STREET MAPS & STUDS

Two Months And Counting.

2013-11-03T05:07:00.000-08:00

The last time I wrote to you I was riding a train somewhere in Spain. And boy how my world has changed since then. Fast forward from April to the first of the November and you'll find me sitting on a blanket in the middle of the grassy green park situated in North Fitzroy, a neighborhood in Melbourne, Australia. It's about 22 degrees Celsius, I have a Aussie boyfriend named Dan, we live in an old converted church with two of his old mates, and this year I will most likely be enjoying a summer BBQ on Christmas Day. Yowza. What Ferris Bueller said was true, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

For as much as I wanted to write about all my adventures through Europe and keep an accurate log of everything I was experiencing, I soon realized how precious my time was in each place and that I didn't want to be spending that time in a hostel in front of my ipad typing away and uploading photos. Buuuuut, now that I'm somewhat settled again (at least for the time being) I've decided to get writing again. Some of what's to come will be about life down under - and the rest will be throwbacks from my adventures in Europe, which will also explain how I actually landed in oz! So stay tuned for more living in Oz and touring through Europe.

Here's a sneak peak at the start to my adventure down under..

TAKE OFF! Really not sure I knew what I was in for here..!

The sweet seat ;) I might of spent 30 some odd hours in the air, but I could complain one bit in here.

Landing in Melbourne! Flat land and strange trees, but no kangaroo sightings yet..

The big mama that brought me to AUS.

North side of the city. Also my new home.

Downtown in the heart of some street art. One of my favorite parts of the city.

Rush hour in Melbourne CBD and that feeling of being surrounded by a foreign city (a feeling not so foreign anymore).

&last but not least, the boy that brought me to OZ. That's the look of pure trouble, alright ;) hold onto your socks and shoes, we're in for a wild ride.

Meals in Madrid

2013-05-31T13:12:00.002-07:00

The tastes of Madrid. One of my favorite parts about traveling is the ability to learn and observe how the culture is different. Sometimes it is, and sometimes things are still quite similar. Regardless, cuisine and eating habits usually lend a significant hand unique status of different cultures. What did I learn about the cuisine in Madrid?

Breakfast is light and accompanied by a small (compared to American standards) strong Spanish-style coffee (details below). One morning I had beets with grapefruit and granola (that was different & really good!), and another morning I had toast with jam.
Lunch is light, salads and sandwiches seemed common, and its eaten around 13 or 14h (everything ticks on the 24 hour system in Europe - that's one thing I've had to get used to)
Dinner.. Now dinner is eaten very late here, between 21-23h (9-11pm). It doesn't get dark until around 9 pm so it doesn't feel that strange. Spain is famous for its paella, especially with seafood.
Since I was couchsurfing, I was really lucky and had some authentic home cooked food!

The delicious Spanish staple, Seafood Paella. This was made by Susana's (one of my CS hosts) father, my mouth waters just thinking about it. And it doesn't get any better then that!

Here's a delicious homemade lunch by Raluca and her sister.

Salad with avocado, tomatos and olive oil made in her parent's village. An eggplant dish, fresh bread, and olives grown by her parents! It was light, healthy, and absolutely perfect.

After a night of swing dancing, Susana (who ishalf Italian) made us a delicious homemade Italian pasta dish called Cascova. This dish is made with penne pasta, egg & parmesan, onion & bacon.

Here on the bottom center is what's used to make the Spanish coffee I mentioned earlier. It is sometimes called a Moka Pot which is a stove top coffee aka espresso maker (as the coffee here is actually espresso).

Breakfast time, fresh squeezed OJ and the baguette for toast. You've got to love the simplicity of the European lifestyle!

couchsurfing in madrid

2013-04-23T00:52:00.000-07:00

When I first discovered the couchsurfing website, it seemed like a great idea but I was also
a little skeptical of it in actuality. That was until I talked to a few friends who had done it, each one highly recommending it as a great way to meet local people, make friends, and cut down your travel expenses. I decided to give it whirl and see for myself. I'm sure glad I did.

The night before arriving in Madrid I had arranged to meet up with my first couchsurfing host a few hours after getting into the city. I was excited but a bit nervous at the same time. I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was worried I wouldn't find her at the station we had planned to meet at. Although I have to admit its nice to meet up the old fashioned way and not rely on technology.

