My First Time Circling the Globe

During the spring and summer of 2016 I took my first trip all the way around the world. I didn't even realize until mid-journey that I was actually circling the globe for the first time. Here's my itinerary:

Round The World Trip Itinerary

April 25 - Los Angeles, CA to Melbourne, Australia

June 18 - Melbourne to Perth, Australia

June 19 - Perth to Bali, Indonesia

June 25 - Bali to Gili Air, Lombok

June 28 - Back to Bali

June 29 - Bali to Phuket, Thailand

July 4 - Phuket to Bangkok, Thailand

July 6 - Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand

July 12 - Back to Bangkok

July 13 - Bangkok to Athens, Greece (Layover in Moscow)

July 15 - Bus from Athens to Nafplio, Greece 

July 19 - Bus back to Athens

July 20 - Athens to Venice, Italy.

July 23 - Train from Venice to Florence, Italy

July 25 - Train from Florence to Rome, Italy 

July 28 - Rome to Los Angeles 

It was a crazy 3 months overseas and I'm grateful for every moment. I'm currently planning my next adventure. I'm thinking Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Senegal.. but my initial ideas usually look nothing like what I actually end up doing so.. we'll see.

If you want to know any more about the places I visited, feel free to contact me!

xox

Lis

Closing Remarks - Farewell 2016

I'm sitting on the floor by the fireplace, alone in a house tucked away in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. While the number of hours left in 2016 continues to decrease, I'm trying to process all of the things that have happened since this time last year. 2016 was unlike any other year so far, but I guess every year is different from the last. Between my own personal growth and setbacks and the massive shifts caused worldwide by political decisions, collective human behavior, the environment and so on, the past 12 months have been more unsettling than those that came before them.

I started off in January by moving out of the house I had lived in for a few years. I really didn't want to leave, but the owners of the house were moving back in, so I had no choice and not much of a warning. January was also the first time I spoke in front of an audience. I sing in front of people all the time and I love doing that, so this will be the same right? NOPE. Ha. I thought it went pretty terribly, other people said it was fine..but now at least I know that if I have to speak in front of a crowd and I totally suck, I'll survive. The embarrassment is now a memory and a story rather than an uncomfortable physical feeling. Most feelings do tend to fade in that sense over time. January did bring me my first real panic attack in years though, so that was fun. Especially because I was on a boat at the time, so there was no way for me to chill the F out. Thankfully this wasn't how I felt for most of 2016.

The rest of my year was full of travel, both international (Italy, Indonesia, Australia, Mexico, Thailand, Greece, England) and domestic (CA, NV, GA, FL, OR, TX, ME, MA, NY, NH) It was thrilling and it was exhausting. It was a mix of anxiety, serenity, hope, fear, confidence... confusion. I wouldn't change a thing. This part of my experience was so meaningful and so wonderful so I feel a little guilty hating on the whole year. Bad things happened, but those don't cancel out the good ones. They are two separate entities. It's not 2016's fault, right?

One thing I did realize was that I needed to have a home base when I returned from my travels. I had some things in storage, some in the trunk of my car, some at my friends houses.I had gotten so excited to travel the world that I just threw everything everywhere and hopped on a plane. I was staying on friends' couches between trips and I really didn't like imposing.  Being unsettled in a foreign country feels appropriate. Being unsettled in the place I call "home" doesn't.

I got back and immediately started to overcommit myself. Between work and moving and catching up with everything that piled up while I was traveling, I just hadn't had more than a minute to myself for as long as I could remember. This sounds kind of negative. It's not. A lot of the things I was busy with were great, but the less time I have alone, the less my brain can calm down, and then things that could be really exciting start to feel stressful. So, I ran away to quiet my mind and recalibrate. That brings me to this moment. Sitting on the floor, drinking coffee mixed with chai spiced eggnog, trying to figure out how people keep a fire going for more than 10 minutes.. because I kind of suck at it, and with 15 inches of snow outside blocking the door, I'm afraid I'll run out of firewood before midnight.

Tonight I'll spend time alone; reflecting, meditating, playing my piano. (well, the piano that I rented from Guitar Center last week because I couldn't actually get mine here from LA.) Maybe I'll go to bed early and I won't even be awake at midnight. Who am I kidding, I'll be awake at midnight. Haha. I hope everyone has a night that inspires them. For me this time it's silence. For you it may be the same, or it may be family, friends, champagne, a concert or volunteering. Whatever it is, enjoy it. Smile at someone. Look in someone's eyes. If you're alone, smile in the mirror. Look into your own eyes and tell yourself it's going to be a great year... and really believe it! Be present. Try to remember the good things that happened this year. Try to think of what lessons you have learned that you can bring with you into the new year, and be proud of those you may have helped to teach others. If there are things you regret, let them go by deciding to act differently from this moment onward. I learned so much this year from old friends and new. I met people and saw things that I never could have imagined. Thank you for your wisdom, your patience, your support. Thank you for your truth, your love, your criticism. Thank you all.. for all of it.

Happy New Year. 

