Relaxing at a beer garden in Mendoza, Argentina... Could life be any sweeter?
We are about a month and a half into our travels and having an unbelievable experience. As our trip progresses, the desire to turn world travel into a lifelong adventure becomes more and more intense. I have no idea yet how Tony and I are going to personally achieve this lifestyle, but I am learning from other travel bloggers along the way. Here were some helpful (and entertaining) articles from this past week:
- Tony and I typically do not do anything crazy for Valentine’s Day back in the states (it’s a Hallmark holiday afterall, right?!) but we thought it was pretty cool to be spending this romantic day in Buenos Aires of all places. Having said this, we decided to take each other out on a date night for some famous Argentinean steak. When travelling long term as a couple, it is important to treat each other special once in awhile. Want more tips on keeping the relationship fresh on the road? Four Jandals has you covered.
- Want to travel for a month to Grenada, St Martin, and the BVIs for under $600 (all in)? Or what about traveling full time for $17,000 a year? If this sounds like the dream life, Nora offers up some great tips on how you can make it a reality.
- Tony and I recently went on food tour in Buenos Aires and had an absolute blast. Taking a food tour was such a great way for us to learn about the culinary history and traditions of the region. I also would love to take a cooking class sometime during our RTW trip. When we make it to Thailand this summer, I might have to check out a Time for Lime course on the island of Koh Lanta. Jess’ experience sounds amazing… What a way to spend a day at the beach!
- Matt shares a great post on Five Things I Wish I Knew About Travel When I Was Young and Stupid. What are some things you learned while travelling? The one thing I can relate to on Matt’s list is that you can’t do it all. Being on our journey, Tony and I have realized how much there is to see… And our time and money will not allow for us to visit every cool destination on the planet. For example, we just had to make the tough decision to forego Iguazu Falls while in Argentina. But that just gives us a reason to come back to Aregtina later in life!
- We might also have to forego Australia this year, depending on how expensive it is to travel there. But it would be really sad to miss out on all the great surfing the country has to offer… Tear!
- What’s Mike’s recipe for a kickass dinner party in China? Ordering double the amount of food you could possibly eat and triple the amount of beers you could possibly drink… Not sure about you, but this sounds like a guy I want to rage with.
- It’s a little over a month into our trip and we are way over our intended budget. Travel Dudes has some great tips though on how you can travel for free… Tony and I definitely need to get on some of these gigs.
- Hooray to Kim and Brian for reaching their RTW savings goal! It is such a good feeling… Although with all the fun we have been having abroad, I wished I would have saved more!
- We recently started a Hostel Cooking 101 series on our blog and I am thinking Côte de Bœuf might be an excellent dish (i.e. it requires few ingredients and is quick to whip up) to make in Buenos Aires, where the meat is sooo darn good. It might be a stretch (and I might royally eff it up), but I am ready to get aggressive with my experimentations!
- Once our trip is over with, we will have to decide where to live back in the states. Chicago wasn’t originally on our list but after reading about taco pizza in Chi-Town, I may have to re-consider. Priorities.
Beautiful Buenos Aires
Freshly moved in to our beautiful one bed apartment in Palermo Soho… we are feeling GOOD! We have the next week to explore Buenos Aires, get some work done (long overdue), and plan the next leg of our adventure.
The biggest question mark in our itinerary right now? Do we make a detour and head to Iguazu Falls?
While not on our radar much before the trip, every single backpacker we met has almost cried when we told them we were not planning on going. Is it really that incredible?
In case you want more up-to-date information on where we are at the moment (the articles tend to be 2 weeks behind and not always chronological), make sure you like our facebook page and follow our adventures in real time. We post our pictures here first and give daily updates on all of our craziness.
Now if you want some real craziness… check out what our fellow travelers have been up to this past week:
- Do you know what the #1 reason people give for not traveling? Money. Well guess what? While there are a lot of different factors, it is not as expensive as you think. Just make a plan to save your cash so that you do not get too stressed.
- Is it sad that the top 2 reasons why I want to go to Belgium are a movie (In Bruges) and all of their delicious beers? Yeah… I didn’t think so. I’m glad you agree. Check out this delicious article from Brendan over at Art of Backpacking about his experience in a Belgian bar that served over… wait for it… 2004 beers! And don’t worry mom… beer is healthy. It can even help you finish marathons!
- Ohhhh Thailand. At this point, it has reached a mythical status for me. Enough travel bloggers have talked about how far you can stretch the dollar and how beautiful it can be, that these posts about secret islands and best beaches are now just pure travel porn.
- Talk about perfect timing… Check out 10 unusual things to do in Buenos Aires and watch us see how many we can do!
- I know Meg might be craving a few more dresses on this slow trip around the world, so this one is for her: 5 Reason Why I Backpack In A Dress.
