Elizabeth Explores: August 2014

The whole idea for this adventure came from a road trip to St. George with my not-boyfriend and his friends. His friends were talking about all these trips they have been on, and I asked, "How can you afford that? Aren't you going to school AND working? How do you have the time and money?" They shrugged their shoulders, and said if you save your money and time-off, it's easy. I started getting inspired, and started saving money, almost unconsciously. I began putting a little bit of my paycheck into my savings account, and I watched it grow rather quickly. So I started depositing more. I began telling people I was thinking about backpacking through Europe and a curious thing happened. Before I decided this, I didn't know anyone who had backpacked through Europe. When I started talking about it, I not only found out I DID know some people who have done it, but I also MET a lot of new people who have done it. At this early stage, I had NO idea where to start planning. People would ask me where I wanted to go, I would say, "I don't know! Everywhere!" (Ok, I still say that, but it's more tongue-and-cheek…now I have somewhat of an itinerary.) I started reading blogs, I began reading books, I talked to friends about it. Even if they haven't backpacked Europe, many have traveled there and have given me many tips and tricks. I took a community class called "How to Travel for Free." The class taught me about credit card rewards, discount cruises, travel hacks of all kinds. This class introduced me to a blog called nomadicmatt.com, which has become my saving grace, I love it! Many tips I hear often…don't eat out every meal, buy groceries and make something…don't eat in the touristy areas…get the city tourist card. But almost everyone I talk to has advice to offer that I hadn't heard before. So this is a list of those tips and tricks, and also of resources I've pulled from.

Random advice:
-The emergency number for Europe is 211.
-Get your immunizations
-Many ATMs charge a monumental fee
-Capital One credit cards don't have foreign transaction fees
-Couchsurfing
-Connect with Young Single Adults in Europe, or at least LDS members
-New and crisp currency will garner a better exchange rate…new is important to Europeans
-Get discount cards: city cards, Youth Hostel Card (Hostelling International), International Student Identity Card (ISIC).
-Rick Steves' virtual tours
-Pinterest
-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/13/diy-travel-hacks_n_4760560.html
http://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2012/06/23/europe_travel_tips_and_tricks_to_avoid_long_lines_at_tourist_sites.html

Now, I know I know nothing about this yet, so I know this list will get a whole lot bigger with my own experiences. But in one of the books I read,"Vagabonding," the author Rolph Potts supplies a quote by Bertrand Russell: "Adventurous men enjoy shipwrecks, mutinies, earthquakes, conflagrations, and all kinds of unpleasant experiences. They say to themselves, for example, 'So this is what an earthquake is like,' and it gives them pleasure to have their knowledge of the world increased by this new item." I highly recommend this book. It's all about rolling with the punches while on the road, and even in day-to-day life.

Books and blogs:
nomadicmatt.com
adventurouskate.com
Lonely Plant: Europe on a Shoestring
How to Travel the World on $50 a Day by Matt Kepnes (Nomadic Matt)
Vagabonding by Rolph Potts

Elizabeth Explores

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Things I've learned so far...

Thursday, August 7, 2014

The Plan (so far)