I met Raluca, my host, and her friend Susana at the station, and was instantly overjoyed. They were both so sweet, and just very down to earth girls both about my age. I couldn't have had a better time in Madrid. The next day Raluca showed me how to get around town on the buses, she and her sister made us a lovely lunch and then later in the day we made a trip to Toledo to see the old capital of Spain. Susana hosted me for my next two nights in town. We went to the museum, met up with her friends, ate ice cream at the park, went for swing dancing lessons, and had such a fun time. I will never forget my time spent in Madrid, nor the friends I made there.

museo nacional centro de arte reina sofía

2013-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hello there! My first day in Madrid I spent a couple hours perusing the Reina Sofia museum before meeting up with my first couchsurfing host. It was a very beautiful museum with a lovely courtyard separating the two building filled with contemporary and modern art. Unfortunately I'm a little strapped for time to write, but I promise to tell you more about Madrid soon. These are we're some of my favorite things at the Sofia :)

xo. Natasha

First stop: the beautiful Madrid

2013-04-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

I first sat to write my post about Madrid while traveling on the train to my next destination, but at the time I didn't have wifi, and somehow I lost everything I had wrote once I was able to connect to the internet. So here I am sitting outside on a patio with a cup of tea with a pretty spectacular view of the mountains nesstled next to a tiny spanish village attempting to give it another go.

Madrid was my first stop on this trip and the most amazing way to start it. The city was just beautiful in that cozy, old European way that I've only dreamt about or seen in movies. But what really made my stay extra wonderful was the people I met there.

My experience in Madrid came in layers. The first layer consisted of me landing at the airport, changing over some of my currency, figuring out where the city center was and how to get there. It was a challenge for me at first because everything was in Spanish and unfortunately my two years of high school Spanish didn't stick with me over the years. One thing I will say though, I left Madrid very motivated to start learning it again. Surprisingly the public transportation and metro system was extremely straight forward and easy to navigate, regardless of the language barrier.

Walking up the steps into the square from the metro was amazing. Thats when it smacked me in the head.. I was in Europe. I wish I could have captivated the feeling of what felt like walking into a very surreal dream and put into a bottle.

Here's a little photo diary of my first day:

Take off

2013-04-20T12:02:00.000-07:00

The big day. Its funny how different it feels to think of doing something as big as this and then to actually be in the midst of doing it. I had envisioned myself traveling through Europe, but I never imagined what it would feel like to be at the airport leading up to such a random adventure. It kind of feels like that moment before you know you're about to go bungee jumping. You're completely aware of whats going on but at the same time you're just not sure of what to expect; kind of like that calm moment in the sky right before a storm. It's a fun way of life though, keeps you on your toes!

Here's my airport get up, my baggage, and a letter from my mom :)

xx. Natasha

The itinerary

2013-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

After a bit of planning, routing, and re-routing, this is the general itinerary of my trip. I'm sure there will be detours, city changes, and of course date changes but as of right now this is the plan written in pencil. Wish me luck. We shall see what happens!

xx. Natasha

packing light for 2 months

2013-04-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is. This is it, everything for two months on the road zipped up into one black backpack and and one orange purse. Here are some photos, and a look at the what's hiding inside both..

left to right : top to bottom

[1] Long red coat, H&M spring2013. iPad, Apple with leather case & keyboard, APLJUS. Black backpack, Jansport. Orange purse, Zara spring2013.

[2] Drylight towel, Sea To Summit. Silk/Cotten sleepsack, Sea To Summit. Umbrella, Target. Mini flat iron, Croc. Mini hair dryer, BaBylissPROIT. First Aid Kit, Johnson&Johnson. Toiletry bag, United Airlines. Make-up bag, United Airlines. I bought what I needed & using what I had.

top to bottom : left to right

R1: Brown cardigan, Zara. Long-sleeved pinstripe shirt, F21. Old jeans I cut into shorts and studded. Black jeans, unknown. Little boys Adidas Samba Shoe. R2: White polka dot nylon running coat, Nike. Leopard pint button-up, H&M. Blue button-up, H&M with vintage men's bow tie. Black sheer blouse, F21. Black shoes with studs, Steve Madden. R3: Gray zip hoodie, Brandy Melville. White tee, James Pierce. Olive/black, Zara. Men's mustard tee, H&M. Black sleeveless tee, F21. Jimi Hendrix tee, unknown. R4: black dress, H&M. Gray jersey dress, Vena Cava. Long black skirt, Mossimo. Short black skirt, unknown. R5: Black bralette, Brandy Melville. Lacy bralette, target. Black tank top, Mossimo. Black leggings, unknown. Floral shorts, Brandy Melville. Black tights, unkown.

trip prep & packages

2013-04-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Today some goodies arrived in the mail for my trip! Its getting reeaal now, and the nerves might be starting to kick in..

