• Wanderlust
  • Wonderings
  • Wellbeing
  • Workplace
  • About
    • Contact
  • Bucket List
    • Where in the World

Balancing Act

Balancing Act

Tag Archives: trip

Solo in Oporto

11 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by nausheenfarishta in Wanderlust

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Europe, Extrovert, Oporto, Porto, Portugal, Solo, travel, trip

Do you ever challenge yourself? Dare yourself to take a risk, big or small? Push yourself to step out of your comfort zone? I would like to think everyone has this quality, though it may be more openly displayed by some. I often find myself extending, and accepting, my own challenges.

Walking along the Ribeira in the ran

Walking along the Ribeira in the rain

1545768_10152316152156187_5478575621864096992_n

Dom Luis Bridge

Dom Luis Bridge

I knew before I arrived in Madrid for the year that I wanted to embark on one solo trip. The idea of traveling alone is a glamorous one. The solo traveler is a worldly character, as in touch with her own being as with those around her. Unafraid to be herself, by herself because the only thing that matters is the divine act of travel. Solo travel is supposed to teach you about yourself.

Graffiti witnessed on our walking tour

Graffiti witnessed on our walking tour

Graffiti by the same artist

Graffiti by the same artist

Well folks, I am not a “solo traveler.” Most of what I learned about myself on this trip, I already knew. I don’t want to be alone. It’s taboo to admit such a thing, I know. We live in an age of independence. And guess what? I am independent. I am perfectly capable of spending quality time alone. I can, and have, navigated a new city alone. I have visited cafes and famous sites alike, all by myself. The thing is, I’d just rather be with people. Of course, we all need a break from each other sometimes. But I find that I am a social creature. I am mostly an extrovert by the most basic definition – I derive my energy from social situations. So naturally, my solo trip was only ‘solo’ for about half a day.

Inside Sao Bento Train station

Inside Sao Bento Train station

Town Hall

Town Hall

I spent my first hours in Porto being rained on. After my nice umbrella kept flipping out due to wind, I trashed it in anger and bought another one, which also flipped out. I tried reading my map to find a place to eat, and it quickly became drenched and illegible. I gave up. I found myself alone near an alley, and knew what I needed most in that moment was to not be solo. I needed a friend where there was none to be found. So, on the verge of a total breakdown, I became that friend for myself. I talked myself down. I asked myself what I needed in that moment to be happy. I was alone. It was all about me. I could do whatever I wanted. The answers were simple enough: I wanted to rest at the hostel and charge my phone; to put in my contacts and grab a hat to replace my umbrella; to ditch my must-see-sights list and just go relax in a cafe; to explore the ‘Harry Potter bookshop’ because that’s where magic lives.

Cafe Majestic - oldest cafe in Oporto

Cafe Majestic – oldest cafe in Oporto

Livrario Lello - inspiration for JK Rowling's Harry Potter

Livrario Lello – inspiration for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter

Port Wine

Port Wine

I did all of these things. That night, I made friends in the hostel and stayed up much later than intended because I was in good company. The next day, I spent all my time with people I met on a walking tour. Part of me felt I was cheating myself of the solo travel experience. Wasn’t it supposed to be all introspective and deep? But for me, it was all that and more. It’s in my nature to gravitate toward other people, and I’m glad I didn’t have to stifle that part of me on this trip. I learned that, while I enjoy alone time, I thrive around company. I also learned that in cases when I am alone, I can rely on myself. I can lift my own spirits. I can cater to my own needs. I can be my own friend. And, if I don’t take a solo trip ever again, it just may be too soon. 😉

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Adventures in Africa : Tangier

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by nausheenfarishta in Wanderlust

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Africa, Mint, Morocco, Tangier, Tea, Tourism, travel, trip

I am one step closer to crossing, “visit all 7 continents,” off the old bucket list. Last weekend, a couple friends and I made our way down to Morocco. After visiting various European cities over the course of the past 6 months, this visit to Africa sure shook things up a bit! After taking my first steps ever on the continent of Africa, my first sight was…the airport. But there was Arabic on it, which was awesome! And, honestly, I began admiring the architecture as soon as we stepped in. (I have a weird thing for airports).1897767_10152221086581187_322877821_n

Perhaps the best part of those first few moments, besides the kind weather, was the instrumental Bollywood music playing in the background. It was the Dil to Pagal Hai soundtrack, which just makes it that much better. Yup, I was loving life at this point.

The people in Tangier are some of the most hospitable I’ve encountered! My best example of this is Isa. On our first night in Tangier, we decided to head to Cafe Hafa for some tea and views of the Mediterranean. It wasn’t long before we felt a bit lost, and I approached a nice woman in my VERY limited French. “Où est Cafe Hafa?” I managed. As the lady was giving us directions, another man came up to help (though he did not realize we didn’t speak Arabic). Then, yet another guy joined us. I had actually seen him trying to figure us out earlier from across the street. We must have looked lost even then, because he doubled back and offered to walk us to Cafe Hafa, saying he lived right near it. It was still daylight out, he seemed nice and there were 3 of us and 1 of him. We took the chance.

