Lithuania

September 22, 2023May 17, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Vilnius

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Jimmy’s Jump House. Overall great hostel! Location was very central to Old Town. Rooms were spacious enough. Had a good common room to hang out in with a tiny bar, but it was fairly quiet when I was there. The owners were incredibly kind & thoughtful. 8/10.

WHERE TO EAT:

Vilnius had so many fun restaurants to check out!

Bull dog burgers– I have been making an effort to get more iron into my diet so I had a burger from here my first night in Vilnius. T’was delicious. I ate outside, which was great for people watching until it started to rain. Luckily I had just about finished my meal so paid & headed back to the hostel.

Crustum– I wanted to try some local desserts so I stopped by Crustum, which was one of the few dessert places still open at 10pm when I began my search. I tried two desserts, and admittedly I didn’t think either was that good. Šakotis (tree cake) was fairly boring & bland tasting. I would say the same for Žagarėliai. But I’m glad I tried them.

Holy donuts– wow this place was 10/10 for me. It goes without saying that their donuts were incredible…. I may have had a few to test different flavors 🙂 But, they also had a yummy alll day breakfast menu. I had been craving some breakfast sandwiches, french toast, and, you guessed it, smoothie bowls so this place delivered. They also had a location in Kaunas (my next stop) so I had some meals at that spot as well. I literally went over 5 times in my 5 days in Lithuania – whoops!!

Rosehip vegan bistro– This reminded me of Wildseed back in SF. Really fresh, colorful, delicious vegan food, that doesn’t even seem vegan. Definitely recommend a stop here.

Etno Dvaras – Lithuanian food is known for being very potato based! So I obviously had to try their traditional potato dumplings, called Cepelinai.

Pirmas blynas – Rated one of the highest rated restaurants in Vilnius, it’s located in the bottom of a church and is a socially responsible business that employs folks with all different types of developmental differences. Has a focus on pancakes so it wasn’t a hard sell for me 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

I did a walking tour, which gave me some background on the city. They recommended climbing to the top of the Medininkai castle & the St. John’s Church Bell Tower at the university for great views of the city – so I did both of those.

Vilnius seemed to have a great food & bar scene. I had so many spots that I wanted to try. I also did a day trip to Trakai, which is a well-preserved historical village with more than 5 000 residents, and includes a castle located on an island. It’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country with a million visitors each year. I just took a bus from Vilnius (about an hour). Very easy day trip.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I loved the food scene here! I mean a cuisine that is centered around potatoes is right up my alley. Also it was a fun city to just explore on foot. Super safe, clean, & bustling with locals enjoying the last bit of summer.

CITY: Kaunas

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Monk’s Bunk Kaunas. It was the week after universities had started back up so it was fairly quiet. I ended up having a 4 bed dorm room to myself two of the three nights I was there. I think if it had been full, it would’ve been a pretty fun hostel. Decent kitchen facilities. Beds were comfortable! Location was right on the main walking street in the new part of town and it was a lovely 15 min walk to Old Town. Definitely recommend staying here. 9/10

WHERE TO EAT:

Habits bakery– Absolute divine bakery near the church where the walking tour started. Croissant was so flakey and buttery!

Holy donut – Visited the Kaunas location obviously. I just loved this place.

Soul – Nice little spot near the main square. Reasonably priced for being in a touristy bit of town.

Talutti’s – After a 10 mile run that morning, I decided to treat myself to a nice little dessert. Except I accidentally ordered a not so little ice cream sundae. But don’t worry I happily finished it. This place had an incredible assortment of ice cream dessert options. AND they had peanut butter so I was thrilled.

Angolo Italiano – Best gelato in Kaunas.

WHAT TO DO:

I used my time to here to chill & eat delicious food. I did the walking tour + focused on just walking around the new & old town. I also went on three 7 mile + runs which allowed me to explore the river front & some different parks. There are a few day trips that you can do, but I chose to stay in Kaunas the whole time. I also caught up with so many friends since I didn’t really meet anyone at the hostel.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed just meandering this sunny, but cooler-temperatured city. It felt clean, manageable, & not touristy at all. I barely heard any English. Fabulous! Truly Lithuania was a complete pleasant surprise. It reminded me of a mixture of Poland, Austria & Switzerland. I would be quiet happy to live here!

