Travel Woes // Lost Luggage

Travel Woes is a serial within my travel posts where I talk about when things go wrong aka what the fancy travel blogs won't talk about. Enjoy!

Ah, the most dreaded moment in anybody flying's life. You're waiting for your precious suitcase to appear on the luggage corral...and it never does. Cue. Panic. Except don't. The odds are in your favor that at some point your luggage will not arrive contigo. When I flew to London in 2015, the day after Boxing Day so my bad really, the inevitable happened. My luggage did not arrive. To say I was pissed would be the understatement of the century. Please see the screenshot below. My lovely friends were convinced this was the moment I would get arrested abroad never to be seen again. Alas, that didn't happen but we had a few close calls. Let me tell you what helped me in case it happens to you.

1. Don't Get Pissed
Listen. As somebody with an infamous temper and whose own immediate family members avoid me going nuclear at all costs, I know this statement is rich coming from me but I'm serious. There are certain moments in life we have to put on our manipulative caps and play nice to our advantage. The customer service people at the airport will be more accommodating if you're friendly and they want to help you.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Favorite Travel Photos of May 2017

It's no secret that I LOVE taking photos! I invested in a new Sony a6000 prior to my last trip and I'm obsessed with it! I also love taking photos with my iPhone 7+ which also gives me amazing quality. I thought it would be a fun idea for my Adventures post to do a Favorite Travel Photos of the Month post and just include my favorite photos I took. This month will be a little long with a lot of photos because I spent an amazing week in Denver so I have a few favorites from there. I also went up to Appleton, WI which is about a 2 hour drive away to watch my cousin play in the Division III College World Series which was SO fun! I hope you enjoy my favorite photos of the month, let me know what you think below!

Flight to Denver well-spent

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Short Flights vs Long Flights

Last week when I was flying to Denver I read my book the whole time. Not something unusual. But for whatever reason it made me realize that I have different habits when I take a short flight vs when I'm on a longer flight. Of course, I took that thinking opportunity and turned it into a post because the more I think about it the more curious I am if other people are the same way.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

If you've been following me on Instagram you'll have already seen some of my Mt Kilimanjaro photos and--spoiler alert--I made it to the top! It was without a doubt, the most incredible experience of my life. I have been thinking about climbing Kili for my 30th birthday for almost 5 years. Ever since reading Me Before You where the main character, Will, says that's what he did for his 30th birthday, I've been inspired to do something epic when I reached that milestone. When I first read it, I thought to myself, 'Yes, I'll do something really exciting but I could never do that.' And after thinking about it a few weeks, I couldn't get it out of my mind and my stubborn streak reared its ugly head and finally said, 'Why CAN'T you climb Mt Kilimanjaro? What's stopping you?'...and from there the dream was born.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Why I Love Traveling {1}

This is a serial post I've been wanting to do for awhile. I love to talk about travel--obviously--and I'd love to be able to expand and talk a bit more in-depth of what it is about traveling that speaks to me on a deeper level. So I thought the perfect first topic would the reason I keep booking plane ticket after plane ticket. That reason? The feeling.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel Trinkets

One of the questions I got while doing my Q&A was what do I do with all the trinkets and ticket stubs I keep. There's a few things I've done with them so far, I'm sure there are a lot more creative ideas but I haven't delved into the Pinterest world to see what other people, this is what I've come up with so far.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Make Travel Dreams a Reality

With the New Year a few days behind us and 2017 a beautiful, blank sheet of paper in front of us, the optimistic resolutions people make sometimes seem overwhelming in the beginning. Especially if they've been longterm goals that have seemed unattainable in past years, it's hard to decide where to start. Travel more always seem to be on people's lists and Hannah gave me the great idea to make my first post of the new year about a few key tips in how to make travel a reality. I've come up with 3 simple things you can do today that can help you achieve your resolution and make your dreams of travel a reality.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel Woes and Getting Lost

If you've been here before then you know I'm a fan of being brutally honest and keeping it real. Which is why I knew when I started writing more about my travels I wanted to include what I like to call, the stuff you won't see on other travel blogs aka when shit goes wrong. It's all well and good to post beautiful pictures and talk about the amazing time you had. I do this. But it's not always all sunshine and rainbows and beautiful sites. Shit goes wrong...a lot. And it's not all glamourous. So welcome to my first post of Travel Woes. This post will talk about my real one and only gut check, holy fuck what am I gonna do, panic moment of traveling. Thank God and baby Jesus that I've really only had one, maybe two, moments of panic. Here's one...

Excited and Instagram'ing pre shit hitting the fan

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel by Page to Scotland

 Back again, for quite possibly my second most read country! It's no surprise that I went back--yes, again--for the second time this year alone to England and Scotland. Sue me, they're my favorites. If I could have gone to Ireland too I would have had a trifecta of love but I digress. Today I'm talking Scottish books. These are my favorites and have grown my heart about 10 sizes just from reading them. When I was in Scotland earlier this year I didn't get to go to the Highlands so you can imagine how absolutely fucking mind-numbingly excited I was to be able to go this last time around! But before I knew if and when I'd ever get to see this magical place in person, I read about it...extensively.

