Post 1
Date - April 30, 2014
Ok, so give me a break, this is my first blog post. Not sure how these things are supposed to go so I'm just going to share what's on my mind.
Well, I'm one week out from starting my trip! May 7th - can't wait! I'm excited and nervous because there are so many new experiences to come. I've been planning this trip for quite some months and have been dreaming about it for quite some years. I still have a few things left to do before I leave: research some locations, book a few things and pack. Oh man, packing. That is one of the main things I'm worried about. I'll only be taking a carry-on and I have to take a very limited amount of things with me. I've done lots of research on what to pack for a backpacking trip so I have a good idea I just don't know what I want to wear over and over. Once I figure it out I'll make a blog on it to let you guys know what made the cut.
Now back to my first blog title - wanderlust: (n.) a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. This describes me perfectly. I've always loved traveling and visiting new locations ever since I was young. I've been pretty much all around the U.S., except California, that's the only place left that I really want to visit in my country. I hope to visit before the year is up. I've also been to Mexico and the Cayman Islands. Since I've only been to 3 countries I decided that I'm going to collect money from every country I visit as a souvenir. So right now I have 1 U.S. dollar, 1 Cayman dollar and a 20 peso bill (only because that's the smallest bill they have.) I also collect post cards from every city I visit. Oh, and another thing, I'm pretty frugal. :) And proud, some of the richest people in the world watched their spending early on! That's how I can afford the things I have. I don't deprive myself but I make careful considerations to the things I buy. I love a good deal and would hate to buy something for a certain price when I know I can find it for a better price. So that leads me to my next point of my trip.
Budget. My budget will be pretty tight. I'm hoping to spend no more than $500/week on my trip including my hostel stay, transportation, food and entertainment. I have a comfortable safety net but I really want to try and stay on budget as much as possible. I followed 2 guys from the U.K. who went on "The Grand Tour" in Europe for 2 months for all under 1000 GPS (British Pound Sterling). Not bad at all! That's approximately $1680 in U.S. dollars ($210/week) so I think I can do it. I read all their blogs and followed them on Facebook. I learned a lot from them and lived vicariously through their blogs and pictures. I'm now even more inspired to start my own grand tour! Be sure to show support and check out their page at www.travelthelandforlessthanagrand.com and book that comes out on July 1st for details on how to travel for less! Highly recommended!
There's a whole world when it comes to traveling. You find out so much and I know there's still so much I'll learn. I will certainly let you all in on the details through my blogs and hope I can inspire others that think you need a lot of money to travel. I would love to come back with a lot of my budget left over but we shall see! I hope you all enjoyed my first blog - I'm sure I'll get better at this! Thanks for reading to the end! :) Ciao!
Date - April 30, 2014
Ok, so give me a break, this is my first blog post. Not sure how these things are supposed to go so I'm just going to share what's on my mind.
Well, I'm one week out from starting my trip! May 7th - can't wait! I'm excited and nervous because there are so many new experiences to come. I've been planning this trip for quite some months and have been dreaming about it for quite some years. I still have a few things left to do before I leave: research some locations, book a few things and pack. Oh man, packing. That is one of the main things I'm worried about. I'll only be taking a carry-on and I have to take a very limited amount of things with me. I've done lots of research on what to pack for a backpacking trip so I have a good idea I just don't know what I want to wear over and over. Once I figure it out I'll make a blog on it to let you guys know what made the cut.
Now back to my first blog title - wanderlust: (n.) a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. This describes me perfectly. I've always loved traveling and visiting new locations ever since I was young. I've been pretty much all around the U.S., except California, that's the only place left that I really want to visit in my country. I hope to visit before the year is up. I've also been to Mexico and the Cayman Islands. Since I've only been to 3 countries I decided that I'm going to collect money from every country I visit as a souvenir. So right now I have 1 U.S. dollar, 1 Cayman dollar and a 20 peso bill (only because that's the smallest bill they have.) I also collect post cards from every city I visit. Oh, and another thing, I'm pretty frugal. :) And proud, some of the richest people in the world watched their spending early on! That's how I can afford the things I have. I don't deprive myself but I make careful considerations to the things I buy. I love a good deal and would hate to buy something for a certain price when I know I can find it for a better price. So that leads me to my next point of my trip.
Budget. My budget will be pretty tight. I'm hoping to spend no more than $500/week on my trip including my hostel stay, transportation, food and entertainment. I have a comfortable safety net but I really want to try and stay on budget as much as possible. I followed 2 guys from the U.K. who went on "The Grand Tour" in Europe for 2 months for all under 1000 GPS (British Pound Sterling). Not bad at all! That's approximately $1680 in U.S. dollars ($210/week) so I think I can do it. I read all their blogs and followed them on Facebook. I learned a lot from them and lived vicariously through their blogs and pictures. I'm now even more inspired to start my own grand tour! Be sure to show support and check out their page at www.travelthelandforlessthanagrand.com and book that comes out on July 1st for details on how to travel for less! Highly recommended!
There's a whole world when it comes to traveling. You find out so much and I know there's still so much I'll learn. I will certainly let you all in on the details through my blogs and hope I can inspire others that think you need a lot of money to travel. I would love to come back with a lot of my budget left over but we shall see! I hope you all enjoyed my first blog - I'm sure I'll get better at this! Thanks for reading to the end! :) Ciao!