The Mecca of New Years Eve – Times Square!

With all of my travels to New York City a question I often got asked was “did you go see the ball drop this year?” Even though I had been there for the past 2 years on New Years Eve, I always replied “No” because it’s not really what native New Yorkers do on New Years Eve, they much prefer a good house party, not the madness of thousands of people in a crowd.

My close friend decided she was going to come down to NYC with me for New Years Eve and I thought this would be the perfect chance to go see the ball drop (with another tourist!). So a few weeks before heading down I convinced my fiance to take us to Times Square to watch the ball drop (he knew some people that would get us access to the main block). I could not have been more excited, and my friend and I were on cloud nine, about what we were going to witness. Watching the ball drop for me had always been a tradition to throw on at a party (growing up in Canada) no matter where I was I would always watch the New York City Ball Drop.

Pretty sure that’s Mariah Carey!

I won’t get too into logistics because there are so many people there that I don’t think any two people’s experience is going to be the same on a night like New Years. We faced about an hour of walking around trying to get to our destination simply because of road closures and police barriers. My main tip is don’t get discouraged by this as even on the walk to our destinations there were great views that you could still see the ball!

I’ve linked a short video I took of the celebrations and included lots of pictures in this post because really although it’s a blog post, this was also a huge bucket list item checked off and something I wanted to document for myself and all my lovely readers. The energy in Times Square at midnight was electric! I couldn’t help but get very emotional, surrounded by friends and loved ones in the most magical place in the world.

Boston, MA

Hello everyone! I hope 2017 is treating you well so far. I have some catching up with posts to do and to write about Boston as well as a New Years Eve post! As you know if you read this blog, travel adds so much colour to my life. No matter how big or small, I think adventure and fun can be found close to home, or an 8 hour plane ride away. In November my fiance (!!) and I booked a vacation to Boston, MA. If you’re thinking about visiting I think this was a great time of year to come to still enjoy that “fall” feeling, but the city wasn’t too busy with tourists either.

From New York City it was about a 4 hour drive to get there. Since it was in November, we caught the trail end of the leaves changing on the way there. It was a beautifully sunny drive. We stayed in a cute little hotel called Aloft Lexington that was just outside of the city, but since we had car access going into downtown was never that far away.

Some of my favourite moments from the week were visiting Quincy Market, a must see indoor market, sitting along the harbor, going to a local board game cafe, visiting the outdoor bookstore, the public gardens and eating in little Italy!  It had been a while since I had visited a city for more than just a couple days, so it was lovely to get to see most of what the city had to offer, and explore some great restaurants. We were there for about 5 days and were blessed with mostly sunny, warm (no jacket) weather.

You have to try the cannolis’ here!

Some of Boston’s quirks were it’s windy, circular roads, the classic Boston accent and a plethora of universities everywhere you turned. The nerd in me also had to drive through Harvard *just because*.

Enjoy the pictures of beautiful Boston!

 

 

Travelling on a Budget

In many of my previous posts and study abroad posts you might have seen me write about travelling on a budget. I’ve never really broken that down from start to finish, about how I plan a trip and enjoy myself while travelling to a new destination. I managed to study abroad, live and travel for almost a whole year on a sum of money most people spend in the same amount of time just living at home! I’ve learned how to stretch a dollar because despite any financial situation I do believe that travel is possible – you just have to make it a priority if it brings you happiness!

Planning

While planning your trip is where you really have the most control over how much you’re going to spend. I know some friends that have done group tours that absolutely love it and really get a lot out of it. Some include Topdeck and Contiki. I’ve never done one personally but have heard great things about them. These tours often include accommodation and a large portion of your meals. If you work the numbers, you may find that it ends up being a huge savings!

For booking accommodation my go to is Airbnb as I’ve written about before. Other alternatives include hostelworld which is great for pre-booking hostels and you only have to pay a small deposit so if you get to the hostel and it looks really sketchy – you can leave without loosing much money. Other options are hotwire.com if you’re looking for a hotel at a reasonable price.

For transportation 9 times out of 10 taking the bus is going to be the cheapest option. Now depending on timing, and departure times it may be worth while to take a train instead. I know that in Europe a lot of budget airlines can often be cheaper than the train. Websites that are great for checking out flight costs are skyscanner which allows you to even see which month is cheapest to travel in if you’re flexible with dates.

Travel

Try to pack light! Not only will this save you from paying overweight charges on your baggage, but often it costs money to check luggage. Downsizing to a carry-on saves you a lot of hassle and some extra bucks. Another airport tip is to bring an empty water bottle and back it in your carry on. Once through security, fill that bottle up and you’ve already saved at least another $5 (airport water is ridiculously overpriced).