-Lis

On Heartache: Perseverance > Manipulation

I overheard a conversation today between two young women in a cafe. One was talking about ways to get a guy back who from what I could tell, really wanted nothing to do with her. It made me sad. I wanted to be like "Girl, you're too good for that! Find someone who thinks everything about you is amazing! You're a rockstar!" But I kind of figured that would have been a little out of place since I hadn't been invited into the conversation and it was one of a fairly personal nature. What I wanted to tell her was that she had two choices. Manipulate the situation, or push past it and thrive. More often than not, when someone tries to manipulate someone else into feeling something different from what they are actually feeling, it doesn't end well.

I used to have a very fragile heart. I would fall in love (well, not in love, but something emotional that often disguised itself as such) very quickly, and it would take me ages to climb out of it when it didn't work out. Mostly because I hadn’t learned to love myself. I've had my heart shattered once or twice before. (Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. Obviously my heart still has to be in one piece and fully functional in order for me to be sitting here writing a blog.) At those times I thought I wouldn’t recover. "I’ll be alone forever wahh wahh, poor me." People sometimes get this idea in their head that there is one person they're "meant to be with" and even if that person treats them like absolute garbage, when it doesn’t work out they’d rather struggle to stay in that dysfunctional relationship and dwell in misery than find someone who actually cares enough to treat them like the perfect incredible badass that they are. A lot of it has to do with the amount of time one puts into something like that. Ok, so you spent 4 years in something that you might consider to have been a waste of your time. but A. It wasn’t actually a waste of time because you probably learned a lot from it. If all you learned was how you don't want to be treated, that's massive. B. All you have now is the future. Let's look in that direction and be over it, ok?

There’s a reason I don’t say GET over it. I say BE over it. If you keep telling yourself you’re "just getting over it.." you give yourself permission to continue to talk about it, think about it, blog about it. Just decide to be over it. “That’s easier said than done.” Okay. True. But here’s what I mean. I don’t mean that you can turn off your feelings. Of course you can’t.  What you can do is change your actions and force your pain into leaving sooner than it had planned. I read somewhere it takes 12 minutes for the sadness or anger chemicals to leave your system once you stop dwelling on them. While that might be total BS, it helps me to remember that those feelings don’t go away until you stop fueling the fire.

A couple years ago I went through something that when I was 19 would have been the end of the world,  but knowing what I know, and having gone through what I’ve been through, I decided to try taking my own advice. I sat down at my computer and started writing. Started planning. I read 8 books in 2 months, which isn't an easy task for me because I have a terrible time focusing. My heart hurt, so I worked harder. I wanted to cry.. so I did.. while I worked. I came out of this after 2 months and 5 days and I had so much passion and so much to show for it. Now that I was excited about something real, I could see that the thing I had been upset about was nothing more than an outlet for my subconscious dissatisfaction with my own life. 

Throughout that time, seconds of happiness began to turn to minutes that turned to hours and so on.. Suddenly the future seemed bright again. When you push through the pain, allowing yourself to feel the emotions, but continuing to stay productive through them, you can feel the moments of happiness lingering longer, and the moments of pain loosening their grip. 

The first step in recovering is to stop complaining about it. (Obviously death and other forms of tragedy are another story. These things have a very different mourning and recovery process. I don’t expect you to get over something like that in a short period of time, or ever completely.) In the normal heartache situation, don’t accept people’s pity and agree with them. While they may have good intentions, often people say “Aw, what happened? I’m so sorry. That is awful.” and personally that makes me so much more uncomfortable. I’m like.. “NO I’m fine! I’m fine.. stop. Im saying this is a good thing!”  And then of course if you happen to be on the verge of tears, and someone asks if you’re fine, you are undoubtedly going to cry. Why does that happen? It's like someone asking if you are okay opens some sort of emotional floodgate. I guess because they are forcing you to choose between two unpleasant things; lie, or admit that you're not okay. 

In any case, if you’re going through something difficult that is leaving you with a heavy heart, sometimes it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I promise, every tunnel no matter how dark, ends in light. It’s your job to be strong and get yourself off the ground and moving in that direction. Taking the first steps to break through the initial barrier of pain is not easy. It is simple, however. People often confuse the ideas of simplicity and ease.

Final thoughts: You can do it! Get up. Move forward. I believe in you... and I think you're rad.

Xx

Lis

Gili Air - My Happy Place.

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After almost 2 months in Australia,  which was just enough time to settle in and make it feel like home, I left. I hopped on a plane and made my way up to Bali. I met my friend Veronika in Seminyak with only a plan for where we would be staying the first few nights. We decided to just make plans as we go, because there seemed to be plenty of places on AirBnb in all of the areas where we wanted to stay.

After a few days in Ubud, which is also one of my favorite places ever, we decided to take a boat out to the Gili Islands in Lombok. We asked around a little about which of the Gili Islands to visit. There are three; Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air.  The general consensus was that Gilli Trawangan (Or Gili T) was the party island. Not what we were looking for on this trip. Gili Meno is more romantic and quiet.. and Gili Air had a little bit of a community but was a quiet place to go to relax. That sounded perfect. We found a shuttle from Ubud that took us to Padang Bai on the east side of Bali. The drive took us just over an hour. When we got to the port there were lots of people trying to  sell us things. I bought some coconut and watermelon and then a woman who I had spoken to on the way in yelled at me for not buying it from her. Why do I still feel guilty about this? Let it go, Lis.

