The one place almost no one skips when they visit Budapest is the Széchenyi Thermal Baths. Photos of the bright blue outdoor pools juxtaposed with the buildings’ yellow facades have become quintessential images of this city. My advice if you choose to visit the thermal baths (which you absolutely should because, hello, 3 outdoor and 15 indoor pools easily accessible via public transit) is to bring a friend. I’m all for solo travel, but soaking in a hot tub is most enjoyable when interspersed with blissed-out conversation, so grab someone from your hostel before you head over or get friendly in the locker room.
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: Shanghai Calling
You may have noticed that Weekly Travel Inspiration has been branching out to include book reviews, enough book reviews that I gave them their own category. Well, this is a movie review. So, I guess further branching out was in order. China has never been high on my list of countries to visit, and I know that sounds ridiculous because it’s a huge, dynamic, important country, but I guess I’d never seriously considered it. Then I saw the movie Shanghai Calling (directed by Daniel Hsia), and now, well, I think I want to go to China. Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB would have you believe that this movie isn’t worth your…
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It’s My One-Year Blogiversary!
One year ago today, I published my first post on An Opportune Moment. Over the course of this last year, I’ve interned in Washington, DC, backpacked Europe for 3 and a half months, WWOOFed in Hawai’i, and roadtripped down the East Coast of the United States. I’ve crisscrossed New England, enjoyed countless cups of tea, competed in a film slam, and made a list of 25 things to do before I turn 25. I’ve hitchhiked, couchsurfed, felt lonely in foreign countries, and found out that I’m an optimist. I’ve traveled solo, with friends, with family, and I was even there when my boyfriend, E, flew on a plane for the…
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Solo Travel and Self Care in Budapest
Budapest would be the end of my solo travels, at least for a few weeks. It was my last stop before meeting up with my friend, Katie, and I had big plans for my last few days alone. But, by the time I arrived, I was tired. I’d been on the road for 6 weeks, and I hadn’t been sleeping well the last few nights. Other travelers told me that caving was the thing to do in Budapest, and exploring the underground cave system beneath the city sounded awesome! But… the tour I was hoping to enjoy included climbing and crawling through narrow passageways, and I wondered if I had…
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Guest Post: Yerba Mate
(For Tea Tuesday this week, I asked my brother, Ian, to fill in while I’m traipsing about the Southeastern United States, and he agreed to write a guest post about his favorite tea-like drink: yerba mate. He’s a freelance journalist, and you can read more of his writing at www.iandoesprojects.com, where he is conducting and documenting “life projects” — finite and arbitrary experiments in doing.) Hi everybody, I’m Ian. You might remember me from that time I went to London and Edinburgh with Emma. I started drinking mate regularly when I studied abroad in Buenos Aires during my junior year of college. I like to say that it’s “a habit…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman
This weekly travel inspiration is for everyone graduating college this month or otherwise navigating their 20s and trying to decide what to do with themselves. “The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure” is Rachel Friedman’s charming coming-of-age memoir that follows her through her early 20s. It begins the summer before Rachel’s senior year of college, when, rather than get a resume-boosting internship like many of her friends, she gets a job in a pub in Galway, Ireland. She is coming to grips with the unknown after giving up on her lifelong dream of being a professional musician. In Ireland,…
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Art Museum-hopping in Vienna
Vienna was not on my original itinerary for The Great European Adventure, but when I told people that I was visiting Prague and Budapest, a number of friends replied, “and you’re not going to Vienna?!” Prague, Vienna, and Budapest seem to be the quintessential trio of central European travel destinations, and who am I to argue with quintessential trios? Well, I’m so glad I added Vienna to my trip because I love art museums, and Vienna is full of them! When I visited, I went to 4 art museums in 3 days. 1. The Belvedere Palaces: Most importantly, I wanted to see that masterful Austrian painter whose works appeared so…
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Tea Tuesday: Fresh Ginger Tea
Tonight’s Tea Tuesday post was going to be about a chai concentrate E and I concocted. But that post will have to wait for another day because the mixture we made includes 8 bags of black tea, it’s 10:30 at night, and that’s a lot of caffeine before bed. Rather than leave you with no Tea Tuesday post, I’m sharing a cuppa that’s a bit more appropriate for this time of night. This unappetizing-looking beverage is fresh ginger tea. And it’s delicious, so back off. I’ve been feeling anxious (lots of work to finish before I leave for my road trip on Friday), and I’ve had a stomachache for most…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: Adventures in Travel Vlogging!
This week, I am proud to bring you your weekly travel inspiration in video form! Press play to hear about whales and the two months I spent living and working at an organic farm on Maui. Joyful discussion of humpback whales by me, filming by my boyfriend, E, editing was a joint effort. I hope this will be the first of many travel vlogs and videos to come. Let me know in the comments what you think.
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Upcoming (Mis)Adventures!
Remember my first blog post? Well this is my 100th! What?! I know, I’m excited, too. You know what else I’m excited about? My travel plans for the month of May! After six weeks spent crisscrossing New England (Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont), I’m heading a bit farther afield by going on a… Road Trip! On May 10th, I’m heading down to DC to meet up with two of my best friends from college and begin a week-long road trip to Miami! Places we intend to stop along the way (but which are subject to change and subject to your input, fair reader) include: Williamsburg, VA Virginia Beach,…
