Greetings Daizies,
Today I have a special guest for our first Q&A interview on DaibyDai. In this interview, you’ll get to meet Simone who experienced her first *official* solo travel trip earlier this year. Simone is an LA native, whose mother is from New Orleans and father from Ibadan, Nigeria. She shares her perspective approaching solo travel for the first time and what she learned through the experience of being in a new country exploring as a young black woman as well as some practical tips for traveling.
I met someone a little over a year ago as we started our first full-time jobs together and have gotten the pleasure of getting to know her more over the year with our wine dates and run ins in the halls at work. It’s always been great to see another black girl at work shining and thriving. When I found out she was traveling to TWO of my favorite countries (UK and Spain), I couldn’t wait till she got back to hear all about her experience. We sat down together and got into some of my top questions I had for her. Tap into our conversation below:
What inspired you to travel?
Definitely my dad because I took my first international flight when I was three years old to Nigeria. In Nigeria, the family is a huge deal. Nigerian culture is actually very similar to Chinese culture in terms of having an intense focus on family. So when I was born my family there wanted to see me as soon as possible.
Then in middle school when I started playing soccer at an advanced level I got the chance to travel internationally in tournaments in Paris and even in Sweden. That was awesome because not only was I playing internationally, but I got to meet tons of other people from different places. I got to see different values and cultures completely different than mine.
In high school I learned that it was easy for me to pick up languages quickly. I wanted to get an immersive experience with learning a new language so I applied for and received a partial scholarship funded by AFS (American Field Service) where you receive money to travel and participate in a homestay immersion program. I picked a 2-month program to Costa Rica when I was 15 or 16 years old.
I would say my first 10 days in Costa Rica were really difficult because the Spanish you learn in school here in America is nothing like the Spanish people speak regularly. Similar to the way people who learned English as a second language, their English is a lot more formal than the English we speak here. But I had a great time there and got to experience the metropolitan side and also the rural areas as well.
Why do you feel the need to travel?
I always felt so amazing when I was out traveling and felt so recharged when I came back. I always joke that for me personally, I’ve never had culture shock going to a place. I’ve always actually had the culture shock coming back to the U.S. I struggled with coming back home with all of these experiences but no one to relate to.
With my latest trip, the idea came about because I knew I needed some time to recharge and I knew traveling would be the best way to do this. One of my closest friends that I had met in the Costa Rica program is originally from Montreal and is currently studying in France, so I started looking into flights to Europe. I had decided on London, Barcelona, and Berlin. I would be solo for a portion and meet with friends and people I knew later in the trip.
What were some challenges that you expected to encounter that you did or did not encounter?
I think the biggest challenge I thought I would encounter was traveling as a solo female American citizen and being safe. I was mostly concerned about people taking advantage of me because of this. I had heard of negative experiences from my friends who’ve traveled and my dad had sent me all of these news articles of Americans getting robbed, etc. So for me, what I did was when I traveled, if anyone asked me where I was staying I would say “ yeah I’m staying with my three brothers”… don’t mess with me.
I took other safety precautions like carrying a crossbody bag with a zipper and I kept my hand on it at all times when I was walking around. I also never kept a ton of cash on me. I would also suggest getting both the passport book and a passport card and I would just bring the card with me.
How did you plan your trip?
I had a lot of people from work who had been to the cities I was going to so they sent me their recommendations or travel itineraries they still had saved. I also used the Google maps Wishlist features to keep track of the places and landmarks I really wanted to see. But blogs like, DaibyDai, also helped give me an idea of how to plan and what to expect when solo traveling. I’m a visual artist, so I made sure I had museums and galleries on my list for things to see and experience.
What was it like getting around the cities?
I walked around most of Barcelona on foot and in London, I used a mix of public transportation and walking. The amount of a place you get to know just by and seeing the public transportation routes is way more than you’d think. I actively was not really on my phone that much. I wanted to look around and I wanted to see things.
How did you take care of your hair on this trip?
I wore crochet braids as a protective style and I loved it! I liked having big curls and it was a fun and easy style. Bringing regular-sized creams and products would have to be in a checked bag, so you can save money by bringing smaller sized products and wearing a protective style.
And to sum it all up, below are Simone’s top travel tips:
Tips
- Bring a backpack and a carry on luggage so you don’t have to pay international luggage costs or lug a giant bag everywhere (elevators are not as prevalent in other places so be prepared to bring whatever you take up flights of stairs)
- protective hairstyle since 1) won’t be able to bring any liquids in a carry-on and 2) they take up too much space that could be used for shoes or something
- Passport card, passport book, AND drivers license (leave 1-2 of these at wherever you’re staying — in a safe if possible — and always have a real form of ID with you in addition to any print outs)
- Prioritize using cash over credit cards 1) because not everywhere accepts cards and 2) to prevent identity theft due to robbery or criminal credit card scanning machines. Don’t carry too much cash at once, but enough for food, daily travel, souvenirs, and ground transport in case of emergency. American Express cards don’t work abroad, so make sure whatever card you bring will work. Only convert your US dollars at a bank or at the airport — not any random third party places in the city.
- Bring a good pair of walking shoes and a pair of nice shoes you can wear if you go to dinner or a club (you don’t want to be the tourist wearing new balances when everyone else is dressed up)
- Look at the weather ahead of time and prioritize layering undershirts, shirts, and light jackets over bringing big sweatshirts and jackets (unless you’re going somewhere really cold) — often times the weather will change throughout the day and you want to be able to adjust accordingly)
- Laundry can be expensive or maybe hard to find, so bring a bag you can put dirty clothes and undies in. Have a pair of underwear for each day you’ll be there + a few extra just in case. Bring clothes that don’t show stains easily or can be easily cleaned in a sink.
- Don’t forget your headscarf, and toothbrushes/toothpaste/lotion/hand sanitizer are your best friends (ESPECIALLY HAND SANITIZER!!!!! Bring as many as you can!!)
Airlines Used — even though these were all cheap, if I was going to do this again, I’d pay a little bit more for nicer airlines that don’t nickel and dime you for food, drink, and luggage and have better travel times
- Internationally: Norwegian airways (cheapest flight but you have to pay for everything — even water)
- Vueling (Spanish airline for Barcelona travel)
- Ryan air (English airline for UK travel)
- EasyJet (the Spirit airlines of the EU, can only bring one bag on to the cabin of a certain weight which includes backpacks – they’ll make you check your backpack if it’s too heavy)
Itinerary for Barcelona May 16 – May 21
- Las Ramblas / Rambla Catalunya
- Plaza España
- Old bullfighting rings
- Museo Picasso
- La Safrada Familia (famous Gaudí church)
- Parque Güell (famous Gaudí park)&
- Brunch in beautiful grazia neighborhood
- Barrio gótic (gothic quarter with medieval architecture)
- Old Roman-era town that’s underground that has been preserved for generations (currently being restored)
- Arc de Triunfo de Barcelona
- Beach!
- Try drinking cava (Spanish sparkling wine)
- Try eating pintxos
- Try eating tapas
- Illa de la discordia
- Sunset at ”los bunkers” (hilltop view of the entire city from old army bunkers)
- Mercado de la Boqueria
- Bocadillos at popular local place Entrepanes Díaz
- Night beach walk near the W hotel
- Spanish music nightclub near Las Ramblas!
Itinerary for London: May 21 – May 22
- Persian food (London is known for good Persian food)
- Jamaican food in Kingsley Courtney/ SoHo
- Oxford Street (London is known for good Jamaican food)
- Buckingham palace —> bonus I got to see the changing of the Queen’s guards
- Gordon Ramsay savoy grill (I saved money to go here because I love him, the only expensive thing I did all trip)
- London eye
- River Thames cruise (like 10-12 pounds I think) – Shakespeare globe, London bridge, Blackfriars bridge, Tate modern, tower London, tower bridge, London city hall, Westminster Abbey, etc (see map)
Itinerary for Berlin: May 22-May 26
- Berlin Wall
- Try eating German pretzel with beer (they are made to go together!)
- Brandenburg Tor
- Reichstag building
- Tiergarten
- Berlin Holocaust memorial
- Berliner Fernsehturm (tallest building in Berlin)
- Bornholmer / bergstrasse* — check
- Real German sauna (liquidröm, HIGHLY recommend)
- Kreuzberg and neukölln (some of my friend Patrick’s favorite neighborhoods)
- Checkpoint Charlie
- Random beer garden ( by Patrick’s)
- Bombed out churches and buildings around Berlin from WWII
- Potsdam with summer castle of Prussia through the forest (Potsdam is the capital of the state of Brandenburg so now have been to two German states with Berlin being the first one)
- Try eating bratwurst (in Potsdam)
- Try eating pork Schnitzel in Potsdam (even though actually Austrian — wienerschnitzel is Vienna schnitzel)
- Try eating döner kebab (famous food in Germany brought by the Turkish population, got it from popular family-owned chain Mustafas)
I hope you all enjoyed getting to know Simone and learning about another travelista’s experience. Drop your questions or comments in the comments box.
As always,