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The boat ride took about an hour and a half. We took the fast boat. There was music playing, everyone was dancing and the weather was beautiful. Gili Air is the closest of the three islands to Lombok, so the farthest from Bali. We stopped at the other two to let passengers off before we got off at our stop.

When we arrived, I stayed with our bags and Veronika went ahead to ask them if we could get a taxi to our hotel. We realized two things. 1. There are no taxis. Actually there are no cars or motorbikes allowed on this island at all. 2. Our hotel was only a 5 minute walk down the road so taking a taxi would have been pointless anyway. It took us way  longer than 5 minutes though because the road was only sand and V's suitcase had to be dragged through it. I have a video of it. It was hilarious. I'll have to find that. I think after that incident I may have convinced her to start using a backpack.

We got to our hotel and it was pretty nice. We had our own balcony and could see the ocean. It's amazing the places you can find for MUCH cheaper than anything in the US. One week in this hotel was less than one night in far less beautiful accommodations in any major US city.  We stayed at 7SEAS Cottages which was around $17 USD/ night at the time. Walking around the island we spotted other places we probably would have chosen had we been there before, but we liked it enough.

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Exploring the island we saw signs for scuba diving, yoga and stand up paddle boarding. There were little huts scattered around with tour options, most of which took you off of the island, and we wanted to stay put for a few days. Apparently there is a night market at the high season, but it wasn't there when we visited. (June.) There was no real crazy nightlife there as I've heard there is on Gili T, but there were a few bars open if we wanted to go out at night. There were a lot of signs around for magic mushrooms.. and the occasional person asking if we wanted them. I thought it was a joke at first. I still don't know for sure, since we didn't say yes.. but it looked like they were serious. We walked the path that goes around the island every day. It was magnificent and only takes about 2 hours to walk the whole thing. It was quiet. Just the sound of the waves, soft music from the beach cafes and the occasional jingle bells that hung from the Cimodos. (Carts that are pulled by horses. This was the only way to get around the island other than on foot or by bike.) We were warned that there may be sea urchins in the water, but we didn't have any problems with that. Then again, we didn't spend much time in the water here. Basically just walking out to that swing and back.

One day while we were there we decided to try to find some wifi at an outdoor coffee shop we found online that was supposed to be the only place you could really connect to the internet. I guess Gili didn't want us connecting to the outside world, because just as we sat down with our iced coffee, a HUGE storm rolled in. They told us we needed to get off the deck and get back to our hotel as fast as possible. We didn't make it back before the rain, but it did make for a hilarious experience that we will never forget... one of my favorite moments of the whole summer.

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We stayed mostly on the outskirts of the island. It wasn't until our last night that we accidentally turned down a street that had lots of little shops and restaurants. It felt like we had known the island so intimately at this point so it was so bizarre to find this random hidden street full of people. While there weren't any large buildings at the time we were there, there was some type of construction happening on what looked like a future hotel. I really hope this doesn't take away from the beauty of the island.

Tips if you're going to Gili Air:1. Bring Cash: There were two ATMs on the island, but they weren't working when we tried to use them. Apparently having random power outages on the island is pretty typical. 2. Bring a poncho or umbrella. Self explanatory. 3. Prepare to Go Offline. The wifi here sucks. That can be a good thing if you're trying to unplug for a while. I was more present here than most of my other trips. Not a great spot for digital nomads to plant themselves for a long time though I'd imagine. 4. Walk around the island a few times. Every time we went for our walk we noticed something new and beautiful.

This is an incredibly magical place. I know there is more world to see, and so many other places that I need to visit before I start doubling back, but Gili Air holds a really special place in my heart. If you go there, take a picture on the ocean swing and send it to me!

Xx

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Lis

Confessions From Traveling Solo

Last July I booked my first trip overseas by myself. I had traveled alone in the states before, and I had been out of the country with friends and family, but going alone was something I had never seriously considered. I guess prior to booking the trip, I hadn't had enough faith in myself or my ability to venture very far outside of my comfort zone.

Santorini was at the top of my travel bucket list for as long as I could remember. I was in a headspace at the time where I needed desperately to find some sort of inspiration after 4 years in LA. My energy felt stagnant and while I thought my jobs there were fun, I didn't feel incredibly passionate about anything I was doing. I had felt that passion in the past when I was traveling or playing music so I knew I had the capacity to feel it again. I had to listen to my heart... and my heart said Greece. :)

The first two days of being in a foreign country alone were half thrilling, half terrifying. Actually, I'm going to say more terrifying than thrilling. Not only was my brain totally fried from the 26 hours it took me to get there and running around London for a day, but it turns out that attempting to abruptly escape and clear your head can cause an uproar from the voices that you're trying to silence. All of the feelings that I wanted to avoid were magnified by the awareness that I was totally out of my element.. and totally alone. 

