About Her: Anna is 60 years old and a total badass. She walked 2,432 kilometers to get to Santiago de Compostela. That’s 1,511.1 miles. She started in Holland and it only took about four months. Oh, and she didn’t get any blisters. I asked why she did the Camino, and her answer was refreshingly simple.…
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Conversations with Strangers: Pabloski from Wrocław
About him: Paul, who goes by Pabloski because he is half Mexican and half Polish (Pablo-ski get it?), manages Funky Cycle, a rickshaw business in Barcelona. He has been living in Spain for about 16 years now, and his hidden talent is guessing what country people are from. How we met: My friend, Kristi, is visiting…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Grant from Michigan a.k.a. GRiZ
How we met: My friend Katie and I flew to Switzerland to see GRiZ, and went out to a venue where he had just played, in hopes of running into him. Once at the bar, he noticed the Chicago cap I was wearing and introduced himself, even though I was fully aware of who he was. Grant was amazingly easy to…
Read MoreConservations with Strangers: Huseyin from Istanbul
How we met: I was strolling through the Grand Bazaar when Huseyin approached me and invited me into his handbag shop for rose tea. He was very helpful in giving me advice on how to haggle and find the best quality products in the bazaar, but I’m also sure he was trying to schmooze his way into…
Read MoreTurkish 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…
Read MoreConservations with Strangers: Juan from Barcelona
How we met: Juan and I met while boarding our flight to Istanbul Thursday night. We ended up sitting in the same row in window seats on opposite sides of the plane and insisted on obnoxiously yelling to each other in Spanish across the aisle for most of the flight. Needless to say, the other…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Jenica from Johannesburg
How we met: Jenica and I sat across from each other on a 5 am train to the airport in London and immediately started chatting. We talked about travel, how I would make the world’s worst spy and how many camels I would sell for in Africa. If you’re following the Conversations with Strangers posts, you know that…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Renean from South Africa
How we met: Long story short, I moved into my apartment a little early and my new room was occupied by a wonderful girl from The Netherlands who had her friend visiting. Basically, Renean and I got to be roommates for a whole three days. About him: Renean is South African, but resides in The Netherlands. He speaks fluent…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Kyle from Boston
How we met: I met Kyle and his buddies, Alex and Ned, while waiting for the metro. They were speaking English, and being an English speaker myself, I decided we had enough in common to become friends. We spent the rest of the night bar hopping and I am most definitely still feeling the remnants of…
Read MoreConversations with Strangers: Chris from Brisbane
How we met: I really wish I could make up an exciting story (preferably involving a Vespa and a sunset), but I am a terrible liar and we met on Tinder. I refused to meet him at first because I am convinced that as wonderful and attractive Australians are, they are also heart-breakers and should be avoided…
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