CouchSurfing

Hotels are the default travel accommodation for just about any traveler and hostels for most backpackers. However, if finances don’t permit you to travel in this standard way or you’re just simply looking to shake up your travel routine, consider these alternative methods. 

Read more…

Sweden is listed as the second most expensive country of the European Union according to some statistics with regard to goods and services. Yet to our surprise, Auston and I managed to make it one of our most cost effective European trips while attending Stockholm’s costly Gay Pride week. How so? Aside from finding cheap flights which is almost too easy in Europe with budget airlines like Ryanair, we also volunteered and couchsurfed. Oh, and we also brought our own alcohol with us from Spain to avoid Sweden’s over-priced government ran liquor stores. Yes, we were that prepared. 

Read more…

In the fifteen months since we’ve quit our jobs in Chicago to travel and having visited numerous destinations in that time, we have never lost our luggage. I had assumed at some point during our round the world trip, some airline would eventually misplace it. The odds just seemed to be there. Especially considering how convoluted our travel plans can be. Basically, when Auston books our travel routes, they often appear to me as a some sort of concoction of travel ingredients he cooked up in cauldron during the wee hours of the night all in the name of saving a few dollars – a pinch of airline miles here, a dash of budget airline travel there, throw in an overnight bus and a train with various connections then *poof*, a travel itinerary.

Read more…

First Impressions

Last year during our round the world trip we went through Austria on our way to Germany but never took the time to make any stops in the country, though we would have liked to. However, last month we finally had the opportunity to check out Vienna. Not surprisingly, the culture was in sharp contrast to Spanish life and having been living in Madrid the past three months, we were not fond of Vienna to start. As we walked in the city one warm evening all we could think was, “Where are all the people?” We were so used to seeing Spanish life spilling into the streets and filling up the plazas on just about every day of the week – especially in the summer. However, after a couple days of adjustment we started getting the hang of Viennese life.

Read more…

Last summer we got a little caught up in Europe’s gay pride events attending Munich Pride, Madrid Pride and Amsterdam Pride. With so many great festivals celebrated in so many unique cultures, how could we not? This summer is looking to be no different as we begin planning some trips! Here’s some of the Gay Pride events we plan to attend as well as a comprehensive list of all the Gay pride events around Europe this summer 2013. 

Read more…

Friendless

There’s no denying it. We’re new in town and we need friends. Remember the good ol’ days when you made friends simply by turning to the guy next to you in class and making a smart ass comment. Then bam. Friends. Nowadays as an adult, not so simple. Sure you can make friends at work, but if you’re job is at all like Auston and my former careers, that can vary. Most of the people we worked with were significantly older than us, married with kids or grandkids, and paying a mortgage. Sure they’re nice people, but I just don’t see us tossing back beers together at the bar on a Friday night.

Read more…

Taking a trip around the world should be a romantic experience for any couple in love, shouldn’t it? Well we can’t speak for other couples, but it was no romantic getaway for us, at least some of the time – ok, many times. In fact, it was quite the opposite. We’d never fought so much in the seven years we’ve been together. It’s safe to say that by the end of our trip around the world our relationship was strained and apparently not aging well, so much so that if it had a face it’d look like Michael Douglas.

Read more…

Can I Snooze My Birthday Wake Up Call?

It’s 9am on the Sunday after arriving back in Arizona from a year long trip abroad and my phone is ringing. I’m sure I didn’t set the alarm so I’m confused. Is Jesus calling? It is Sunday so that seemed logical. He’s not. It’s my mom. Proudly claiming to know that I must be awake because my latest blog post just appeared on Facebook. It did. Because it’s automatically scheduled. And I was not up. In fact I had just gone to bed not 3 hours earlier after stuffing my face with Jack in the Box finalizing the debaucherous birthday celebration that coincided with our return.

Read more…

Ok, it wasn’t so much ‘sun and fun’ as it was rainy and cloudy. When we arrived in Miami we were informed that we had just missed great weather and that apparently we had brought the rain in with us. That was definitely not true since we had just arrived from Brazil where the sun was forcing its bright rays upon us everyday. Unfortunately, Miami was in a bit of a gloom and apparently not happy to welcome us. But like it or not we were coming back to the U.S.!

Read more…

As the third most populated suburb of Tokyo, Sagamihara is not exactly a highly sought after destination when travelers visit Japan’s capital. However, having a received an invitation to CouchSurf there for three nights, we took it as an opportunity to get out of the city to see the more tranquil outskirts. Our host Ewerthon graciously welcomed us with a satisfying home cooked meal and his distinct background made for intriguing conversation (most importantly, he had wine).

Read more…