The silver lining on that uncomfortable cloud was that it helped me to realize some of the things that I was unnecessarily holding onto. What was holding me back from being truly happy? I had to tackle these unwelcome emotions to realize how critical it was for me to let them go. I had to remind myself that while I hadn’t been that far out of my comfort zone in a long time, and It didn't feel good, I would come out a stronger person on the other side, and it would be totally worth it.

By the end of my second day there my jet lag had finally started to wear off and I knew the area around my hotel a little bit, so I started exploring a little bit farther. In LA a lot of my jobs had me talking to hundreds of strangers a day at conventions, so there was no reason I couldn't just use that confidence to talk to strangers in town, right? (I also lived alone in Vegas for 3 months and I would find people who seemed nice and say "Hey, I don't know anyone here, want to be friends?" Some of my closest friends came from doing that.)

The first two days I cried a lot. There was a lot I needed to address in my head and heart. But I ventured out, met new people, explored the island and forced myself to keep going even if I was scared. At the end of the trip I was crying because I had made some incredible friends and conquered so many fears and demons within myself that I wasn't ready to leave! Talk about a total 180.

Now, whenever I book a trip somewhere alone, I'm not scared that I won't be able to handle it. I know that even though I felt absolutely helpless in Santorini, I left feeling empowered and connected to myself and some awesome new people. Those are the feelings I want more of in my life. The more I traveled alone over the last year, the more comfortable I became, and now sometimes I actually prefer it. While there is something to be said about traveling with friends or sharing an experience with someone you love, there is also something so beautiful about leaving everything familiar behind and being fully present with yourself somewhere new.

Has anyone else ever traveled outside of their country alone? What was your experience with your first solo trip? Let me know in the comments..

Love you guys.

Xx

Lis

One day in London

When I told people before my trip to Greece that I chose a flight with a 9 hour layover in London so I could run around and explore, most of them thought I was crazy. The rarely surfacing pessimist in me agreed. What if I wasn’t allowed out of the airport since I had checked a bag? Maybe I would get out of the airport, but get lost and miss my flight to Athens. I was sure something was going to go wrong. Things that scare me hadn’t always been the type that I dove straight into, but with my new commitment to traveling solo, I knew I was going to be uncomfortable once in a while. What I didn’t realize was just how magnified the over-analytical part of my brain would become. "You’re going to get mugged. You’re going to lose your passport. You’re going to accidentally turn on data roaming and get a $5,000 phone bill.. Blah blah."

I landed in London around 12:30pm on Tuesday. I wanted to be back at the airport by 8:15pm for my 10:00 flight. I had already checked in, so I didn’t have to be there 2 hours early, but I wanted to leave time for unexpected trip-ups... If you don't know me yet, you'll soon find out that I'm incredibly clumsy and have a tendency to do less planning than is probably appropriate. I like to tell myself that it's an endearing quality, or at the very least makes for a good story later. I'm definitely not the poster child for things going smoothly.  I had been told the line at customs was going to be a total bitch, and it was true. I didn’t get out of the airport until just after 2pm. As a total newb when it comes to London I was so grateful that right before the plane landed, while I was frantically googling "Things to do on a long layover in London," using the notoriously choppy airplane wifi, my friend Brad messaged me with a mock itinerary for me to attempt to follow. 

One day in London

The trains into the city leave right from the airport, so it wasn’t hard to find my way to the station. I bought a ticket for the tube (after asking three different people which ticket machine I was supposed to use…  thank God I was in a country where people spoke English!) I took the Piccadilly line to Piccadilly Circle. Map in hand, I found my way over to St. James’ Park. My sister told me before I left that the one thing she wanted me to do in London was to get a hot tea and take a picture of it, and since it was cool and windy that day I was happy to oblige. Buckingham Palace was on the opposite end, and if I wanted to get there and everywhere else I had on my list in the limited time I had, I needed to make haste. I hurried down the path, dodging kamikaze pigeons the entire way. I swear, these birds were on a mission to hit me in the face. While I did spill tea on myself a couple times trying to get away, nothing was going to slow me down.

At the end of the park I arrived at Buckingham Palace. I would have loved to stay and take hundreds of pictures  or try to do something silly to make the guards smile, but my goal was to do as many things as I could before I had to get back to the airport. I had to remind myself that someday I could come back to London and really explore. 

London Travel

I took a few snapshots of the palace and made sure to pause  to take in the moment. It’s weird trying to imagine what a feeling is going to be like before you are actually feeling it. The way I felt in front of that palace is not what I had expected at all. I thought I would be so in awe and feel so out of place. But the air in London felt similar to the air in New York City to me and I felt an odd sense of home. It was beautiful.

I headed back towards where I started, on a different path for scenery’s sake, and started the search for Big Ben. This part of town also wasn’t what I had pictured at all, but it was gorgeous. It was a windy, cloudy day which I found out later is fairly typical in London. (No, I didn’t look at the weather before I left home… Because if I didn’t go out and make all of these rookie mistakes, how would I be able to warn YOU not to make them? So yeah, check the weather.)

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I chilled with Big Ben for a few minutes and then I walked over to Westminster Pier. I walked across the bridge toward the London eye. There was a man playing a bagpipe and people darting back and forth across the sidewalk; tourists trying to take in the view, and locals trying to avoid being trampled by them. I turned around when I got to the other side of the bridge and had an amazing view of the river and Big Ben and the part of London I had explored so far. 

I crossed back over the bridge, found my way to the tube again and debated getting on it. I stopped and looked at my map decided that I had time to walk up to Covent Garden which was one of the places my friend told me to visit. I got a little lost on my way there, but I have no issues with asking for directions.  Everyone was super helpful and pointed me towards my destination (after letting me know I was holding the map upside down.) The only problem was, when I got to where I thought I was going, I couldn’t find the garden anywhere. I was sure this is where it was on the map. I walked in a few circles and then looked at another map that was posted on the street. Oops. Covent Garden isn’t a garden at all. It’s a shopping plaza. I’m a moron. 

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I took a few minutes to explore there, and then walked all the way back down to the Piccadilly Circle tube stop  (Only because the other station I had planned on using was temporarily closed.) I took the Bakerloo line up to Paddington where I was supposed to meet Brad at 6pm. Not having phone service makes life feel a lot more difficult (but not surprisingly, a lot more real.) I stood outside Upper Crust in the Paddington station and waited for a few minutes hoping I was in the right place. My friend walked up soon after. He took me to a pub called The Abbey and we had a beer there and caught up. It’s another odd feeling seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar city. We left the pub and took a walk where he showed me the canals that run through that area. Gorgeous little houseboats lined the canal on both sides. I wanted to move into one. 

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I hopped back on the train around 7:30 and headed towards Heathrow. Since it was a layover and I didn’t have to check in and print my boarding pass, I was actually at the airport insanely early for my flight. Better safe than sorry in this case I presume. I called my sister, charged my phone, got a snack and waited. I was ready to head to Athens and then on to Santorini. I had seen so much of London in less than one day. I still can't believe everything went so perfectly!! I need to go back so I can actually breathe the city in and get to know the vibe, rather than running around like a squirrel who had too many pixy stix, but I think for just over 5 hours of actual time in the city, I did pretty damn well.

I highly recommend a long layover in London.  :) 

Cheers, 

Lisa 

Game of Thrones - Filming Locations Tour!

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I had talked about wanting to go to Northern Ireland ever since I went down a rabbit hole of pictures from the incredible filming locations they used for Game of Thrones. I had seen a site on the internet for tours that left from Dublin and Belfast and took you through some of these places. I became mildly obsessed with the idea, as I tend to do. My adoration for Kit Harington and my annoying self-given nickname of KhaLisa proved that my inappropriate love for Game of Thrones was going to have me making some ridiculous decisions. The first? Northern Ireland. Once I found out that going to Winterfell was something I could actually do, I HAD to do it. There was no other choice..

I planned my trip to Ireland , convinced my mom to come with me, and the next thing I knew, 12 days later we arrived in Dublin.

That night I slept like a rock and woke up the minute a tiny beam of sunlight peeked in the window. We had to be on the tour at 7:45am and I was at the door with my map in my hand and 3 different cameras ready. Sadly, that little beam of sunlight that woke me up was the only one we would see all day… but a little bit of rain won’t keep me from meeting the actual direwolf pups!!

We met the rest of the group outside of the Hilton Garden Inn in Dublin and hopped on the bus. Because of the nature of the show, the tour wouldn’t allow anyone under the age of 18. I was glad not to have a bunch of kids tagging along. Also I would seriously question any parent that allowed their young child to watch this show in the first place. 

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Our first stop was Tollymore Forest. It was a 2 mile walk through the park, which was used for a ton of scenes in Game of Thrones, most notably the pit where Wills finds the Wildlings in the very first episode of the show.

We stopped at the place where Tyrion and Jon Snow had acampfire on their way to the Wall. I sat on a stump that Jon Snow sat on and snapchatted something stupid about how since I was sitting there we were basically engaged, and then we moved on.

We stopped by the river where the direwolf pups were originally discovered by the Starks and then we had lunch at the Lobster Pot in Strangford where they had two of them (Odin and Thor, actually Northern Inuit dogs) that we could meet. They were known on the show as Summer and Grey Wind, belonging to Bran and Robb Stark. They obviously weren’t pups anymore. The grown direwolves are all CGI, so these were the only real dogs used in the show.

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Next was Winterfell. I obviously hyperventilated like 9 times during this part of the tour.I was the annoying one being like “Mom! Wait. Take a picture of me over here. Here too. And here. Take 4 here.” The location is Castle Ward, and honestly, it doesn’t really look that much like what you see on the show. So much is added using computers so you definitely have to use your imagination. I still freaked out. 

Game of Thrones Tour

Next we stopped at a small castle which was used as one of Walder Frey’s "Twins." In the show there are two, connected by a massive bridge. In reality, just one.. and no bridge. It was also used as Robb’s Camp in the Riverlands.

When we stopped in Inch Abbey, from the scene where Robb Stark was declared King in the North, it was the first time the rain stopped all day. We finally got to put on the cloaks!! Yesss. Haha. I had been so bummed out all day that we hadn't been able to wear them.

