It feels like I always start these slots of posts the same way: “It’s been a while since I last wrote”.
The last entries I wrote was about Croatia last summer, which honestly was so fun and I loved it. Since that time, I’ve been a busy bee, working hard, and eventually April 30th came and my contract ended. So now I was a free bird to do whatever I wanted. And I decided to do nothing… for a while.
One of the things people don’t talk about much is that work puts other things in your life on hold, and now that I didn’t have work, I was free to do more of the things I wanted to do during the days I was working.
So I threw myself into creative projects, and started working on my photography and design (www.emmakphotographyofficial.com), I spent more time with friends and family, properly cleaned my house, started eating better, and overall was just trying to regain control over my life that I felt I was missing when I spent all my time working or stressed about working.
I still maintained a part-time job that I have had for years because let’s face it, money is important to live, and I still needed it. So I stayed busy, entertaining myself and others with my free-spirit attitude.
But there was always something in the back of my brain saying “is this a waste of time?”
Having a summer off is really nice, but I knew it eventually had to end, I had to get a job again, and move into another chapter in my life. And relaxing around my house for 4 months without doing much else seemed wasteful. When am I going to have this freedom to do what I want? When I get a job, I’ll get a small sum of vacation days to use, and that’s about it. And eventually I would like to have a spouse and family, and that makes things more complicated. This summer was really an opportunity to go out and do what I wanted without such complications. So I had to capitilize!
And boy, did I ever.
Spoiler alert: I left for 7 weeks.
In those 7 weeks I travelled literally across the world, visiting Ireland, Scotland, Greece, Japan, South Korea, and Spain. I took over 10,000 pictures, spent all of my savings, and lived my weeks out of a backpack.
And honestly, it was an amazing experience.
But I can’t go on all these adventures and not tell anyone about them, so I’ve got to write them down. And man, what a journey these blog posts are going to be. I’m hoping to be as thorough and detailed as I always am, but a lot happened in those 7 weeks, so things can be hard to remember. Plus, writing these posts are exhausting and they take FOREVER, and now that I’m home, I have to do life things like job hunting and rebuilding my savings again. So we’ll see how this whole mess goes, but I’m excited to share everything I experienced with y’all.
I started planning for this trip maybe 2 months before I left. I booked my flights, booked my hostels and airbnbs, and then I had to figure out what I wanted to do and who I was going to see and what I was going to pack.
And man, packing was a challenge.
I knew a big suitcase was not the answer – I’ve gone on week-long trips with one backpack (like in Croatia or Italy), so I knew it could be done. But 7 weeks was a new ball game. I spent lots of time in camping stores, did a bunch of research, and I eventually created my travel list and began compiling.
For clothing, I chose lightweight, polyester/poly blend fabrics, simple designs that were still cute and comfortable. I didn’t want to wear just plain old t-shirts, but I also wanted to pack clothes as multifunctional as possible, so I didn’t have to worry as much about outfits and matching – because that’s too much effort on the road. I packed a couple dresses, one more fancy and one more casual, as I knew there was a good chance I would be attending church or have a need to look semi-nice at some point. In hindsight, I wished I packed one or two more, but alas, that’s how it be sometimes.
Shoes were a debate in my apartment for a while. I ended up ordering and taking a new pair of shoes from Allbirds, as I liked the style, they seemed lightweight and comfortable, and traveled well. I also took a new pair of Teva sandals, and I knew I would be going to some very hot places, and running shoes and socks in the heat was going to be a nightmare. Plus, I learned my lesson in Croatia, and I wanted shoes that I could wear when I was swimming in the ocean – flip flops are hard to keep on and are too inconvenient. And finally, I took my tried and true Sanuk yoga mat flip flops for more casual walking, beach days, etc.
Extras I packed included a quickdry microfiber towel , a compact duffelbag (for packing and daytrips), a handfan, plenty of hairties and bobbypins, a small bag of makeup, sunscreen, a small emergency kit with bandaids and gauze, headache and nausea pills, face wipes, a face cloth, my tablet, many different adapters, my camera with 2 lenses, a swimming suit, an external battery pack, and a lock for hostels.
Because I’m a cheap lady, I decided to only take my bag as a carry-on, which means that I had to cut down on my liquids. In addition, I’ve also tried cutting down on my single-use plastic products, and chose more environmentally-friendly options. So, following a tip from a friend (thanks Pam!) I went to LUSH to buy a shampoo and conditioner bar to take with me. They are like bars of soap, but they are specifically for your hair and act as shampoo or conditioner. I also bought Toothy Tabs from LUSH too, so I didn’t have to bring a tube of toothpaste. So, combine these with bar soap , the only liquids I took were lotions/sunscreen, perfume, foundation, one load of laundry detergent, and peppermint extract for headaches. I bought these reusable tubes that allow me to put whatever liquids I like into them, and they are 100ml, so they are okay for carry-ons. I thought they would be better to use than buying $5 travel sized lotions and such, and I like them very much. I also found these laundry sheet things so I could do laundry in a sink at a hostel or hotel as I traveled.
Overall, I packed my backpack about 2 times at my apartment in Edmonton, before traveling to Calgary to my parent’s house. Because my first leg of the trip was going to be with my mom and grandma, we decided to all fly out of Calgary together as it was the most convenient.
So after cleaning my apartment, leaving a key with a friend with a promise to water my plants, I drove south to calgary to spend a couple days with my parents before leaving.
In that time, I packed my bag 3 more times. I was so worried about space, about weight, and frankly, just worried. I’m an anxious person, and repacking my bag so many times helped me feel better. And by the third time, I had a great system of how I wanted to pack, which helped me throughout the rest of my trip.
And because my brother loves me, he offered to help me pack (and repack). “Helping” was a generous term, as all he did was sit and play computer games in the same room (even brought in his own chair), which I guess was sort of helpful – he helped distract and entertain me as I stressed about my stuff.
The day eventually came that me, my mom, and my grandma headed to the airport. And boy, was I terrified. Like, shaky hands, nervous sweating, constant nausea, the whole bit. It was a big undertaking, one I was doing alone, and something unlike anything I had done before. It was also a long time to be away, and I wasn’t sure I knew what was going to happen or what I was doing.
Before we left for the airport, I asked my father and brother to give me a Priesthood blessing. For those unfamiliar with the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that blessings can be given by worthy men who hold the Priesthood. These blessings are from our Heavenly Father, and are used to give comfort, healing, or other things we may stand in need of. For me, it was definitely a blessing of comfort that I needed. And while I didn’t feel it immediately, over time I found more peace and comfort that I definitely needed.
When we got to the airport, we got all checked in, and bought some dinner before leaving – our flight was at around 8pm. I felt too sick to eat, but I bought some snacks for later, and we made our way onto our flight, to start the adventure!!!
So, consider this a small introductory post, and click on to the next post where we start our journey in Dublin, Ireland! Stay tuned so you don’t miss a minute!
~ emma.k
Wandering Miss Emma.K 