Tag: europe

10 day winter europe itinerary

In January of 2024, my friend Kate and I embarked on our first trip abroad together around Europe! This was my first time staying in a hostel, backpacking, and hitting multiple countries in one trip. We did Hungary, Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic

Braving the cold of January in Europe was not for the faint of heart. We found just enough things to do to stay warm and moving! I highly recommend finding the space in your luggage for WARM shoes. My toes were freezing 100% of the trip.

days 1-3: budapest, hungary

On day one, you’ll fly into Budapest and try your best to ward off jet lag by walking around to see the Budapest Opera House, St. Stephen’s Basilica, and the Chain Bridge. Call it a night early because we have an early morning tomorrow!

Day two will start bright and early heading to the Szechenyi thermal baths. They are heated outdoor pools and so fun to paddle around in. Make sure you bring a way to store your wet bathing suits! Also be sure to explore the building to find the salt rooms and saunas.

After the baths, seek out a traditional hungarian lunch (hearty!) and then make your way to Heroes’ Square and Vajdahunyad for the afternoon. By the time you’re done there, you’ll need to refuel with a pre-dinner chimney cake.

To round out night 2, make your way to Szimpla Kert and Instant Fogas for iconic Budapest clubbing experiences. Szimpla Kert is more artsy/alternative with cool cocktails whereas the latter is a true club party vibe. Each floor of the club is a different music genre and scene.

Day 3 starts a little later so you can recuperate from the long night prior. Head to Buda Castle for the view and vibe. Then walk towards Matthias Church and Fishermen’s Bastion. Take the afternoon to see the National Hungarian Museum (but hopefully the staff are nicer to you than they were to us…)

Take it easy that night by finding a good restaurant. We opted for the BEST Vietnamese we just randomly stumbled upon. Close out the night with a beautiful nighttime walk along the Danube.

days 4-5: vienna, austria

Begin day 4 with a quick breakfast before the train ride to Vienna. Be sure to reserve a seat with your train ticket (we didn’t, had to sit on our bags on the floor </3). Keep an eye out for moose throughout the ride!

Austria is open described as the love child of Italy and Germany, so we searched for Italian food as soon as we settled into our hostel. After that, spend the afternoon at Belvedere Palace and around the gardens.

In the evening, we opted to find cheap tickets to the Vienna Ballet for a classy change of pace. After our classy moment, we found Vienna sausages for dinner and then explored the techno clubbing vibe this city is known for.

Day 5 will begin by visiting the Austrian National Library. We added in a quick stop at Cafe Sperl for lunch (made famous by the movie Before Sunrise). Finally, we rounded out our day at the Kunst Historisches Museum and the Parliament Building. Head to bed early before the early train tomorrow to the next stop!

days 6-8: munich, germany

Once again, start the day bright and early on another train ride (this time you definitely remembered to book seats on the train… right?) When you arrive, head to the old city to rub a lion’s face, meaning you will return to the city one day!

The Vienna to Munich train ride is a long one, so there wont be too much to do the rest of your day. If you plan the timing right, some of the evening Christmas markets might still be around and you can grab dinner and warm drinks there before bed.

Day 7 starts with Nymphenburg Palace and the 1972 Olympic Park. It is COOOOOLD so bundle up!!! Head back to the Old City after this for shopping and climb to the top of St. Peter’s Chapel for insane views. For dinner, experience an authentic beer garden at Augistiner Keller Beer Garden. We loved trying curling here!

Spend day 8 more pensively at the Dachau Concentration Camp. Don’t skip this incredibly heartbreaking experience, especially in the chilling winter. We unwinded after this by walking along the English Gardens and meeting many characters in our hostel bar that evening.

days 9-10: prague, czech republic

Catch your last train (this time you DEFINITELY booked the seats with the ticket.) Start your explorations in Old Town, being sure to hit the Astronomical Clock and Dog Bar for drinks. Unfortunately I was sick in Prague, so I didn’t get to do as much as I was hoping to.