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After this I decided I was going to go to EVERY LOCATION that they used to film the show. I have since adopted new travel goals, but I would still love to check out some other ones sometime. Spain? Croatia? Malta? Yes please. :)

Xx

Lis

Santorini, Greece

Santorini was my first trip overseas alone. I'd wanted to go there forever and I decided to just take the leap and go for it.I booked my flight using points that I earned after reading Brice Conway’s guide “Takeoff.”

After the first few days where I was panicking about being alone and being insanely jet lagged for the first time in my life (That shit is no joke) I finally was ready to venture out. I went to Fira to explore a bit that day and met the captain of a beautiful sailboat. He told me they were doing a tour the next morning and that I was welcome to come along if I wanted to! Of course I was going to go. 

The sailing trip was amazing. They took us from Ia to Thiresia, to the volcanic islands where we jumped off the side of the boat to swim in the hot springs.  We went in the water right after someone had asked if there were a lot of sharks in these waters, and while he thought he was being comforting by saying  “Yes, but we have had no incidents," he obviously lost me after "yes" and I was a little bit terrified the whole time.

The only other people on the tour were some newlyweds from Boston, Morgan and Jon.  They had just been married in Italy a week or two before and had been traveling for a while before they ended up sitting across from me on this boat in Greece. We had traditional Greek food that the captain cooked for us, and I spent the day hanging out with them. While I felt a little bit like I was crashing their honeymoon party, I was so glad to meet some really rad people. She is a musician. They had been together for 7 years.  Connecting to people through a mutual love of travel is always really fun for me.

Greek Food Santorini Lisa Sansouci

Santorini

Being young, female and alone can definitely change a solo traveling experience a bit. I heard so many times "You're traveling alone!? Is that safe?! Be careful!" And I laughed it off because I like to think that I'm invincible. Alas, I found myself in a very awkward situation at a bar a few nights later with a man who wouldn’t leave me alone even when I asked him very sternly. As a firm believer in silver linings, the fact that I had to escape from this situation by talking to the first people I could find that spoke English actually turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. I approached a group of girls that later told me they were from Canada. I whispered to one of them "Sorry to bother you, but I'm traveling alone and I'm in an uncomfortable situation right now with this guy. Do you mind if I hang out with you for a few minutes until he leaves?" Little did I know in this moment that I would spend a huge portion of the rest of my trip with these girls and I will never, ever forget them.. (Love you Ryv, Heather and Cat!) 

The following day I met up with a new friend who I met at the airport when I first arrived. He was in town with a group of 20 or so for a post-wedding celebration, and asked if I wanted to join them while they took their ATVs and explored the island.  Again, for adventure's sake, I said yes, hoping for the best when it came to him not being a serial killer. (Thank god, he wasn't! And neither were any of the other people in his party.. as far as I know.)

Santorini ATV

We took the ATV’s out and drove around the Island. It was so beautiful! In Pyrgos we stopped a Restaurant and ordered a bunch of appetizers to share at the table. There were different kinds of cheese, Taziki, Tomato balls, which are a staple in Santorini (I need to learn to make these.)  I was hesitant to try the octopus, but I had already flown to a foreign country by myself so I figured I’d go for it. (Not a fan.)

We sat at Franco’s Cafe and looked over the beautiful view from the castle. I had an iced tea with mint and lemon because my stomach still hurt from whatever licorice flavored grain alcohol I had overindulged in the night before while taking "It's cool, I'm on vacation" a bit too far. Also, I'm lucky Boston is 7 hours behind so it was only a mild fail that I drunkenly called my mom at 1:30 in the morning. That’s what a mother likes to hear (Hey mom, I’m drunk in a foreign country with a bunch of strangers!) 

Santorini Sunset Lisa Sansouci

All of a sudden it was Friday and I started to panic because I didn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted to do. I wanted to take a ferry to Mykonos. Everyone said if I go there I need to stay the night somewhere, but I had already paid for my hotel in Santorini so adding a second hotel room seemed a bit unnecessary. Plus I still had so much to see here. Surprise, I had overcommitted myself again.

Saturday morning I decided to wake up at 6:30am and take my ATV around the entire island. Not many people would be awake at this hour on a Saturday, so I would be less likely to encounter any traffic. I wanted to see the black beach in Perissa, and the white and red beaches. But, I had so many things to see that when I couldn’t find the white beach (how can you not find something like that?) I gave up and found the other two. Side note: I don’t recommend wearing flip flops when you go to the red beach. It’s a bit of a hike to get in there! 

I drove out to the very tip of the island to find the lighthouse and when I did I sat on the rocks overlooking the ocean. I was so proud of myself for having taken this trip. I found a path that led up a gorgeous rock staircase to a little room that was full of handmade musical instruments. I spoke with the woman who worked there and she showed me around and told me they had a local musician playing the following night. Sadly my trip would be over by then. If I go back, I will have to make sure to find this place again and enjoy the sounds of Santorini.

Santorini Donkey

Also, this happened. I rode a donkey down a huge set of stairs.

If you visit, you must go to Caldera View Cafe. I ended up here a couple times. The first time was by accident. I drove past it on my ATV and wanted a coffee. I had more frappes on this trip than is probably appropriate. Like many, I have a tendency on vacation to eat and drink things I would never consider consuming at home. The owner of the cafe, Alex, was so kind and I hung out there for a few hours, chatting about life in Santorini and of course asking if I could have a job there next summer so I could stay!

