Things I'd do differently.
Packing
I packed light, but in all the wrong ways. I'd bring 2 more pairs of socks and one more pair of underwear because in damp climates, the socks can take several days to dry. Better to have a couple extra to save you some trouble. I'd have brought two knee braces, less over the counter pharmaceuticals at least for Western Europe where the pharmacies are knowledgeable, helpful, and well-supplied. I'd have also invested more in hiking/camping clothing such as the Low Alpine zipneck base layer I purchased in Dublin. It's extremely warm, stylish if you go to a large store with a decent selection, and packs down very nicely. I also would have made sure I had a daypack that was comfortable and roomy enough long before I left. Months before. Oh, and I'd have brought a regular-sized towel in the first place as well as my teeny tiny itty bitty packtowel, which was nice for getting the excess water off handwashed laundry and great as a face and hand towel, but just not very functional for hostel showers were I might like to wrap my whole body to walk down the hall or step out to grab my clothes. I ended up buying a towel in Amsterdam and found myself wishing I'd gotten a nice large-sized quick try towel like Cassie had. Mum sent me one but I decided not to bring it.
On the other hand I've had almost no need for the little disposable dish scrubbies, sent most of my layered clothing back to the states in favor of more high-tech hiking clothing, and worn the skirt that I packed in case I needed to look more formal maybe twice. I'd rather have a second pair of pants, especially since I absolutely love the ones I've been wearing every single day for 3 weeks.
Other than that, I packed pretty well and quite lightly and am happy with how little I have.
Hmm, other than packing, things have gone pretty well. I'd have done a little more planning for my first few days in London, such as looking up the actual location of my hostel so that I didn't get so very lost, and I really should have read more about Ireland travel before I departed. But everything's worked out just fine.
Now for my list of hostels I do and don't reccommend:
And yeah, if ever you are travelling, bring earplugs. They have saved me so many times. Some sort of sleep aid might be helpful too.
I packed light, but in all the wrong ways. I'd bring 2 more pairs of socks and one more pair of underwear because in damp climates, the socks can take several days to dry. Better to have a couple extra to save you some trouble. I'd have brought two knee braces, less over the counter pharmaceuticals at least for Western Europe where the pharmacies are knowledgeable, helpful, and well-supplied. I'd have also invested more in hiking/camping clothing such as the Low Alpine zipneck base layer I purchased in Dublin. It's extremely warm, stylish if you go to a large store with a decent selection, and packs down very nicely. I also would have made sure I had a daypack that was comfortable and roomy enough long before I left. Months before. Oh, and I'd have brought a regular-sized towel in the first place as well as my teeny tiny itty bitty packtowel, which was nice for getting the excess water off handwashed laundry and great as a face and hand towel, but just not very functional for hostel showers were I might like to wrap my whole body to walk down the hall or step out to grab my clothes. I ended up buying a towel in Amsterdam and found myself wishing I'd gotten a nice large-sized quick try towel like Cassie had. Mum sent me one but I decided not to bring it.
On the other hand I've had almost no need for the little disposable dish scrubbies, sent most of my layered clothing back to the states in favor of more high-tech hiking clothing, and worn the skirt that I packed in case I needed to look more formal maybe twice. I'd rather have a second pair of pants, especially since I absolutely love the ones I've been wearing every single day for 3 weeks.
Other than that, I packed pretty well and quite lightly and am happy with how little I have.
Hmm, other than packing, things have gone pretty well. I'd have done a little more planning for my first few days in London, such as looking up the actual location of my hostel so that I didn't get so very lost, and I really should have read more about Ireland travel before I departed. But everything's worked out just fine.
Now for my list of hostels I do and don't reccommend:
- London: I do not reccomend The Generator, unless you want to be able to get roaringly drunk every night without ever leaving your hostel and unless you really enjoy dark, cold showers with no water pressure. I do, however, like the Quest Astor, which is homey and pleasant, is much cheaper, and accomodates far fewer stupid Americans.
- Amsterdam: The Bulldog is the ultimate party hostel. Very nice, very clean, very pleasant staff. Great showers. Stupid people, no kitchen, no laundry. I far preferred Bob's Youth Hostel, which was bare bones but friendly, with inconvenient but passable showers and a very, very hearty breakfast if you eat eggs. I loved the staff, loved the lounge area, and was perfectly happy with the sleeping arrangements. I would happily stay there again.
- Venice: Albergo (hotel) Antico Capon is actually on the island of Venice and is pleasant, clean, cheap, and hey, we got a private room for the same price as the mixed dorms! It's on a pleasantly busy but not too loud square and right across from some very excellent pizza. I'd totally stay there again.
- Florence: Um, yeah. I don't even know the name of the sketchy hostel we stayed at, but I don't reccommend it.
- Rome: Colors Hostel is just fine. Nice kitchen, nice people, convenient enough location in a pretty quiet neighborhood since it's near the Vatican. Incredbly cold rooms downstairs in Benjamin and incredibly hot rooms upstairs on the main floor. The water sometimes comes out boiling hot from the kitchen sink and I burned my ring finger pretty badly. Eh, look for something else if you can, but it's better than nothing.
- Dublin:Cobblestones was not terrible and not too expensive but not my favorite place. We'll be at the Four Corners when we go back and I'll update you on that.
- Kilkenny: The Kilkenny Tourist Hostel is awesome and inexpensive witih a wonderful kitchen and dining area and pretty large rooms. Bathrooms and showers are odd but clean. Chris stayed at William St. Hostel which is part of a methodist church, and it was actually not bad at all, despite what the guidebook said. No alcohol allowed inside, but no one obeyed the rule, and the staff was hip and nice. And free internet and a cheap laundry service.
- Galway: We just finished with two nights at the Archview Hostel. It's €10 a night. It's a dump. The beds are fine. The rooms smell like mildew. Everyone ignores the no smoking signs. The manager/reception person is incredibly nice but competely scatterbrained. The upstairs showers and toilets have no lights and in the downstairs, one shower has no floor. Many of the bedroom doors are missing doorknobs and are blocked open with a towel so that people can still get in and out. The kitchen is large and has all the necessary implements, but two of the sinks have giant bottles of liquid soap set on top of the hot water tap because if you remove that pressure, the faucet turns on by itself. The people are nice, though. If you don't have allergies and don't mind peeing in the dark, it really has a lot of character. And hey, €10 a night. We've just moved to Barnacles Quay, which is a little hotel-y. I hope it's not like the Bulldog or Generator. I'll see tonight.
And yeah, if ever you are travelling, bring earplugs. They have saved me so many times. Some sort of sleep aid might be helpful too.