Linds with a Lens

I don't really care if anyone even reads these posts, but some have told me they like to, so I'll keep posting them. I love to write and don't get the opportunity much anymore so this has been a great outlet to work on my writing and fall back in love with it.

I'm going to try to post an "Along my Path" at least once a month just so I can remember where my mind is at throughout 2015, but if you want to follow along, be my guest!

This month:

The Imitation Game.
Phenomenal movie. I may or may not have seen it twice already. Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightly star in this film about British mathematician Alan Turing and his quest to solve the German's enigma machine during WWII. It's an incredible true story of a man who played an vital role in winning the war but was then persecuted for choosing to be true to himself. If you're like me and love learning about WWII then The Imitation Game needs to be on your list. If its 8 Academy Awards nominations don't sway you enough. It has definitely secured a spot on my list of favorite films of all time. (If you're on mobile, here's the trailer)

Used Bookshops.
I love to read but sometimes life gets in the way and it takes me a while to find my way back. A really awesome find a friend took me to in Richmond, Virginia called Libbie Books is now my favorite stop when I'm in RVA. Recently I've purchased: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Power of One, Sarah's Key, and Firefly Lane all for under $12 combined. Used bookshops are fantastic because reading new books all the time is expensive, especially if you like to own the books. It's like a treasure hunt and one that I believe makes you a little richer than when you arrived. Other books on my list to read: The Boys in the Boat, Alan Turing: The Enigma

Virginia Basketball.
I've always been a UVA basketball fan, born and raised in Cville, but this year they've been particularly exciting to watch. Ranked #2 in the nation and still undefeated is pretty impressive. In fact, the game v. Georgia Tech is on right now in the background as I'm writing this post. Go Hoos!

Benedict Cumberbatch.
How have I not realized how amazing he is until recently? Seriously, incredible actor. If you haven't seen BBC's Sherlock yet, you need to put that on your Netflix queue right now. I'm definitely Sherlocked. He's incredible in The Imitation Game, Sherlock, 12 Years a Slave, and as Smaug in The Hobbit. He even did motion capture when playing Smaug because he wanted to take it to the next level. Basically perfect.

Per request of some sweet friends who have caught the travel bug.. here's a "How to Guide" for how to even plan a backpacking trip in Europe! First off, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to go about this... (okay maybe there are some exceptions) but what matters is that you feel comfortable embarking on the trip you have planned (or unplanned). So, here are the steps that Meagan and I took.

1. Decide you are committed to doing this - You and your travel companions need to be 110% sure you are up for this adventure. How awful would that be to have a friend bail after you got your hopes up or vice vera?

2. Pick a best friend and a friend who complements your personality - I am not a very good planner. Professionally, I am insanely detail oriented and make lists like it's my job. Socially, I am a very "go with the flow" person who likes to take life a day at a time. My travel companion is one of my best friends and very similar but very different than me. This was key. She was the one who kept us on track with scheduling bookings, finding deals, and once we got to Europe, taking advantage of every second.

3. Start thinking about it preferably 6 months in advance - The closer you get to your departure date, the more prices tend to skyrocket and good hostels get booked. We decided to take this trip in December, began planning in January, booked our flight over the pond in mid-March, booked our hostels and additional flights every other week leading up to the beginning of May. Our departure date was mid-June. *Also, get your passport ASAP if you don't have one, or in my case, find your hidden passport

4. Pick the countries you want to visit ahead of time - Sure, you could just wing it when you get to Europe, but it was a nice comfort to know that we knew where we were going each few days. It also helps when you can tell your bank which countries you will be in ahead of time so your cards don't get declined overseas. We picked the 3 places we 100% wanted to go to: London, Barcelona, and Edinburgh. We had then decided on either Amsterdam or Zurich. As fate had it though, through extensive research, one of the cheapest places to fly into from the US was Dublin, Ireland. So Dublin joined our list.

