Sophie À La Carte!

Hello, friends! I write to you all from a familiar spot: the porch of the volunteers house in Hotnitsa, Bulgaria, where I've been for about a week and a half. A steady rain is coming down, not unfamiliar, as it's rained off and on since I've been here. We've had some spectacular thunderstorms and downpours, and the weather makes a lovely background to this blogging session. View from my perch [porch] Anyway, I last left you on the train towards Belgrade, Serbia. I arrived in the late afternoon at the main station and crossed over the river to New Belgrade, where my perennial Couchsurfing host, Ivan, lives. This is my third time in Belgrade and my second time staying with Ivan. The first was a brief encounter; I had twelve hours in the city prior to taking a train to Timisoara, Romania, and we had a lovely traditional dinner (re: filled with sausages) in Zemun, a quick river walk away from Ivan's apartment. However, vegetarianism has changed my diet a ...

This morning, after consuming one last homemade cookie, I said goodbye to Matea, my several-time couchsurfing host. Matea and her kids Jackson and Kaya first hosted me last September when I was bopping through former Yugoslavia the first time. This goodbye was bittersweet, as I am not sure when I will return to Croatia. As I gave Matea a final big hug, I had the feeling this would not be the last time we saw each other, so I have that hope propelling me forward. Let me back up. In mid-April I had recently booked a ticket to Minneapolis for two and a half weeks, but before my flight in early May I headed to Croatia from Slovenia. My original plan (sans Minne-break) was to spend a few days in Zagreb, then head to the Plitvice Lakes National Park, then Bosnia, Montenegro etc, etc. But with my flight to Minneapolis being on May 2 from Zagreb, I decided to take the time to do some more visiting in Croatia, specifically along the coast. After a few days in Zagreb repeat-surfing with...

In an unexpected and impulsive fashion, I booked a round trip flight from Zagreb to Minneapolis three weeks ago. (I'm inserting nature-y pictures of my recent time in Slovenia and Croatia to break up monotony of the text.) Two hours prior, I was having dinner with my mom in a pizzeria in Rome on our second to last night together. When our eggplant, olive, and mozzarella pie arrived, I could only look at it. Anxiety was brewing in the pit of my stomach, and I had lost my appetite. Travel anxiety has always been a part of my life. Stressed out LRT rides to the airport, waking up multiple times in the night after forgetting to pack something, finally exhaling when getting on the plane were all part of my experience living away from my parent's house. Arboretum in Slovenia Now, it's gotten a little better- I don't have to buy a lot of bus/train tickets ahead of time, and just show up a little before the departure time. Packing my backpack has become a mech...

Okay, so I've been the ultimate procrastinator on this blog post. I started it on the train from Paris to Milan ( sound familiar? ) and am writing the bulk of it at a cafe in Ljubljana, Slovenia, two and a half weeks later. However, in my defense I've been fully immersed in traveling and hanging out with my mother, and eating as much gelato as possible. Who has time for blogging? I started this leg of my adventure by flying from Bucharest to Paris. It was a bittersweet departure; I had really enjoyed my time in Romania and made and strengthened a lot of friendships while there. When people ask me what my favorite country I've visited is, the answer is Romania. Such great friends, hospitality, food, and nature! Fortunately, I believe I'll be heading back to Romania in June, so it wasn't goodbye forever!  Sainte Chappelle in Paris It had been about 7 months since I was last in France. I was there at the start of my journey, working at American Villag...