How to Shop and Dress Like an Italian

Earlier this week, Lost Girl Patty Hodapp—currently studying abroad in Florence—shared 8 ways to eat and drink like an Italian and 5 ways to Walk and Ride like one. This week, she offers her tips for striking a deal with Italian vendors (legally), dressing like a local, plus a bonus on surviving advances by wanna be Romeos. 

Today's Lesson: How to Shop and Dress Like an Italian

Shopping

1. Head outdoors for bargains In Florence there are a few open-air markets where you can find everything from food to wallets, bags, leather jackets, hats, t-shirts and jewelry. As long as it isn’t an actual store, it’s legal to negotiate prices with street vendors in Florence. Never pay full asking price for an item.

2.. Offer vendors half of what they originally ask. Don’t be afraid to shake your head and walk away when they tell you how much something costs, because nine times out of ten they will chase after you and keep lowering the price till you are satisfied.

3. Sellers prefer cash to credit cards since they’re a huge hassle (and usually charge a small fee per transaction), so when I get them down to a decent price, I’ll offer them a few euros less in cash, which they grudgingly accept—usually.

4. Buying fake designer bags and paintings anywhere is illegal Vendors need a license to sell outside and open air markets are totally legal but if a police officer sees you buying a bag or sunglasses you will be heavily fined. Whenever a police car drives by one the guys selling their items from a tarp on the ground quickly pack up and vanish into the crowd before you can blink twice.

5. Don’t be fooled by imitations Florence is world-renowned for its leather products. Be careful however when you buy leather goods. Unless there is a stamp inside saying something like “Italian Leather Firenze” or “Leather Made in Florence” etc. you’re most likely getting a product made from Chinese leather that’s been imported and sold unsuspecting and ignorant tourists for several times what its really worth.

6. Take a friend to the market If you are a foreign female under 30 years old, especially if you’re American and blonde, DO NOT go shopping for a leather jacket on your own. Salesmen at the leather stores and leather stands are reputably slimy and extremely aggressive. They may be overly complimentary and will repeatedly ask if you have a boyfriend or fiancé (even if you say yes they won’t desist their advances).

Dressing for the Day

1. Bring comfortable walking shoes or sandals After a week of sporting my very cute (but excruciatingly uncomfortable) but flat, support-free gladiator sandals, I purchased the Italian version of Birkenstocks at an outdoor market for 25 Euro (down from 55). So far they have been the best investment I’ve made because Italian streets and piazzas are predominately made from cobblestone or large, flat hard stones that from the surrounding region. Only newer much streets are paved.

2. Skip the spikes Many clubs have a dress code, part of which requires women to wear heels. Do not bring stilettos to Italy. Most likely you will have a walk from your hostel to the clubbing area and stilettos get stuck in between the cobblestones, ruining both your shoes and your poor feet. Instead sport a nice pair of wedges or thicker heels.

3 Throw a scarf or sweater in your bag before leaving for the day. To enter churches you need to have your shoulders and knees covered, and cannot show any cleavage. In summer months it’s hot and people wear shorts and tank tops but you will be denied entrance if you aren’t properly attired. Some churches will give you an embarrassing felt-like, garbage bag-type garment to wear over your clothes if you ask for one or pay for it, but most will just deny you entrance flat out until you are properly attired.

Italian Men

1. Ignore the sweet talk “Ciao, Bella” (“Hello, Beautiful”) is NOT a compliment if it comes from a man less than 70 years old. Most Italian guys will catcall you, whistle, try to talk to you etc. At first I thought it was a compliment, after a while I was offended and annoyed, and now I’m simply immune.

2. Keep your eyes to yourself Italian men will try to make eye contact with you on the street and if you do make eye contact for more than two seconds they see that as an invitation and will descend upon you like a pack of wolves. Not kidding. If you want the freedom to look around bring a pair of sunglasses with dark shades so they can’t see your eyes. I wear mine all the time. Otherwise look straight ahead and keep walking no matter what they say.