BUDGET FOR 5 DAYS IN Lithuania:

Accommodation: $105 ($21 per night)

Food: $159

Activities: $15

Local Transportation: $16.50

Total: $305 (Daily average: $61)

Transportation to next destination: $13 (Bus to Latvia)

Bulgaria

September 14, 2023June 26, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Sofia

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Hostel N1 and it was such a strange vibe. It’s known as the Rules hostel because on their site, it lists all the VERY STICT rules you must adhere to. Despite this, it has great reviews so I decided to give it a go. The rules that were listed, in general, were reasonable. No drinking at the hostel, quiet hours MUST be respected, no outside guests, etc. Overall, it’s like I can’t complain about it because the hostel was clean, safe, beds were comfy, and the kitchen was well stocked. But there were two main issues I had. None of the staff, including the owner, spoke English. Obviously while traveling I encounter folks who don’t speak English, which is completely fine given I am the one in their country where they don’t speak English. However, when you are running a tourist establishment like a hostel, it was very bizarre to have to communicate via Google translate all the time. I also would say they weren’t the friendliest volunteers & workers I have ever encountered. In the end, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it did contribute to a weird atmosphere, which takes me to the second point. Because of all the rules (even though they weren’t unreasonable), I think everyone in the hostel felt like they were walking on eggshells all the time, which led to further weird vibes in the hostel. It just didn’t end up being all that social, & when I finally did have a group of folks eating in the common room with me around 9pm, we were told to be quiet multiple times (even though quiet hours weren’t until 10pm). Like I said, it just was a weird vibe overall. Not warm & friendly. The one friend I made & I concluded that if you are an introvert, this might be your dream hotel! Regardless, I don’t think I would stay here again. 5/10 (since the facilities were still pretty good & the location was great).

WHERE TO EAT:

Boom Burgers and Booze – I have been trying to mix in more red meat into my diet since the anemia diagnosis. This spot did not disappoint! Burger was delicious and the fries were some of the best I have ever had.

Keba – I don’t normally have bars to recommend because I never go out, but Alex (new British friend from the hostel) convinced me to get a drink with her. I am a sucker for twinkly lights and this bar was full of them. Such a cute spot!

WHAT TO DO:

In continuing my kick for trying to remain active on the trip, I decided to join a gym in Bulgaria, which was kinda fun. The gym had locations in each of the cities I was going to so it was perfect. It was only $90 for the month (and since I was in Bulgaria for 12 days, it was a daily cost of $7.5) so I was pretty happy. I think I went about 12 times so it ended up being incredibly worth it.

I did a walking tour and it was pretty interesting learning about the incredibly long history of Sofia and how it was under so many different regimes/empires of the centuries. It’s incredible how all around the city, you can still see the different layers. You’ll see ruins from the first settlements, with the roman empire layer on top of that, then the Soviet buildings on top, and modern buildings next door. They shared that every time the city tries to build a new subway line or dig deep for a new building, it gets very delayed because they inevitable find more ruins and have to stall building to deal with it. Pretty cool!

I also did a day trip with 4 other solo travelers from the hostel to do the Rila Monastery + 7 Lakes hike. I originally wasn’t going to do it, but Alex had signed up so I extended my stay at the hostel one night so I could join her. I am so glad I did! Definitely a highlight from Bulgaria. The monastery was beautiful but obviously the hike was the more exciting part. WOW OH WOW did I miss the mountains. It felt so incredibly good to be in the crips mountain air, hiking past beautiful lake after beautiful lake. Even just eating a sandwich on the trail felt like a bit of home (aka like being at my cabin in Tahoe). There was also just this really lovely vibe around going hiking with 4 other solo female travelers (representing the US, Australia, Germany & the UK) who otherwise wouldn’t have met. It was one of those moments where I am really grateful I get to do what I’m doing.

Starting the hike with a chairlift to the trailhead

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really liked Sofia! I honestly felt like I could live there. It was so easy to walk around, felt incredibly safe, and had a real charm to it. Also helps that it’s so cheap.

CITY: Plovdiv

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

This had to be one of my favorite hostels I have stayed at: Hostel Old Plovdiv. When I arrived they had my name on the whiteboard welcoming me! Then they promptly told me to drop my stuff and head outside in the backyard with them to hear about the hostel & Plovdiv over their homemade lemonade. It was so cute & sweet. The building was incredibly old and it was decorated to maintain its antique vibe. No bunkbeds – all the beds were cool old Victoria looking beds. Cozy atmosphere and it was very easy to meet people. I actually ran into a girl I had met in Kosovo a few weeks prior. Beds were comfy, AC in the room, breakfast was available for a few euros, & location was great. 9/10 would stay again.

WHERE TO EAT:

Rahat Tepe – this spot was recommended by the hostel for some good local Bulgarian food with a view. On a beautiful sunny day that was a bit cooler, it would be great to to sit outside at this restaurant. Unfortunately when we went, it was SO hot outside so we sat inside near a window, which luckily meant we still got a pretty good view overlooking Plovdiv. Food was great + service was lovely.

Green Library– As per usual I am always on the hunt for a smoothie bowl in these hot months. Green Library had a few fabulous smoothie bowls to choose from and I tried a few since I managed to drag friends from the hostel and we split two both times I went.

Savi– Delicious gelato! They even had a peanut butter flavor 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

Plovdiv is a very pleasant town to just explore on foot. I did a walking tour but honestly it was so hot and the guide wasn’t great that I ended up bailing half way through. Given the heat, we decided we needed to find an activity that was indoors & in air conditioning so we landed on going to a movie. I ended up seeing Barbie for the 3rd time – and still LOVED it 🙂

It’s fun walking around the old town, but I liked the Kapana area better. Really cute walking streets and it has a fun, bohemian, trendy vibe. I also found a woman wearing the same dress as me! We got so much joy out of the exchange and chatted for about 30 min 🙂

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Other than the heat, I loved Plovdiv. Overall just a cute city to walk around and enjoy.

CITY: Burgas

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Despite being a major city on the Bulgarian seaside, there were no hostels. Very strange. I ended up deciding to just book an apartment with two twin beds. An Aussie I met in Plovdiv joined me for two of the three nights so that helped lower the higher cost of the apartment. It was so nice to be able to cook and spread out my things a little.

WHERE TO EAT:

I mostly cooked while in Burgas! Such a treat 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

Burgas is a seaside town so the main activity is to head to the beach! I enjoyed walking along it for an afternoon, maybe with an ice cream cone in my hand 🙂

Beyond that, there are many cute smaller towns that are worth day tripping to. Dan (the Aussie) and I headed to Nesebar, with our one day together. It’s an easy one hour bus ride away. Nesebar is an UNESCO ancient city (dating back to 6th century BC), referred to as the “Pearl of the Black Sea. Lots of cool ruins & a beautiful little beach for a dip in the sea. Sometimes it’s hard to go swimming while being a solo traveler since you don’t have anyone to watch your stuff, so it was a treat to be with Dan. We took turns taking our first ever swims in the Black Sea!

Sozopol is another great day trip option, but I didn’t have time to get there this trip.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Burgas itself didn’t blow me away. Felt like a bigger city with minimal charm, but it just happens to be near the sea so it becomes a “destination”. In hindsight, I would’ve rather stayed in a cuter smaller seaside town.

CITY: Sveti Vlas

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I had planned to head to Varna as my final stop in Bulgaria, but after realizing that it was just another big seaside town AND ironically, even more importantly, there was no gym location there, I decided to go Sveti Vlas (I did a cross search of where gym locations were near the beach haha). Sveti Vlas is just past Sunny Beach (a very touristy beach town), so I liked that Sveti Vlas was a slightly more chill option. Once again, there were no hostels, but coming off the apartment, I was inspired to just do another stay like that. This airbnb was PERFECT. It was part of a resort complex, so there was a pool & restaurant (but I just cooked the whole time because the kitchen was so fabulous). The place had a laundry machine which was a treat. Most importantly it was a 5 min walk to the gym & 7 min to the beach. It felt like a mini staycation, but in a resort town. So kinda like a vacation, but I am in the middle of long vacation so who even knows what’s happening hahaha.