If You Want to Travel To Scotland...

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Gift Guide for the Traveler in Your Life

The holidays are approaching so I thought it would be fun to put together gift ideas for somebody who loves to travel. Everything I'm talking about or featuring are gifts I myself have received so really, all the credit goes to my amazing friends and family who have been ever so thoughtful to me over the years. I've also broken them down into fun categories (well *I* think they're fun!).

For Travel Inspiration

Notebook with a Go-Getter Quote // I love notebooks. I especially love notebooks with travel quotes on them and I use them to brainstorm and plan my trips. A travel quoted notebook and help inspire you traveler where to take their next trip! (Thanks, Steph!)

Prints with Travel-Inspired Quotes // One of my favorite gifts ever was from Ellice (featured in the middle). It's my favorite quote from Me Before You by Jojo Moyes on a vintage map. SO thoughtful and inspiring and I LOVE looking at it. I'm obsessed with it and it is one of my most treasured gifts. This gift is thoughtful, inspiring, and will help your traveler feel read to take on their next adventure.

Book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die // What better way to inspire wanderlust than with a book highlighting not one, not ten, but a THOUSAND places to travel! I keep this on my nightstand and am always reading through different countries to inspire my next adventure. (Thanks, Estelle!)

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Packing a Purse or Personal Item

One week from today I'll be touching down in London! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am! I thought I would talk about my tips on packing a personal item as my last travel post before I leave the the blog is quiet. This was a huge trial and error for me to get to this and I hope I can save you some time and stress. I wasn't so fortunate and made a lot of annoying, not to mention heavy, mistakes but I digress.

So this is my final post in regards to packing tips is the personal item. (If you want to check out my checked bag post and carry on packing tips check out the links.) Listen, I have had a different purse/tote on every trip I've taken. I have yet to find an airplane purse/personal item that works for me. One day I will, it is my solemn vow. Until then I will tell you what I found the be essential in the overall packing process and planning your personal item. I finally figured out on my last trip that less really is more and by that I mean pack your carry-on backpack with all your 'must-needs to survive' essentials like we talked about and use a medium sized cross-body purse or tote to keep with you that has all your plane ride must-haves. Make it light. No joke, guys. Do not make your purse heavy or carry a huge tote with you. I've made this mistake and not only does it cut down on leg room because you have to shove it under the seat but it gets awkward to carry on your shoulder or elbow. A cross-body bag leave you hands free to find your passport, take out essential documents, and grab your luggage.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Travel Quotes

In a less than two weeks I'll be leaving for another adventure! I'm so incredibly excited to be off to London, Scotland, and Wales I could explode just thinking about it! Seriously, I cannot wait. With that said, I wanted to share my favorite travel quotes with y'all today. I think about these all the time and they are the inspiration to me for everything I do. And a fun fact is that all the photos the quotes are on are my own personal photos I've taken while traveling. I mean, I'm in a lot of them if you couldn't tell but this project is one I'm especially proud of so I hope you enjoy!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somwhere // Travel by Page to England

It's no surprise that I would try and find a way to combine reading and traveling. A huge motivator in all my travels has always been books. Guaranteed, any trip I take if you ask me why I wanted to go there it's 98% of the time going to start with this sentence, "Well I read this book..." Because I didn't start really traveling until my 20's, I still think that reading is the best and most cost effective form of travel. That feeling of being transported to another time, another place can always be found within the pages of books. That's why I wanted to start doing book recs based on countries. This first edition of this will, of course, be England. Most likely the book will take place in London but a lot of them travel throughout the country especially the historical ones.

So without further ado, here are my book recs for England. Whether you're planning a trip or looking to travel within the confines of your living room, these books will take you there. Note: I had SO many England recs that I divided them up between Setting, Historical, and Swoon. So no matter what you're looking for, I'm hoping you can find something here. Also note: No other country will be this extensive. As I've said a thousand times, London is my soul mate city. I read a lot about it.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Madrid, Spain

Seville may have stolen my heart but Madrid is a close second. Prior to leaving for this trip I was most excited to see Madrid. Again, I was not disappointed. Madrid is beautiful and while I only got to see a few key locations, I loved spending my time leisurely wandering around the Palace and Cathedral...see below.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Do's and Don'ts of Travel

I'm a huge list person. With that said I love posts of Do's and Don'ts. Maybe it's just me but I feel like they kind of go hand in hand. Regardless, today I'm talking about my personal Do's and Don'ts of traveling. Everyone is different and will have their own opinions, my list is pretty general because I know how subjective traveling experience will be but there are a few tried and true observations and lessons I've learned throughout my years abroad.

