Back before COVID shut down the world, I spent 4 nights in Belfast as part of a larger UK/Eurotrip. I thought I would be able to add another country to my tally, but it turns out that Northern Ireland is not technically a separate country from the Republic of Ireland. However, the United Kingdom is…
Author: kowalkowskiallison
Daydreamer Diaries: 8/24/20
It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of these because it feels like nothing’s happened due to COVID restrictions. Yet, life always goes on and a lot has happened (I could go on a rant but I won’t). I’ll just say wear a mask and vote Trump out of office 🙂 Laughs Laughter truly is…
Notes on Hosteling as an Almost-30-Something
When I quit my job to travel at the end of 2019, I fit in 3 big trips before the pandemic hit hard–3 weeks in India, a month-long Eurotrip, and just over 2 weeks in Costa Rica. I stayed in hostels every single day on those trips except for a 4-day stint in London where…
25 BIPOC Book Recommendations You Might Not Know About
Throughout the recent Black Lives Matter movement, there have been A LOT of resources shared in hopes of educating white people about the history and struggles of Black people. As a reader, I’ve been especially interested in the BIPOC book recommendations that have gone around because I’m always on the hunt for new books to read,…
Getaway from San Diego: 11 Must-Do Trips
Let these ideas for a getaway from San Diego (1 to 4 hours away) inspire major wanderlust to plan your own Southern California adventure!
Notes on Celebrating 4th of July
I wanted to post this photo on my Instagram story for the 4th of July: my friends and I in 2013 looking patriotic as f**k. But then I didn’t because I thought about what kind of message that would be sending during a really messed up time for America. I thought about captioning it “I’m embarrassed…
Daydreamer Diaries: 6/20/20
Musings Wow, it’s been over 2 months since I posted anything on the blog. Back in April, I held out hope that we would all come together to get COVID under control. I thought maybe I would have a brief pause in my travels but that I would get to continue them in the summer….
Daydreamer Diaries: 4/17/20
Hello from… I’m writing this post from California, where I came after deciding to hastily leave Costa Rica last month in the midst of border closings and travel uncertainties. I just logged out of my booking.com account, having gone on to cancel a reservation for an agriturismo in the heart of Tuscany where I was meant…