10th blog means best blog!!!! aka giving all the deets for you to do this yourself! 😉
The best way to begin planning your travel is to just begin. I often times book my flights before anything else. Once my flights are booked, the rest typically falls into place. If you are traveling from the right side of the country, I recommend traveling from a larger international airport (Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Charlotte, New York, to name a few). If you are traveling from the left, I would travel from LA, Phoenix, or Denver (these may have layovers on the East Coast given your flight itinerary). I recommend the Chase Sapphire or Amex card depending on which airline best suits your needs. You should ALWAYS get points when booking flights… it pays for itself and allows you to book future trips utilizing rewards (there’s no such thing as free money, but this just… makes sense?!).
From here, I check Airbnb, Vrbo, and local hostels or hotels to find the best rates for where I am going to stay. I recommend booking international travel at least 4-6 months ahead of time, but I planned all of my stays within 2 months of departure. At the end of the trip, I booked week by week (more fun to be able to go wherever is calling you as long as this doesn’t increase your anxiousness surrounding not having somewhere to stay!)
London – “it’s in the small moments”
The best way to describe London is a giant metropolitan city filled with the hustle and bustle. The similarities to New York are abundant, but London has its own quirky nature that makes it stunning in its own way. I flew out of Chicago and took an 8 hour red eye so I could wake up there in the morning. I stayed with a friend and then remained in London in this airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/52954273?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=0df9cefa-d102-440c-8119-57fe2e9f84ef
This airbnb is central to the Soho location and a quick 3 minute walk to the Picadilly Circus line (the tube was my favorite part about London – a sucker for public transportation and living out my nyc dreams). Others will give this same advice, but pick an area of London and focus on that area when you are planning a day. There is SO much to see and you can spend a hefty amount of time tubing from place to place.
What to See:
- St. Paul’s cathedral
- Piccadilly Circus and area with street performers
- Take the tube or the train for the most affordable public transport
- Borough Market (food and cute vibes)
- Camden Market (food, cute shops, lots to see and pastries to try)
- Columbia Road Flower Market (soooo cute)
- Tower of London (£30ish)
- London Bridge and walk this circle leading you back into central london (had lunch on the river and it was a stunning day!)
- Natural History Museum (Free) (You will need to book tickets to these in advance even if they are free)
- British Museum (Free)
- National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery (Free)
- Buckingham Palace and walk the area surrounding this.. London eye is currently closed but this is a great area of London to spend an afternoon in!
- Bookshops… See as many as you can! I went to a bookshop named Words on the Water – a house boat library and it needs to go down in top 3 London attractions.
- Parks… so many but two I visited – Hyde Park & Primrose Hill
- Beautiful view and free, but reserve on a Monday as tickets sell out for this lookout! https://booking.8bishopsgate.com/book
- Check out Notting Hill and the Beatles famous roadway!
- Live premiere of the Iron Clad in theater – after going to a theater, highly rec!
- Catch a show – we saw Mamma Mia and the broadway setting was electric.
- Ensure you try every pastry you can, as well as beans and toast!
Scotland – “dang that castle is big”
We flew on British Airways from London > Edinburgh, Scotland. We had a 7am and spent the rest of the day working from home or adventuring throughout the area. A few tidbits for below – ensure you are at the Edinburgh castle for the gun firing by 12:30, gun goes off at 1pm daily (Buy tickets on the castle website).
What to See:
- Edinburgh Castle – 1pm gun firing (tickets online)
- Walk Victoria Street and The Royal Mile (check out the wellington for the most delicious coffee – or check out this list for more go to’s: https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-coffee-shops-in-edinburgh)
- Princess Street gardens
- Upland’s roast and meadows park (authentic and so fun!)
- Be sure to leave time to explore and hop into pubs to grab a pint or simply just take in the moment – I could genuinely live here!
Ireland – “green pastures, nicer people”
My itinerary was cut short but I still wanted to include Ireland as it was scenic and so so beautiful for the time that I was there! This is the Dublin airbnb and where I would recommend a weekend/week stay.
What to See:
- Guinness Storehouse is a must! (whether you drink beer or not, the culture and history is so cool)
- St Patricks Cathedral
- Dublin Castle (seriously every single castle in each of these countries is unreal)
- National gallery and museum of ireland (museums tire me out but when in another country…. every single one is worth viewing!)
To get home, I flew from Ireland through Ireland Airways and it was about an 8.5 hour direct flight to Chicago. I booked this quickly so the price was higher than normal, but you can typically get a flight from around $700.
Feel free to message me with any questions on any of these areas! My itinerary did unexpectedly change thus impacting my travel into Spain. Though Spain did not happen on this trip, I will make my way back to see that beeeeeautiful place as Barcelona and Spainyard countrysides are forever on my mind.
My next stops come May 1 include some other well known areas: Paris, France, Rome and Venice, Italy and Reykjavik, Iceland. It is a riveting and overwhelming feeling to be able to see such incredible places and meet such amazing people that fill their communities with rich culture. I am grateful for each moment. More to come on all things ~nomak 🙂
xoxo,
makalah marie ❤
Wellness with Makalah 
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