Isa turned out to be very friendly, and he spoke Spanish! Perfect. So, he walked us to the Cafe, where we thanked him and bid him farewell. We took our seats, enjoyed the sights and took our first sips of sweet mint tea. When it came time to leave, who should we see still hanging around but Isa? We paid our bill, bid Isa farewell once more, and made our way back out into the night. Maps out, we began trying to route our way back. 5 minutes later, there’s Isa again! He offered to walk us back part of the way so we wouldn’t get lost. There was some more Spanish conversation, and we commented on how nice everyone had been to us. “Here, everyone is like this,” he explained. Well Isa, you certainly left us with a good impression.

The food, on the other hand, was not quite as amazing as we had hoped. On our very first day, I tried some Beef Tagine with dried fruits and nuts. This is a typical dish served at their weddings, so I was eating pretty fancy. This Tagine was actually pretty good, but after a while it became too much of the same. Still, it was probably the best meal I had (not including the AMAZING french fries we had on our last night…just saying). The mint tea was also good, although I felt quite guilty about how much [delicious] sugar I was consuming. I suppose our poorer food experiences came from Chefchaouen, so I will save that for the next post! 1781981_10152221086921187_796472028_n 1896834_10152221087751187_1879128185_n

The city itself was an amalgam of rural and urban living. The area near where we stayed was pretty open and easy to navigate (though not with the map we were given). We did briefly walk through the Medina which was more crowded, as expected. It was interesting to note the differences in architecture, the prevalence of certain designs and the shifts between various parts of Tangier.

A main plaza

A main plaza

Hand painting the tiles around the windows!

Hand painting the tiles around the windows!

View of Tangier from our hostel's terrace

View of Tangier from our hostel’s terrace

Gorgeous sunset on our way to Cafe Hafa

Gorgeous sunset on our way to Cafe Hafa

Overall, our first day in Morocco was a successful one and left us wanting more!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Todos los Días Paella – Fulbright in Valencia

17 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by nausheenfarishta in Wanderlust

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

conference, Europe, Fulbright, paella, Spain, travel, trip, valencia

Seriously, WHERE does time go?! I know I’m a broken record, but it’s a bit terrifying. Each chapter in my life feels so removed from the previous ones, that I can easily imagine a much older version of myself flipping through the pages some day too soon. Does this even make sense to you? It is my reality, but anyway, I digress.

Last week was our Fulbright Mid-Year Conference. MID-YEAR. Meaning our time here in Spain, as Fulbrighters, is halfway through. Which is kind of a shame because it’s taken me this long just to feel fully adjusted! But is also kind of awesome because there is a big part of me that can’t wait to be reunited with friends, family and familiarity.

The Conference itself was…invigorating! I think my most used phrase quickly became, “I am so impressed by everyone here.” That is my main take away. Fulbrighters are basically awesome. It was great seeing the grantees from other areas of Spain all together again. I loved catching up with people I hadn’t seen in months, and also still meeting some great new people.

By far, my favorite thing about the Conference (aside from the gorgeous location) was how much of it was peer-centered. Fellow grantees participated in a talent show, and several presented their research or side projects. It was incredibly interesting to see and hear them flaunt their stuff! I literally had a ‘moment’ during that talent show. An ‘I-am-sitting-in-a-beautiful-room-in-Spain-watching-a-Fulbright-talent-show-this-will-never-happen-again’ moment. I am grateful and humbled to be a part of this amazing group. My only complaint — no end of year conference.

After the Conference, many of us decided to make the most of our weekend by sticking around to explore Valencia. We explored the Central Market and Arts & Sciences area, chilled at the beach, caught some of the Olympics at various bars, stuffed ourselves with Paella, danced our nights away and rode bikes through a beautiful park! As told in pics:

Arts & Sciences

Arts & Sciences

Arts&Sciences

Arts&Sciences

Palm Trees!! Arts&Sciences

Palm Trees!! Arts&Sciences

Historic City Center

Historic City Center

Central Market

Central Market

Major highlight!

Major highlight!

Overall, I am happy our Conference was in Valencia because I may not have made it over there otherwise. Valencia turned out to be absolutely beautiful, and I had a great time. Here’s to the next few months of Fulbrighting!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Flashbacks

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 185 other followers

RSS

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Ramblings

  • Finally: How I Lost 20 Pounds
  • Scale vs. Non-scale Victories
  • When it Finally Clicks
  • 3 Ways Perfection Kills Progress
  • Lessons from Traveling with Family

Read about…

abroad adventure Africa Barcelona Books Chicago chocolate Education Educators English Europe expat explore Family fitness France Fulbright Gaudi God Granada Harry Potter Health healthy heartbreak Houston Humor inspire Italy Kelly Clarkson Kids language Lesson life Lisbon Living abroad love Madrid Marriage Marseille Middle school Morocco movies myfitnesspal older Paris Portugal positive poverty reading reflection relationship Relationships Rome Sagrada Família School Shopping Smile soul Spain Student students teach Teacher Teach For America teaching Texas TFA Tourism travel trip United States vacation Weight loss weightloss Writing

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: