“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese
One of my favorite parts of studying abroad is how I have the freedom and luxury in creating my own experience. It’s this unique opportunity where fantasies can spark into your reality. Most people don’t realize this though because they believe it’s too expensive/unrealistic, and the truth is that there’s definitely a strategy in booking flights, where to stay, and how to save your money. Living on a student budget has taught me that I need very little in my daily life (I can thank my trip to Honduras in high school for that as well). You need to be open for trading comfort sometimes in order to ultimately do what you want. Plus, better stories come from the times I’ve felt unsure of my personal comfort (my first hostel experience) and making mistakes along the way (my first solo-traveling experience in Cortona). I’ve learned to get creative so that I can make the most out of my time abroad. Most weekend trips in Italia are spontaneous (mainly depending on the weather), because the Italian train system is so easy and relatively affordable.
With only a month left of my study abroad program (scary how quickly time passes), I am narrowing down my priorities, and trying to figure out how to spend the 13 days– between my program ending and having to leave my apartment, before meeting up with my family mid-May.
If you had 13 days to go anywhere in Europe, where would you go?
Well, here’s my travel plans, including a few at the bottom that have not been officially booked yet. Let’s see where life takes me.
Where I’m Headed:
Sevilla, Spain
Prague, Czech Republic
Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Italia
Istanbul, Turkey
Porto, Portugal
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Venice, Italia
The Cinque Terre, Italia
Belgrade, Serbia
Split, Croatia
Santorini, Greece
Where I’ve Been:
Perugia, Italia
Budapest, Hungary
Gubbio, Italia
Roma, Italia
Firenze, Italia
Siena, Italia
Paris, France
Barcelona, Spain
Marrakech, Morocco
Bologna, Italia
Cortona, Italia
I have no idea where I’ll be a year from now, let alone 2 months from now, but I find beauty in not knowing who I’ll meet, where I’ll be sleeping, or what I’ll be eating. Let the adventures continue…
Congrats for this nice article.
Come in Romania and you will never regret!