Day 10 is for Prague Castle and the National Museum and reminiscing on all of the amazing fun you’ve had in Europe!!! Don’t forget that beer is cheaper than water in Prague, so be budget-friendly!

February 24, 2026
the france trip that started it all

In 2018, I had the amazing opportunity to travel abroad for the first time to France with my high school French class. I attribute this trip to my quick and dramatic fall into love with traveling. Our trip took us to Paris, North to Normandy, and South to Nice.

paris

Our first stop on our excursion was Paris. As a 16-year-old girl, this was truly a dream come true. Looking back at my photos, I was also having exceptionally good hair at this time of my life (thank god).

Highlights of this leg of the trip included visiting the Eiffel Tower, getting portraits in Montmartre, shopping on Champs-Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe in view, cruising down the Siene and exploring the Louvre.

Our first day we were supposed to see the Eiffel Tower, there was a left bag nearby, so the entire area had to be evacuated due to bomb concerns before we could go up to the top.

We were bummed at the time, but our tour guide was able to have us come back later on in the trip. We went at sunset and I watched the sun go down from the very top! Then, we stayed close enough nearby to see the tower sparkle later that night.

Randomly, they were also promoting the 2024 Summer Olympics at a massive event while we were there. We got to play volleyball and soccer with French Olympic athletes! (you can imagine about how well that went for me).

Also in Paris, I discovered my hatred for smoked salmon and love for a French breakfast (as long as it did not involve smoked salmon). Teenage me was obsessed with the macarons and probably spent most of my money buying those for the aesthetic photos.

normandy

Our second destination was north to the shores of the English Channel and Normandy. On the way there, we stopped in Honfleur and Rouen. Honfleur ended up being my most favorite spot in all of France (and at the top of my list of places to return to as an adult!)

I didn’t know much about D-Day before going here and remember feeling overwhelmed with grief the day we explored the museum, the graveyard, and could see the remnants of sunk ships when looking out into the water.

An interesting fact we learned is that not all of the landmines from that day have been fully located, so the put sheep out on pasture in the areas they think may have some active bombs. Once a sheep finds a bomb…. they call that barbecue day…. LOL.

Our final destination in this part of France was Mont Saint Michael. This was a really cool castle and town built in the middle of a channel that becomes surrounded by water at high tide. I liked this area a lot and remember we had really yummy pizza that came out of a basement on a pizza elevator.

Another fun fact about Normandy is we accidentally left one of the students on the trip there after one of the chaperones thought she was just in the bathroom on the bus. We went back for her eventually.

nice

Once done in Northern France, we took a bullet train all the way south to Cannes and Nice. If Paris was a 16-year-old’s dream, Nice was heaven. I was in love with the pastel buildings, clear blue water, and moviestar vibes.

It was my first experience at a nude beach where my french teacher warned us that nipples aren’t used to the sun and will need more sunscreen than you’d expect. I personally stayed clothed, but saw MANY elderly nips.

Nice was where I tried my first frogs legs and escargot. Additionally, we realized only at the final leg of our trip that we were of drinking age in France. I felt like the most chic, elegant, celebrity girl ever ordering “I would like one wine please” with my dinner hahaha.

Frog’s Legs (“Cuisses de Grenouille”)

Some of my favorite memories included sitting on the beach after the sun set snacking on caramel chocolate chip cookies and reminiscing on our incredible trip together. It was in those final moments on the beach that I knew my future would hold countless more trips of this nature. If only little me could see me now!!

February 17, 2026
i cried over cheese in florence

There are very few things I would change about my trip to Italy in December of 2024. Specifically, Florence was nearly 100% perfect from start to finish.

However, there is one moment that stands out as potentially not being my finest. The night prior, we had the best experience EVER at our wine tasting and brought a bottle home. Obviously, this needed to be finished by the time we left Italy in just 3 nights (light work).

The time is early afternoon and the vibe I was looking for was wine cheese cracker grape if you know what I mean. The person I was traveling with had the bad habit of leaning into the jet lag, so she wanted to take a nap. No problem! I would just run out and grab the snacks while she slept.

