Luck apparently does run out… At least with Delta Airlines

I generally have great luck flying. I’m one of those annoying people who plans little, shows up late and runs onto moving planes. I honestly, have only missed one flight in my entire life. But today, luck told me to eff off, that it’s my turn to suffer, and suffer I did. After an easy 3.5 hour bus ride from San Ambrosio to Málaga, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the long sitting stint I would be doing, but was...

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Meet a Gypsy, Love a Gypsy, Pay a Gypsy

Cheeks and the more obvious Abs. Those have pretty much been my consistent nicknames since forever. Cheeks a variant on Chica, coming from an odd encounter with my high school football coach. Interpret that how you will. Abs. Well. If you can’t figure that one out. You’re stupid. Of course there have been others, or people specific names. Emily and Jennifer call me Gabbey or Gabbeygail. My guy friends...

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The Longest Bus Ride in My Life

Now we get to the part of the trip I was dreading the most. Not only is this the notorious 17 hour bus ride I had heard about, but it’s also the point where I have to attempt to illegally cross back into the EU/Schengen Europe. I am terrified, to put it lightly. I found the tourist office pretty quickly. The owner didn’t speak English, but he did understand when I pointed to Athens on a map. He wrote out €30 on a piece of paper and...

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The Most Inefficient Way to Get From Montenegro to Albania

I knew this day was going to be long. After the delays in Croatia, I didn’t have much extra time to spare. At this rate, if I went straight from Tivat to Athens, I should arrive just about the same time as Justin, Manuel, Mitch and Iggy. In case I got refused at the border and had to try to reenter from somewhere else, I wanted to leave myself a little wiggle room. As such, I would be spending the next 24 hours on a bus. I left the hostel in Tivat at..

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Spending the Night on a Towel on a Concrete Floor

For those of you who didn’t know, I will be spending the next two weeks on a quick tour of the west coast of the Balkan peninsula. If you have no idea what that is, click here to read the wikitravel article for a bit of background. I will be starting in Zadar croatia and working my way slowly down the coast by bus through Bosnia & Herzegovinia, Montenegro and Albania before arriving in Greece.

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I’m getting old or boring… or both

I sit here researching hostels for a two week long backpacking trip I’m taking next week across Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Greece. As I sit here filtering my search down on hostelworld, I suddenly dread the idea of walking up long hills to find kitschy small hostels. I’m narrowing my search by the distance to the bus station so I don’t have to walk that far. I’m kicking out the hostels with high party ratings in the hope of...

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The Things I Miss the Most About the US of A

Being away from home changes the way you look at life. First it was moving to Texas. I remembered not being able to get Taco Bueno or Quiktrip and thinking I'd officially moved too far away. These little comforts at first were a pain, but I found other things to replace them or binged on them while I was home and everything was alright. Then I made the move out to Los Angeles and even more things were lost...

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If Envy is Green, I Feel Like the Freakin' Jolly Green Giant

Envy is not an emotion I am accustomed to feeling. I tend to be one of those people that always does what they want. No, I didn't say I always GET what I want, but I do make most of the choices necessary for me to find happiness in life. And as such, my advice for people can be kind of annoying. Hate your job? Well, find something you love to do, and do it. Quit your job and do something differently with your life. Don't think...

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