3. Don’t believe the hype They will also try to get you to stop or get your attention by saying cheesy things like “Miss, you dropped something!” or “Can you fix it? My heart—you are breaking it!” Trust me, you didn’t drop anything and his heart will be fine, until the next cute American girl walks by…

Beauty in the City: Have a Happy Hair Day

HCC: There’s just something about having a good hair day that makes you feel sexier and more confident. When my hair fell flat even after getting it cut and buying different products to switch it up, I decided to visit Philip Kingsley’s clinic in Manhattan for a consultation. Kingsley, the man who coined the term “bad hair day,” has worked with Hollywood legends such as Audrey Hepburn. Today, he helps keep the manes of starlets such as Kate Winslet and Renee Zellweger camera ready.

Though the space felt a bit more like the sort of medical clinic that it is rather than an ultra-luxurious salon, most clients don’t come to Kingsley for a spa experience. Instead, they want his advice on thinning hair or scalp problems. However, Kingsley said there are a lot of people like myself who are simply looking to give their style a boost and want to keep their hair looking its best.

My consultation lasted about forty-five minutes. After filling out a questionnaire on everything from general health to family history to lifestyle habits, he examined my scalp under a light with a magnifying glass. Philip prescribed a scalp crème for moisture, and his signature Elasticizer (deep conditioner) for added sheen. After massaging the products into my hair and allowing it to penetrate under a dryer for 20 minutes, the crèmes were rinsed and I was ready to go.

Philip Kingsley is called the “hair doctor” for a reason: Later that day, Amanda and Jen kept commenting on how shiny my hair was, and wanted to know my secret (this was before I told them about my appointment with Kingsley). And my hair was more manageable and easier to style after my treatment. If you’re looking to give your own style a lift, try Kingsley’s homemade recipes to keep your hair its healthiest this summer.

1. Create a shield. You probably wouldn’t think about going to the beach without slathering sunscreen on your skin, and you should apply the same rule for your hair. “The sun weakens the hair’s protein structure, de-moisturizes it and reduces elasticity so the hair breaks more easily,” says Kingsley. To keep your tresses from becoming brittle, a hat is the best protection. Kingsley also recommends this cheap trick: Mix high SPF oil-free suntan lotion with an equal amount of your regular hair spray, and comb through for even distribution while hair is still wet. Style as usual.

2. Combat chlorine. The pool can bleach tresses and leave follicles brittle. Create a waterproof solution by mixing a high SPF oil with a thick conditioner. Apply in sections and put more of the mixture on the ends. “The combination of oil and conditioner forms a protective barrier against chlorine or salt water, preserves hair’s moisture levels, and conditions it all at the same time,” says Kingsley. The solution may look a bit greasy, but a slicked-back look at the beach can be sexy. And your hair will be soft rather than fried after a day of surf and sand.

3. Mend split ends, naturally. Since we tend to spend more time outdoors during summer, all the above elements (as well as wind and heat) can frazzle hair. To smooth damaged follicles that makes hair look frizzy, try a pre-shampoo deep conditioner. Kingsley suggests making a natural hair mask by mixing together 2 eggs; 2 half egg-shells of olive or other vegetable oil; ½ ripe avocado; and 2 ounces purified water. Work the mask in with your fingertips, leave on for 10 minutes, and then rinse out. Repeat once a week throughout the summer. The protein in the eggs, vegetables oils, and fatty acids in the avocado penetrates hair shafts to add gloss.

Photo credit: Yahoo! Lifestyle

Couch Surfing Around the Globe

In August 2008, fresh out of school, Lost Girl Heather Stein took a four-month contract working as everyone's favorite service professional: an international debt collector. As the economy started to tank, she realized that getting a job in a different field was going to be next to impossible. Not wanting to make a career out of harassing people to pay their bills, she decided to wait out her next career move--and save up to visit friends and family around the globe. We asked her to share why she went couch-surfing and what she learned during her epic adventure

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Heather: In five or ten years, I knew most of my friends would be married, have kids, or be so busy with careers—so crashing on their couches would no longer be a viable option. During this transitional period in all of our lives, I figured the opportunity was still ripe to impose on their generosity and strengthen relationships that might otherwise fade away.           

