Tandem Travel Tales: Bologna

Car Rental Naples @travelingintandem

GETTING OUT OF NAPLES

As you probably gathered from our last post, leaving our work exchange was vital to our sanity. We threw a few ideas around before we decided to head to Bologna. Hannah, our friend and fellow volunteer, was planning to take a bus to Bologna and then continue home to Germany. Since we didn’t have anything else planned, and car rental seemed relatively cheap, we opted to for indulgence.

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Tandem Travel Tales: Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore Harvest Festival 2018

ON TO THE ITALIAN RIVIERA

Cinque Terre is one of those places that has started to boom with tourism in recent years. If you’ve ever looked at Instagram travel photos, chances are you’ve seen more than one photo of Cinque Terre. Unique in its composition, Cinque Terre is comprised of five small fishing villages dotting the cliff-filled coastline of the Italian Riviera. Considered a gem amongst most tourists, the crowds and infrastructure here reflect the hype.

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Tandem Travel Tales: Florence

WELCOME TO FIRENZE

Oh, Florence. Coming from Rome where there are plenty of tourists, but also bountiful space, Florence confronted us with situational claustrophobia. We were hopeful that the end of September was just late enough in the season that we could dodge crowds and squeak our way into some of the famous sights. In retrospect, we severely underestimated the amount of preplanning that needed to happen in order to ease the tension of the crowds and navigate Florence smoothly. However, if we were to do it again, the only thing I would change would be the not-so-forgiving stomach bug.

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TANDEM TRAVEL TALES: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

CONTINUING THROUGH EASTERN EUROPE

While limited in my experiences, I’ve seen enough to say that Eastern Europe is well worth the visit. This is a place where modesty and appreciation for the simple things are most important- a place where the infrastructure for tourism is relatively new. Here there is a dichotomy between locals skeptical of all of the rapidly occurring changes and those who enthusiastically embrace and welcome foreign visitors. Much in contrast to our time in Krakow and Warsaw, Budapest proved itself beautiful and unique while making us work for comfort and familiarity.

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Tandem Travel Tips: Krakow, Poland

ALL ABOARD

The journey from Warsaw to Krakow was slated to be our first train ride of the trip. Having only traveled by train once before, I had little to no expectation. Long and short, the train we tried to book online didn’t even exist once we got to the station. So we ended up shorting ourselves three hours in Warsaw, leaving late morning, and embarking on a much longer train ride than expected.

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Tandem Travel Tales: Jaco, Costa Rica

THE JOURNEY TO JACO

We made our way to Jaco early in the afternoon by way of La Fortuna. It was about a 3.5-hour drive winding up at down the mountain to the shore. Steve was kind enough to drive and I dozed in and out while the sun unknowingly charred my right arm. We arrived ready to unload and relax for a bit before exploring the town. Per usual, we had picked out a rad, open-air loft through Airbnb that was close to the beach owned by a former professional surfer, Emmanuel. There was really only one rule for this place which was to lock the fridge before you go to bed. Don’t worry, there’s a story about that later.

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Tandem Travel Tales: Concepcion de San Isidro

CONCEPCION DE SAN ISIDRO, HEREDIA

What a gem. Our discovery of Concepcion de San Isidro was unintentional but all thanks to Airbnb. We were looking for a spot to stay our first night in Costa Rica that was outside of downtown San Jose but didn’t require that we drive all the way to La Fortuna in the dark. What better place than a small, privately owned and operated coffee plantation. Ah, my heart.

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Tandem Travel Tips: Costa Rica Rental Car & Phone Advice

WHY COSTA RICA?

How it began

Doesn’t Costa Rica sound like a wonderful place to spend the holidays? To be completely honest, we ended up here by accident and kind of frantically. We initially booked flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico to enjoy 9 days in one place. This was my version of strong-arming Steve into a slow travel vacation. Fast forward to a week later I was in pieces begging my grandparents to flee Florida before Hurricane Irma, where the eye was slated to land right over their home. And then Maria happened and Puerto Rico is still putting themselves back together 9 months later, mind you with minimal aid and acknowledgment from the US government. But I can’t even begin to start on that one.

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