind. Public transport is easily accessible but walking is also a great option to take in your surroundings. Even flying into the city is breathtaking with the Alps and Lake Geneva is in full view through the plane’s windows.

Read More

Travel Diary: Primavera Sound 2018 in Barcelona

These are a series of posts covering my 5 weeks in Europe, and each country I see in bite sizes. Or as my best friend likes to say, “speed touristing.” I visited most places for 4 days, with the exception of Germany and some day trips. This is my way of taking you guys on my adventures through Europe, giving you guys my thoughts on each place and any tips I’ve picked up!

Primavera Sound 2018 in Barcelona

I can’t really say I visited Barcelona because I barely saw any of it. Instead, I went to Barcelona to attend the Primavera Sound Music Festival. I extended my Europe trip just to attend this because the line up was insane, or to be specific, A$AP Rocky was headlining and that was all the persuasion I needed. 

Barcelona was the only place I visited where I didn’t have a friend to visit, and was the first time since Stockholm where I had only my company to enjoy. It made the whole experience a lot more interesting. I was use to eating by myself but going to a festival alone was a first. 

I got to Barcelona a day before attending Primavera Sound just to settle in and sightsee a little. By sightsee I mean seeing what Barcelona’s night life is like. There are a ton of clubs along the beach to hit up, most very well-known. I opted for Opium, which is located right next to Shoko and Pacha (yes, the same club as the one in Ibiza), both popular clubs as well. You can get free entry as well - I just googled which club to go to and it came up with websites to receive free entry! I’ve been clubbing alone before so to me that wasn’t anything new. Barcelona is a city that really never sleeps, it was easy to go to and from the place and feel quite safe being alone.

Heading to the music festival I knew exactly which artists I wanted to see and what time to get there. Preparation 101 guys. The place also has a great range of food selection and various drink stands. It is cash only though, but there are ATMs available to withdraw. Parc del Forum is huge!! There are stages everywhere and there were times I, and other people, would have to sprint to stages not to miss artists we wanted to see. 

The artists I came to see were: 

Day One - Kelela, Vince Staples and CHRVCHES

Day Two - The Internet and Tyler, the Creator

Day Three - Lorde, Arctic Monkeys, A$AP Rocky and Skepta

Hands down day three was the best! I ended up being “adopted” by an English group, who were there to see Arctic Monkeys, and then found a group from Ireland whilst at the A$AP Rocky stage. We saw Skepta together and didn’t leave the place until 6AM. All artists I saw were amazing, had great stage presence and were great at hyping the crowd.

I saw other artists here and there, whilst running around trying to find stages and artists, but don’t quite remember. I do remember seeing Bjork for a bit and never thought I’d be seeing such an artist live, so I enjoyed that! The festival had a great line up, with artists I listen to now and didn’t even know was playing! Primavera Sound has released 2019’s line up so check it out! It runs over a number of days from 6PM to 6AM. 

The last two days there I tried to see as much of the area I was in, mostly Placa del Catalunya. I had a friend from Canada who was also in Barcelona so we ended spending most of the 2nd last day together, eating and playing board games in a cafe. A great way to end a crazy few days!

Accomodation

TOC Hostel Barcelona

This is a fancy hostel, with a huge lounge area, modern rooms and a rooftop pool! Do expect it to be on the pricier end of hostels.

Places I Ate At

All I did was brunch in Barcelona, which was really strange.

Flax and Kale and Teresa Carles are from the same company, focused on promoting healthy and organic meals. Teresa Carles is vegetarian/vegan only! Caravelle had a line every time I tried to visit but I finally got a spot. 

I did try La Taperia de el Nacional, which is a tapas place that I loved; the concept was that the waiters would run around yelling out what tapas plate they had and we would have to raise our hands if we wanted it. 

Read More

Travel Diary: A Weekend In Tuscany

These are a series of posts covering my 5 weeks in Europe, and each country I see in bite sizes. Or as my best friend likes to say, “speed touristing.” I'm in most places for 3 to 4 days, with some exceptions and I wanted to bring you guys along! Follow me on my adventure to see what I love and don't love, and tips and tricks I might pick up on the way

A Weekend In Tuscany

Starting off in Italy was such a great way to immerse myself in European culture. Instead of heading to the more well-known areas, I opted to join my cousin and her friends on a girl’s weekend to Tuscany and Verona for 3 nights. We spent majority of our time in Tuscany, and did lunch stops in two places - Bologna and Sirmione.

