How to Travel: Going with the Flow

My friend and I were discussing travel the other day and how we both do it.  And as it turns out, we both do it very, very differently - as is pretty much the case with us in every situation. We approached every situation - money, planning, booking, budgeting, etc. - differently. So I thought it might be fun to share what I do when I travel.  This particular post is about going with the flow - obviously based on the title : )

I'm fairly methodical when it comes to planning travel.  I do loads of research beforehand, and map out where and when I want to go.  There are spreadsheets and handy-dandy reference sheets involved.There are usually lists of things I want to see, and longer lists of restaurants I want to try.  Let's just say I like to be prepared.

The worst thing I can think of is wasting my time wandering a city blindly, because I have NO idea where anything is or what I even want to see there. However, that doesn't mean I'm one of those crazy travelers that books everything down to the nearest second either.  Those people are evil and should really loosen up a bit.

My plans are guidelines just to keep me on track.  But if I forego the plans in exchange for something even cooler, then that's great too.  If, for instance, I make a wrong turn and find a gorgeous street full of shop or maybe if I've read about a Stevie Ray Vaughn statue existing somewhere in the city, and I just happen upon it whilst checking out the lake.  All of these instances are allowed in the Kristen Travel Plan.  

The absolute best part of travel is discovering new and marvelous things.  When you plan down to the minute, you focus too much on things you've already seen in your research and forget about the hidden gems.  Those are my favorite things to find.  And because I have some serious travel directionality (the ability to not get lost while in another state or even country, while still being able to get lost 1 mile from my home), I've been very lucky to discover some awesome gems, which just makes me crave trips and travel that much more!

Taking Art to the Streets

I've recently become slightly obsessed with the concept of "street art." Technically, I believe it's title used to be Graffiti.  However, nowadays we've evolved and realized this art form is very much art.  Illegal art I suppose, but art nonetheless.  I just love the idea of it.  There are so many plain concrete buildings and walls out there that could definitely use a bit of color and pizzazz.  And so many artists out there in search of a medium.  Why not kill 2 birds with one stone and start programs for murals and installations?

No one does this better than Austin.  Their street art is gorgeous and legendary.  There are tours just to see the many murals around town.  They even have a gallery called the HOPE Outdoor Gallery that's literally a bunch of concrete walls at the top of a hill, where artists can sign up to paint whatever they want.  Because of this, it's always changing.  You can go 100 times in a year, and every time there'll be a different experience because the art is just painted over and over by different artists. What an amazing idea for sustainable beauty!

There's also the mechanics of it all that's intriguing.  How in the world do these artists get to overpasses or bridges or the tops of buildings to paint? I mean, there has to be some sense of danger to it all right?  I definitely imagine people hanging upside down painting the perfect flower or tag on some overpass while cars drive down below.  Are there harnesses that they where?  Or are these artists dare devils as well?  It's all very confusing and just a wee bit magical.

Baltimore hasn't joined the street art revolution yet, but I'm hoping they will soon.  For now, Austin and NYC are my go to cities for a fix.  The bestie thinks I'm crazy, (that could have something to do with my tourettes-like outbursts of "street art!" every time I saw something from the high line...) but I'm hooked.  And quite honestly, can you think of anything better to get hooked on than something that makes gorgeous cities even prettier? And really, with all the colors and designs, is there anything that's more fun to photograph?

52 Lists: Week 7

Apparently, when I was deciding what lists to do in February, I was in serious need of a vacation.  Because I chose 2 different travel related lists for this month.  This week's list is my most favorite travel destinations.

I can say without a doubt, my most favorite travel destinations are most definitely cities. Don't get me wrong, I love the beach and quiet little towns have their own charm, but if I'm deciding where to for any extended period of time, it's always going to be a big city.  And most often, it's a big city that has a big food culture.  What can I say?  I love to eat!  The last factor in my most favorite destinations - the second I got to every one of these places, I was ready to move there immediately.  I'd be quite content to live in any of these cities. 

