Reflections on the Camino

I was honored when Laurie, of The Camino Provides, asked me to write about what “the Camino provides” meant to me. In all honesty, I put this task off for a long time. I didn’t believe that I could actually put pen to paper and articulate how much the Camino provided me. But, when I sat down…

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Slow My Roll

I have spent the last ten days in Kraków, camped out on a couch at my aunt and uncles’, sleeping, reading and watching Netflix. Yes, after weeks of bouncing around from city to city, Seville to Córdoba to Granada to Barcelona to Warsaw to a wild wedding here, it was time to slow my roll. The truth is that…

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When It’s Not All Fine and Dandy

I thought it would be dishonest to pretend like everything is sunshine and butterflies when you’re a woman traveling alone, so I decided that I had to share a moment that was unpleasant and in all honestly, a little scary. I believe that people are good, I genuinely do. But, I’m also not naive and I…

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As Luck Would Have It

Growing up, one of my favorite songs was an old Polish track from the 60’s about a town on the coast of Italy, Portofino. When I realized it was only an hour away from where I was staying in Cinque Terre, I knew I had to go see it. I dropped my backpack off at my apartment,…

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Easter at the Vatican

To wrap up my eleven day Italian dream trip, I managed to acquire a ticket to the Pope’s Easter mass. And by acquire, I really mean I called Mama Kulka who then worked some Polish networking and within days had tickets ready for me to pick up at the Vatican. The line, “let me call the Vatican,” was used…

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A Will and a Way

I have spent an incredible last two nights in Cinque Terre, a cluster of five coastal villages in Italy carefully built on cliffs that overlook the sea. All of the villages can be reached by train. In fact, from the first village to the very last one, it’s only a fifteen minute ride. But, where is the fun…

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On Strength and Weakness

I set out on my 11 day adventure to Italy hoping that I would learn something about myself, because that just seems like something people do on this kind of trip. In these last few days, I’ve learned about my strengths and weaknesses. First, I discovered that taking what life throws at me and making the…

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Me, Myself and I(taly)

This is the beginning of my 11 day solo journey across Italy. I will travel 7 cities and 7 towns by train; marveling at the works of great Italian painters, exploring the winding streets and canals of each city and indulging in plenty of pasta, pizza and gelato along the way. It will all culminate with Easter…

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Turkish Hospitality

I loved Istanbul for many reasons: the rich culture, amazing food, friendly cats and gorgeous mosques. However, what made me fall in love with the city was the Turkish people; I have never felt more welcome in a foreign place than I have this past weekend in Istanbul. I wandered out of their mess of an airport…

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Paris is Always a Good Idea

After countless macaroons, croissants and éclairs, and being dangerously close to developing type two diabetes, I have returned from Paris. Even though I had been there two summers ago, I was excited to see it during the winter. Also, I love being called Mademoiselle and Madame, and where else can you get that but in the most…

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