I set out on my little walk with no set destination other than to find a block of cheese to gnaw on. Everything else I imagined this vibe with we had already, but I just needed the cheese. We are literally in Italy, this definitely would not be hard.

I begin walking around the blocks and am casually window shopping as I go. After about 30 mins, I am starting to be a little confused about how I have yet to pass a single grocery or cheese store on this trek. After an hour, my concern turns into frustration.

I texted my two friends who had studied abroad here asking about where I could find cheese and they jokingly responded along the lines of “anywhere”… Finally I was given the name of a grocery store. I maps-ed it and the closest was conveniently a full hour in the opposite direction of where I had walked 🙂

I was honestly giving up on my dream of wine and cheese. I walked into LUSH to calm down and rubbed free lotion samples all over my body to try to distract from my failed cheese mission. Am I just stupid to think that walking around Florence for an hour that I would just stumble across cheese?

I moped back to the hotel a different path from the one I had taken originally and, you guessed it, still did not come across a single vendor selling cheese. I did find this outdoor leather market which was cool, I guess…

When I got to the hotel room I laid down on the bed with my glass of wine, cheese-less, and cried. I wasn’t actually that torn up, but I just REALLY wanted a piece of cheese </3 You just wouldn’t understand unless you craved parm reg as much as I do. The person I was traveling with certainly didn’t, LOL.

Finally I got over myself and we made our way to dinner and everything was fine. But I will never forget my failed cheese mission and feeling so humiliated over a block of parm.

p.s. I DID get my cheese when I made it to Venice and had my moment, so this is a life lesson that good things come to those who wait.

February 5, 2026
3 florence must-do’s

Of the three cities I experienced on my 2024 Italy trip, Florence was by far my favorite. I loved the food, culture, shopping, and entire experience of this city. We got extremely lucky with the reservations we made in advance and places we stumbled upon.

If you or anyone you know is going to Florence soon, you MUST include these 3 stops on your itinerary!!!

le volpi e l’uva wine tasting

I will shout from the rooftops for the rest of my life that you HAVE to go to this exact place to do your Florence wine tasting experience. I found Le volpi e ‘uva from a different travel blog and this was genuinely perfect in every way.

To book, call the number on their website in advance. For the excellent price of 35 Euro per person (2 person minimum), you get 4 generous wine tastings and a beautiful smattering of meats, cheeses, and accoutrement. If you are pleasant with the staff, they may even add on a slice on panettone to finish with 🙂

You’ll know this place is the real deal when you walk in and everyone gives you side-eye glares of American tourists. However, once you let them know you’re there for your pre-booked tasting, the vibe quickly turns warm and friendly. The staff are super knowledgeable, engaging, and love to chat!

I genuinely cannot reiterate enough that you will be missing out by doing a wine tasting anywhere else but here!

dinner at acqua al 2

Our best dinner on our entire Italy trip took place at Acqua Al 2, per the recommendation of my dear friend Tyler who studied abroad here. Make your reservation ahead of time, as it fills up quickly every night.

The ambience is beautiful with decorated plates covering the walls. Be forewarned, the menu is entirely in Italian and there is no wifi/service to use Google translate. We picked our entrees from the few words we recognized and hit gold with both meals.

They garnish each plate with their famous blueberry compote and just YUMMMM. I am dreaming of this meal as I write this.

drinks and bites at la menagere

This restaurant x cocktail bar x home good store x floral shop was a little gem we stumbled upon while looking for a happy hour bev to hold us over until dinner. La Menagere is great ambience for pretty much anything you are looking for any time of day.

We got aperol spritz’s and a little appetizer and it was perfect. It was busy but not packed at around the time we got there, so I’m not sure if you would 100% need a reservation. I would definitely come back here again for a full meal the next time I am in Florence!

I’m not surprised that my 3 favorite experiences in Florence surrounded food and drink LOL. Italy is just like that. I hope you’ll be able to make these stops on your trip and can agree with me on how awesome these places are.