Bringing snacks along the way also saves you the hassle of being stuck with unhealthy options that are overpriced. I’ve also found that since being vegetarian a lot of on-the-go options include meat and I’m often stuck only munching on a bag of nuts at a rest stop because all the sandwiches have meat. I suggest bringing some fruit (careful if you’re crossing boarders, sometimes this isn’t allowed), veggies and dried snacks.

At Your Destination

If you’re staying in an Airbnb one of your first stops should be the grocery store/liquor store. Grab a bottle of wine and some ingredients to make a few yummy dinners (or frozen pizzas!). I find that saving money on breakfast by eating at home (or hostel/hotel) is a great way to cut a chunk out of your food budget. Grab a bag of bagels, peanut butter and some fruit and you’re good to go!

A mid-day picnic with grocery store goodies!

One of my first google searches when going to a new destination is “free things to do in ____”. You’ll get some great lists that pop up and will often give you times and days that attractions that usually cost money are free. This makes sure you’re not missing out on anything – but also being budget friendly. Pinterest is also a great place to find travel hacks, free attractions and fun things to do. Check out my travel Pinterest board here.

I hope some of these tips were helpful in lower the cost of your next trip a bit! It’s easy to save money on your trips and a weekend away doesn’t have to break the bank as long as you’re making a conscious effort to be frugal!

Until next time!

 

Toronto, Canada

A few weekends ago some girlfriends and I took a drive down to Toronto. It was one of the last few weekends of summer and we thought we’d spend it away. The drive there (about 5ish) hours was bright and sunny and we arrived at our AirBnB early evening. Just in time to grab some groceries for the weekend (a huge money saver) and a couple bottles of wine.

That evening we ventured out to the main street in the area we were staying (aroung Eglington and Younge) which is a little farther north in Toronto, but nonetheless a great place to still be in the city but in a quiet area. Our AirBnB was an upstairs apartment in a beautiful brick home. It was air conditioned, had a full kitchen and such a cute boho style.

During the weekend we made a few stops around the city. We ventured to Toronto Island and took the ferry there which was a new experience! We also went to Kensington Market (a favourite of mine), the Eaton centre, and went out at night around Queen Street.

It was a short but sweet getaway and on Sunday afternoon we parted ways and I took the train back home. If you’re ever in Toronto for a short time make sure to not miss some main attractions I missed this trip but have seen before. They include the CN tower, Dundas Square, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Casa Loma and the Distillery District to name a few.

Until next time!

 

 

New York City, New York | Travel Guide: Food

One thing that New York City is famous for is their food – and so many varieties! Here, I wanted to list a few different places for each type of food “category”. Hopefully these recommendations can lead you to some yummy meals!

Firstly – Pizza! Of course there are so many places to go for a great slice of pizza. One of my favourite pizzas are ironically enough the cheapest pizzas! New York pizza is unlike any other type of pizza and it’s so good- even just plain cheese. One place that I’ve been a few times that I’d like to recommend is Village Pizza in Chelsea as well as Nicks Pizza in Queens.

Some other great “foodie” things to check out are the famous Katz Diner (which can be a little pricey, but in my meat-eating days it was an awesome sandwich). Also check out Smorgasburg, described as a food flea market filled with unique foods ft. the ramen burger and vegan bbq!

All the food stalls at Smorgasburg

Also don’t forget to check out Chelsea Market which is similar to Smorgasburg but filled with more restaurant options.

For great Chinese food check out: Excellent Dumpling House, Nice Green Bo and Bodai Vegetarian. In my opinion New York chinese food is like none other I’ve had before.

For a sweet treat my top three pics are Mango Mango, Dough Donuts and Mangolia Bakery (a little touristy, but it’s famous for a reason).

 

This post may be short and sweet but if you’re ever in New York I’ve linked all the restaurants so you can try them out yourself!

Until next time!

 

New York City, New York | Travel Guide

Welcome to the first installment of the New York City travel guide. I’ve been hesitant to post about New York because there is simply so *much* to say, but I thought why not start in sections, and that way I can ensure I cover everything. Throughout the Travel Guide series I hope to take you through the basics: accommodation, what to do, where to eat and top tips.

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Let me begin by introducing my second home and a city I love. There is something so special about New York in that the energy is infectious, especially to those first visiting. I have been plenty of times, but maybe because it’s such a contrast to what I’m used to back home here in Canada, the city always makes me feel so alive and puts and extra pep in my step.

