The Great European Summer Adventure (GESA?) – the travellers community and what’s up next

The great european summer adventure (GESA?) has officially begun – 3 weeks in – and so far it’s been unreal. Travelling on my own has been such a liberating experience. Me being me, I had some stresses before I left Madrid, with no sure reason as to why I was actually stressing. I’ve travelled countless times before, I know the airport lowdown (security check is my bitch), I have mastered falling asleep on coaches and packing is (somewhat) less of a struggle. So of course, I really had nothing to stress about.

I am in love with the worldwide community of travellers and the oozing culture of it all. The ease to make friends is ridiculous and the ability to spend a whole day with a complete stranger roaming around a foreign city is exhilarating. I can’t even explain it. Of course there are moments where you’ll be wandering around by yourself, which is definitely an enriching experience, but more often than not, you’ll somehow end up with another person, or even a group of people and spend however many days you have in that city, with them. And if you’re really lucky, you may even have overlaps in other cities (100% totes magotes cute when this happens). Sure enough, your network of friends grows.

Despite only being the first leg of my trip, I have already met countless incredible people from all over the world (though speaking honestly, a good portion of those people are Australian.. don’t know who’s left in Australia, cause it seems like every one is here!). I also love how someone you know may know another person in another city that you may be visiting, and by default, you’ve landed yourself a buddy for your trip. There’s an unspoken trust and your willingness to spend time with a friend of a friend of a friend heightens exponentially. No hesitation. Fortunately for me, this whole network of travellers and friends has worked out really well and for the most part, I’ve either stayed with someone or met up with someone in each city that I’ve visited. If not, I’ve easily made friends and experienced the city with them. It’s been such an incredible experience thus far.

Last week in Vienna, my good friend Nadia (re: Granada trip) met me and accompanied me around the remainder of my Central Europe leg  – which was a compleeetely insane time and requires a separate post of it’s own, if anything. And now, I’m in Rome accompanied by the (not so) lovely Rebecca – you guys should know her by now. From here on in, I’ll always be travelling with another person(s), but I’ll definitely be planning a few more solo trips for the remainder of the year.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s been happening thus far:

• I was showered with hospitality in Frankfurt, Germany by Laura and her family
• I ate and drank my weight in pork knuckle and potato dumplings and beer in Munich with Pauline and her family
• I met my spirit animal Aussies in Berlin and discovered the brilliance of Berliner Luft with fellow UTS kids
• I left my heart in the city of Prague (laaame)
• I was reunited with family in Vienna and experienced the heavenly goodness of the Käsekrainer
• I got caught in the rain with Nadia in Bratislava and met two crazy Brits
• I bumped into the same people from Vienna and Bratislava with Nads and recovered from the worst hangover of life in Budapest (planning return trip now lol)
• I ate REAL ITALIAN PIZZA 3 nights in a row in Naples #noshame, climbed a volcano and spent a relaxing day getting lost on the little fishing island of Procida with Rebecca

And nowwwww:

• Currently roaming around Rome (lel)
• hitting up Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice and Milan
• WILL 100% MISS GAME 3 DECIDER OF ORIGIN AND AM 100% SHATTERED ABOUT THIS
• Sail Croatia awaits and the reunion with fellow Madrileña, Michaela (re: youtube famous gal)

I really hope that wasn’t too long of a wait and that this update is enough to keep you hooked. I’m well, I’m safe, I’m having an incredible time and I am embracing the inevitable weight gain that comes with living in Europe. Hoorah!

Til my next post (me +2kg heavier),
Besos para ti xx