Bologna

Bologna is, and I honestly don’t know why I didn’t believe this in the first place, famous for Bolognese. I know right? We stopped between our drive from the airport to our destination to have lunch whilst seeing what Bologna had to offer. It’s not a small town, but not as big as Verona either. There isn’t a whole lot to see but when we arrived there was a market with cheap clothing and the town square was lively. We were adamant on trying bolognese based pasta before leaving. The restaurant we ate at offered a variety of pastas famous within Bologna. Between the two that I tried - Tortellini Bolognese and Pappardelle Della Nona - the pappardelle actually won out. The pasta was thick and just the right texture, the sauce so flavoursome and fresh. It was my first taste of authentic Italian pasta and I was impressed.

Tuscany

Our main destination was Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort, located in Vicchio. The place sits high on a hill away from any other towns, offering some peace and quiet, perfect for an R&R session. There's also a pool available for nicer weather, just on the edge of the hill, overlooking a number of small towns. Alongside that are activities that can be undertaken, including cooking classes, spa session and truffle hunting when in season.

We decided on doing a Wine Tour (surprise, surprise), which gave us the option of visiting multiple wineries or just one. The resort organised transportation to and from the place and we set off to Frascole farm, a short drive from the resort to learn about wine production and try the variations that came from Tuscany. Frascole is located in Dicomano and the scenery was so lush and green. We were actually expecting the weather to be absolutely horrible, but it was warm and sunny thankfully. The owner of the winery was a lovely gentlemen, who is meticulous in his wine production and treats his different wines as his babies. During the tasting we were also given a light lunch of cheese, Italian meats and bread, which was amazing. It was a really pleasant afternoon and we felt so welcomed and comfortable by the end of it. There is an option to purchase the wines after tasting with a courier service if there’s no way to transport it home.

When we were at the Resort, the staff were super accommodating and friendly, catering to our needs - or in our case, endless amount of wine and prosecco orders. We took full advantage of the weekend to try wines after wines after wines, along with constant pizza and pasta dishes. The Resort had free all-you-can-eat breakfast, with fresh oranges and grapefruits that can be placed in a squeezer for juice. That was amazing!! Both mornings there were slight variations in meats, cheeses and pastries available. In the evening there is a 3 course dinner if you decide to dine in. I chose a Grilled Octopus starter, Spaghetti for the main and Tiramisu for dessert. The starter was beautiful but I wasn’t crazy about the main or dessert.

Sirmione

We left early Sunday morning to drive to Sirmione, a resort town south of Lake Gada. Sirmione was stunning. It’s really hard to express how pretty the place is unless you head there yourself. It is quite touristy, but doesn’t lose its cultural aspect. We were lucky enough to have really warm weather so we sat in the sun during lunch sipping on Aperol Spritz, whilst eating, yes, pasta and pizza. I’ve noticed Aperol Spritz is a huge thing in Italy, or at the very least in Sirmione and Verona. Back at home it’s just begun to pick up and pretty much only in Summer when the Australian Open is on. If you’re after blue skies and cute cobblestone alleyways, this is the place to be.

Verona

Verona was exactly what I imagined Europe to be like. It’s famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and they definitely take advantage of that by having a balcony, known as “Juliet’s Balcony,” for tourists to visit. It’s really just a balcony. The town square is bustling with market stalls selling trinkets and the vendors are all dressed up in historical costume. There’s quiet a bit to see so take a walk through the smaller streets, towards the lake and back around. During the warmer weather it’s no surprise to see cafe tables filled up outside as both tourist and locals sit around to chat and day drink. We had our last meal at a really cute restaurant, with tables set up in the alleyway and fairy lights, which admittedly caught our attention. We shared a number of starters and each had a pasta dish. The Pappardelle and Truffle pasta I had was nice, but I think I would’ve liked another element to the dish rather than just truffle. I know, stupid, considering I ordered it knowing it was just truffles. 

I’d have to say the weekend in Italy was amazing. I’m a little sad I’m not doing more of Italy after seeing a part of it, but would highly recommend Villa Campestri if you want to treat yourself whilst on holiday. It is a very quiet area though, and most of the guests are couples of smaller families who are looking to get away, so if you want big nights and crowds this isn’t the place. Verona was great as well, not too big but had a lot to offer. 

Travelling There

Driving to the Villa was roughly 3 hours from Verona airport. From the Resort to Sirmione was 2 and a half hours and Sirmione to Verona was only 45 minutes. We decided driving was the ideal option as there were 7 of us and hiring a minivan was more cost effective. Make sure you get insurance if you do hire, and be prepared to see some pretty crazy driving. The roads aren’t hard to navigate, but driving through the highway and using toll roads weren’t really cheap. There are multiple airports to fly into though, if you want to head to Tuscany, and accessible public transport. One of the girls flew to Piza and took a train to a station close to the Resort, calling ahead to make sure the Resort organised transportation from the train to the Resort for her. Average prices of food for the places we went to were roughly 10 euros for plate of pasta and alcohol was 4 to 5 euros. 

Read More