Home from my first backpacking trip

[daisy]

Im sad to say that Im home from the best 7 weeks of my life on the road. It was my first solo backpacking trip and I am proud to say that I have caught the travel bug. This lifestyle is so addicting that I even came up with a name for it: nomaddict haha

I think the best part of my trip was the people I met along the way. Im only 18 and was a little worried about being lonely once I got there, but I don't think I spent more than a few hours alone at a time. I think that hostels are definitely the way to go since the hostel I stayed in could either make or break a city for me.

I only stayed at one hostel I really disliked which was Ostello Cinque Terre in Manarola because they had a 1 am curfew, 10 am - 4 pm lockout, 5 minute shower coins, and staff that really shouldn't have been working in the tourism industry because they didn't like tourists. I asked for a plate one time just to cut up some fruit and the chef refused to give me one. Fortunately, Cinque Terre was so incredible that the hostel didn't take away from my experience.

My favourite hostels include:
- Le Village (Paris) - i met the most amazing people here. The location was awesome as it was less than a 5 minute walk to the sacre ceour and it was in the centre of some great bars and clubs in montmartre.
- Seven Hostel (Sorrento) - this place is incredible. It has its own bar as well as a beautiful rooftop terrace/bar. The breakfast is great (especially the croissants), and the staff are wonderful. Michele (the manager) and his friend claudio were so friendly and they even took a friend of mine and I out to a local party one night.
-The Mountain Hostel (Gimmelwald) - I had heard all about this place before I left and now I understand why it is legendary. i miss brushing my teeth while looking out at the swiss alps. The vibe of people that stay there is also much different from other places. Its much more of a community feeling since people do things in large groups (ie. hiking, cooking etc).
-Beehive (Rome) - this place has great reviews and I loved their organic and green atmosphere, however it was probably one of my least favourite places. It was clean and the staff was friendly but I found that it completely lacked any socialization. There is only 1 dorm room so the amount of solo and young travellers are significantly small. I think this place is great for older travellers or people travelling in groups. Its a great hostel, it just isn't a social atmosphere if thats what you look for. I actually ended up spending a lot of time at Legends Hostel down the street where my friends were staying. It is not as nice or as homey feeling, but the people were awesome.
-Athens Backpackers (Athens) - all i can say is that the view from the rooftop bar is amazing!

Here are things I would have liked to know before I left / small tips for next time:
-its hot in europe, i know this is a given but I would have packed fewer pants and more dresses if I knew how hot it really got.
-its important to have clothes that dry quickly
-1 sweater is enough
-its smart to create a daily budget before you leave home so you have an estimate of how much money you can be spending on a daily basis
-make sure you know how to get to your hostels, its much easier when you arrive into a new city and know where to go (the ones clser to the train stations are much more travel friendly)

Some Interesting things I learned
-i met some girls who had downloaded rick steve's podcasts onto their ipods for some of the main tourist attractions (ie coliseum, acropolis) so they saved a ton of money on guided tours
-i bought a pre-paid disposable camera with me from home and took picture along the way. Once it was finished i mailed it home to my parents so they could get an idea of what I was doing in Europe since i didn't have a laptop to upload photos onto. They were really surprised and it made them really happy
-so despite hearing so many stories, i had the honour of discovering first hand how awful easy jet can be. I arrived at the rome airport at 9 am only to realize my flight had been cancelled to athens. I guess you have to have an easy jet experience at some point in your travels haha

Surprises
-Italy was a bit of a surprise for me. I had planned to spent a lot of time there but If i was to replan the trip, I would have shortned my time in Italy and more in other places. Italy is an amazing country, it has history, great food, beautiful people. But I think I always had such high hopes for italy that it was a bit of a let down. Venice was too touristy in July which kind of took away from the authenticity of the place. Also, I was surprised with how rude some of the italians were to tourists. They were super kind in the south, however in the northern countries, i was disappointed with how unhelpful they were. I don't blame them because they must be tired of having so many tourists around, but it really was a buzzkill in some situations.
-Greece on the other hand - i didn't expect Greece to be as great as it was. I had heard awful things about Athens and hadn't even heard much about the islands. I ended up loving athens. It was a nice change to have cheaper prices and the food was delicious. I ended up meeting a lot of locals and went out to a bar one night with a group of Greeks. And the islands. Wow, they were breathtaking. They had everything from great nightlife, beaches, food, and scenery. And i really enjoyed the cheap ferries between the islands.
- I couldn't believe how huge istanbul was. The city is great in the Grand Bazaar is probably one of my favourite place that I visited
-Paris - i didn't want to even go to paris when i was planning my trip but my aunt convinced me to go since she had been and had loved it so much. Paris is a dirty, smelly city. It's hectic,the metro system is huge, and there are plenty of long lines. However, this is all part of what gives Paris it's charm. It was probably my favourite large city and I am hoping to save enough money to be able to go and study french there next summer. I fell in love with the place and the people (who were not rude despite everything I had heard)

I had the time of my life on this trip and I have come back home with a much more open mind, less picky taste buds, friendlier and more outgoing personality, and an incredibly long bucket list of places I'd like to visit. Some of the places on my list include
Iceland (i have been dying to go to the Blue Lagoon)
Lagos Portugal
South East Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand)
Berlin and Munich, Germany
Grenada, Spain
Walking the Santiago Trail in Spain
Norway (trendheim, oslo, and the fjords)

Thanks so much to everyone in GFE for all your help and advice. I can't wait to be posting a new itinerary!
Happy Travel

[Eagle]

daisy,

Thanks for posting that! It sounds like you had a great trip.

If you ever decide to return to Rome, you might have a look at Alessandro Palace. I stayed there again this year, and it's fantastic. There's a Bar on the main floor (which is also the breakfast room), and it's usually a very lively place in the evenings.

I'm not surprised at your comments about the Ostello 5 Terre in Manarola. The reasons you provided are exactly why I've never stayed there! The "lockout" in the afternoon is a big problem for me, as if I've been hiking a lot or whatever I like to be able to come back to the room to rest. Also, if I need to get any other items in my luggage, those aren't available to me during the lockout, as they are VERY strict about it.

I'll re-read your comments later.

Cheers!

[tomruderr]

Hello Daisy..!!

After reading your experience of your first solo backpacking trip,it seems me that you have really enjoyed your every second of the trip....And that's the great thing.....Also you have shown braveness to travel (with just 18 years of age) without your family members...Keep going dude!!!!!! And thanks for sharing your experience with us....Good Luckkk....
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With Regards,
Tom Ruderr.
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[daisy]

Thanks Tom Ruderr,

I can't wait to be back on the road because there is nothing else I would rather be doing right now.
I already have about a dozen trips in mind that I would love to take but I think I need to focus on working this summer (but im trying to find a way to incorporate work into travel which would be ideal)

Thanks for the comment. Doing this at the age of 18 was the best part about it, I feel like I've found a secret that none of my friends can imagine, but in fact its no secret at all because there is an entire community of travellers living theirs lives every day. My entire perspective on life has changed drastically, but I think the main thing I learned is that it is possible to travel (or do whatever else that you want for that matter). And although I've been hearing this my entire life, that anything is possible, I don't think I really believed it until now.