Europe Travel (who has been?)

Originally Posted by mikey

And gypsies arn't cool, one tried to take my shoes off my feet in paris. Said she wanted to feel like a hip hop star with nike's on... had to back hand the bitch.

Knowing you, they were probably painted in gold. I dont blame her for trying. When traveling I like to dress/act as least like a tourist as possible and avoid wearing the bling as it makes you a bigger target.

Originally Posted by dabbler

really? I fell in love with that place. Helped that I lived in a mansion when I was there, but the area and accessibility of the rest of Spain/Mediterranean is just awesome.

LOL, so the truth comes out. If things work out... I may have a mansion in Portugal to stay in as well.

Originally Posted by Courtney

LAGOS!!!!!!!!!\


-rhia my top suggestions

in spain you must go to san sebastian and barcelona
in portugal you must go to lagos
AMSTERDAM!
in italy you must go to cinque terra and rome
PARIS! and maybe some south france,..marseille is awesome
croatia...dubrovnickkkk
bosnia..mostar

COURTNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!!

What I want to know from you...

How long were you there for?
How much did you see in the time there?
What is the best way to buget travel from country to coutry/city to city and see sights etc?
(train, bus, bike, charter bus, and or pay for tours?)

[AGROculture]

CouchSurfing

Free SAFE Accomadation. But best of all you get to meet and interact with the local people.
Imagine staying in a beautiful home in Italy while the family cooks you dinner and then takes you to the nightclub after. Or spending the night in a tiny loft in England owned by an eccentric artist. The possibilities are endless. I've done it all and has been very rewarding.
I can be your friend and reference if you want, just look up my email

I just got back from another 5 months in Asia. Although I didn't couchsurf much I say that the most rewarding part of the trip is that I met and hung out with local people in pretty much every city I arrived in. In my opinion, so much better than just meeting other backpackers

[mikey]

Originally Posted by R Wellbelove

Knowing you, they were probably painted in gold. I dont blame her for trying. When traveling I like to dress/act as least like a tourist as possible and avoid wearing the bling as it makes you a bigger target.

knowing me? you saying i'm loud and obnoxious? haha yeah...

[Courtney]

rhia i was there for 5 months..and only spent 5.5 grand which is impressive if u ask me
think cheap..baquettes and red wine (sometimes in a box if necessary :( )
i decided i really wnated to know the places that i did choose so i spent quite awhile in each place..i spent a month doing spain and portugal.. i didnt do the eurorail..i took busses and trains everywhere but it ended up being cheaper doing that and flying..i flew from france to italy and from italy to amsterdam..spent like 30 euros tops on all.. boat to croatia slept outside so was dirt cheap too...bikes are sweet in certain places to see a lot and cheap cheap....

Originally Posted by Courtney

rhia i was there for 5 months..and only spent 5.5 grand which is impressive if u ask me
think cheap..baquettes and red wine (sometimes in a box if necessary :( )
i decided i really wnated to know the places that i did choose so i spent quite awhile in each place..i spent a month doing spain and portugal.. i didnt do the eurorail..i took busses and trains everywhere but it ended up being cheaper doing that and flying..i flew from france to italy and from italy to amsterdam..spent like 30 euros tops on all.. boat to croatia slept outside so was dirt cheap too...bikes are sweet in certain places to see a lot and cheap cheap....

Personally I much rather just take a train the day of from city to city (Berlin-Prague for example or up and down Italy). But there will be some flights I will be taking for sure and they dont seem to much. Im also curious whats the best way to go from Italy->Greece?

Originally Posted by AGROculture

CouchSurfing

Free SAFE Accomadation. But best of all you get to meet and interact with the local people.
Imagine staying in a beautiful home in Italy while the family cooks you dinner and then takes you to the nightclub after. Or spending the night in a tiny loft in England owned by an eccentric artist. The possibilities are endless. I've done it all and has been very rewarding.
I can be your friend and reference if you want, just look up my email

I just got back from another 5 months in Asia. Although I didn't couchsurf much I say that the most rewarding part of the trip is that I met and hung out with local people in pretty much every city I arrived in. In my opinion, so much better than just meeting other backpackers

Dave I couldnt agree with you more, but as a young female traveling alone... Im a little cautious. But hey if you have some good contact id totally be down for that!