Canada

In mid-January, after a farewell poutine (that's French fries with gravy) at a Montreal landmark, I boarded on a bus bound for Vancouver. Over the course of the next 5,000 km and 75 hours, I met up with my aunt for a quick coffee in Ottawa, played countless games of crazy eights with my fellow-travelers, learned dozens of dirty jokes, read two books and gotten the BEST view of the sunrise in the Canadian Rockies. 

Long-distance bus travel is cheap if you buy your tickets ahead of time and, since you sleep on the Greyhound, also saves on accommodations. People with days to spare traversing the continent inevitably have interesting stories and the inclination to share. I got on the bus half-convinced I would regret my penny-pinching. Now, I cherish it.           

I was alone for only a few days during four months abroad. My night at the Pender Lodge in Vancouver was the first and the most unpleasant. Unable to find the showers (and you REALLY want to shower after 75 hours of bus) and traumatized by the sketchiness of the other lodgers, I couldn’t wait to get on the ferry to Victoria where Ana, who is doing a master’s at UVic, was waiting for me. After the most glorious hot-water extravaganza, I set out to enjoy Victoria’s fantastic climate: I kayaked in Canada in mid-winter! We had tea at the Empress Hotel and stared awe-struck at the little sandwiches and desserts. I convinced Ana to join me in Vancouver for the weekend where we shared a hotel room with a king size bed, walked Stanley Park and gorged on sushi, shopping and dancing. 

Australia

I’d been to Australia a year earlier and was prepared for the intense screening at customs. The plan: To take Sydney’s public transit out to Bondi Beach where I planned to stay with Ben, a café owner, whom I had met twice before but chatted with for hours online. 

We left the city and visited his family in the Blue Mountains (an hour or so west of Sydney) where I spent an afternoon reading Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine and waiting for the white cockatoos to perch on a tree above me. I was not disappointed. 

Ben and I were planning to drive up to Byron Bay to camp on the beach for a week, so we bought a gazebo to rig up on the side of Ben’s delivery van. I spent my days in Byron reading under a large umbrella (which I never got the knack of putting up) and my evenings skinny-dipping under moonlight, playing soccer with other travelers and staring at the clouds while listening to Radiohead albums. 

Whenever we needed an escape from the roar of the waves and the sun’s heat we drove to a teatree pond’s still waters. Rather than let ourselves get tired of this nomadic living, we took up a local resident’s offer to stay at her home in Tyagarah for four days and visited the neighboring towns, all the while searching for free wi-fi and the perfect soy latte. Ironically, as a Montreal native, found the best almond croissant EVER in Bangalow at the Choux-Choux pastry shop. 

New York

After a short layover in Toronto—where I shared a bed with my best friend and did my best to avoid the city altogether by watching Woody Allen movies and eating imported candy and chocolate—I returned to Montreal to check-in with family and friends before heading off to New York. 

My friend Bryan let me crash on a spare bed in his NYU graduate residence, then took me on a whirlwind grocery tour of Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho (and, of course, Trader Joes) with a brief foray into the Blue Owl for free drinks. After taking the shuttle bus to Newark airport and the LONGEST eleven hours of airport security and airplane mechanic problems, I was on a plane for the Holy Land. 

Israel

It took until two weeks before my next departure to figure out that Bethlehem is in Israel. Preoccupied by planning adventures in Australia (and, in the end, not following the itinerary at all) and so excited to meet up with two of my favourite Montreal ex-pats Merav and Arieh, I'd somehow completely forgotten all about visiting the Christian pilgrimage sites. 

