Our First Month Abroad: By the Numbers

Welp, we left America on June 26, 2018, and it is now July 28, 2018 so we have officially been traveling for more than a month.  Rich and I thought it would be fun to run through our stats (all calculated by Rich) and share a few reflections.

Number of Days Away: 30 (June 26th- July 25th)

Countries Visited: 4- Iceland, Hungary, Croatia, Greece

Cities/Towns Visited: 12- Reykjavik, Vik, Hof, Budapest, Zagreb, Rovinj, Split, Hvar, Korcula, Dubrovnik, Chania, Rethymno

Transportation

Number of Flights Taken: 5

Number of Buses Taken: 14

Number of Ferry Rides:  4

Number of AirBNB’s Slept In: 9 (24 Nights)

Number of Tents Slept In: 1 (6 Nights)

Food

Percentage of Meals Eaten Out: 29%

Percentage of Meals Eaten In: 68%

Percentage of Meals Eaten In Airport Lounges: 3%

Physical Activity

See below for a list in which Rich decimates Amanda in all areas of activity despite the fact that we spend all day together every day.  Someone’s FitBit is a little more sensitive than someone else’s.

Rich:

• Total Distance: 566,332 steps (262.56 miles)
• Average Distance: 18,877 steps per day (8.75 miles per day)
• High: 36,619 steps (16.82 miles)
• Low: 6,913 steps (3.17 miles)

Amanda

• Total Distance: 461,943 steps (203.70 miles)
• Average Distance: 15,398 steps per day (6.79 miles per day)
• High: 33,638 steps (14.69 miles)
• Low: 4,095 steps (1.79 miles)

Rich must have amassed those 59 extra miles the two times he walked to the grocery store without me.  He says the difference is due to all the cleaning he does, which I won’t argue against, since I want him to keep doing the cleaning.

Overall Costs (As Percentage of Budget)

Flights: 20%

Other Transportation (Buses, Ferries, Taxis, Rental Car, Etc.): 21%

Lodging: 42%

Food: 15%

Gas: 0.05%

Sightseeing: 0.02%

Other: 1.3%

Favorites

Favorite Meal

• Rich: Mazel Tov in Budapest, Hungary
• Amanda: Mazel Tov in Budapest, Hugary

Favorite AirBNB:

• Rich:  Evangelia’s Place in Chania, Crete
• Amanda: Evangelia’s Place in Chania, Crete

Favorite City/Town:

• Rich: Korcula, Croatia
• Amanda: Korcula, Croatia

Favorite Beach:

• Rich: Rethymno, Crete
• Amanda: Rethymno, Crete

Favorite Town Center:

• Rich: Rovinj, Croatia
• Amanda: Dubrovnik, Croatia

It’s annoying how aligned we are, isn’t it?

Deltas:

Can you tell we come from education?  Let’s not call these weaknesses, maybe just things we might have done differently:

1. AirBNB Proximity. In  both Rovinj and Dubrovnik, we stayed more than three miles from where we wanted to spend most of our time.  While both of those homes were really lovely, we didn’t get to spend as much time enjoying the homes OR enjoying the towns because we spent so much time in transit, either walking or waiting on buses.
2. Skip Iceland. Don’t @ me.  Rich volunteered this one, when I asked him what we would change, and then said he was kidding.  But I do think our week in Iceland was easily our hardest week AND the hardest on our budget– even though we were camping and eating hot dogs for every meal.  Don’t get me wrong, Iceland was beautiful and totally interesting.  BUT could we have spent two comfortable weeks somewhere cheaper for what we spent on one week in Iceland?  And could we have saved room in our bags by not needing long sleeved clothes? I’m not telling you not to go to Iceland; I’m just sharing that we have spent a lot of time discussing whether it was worth it, particularly since we will be traveling for so long.
3. Take less stuff.  I cannot tell you how many times we have verbally “re-packed” our bags in the last few weeks.  We packed a lot of things back in DC that we could have gotten cheaper and smaller abroad (ex: deodarant, sunscreen, etc.).  It has also been so hot– Rich has worn a polo shirt once, and I have a long sleeved dress that while pretty, takes up the space that could be occupied by three smaller dresses.  We carry our bags a lot, and it’s painful to think about hauling around things we never use.  We have also already started offloading a thing or two…

   

A List of things we love:

1. Spending time together. Gag. I get it.  But it really is a gift to have so much time together every single day.
2. The Communal Culture of Europe. Every time we go to dinner, we sit outside and are surrounded by young people and old people eating together for hours.  There are no cell phones in sight, and people genuinely seem to enjoy being with one another.  You have to ask for a check because restaurants want you to stay as long as you want and do not want to seem like they are rushing you.  Same for the beach- young people, old people all in the water enjoying being alive.  It’s really refreshing and beautiful.
3. How Healthy We Feel. Rich and I get almost eight hours of sleep every night.  We try to run or work out on every non-travel day.  We drink a ton of water.  We spend time in the sun.   I have been dying my hair since I turned 30 to hide gray hairs, and I have only seen one gray hair this entire trip.  It is insane how healthy and young we feel free of the stress and pressure that comes with working and living in the US.

   

In conclusion, we are having an incredible time.  Much like we agree on our favorites above, Rich and I also agree that deciding to take this leap and travel this year was one of the very best decisions we have ever made.