Princess With a Backpack - Softcover

Resnick, Lauren

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1600378382 ISBN 13: 9781600378386

Verlag: Morgan James Publishing, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

Princess with a Backpack is the perfect guide for the princess who desires to see the world and experience more than her creature comforts. Find out how to get the confidence and to get the most out of your trip--it's the stuff that the lonely planet won't tell you.
Find Out …
* How to plan your trip (without freaking out)
* What to wear! Without packing 12 shades of denim jeans
* How to pack--for more than 6 months of travel time.
* How to keep trim and still eat pizza in Rome
* Europe's best bars, parties, clothing stores and accommodation--fit for a princess (all tried, tested and approved!)

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Lauren Resnick is the author of a new book, Princess With A Backpack, which provides tips and advice for young women looking for adventure while traveling abroad solo. Her book is based on her travels to the Middle East, United States, and Europe. Her journeys include a three-month tour of the Middle East just after completing high school, backpacking through Europe on her own for six months at the age of 24. The just-turned 28-year-old has held several jobs in architecture and design. She also wrote for over a year for the Sydney Morning Herald, with articles about hotel design, retail space, events, and office makeovers.

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Princess With A Backpack

By Lauren Resnick

Morgan James Publishing

Copyright © 2011 Lauren Resnick
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-60037-838-6

Contents

Planning Ahead ... But Not Too Much, 
Hey, Big Spender, 
Ahead of the Pack, 
I Have Nothing to Wear!, 
Life on the Road ... Without My VW?, 
Beauty Sleep, 
Picture Perfect, 
Does My Bum Look Big in This?, 
The Best List Starts with an "A", 
When in Rome ..., 
Horizontal Stripes, 
I Want More!, 

CHAPTER 1

PLANNING AHEAD ...

but not too much

"In retrospect, I would never walk in high heels during th e day."

MIMI ZU, FASHION DESIGNER

So many places, so little time ...

Even if you already think you know where you want to go, do a little beforehand research. If you have enough money and no commitments, just explore and don't be afraid! Last-minute travel decisions are often the best and there will always be other travelers doing the same. Here are some hints for pre-travel planning:

PLAN AN ITINERARY _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When traveling for several months at a time, I recommend having a rough idea of where you want to go for about the first month. It also helped to have a couple friends with me during that time, so I could get used to being away from home and the European lifestyle. After the first month you'll be a pro!

I spent my first month in Greece and had pre-planned my accommodation for the first three weeks. I realized once I was there that all the pre-planning I had done was unnecessary and soon learned there will always be somewhere to stay, even at the last minute. In Greece, for example, there are people literally waiting for you to get off the ferry to offer you a room for a night or the week.

Read up on your destination before you get there. You don't want to miss out on something worth seeing. It will also make you really excited to get there and the hours spent travelling will all seem worth it. A good place to start is the Lonely Planet Travel Guides; you can also check out some of the websites listed in the I Want More! chapter at the back of this book.

I recommend travelling during the summer months in Europe – it's when everyone is out, you get the best tan and people are up for a fantastic time. It also means that you'll have to carry less in your pack (yes, I said carry), which makes travelling between destinations that much easier. It also, unfortunately, means that accommodations may be harder to find and more expensive, but it will be totally worth it.

At the Airport:

You will need to go through customs, where you will be required to fill in a customs declaration form. This includes details of where you'll be staying and for how long.

Remember to declare all items over a certain quantity or value, e.g. alcohol and cigarettes. Some purchases may require a duty tax.

How Long?

I travelled for around six months. I recommend splitting up one month between two countries and at least two days in one city, otherwise it's too rushed, especially if you have to travel for two to three days just to get there. Have a rough idea but remember that you can always alter your ticket if you change your mind. The length of stay will determine how and what you pack, who you meet up with and what places you want to explore.

Where?

I knew I wanted to be in Europe the entire time, so I picked a handful of "must-see" destinations and the rest was left to fate. Speak to as many people as possible beforehand as well as during your travels to learn about places you may not have considered visiting.

I chose places depending on climate, who and what type of people were going to be there, and events going on at the time. For example, do not arrive at a destination on a public holiday when everything is closed.

My plan before I left was quite different than the outcome of the trip. Before I left home my itinerary looked like this:

GREEK ISLANDS – ITALY – SPAIN – LONDON – PARIS – AMSTERDAM

It ended up looking like this:

GREEK ISLANDS – TURKEY – CROATIA – ITALY (INCLUDING SICILY) – LONDON – SPAIN – PORTUGAL – PRAGUE – VIENNA – SALZBURG – MUNICH – PARIS

"... Have more fun. Last time I was too focused on our schedule."

BESSIE BARDOT, MODEL AND AUTHOR

YOUR TRAVELLING LIFE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hostel Life

Nothing is more associated with European backpacking than staying in hostels. Similar to a YMCA, a European hostel provides you with a bathroom and a place to sleep. Depending on the hostel, you may have to share a room with others and you'll probably have to share a bathroom with many.

The first time I found out I had to share a bedroom with strangers, I panicked! I got used to it, and you can end up making really good friends this way – or even just someone to hang out with for the day.

You should definitely shell out around $25 to buy a Hostelling International Card (www.hihostels.com). If you plan to only visit big cities, there will be plenty of independent hostels and you won't need it. However, if you decide to go off the beaten track, many smaller cities and towns only have one hostel (usually one that requires you to have an HI card). If you happen to go to a town that only allows HI members, don't stress. You can often buy one there, or you can pay a fee and get a temporary membership for the length of your stay.

You can also consider purchasing a Hostels of Europe card for $16, which includes great deals with more than 250 independent hostels (http://www.isecard.com).

The Europe card is another service which provides discounts on rail and bus travel, travel insurance and discount flights. Do your homework prior to departure and you can save a lot.

It's important to take time out of traveling. Settle in one place for a couple of weeks and then set off again. Travelling can be exhausting!

SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Other considerations prior to travelling include money, passport, insurance and how you're going to manage squeezing in 12 pairs of Manolos into one teeny-tiny backpack.

Don't panic ... I have it covered ... just read on ...

International Student Identity Card

Now that you've committed yourself to European travel, the next step is to stop by travel agencies that cater to students, for example, STA travel. These people know their stuff.

When you get there, you should first buy an International Student Identity Card (ISIC). An ISIC gets you tons of discounts and offers you plenty of services. While you must be a student to get an ISIC card, there is a $15 card available to anyone under 26 that offers similar (but reduced) benefits. Some of the services an ISIC card can get you include:

* Travel discounts

* General student discounts anywhere they are offered throughout Europe

* An email address

* Voicemail

* Phone card service

* Plane tickets

Now that you've got your card, it's time to purchase your plane ticket! This is where the student travel agencies really help out, as they can sell you flexible return tickets at much lower rates than are offered conventionally. This means you can change your return flight date for as little as $25 if you give proper advanced warning (as opposed to the standard hundreds of dollars) and you can also return home from a different city...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Morgan James Publishing
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1600378382
• ISBN 13: 9781600378386
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 120
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland