Blog Post #3 03/22/2023

 03/22/2023

It’s all coming together! 

I’ve had a few blunders, that I’ll address later, but it’s slowly coming together! I started booking domestic flights, trains, buses, ferries, and hostels yesterday. So without further ado here is the first half o my trip! Dates, travel methods, where I’m staying, and all that good stuff!

On June 6th I will leave St. Louis to be in Dublin by the next morning. I’ll spend just one night in Dublin (but I’ll be back later!). I’m staying in one of the hostels I stayed in last time- Abby Court. It’s really nicely centrally located right off the gorgeous River Liffy. Central Dublin is super walkable and super safe, and I love it there.

The next day I will head back to the airport to hop over to Scottland! I’ll spend the next two nights at the High Street Hostel (seen just on the right). I’ll be honest, other than the above, the rest of the hostels I booked were based on price and location. I wanted to be close to the city center in all the cities I’m visiting.

After my time in Scotland, it’s down to England! I’ll fly to Bristol where I’ll stay at the Bristol YHA Hostel (the big tall red building). I’ll spend a couple of days there between Bristol and Bath. Then once my time there is over I’ll head down to Exter and visit with family for a few days. I’ll also make it further south to Exmouth to see a family friend. 

Once I finish my first stint in England, it’s off to mainland Europe! First stop, AMSTERAM. But I first have to go back up to Bristol to take a flight there. I’ll spend three nights here staying at the Loft Hostel. I have no real plans for most of this trip, yet. BUT oddly enough my therapist reminded me that Anne Frank’s house is in Amsterdam, so I’ll be sure to check it out!

My next location is Germany, spot #1. I’ll spend two nights, after a quick bus ride, at the Five Elements Hostel in Frankfurt, Germany. Funny story about the Five Elements hostel, I’m technically supposed to be there right now! I accidentally booked two nights starting March 21st. OOPS!! I’m pretty sure it’s the building all the way on the right. Isn’t that a cute little place?!

Stop number #2 in Germany is Munich. And you guessed it, I’m taking a bus! I’ll spend another three nights here at the 4you Hostel. Once again, no idea what I’m doing here yet, and no idea about the hostel, it’s just a cheap place to lay my head.

Now, this is when things start to go downhill…. So I’ll take a bus down to Italy where I’m going to spend three awesome nights in Venice. Sadly, the first hostel I found right on a canal was an all-female hostel. But I found the La Pescheria Backpackers, but as I type this I may reconsider…. Their page is very lacking pictures and a few reviews are scary… So I’ll update you on this one later! Here’s a stock photo of Venice 

Now, if you thought that was a mess, here’s the real mess. So on the way to Rome, I’m going to take a one-night detour to San Marino. A beautiful hidden gem of a hilltop city. There’s only one hostel so I’m stuck with it, but it looks nice. I won't bore you with that picture, but I will show you this amazing city. Thanks to my father for suggesting it, looks awesome

So you’re probably thinking, “how is that a mess?” Well, it might end up being two nights. Because of how remote San Marino is, getting in and out requires multiple trains and buses. So far my research to get to Rome has me either getting there at 11pm the same day as departure or 5am the next day. So I stupidly booked the hostel in San Marino and Rome. Now I have to figure out how I’m getting to Rome, so I can rebook my hostels. This is where I’ve stopped for now. BUT in Rome, I should be staying at Hostel Beauty. Which, again not good outside pictures. May reconsider it once I fix my blunders…

That’s all for now! I still have to book Barcelona, Paris, London, Boston, Skegness, York, Manchester, Liverpool, and my transportation to the Isle of Man, then I’ll finish the trip back to Dublin and a few day trips to Cork and Belfast.