5. "Big flight" booking - We ended up booking our big international flight via CheapOAir.com. We had used many travel sites but found the best deal on this site. Googleflights is also really good for looking at flight prices since it tells you little ways to get you cheaper flights (such as using a different nearby airport, departing on a different day, etc)

6. Hostel booking - Research, research, research. Also be flexible! We used hostelworld.com for all our hostel bookings. We also asked friends who had been to the cities we were going to for suggestions and that ended up being very helpful. Here's a breakdown of our lodging and our ratings.
- Dublin, Ireland: Isaac's Hostel. 14 person girls dorm. It was very minimalist, with very basic bunkbeds, thin pillows, and no individual lights near the beds. There were hooks on the end of each bunk bed, but lockers were also in the basement of the hostel so we had to choose what was essential each night to have in our room. Despite the minimalistic vibe, this was an awesome hostel. They offered a pub crawl that you paid a fee of around 14 euros for one time and could use your entire stay and a free walking tour. We met awesome people at both and it was an incredible start to our trip. They also offered a free breakfast each morning and had the best staff we found of everywhere we met. We 100% recommend this hostel to travelers in Dublin. The location was also safe and in walking distance of anything and everything we wanted to get to.

14 bed dorm

exterior of Isaac's

- London, England: YHA London Central. 8 person girls dorm. The biggest luxuries of this hostel were the little 6 inch shelf and personal lights it had next to each bed. I finally had a place I could put my contacts case without worrying about them tipping over in the middle of the night. There were also lockers in the room which was extremely nice. There were also hooks on the end of each bunk and a sink in the room. The location was wonderful. It was a five minute walk to Great Portland Street tube station and that became our home base for the week. (Meagan even got to see Russell Brand ride by on a bicycle a block from our hostel). The downsides to the hostel were weird coins you had to get if you wanted to do laundry and no free breakfast in the morning. London is also extremely expensive so it was the priciest hostel of the bunch but we still really liked it for the most part. Clean, safe, good location.

exterior of YHA Central London

8 bed dorm (excuse the mess, we were drying our laundry and I forgot to get a better shot)

- Barcelona, Spain: St.Christopher's. 8 person girls dorm. This hostel was pretty great. Each bed had its own curtain and light so you could close your curtain and keep the light on if you wanted to read or journal. There were also lockers under each bunk bed which I pulled out a little bit at night so I could place my contacts on a surface (bad eyes make everything difficult). The hostel had a "pub" downstairs and a really wonderful vending machine with kinder buenos which was fabulous. They also had a really interesting free breakfast assortment. They offered cheese, baguettes, cereal, and oranges. Hey, it was free and to be honest I would have eaten anything any of these hostels gave us for free. This hostel was right near Placa Catalunya, which was a good location with a metro stop a few steps from the front door. Clean, safe, good location.

St Christopher exterior

8 bed dorm

7. Think of "must do's" - For each country we made sure to pre-plan a few things we definitely wanted to do, including day trips. For Ireland we booked a bus tour to Cobh, Cork, and Blarney. For England we booked a day trip to Brighton, afternoon tea, and tickets to the Globe. For Spain we made lists of food places we had heard of and Gaudi's landmarks. For Scotland we did book a Hairy Coo Tour (bus tour) that ended up being cancelled, but hey we tried. This helped to give each country a little bit of focus and direction.

8. Research transportation to and from the airport (as well as within the city) - For Dublin we read that it was best to just find a bus when we got there so we ended up taking a city bus from the airport into the city, and even though the journey was longer with more stops, it was the cheapest of all the options. For London, we booked spots on EasyBus which was a cheap teeny tiny "bus" that took us into the city. I can't remember what we did for Barcelona to be honest... but I think it was just a public transit bus. For Edinburgh, we took Lothian Busses to the stop closest to my cousins' flat and bought a 2-way ticket for our trip back to the airport later that week. While in each city, in Dublin we ended up walking everywhere (pretty manageable city by foot). In London we used the London Underground (tube) and bought day tickets each day (you cannot navigate London with happy feet if you walk the entire time, it's enormous). In Barcelona we mostly walked, but did take the metro to Parc Guell as it was an hour's walk away. In Edinburgh we were able to walk a good amount but also got cheap day passes on Lothian Busses.

9. Start making packing lists and gathering items two months in advance - I was a nut about packing lists. It takes a while though to get everything you need and be sure you'll be happy with everything.

10. Put together a folder of documents, tickets, etc - This helps when going through customs if there are any questions, and just to keep you organized. *Bring an empty gallon bag too to throw ticket stubs, pamplets, maps, and other memorabilia in.

11. Depart! - You've done it and you're ready to take off into one of the greatest adventures of your life and one you'll always remember. Enjoy it!