My hosts had never before walked the Stations of the Cross, visited Nazareth’s churches or walked through the Garden of Gethsemane. Israel’s landscape is…other-worldly. We climbed the cliffs around Mount Sodom and took in the colours of the setting sun reflected on the Dead Sea the same day we scuba-dived with dolphins and “camped” in the Makhtesh Ramon under the stars. Since we didn't have a tent, we pulled down the back seats of our vehicle and slept like sardines in a can. Although I drank pomegranate wine, walked in the footsteps of Christ, climbed Masada, swam in a waterfall and got smacked in the head by a sea turtle—I never did make it to Bethlehem. 

Home again

I’m back in Montreal now, working again as a debt-collector for a few more weeks before I get on a plane for four days in Rome and a month in Perugia where a friend and I have rented an apartment. These past four months have been an adventure well worth the maxed-out credit cards and frugal living. 

My advice to anyone planning a couch-surfing trip around the world—don’t be afraid to impose! While having houseguests is a huge hassle, if you make it clear that you will return the favor in the future and do your best to ensure your host is enjoying him or herself (i.e. be flexible, avoid overly touristy attractions and embrace impromptu relaxation), you’ll bring vacation to an acquaintance and leave with cherish memories of time well-spent with a life-long friend.

Consider yourself a professional couch-surfer—or just a pretty darn good one? Write to us at LostGirlsWorld@gmail.com to share your experiences. We want to know more about this thrifty way to travel!

The Lost Girls Love…Adventure Life

HCC: When Jen, Amanda and I made it back home after our yearlong trek around the globe, the place that stuck with us the most wasn’t the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia or the Franz Joseph Glacier in New Zealand (though both are breathtaking), but rather a small farm town in Kenya called Kiminini. We had the chance to work with students at a local school through the Village Volunteers program. We read Harry Potter to the girls and they instructed us on how to do laundry by hand. We wrote a play for the students to perform and they taught us how to play cati (a game that’s kind of like dodge ball). Spending time with the kids and their teachers reminded us that the people we encountered along the way would change how we saw the world more than any landmark ever could. The program also taught us that what we leave behind is as important as what we take away.

So we’re looking for companies that emphasize travel is a two-way street between the visitor and the locals. One we’re loving is Adventure Life. The company focuses on small group tours to Central and South America that have a positive impact on the local culture and environment, all the while making sure travelers get a unique experience hard to come by with typical package tours.

Started 10 years ago by Brian Morgan, a University of Montana grad who was just 24 years old, Adventure Life has been recognized by National Geographic Adventure as one of the best adventure travel companies on earth for two years running. They use local guides and family-run hotels (which might mean building a homestay into your tour, or staying at an Amazon lodge owned and operated by an indigenous community).

“I worked in Peru, and spent several weeks interviewing local guides,” says Brian. “I would ask, ‘If a friend of yours was visiting your country, what would you show them?' Those that got excited and had ideas beyond typical tour stuff were the ones we hired. One guy thought the best way to understand his home city of Cusco was to show visitors the cemetery. You only get to do this if you’re with this guide.”

If you’d like to do a volunteer vacation, but don’t have a lot of time or money, Adventure Life offers a great solution: philanthropic extensions you can add on to your trip. Ranging from four hours to five days, these volunteer options let you rub elbows with the locals and give back to the place you’re visiting.

“One of traveler’s biggest responsibilities is to understand the local community, and one of the best ways to do this is to volunteer next to the people,” says Brian. “It’s hard to find meaningful experiences that could create a long-term change and also help our travelers understand the local culture.” So Adventure Life spent lots of time researching opportunities and interviewing people from the area, and have come up with some great add-ons for their Peruvian adventures. You can spend a day combating deforestation with a native tree-planting trip. Or fight illness by delivering hygiene kits packed with soap and toothbrushes to poor villages. Or help restore homes battered by the harsh Andes’ elements by working side-by-side on renovations with local families—and spending the night.

“We also offer a healthy breakfast program for students at the Cachiccata school in the Andes. Our travelers visit a market with a local guide to buy food and learn about what's sold—rather than simply taking pictures. Then they cook and serve breakfast to students who may have walked more than an hour to get to school.”

