Things I Have Learnt From Traveling Solo

 “NEVER SECOND GUESS YOURSELF. TRUST YOUR INSTINCT.”

TOP | SKIRT | SHOES | WATCH | EARRINGS | PHONE CASE

Hello, lovelies!  I don’t want to believe it, but I am finally back home in Egypt after staying away from home for FOUR MONTHS. Man, I missed the feeling of home. Nothing feels like it. But at the same time, I am so sad that I am back and away from the USA because I have made a life for myself there and I really liked everything there. It felt like it is a whole new world. A world of my dreams and everything that I liked and more in this life.

But outside of me having the time of my life last summer I learned a lot from this trip, especially that I was almost traveling solo, even though both of my brothers live in Seattle WA, where I was staying, both of them were busy and have their own lives that are not my thing and I needed to make life for me. So I am almost traveling solo and experienced this trip as a solo traveler not like a group thing. I really wanted to share with you a couple things that I have learned on this trip, so here we go.

I learned to put myself out there. One thing when traveling solo is it will get pretty boring if you didn’t meet the right people and how would you meet the right people if you didn’t put yourself out there. I wrote a whole post about how to make friends while traveling that you can find HERE. But basically, learn to take the first step in making a friendship with someone because it is so worth it, even if you are a shy person, just for once put yourself out there and I can guarantee it will be totally worth it.

I learned that people are nice as long as you are nice to them. One quality I love about myself is that I am nice, that is how I am raised. My mom told me that I have to treat people as I want them to treat me and this is something great, because people like nice people and would always be nice to them in return, so never say why would I be nice to this person, since they weren’t nice to me, believe me, they would find you nice person and then they will be nice to you in return.

I learned that you can’t trust google maps all the time. Man, I have been lost, but not for long. I got lost because google maps told me to get off my bus to take another bus to my destination and apparently there is no such bus. This happened to me twice, not once, but twice, so sometimes even google is wrong.

I learned that I can take care of myself and I don’t need help. I am the youngest kid, not just with my siblings, but I am talking cousins and all, so you can all imagine that I am quite spoiled rotten, not in the sense that I get what I need all the time, but that every single person I know, is always taking care of me and honestly, that made me depended on people, but last summer I stopped this and started taking care of myself in most aspects, and I found out that I can do it.

I learned that you will learn a new thing from every single person you meet and that if you actually paid attention to everyone around you, you will find that you learn from them something every day and that made me appreciate the differences across people.

I also learned that it is okay to be different and that what makes you beautiful. I never liked being different until I was put in a place where I am so different from others, but I really liked it.

Not to forget is to say yes to new experiences. Yes, I am down to everything now and I love to try everything, even if it will get me in trouble with my family, as long as I believe in it.

I learned how to flirt. Yes, before this trip I wouldn’t have known that I can flirt, but apparently I can and this is kinda cool, cause it raised my self-esteem a couple ranks higher than where it was already.

I learned to appreciate beauty in everything and every situation and every person.

Most importantly I learned how to set my self-free and enjoy life to the max. I reached this point at the end of my trip where I looked at myself in the mirror and remembered One Republic song I did it all when they say “ I know when the moment comes, I would say, I did it all.” This might be the point in my life where I reached true satisfaction and I would say I found inner peace.

What about you? Have you ever traveled solo? If so, what did you learn from the experience? I would love to know in the comments down below.

Till next time,

Bye

Esraa

Thoughts? I look forward to connecting further,

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How To Make Friends While Traveling

“WE AREN’T BEING TRUE TO OURSELVES WHEN WE TOLERATE LESS THAN WE DESERVE.”

I am writing this post on National friendship day. So, I thought it was a great topic to talk about is how to make friends while traveling, because let’s face it, heaven without the right people to share it with, it will turn into hell.

First of all, I am lucky enough to be visiting a city in the summer where both of my brothers are living and possibly me, one day and it is one of the greatest cities in the world, Seattle Washington. So, to me, I didn’t have to have friends in here, because I already have family here and it is so good that I can enjoy my time with them. Explore new places with them too.

But I also wanted to meet new people to know more about the place I was to spend my summer with. I basically wanted to have fun and as I was saying heaven without the right people is hell.

So, I know you are asking the question here, how do you get to know the right people in a country where you don’t know anyone in? Right, you are asking this right now. I am here to tell you about some ways, I am pretty sure that there are others that will be better and work better for you, but these methods worked for me to get to know other people and I hope it works for you as well if you are planning to travel anytime soon.

