Open the Door in Hydra, Greece. Leonard Cohen's artistic hideaway !

When you are traveling, whether solo or not, it is wonderful to take in details of where you are that you can then transcribe in writing or in photography. Take a look in a completely different way and you will discover real beauty in what are usually very ordinary objects !

When you are in a brand new city, country and culture your eyes are wide open and you can drink in and more fully appreciate what you are experiencing. Ah........the true beauty of slow travel !

 Hydra is an exceptionally unique little Greek island as there are no vehicles permitted  - not even bicycles ! It has a permanent population of approximately 2,000 people and 500 donkeys and mules (and one fire truck, one ambulance and one garbage truck ) It is incredible to think of the children who grow up on Hydra living this lifestyle and what they must think when they have their first visit to Athens. It must seem like they are on a different planet !

UNESCO has awarded Hydra a special recognition for " preserving integrity of place "  I spent one afternoon wandering the narrow, twisting, back streets through Hydra town and was taken by the intricate and utterly unique door knockers which were just like little works of art ! This is one of the fantastic moments of   "slow travel " when you can truly take time to drink in and fully appreciate where you are !

Carpe Diem*           Sabrina


MAGIC DOORS !

" Traveling- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller "  -  Ibn Battuta

The Joys of Solo Travel- An Inner Journey

                                         - San Sebastian, northern Spain

There are so many types of travel that you can choose to do and for so many reasons.Most people choose a type of organized travel with family, partners, spouses, friends and I have also enjoyed this type of travel as well over the years. However, I have evolved over the last ten years into the joy ( and art ) of solo travel and this has become my preferred way of traveling !

As a close friend told me " Sabrina, you were born with wings under your arms " I love this compliment and I definitely have the " wanderlust " and what I also like to call the " wonderlust " mixed in with it.

When I travel solo it can range from weekend trips alone, to periods of one and two weeks in various European cities and countries. My lengthiest period of solo travel was for six weeks when I rented a small, traditional house on a Greek island. This experience will be one of my upcoming posts. I consider Greece to be my " soul country " and I have been so fortunate to travel to Greece over forty times in my lifetime and have spent time on twenty four islands.

                                                   - the Acropolis, Athens, Greece 

Over the past thirty years from a  Canadian young woman backpacking around the Greek islands, to traveling to Europe for fifteen years in the summers, to living and working in London, England for one year and now in Germany over the past eleven years I have embraced the ex pat lifestyle...and you may guess what profession I am in ( which is one I love ! ) that affords me this type of time.

If you are reading this post you are most likely a solo traveler yourself,   and/or wondering if it is right for you and longing to try it and may be a bit fearful about the experience. I would recommend trying a solo trip, even close to your home, for a weekend at first.

I find when I speak to people about solo travel it is usually not the actual travel itself that is causing the fear but rather the fear of being alone. This type of travel is not for everyone and the most important aspect is to know yourself. If you are the type of person that gets the most out of experiences by being with people on the journey than that is your preferred travel style.

Travel  is precious and involves costs in terms of both money and our precious ( in our often frazzled, hectic world) TIME. I think as we get older that often time becomes our most precious commodity of all. Hence why it is important to choose and plan wisely with your " golden " travel experiences.

                                                   - Athens, Greece 

 I believe solo travel involves confidence in yourself, a strong element of independence and self sufficiency, risk taking, and just being comfortable with your own company and in your own skin. This is true for both men and women. Solo travel also develops these qualities ! If it is your first time and you can do a solo trip for even two days you will really know if it is right for you or not.

It also involves a great deal of research before hand so you can get the most out of the experience along with being conscious of safety concerns. ( I will write about my own safety tips in another post ) Generally speaking traveling in Europe is quite safe for women.

My style of travel is to take it " slow " and stay in one place for a period of time and be selective in what I choose to see and do. " Slow travel " has become a concept much like the slow food movement but again I believe it is in knowing yourself. Some people would be very bored with slow travel just as I would become frazzled with rushing from place to place with checklists. Know yourself first !

                                        - Happy pintxos, Donostia, northern Spain 

Please use the comments to ask me any questions you may have about my  solo travel

experiences !  My next post will be practical ones. My safety tips and packing tips !

Carpe Diem *  Sabrina                     FYI -   I always use my own photos on my blog !

" The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait 
   until that other is ready "   -   Henry David Thoreau                     ...... and woman  !

Plan your own European travel with freedom, style and saving money

I plan all my solo travels independently and will share my tips regarding airlines, what I look for in accommodation and what websites I recommend for booking places to stay - slow, solo, sparkling, Sabrina style !

                                                - the Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Seriously though........ my solo, independent travels are mostly within Europe and vary from weekends to stays of up to six weeks.

My tips will also be relevant if you are planning a European trip from North America or elsewhere. A huge part of travel in my opinion is the research beforehand and then really knowing what you are doing and what you are seeing ! I find it fun to do and it is always a learning experience !

If you are traveling from Canada or the U.S.A. I would recommend finding an inexpensive return flight to a major European city such as London, Paris, Amsterdam and then going from there. You can also fly one way into one city and out of another back to your original point so you do not have to back track. This is also the case if you already live in Europe as many airlines offer one way fares.