DO Be Aware of Your Surroundings
I'm gonna start off with the boring buzzkill of safety right off the bat. While it's not the most fun thing to talk about, it is a necessity. I don't live my life in fear as I talked about in my Q&A but it is so incredibly important to just be aware of your surroundings. You might run a little on the side of skittish or you might not be concerned about safety at all, no matter which way you run you have to be aware of what and who is around you. I like to think I have a pretty good instinct but some people don't. A dark alleyway no matter how short is never a good idea. Just think through your choices of transportation and try to know where you're going before leaving your accommodation. Know that you will get lost but instead of asking a random on the street, go into a business or hotel you pass and ask for directions. You don't want strangers to know you're not only not from here, but you're lost as well. Work smarter, not harder. With that said...

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Quebec City, Canada

While Montreal was not my cup of tea, Quebec City was fantastic! About a 2.5 hour drive north of Montreal, Quebec City is an city enclosed by a stone wall-not sure if I'm saying that correctly but it is true for the most part. I think it's made of stone but I digress.

My day included the drive, a quick stop at Montmorency Falls for some photos, and then exploring the upper and lower portions of Quebec City. For this post I decided to focus more on photos than text because to be honest, I don't have a ton to say because I didn't do a whole lot in Quebec City minus walking around. It might sound lame but take a look at the photos below and you'll understand why I spend a good 4 hours just walking around this beautiful city.  

Montmorency Falls

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Montreal, Canada

While not every city I go to will be a favorite, I was really surprised that Montreal didn't impress me more. It wasn't that I strongly disliked it, it was just that I wasn't blown away. I'm a very intuitive person and this city just didn't click with me. When you know, you know and Montreal wasn't a 'know' for me. There were beautiful parts of the city but overall it felt like any other major city to me. Disclaimer: It goes without saying, once again, travel is subjective and one man's trash is another man's treasure. Instead of talking about what I didn't like, I'm going to highlight the few parts of the city I did really enjoy!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Seville, Spain

If you remember my Instagram pic from a few months ago, you'll know how much I LOVED Seville. Hands down my favorite Spanish city. Gorgeous, steeped in history, and a nerd girl's dream. Why? Well, I'll tell you. Seville is home to not only the filming location of the Palace of Naboo from Star Wars but it is also the home of Dorne from Game of Thrones...holy shit somebody pinch me I'm in Heaven!! I squee'd so hard it should have been embarrassing but as if I give any fucks. Here's my breakdown of my favorite Spanish city. Note: It's gonna be more picture heavy because I couldn't choose just one per place!

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Packing a Carry-On

The most stable relationship
I've had for the past 5 years

This portion of packing tips I'm talking about carry-on bag. I have always used a backpack as my carry-on and it's something I have never regretted doing. Me and my backpack are closer than Dora and hers. It has been literally everywhere with me. If that thing ever breaks or rips I will be as devastated as Tom Hanks losing Wilson. No joke, that thing is a part of me. It's the only thing that has been with me on every trip and has never let me down. I can't even tell you the size of liters it is or where to get it because I bought it on sale at Sports Authority literally almost 5 years ago. It is my BAE and I'm also convicted it has a little bit of magic in it that every time I pack it it's like a Mary Poppins bag because I fit SO much in it!


Prior to my first international trip I read dozens of articles on packing tips. The one thing that I took away from all of them and stuck with me was to pack your carry-on assuming your checked bag would be lost. Pack essentials to be able to live out of for a few days if the worst case scenario happens. I can now honestly tell you after 4 years of international travel British Airways were the assholes that made my OCD packing a a reality. They lost my bag and I was in London for 2 days sans luggage. THANK FUCK for that backpack and my packing habits. I'll be doing a post in the future of Travel Woes where I'll talk more about lost luggage but for now, here's what I pack in my carry-on and why my backpack is essential to my travel.

Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere // Portland, Maine {2}

My post last week about the sights of Portland got too long to include my new favorite spots to eat. I am not a foodie at all but I felt like on in this city! There were so many amazing looking restaurants and Irish bars and sweet shops that I wanted to stay for a month if only to experience all the city had to offer! One day...the place I did eat were amazing and if you guys get a chance, definitely check these places out! Your stomach will not regret it!

Portland Lobster Company
http://www.portlandlobstercompany.com/
The main street lining the coast is Commercial street and here you'll multiple little shack shops of seafood. I ate at the Portland Lobster Company per Rachel's recommendation and she did not steer me wrong. Friendly service, amazing food, and a choice to sit in the sun or covered on their large patio on the water. I'm using the word perfect a lot but it was truly an afternoon I felt blessed to be alive. It just had that feeling of completion and connection with life. The whole day was amazing. But seriously. Eat here. You can sit in the sun or shade, gaze at the water, and eat uh-may-zing seafood. You really can't go wrong!