One month in

I'm one month into my solo travel and it's been absolutely amazing. I still have a long way to go but I thought I would write this as a checkpoint. For context it's my first time in Europe ever and I'm doing it all at once without any plans at all. Before I came, I literally did 0 research on what I should see in Europe and it's been so nice to just not stress about what I "need" to do and instead just wander. I book my stays one/two days at a time, and I pick my next destination based on whatever is within a 2-3 hour train ride and seems cool. Some places I've picked based on recommendations from people I've met on my trip, and some places I pick because they are big cities, like Paris/Barcelona. Everything is up in the air and I love it.

People be outside. Architecturally, many of the cities I've visited look very very similar minus some unique landmarks. Definitely feels slower than the United States. There is so much more history in the world than I had realized. I never thought about how relatively young the United States is and a lot of the places/things I've seen have given me an appreciation for the geniuses of the past.

So far: Lisbon - since I started here, my bar for what is a great city was set high from the start. My calves literally turned into rocks from soreness though. Cascais is paradise on earth.

Faro - only came here because I didn't want to travel super long to Sevilla at once. Met some great people here.

Sevilla - best hostel ever. Played dutch all day on the rooftop. Beautiful landmarks.

Madrid - meh. I think I didn't do it properly. Goya's paintings at the Museo Del Prado was the first time I looked at art and felt something.

Barcelona - This was a special stop. Shoutout Danielle. The beach was fire and I hit some 50-50s at the plaza Universidad skate jam. Sagrada Família is loco.

Annecy - beautiful town but I hated it. Got bit by like 10 mosquitos within the first minute and super duper touristy. The water is like supposed to be super clean and beautiful but I can tell it's been going downhill from all the tourism. My room smelt like feet.

Geneva - Reunited with my old university friends after >5 years here. I really loved Geneva, swimming in the lake was so much fun. International city.

Leysin - breathtaking

Paris - This was my favorite. I fell in love with Paris. City of secrets. My new goal in life is to one day play piano or guitar with a band at the Caveau de la huchette. Mona Lisa kinda bad ngl. Had so much fun at Pyramides <3. Shoutout Ego Bloy, my new favorite producer.

P.S. - I miss working :D I'm so excited to start again in January. I feel FOMO since it's a really exciting time in engineering right now.