My dear friend Carlos told me this once when I had just gotten back to work from Costa Rica. Travelling is something that you learn from but more so once time has passed.
Relaxing by the water in Madrid, Parque de Retiro
When I got back from my first extended trip abroad to Europe everything was fresh in my brain but I wasn't sure how to take it all in. So many questions to answer....
Where was your favorite place?
What did you like the best about Europe?
Where all did you go?
Did you make a lot of friends?
Where did you stay while travelling?
What was your favorite food?
How much did the trip cost?
Was it safe?
How did you get by if they didn't speak English?
And many others I don't quite remember
To be honest, I haven't really had the time to think about all the answers. There aren't really any solid answers for some of the questions. Randomly certain events come to mind and at other times I can't think of any at all. It has been almost 2 months since I returned back to the states and I am just now organizing the thoughts in my mind. A large smog cloud in my brain......
Here are the answers to the basic stuff:
I started in Spain, Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, France, and ended in Spain.
There are a few different options in places to stay while you're travelling if you want to stay within a budget. I stayed in mostly hostels. They are very easy to book through websites like hostelworld.com, hostels.com, hostelclub.com, etc. All you need is a credit card and an idea of what time you'll be arriving there. You can also get nice accommodations through Air BnB. It's a site where people rent out their room or apartment for a cheap rate. Then there's Couch Surfing. It takes time and you have to actually make connections with people but it is free. You can weed out the weirdos 99% of the time through their references and pictures. Take some time and build your profile. I had some really great experiences but you have to usually send requests about 2 weeks in advance.
The cost of travelling depends on your personal needs. If you want to do everything, eat everything, and have a nice place to stay every night........ You will most likely spend way more money then I did. I spent about $1200-$2000 a month. Depending on the person it can be more or less but this was the average i saw between fellow travelers.
Europe is mostly well developed. It is not like travelling through a third world country. It is safe for the most part. Use common sense and your everyday street smarts. Don't walk around at night by yourself duh.
Body language is universal and use whatever words you know to communicate. They are people just like you and I.
It is really easy to make friends as a traveler. Especially travelling alone it was easy to find people to eat with and have a drink with. Hostels are really good places to meet fellow travelers. I made many friends and quite a few that I would like to make the effort of keeping in touch with. Have fun!!! Most people that are travelling are just as clueless as you feel :)
Thats all I have for now. Uploading pictures soon
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