There are so many lists giving advice for the do’s while traveling, but what are things that should be warranted for? What should be avoided? Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the moment of planning the perfect adventure that we can get distracted by overpacking, over planning, and not taking it easy. In all of the chaos, here are five 'do nots' to help keep your travel plans under control and running smoothly. 1. Don’t Buy Your Tickets at the Door As often as you can, aim to buy your tickets online and bring a printed or digital copy with you. Usually there are better online rates then there are when you arrive at the attractions, museums, historic sites, etc. Buying your tickets online will also save you time. You will be able to skip the ticket line and go straight in, join the ticket queue, or make a reservation for a time to go in depending on the popularity of the destination (you still get to skip the queue!). 2. Don’t Over Plan Your Schedule If you plan every minute of your day you will feel rundown, overrun, and like your travel plans are running you. It will leave you feeling like you are squeezing in too many activities and not taking in enough experience. Plan time for your activities and make a list of a few other activities you would want to do if you have time left over. Once you get there as well you will probably see something that you didn’t know of and want to try, as well. And never be afraid to have some free time to wander and explore with no destination in mind. Some of the best finds are when you are looking for anything at all. 3. Don’t Sleep In You’re only traveling for a short period of time, so get up early everyday to see those magical sunrises or get out a beat the crowds. You can sleep all you want on the way home and when you crash home. 4. Don’t Forget Traveler Over Tourist While experience all your travels and everything it has to offer, don’t forget to remember that while you are being a “traveler” you can still been seen by the locals as a “tourist”. While you are diving into a new environment, culture, and experience it can be overwhelming and occasional hard to remember to always be a safe traveler, as well. Although it can sometimes be tacky and take more time, always take precaution and trust your gut. Take that extra time to get yourself ready in the morning and keep your belongings safe so your trip can go as smoothly as possible. 5. Don’t Pack for “What-If” Scenarios Don’t over pack, thinking about all of your what ifs. What if we go here, what if we do this, what if, what if, what if. Nowadays, everyone has the perfect outfit packed and ready for any moment to take the best instagram picture. But to be honest, there isn’t always room your suitcase for multiple costume changes. Go with two of your favorite outfits for pictures and then pack clothes that you can interchange and wear with everything. xx A Traveler's Bliss
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Moving to another country, even for a short period of time like a study abroad, is exciting, challenging, and even scary at time. Its new and completely different than anything you have ever experienced. No matter how many times you tell yourself that, you may not realize just how true that really is until you arrive. Culture shock is the real deal and can be very stressful to manage at first, but with a few tips and tricks you will be strutting down every street like local (no map needed).
(Most important and comforting tip to settling in, find your nearest grocery store or mini mart! Food is the most essential and you will spend a lot of time frequenting them so it is always a comfort to know the nearest ones.)
So whether you are going abroad for a semester, moving abroad for a longer period of time, or just a vacation for a shorter period of time, don't let culture shock get you down! Use these tricks to your advantage and conquer culture shock like a boss to have the best experience abroad possible. xx A Traveler's Bliss Happy New Year, 2017! To ring in the new year, and to top off a two week break, I decided to start off the year with a more personal post: My ultimate travel bucket list. It is a pretty long list filled with trips and destinations, different activities I want to do in certain cities or places, and all I want to photograph along the way. To write every destination on my list would consist of me listing everywhere I haven’t been yet, and then going back to al of the places I have been. I decided to narrow it down to major trips that I would love to plan out one day and then see through. Writing this list has been incredibly inspiring, because it has no budget and no strings attached. This is my list-in-progresses of my dream travels and future plans. I can add to it, take away, and add check marks on the side as I accomplish as I go. Destinations -See the New Seven Wonders of the World: The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt; The Great Wall of China; Petra, Jordan; The Colosseum, Italy; Chichen Itza, Mexico; Machu Picchu, Peru; Taj Mahal, India; Christ the Redeemer, Brazil -Ultimate Road Trip Across the United States: When I was living in London, I realized how little I have traveled in the states. I want to live out of a car for the end of a summer/fall and drive from coast to coast and see everything in-between. -Michigan Road Trip -Alaska Cruise. Ice and northern lights? Am I right?! -Go to all Six Disney Parks: Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland, Disneyland Tokyo, Disneyland Shanghai, Disneyland Hong Kong (Okay, I have been to two, but how cool would it be to plan a trip around the world and go to one park after another? Or just go to all of the parks eventually. That works too.) -Antarctica -Tour of Morocco -South Asia Adventure: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam -Easter Island Heads -Travel to all Seven Continents and all 196 countries Activity Must Dos
-Hot Air Balloon Ride in Arizona/Utah, Turkey, Austria, or Myanmar. -Helicopter Ride over a City or National Park… Anywhere Really. That would be the coolest photo experience. -Hike the PCT ... or part of it. -Bungee Jump in New Zealand or South Africa -Horseback riding through the Scottish Highlands -Descend inside an Egyptian Tomb and learn its secrets -Experience the Northern Lights in Canada or Alaska -Walk the Great Wall of China -Tour Havana, Cuba in a 1950s Chevy -Go Whale Watching in Maine -Attended India’s Holi Festival -Release a floating lantern into the night sky during the Chiang Mai Yi Peng Festival -Hike in the Alps -Elephant Conservatory in Thailand -Skydiving in Hawaii, Arizona, Switzerland, or New Zealand -Shrivel up in a Dead Sea bath in Jordan -Go wild on an African Safari -Scuba Dive in the Great Barrier Reef -Party all night at Mardi Gras -Soak in a Blue-Lagoon Hot Spring in Iceland -Hike to the top of a Volcano -Do the Eurail again -Spend the night in a Castle -Live abroad for a period of time I hope some of these wonderfully, crazy travel ideas inspire your 2017 travel year! xx A