germany – She Went Wear

What They Don’t Tell You About Traveling

This shit is exhausting. Like, seriously. You don’t hear that though. You just hear about the places and the cool things that happened there. What travelers don’t tell you is that the actual traveling part sucks. It’s time to call BS.

I travel for work and leisure. My job is sending me to 5 different states all within the span of 1 week, that’s only 7 days! You do that math. I love my job but after this contract is up, consider me Houdini because I’m disappearing. Actually, consider me Nefertiti because I’m a Queen. ha.

I’m asked so many times “how I get to travel so often”, and how people would love to trade places with me. No baby, you don’t want to.

There was a trip where I went from Chicago, IL, USA – Bonn, Germany – Milan, Italy – Marrakech, Morrocco – Agadir, Morocco – Essaouira, Morocco – Marrakech, Morocco – Madrid, Spain – Bonn, Germany – Chicago, IL, USA- Miami, FL – The Bahamas – St. Thomas – San Juan, Puerto Rico – Grand Turks – Miami, FL – Chicago for a week & a half then back to Bonn, Germany.

Sounds like a lot, right? But on Instagram it looked like I was living the dream. A little like this :

But I wasn’t. I can’t even begin to tell you how tired I was after that month. I was sluggish. I just wanted to sleep, every day, all the time. Your body needs time to heal after all of that. Honestly, I still haven’t really sat down since then, and that’s my own fault. It illustrates so differently on social media, but if you were to bump into me after any of my extensive trips you would see the bags under my eyes and how I turn every outing into something I can walk into with yoga pants and t-shirt.

It illustrates so differently on social media, but if you were to bump into me after any of my extensive trips you would see the bags under my eyes and how I turn every outing into something I can walk into with yoga pants and t-shirt.

And when I’m traveling for leisure, I usually need a vacation from my vacation. Ha. I’m not even joking.

It’s just funny that I write for a travel blog, I travel for work, I travel for fun, yet I only share the surface about traveling. I want when I write to feel like I’m talking to Muneek, Dean or one of my other close friends. I want it to be candid and raw and real.

And all my friends know that I’m a bit of a drama queen, so sometimes when I talk I just go a little overboard then dial it back down and say ” I still wouldn’t trade it anything else” and that’s true.

Yeah, I’m tired as hell, I don’t feel like unpacking, don’t feel like packing, don’t feel like taking a taxi to the freaking airport, don’t feel like paying for an upgrade to get out of sitting in that damn middle seat, don’t feel like putting my phone on airplane mode, and I don’t feel like searching for wifi so I can use WhatsApp.

But as soon as I step off that plane I go from DRAMA QUEEN to Woman of the The World, and I am so grateful for every opportunity and every piece of land that I get to walk on. I just had to complain a little before.

All jokes aside, I do realize how blessed and favored I am to be in this situation. Which is why you don’t hear me complain about it. I don’t take any of this for granted, at all. I just wanted to make light of the situation and tell you ( my readers) that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Ci sentiamo, Ciao ❤

Where Should I Move?

First: Sorry for using a selfie as a featured image. I know it has nothing to do with the post, but I ran out of images. Ha.

I’m at such a weird crossroad in my life. I know that I want to leave the States, but I also know that I want to be smart and right now I should be patient and make the most out of my days here.

“I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me. ”

-Tracee Ellis Ross

So with that being said, I am creating something beautiful out of this space I’ve been given. Creating art, making money, dismantling my flaws, reinventing myself and being still. But just because I am still, does not mean that I am not planning my future. I will be moving in the fall of this year… I’m just not sure where!

I could go back to Italy and finish out my Italian courses. Go to Portugal and learn Portuguese and live out that fantasy. Go to Spain and focus on my writing and find muses to finish out this collaborative book that Muneek and I started. Or go to Germany and obtain my Master’s.
Oh, then there is always Morocco. 🤔

Who tf knows? Help.

Walk With Me: Cologne Cathedral

While shopping in Cologne, we stumbled into the beautiful Cathedral. With the sun shining down on the Cathedral it made for a very colorful and picturesque interior ( with the assistance of the stained windows that told stories of Christ).

Even if you’re not religious, its nice to visit these building with such intricate design constructed all the way from the mid 1200’s. You get lost. Take a walk with me.

Designer vs. Destination

Have you ever had to decide between the two? I have. Its not an easy decision either. Especially with me becoming an adult now, sometimes I think “Do you really need those Guiseppe’s?” “Do you really need to take off work for a month and travel Europe?”… Crazy!! The decisions you have to make being a 20 something year old in the city!

So I did a little comparison. Lets say one month you buy another pair of Louboutin’s Pigalle Follies (August, $675 ) and then the next month you plan out a month long trip in Europe for the same price. Which one do you think is more expensive? Would you be surprised if I told you that I actually spent less on the Europe trip than the Louboutins? This isn’t to deter you away from purchasing your luxury goods, because even with this information, Im still going to splurge when I can. haha. I just wanted you to see what else you could be doing if for one month the money you spent on shoes, bags, and shades were spent on a trip.

Here is a look at my itinerary for my October-November, Europe (and Africa) trip.

Germany to Milan $11

1 night stay in Milan $75

Milan to Marrakesh $51

4 night stay in Marrakesh** $113

Marrakesh to Madrid $31

3 night stay in Madrid** $80

Madrid to Cologne $32

Total $393

** accommodations split between 2 people, does not reflect entire cost.

Thats insane, right? I still have money left over! Im thinking of adding a weekend trip to Portugal, or maybe the Amalfi Coast, who knows. The world is my oyster, with these affordable prices it can be yours too.

If you’re wondering how accommodations and flights can be so cheap, check out my guide to Making Your Dollar stretch in Europe!

Walk With Me: Bonn, Germany

I guess Bonn is like my home away from home now… So it makes sense to walk around and get to know it a little better. Today, I went for a walk to Kottenforst from our flat. It was beautiful and very picturesque, but also creepy (only because I was alone and paranoid).

Until next time ❤

Wednesday Women: Marina

Meet Marina. I am a french/german traveler who currently studies in Buenos Aires. I started traveling with my dad as a kid, exploring mostly Africa and Europe. Since then, the “travelbug” kind of got me.

During the last years I lived on three different continents and I am definitely not ready to settle yet.

What inspired/inspires you to travel?

Due to my two nationalities and my family living in three different countries I always was on the move. When I was thirteen my dad took me for a thrilling African safari. Afterwards I only had one wish, to see as much of the world as I can.

I started reading books like “Into the wild”, “wild” or “the beach” and felt travel sick, when I was at home. People who live out of a backpack are my true heroes.

Where is your favorite destination to date?

Koh Rong Samloem. It’s a tropical, wild Island in Cambodia – not to mix up with the party Island Koh Rong.

It has no infrastructure, no wifi, no supermarkets. Just endless white beaches, a dschungel (jungle in english) and great snorkeling spots. There is one hostel on the other end of the island, a true backpacking resort at the end of the world. I spend the most adventurous, wild days there.

How do you prefer to travel? Solo or With a group? Why?

Currently I prefer to travel solo, because I kind of like the idea to decide about everything I do, myself. I do not have to worry about other people, I don’t have to make compromises or sacrifices. Also, even if you are travelling alone, you never really are. With all the people out there exploring the world, you always have a second family wherever you are.

If I do not travel alone it is with my best friend from childhood. Because she understands what it means to be a traveler. We never make sacrifices, we just decide to split for a while and rejoin later, when we have different plans.

Do you think there is a difference traveling as a woman?

The only difference might be the safety. Often women are easier to take advantage of. But besides that, I think there is no big difference to men traveling the world.

We live in a world where there are more female traveler than male ones. So I think, for us it’s the perfect time to go and explore it.

How do you plan your trips?

Most of the time I have a country in mind. But then I change my plans and book a flight to a totally different country.

Then I do a lot of research on blogs or pinterest, just to find out later, that the best way to learn about a country is to actually be there. So now, I literally just book a flight and leave.

Once I even traveled to Czech Republic just with a handbag with my money and my phone, because it was so spontaneous I did not even had the time to go home to pack stuff…

When is your next one?

Argentina is currently my home base. But I need to go to Chile or Uruguay for a little visa run. I might stay for a week and explore some parts of the Country.

Any advice you would like to give to your fellow travelers?

As long as you are young and have the time, go see the world. If it’s just you, or with your best friend or boyfriend, go and explore. The only regrets you will have, are the things you wanted to do, but actually never have.

Want to know more about Marina?

Website/Blog

Instagram

How to survive being the traveling friend

You see the inside of airport terminals more than you’ve seen your friend’s (not-so) new apartment. You feel like an outsider at brunch because “you should’ve been there last Sunday to see blah do blah blah & blah”. You’ve had layovers that lasted longer than girls’ night.And while you love your friends, you love exploring new soils more. I’ve noticed that the more trips I go on, the more distance there is between my friends and I. This recent trip has brought more light to my eyes than any other. When I first came back from my move to Milan, they were excited to have me back but of course I was greeted with the famous question “So when do you leave again?”. That’s also my family’s number one topic! “What?! You’re in town? Must not be for long, when do you leave? When is your next trip?” While I would love to say that there is a loving tone when asked but more often than not its more a tone of resentment. Towards me, or the fact that I’m always on the go. At first, I was sad about it. I should be able to travel and have friends, right? I mean it makes no sense that I can make and keep in touch with friends from all over the world but I’m not even be able to connect with my friends from back home. I think its more of a travelers woe. After talking with a friend (she gets me, she’s a traveler too) she let me know that it happens to the best of us, and I’m not alone.

Of course you can’t help but wonder though, is there a remedy? Even if there is, is the relationship worth fixing? I think with many test and trials, the strong will survive. I may lose friends to traveling, but its shown me friends that I should value a lot more. Muneek said it best “Not everyone signs up to be a long distance friend”.

While any departure is typically sad, these lost friendships haven’t been. People come and people go, myself included. But what makes this sorrow a little sweet, is that I am a traveler, I’m an expert at moving on. That’s how you’ll survive.