Here's what I got:

(clockwise) The global EuRail pass (boy did that baby cost a pretty penny), a super mini flat iron, the DryLite micro towel, and the Rick Steves moneybelt to hold that expensive train ticket ;)

I'm just about ready.. WhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwHooooooooooo!!!!!!!

xx. N

i spy street art in los angeles

2013-04-14T23:18:00.001-07:00

Here's some street art I found hiding in Silver Lake and downtown LA while I was still in town. I think perhaps someone stole my arrows..

xx. N

making my way across states

2013-04-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

Exactly one week ago from today this was the plan.
Phase 1: pack up my life and fit what I can into my little Celica.
Phase 2: drive him to Chicago-ish-land, where he can relax in the countryside with my parents while I explore abroad.

Now it's pretty hard to think about a cross-country road trip without Chevy Chase's face popping into your head.. well okay, maybe thats just me, I may have watched too many National Lampoon movies growing up. Either way, when you think road trip, the first thought is ususally "yeah that sounds fun" until you get to hour 6 on your first day and think "fuck, we've got how many more states to drive through" (pardon my french). At least that had been my experience three out of the last four times I've driven through at least 7 states. Fortunately, this trip definitely made it into the national lampoon status of fun, but I'm pretty sure it was all because of the company I was in. (thanks Vanessa!)

The trip was set to begin Wednesday afternoon, but as life would have it, a few curve balls came my way. It started with the last few errands and good-byes taking more time than expected, but was mostly altered when I through my phone in the trash can (outside my now x-house) while it was waiting for the garbage man to suck out its contents the following morning. So the garbage was full, and garbage pickers were out. Yes, welcome to LA. I'm not going to go into the depths of it because chances are if you're reading this post you know the story. If thats not the case, and I do hope it isn't, well then, some time I'll tell you about it. None the less I retrieved the phone with the help of some backup and the show continued on.

The next morning after crashing one last night at my dearest Jenny and Boa's house, which I was so thankful for, I picked up my friend Vanessa and into the horizon we went. It can be hard finding a good travel partner, especially if all of the traveling is done with them right next to you the entire time. Somehow I lucked out, not only is Vanessa filled with awesome stories that made time fly, but she's super fun, spontaneous, and has that I'm up for anything attitude. Its not too often I find someone (esp when it comes to girls) that doesn't need to have things somewhat set and planned in advance. Nothing against planning, its an essential to life at times, but things can be a little more fun (not to mention practical depending on the situation) if you're willing to just go with the flow and move with the wind blow. Once upon a time I used to plan everything sometimes down to the minute until I realized all the best moments in life come when you just let life guide you a little.

Here's a little instagram diary of our road trip: (our plan was to take a random picture each time we stopped with a sign noting our whereabouts-we ended up not having time for a sign each time, but we about did it)

[1] Our first stop for gas at Newberry Spings; the old man taking our photo was unaware of how to operate the contraption he was holding and accidentally chopped off our heads, luckily we cared more about the sign :)
[2] The 3rd shop was in Arizona for new tires. We were driving on the bumpy freeway in Arizona when
my car kept bottoming out - it was so low to the ground from all the weight of my life stuffed into it. I was worried something was wrong so we pulled over and instead discovered I had a bald tire. I know what your thinking, why didn't I check my tires before I left.. well, I thought I had.?

[3] Next stop Flagstaff, AZ for gas, red vines and lollipops [4] I wandered off on my way to the restroom at the gas station and found a little scaredy cat.

[5] Ordering dinner at the local Sonic - its not the best food, but its hard not to stop (at least for old times sake) [6] Santa Rosa, New Mexico. This photographer was a real gem. He couldn't take our photo without putting his hat on first and after about 15 attempts was finally able to get our picture ;)

[7] Pit stop in Joplin, MO. We were starting to feel like road pros and though we'd upgrade our ride.
[8] Then I decide to play some guitar by an old fashioned gas pump for fuel money. No one tipped me though.

[9] "Welcome" state signs from day 2 of driving. [10] Photo of the hotel room, compliments of Walmart.
[11] Last pit stop! It was a tad bit windy in IL..!

Two full days on the road and one half; it went by like lightning and we made it in one piece. I couldn't have been happier, except for the nausea I started to feel once I realized that I was driving my car in my home town again. Even thought I'm far from staying, it felt like I had made five steps forward only to come seven steps backwards. Guess I'm just not much of a mid-west girl anymore.. I did finally decide on a name for my baby celica though.. the silver bullet. :)

xx Natasha

the big change

2013-04-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

How many times have you said "someday I want to do xxxxx" and "I would love to travel to xxxxx?" I think we all must go through phases where we desire a change, or something new. Of course if you put me on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being one with constant cravings of change) I'd proooobably teeter-totter between an 8 & 9. I could never be a ten because I can be a very attached materialistic person and can have a hard time baring the loss of my true sentiments. For example, (this is going to be a terrible example, but at least you've been warned) I love the ever-evolving world of fashion and fact that it's constantly changing, allowing me to somewhat justifiably continue to change/add to my closet stock, but I'll also wear the same rolling stones & lynyrd skynyrd t/shirts that I've had for a decade almost once every week and I've tried to prolong the life my favorite black jeans & blue jeans for longer than most anyone would deem acceptable. That includes patching holes in the butt and crotch one too many times. There are just some things I will not change, at least w/o a fight. I'll digress there. My original point being, I like change and I love evolving on to new, interesting things or places. Most of the time.

I've lived in Los Angeles for almost eight years now, every year moving to a new apartment and sometimes a new neighborhood. It was a wonderful eight years. There was love, there was hate, hell, there was heartbreak, but I discovered a lot about myself, what things I want to do and can do with my life, professionally, artistically, and otherwise. For the last five years, at least, I've known someday that I'd want to live in New York City for a bit. I wanted to wait for the timing to be right, but unless you feel like giving up on one dream, its almost impossible for the timing to ever be right. A lot happens in eight years, you make friends that you don't want to loose, a career you don't want to stunt, maybe a love life, yadeeyah you get the point. Regardless, sacrifices have to be made. For me the only part about the timing being right was simply that my ambition in this city was dwindling, I was starting to dislike the sun, and if I didn't make my escape quick I felt like I never would.

That's when I decided to create my crazy plan for 2013. Hey if you're gonna go for it, might as well
reach for the stars, right? So I decided, I'd leave LA, backpack through Europe for a bit, then make my move to New York. It wasn't a bad plan, in fact I feel like its the best one I've ever had, but I have to admit, I've been doing a lot hyperventilating and hand-fanning lately.

Now I started this blog so that you can follow along with me on all my adventures through Europe for the next 2-3 months. I don't actually have a return ticket yet ;) so we'll see what happens! Since there's more craziness to my life than just this trip abroad, I thought I might as well document that too.

The next couple of posts will be about each of the phases leading up to this radical change in my life before I head to Europe, so stay tuned!!!

And of course, thanks for reading. If you're feeling up to some writing yourself, I'd love to hear about your crazy life changes. Just drop a note or your story in the COMMENTS section below ↓

xx Natasha, your garage gypsy

all that planning

2013-03-08T15:45:00.000-08:00

I wish I had more to report, but at the moment I'm trying to prep for a backpacking trip across some of Europe and getting ready to move. So while it feels like there's not that much going on and nothing to report about, there's so much running through my head. The internet is an amazing tool for all the research you can do, but its an endless journey of reading through travel blogs, volunteer websites, hostel reviews, and so forth. I thought that since I'm doing all this research, I might as well share with you the websites and blogs that I find very helpful and interesting to my travel planning. Since I'm bound to be discovering more as I go, I've created a tab at the top called "links." There you can check in and get connected to what I consider the cream of the crop. Happy Friday everyone!!

xx Natasha, your garage gypsy

my destination's biggest baddest bucket list competition

2013-02-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

This is a video I created about one of my favorite destinations (Los Angeles) to win a trip that will allow me the incredible once in a lifetime opportunity to travel THE WORLD for SIX MONTHS. Pretty please, help my dreams come true by VOTING so that I can continue down my bucket list and take you with! Don't forget to share with your friends and encourage them to vote!

PLEASE VOTE AT My Destination.com or http://www.mydestination.com/users/na... by sharing on fb, twitter, g+1, or stumble upon it!

Thanks for your support!! xxoo

the start of a new chapter.

2013-02-26T22:39:00.002-08:00

Hi there! Welcome to my new travel blog, Street Maps & Studs! I've finally decided that no matter what it takes, this is the year I'm going to start to travel the world. My list of destinations seems endless, but you've got to start somewhere. This spring I will be taking my second journey out of the country (not counting the out-of-country stops on cruise I took with my family when I was much younger). You can learn more about me and the contents of this blog at the ABOUT page. I will be posting articles and information as I start to plan my trip to Europe! Yup, that's where my adventures shall begin, so more on that shortly! I really hope to connect with you (my readers and followers), so whether you're still saving up for your first out-of-country trip, you've been nearly everywhere at this point, or somewhere in between, I want to hear your opinions. This is a place for you to ask questions, give advice, hopefully learn a few things, and most importantly find inspiration. On that note...

[xo] the garage gypsy