Santorini changed my life. I had a new passion and need to see the world. I now know that I can travel on my own and survive. I adore that island. I’ll definitely go back. 

Santorini Sunset Lisa Sansouci

Xx

Lis

Dear Ireland, I love you.

Lisa Sansouci

I’m on a plane back from Ireland. It honestly feels as though in the time it took me to take one breath, the last 8 days flew by.

It was during a meditation one morning a few weeks ago with one of my new friends that I met on Periscope Anita Wing Lee , that this trip was born. During the meditation we closed our eyes and she told us to imagine stepping into our ultimate travel destination. I wasn’t sure what mine was. It had always been Santorini, but now I had checked that off my list. I had my journal with a list of my top places, but I didn’t know where to go next. When I closed my eyes I pictured myself on a cobblestone path that led to a forest. I couldn’t see myself in the image, just the ground passing beneath me. The land around me was beautiful and green. I realized after a few minutes that I needed to go to Ireland.

After we meditated on this image for a while, she asked us to think of one small step we could take towards our next travel goal. I knew which pockets of time I had free, and I had the frequent flier miles to make it happen, but I had become so overwhelmed with the things that had piled up, since I had the heart of a traveler, but the life of someone incredibly situated. When she asked what small step I could take I realized that ALL I had left to do was book the flight.When you calm your mind even for a few minutes, you’ll see so many things you may have overlooked. You’ll also realize most of the time that the “huge” issues you’ve been stressing over aren’t so huge at all.. they may not even be issues. Silver lining, where are you? I know you’re there!

My mom has traveled to Ireland before, so I told her that when I decided to go I would call her in the off-chance that she might want to come with me. So at this point I had decided to leave my apartment in LA in 12 days and fly to Dublin. Afterwards I would fly straight to Boston for the camping trip that I take with my mom in Maine every summer. I had a feeling it might be a bit too spontaneous for her to agree so quickly, but then again most of my ideas for adventures have people laughing or totally confused. I was so excited when she said she would come with me! She knew the country far better than I could from reading websites and travel blogs, and she offered to rent a car and drive me along the southern coast of Ireland. Amazing news. Thanks mom!

My mom would fly in from Boston and I would leave from LA and we would meet at the Dublin airport. The plan was as follows:

8/4 Dublin —> 8/5 Northern Ireland (For the Game of Thrones Filming Location Tour) —>8/6 Kilkenny—> 8/7 Cork —> 8/7 Killarney —> 8/9 Limerick —> 8/10 Galway —> 8/11Dublin —> Home

When I got to the airport I heard bagpipes playing and there was a lot of commotion. I realized that I was arriving at the airport at the exact same time as the athletes from the special olympics, (which was crazy since I had been at the opening ceremonies in Los Angeles a week earlier and seen the same team walk right in front of me.) There were hundreds of people waiting outside the door to greet them upon their return. There were two doors that lead into the airport from our terminal. The athletes would go out one, and the rest of us were directed to another door so we wouldn’t accidentally end up in a parade. I was the first one out the door, at the same time they opened the other door for the athletes. Even though I knew the cheers weren’t for me it was so fun to walk out the door to a huge wave of cheers and applause and people waving. I felt like a queen! (A Khaleesi!) What an amazing welcome into this country. Haha It felt like God was telling me that my decision to travel the world was a good one.

The first day in any city is usually shrouded in brain-fog because my body is super sensitive to jet lag, but I stumbled around Dublin with my mom and braced myself for what was going to be a crazy week. I had been so excited about the Game of Thrones tour that I had a hard time getting any sleep on the plane.

(I wrote another blog all about the Game of Thrones tour, so I won't go into detail about that here.)

We spent 2 nights in Dublin at the Kildare Street Hotel. Dublin wasn't what I expected at all. It had much more of a city vibe than I thought. I am glad my mom came with me to show me the rest of Ireland because while Dublin was really rad, I was partial to the towns that weren't as metropolitan.

Next stop, Kilkenny! Driving through Ireland is magical. The low fog over the rolling green fields and hills was something I never could have imagined even after seeing plenty of pictures. I have always lived fairly close to cities (Boston, NYC, LA) so I hadn’t seen this type of landscape before.

When we got to Kilkenny we were notified that our hotel had been temporarily closed due to the weather...? (The weather had been fine. This was a weird excuse.) They moved us to another hotel a few streets away. It was a little bizarre. There was a bin at the bottom of the stairs labeled swords/towels. They told us we couldn't stay in the room next to ours but that we had to use the shower in there because the door to ours had fallen off. Haha. My mom and I are both pretty go-with-the-flow type people so we did just that. 

Kilkenny was so cute!! We spent some time exploring Kilkenny Castle and we walked down the field that sits behind it. Unfortunately this was back when Periscopes deleted after 24 hours so I don’t have my broadcast to post here, but it was really cool to bring my community there with me for some of the adventure.

