Solo Traveling Solo

04/02/2023

Well, it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted. Since COVID restrictions ended, I’ve been to France, Italy, and the Azores but none of those were solo trips. Today I’m finally off on a solo adventure! I’m going to Madeira first, then flying to mainland Portugal and spending some time in Porto, Coimbra, and Lisbon. Madeira and Coimbra are new to me and this will be my third time in Porto and Lisbon. I love Portugal and highly recommend it for travel, solo and otherwise. Stay tuned for lots of great pictures and travel tips!

19/05/2021

Great news for us vaccinated folks who are looking forward to traveling again!

The European Union confirmed on Wednesday that it will reopen to fully vaccinated travelers this summer. The group's Member States came to an agreement that

17/10/2020

I’ve been to Montreal, Malta, Santiago, and Melbourne. I’d have to say Malta was my favorite but I enjoyed them all!

In a pre-COVID world, solo travel, especially for women, was on the rise. But if you’re a woman wanting to travel alone, how do you decide where to go? According to a recent survey, key factors for solo travelers when deciding on a destination include safety, cost, quality of the scenery and that ...

07/08/2020

I can’t wait until I can travel again!

10/11/2019

08/11/2019

I’m off on another adventure! This time the trip is only part solo. 😉 I’m flying through JFK and have an eight-hour layover so I took the train into the city. I walked to Hudson Yards from Penn Station to see The Vessel. Then I took the subway to Rockefeller Center to visit Top of the Rock. I made it just in time for sunset! It was very beautiful but very cold. I’m currently grabbing a quick dinner at Fig and Olive near Rockefeller Center before heading back to the airport. More about the food later! Oh, and I’m sure you’re wondering: the final destination is Portugal. And the non-solo portion is in London!

29/09/2019

Happy Sunday! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, but I haven't taken any solo trips lately. I did, however, go on a weekend trip that resulted in my first Airbnb fail.

So we arrive in Columbia, SC for the Hootie and the Blowfish concert on Friday and the Alabama vs. USC football game on Saturday. We get to the Airbnb. Nothing fancy, but it's clean. The bed is only a full, which is fine for my 5'1" self but my companion is 6'4". No big deal, we'll make it work. Then we notice that the only curtains on the window are totally sheer. Anyone could look right in and and see everything. Awkward! Even more awkward? The fact that there was no door on the bathroom! I wasn't quite ready to be that open with someone I had only been dating a couple of months. At least the door was where you couldn't actually see in unless you were in the kitchen.

We got an Uber and went out for a great dinner at Cola's before the concert. On the ride back, our Uber driver let us know that we weren't exactly staying in the best area. Oops! The next morning we discover that the window by the door is actually missing a pane of glass! That was the last straw and we decided to pack up and leave. The icing on the cake: his car was absolutely infested with thousands of ants! It was crazy. We found a car wash that did ant remediation and ubered to an amazing breakfast at the Devine Cinnamon Roll Deli. The delicious food and mimosas perked us up.

My companion booked the Airbnb so he contacted the host and told him what happened and that we had vacated the premises. The host totally ghosted him and never responded. You have to wait 72 hours and then you can contact Airbnb. He ended up getting a refund for one night and the ant remediation. We just drove the four hours back after the game and crashed. All's well that ends well and it was a fun weekend despite the poor choice in lodging!

24/07/2019

A delicious dinner at Mama Lu in Traverse City!

24/07/2019

Good (and very early) morning! I am off on another domestic tourism/work adventure! I am flying up to Traverse City, MI and spending a couple of days there enjoying the hiking and local beer and wine. After that I am off to Crystal Mountain resort for a legal seminar. Then it's down to Grand Rapids to visit some friends. I am NOT a morning person but I chose the 6:45am flight so I could get up there in the early afternoon and have plenty of time to explore. Thankfully I got upgraded to first class so hopefully I can catch a nap on the flight up.

28/06/2019

A little domestic tourism in historic St. Augustine, Florida. A delicious pre-dinner cocktail at Odd Birds.

26/04/2019

La última pasajera. The last passenger. It sounds like a great book title. Not so great in real life! I actually arrived to the airport in plenty of time because for some reason I couldn’t check in online yesterday. Apparently there was something wrong with my ticket which took them a while to fix. I got through security quickly but the line for passport control was incredibly slow. And, on top of that, I had the dreaded SSSS on my ticket. This means you get an additional, more invasive security screening when you get to the gate area. Thankfully they reassured me I would still make my flight and were very efficient. My reward ended up being an entire row to myself. Always a huge bonus on these long flights! The photo is of Monserrat and the Pyrenees from the airplane window.

25/04/2019

Yesterday was an amazing day! I knew the weather was going to be nice so I planned a lot of outdoor activities. I went to the Penedès area southwest of Barcelona where they make cava (sparkling wine). It was a group of six including our guide and we rode our bikes around the countryside and visited two different wineries. Besides wonderful wine and scenery, our group really bonded so we had even more fun! After the wine tour we all decided to go to the lovely beach town of Sitges. In a little area between some sidewalks there was an area for cats to live. I’ve never seen anything like it! We enjoyed lunch by the sea before heading back to Barcelona. Once back I walked around the city and had some tapas for dinner.