Lets start with:

Where to Stay

As a tourist, accommodation is very dependent on the person. New York is one of those cities where you can experience it for *loads* of money, or pretty frugally (still will be expensive!).Although I haven’t personally stayed in a hostel in NYC I’ve heard from a friend that it was a good option! A favourite of mine in NYC is the AirBnB option. For someone who is looking for a great place to stay with access to a kitchen I’ve found Airbnb to be the best value.

What I love about AirBnB is that is lets you really get a feel for the neighbourhood and city you’re in as you’ll be walking around, finding coffeeshops and catching the train near wherever you end up. In future travel guides I hope to share more insights into other AirBnB’s but in total I’ve probably stayed at about 3/4 AirBnB’s in NYC (booked through Airbnb.com) and have LOVED it. I really can’t say enough great things about the website/service, in that you can rent our whole apartments for a very reasonable price. It’s a great option if you have more than a few people travelling with you and don’t want to book multiple hotel rooms – simply get an AirBnB that hosts a lot of people.

Our AirBnb in Brooklyn

Through staying at these BnB’s I’ve gotten to stay in Harlem (Manhattan), Canarsie (Brooklyn), Astoria (Queens) etc. It’s often the cheaper and better option in my opinion because you’re not paying crazy hotel rates, but still have a full kitchen to cook with and a whole apartment to live in (with tv, internet etc.).

 

In terms of areas – if you’re doing a lot of sightseeing ideally you want to be closer to, or in Manhattan but with the train system in NYC it’s fairly easy to get around anywhere. Queens and Brooklyn are good options if you still want to have a lot close to you – while not being far from Manhattan and “tourist-y” things.

Enjoy and stay tuned for Travel Guide NYC – What to Do

Until next time!

 

Travel Camaraderie

Hi everyone!

It’s been officially two weeks since my last post and it seems I’ve already fallen behind my usual Monday posting date. I have a good excuse though – vacation! I was in New York for about 6 days last week and it was so nice to enjoy some warm weather and good company.

As in the title I wanted to talk a little bit about travel camaraderie and the many ways I encounter it throughout my travels (mostly on the route to and from NYC). On my trip there, my train (after connecting to the bus) was delayed by an hour, bringing me to the train station a mere 10 minutes before my bus transfer – oh did I mention that the bus station was a 10 minute taxi ride away? Luckily my gym sessions have been paying off and I sprinted to the cabs and made it there in time. All this to say – there was another girl who arrived last minute at the boarding gate and I reassured her about the route and even gave her advice about where to sit on the bus. She was so thankful and throughout the trip we chatted here and there.

On my trip home I had a similar experience where I got to lend another solo female traveller some tips on how to make the trip as painless as possible – and how to snag two seats to yourself. We bonded over talking about where in the world we had been and about what we loved in New York. This type of connection isn’t easy for me to make with any plain old strangers – but travel brings out this very friendly, outgoing part of me that invites conversation from people. It turned out there was another issue with travel – the driver forgot to let a girl off at one of the stops along the way to the Canadian border – yikes – and had to go all the way back.

This new friend of mine and I knew there was a bus ahead of us at Canadian Customs and after passing through the border the driver on the other bus driver told us to hop on his bus because he was headed to our final destination. It worked out so well and we didn’t get stuck having to backtrack an hour to let this girl off at her stop like the 40+ other people on that bus that did. This camaraderie can be great for even having someone to look out for you if you’re traveling alone, or to save you a spot in the customs line!

So if you’re traveling alone – smile at a fellow traveler, be cautious, but know that we’re all human beings and looking out for each others well being is an innate quality inside all of us.

Until next time!

 

 

 

Long Distance Bus Travel 101

Hi everyone!

This post will be a little bit different than usual on the blog and we’ll throw it back to when this was strictly a travel blog. As some of you may know I go to New York City a lot! Someone special to me lives there and so I make the trip as often as I can (usually every 1 1/2 months). There are many ways to get around where I live (train, flying, bus) however, the cheapest and most often fastest (surprisingly) way to get to NYC is by bus!

I’ve been doing this trip which can range from 7-14 hours for a while now and I think I’ve become an expert at bus travel and how to make it as bearable as possible. Obviously a lot of people view bus travel as a much less glamorous way to travel which is true, however, I save a lot of money and don’t have to deal with airports!

When most people think of a long bus trip a rather bleak image of a packed bus full of strange people comes to mind. Now you’re not completely wrong, however I’ve discovered many things I really enjoy about bus travel that  may surprise you. I’ve also got some tips to help make your journey that much easier.