London

New York City

San Francisco

Unfortunately, my San Fran trip was about 4 computers ago so I have no digital photos of this trip - boo!

Boston

Austin

Edinburgh

One Little Word - 2015 in Review

In 2015, I tried Ali Edwards' One Little Word Challenge.  The goal is to choose one little word for the year and focus your energy on that word.  I chose Explore for 2015, and I believe I was quite successful this year. It was such a wonderful year full of loads of trips and travel.  

  

In 2015, I EXPLORED:

 NYC: I LOVE New York City at Christmas!

 Alexandria VA 

 Austin for the first time - May very well be one of my most favorite places in the world!

 San Antonio - May very well not be one of my most favorite places...

 Washington DC

 Annapolis - Too many times to count, though the L'Hermione docking in port was definitely a highlight

 Central Park - One of our faves was the fountain that appeared in White Collar (though I'm sure it's appeared in tons more too...)

 DC SPN Con where I saw the "boys" and was on cloud nine for the weekend. 

 Brussels for LOADS of chocolate

 London - My other most favorite place on earth

 

 York, England

 The Cotswolds

Hay on Wye - the absolute best place to geek out over books in the world.  Love at first sight!

 Oxford, England

 

 OC MD for the annual girls trip

 My very first Navy Football game

 Austin again, (and I LOVED it again!)

 NYC for the third time.

And while I may have another little word for 2016, I plan on continuing on Explore this year as well.  I'm just in love with traveling and seeing new things.  I can't wait to see all I can see! 

Thanks 2015 for some awesome fun!

Art - Scape

My absolute favorite part of Austin, and one of the things I was most looking forward to were the murals dotted around town.  They are one of the major things that keeps Austin weird.  They're also beautiful pieces of art and probably took a lot of time and energy.  I've read loads of articles on the most popular ones, but what I noticed is that there are others that aren't really listed anywhere.  

They sort of just pop up out of nowhere. You'll be driving down first street and our of nowhere, you'll see Rodney Dangerfield on the side of a building.  Or strolling down Congress, when you notice Mr. Rogers on the side of a Pizza joint. What I wonder is how exactly one chooses to put Rodney Dangerfield or Mr. Rogers on the side of your property.  I'm sure there's a complicated train of thought...

Anyway, I had planned on just sort of finding them along the way.  But I learned that while most are sprinkled around in the open, some of the other really cool ones are nestled back into little neighborhoods which would have never been found, had it not been for a great post about them. Thanks to this post, GPS and a free morning, we were able to find the cool ones. 

What a cool way to decorate an already too cool for school city!

Friday Five: Austin Edition

1. Tiny Pies! - In 6 days in Austin, we visited them 3 times.  I'm usually more of a cake girl, but I'm in love with these pies.  Whether it was the Chocolate Cream or the Coconut Cream, I was swooning after each bite.  Not super sweet, but super delicious!  In all the sweets I ate in Austin, these pies were my favorite. 

2. The Murals! - It's well known that Austin is well known for their murals around town.  There are some very famous ones, and some not so famous ones.  Each and every one is beautiful in its own way.  These murals are just one of the things that makes Austin weird and wonderful!

3. The HOPE Gallery - Another artsy installation that makes the city beautiful.  Instead of hating and outlawing graffiti, the people behind the HOPE Gallery understand that graffiti is actually artwork that should be celebrated.  So they made the walls of concrete on castle hill to allow these artists a safe place to work.  What's even cooler is that you never see the same works twice.  The walls are always changing.  Such a creative idea!

4. Sunset Bat Cruise - I'm a big fan of the sunset.  It's beautiful over the city.  I'm not such a fan of the bats.  It seemed like a cool idea at the time, but thousands of bats screeching over head in the dark when you can't be sure what they're going to do, is actually terrifying...

5. Tacos!  I estimate that I ate about 15 tacos in my 6 days in Austin.  I think I might have a problem...