Hello beautiful humans, as you know the last few months have been a crazy transitional period for me with moving to a new city, getting my apartment all together and getting used to this whole adulting thing. So thank you for coming back to this little corner of mine, despite the amount of dust that it’s collected over the past few months...you’re a real one<3
If you’ve been following me for the last few months you probably know that after graduation, I spent a whole month abroad. I saved up just enough money to travel to Europe and Africa for a total of four weeks before starting adulthood. Over the last few months I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my trip that I wanted to take time to answer. I also wanted to share some of the images I got developed so grab your pen and notebook and let’s get to scrolling. Esskkkeeddittt.
Q: Where did you go and how long were you gone for?
A: I’m glad you asked. ;) I visited the cities listed below and I was gone for a total of 4 weeks. Unfortunately, I was really bad at snapping pictures on film from all the places I went, so I only have a few snaps from Portugal and Spain.
+ Lisbon, Portugal + Mallorca, Spain
+ Albufeira, Portugal + Barcelona, Spain
+ London, England + Lagos, Nigeria
Q: How did you pay for your travels?
A: This was probably my most asked question. Unfortunately for me, I’m no trust fund baby and haven’t yet figured out how to grow dollar bills from my backyard lol so all of this money was hard earned. I love my parents to death and I think they love me too, but they sadly didn’t help me a bit on this trip. It was all from money I saved over the course of 18 months because I was determined to go on a graduation world tour.
So my advice to you? No matter how little your paycheck is, ALWAYS send a portion of it to a designated ‘travel savings’ account. Every dollar counts, and it’s easier to not spend money when you don’t have it within reach. So just put it away ;). 5%, 10%, or 25% of your check…it all adds up.
Q: How did you find the best hotels?
A: Sooooo, most of the time we actually Airbnb’d. When I was in London, I stayed with family, but when in Portugal and Spain, we stayed in Airbnbs. For the most part, my Airbnb was a good experience, but I would say when looking you should do the following:
Look at the pictures. I’m super picky about the places I’ll stay…the bathrooms and kitchen have to be basically new or at least just very clean lol. So for me, the pictures mean everything.
Look at reviews. So this may sound super silly, but REVIEWS ARE EVERYTHING. It gives you insight on the experience from people that have actually stayed there.
Book in Advance. To avoid paying the last minute costs and getting the Airbnb leftovers, try to book your stay at least 3 months before your trip. You’ll have so many more options and odds are, they wont be as expensive.
Is Airbnb allowed? Do your research and make sure that Airbnb’s are both legal and an available option where you are. Your safety is super important so make sure that you don’t jeopardize that.
If you’re not one that super trusting of the Airbnb option, I would suggest checking out expedia.com, hotels.com, and hotwire.com for cheaper hotel options.
Q: What was the biggest thing you learned while you were abroad?
A: Wow I don’t even know where to start. I learned so many different things while abroad, but the biggest thing was that just in case I happened to forget… this trip reiterated that God is truly incredible. There is just so much to see in this world we live in it’s crazy. So many beautiful cultures, amazing food, and great activities and I can’t wait to keep exploring.
Also, there are so many different types of travelers. To avoid frustrations or trips that aren’t enriching, make sure that you travel with a group that has some similar interests as you. If not, make sure everyone gets to say where they want to go and incorporate everyone’s desires. The people you’re traveling with have such an impact on your experience so choose wisely.
Q: What was your favorite place that you visited?
A: I was obsessed with Mallorca, Spain. I think that’s my favorite place on this planet to date. It’s so naturally beautiful and i have never seen waters so blue and beautiful.
Q: How did you find places to go?
A: This is probably sounds so silly, but Instagram. I always search hashtags and locations and save them under collections for the place that I’m visiting. If you’re anything like me, the authentic and culturally enriching experiences mean the most to me. Most times you wont find these kind of things online, so I would advise you to ask the natives for their restaurant and activity recommendations. In addition to those two, I asked people that I knew had been to these places.
Q: What would you do differently?
A: While I loved visiting all of these beautiful places, I felt like I was always on the move. I really wish that I could have spread out my travels because by the end of my trip I was soooo tired lol.
