Post Grad Travels

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was relaxing and as always, too short.

Well I have an exciting announcement to make! I am taking a trip abroad in October. I've never hid my love for traveling so when I felt like I had an opportunity I grabbed it. I decided less than a month ago that I was going to make this trip happen and I'm so glad I did. It was like the cards aligned perfectly...I was able to get the dates off from work and I was able to coordinate my trip with my parents.

The motivation of this trip is to visit my sister, Katherine, who's studying abroad in Bilbao, Spain. I've had some major changes in my life lately...graduation, a big move, a new job/start of a career, and a breakup so I decided that I needed this trip to really be by myself. I've told my friends that I'm "Eat, Pray, Loving" it. I chose to forgo meeting up with my family till later in the trip and spend the first half by myself. I'm hoping to do exactly as I wish on this trip. I'm going to write, read, pray, explore, and really process through all the changes in my life.

I'm really excited for the opportunity to do this. It's going to cost me a lot of money but I truly believe that traveling is worth every single penny. So a little about the trip...I'm flying out of Charlotte into Brussels, Belgium. I'm staying there for 5 days in a great flat I found on Airbnb. Then I'll fly to Bilbao, Spain for a few nights to meet up with my sister and my parents.

Over the next couple of weeks leading up to my trip I'll go into more details of the trip such as budget, Airbnb, flights, clothes, packing, day trips, etc. For now I'm just going to share a few tips and items that I'll bring for the trip. 

1. A journal. I'm planning on using this trip as a way to unplug and really focus on thinking inward and writing. I've always had a passion for writing from a young age but haven't taken as much time to do so recently. I'm thinking a fun one like this...

Source

2. Selfie stick. Brussels and Bilbao are stunningly beautiful. I want to have great photos to document my trip. The selfie stick will especially come in handy when I'm in Belgium solo.

3. Manicure/Pedicure. Now, I know this one probably sounds silly but I'll be gone for about 10 days jam packed with flights, trains, and exploring. I don't want to worry about my nail polish chipping or painting my nails while on my trip. Therefore, I found a Groupon for a gel manicure/pedicure for $35! I usually don't splurge on gel but for this trip I will make an exception!

4. Train rides. I've booked train rides to visit Brugges and Ghent in Belgium as day trips. I got roundtrip tickets for both locations for less than $100!

Well, this is a start to a great adventure! Have y'all been to Belgium or Spain? I would love to hear any tips or advice you have for me! I'm so excited to share this process with my blog world :)