So, in Egypt there is this famous travel blogger that I was following for some time and before my trip by a week I went ahead and sent him a message on facebook and asked him, how do you get to meet locals in your travels and his answer was a one word answer which was COUCHSURFING, so if you are like me, you heard tons of Couchsurfing, but you thought it is a site where you can find a free place to stay while you are traveling, but actually Couchsurfing has this filter where you can say, I want to meet up new people and he would show you the people in the place you want to meet up with and you can adjust more filters as the age and the gender to meet your requirement of the people you want to hang out with. I used this and met one of the coolest people ever. He is so nice and I was a little hesitant at first and think omg, I can’t meet up with a stranger, but honestly, we turned out to have more in common than I thought we would, so I highly recommend using this incredible site.

The second method will work if you are to spend a large chunk of time in a place. Like I am spending four months here in Seattle. You can sign up for an activity that you enjoy. Like I signed up for a blogger and photographer meet up/ photo session where I got to meet a lot of other bloggers here is Seattle. They were so nice and we got to meet for a couple of times too outside of this event and really, I had so much fun.

The third rule is to contact social media influencer. I don’t know if that worked because I am a social media influencer as well or what? But basically, I contacted a lot of fashion bloggers here in Seattle to meet and they were so excited and we got to meet up. It was so much fun and they were nice as well, but give it a shot. Like my meeting with JUST A TINA BIT, omg you guys she is so sweet, if you are following here then you know this as well. Contact someone who is in your field and tell them who you are and why are you visiting, but make sure you give them a value as well out of this meeting, so it can be a win win situation.

Lastly, check anyone you know who have visited this place and met with a local to introduce you to this local and try to set a meeting with him as well. As I said my brothers live here, so one of them knew another fashion blogger here (LIFE OF AANI) , they gone to college together, so he reached out to her and told her that I am visiting and that I am a fashion blogger as well and maybe we can meet up and honestly, she was the best thing happened to me on this trip. I think I found someone who really gets me, fashion blogger and all. PS she is a great fashion blogger so make sure you check out her blog as well.

Till next time,

Bye

Esraa

Thoughts? I look forward to connecting further,

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Leavenworth A Trip Worth Taking

“SELF-LOVE IS SO IMPORTANT; I DON'T WANT TO BE IN MY ELDERLY YEARS, FLICKING THROUGH OLD PICTURES OF MYSELF AND AT THE LAST MOMENT REALISING HO BEAUTIFUL I TRULY WAS.”

TOP | JEANS | SHOES | BAG

I ear, Leavenworth might be the single most beautiful place I have ever been. Imagine yourself living in a Cinderalla era. Do you know how the buildings were, the streets, the signs of the shops? That exactly what you will find there in Leavenworth. I call it, the fairy tale city in th modern world.

So, Leavenworth is in Washington USA. A big tourist destination where people come from all of the places to visit. I was lucky enough that I am staying in Washington state and I get to reach this beautiful city within hours driving. So, it didn’t take me much to reach there but I was unlucky enough because I only stayed there for a day and I needed to stay in this place for a whole week or so. I needed to experience everything there.

The entire city is unique, the pictures I took is not doing it any justice because the lighting was bad, but for real, if you watched any Disney movie, you will find that everything is the same there. The beautiful architecture of the buildings done as the German’s of the black forests tale. The signs of the shop are also the same. Even Starbucks is so unique, not like any other Starbucks you will see.

There were children performing orchestra on the street or beautiful music and it added a unique atmosphere there. I am thinking of going there with my brother again and maybe spend the entire day, go inside the shops and experience their food. Maybe take better images to share it with you people. I am down for round two of this magical city,

Leavenworth is really a trip worth taking no matter where you are and how far you are.

I would love to know, have you visited it before? And what is the one place you have visited you would recommend as a trip worth taking? Leave this in the comments down below and let us chat for a little while.

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The Cafes You Have To Visit In Seattle

THE FRENCH BAKERY

TROPHY CUPCAKES

THE FRENCH BAKERY

CAFE CESURA

THE FRENCH BAKERY

TROPHY CUPCAKES

“IT HURTS WHEN YOU GO THROUGH SOMETHING THAT KILLS YOU INSIDE, BUT YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE IT DOESN’T ADDECT YOU AT ALL.”

 

Food time. What a trip would be if you don’t visit every single café you see on the street and then try every single thing they have got on the menu and in the end, you end up gaining about 10 kilos? I have gained three till now.  Speaking of which, I need to lose those three starting from this week, would you like to see a post about what I ate during a week? I would love to share this, but it would be a huge deflect from my niche, so please tell me if you want these kinds of posts in the future.

 

Anyway, back again in the post topic which the prettiest cafes you need to visit in Bellevue. Round two I will take you to Seattle with me and also to the restaurant with me.  

 

My first pick would go to THE FRENCH BAKERY. Honestly, this is the best café I have ever been to. It is so good and so delicious. I live in the same building, so at the beginning I didn’t even want to give it a shot, because I like to feel like I have gone somewhere new, but my brother was staying a couple of days with me and he really wanted to try it, so he took me there and I am so glad he had done this. So good, you really need to visit it.

 

My second pick would be the cutest café ever and that is TROPHY CUPCAKES. Located next to Gucci, Prada and Luis Vuitton which give it the best view ever comes the cutest place to ever eat. The place is so pretty and they have a hello gorgeous on the ground in front of the door so it will leave you saying aww.  I invited Tina from JUSTATINABIT to this café and she thought it was so pretty and the cupcakes too are to die for. Honestly, you have to visit it there especially if you are with your girlfriends, someone that will enjoy the beauties of it with you.

 

If you want something that feels homey and cozy then you need to go to CAFÉ CESURA. This is the coziest café I have ever been to in my life and it always has a lot of people hanging around and you will like watching the interactions with others if you are sitting alone. It doesn’t have a big variety of desserts like the others, but the few there tastes amazing.

 

Next on my list would be BLANK SPACE CAFÉ. I honestly went there once and the place didn’t encourage me to go, but I have seen lots of fashion bloggers take the best images there. It got me excited to visit. Would you like to know how did it go? Leave your answers in the comment down below and see you next week, bye.

Thoughts? I look forward to connecting further,

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HOW TO BOOK THE CHEAPEST FLIGHTS

“REGRET IS A SOUL KILLER. I HOPE YOU ARE REGRET, REVENGE AND GRUDGE FREE. I HOPE EVEN MORE THAT YOU SLEEP PEACEFULLY AT NIGHT.”

Hello people! This will be a short post, but one that I think is highly needed because of it, I believe you will save more and travel even more. So, if you want to know how to save money while booking you flight, then keep on reading my tips and tricks I learnt along the way.

• ·         Book before your trip by at least six weeks and if you planned it way before this time, it will be even better. After this, the ticket will get more expensive.
• ·         Book is of season. Like don’t book your flight during summer or during the holidays. You have the year round to do it, especially if you are not a student.
• ·         Book it on Tuesdays. They are the cheapest days on any airlines.
• ·         Search for the best deals for your trip on sites like TRAVEL ART where it searches for trips to your destination overall the airlines and then it sorts them by the price.
• ·         Book your trip on Tuesday. I don’t mean have your flight on Tuesday. I mean sit down and book it on Tuesday. No idea why, but it is proven to lessen the price of the flight.

This is a smaller post than my regular ones, but I found out that not every person knows how to get the best deals for flights to their trips. So, I thought it would be helpful to you my readers and anyone who might be interested.

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MINIMALISM IN TRAVELING: HOW TO PACK YOUR BAG.

“SOMETIMES WE TALK TO OURSELVES BECAUSE WE ARE LONELY AND HAVE NO ONE TO TALK TO, BUT TALKING TO YOURSELF HAS BEEN SUGGESTED TO INCREASE ABILITY TO PROBLEM SOLVE.”

Hello, people! Welcome back to my third post about traveling a long trip and today is not just about the flight. Today is also about the trip itself and how to pack your bags for long trips. I will be sharing with you the essentials in your carry-on and how to pack for a long trip (Month + duration). So, if you are interested then keep on reading.

So, I will be staying in Seattle Washington for more than three months so basically, I packed my summer wardrobe with me but it all fit in a small bag. The one shown in the image above. Since I had a 24 hours flight, I had to get a large shoulder bag. This is an old bag from Aldo and it works magic for any trip. I am telling you. I can travel with this shoulder bag itself to 3 or 4 days trips. What can I say? The perks of being a minimalist are to be a light traveler.