Step 1: Planning

Please remember – if you can, take an overnight bus. I get a lot of crazy looks for always taking overnight trips but the type of people who take these buses make your trip much more bearable compared to the “day crowd” filled with elderly people always bugging the driver and loud screaming children. You may be able to catch a few zzzs on the bus and you’ll wake up at your next destination!

Ready to go!

Step 2: Packing

Each bus line has different standards of what they allow baggage wise but I recommend keep it to a small carry on case and a backpack or purse. Maximum. This ensures you’re mobile, able to carry your own luggage with ease and able to keep track of everything easily. When crossing borders sometimes you have to de-board and take all your belongings into the offices which can be a pain if your suitcase is too heavy to carry.

Step 3: Preboarding 

Arrive at the bus station early. Arrive a couple hours early but certainly don’t be too last minute. I’ve seen people stranded because the bus filled up too quickly and they had to wait 5 hours for the next one. The earlier the better in this case. Now’s the time to make a quick pit stop at the bathroom, refill your water and maybe even brush your teeth (I always do, it’s like getting ready for bed). Get to your gate and wait.

Step 4: Boarding.

Choose your seat wisely. Try to sit in the middle because at the front you’ll find a lot of chatty people and in the back you find loud teens blasting music on their headphones. Not to mention you’re too close to the bathrooms back there. Try and keep as little as possible with you at your actual seat, and keep the rest up in the overhead storage. I usually keep with me my travel pillow, purse (wallet, passport, keys etc), water bottle, and maybe a blanket if it’s cold out.

 

Step 5: The Trip. 

Okay you’ve made it on the bus. You’re comfy and settling in. I recommend bringing a tablet or phone to listen to music, watch videos etc. Usually the bus has wifi so it makes browsing Facebook nice and easy. A book is a good idea, but not during a night trip. Generally, I try and sleep as much as possible and listen to music to drown out outside noises.

Step 6: Stops

Depending on your driver you’ll usually make some stops along your journey or *rest breaks*. USE THESE! I see some people just stay on the bus and I cannot comprehend how their butt isn’t sore enough for them to not want to stand for 5 minutes. I always refill my water bottle, maybe grab a snack and hit the washroom in an indoor setting (I don’t mess around with the bathrooms in the bus).

Step 7: Arrival!

Congrats! By this point you’ve probably arrived at your destination. Hopefully you got to sleep for a little while, had a snack and you can now explore this new city!

The sunrise on the bus is my favourite thing to watch

I’ll likely be doing a post soon about my method for packing minimally, but until then I hope you enjoyed my “how to” on bus travel!

Until next time!

 

Montreal, Quebec

This past weekend was a reminder of how much I love exploring new places. A couple girlfriends and I took off to Montreal for the weekend and enjoy some of the warm weather we’ve been having.

Montreal for me is one of those cities that I’m always passing through, but never got to properly explore. This time though, things were different!

It was a nice drive up, and once there we unpacked and hit the road by foot to explore our neighbourhood. We went out to dinner and then explored some local bars. The atmosphere of Montreal is so alive and exciting, and reminded me *so* much of being in Europe.

The oldest street in Montreal

Throughout our trip we went to the Biodome, Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the gay village, Old Montreal and shopping on St. Catherine street. We saw a lot for our short time there and made good use of the subway system.

A tip to people travelling to Montreal, is don’t be too concerned about the language barrier because I was *so* surprised at how bilingual the city was. I spoke french whenever I wasn’t greeted in both languages (people often said hello/bonjour!) simply because it’s been forever since I’ve practised.

It was nice to be in a place where most of the time people are speaking another language and the architecture reminded me of my days in Europe! And an added bonus I dreamt in french last night after getting home 🙂

The Maine Event

It feels like ages since I’ve posted about travel and that’s mostly because I haven’t really had the chance to travel much in the past few months. This past weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) I traveled with family down to Ogunquit, Maine and took a day trip to Salem, MA.

Let me begin by saying, if there is ever a time to road trip through the north eastern states it is in October. The colours of the trees were like out of a painting, and the weather was just perfect.

Ogunquit was a cute little town right along the ocean. I could tell it was most likely a summer destination but I found it was also a lovely place to watch the beauty of fall unveil. Filled with little shops, markets and cafes the little town was a peaceful place to take a stroll alone, or go down to the beach to watch the waves roll in.

