Backpacker

People, the time has come once again! I have packed and I am all ready to go. I have still last minute panicking, but I am staying positive. I am glad to see my friends again and hopefully I will make some new friends on the way :)
Seven weeks feels like a long time being on the road, but usually when I look back time goes by really fast which sucks in a way.
From now on my biggest worries are going to be what I am going to eat, how I am going to get from place A to place B and to have a roof over my head every night. The "struggles" of a traveller I would say. God bless the internet though, since it makes everything a lot easier!

New backpack! No more carrying around suitcases ;)

 

Today I am heading to Thessaloniki to see my friend for a day and then I am flying to Berlin on Saturday morning! In case you were wondering I will fly back to Greece from Madrid on the 19.4 right before Easter. If anyone wants a postcard while I am travelling feel free to send me your address on my email: karoliina.v@hotmail.com and I will see what I can do for you :)

 

Wish me luck!

 

xx

Karoliina

Bake my stress

When you wake up and realize that you have only two weeks left before a big trip, you get slightly stressed out for not having a clue what the future holds for you so you start baking (at least in my case)! Trying not to plan too much for this coming trip has been hard as I am constantly scared of silly little things that could go wrong. On the other hand being planless is good as I have no timetable and I don't need to hurry anywhere.

Either way, as soon as I get back on the road again I will be more relaxed about everything!

Ps. Happy Valentine's day you crazy little munchkins out there ! Hyvää ystävänpäivää!

Even though this day is supposed to be for the loveeeers for Finnish people today is Friend's day! I am really grateful for having such amazing friends in my life who make my life wonderful :*

Karoliina


Spontaneous planning

Playing Trivial Pursuit with four over fifty year old women, going out with my other half Greek, half Finnish friend, baking cakes, knitting and "trying" to learn French have been the most exciting things I have done this week. Comparing to my life in Sevilla, life in Greece is a lot different, but it's good to have a break from all the partying. Besides playing Trivial Pursuit with older women is more fun than it sounds!

 

As we have been taking French serioulsy, my mom found a more efficient way to be able to memorize new words. You can only imagine what she did when we were learning the body parts...

 As for the cakes, I made them for my dad's birthday who turned 53 this year (such an old boy)!

 The face of a happy man in his PJs...

 and the cakes.

When I thought that I had no idea what I am going to do once I start travelling again I got two messages from Helpx offering volunteer jobs in Istanbul as an English teacher assistant (where I won't be able to go because I will be in Berlin at the time...meh!) and feeding parrots for two weeks in a city 40 minutes away from Paris in the end of March. I am not sure yet if they will take me or not, but working in a refuge where they save parrots that have been treated badly and illegally brought to the country, sounds interesting. It is going to be one of those strange stories I will tell my grandkids one day.

 

I am really excited to do some travelling in March-April even though the idea of going on my own again isn't that appealing to me anymore. In some magical way though I always meet new people so it won't be that bad. I am planning to do as much couch surfing and helpx to save some money on hostels (poor traveller you see). I also got to know a bit about blablacar which is another website where you can find cheap rides to other cities. The whole concept of getting in the same car with a total stranger sounds creepy, but it seems to work as I know many people who have done it.

 

 The "plan" so far has been to start my trip in Berlin and from there go with blablacar to Hamburg and from there continue to Holland. From Amsterdam I will try to find a ride to France and get to Paris somehow...

Even though I like planning, I have realized that planning too much can turn out to be a bad idea as unexpected things tend to happen. Besides, that's the whole beauty of travelling, being  spontaneous and slightly crazy!

 

Karoliina

This week included

1

A dress makeover from this

 to this

White just wasn't my thing anymore so navy blue it is!

 

2 

 Perffect weather for being outside! Me likes

 

3

Knitting and Reading (not at the same time). Still trying to read Bridget Jones in Spanish...mah!



4

This motorbike ( just because it's so shiny and cool )



5

Two classes of French and my pronunciation sounds more like German than French...ahhh sexy!

If I ever end up in France I will just fake it like in this video. I'm not giving up though! There is still hope...I think.

 

6

Last but not least I'm going to Berlin in March! Ticket booked...check

 

The crack up of the week though was putting iceberg on google translate to be translated into Spanish and then listening to how it's pronounced (click here ). For some really strange reason I found it very funny. I am weird I know!

 

Karoliina



We all need cake and sun

Hello world! After having a flu for the last week my only comfort ended up being the sales. I am so proud of myself for not emptying the whole store. It turns out I have learned something during these years! Less is more ;)

I do have a thing for clothes, but I have a bigger passion for cakes (as most of you know already). I got an order from a family friend to bake a cake for her granddaughter's birthday and she specifically wanted ballet shoes on the cake. I am not an expert and the shoe part made me a bit nervous. I turned out having more difficulties with the batter and not having enough ingredients (which is a silly silly silly mistake). I ran to the store and made a second batter for the cake. In the end I put my best effort and a chocolate-raspberry cake was born! Phew...

cake under construction



Life these past few weeks has been rather boring I would say, but for some strange reason I enjoy having the opportunity to be in one spot. No worries though, I will be soon on the road again! I am planning to do a trip  somewhere in Europe and visit some friends, so we will see how that goes. For now I am still in Greece enjoying the sun that keeps hiding behind the clouds.

Karoliina

Two years!

Hi people! When I started this blog, I didn't think that I would still be here after two years! It's been a fun time writing this blog and I must say that many things have changed during this time in my life. Blogging has been a fun hobby and hopefully I will still have the energy and the time to continue writing once in a while.

 

Karoliina

Going back to Italia

Saying goodbye to Pia and Tess today was really depressing. After two weeks of having them here we had the most hilarious time ever! Now they are heading back to Italia and I will go back to my lame life...mah!
The last few days though we got to make huge food babies (even bigger than before), had some more tsipouro and spent our time the Greek way!

 In Kala Nera

 Fredoccino:  A coffee chocolate ice milk concoction comparable to the tears of angels.

That's how Pia and Tess described it the first time they had it in Santorini and I couldn't agree more!

CAUTION: Super addictive!

Ending our coffee time with the sunset! Could life get any better?

Well, it actually can get better with tsipouro!

According to google:

Tsipouro is a strong distilled spirit containing 40-45% alcohol by volume and is produced from the pomance (the residue of the wine press). It comes in two types: Pure or anise-flavored.



 The best part is the food ( I guess this doesn't surprise anyone anymore!)

 Tsipouro may cause some strange behaviour...

 ...like this for example.

 

Now the girls will be in Italy enjoying the pasta and wine buhuhuuuuu.

Maybe it's my chance now to lose those six kilos of this last year. Sounds like a plan!

 

Arrivederci amici!

 

Karoliina