I will start with the carry-on. As I said in yesterday’s post (HOW TO SURVIVE LONG HOURS FLIGHT) is to make it light. If you can take only your paper with you and maximum take a blusher, lipstick, and mascara, in case you want to look pretty on arrival to your destination. Laptop if you are planning to work on the flight. Chargers that’s it. Replace your hardcover books with e-books and believe me, the lighter your bag is, the more pleasant your trip will be.

Now to your luggage. We have to focus on a strong mental idea that will save us half of the weight of the bag you are carrying to your trips. That idea would be that you can buy anything you need from where you are headed, don’t over crimp your bag with things that you might use or just in case of items because you are probably won’t use them and if you did need them, you can buy them, as I said before. This will really reduce the weight and the size of your bag by half.

My second tip is to plan your outfits straight ahead. Don’t throw items without knowing how to use them. Have a clear vision about your outfit, ten throws these items in your bag.

The third tip is to think about multiple ways to wear the same items. This way you will have more outfits with fewer items.

Only take outfits that really makes you feel beautiful otherwise, leave it in your closet, you are on a trip and you deserve to feel beautiful all the time.

By the end of these advises, I can guarantee that you will find that you have a quarter of what you originally would have packed, so bye bye and see you in tomorrow’s post.

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How To Survive Long Flights

“I WISH TO LIVE A LIFE THAT CAUSES MY SOUL TO DANCE INSIDE MY BODY.”  - DELE OLAMBI

Hello, people and welcome back or just welcome in case you are new here. As I mentioned in my yesterday’s post. I will be talking all about my travel in the next few days. I will call it travel week. Yesterday I talked about my go-to outfit or travel, so if you are interested just CLICK HERE and check it out and if you are having a long trip and want to know how to survive it, then keep on reading.

So, I live in Egypt and I am spending the summer in Seattle and unfortunately, there is no direct flight from there, so I must transit. This makes my flight or trip or my trip lasts more than 24 hours, so if want to know how it feels, let me tell you that it is very tiring especially for someone that don’t sleep on the plane.

I do this trip often and I learned a thing or two about long flights.

• First thing as I discussed in yesterday’s post is to choose comfort over style in your outfit.
• Make your carry-on light. You will stay in transit, so you don’t need the extra weight with you.
• Download the book you will read on your phone instead of the hardcover because it will reduce the weight you carry on.
• Try to make friends to the airport or up the flight itself, if you are traveling alone. It will make the time pass on quicker. PS be the one that starts the conversation. Take a leap of faith you won’t lose anything. This is a message from a shy person to another.
• Get some wok done. Be productive a) it will pass the time faster. B) you will be using your time efficiently. I am writing this week’s post while I am on the plane.
• Have a jacket with you. It is so cold on the plane.
• My last advice is to get as much sleep as you can. Unfortunately, this is not something I am pretty good at, out of this 24 hours flight. I got less than two hours of sleep, but it really helps if you are the type of person who can sleep on the plane.
• In conclusion, I advise to you is to go for comfort in your style. Don’t over pack your carry on. Make friends, be productive, or sleep if you can. And see you in my next post. 

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My Go To Travel Outfit

"SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT WANT TO SEE YOU HAPPY." -FUTURE.

Hello people! I have missed you, but I promise you I will keep on posting regularly from now on, five days a week, Monday to Friday, so keep tuned in. 

Anyway, today I am not here to talk about my blog, Today, and for the rest of the week, I'll be talking about my summer trip and more importantly about my 24 hours + flight from Egypt to Seattle WA, USA. Everything that has something to do with it from my outfit, to how to survive long trips and how to plan your trip, so if you are interested in any of it, then follow me on my social media down there in the end of the post. And without further ado, let's see all about the best outfits ideas out there. 

What you saw in the picture above is my outfit. I went with comfy style, but still chic. Since I will be in this outfit in 24 hours straight, so I went with my legging and a simple Gap shirt. Threw on a denim jacket around my waist, in case of the cold weather inside the airplane. 

Other great styles I have seen was with the girl who sat next to me on my second flight. She wore a short skirt in the begging, but once the airplane started moving, she changed the skirt to a sweat pants because of the cold and also to feel more comfortable, so I really liked this idea, especially if you are ).meeting someone once you land (she was meeting her boyfriend so she wanted to look nice for him. 

Joggers and simple tees dominated the airport. There as a couple and both of them were wearing ripped denim from the knees, along with striped top and a denim jacket. I love that they were unique, not the most comfortable, but unique enough. 

So, if you are traveling for long distance flights then I will advise you to go for comfort rather than stylish look, or have something stylish in your carry on and change before landing. 

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