February 3, 2026
an aussie, an american, and a norwegian walk into a bar

This is a story about how me and two hostel mates ended up in a fancy rooftop bar in Athens.Typically, I would not condone lying. But if it means you get to sip a frilly little cocktail with a perfect view of the Acropolis…. go right ahead.

This day in Athens started with a booking for a walking food tour by myself. When I got back to the hostel, I was full and happy and ready for a nap. To the left of me on the bottom bunk was M, a pilot from Norway. Across the room on a top bunk was G, a student living in England from Australia.

As much as I just wanted to nap, I was drawn to their chatty personalities and excitement to explore. They invited me to meet up for happy hour, so I joined. We sat outside at some random pub and for hours drank beers and shared stories of our lives. There was not a single topic we left uncovered!

We moved our party to dinner where G had found the cheapest authentic Greek food. The bonus was the kitty that joined us for dinner and we may or may not have slipped a few bites of fish to. I cannot undermine how easily the conversation flowed, partially because G and I had about a million questions for M about being a pilot.

After our meal, we were not ready to be done with the night. We had big dreams: a rooftop bar and a fancy cocktail. The problem was that we looked exactly like 3 hostel-goers. Fancy attire did not quite make it into the backpack for any of us this time around.

The first challenge was making it TO the bar. There was a bouncer at the elevator at the bottom of the building who was our first barrier. G made the excellent observation that the rest of this building was apartments, not offices. We nonchalantly walked by the bouncer towards the stairs to the apartments, luckily unlocked.

Now I do not ever recommend going up 16 flights of stairs, but we were 3 people with a plan. We took MANY breaks along the way. Finally, we made it to the bar. A beautiful hostess in a gorgeous dress looked us up and down immediately.

G, as her Australian bubbly self, explained that we are living in the apartment building a few floors down and wanted to check out the rooftop just for a drink or two. The hostess was skeptical and asked which room we were in. G made a guess and it must have been good enough because the next thing I knew we had been sat at a table.

We looked out of place and got many glares, but we didn’t care! We ordered spritz after spritz and begged our server to let us go out onto the balcony for an even better view. Our conversation continued to flow. From G and I attempting to pronounce Norwegian words, to me trying to convince them to come to Mykonos with me tomorrow, to our plot to get a discount on our bill (unsuccessful, we think they actually made it higher after we asked… lol).

Once we closed out the place and got the dirtiest looks from staff ever on our way out, we giggled our way back to our hostel and settled in for the night. I was out early the next morning to head to my next destination, but I left them each a little note wishing them the best of luck on their next adventures.

I look back on this day with the biggest smile on my face. People often ask me if solo traveling gets lonely. Maybe if I was staying in a hotel by myself yes. But, I always feel like the luckiest girl with the people I end up meeting along the way. My luck continued into Mykonos, which is a story for a different day….

Anyhow, the moral of this story is to say yes to everything, lie when it won’t hurt anyone’s feelings, and you can never have too many aperol spritz’s when you’re in Europe.

January 22, 2026
what i loved and hated about santorini

In the summer of 2025, I did a 3-island solo trip ending out with 2 nights in Santorini. I had incredible experienced in Mykonos and Athens prior! While I enjoyed my time in Santorini, I definitely made a few mistakes with my trip that impacted my experience.

While I would definitely go back, I would certainly do a few things differently. Read on to prevent making the same mistakes as me on your trip to Santorini.

loved: watching mamma mia on a cliff

Anytime someone asks what my favorite part of Greece was, I always say it was watching Mamma Mia on the side of a volcano as the sun set. This experience is priced really well and so worth it. It is hosted by Volkan on the Rocks in Fira and they provide headphones, blankets, and light bites as you watch.

I would recommend the earlier sunset time for views and vibes. However, it is important to note that if you are planning on using public transportation to get back to your accommodation (anywhere outside of Fira), the earlier time ends too early to make it for the last bus, which brings me to my first hate…

hated: the public transit scene

The big reason that I struggled in Santorini was the location of my hostel. I did not do my research ahead of time, so I figured booking in Perissa on the East side of the island would be no problem.

