SMALL-TOWN GIRLS, MIDNIGHT TRAINS

— travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams —

travel inspiration for small budgets and big dreams

Paris. Is. Possible.

On the third anniversary of my first ever European trip, I thought I’d go back to the basic, underlying message of this blog: you can do it too. And what better place to feature than Paris, where this love affair with travel (and writing about it) all began. It was exactly three years ago that […]

The Paris river bus

Paris is beautiful from a boat. Well, it would be beautiful from anywhere, I suppose, but a boat is a good way to see the sights along the Seine river in relative comfort. There are various boat companies running sightseeing tours. A 1-hour cruise on Vedettes de Paris — the boat pictured passing under the gorgeous Pont […]

7 days in Paris for PHP 50,000

Over a year ago, I wrote How Much Does A European Trip Cost, where I advised people to budget PHP 10,000/day of their trip. That estimate was largely based on a 10-day trip my sister and I took a few years ago and included everything from: Airfare (Cebu-Manila-KL-Paris-KL-Manila-Cebu) Hotels (all double/twin en suites in central […]

Where to Stay in Paris: Grand Hotel du Loiret

As much as possible when I’m traveling, I like to stay in a central area that will allow me to walk to places of interest and easily access public transportation. The drawback of centrally located hotels is that they tend to be more expensive than those in the peripheries, but with a bit of research […]

7 countries in 18 days: A sample European itinerary

What do you do if you’ve got 18 days in Europe and want to see a little bit of everything? See a little bit of everything! 7 countries, 9 cities in 18 days. (Well, it’s actually 5 countries, 1 city-state, and 1 principality, but the latter two are technically countries, and “7 countries” somehow makes it […]

That Time I Almost Got Robbed in Paris

* While some would argue that a Paris vacation is itself a bit of a robbery anyway, I am often quick to defend the French. They are always getting a bad rap from tourists who say they are rude, snobbish, et cetera, yet I have never experienced any of that, not even from Parisians. (Mind […]