The Eurostar train from London to Paris was sold out by the time my trip started. Months ago, I’d written in my (very extensive) planning journal “BUY EUROSTAR ASAP” because I knew 2nd-class Eurail reservations could sell out, but by…
London and Preconceived Notions
When planning my backpacking trip, I always thought of London as a gateway city, the natural stopping point before entering the EU. I looked forward to visiting, but not with the level of enthusiasm I felt about… well, pretty much…
Edinburgh, the Highlands, and Ancient Magic
When I landed in Edinburgh, the first thing I felt was relief to be on the ground and overwhelming gratefulness for having faced my fear of flying and actually gotten on the plane. The second thing I felt was a…
Amtrak and Backpacking North America
Yesterday made exactly a month since I’ve been traveling. In a way, it doesn’t feel like that long because some of the first two weeks were in America, but it was July 4th that I left Mississippi on the Amtrak…
Backpacking Europe, False Starts, and a Flying Trapeze
My parents and Chewie brought me to the airport in mid-June. It was a couple weeks after my mom’s last surgery, and she was feeling nearly normal already. I’d obsessively planned for this trip for 2 and ½ years, and…
A hard year
For the past 8 years now, I’ve written a blog post reflecting on the past year. This year it took me until the end of January to realize I hadn’t done it. It’s felt impossible to write about this year….