WHERE TO EAT:

I cooked the whole time so no recommendations.

WHAT TO DO:

Go to the beach 🙂

I spent a lot of time catching up with friends over FaceTime, going to the gym, reading by the pool, cooking & doing trip planning since that is never ending haha.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I am not sure I can really speak to Sveti Vlas since I almost just treated it as regular life, which meant I didn’t explore too much. But overall I adored my time here. A much needed rest!

BUDGET FOR 12 DAYS IN BULGARIA:

Accommodation: $487 ($40.50 per night)

Food: $124

Groceries: $137

Activities: $68

Health: $100 (gym membership)

Local Transportation: $140

Total: $1,072 (Daily average: $89)

Transportation to next destination: $178 (Flight to Lithuania)

Cyprus

September 5, 2023September 30, 2024Leave a comment

CITY: Larnaca

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

After an exhausting, but incredible, time in Egypt, Stephen and I knew we would want to have a few days to completely relax & recuperate. Sentido Sandy Beach was the perfect spot to do so! It was such a treat to have no agenda other than to enjoy a resort stay 🙂 We opted for the half board meal plan, which meant food was taken care of. There was a gym we took advantage of. The pool had plenty of spots to find a chair in the shade, and the beach was only a few steps away. I will say it was very, very hot, so we also enjoyed lounging inside the main area of the hotel, which had incredibly comfy couches to read, play cards, and catch up on the blog! Lastly, our favorite thing about the hotel was the free Lemon Water, Sparkling Lemonade, & Pink Lemonade. 10/10 would highly recommend this hotel if you find yourself in Cyprus.

Where to eat:

We mostly ate at the hotel, but we had one INCREDIBLE meal outside the hotel. The reception recommended Lysia Meat Tavern for some local food, and holy moly it did not disappoint. The chicken was cooked to perfection! Stephen raved about his pork as well.

Also, despite being a buffet, the hotel’s restaurants did an excellent job with the food. I felt like everything was delicious!

What to do:

If I haven’t made it clear thus far, we really didn’t do much while here because the main goal was to CHILL (which I am not very good at, but I very much needed at this point in the trip). Our days looked like this:

Sleep in
Workout
Breakfast
Read by the pool
Play cards inside to beat the heat
Eat dinner
Watch a movie in bed

We did manage to get a few games in at the local bowling alley which was quite fun! We were the only ones in there so she let me play my music (obviously I put on Cian Ducrot’s new album). Not your typical fun bowling music, but Stephen humored me. He also managed to beat me in all three games unfortunately. Luckily I schooled him in our running game of rummy over the course of the two weeks so it all evened out 🙂

Lastly, we spent one afternoon exploring the city of Larnaca. We walked by the castle, the beach front & the church, as well as trying some Loukoumades (Greek donuts) since Stephen hadn’t had them before. They were yummy, but nothing beats an American donut hehe.

Overall Thoughts:

I am not sure I can really speak to Cyprus or even Larnaca as a whole, but we really, really enjoyed our stay at Sentido Sandy Beach. We felt like our room had the best view in the entire hotel, and we just fully were able to relax, knowing there was nothing we “needed” to do while here. The only to do was enjoy ourselves. I continue to appreciate seeing some nooks & crannies of the world that a lot of Americans don’t ever get to see in their lifetimes 🙂

Budget for 4 days in Cyprus:

Accommodation: $483 ($121 per night)

Food: $18.35 (because we had half board at the hotel)

Activities: $19.50

Local Transportation: $19.50

Transportation to next destination: $132 (Flight to Bulgaria)

Total: $672 (Daily average: $168)

Comments: This was very much a vacation amidst my trip, but despite this being more expensive than more normal budget, for the experience we had, it felt very reasonable!