In Salem we visited the Witch Memorial, as well as the Salem Witch House. Both of which were some of the last historical pieces of the Salem Witch Trials left. Of course at this time of year most of the tourist attractions were centered around fright and Halloween, but I feel I got a small taste of historical Salem in my time there. I’ll hopefully return one day to discover even more.

Overall, the ocean is always a relaxing place to be, and reflect at. I’ve been so lucky these past few months and thankful for all my family and friends this Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the little video I put together and the picture gallery below.  Let me know if you have any questions about beautiful Ogunquit by commenting below!

Until next time!

Vegas Baby!

So it might be a couple months late, but hey, better late than never! Around Christmas time I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a friends wedding in Vegas (where their family was) and get to explore the city a little while we were there!

It was really neat stepping off the plane and seeing palm trees and cacti on the taxi ride to the resort, the landscape there is unlike anything I had ever seen in Canada or Europe.

Everyone had prepped me for Vegas being a crazy, loud, and very bright place and boy they were not kidding. The place I was staying at was a few miles off the strip – something I would recommend to people who aren’t looking to party 24/7. I did enjoy the Vegas Strip, but more for the novelty of it.

My favourite part of the city I ended up going to was “downtown” on Freemont street. The vibe there is a bit more relaxed and it feels a lot less tourist-y something I try and avoid.

What a fun city though! We saw a show, explored the different hotels, saw the fountains, had some great food, and enjoyed wonderful company. To top it all off, it was a beautiful wedding and not what one would think of when they hear “Vegas Wedding”.

Enjoy the pictures of the magical Las Vegas!

Until next time!

Different Directions

I’ve mentioned on here I wanted to make my blog more inclusive to writing about a variety of topics and that is why the blog has undergone a little makeover in light on this transition. I hope to still post about travel when I do and I will certainly make that a featured part of the blog however I want to make this more about self discovery and improvement.

The name? Creating Caitlyn – it stems from my ever persistent desire to be more creative in life, and also the fact that life is about creating yourself not finding yourself. This is something I wish to embody in every sense and to essentially create the best “me” I can.

Due to the switch it seems that a lot of my photos from past posts have magically deleted themselves! I’ll be updating them in the weeks to come to get everything back to where it was hopefully.

As I am approaching graduation in a couple of months, it has certainly been a period of reflection and contemplation. I’ve been updating resumes, getting headshots done, attending career fairs and the list goes on! The rest of my life is staring me in the face as I try to decide which path to go down. Join me in the adventures of starting fresh and giving up my formal title as “student”!

Until next time!

I Love You Luxembourg!

Hey Everyone!

This past weekend I stepped into a fairy tale. As silly as that may sound Luxembourg offered beautiful sights, breathtaking valleys and countless bridges. It was only a short 3 hour train ride to Luxembourg City (the capital of Luxembourg) from Brussels.

The city is small enough that it’s almost impossible to get lost for more than 5 minutes once you’re near the city center. My travel buddy and I spent the day wandering around, sight seeing, and relaxing at cafés, the perfect weekend getaway. At the hostel, we met a fellow traveler from Australia and ended up spending the rest of the trip with her the next day going to the MUDAM ( MUSÉE D’ART MODERNE ) which was a modern art museum famous is Luxembourg and a city tour. By the end of the short two day trip we had made quite a few friends at the Hostel and were quite sad to leave. 

Since Luxembourg, I went to a friends birthday gathering, and tonight begins the week of parties welcoming new exchange students coming over for the semester. I can’t wait to meet new people and reconnect with my friends who are here for the full year. I hope January has treated everyone well and before I know it I’ll be back in the classroom!

Until next time!

Welcome! Bienvenue!

Hello everyone!

No matter how you found yourself on my travel blog I thought I’d do a little intro post just to introduce myself. My name is Caitlyn and I’m studying International Business at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. My program has a compulsory third year travel component in which you travel to a country and learn in the language you have been studying in years 1 and 2.

For most this would seem daunting, but as most new things I can’t wait. My travel Visa arrived in the mail yesterday which pretty much seals the deal now, making my trip a go! My last exam is tomorrow morning and after that it’s off to buying plane tickets. The excitement is starting to build as I begin packing up my belongings and I become that much closer to stepping on a plane. 

I’ll be spending the next year of my life in Brussels, Belgium and hopefully exploring Europe while I’m over there. I have not traveled internationally (besides the US) before so this is a brand new experience for me in many aspects. 

Luckily I have an amazing support system at home to keep me grounded. Hopefully this travel blog will be an easy way to have a peek at my travels and what I’ve been up to!