- Why I am jealous of Brooke: She got to take this awesome night-time, full-moon tour in Sydney’s Royal National Park, she got to play with awesome glowsticks and take some wickedly badass photos, and she got to sleep on the beach and see an awesome sunrise.
The beautiful Laguna De los Tres in El Chalten
It’s a Sunday night in Santiago, Chile and Tony and I are… wait for it…
in an American bar chowing down on American burgers.
Say what?!
I would normally think this would be pretty lame of us while in a foreign country, but it’s the Superbowl baby! Plus, I believe we deserve an American night after a busy month travelling in South America. Don’t you?
Luckily, before heading out for the evening, I was able to catch up on some great travel articles from the week (from some not-so-lame nomads). Here is a glimpse of some of the best:
- We spent a few days last week in El Chalten, Argentina and had an amazing time hiking around the stunning national park. The first day we were there, we had outstanding weather for our Tres Lagos hike. However, on the second day the winds in town were ferocious but we still decided to stubbornly hike the Laguna de los Tres trail. Needless to say, we barely made it 2 hours into the hike before throwing in the towel. Mother Nature certainly got the best of us that day! It looks like we were not the only ones who experienced insane winds while in El Chalten.
- As I just mentioned, Tony and I did some serious hiking around Patagonia for the past week or so. After many long day hikes, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Elise’s article on Hiking Etiquette 101 (although I wish I read this before our hiking adventures)… So many good points! As Tony likes to point out, I walk “with a purpose” so I really need to work on not treating the hike like a race – Thanks for the suggestions Elise!
- With plans to head to Argentina this coming week, I immediately started nailing down reservations for a food tour in Buenos Aires. I have never been on one before but I imagine it’s a great way to explore the local cuisine of where you are travelling. As an example, this food tour of Hong Kong that Caroline wrote about looks amazing – Her pictures are some serious food porn!
- I recently wrote an article on 10 Steps For Eating Healthy & Cheap at Hostels. One additional tip I learned from Caroline was to split meals with other people in your hostel. After hearing this suggestion, I came across a great article on how to make a “Chilean Asado al disco” and thought this would be an incredibly fun shared meal to have with hostel buddies… Hopefully Tony and I can try it out sometime soon in South America!
- Tony and I plan to travel to Cambodia in the summertime as a part of our Southeast Asia jaunt. My initial draw to Cambodia revolved around how cheap it is to travel there and, of course, its proximity to the beach! Aside from being cheap and having nice beaches, Marco shares some other interesting facts on this country that make me even more excited to visit Cambodia.
- After reading Jerick’s tips on Budget Travel in the Philippines, I think we may need to add this Southeast Asia country to our RTW wish list as well!
- I always prided myself on being willing to try any food at least once… and I mean ANY. However, after reading 10 Weird Food Delicacies From Around the World, I do not know if my appetite is as adventurous as I thought. Fried tarantulas may be where I draw the line! What’s your line?
After our week in the wilderness of Patagonia (both in Chile and Argentina) we are back in the land of wifi… hurray!
While we make our way north through the Chilean lake region, check out what some of our favorite travel writers have been up to in an accidentally book centric Weekly Roundup!
- I have a passion for books that some might say is borderline creepy. But how can you not drool over this incredible bookstore in Buenos Aires made from a converted theater? If you love books, than you might just find yourself with a jealous girlfriend giving you the stink-eye as soon as you walk in the door.
- Is it hypocritical of me to love books, but only buy books on my Kindle now? HELL NO! The Kindle holds thousands of books at a time, lets me buy a book from anywhere in the world, and lets me type notes and highlight my favorite passages (nerd alert). Get over your love of paper and hatred of trees… get a kindle for your next big trip and never look back!
- I have never been, what some of you may call, “organized.” I consider myself to be more “flirting with disaster” when dealing with a project or deadline. But Lillie’s tips on getting organized are great for everyone, whether or not you are on the road or still in your cube. Also, buy Getting Things Done by David Allen… just doing 2-3 of his hundreds of suggestions will you help function in normal society (if you need the help like me at least).
- I love me some DFW (David Foster Wallace), especially his essays for hire. Check out this great deconstruction by David Miller of DFW’s inspired travel article on cruises. Make sure you read DFW’s original essay as well. Really interesting and highly relevant for travel bloggers dealing with sponsored posts and their responsibility to the audience.
- Hell Ya BOSTON!!! I always love when Boston gets some love from the travel writers out there and so I just had to spotlight a couple. Brittany goes the extra mile for her boyfriend and dives into Red Sox culture and realizes that yes, Fenway is that awesome. Over at Pause The Moment, Ryan shares a gem of a spot for travelers looking to stay at an inexpensive, yet comfortable, hotel in Boston. Free tix to the aquariam? I’m in!