Adventure Life is now working on volunteer extensions in Ecuador and Costa Rica. “We don’t want to pretend going on a trip will save the world, but these extensions are a unique way to say thanks to the community for the hospitality, leave a positive impact, and to increase your understanding of the place you’re visiting,” says Brian.

Lost Girl of the Week: Merry Padang

From the moment The Lost Girls touched down in Indonesia during our RTW trip, we were completely enchanted by the peaceful and effortless existence held so dear by islanders, who are without a doubt some of the kindest and most smily people we encountered on our journey. So we're thrilled, and definitely a bit nostalgic for our old nomadic life, to have a native Indonesian, Merry Padang, as our Lost Girl of the Week. Merry's traveled extensively since she was a little girl, choosing to "move around in the world, for really, no apparent reason, but for adventures" - no better reason if we do say so ourselves!

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Merry Padang on getting lost: The travel bug caught me early on in life. I was born in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where the world famous Bunaken National Marine Park, a diving paradise, is situated. This is a city that recently hosted the 2009 World Ocean Conference. After spending the first ten years of my life there, I made the first big move with my family to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Seven years later, I lived in the farthest address from home, studying aboard in an international boarding school in Kooralbyn, near Brisbane, Australia. A year after that, I was on vacation to Disneyland, Los Angeles, California, and decided to stay to experience a college life in America. I was a student for two semesters and a summer and I used that time to travel around the US.

Wanting to be closer to my family, I left the US and went back to Melbourne, Australia to finish my undergraduate degree. This second time around, I stayed in Australia for four years and spent every one of my vacation days traveling around Australia and New Zealand.

Post-college, after spending approximately seven years abroad, I went back to Jakarta, Indonesia. I was traveling back and forth to Australia, but always had the urge to come back to the US. Exactly four years after I graduated from college, I moved to New York.

I give my highest appreciation to my grandparents, who infected me with the travel bug and took me with them to travel the world. I remember my very first trip overseas to Singapore when I was four years old. The next one after that was the trip to Australia during Christmas and New Year when I was eight years old. I must say that I did not do well on the tour bus when I am tired and missing my own bed at home but I was always excited to check on the itinerary of places we will visit the next day.

Since then, I have visited more than thirty countries and planning to visit more. I currently live in New Jersey with my husband Chris and have tried hard to infect him with the travel bug. So far so good and we are planning to take a year off in the future to travel.

To me, traveling is a journey to experience life through different eyes and to capture the world through different lenses. So far, I have moved continents six times, visited more than 30 countries, hold dual citizenships and a Permanent Resident of a third country, have literally circled the globe one time, and have been to one “antipode” (the farthest distance of two cities in the globe measured diagonally – the polar opposites). I love photography and although my day job is a senior financial analyst (in Manhattan), I hope that my passion in Anthropology will take me closer to my own country Indonesia. I hope to write a book about Indonesia through my camera lenses, to closely examine my own cultures, a backyard that was a stranger to me.

5 Ways to Walk and Ride Like an Italian

Earlier this week, Lost Girl Patty Hodapp—currently studying abroad in Florence—shared eight ways to eat and drink like an Italian. This week, she offers up her tips for surviving the notoriously terrible traffic (and crazy drivers) in Italy.

Today's Lesson: 5 Ways to Walk and Ride Like an Italian

1. Italians love to drive fast I’ve been to lots of big cities including Paris, London, and New York, and out of all of them Italian drivers are hands down the most aggressive (and often the most reckless!)

2. Stop signs and cross walks are optional for drivers in Italy. Don’t assume vehicles will stop for you unless...

3. Be an aggressive pedestrian Otherwise, you’ll wait for hours at a corner waiting to cross the street. At the beginning of my trip I was on a run waiting to cross a busy street and cars just weren’t stopping at the crosswalk. I waited for a few minutes and then this little elderly Italian man came right up, hobbled out into the street, threw his palm out and (embarrassingly for me) the traffic stopped dead until he was on the other side of the road. Since then I’ve followed his lead and cars let me cross right away. I always see groups of tourists in the city center waiting to cross forever, so don’t be afraid to make your presence known.

