Hey Guys :)
This blog is all about the highlights, low lights, and lessons learned from an Epic 7 week adventure chasing the sun and music festivals around the world.
Vague Itinerary
Sail Croatia Navigator One Way Cruise (Dubrovnik, Milet, Korcula, Hvar, Stari Grad, Makarska & Split). Italy- Sun & Bass Festival in Sardinia, Rome, Piza, Venice & the Cinque Terra. Czech Republic-Prague. Germany- Munich & Berlin. France- The French Riviera, Nice, Cannes & Paris. The Netherlands- Amsterdam. LA Groove Cruise LA- Mexico. Las Vegas then unfortunately back home and to work less than 24 hours later.We met up with friends and convoyed in camper vans through Croatia. Raved in Caves in Makarska Croatia, and an abandoned fortress in Pula Croatia for Outlook Festival. Enjoyed the beautiful Croatian Islands and made so many new friends on a Sail Croatia Tour. Experienced the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Ate delicious french patisserie goodies. Marvelled at the history and architecture in Prague. Took a gondola ride through the canals in Venice. Wandered around Rome in awe of its magnificence and rich history. Walked along the Berlin Wall. Drank beer and ate pretzels in Munich, Experienced complete sensory overload in a Blind Dining Experience in Berlin. Made so many new friends and Partied for 3 days on the Groove Cruise Carnival Inspiration Cruise from LA to Mexico, and Hired a sexy yellow Chevy Camaro Convertible and drove from LA to Las Vegas BABY....To name a few.
It wasn't cheap and it definitely took a long time planning & researching to try and fit everything in but was worth every cent and every minute of prep for the amazing memories I'll forever cherish. SO if you want to do a similar thing get out your world map. Research times of year to travel, look at highlights and festivals in the areas that you might want to see. Keep an eye out for deals (we got a round the world flights) and speak to/ learn from others who have been there by spamming your friends on social media or reading blogs like this one. Also, don't be disheartened if you can't get to everything you would like to (we missed out on Tomorrowland Tickets but ended up still having the best time with no regrets) its a big wide world out there & you will get the chance to visit again. Hopefully these tips come in handy as they are some of the things I wish that I had known beforehand.
You can't beat a locals perspective -so if you happen to meet anyone from destinations you would like to visit always chat with them and ask for advice/ suggestions/ local family and friends who might be happy to take you in and show you around. But most importantly of all be appreciative for every experience be it good or bad and just make the most of your precious time travelling.
Festivals/ Partying
Sail Croatia
Outlook Festival Pula, Croatia
Sun and Bass in San Teodoro, Sardinia.
The Groove Cruise LA- Catalina Island- Mexico.
Highlights of the trip
-Sail Croatia and experiencing the beautiful islands and making so many friends.
-Driving through Croatia in a Camper Van with a Convoy of mates.
-Outlook music Festival in Pula- Seriously, If you are into Underground Music you can't beat raving with thousands of people in an abandoned fort perched above the Adriatic sea. Chilling by the beach in the days, then partying the nights away to house, techno, dubstep, reggae, dub, garage, grime, electronica.
-Sun & Bass; a Drum & Bass Music Festival situated in Beautiful San Teodoro, Sardinia. An island off the coast of Italy.
-Marvelling at the nipple tasselling fiesta that was the Moulin Rouge in Paris
-The Spectacular history in Rome
-The food in France- seriously get yourself some patisserie goods, take the train along the spectacular french riviera and do a walking tour in Paris.
-The Cinque Terra Italy- romantic, breath talking little fishing villages along the Italian coastline walk or get the train but definitely spend at least a day checking out these beautiful centuries old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline.
-Free walking tours! Can't get enough of them. Most places offer free walking tours where the guides are generally so passionate, entertaining and because they are working for tips their service is always top notch and you get a really good feel for the place- also great form of exercise!
-Blind Dining experience at Unsicht Bar Berlin- This was a next-level culinary experience. All of the waitstaff etc are blind, you are led into a pitch black restaurant with curiosity peaking. The menu is a complete mystery so you chose a main source of protein. All of your senses are heightened and tingling because seriously have NO idea what you are eating or what is going on around you.
-The Berlin Wall in Germany.
-Prague, such an amazing city! So much history, the architecture is amazing, the food- WOW. Definitely stay in old town and take advantage of the walking tours.
My Experience/ Advice to take on board when planning a big trip.
When you are planning for your trip take things like the weather into consideration- air conditioning for some people is a must. I remember melting in the stinky camper van at the festival in Croatia when it would have been so much nicer to lay out in the fresh air of a tent. (Especially if you have to share your bed with a sweaty hot guy- men just seem to run hotter so even if this wouldn't normally phase you travelling solo its definitely something to keep in mind travelling in a couple.)
Sleeping Arrangements- If you are a poor sleeper like me then prepare for this! Supplements such as magnesium/ valerian forte are natural alternatives to assist you with getting to sleep, or get some over the counter sleepers for worst case scenarios. Nothing ruins an experience more than walking around like a zombie and not being able to it. Pack an eye pillow and soundproof ear plugs if you might be trying to sleep in bright conditions or near loud areas. There are plenty of free apps such as 'Breathe' are great to help you meditate/ play relaxing music to help you sleep.
Travel companionship- Be prepared, travelling can bring out the best and worst in people. Before committing to a big trip make sure that you are on the same page, have similar views and are down for the same kind of experience. Nothing worse than jeopardising a friendship or an experience because one person wants to party all night and come home at 4am while the other one gets annoyed because their yoga class starts at 6am. Communication is essential- If you have different plans that's completely fine just discuss it, then split off and do your own things or prepare for this by not sharing a room. Compromising and being considerate is also essential when you are travelling with other people.
Venice- I was seriously underwhelmed by this city. We fell asleep on the gondola for a start because we were exhausted and our captain clearly hated his job (biggest waste of 80 euros). There was no public space to just sit & chill out which was why we paid so much to just chill in a gondola. Accommodation was really expensive and aside from eating in restaurants and looking around there just wasn't really a lot to see or do I wish we had only stayed maybe 1 night and 2 days max.
The food (in Touristy places) in Italy- I was really underwhelmed with the Italian food BUT in saying that we only really stayed in very touristy locations on this trip. I have heard that food is so much better and more authentic if you go off the beaten track. SO just don't have really high expectations in the highly populated touristy areas and if you are a foodie venture out into quieter smaller towns and try to meet some locals and sample their food.
Carb loading- BREAD... Everywhere! Seriously I love bread but when travelling around Italy and France definitely don't go to a restaurant starving and polish off 2 loads of bread with olive oil before your main meal even comes out. It is a recipe for disaster, and serious Europe weight gain. Also, Pace yourselves on the pizza's and gelato- you should sample things but don't go so overboard. (My BF at the time gained a good 8kg's at least indulging in too much of everything)
Over packing- I think I went with 19kgs. I carried this massive heavy stuffed backpack around with me which was just a pain in the ass and really non- functional. i had to get assistance putting it on my back, hated lugging it around and probably wore the same few items. It's TRUE what they say take half of what you want to pack.
Don't over plan- This can work in your favour but also restrict your experience. We had such a strict itinerary with 2-3 days in most places which can be great when you are trying to fit a lot of things in BUT it leaves no room for the imagination or movement. (i.e. Would have stayed less time in Venice but we already had travel arrangements sorted so wasted extra time there).
Buy a Euro rail pass before you go. We thought we would get cheaper tickets there- WRONG. we paid for our individual journeys which was fine but the more expensive option. We did opt to splash out once and took a first class Bullet Train in France which was so much fun and luxurious.
Ensure that you know the proper attire/ dress code for some places you might like to visit or be prepared for a quick last minute shopping dash to get what you need. We missed out on getting into Berghain (Berlin's most exclusive nightclub) because we were too over dressed. This place is one very exclusive club, renowned for excluding entry to even the most famous of people. Here is a link with tips to get in if you want to check it out. Luckily, we still ended up having a great night but it was so disappointing to wait in a line for hours and get turned down. Likewise, in reverse when we went to the Moulin Rouge in Paris we spent an hour running around last minute to invest in some dressy clothes as we only had our backpacking attire.
Jet Lag- its a bitch. Give yourself a couple of days to get back into a routine and find ways to minimise the effects (i.e. adjust to time zones, sleep on planes etc. will blog more on this soon). DON'T go back to work the next morning after a world trip thinking that everything would be fine. No, you will struggle through the day and be a completely useless zombie. I thought it was worth it for an extra day of fun but it took me ages to get back into a routine and I ended up getting run down going straight back to 12 hour work days.
Anyways there is so much more I could go on about this trip forever. I will probably write up some more about the specific experiences i.e. Sail Croatia, Outlook Festival and The Groove Cruise in more detail soon. Hopefully these tips help you out with your travel planning.
Feel free to comment and share your experiences/ feedback :)
Stay Safe & Happy travel planning!
No comments:
Post a Comment