We arrived in Cork the following day. We stayed at Creedons Traditional Irish Welcome Inn which was right at the end of Oliver Plunkett Street. If you visit Cork, definitely check out this area. The street is lined with shops and restaurants and buskers playing music on the sidewalk. While you're there, pop into the English Market. It's beautiful.

Onward to Killarney. It was a beautiful town, but it was raining pretty hard that day.. and honestly from traveling around to so many places so quickly, we were both really tired. We went and explored Ross Castle, then into the city center for lunch, which was actually one of the best lunches we had. Giant beers and some kind of brie and cranberry toast thing..and then just hid out in our B&B for the rest of the day. On our way out of the city we got the car stuck in an alley and there were tons of other cars behind us and I had to climb out my window and slide across the hood of the car to help my mom get out. Haha. That’s probably the only tense moment from the whole trip, but we figured it out. Sans Souci. No Worries.

The next day we stopped in Limerick, saw some castles and had a glass of wine overlooking the River Shannon. I had fallen in love with Ireland at this point. I didn’t think I could love it any more than I did in this moment. I was wrong.

We went to the Blarney Castle and I kissed the stone. Apparently the legend says that once you kiss it you're endowed with the "gift of gab." I like to think it worked, although I've always been a talker. ;)

Next we drove out to Dingle (hehe) and then to Slea Head. It was a long drive and it was a foggy day but it was still one of the most incredible views I had ever seen. I feel like I keep saying that. Ugh. Ireland, I love you.

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On our way out to Galway we stopped at the Cliffs of Moher. I honestly can’t even describe them. If you do only one thing in Ireland, if there is only ONE place you see, consider letting this be it. I don’t recommend going on the path directly on the edge of the cliffs, since apparently not uncommon for people to slip and fall over the edge. I think they said around 15 people per year fall over the edge. I’m the kind of person who trips over my own feet on completely solid ground, so I wasn’t going to risk it. We stayed on the path that was a few yards away. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that it was real. They looked like fake cliffs from a movie. It was like Pandora.. or Narnia. Despite my best efforts, a picture just can’t capture the essence of this place. You have to go there. 

We arrived in Galway, and I of course fell in love with it. Ha. I lay in the grass in Claddagh looking for 4 leaf clovers, ate fish and chips and watched Irish dancers. Our trip was coming to a close. I couldn't believe how much we had done in such a short time. We spent the last night back in Dublin where we had started and now, here I am.. on my way home. Wait! Pilot! Is it too late to turn around? Oh, it is? Damn.

Time to plan the next adventure!

Xx

Lis

On the Move

The sun has risen 1,110 times since I moved to Los Angeles, and although my heart still occasionally aches for people and weather patterns on the east coast, this town has definitely settled into my system. (Or vice versa.)  When I arrived I was sure this was where I wanted to stay forever! Yay Los Angeles.. Then the dreaded 3 year mark hit. Let’s go back for a second here and analyze this strange 3 year cycle I have found myself in numerous times.

After high school I bounced around to a few different colleges until I decided that I wanted to park myself at Berklee College of Music in Boston. I did summer classes and took as many credits as I could at once, so I graduated from the 4 year program in 3 years. The minute I was done, I was out of there! Boston is beautiful! I love it. But after 3 years I was ready to go. I went straight to NYC. I loved it! It was perfect! I was a New York City girl! I started a band, recorded an album, all while having 3 different jobs that ate up every second that I wasn’t using to work on music. After 3 years, I was exhausted. NYC had broken my heart and my bank, and while I still love so many things about that town, I needed a change. I spent a little while touring with a new band, and then spent a few months in Canada but eventually I was ready to settle somewhere else. I decided to move to Vegas. (What?) As unexpected as this decision was, I made friends there that will last a lifetime. Then, after 3 months, I was ready to leave there too. I know 3 months isn’t the same as 3 years, but lets be real.. 3 months in Las Vegas can definitely FEEL like 3 years. 

Alas, I wound up in California. I knew the minute I got here that it would have my heart for a long time. The 3 year mark snuck up on me faster here than it had anywhere else. Time in LA moves much more quickly than any other town that I’ve called home. I attribute this mostly to the fact that there aren’t really any seasons. Not the kind I was used to at least. There is no long, unbearable winter to get through so my concept of time was warped. All of a sudden it’s 3 years later. 

Don’t get me wrong. I still adore Los Angeles. For the first time after the 3 year mark I’m not actually ready to move.  I want to have a place to stay when I am there, but my heart desperately needs to travel the world.  My next move was pretty clear. One night about 3 months ago.. February 16th to be exact, I had an epiphany. I had the BEST idea. I was so excited. I danced around the room like a little kid and texted my sister 14,000 times.  Over the next two months while my passion finally began to manifest into something with a bit of structure, I realized that the idea I had that night in February was actually one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever had. But because I was moving forward and following my heart, it morphed into what is now my plan to travel the world, explore music in different cultures, really explore the music in my own heart, and try to figure out what makes myself and other people happy. How can we be more inspired?  How can we bounce back more quickly from heartbreak and misfortune? Where are people the happiest? Can music really heal? I have so many questions! 

Let’s find out..

Xx

Lis