4. Double check for bikes and motor scooters before crossing because they are hard to spot and they whip out of nowhere on sharp corners at high speeds. My Italian mom’s friend’s son has taken me for a few rides on the moped and he drives fast. They all do.

5. Don’t bike in an Italian city unless you want to die. Period. I met an Italian girl last week who was born and raised riding bikes in Italy. She certainly knows how to ride in a big city with buses and mopeds swerving in and out, but even she was hit by a bus, a moped and a few cars. To my surprise, she told me that it wasn’t uncommon for accidents and people on bikes to get bumped and hit by the traffic. Essentially, Italian traffic is a blood bath.

Got some tips for surviving Italian traffic? Send us an email at Lost Girls World.

My Five Favorite Destinations: The Brittany G Edition

When Lost Girl Brittany Gotschall wrote to share some of the places that she'd already visited by her early 20s, we had to tip our caps. When it comes to the sheer number of passport stamps and miles traveled, she's almost got the three original LGss beat! Since she's she's quite a seasoned vagabond, we figured she could handle our super-simple travel challenge: To come up with a short list of her five destination and her reasons why. Picking favorites wasn't easy, but Brittany handled our request like a champ! 

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In my short 25 (almost) years I have been fortunate enough to visit some of the most beautiful places in the world. As most of you fellow travel enthusiasts have most likely come to realize, traveling becomes addictive and, for me, it's what makes the mundane responsibilities of everyday life a little more exciting. 

I have truly loved every place I’ve ever visited, so when I sat down to think about a “Top 5” it was really difficult for me to narrow it down. The places I chose each offered me a glimpse into a completely different way of life and reminded me how much there is to see and experience. Keep in mind these aren’t in any particular order—there's no way I could pick a favorite!

1. Beijing, China

I visited Beijing in 2006, right after graduating college and before I got a job. I was having a lot of trouble accepting the fact that I was an adult and expected to fully support myself (what?), in lieu of looking for a job, very strategically weaseled myself into a family trip that had originally been planned without me.  

My brother was studying abroad at Peking University, so during our 4 days in Beijing I got a true taste of local culture as well as the traditional tourist experience. The first night we stayed at a lower cost hotel near the university. My brother had been attending daily “language sessions” in the park, which was really just a group of American and Chinese students that sat together each afternoon to talk with each other.

After nearly a month of these sessions all of the students had become good friends and in honor of our visit one of the Chinese students invited us to his home for dinner. He lived in a Hutong in a 10x10 room with two other students. He cooked us dinner, about 7-8 different dishes in total, on one small gas burner in a single pan. Then, we all sat on the floor in a circle and ate out of community bowls – probably the most unique experience of my life. Amazingly, even though we couldn’t speak the same language, conversation never stopped.  

The rest of my time in Beijing consisted of the typical (and absolutely incredible) tourist sites. We stayed at the 5-star Peninsula hotel, which was stunningly beautiful and hands down one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at. We visited the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and Tiananmen’s Square. We took a Hutong tour and visited a traditional Chinese food market. We walked down one the main street with a string of food vendors that served just about anything you can imagine fried (birds, crickets, snakes, tarantulas...yes, I’m serious).  

One recommendation for those planning to visit - pack the COOLEST clothes possible. A thick fog hangs over the city at all times and the temperature in the summer hangs right around 100 degrees with 100% humidity. I literally would have worn a bathing suit if that wasn’t socially inappropriate.  

2. Mykonos, Greece

I visited Mykonos for about 8 hours during a Mediterranean cruise I took with my family in the summer of 2005. I instantly fell in love with the clean and quaint feeling of the city and beautiful beachside location. We were only there during the day, but had lunch at this amazing little restaurant off one of the side streets. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name, but there is definitely not a lack of restaurants to pick from. One of the best ways to see the island is to rent a 4-wheeler or a scooter. Since there isn’t much traffic, you can easily jet around the island. I wasn’t there during the evening, so I don’t have much to offer in the way of nightlife, but definitely stop at one of the little dessert/pastry shops and try some Baklava. Absolutely AMAZING dessert! 

3. Costa Rica

Scene: Winter in Chicago – February 2007

Key Players: Me and my two best friends

Destination: Costa Rica

One word to summarize the trip: CRAZY!! 

Costa Rica is my #1 recommendation for twenty-somethings looking for a unique beach vacation on a budget. Pretty much every hotel offers an all-inclusive deal. I know this might sound lame, but I promise it is worth it. I was able to pay off my entire trip before we went and literally spent only a few hundred dollars the whole week there. We visited Tamarindo, a really popular surf destination (translation – lots of cute guys)with no paved roads and just a handful of restaurants, bars and shops. We stayed at the Barcelo Playa Langosta, but for those planning to go I would recommend staying at the Tamarindo Diria. It’s right in the middle of town and draws a much younger crowd.  

Ziplining is an absolute must! We went on a full day tour that allowed us to zip line, horseback ride and swim in hot springs. It was probably one of the best tours I have ever done on any vacation. We also went on a half-day snorkeling/catamaran tour, which was fantastic. The snorkeling is beautiful and nothing beats a sunset from the water. The nightlife scene in Tamarindo consists of seven to eight bars and the locals have created a rotating schedule that each bar has its big night. Once you’re there, just ask around and someone will let you know which bar is the place to be on any given night.  

4. Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul was also a stop on the Mediterranean cruise of 2005. Pulling into port provided a breathtaking view of the expansive city, and as I looked at the skyline dotted with mosques I immediately realized that I was someplace very different than home. We had a private guide that showed us around the city on the first day. We visited a number of sites, but the most memorable were the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. At night the glow from the Blue Mosque is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  

Five times a day there is a siren of sorts that sounds throughout the city requesting people to pray. Since Istanbul is a modern city with a number of tourists, prayers aren’t required but highly encouraged. You will also see a lot of women in western clothing even though the majority of the city is Muslim.  

5. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

In December 2008, my family and five other families decided to visit the Galapagos Islands. Because they are a national park, the number of visitors allowed each year is limited. We started the trip on a private yacht with just our group and two tour guides. Each night began with a “briefing” of the next day’s activities and lessons about the wildlife we were going to see. Morning wake-up calls were promptly at 7 am, breakfast at 7:30 am and then off to the island of the day by 8 am. I had no idea what to expect, but when most people think of islands they picture someplace lush and green. That doesn't describe the Galapagos. They are volcanic and mainly home Sea Lions, Blue Footed Boobies and other rare birds and iguanas. One thing I learned is that Sea Lions are related to the dog, which explains why they are so cute and friendly. I seriously wanted to take one home! 

The second half of the trip was spent at a small private resort on the island of Santa Cruz called the Royal Palm. The best part of the resort was the 20 person round table that fit our entire group for dinner. Each night we went into town, which was full of adorable shops, restaurants and bars. 

So there you have it…five of the best places I have visited in my life. Heading towards 30, I don’t plan to slow down. Even though work becomes a bigger and more important part of my life, there will always be a place for travel. 

—Brittany Gotschall

PS: 

At the Lost Girls behest, I've also included the top 3 the destinations I hope to visit before I’m 30. Here goes!

Africa 

I can’t imagine anything more amazing than an African safari. If I can follow up the Safari with a trip down to Cape Town, South Africa for a little relaxation by the beach, I’ll be set.  

Spain

This could possibly be the next big trip I take.  Ideally I’d like to visit Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Ibiza, but that all depend on how much time I can put towards it. Am I eligible for a sabbatical yet?  

Prague 

Every person I’ve ever talked to about Prague has said it is the most picturesque city they’ve seen. I hope to build this in to a bigger Eastern European vacation, and hope to visit soon.