While it technically isn’t that far from the main cities of Fira and Oia, what I failed to take into account was the giant volcano in the middle of the island that meant getting from one side to the other was a 1-2hr trip. Ubers were faster, but very expensive.

Perissa was a nice area to maybe take a day trip to, but I just found myself frustrated with how much time I was wasting getting places each day.

If you are interested in using the public transportation, be super attentive to the bus schedules BEFORE booking anything in advance. Even getting from Oia to Fira is about 30 mins. While it is very cheap to use the bus, my best recommendation would be staying somewhere that most of your activities are centered from with Ubers for daily excursions.

loved: my hotel experience

In case you didn’t put the two and two together above, I booked Mamma Mia before realizing I wouldn’t make the last bus back to Perissa. Thankfully, I realized this the day before and also had stayed under-budget for my entire trip.

I decided to splurge on my last day by booking a closer hotel to be able to watch the full movie. I stayed at Sole d’Oro Luxury Suites solely because it was the cheapest I could find. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a welcome cocktail, bottle of wine, private rooftop hot tub, and a beautiful room.

I typically prefer hostels while solo travelling to make friends and save money. However, as my last night in Greece, this was the perfect way to relax and unwind. I think if you are staying in Santorini, the best route here is to go for the hotel versus the hostel.

loved: getting lost exploring the streets

I think one of the biggest appeals of Santorini (and maybe Greece as a whole) are the beautiful white buildings and winding stone streets. I loved spending my time wandering down alleys and around corners.

You don’t need to have plans booked out to the minute in this city. I highly recommend saving at least a full morning or evening to just shop and explore. Some things I came across without a plan included: handmade necklace of my name in Greek, dozens of cutie cats, a really cool lookout point at the northern tip of Oia, and lots more.

hated: cruise dumps mid-day

The one barrier to having your Greek explorer girly moment down the streets is when the cruises dump thousands of people onto the island mid-day. I’m not being dramatic, it is CRAMMED in the little streets, bodies on bodies. You can tell they are cruise people because they will have a little colored sticker on them (and hot take, they’re usually rude…).

I tried to focus my planned excursions to be during the time the cruises were dropping people off so I wouldn’t get stuck in the crowds. It also may be a good idea to plan your trip here during shoulder season (late spring, early fall) for a little bit less people.

loved: hiking to the cliff jump

One of the ways that I avoided the crowds was by trekking all the way down to Amoudi Bay and cliff jumping here. This hike was long and steep so bring a LOT of water. You could pay for a donkey ride down, but the donkeys looked really sad so I felt bad and opted to walk.

Once I got to the bottom it’s about a 10 minute easy hike to the left of the restaurants to get to the jumping areas. I would be a bad physical therapist if I did not remind you to always be cautious cliff jumping and ensure the water is deep enough before swimming.

This was a great way to cool off and avoid crowds! And feel like I was exercising while otherwise stuffing my face with tzatziki and pita…

hated: rainy weather

My view of Santorini may also be tarnished by my first day experience. Let me set the scene: I had just partied in Mykonos for 12 hours straight, slept for 4 hours, hopped on a choppy ferry, arrived in Santorini to a torrential downpour, and had to wait outside in the rain for 2 hours with all of my luggage and no rain jacket. Then as soon as I ate I got food poisoning…. lol

Of course, controlling the weather is impossible. However, it is important to know that there really is not much to do in Santorini when it is rainy. Pretty much everything revolves around being outdoors. So just be forewarned, if there is a rainy day in your forecast, get ready to spend a lot of time at your accommodation!

loved: catamaran tour

Finally, one of my top experiences I had in Greece was booking a day-long catamaran tour with Vista Yachting. I love myself an all-inclusive and this was absolutely perfect in every way.

The cruise includes hotel pick-up/drop-off, unlimited wine, snorkeling, swimming, REALLY good food, and the perfect Instagram-worthy sites and photo-ops. I thought it was a really great deal for everything you get!

If I were to go back to Santorini, I would just book one of these cruises every day and not worry about any of the details 🙂

January 20, 2026