Originally Posted by mikey

knowing me? you saying i'm loud and obnoxious? haha yeah...

Not loud and obnoxious... I meant that your your "hip hop sneakers" etc helped you stand out as a tourists aka gypsy magnet.

[mikey]

i was joking,

nobody tried to fuck with us when we were there. except that one crazy bitch.

most people seemed to be afraid, think it was all my ink...

[SWIFTBEATS]

Originally Posted by R Wellbelove

Italy->Greece?

bari to corfu

[AGROculture]

Originally Posted by R Wellbelove

Dave I couldnt agree with you more, but as a young female traveling alone... Im a little cautious. But hey if you have some good contact id totally be down for that!

Check out the site a bit. For example check the country/city you want to stay at. You'll see a list of people willing to host you, many are single females themselves. From there you see there profiles and also comments and references from people who have surfed with them before.

So if you feel cautious only go for profiles with a lot of positive feedback from people who have stayed with them. You can even look at the people who have given them feedback to see who they are and what kind of feedback those people recieved.

if you see any negative feedback such as "I stayed with this guy he's a creep/thief etc, of course go onto the next profile. But believe it or not it's rare!

As an extra layer of security you could only go for verified members. These people must verify who they are with credit cards, adresses etc adding an extra layer of security prooving they are who they say they are. So that girl from Sweden is really a girl from Sweden etc.

Most of the people who have stayed at my house in Vancouver have been single girls. One girl I know has done much of Europe and North America all by couchsurfing. I can give you her contact if you want. Also ask Ill-Esha she's done it in Europe also!

[SWIFTBEATS]

Originally Posted by Courtney

rhia i was there for 5 months..and only spent 5.5 grand which is impressive if u ask me
....

jesus thats awesome, i spent 17k in 2.5 months....i learned a lot though and next time i will be much more thirfty and intelligent about it, so i can spend a longer amount of time and challenge myself a bit. u should give yourself a pat on the back that's the way to do it.

[JGirl]

If you head to Greece, head to the islands for a bit. :) Head to Crete!!

The Palace of Knossos - Minoans ruins in the city of Iraklio on the Island of Crete are amazing!

Also, the beaches on the west side of Crete are nice. The town of Chania is charming and fun and not nearly as gipsy filled or dirty as Iraklio. Manousos' father's family heritage is from the Chania region. If fact, one of his aunt's still lives in the village where Manousos' grandfather 'Manousos' grew up.

If you are up to a wild 10+k hike, visit the Samaria Gorge. A bus takes you from Chania to the top of the mountain and you hike down the south side until you reach the beach where the only thing that lies between you and the coast of Africa is a giant ocean. The view are spectacular. The gorge is amazing. Pick a cloudy day. :) A ferry takes you to another bus that take you back to your starting point. This was definitely a hilight when I visited Greece a few yrs ago.
Samaria Gorge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you can brave the wild crowds, Santorini is absolutely amazing. The sunsets are as will as postcards show them to be. Hit up Oia for a sunset. :) The black sand beaches are beautiful, the wineries on the east side of the island are very impressive. There are many varieties unique to the island and its harsh growing conditions. The dense lava filled soil makes for some yummy wines!! Whites are fab - Reds not so much. Santorini gets quite crazy in summer with strings of rooftop patio nightclubs, open air markets, incredible eateries, and little room to spare. lol. When I visited, it was in late fall and I wanted to stay forever.

Manousos didnt feel the same way so we went back to Canada real quick. LOL


Athens is busy, bustling with life, filthy in places, and big! Realy big! There are parts of the city lined with tavernas and cafeketerias where you see people having 27 coffees at once, yelling in the streets, ... There is a beautiful upscale shopping district (I forget the name) that can take up an whole afternoon of "wow." The nightclubs are modern and worth visiting --and-- House music is fairly predominant! Yay!

The Parthenon is worth a visit. So too are the ancient Olympic sites as well as the most recent sites.

Being nervous to travel alone as a girl is normal. Try to be safe, trust your gut about things, and dont be too overly concerned. You may even meet some travellers in the same situation as you heading the same way. You'll make friends galore!


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