Traveler's Bliss Calton Hill With finals on the horizon, my brain has been racing all over the place. From one assignment to the next, to running wild. It never fails that as soon as it’s time to buckle down for the semester, my mind starts to wander back to my empty suitcase and if I could go anywhere for a weekend where would I go? It makes me long for the London days when we would take off for a weekend adventure as soon as we could get away. With my longing to get away, I decided to do another addition of my London day trips, but London weekend trips edition. Scotland Weekend Getaway How to Get There: Scotland is an amazing, beautiful country with a rich history. You also get this experience without ever leaving Great Britain, weird right? You can fly or take the train to get to Edinburgh to start your weekend adventures. Flying out of London can be tricky on a budget, you either have to plan more time to save more money or spend a little more to save time. You can take a bus for about £14 to any of the airports, but they will take about an hour and a half to two hours from central London (so plan accordingly!). Or a car service will cost in-between £25-35 and take about thirty-five to forty-five minutes. The flight itself will take about and hour and a half to get from London to Edinburgh. It will take about another bus ride to get into Edinburgh. I did not take the train from London to Edinburgh, but it would take about the same time as flying and all the extra travel time. You would leave from King’s Cross and it would take about four hours via a direct train to get to Edinburgh Waverley Station. The best part is that the station is right in the heart of the city and you walk of the train to Princes Street and a view of Edinburgh Castle. Day 1: I would suggest leaving Friday night after class or work or plan on staying till Monday morning, just to get two full days in Scotland. That way you feel like your entire weekend is dedicated to traveling to and from Scotland. Once you arrive, depending on when you get in, you may just have enough time to stop at a pub and get a drink or some haggis! Day 2: For your first full day, get up bright and early before the rest of the city and get out for a tour of the highlands. Covering about 50% of the country with lochs, rising peaks, and unimaginable scenery. You will see the most amazing sights in the Highlands like Glen Coe, Lock Ness, and Ben Nevis. The tour of the Highlands was one of my highlights from our trip to Scotland. I highly recommend if you are going to Scotland for longer than a weekend to extend your visit and discover more. You can book tickets in advance with small group tours like Rabbie’s. Day 3: For your last day, it’s time to get up and hit the city. To start off your morning, grab some tea or coffee and hike to either of the best views of the city: Calton Hill or Arthur’s Seat. Make sure you take in the city. Once you spend some time on top of Edinburgh, head over to Old Town to The Elephant House for some breakfast, that is, if you’re a fan of Harry Potter. The café has become a bit of a legend and the bathrooms are quite iconic. There is so much to see and do in Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile, St. Giles Cathedral, Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat, The Royal Botanic Garden, Scotch Whiskey Experience, Scott Monument (you can climb to the top!), etc., the list goes on. If this at all seems daunting to you, there are some great guided walking tours in Edinburgh that you can do that will guide you through the city and give you the history as well. One I have done in several cities across Europe is Sandemen’s free walking tours. They have fantastic guides that know the city and the history. Are you waiting for the catch? Like why is the walking tour free, it can’t really be? It is really free, the tour leaders just ask for tips because that is their salary. They do not get paid to do the free walking tours other than the tips they make. But honestly, I have found out of the handful I have taken, their company does the best job. After another long day of nonstop sightseeing, exploring, and discoveries it will be time to hit the pub one more time and head back to London.
I hope this weekend guide will help inspire you to plan out a weekend getaway to Scotland and the Highlands, or give you a much needed distraction from the nearing finals that are upon us. Good luck to everyone with both! Xx A Traveler’s Bliss Mulled wine and yuletide Winter is my favorite time of the year! I love the cold air, the layer of frost on the windows, and the snow. I love the snow. It always seems to make Chicago sparkle and turn a postcard city into a hallmark card. There are so many things you can do in the city that are just ten times better to do in the snow and make the cold worth every frozen toe. Christkindlmarket Chicago Starting every year before Thanksgiving and running till Christmas is the annual Christkindlmarket, inspired by the Nuremberg markets in Germany that began in 1545. It is held at the Daley Plaza, where Dearborn, Washington, and Clark Street meet. You can smell the food and sweets before you can see the market. There is beer, mulled wine, cider, chocolate, baked cheese, schnitzel, pretzels, and so much more food. Most of the food vendors are cash only and the vendors selling goods; like a traditional wooden cuckoo clock, German lace, or paper stars, have a minimum for credit cards. Ice Skating Who doesn’t want to ice skate while it is snowing? It is like the perfect winter combo. There are two ice rinks in Chicago: the ice rink in Millennium Park in front of the Bean and the rink at Maggie Daley Park. Both are free and open to the public, if you bring your own skates, or a $12-14 skate rental. And don’t worry! Locker rentals are also available at each for $1-2. Ice skating and snow, who knows, you might even see a proposal or two. The Bean After skating at either Millennium Park or Maggie Daley, head over to the Bean to see one of Chicago’s most iconic, and touristy, attractions covered in a layer of snow. There is usually less of a crowed surrounding the usually packed landmark and it has a great view of the ice rink below, the city, and the Christmas tree. There is never a limit to what you can or cannot do in Chicago on a snowy day. Here is just a sample of what else is in store for your snow day adventures: Christmas Trees Christmas tree at Millennium Park Christmas tree at Wrigley Building. Walking Down Michigan Ave with all the Christmas lights ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo Grant Park walks for snowball fights and snow angels River Walk by Buckingham Fountain Horse & Carriage ride by the Magnificent Mile There is never a shortage of thing to do and see in Chicago, especially when the lights are twinkling and the snowflakes are flying. Just remember, don't stand too close to the curbs when your waiting to cross the street, the buses can be quite unforgiving when they blaze by.
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