When I look  for accommodation I focus on small, family run, traditional, charming places in the best location possible. In Europe these can be called pensions, hostals ( not hostels, there is a difference ) or hotels.Often these are the 1,2 and 3 star hotels as they do not have swimming pools, room service etc. but often reflect historic buildings.

https://www.acropolishouse.gr     A charming and traditional little hotel in the Plaka area of Athens, Greece. I have stayed here a few times over the years.

My favorite website over the last ten years has been   www.booking.com and you can book from any country. There are many others but I find this one to be the most reliable and often you can cancel up to the day of booking ( but check when you book for the specific hotel policy )

 I have also rented houses for periods of two weeks or more and I like the British websites the best when looking for European houses, apartments, villas, cottages to rent. The American websites are frequently significantly more expensive and have much less choice of locations ! You can book on the British websites with no problem and pay in British pounds or euros. I have used  both of these ones -

www.homeaway.co.uk        and    www.holidaylettings.co.uk


There are so many charter airlines within Europe that offer great fares and can sometimes seem as cheap as taking a bus if you can travel in the off season or book ahead. Just look through their destinations and you can often find a completely different way to plan your trip with one way fares so you do not have to back track.

Here is a list of airlines that I personally use ( and you can book the fares independently from other countries if you do not live in Europe ) All of these airlines offer one way fares.

www.condor.com ( all over Europe, they also fly to cities in the USA and Canada )

www.airberlin.com ( all over Europe )

 www.aegeanairlines.com  ( all over Europe and in particular Greece and the Greek islands )

www.vueling.com   ( all over Europe and in particular within Spain )

www.tuifly.com  ( all over Europe and the Canary Islands )

www.ryanair.com  ( all over Europe )

www.easyjet.com  ( all over Europe )

www.bmiregional.com   ( within England and all over Europe )

www.iberia.com  ( Spanish airline and flies all over Europe and to the Canary Islands)

www.aerlingus.com ( national airline of Ireland. Great airline to fly to Dublin from European cities )

 ( Please note I am only recommending accommodation and airline websites that I have personally used on my blog )


Carpe Diem *    Sabrina

" Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo " - Al Gore

Slow and Solo - A Particular Type of Journey

Slow Solo Travel -  A Particular Type of Journey


As in the recent concept of " slow cooking " where food preparation and meals are done slowly with care, attention and with fresh ingredients this is also the concept of  " slow travel " in how I experience it.

                                           - Glowing lemons, Athens, Greece

 Personally I have never been attracted to group or organized travel and have always preferred to make my own independent arrangements and journeys. Even when I travel with friends we make our own arrangements  without going through a travel agent or packaged tours. However I completely understand the desire and need for organized travel and think it is wonderful that so many people can live their travel dreams through this mode.There is no such thing as a " right " way to travel ! It is whatever works best for you and is all  part of knowing yourself and your own individual style and tastes.


I arrange my travels in a way where I can take time in a location and really get to know it with a deeper layer. I do not feel the need to have an extensive checklist and rush to get through my list of museums, art galleries etc. I would rather spend more time in one location and select what I would like to see and experience those choices without feeling rushed. This is true for me whether I am traveling solo just for a weekend or for a few weeks.

My blog will concentrate on my solo travel experiences within Europe ( some being cities such as Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam as well as countries such as Greece, Spain, Germany, England ) As a Canadian I am so fortunate to have lived in Europe for eleven years now and have had many solo travels within that time frame.

My next post will be practical ones ! I will share European accommodation and airline websites with you that I use frequently. I will also have a post on packing tips so you are not overly weighed down with luggage ( this can be a nightmare ! )

I will also post a page on my own personal safety tips that I use as a woman traveling solo.

So........ I am looking forward to the journey together as I develop this blog !

 Carpe Diem*          Sabrina


" One day,  you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted to do. Do it now " -     Paulo Coelho

The Seed of a Passion

We all have many passions in life that our unique to our own personality, our own individual  talents and style......one of my deepest and life long  passions is the sheer love of travel which in my lifetime I have been very fortunate to discover in a myriad of ways.

My personal love for movement and all the new experiences that travel offers has its seed in my childhood in the 60s when it was extremely unusual for a Canadian family to live in Ghana, west Africa for two years where my sisters and I attended a British school. As I grew up my family moved frequently and I now know that we had the experience that the sociologist David Pollock terms "Third Culture Kids" which for me contains the seeds of my love and longing for travel.

I have been living and working at a job that I love in Europe for the last eleven years which affords me frequent holiday time to indulge my passion for travel. I envision my blog to focus on my love for what I like to call  " Slow, Solo Travel " which I believe is a unique form of travel especially for women. This has evolved into my preferred, but not my only, style of travel over the years.

I am definitely a Europhile, and in particular a Grecophile, and I have also spent time in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Mexico, Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco as well as travelling across Canada and the USA but those particular travels were not solo ! I have spent a good part of thirty years experiencing the joys of travel in many guises.

So many people have asked me about how I do it, why I travel on my own , how I plan and prepare etc. and are just  very fascinated by my experiences.They have frequently requested that I write a travel blog......so here I am !

 If I can inspire anyone who has been hesitating to travel solo, even for a weekend, then I will be very pleased. This type of time spent alone is very much both an inner and outer journey.

At the moment I am on the tiny Greek island of Hydra which is about two hours by boat from Athens. It is a place that is exceptionally unique in the world as there are no vehicles permitted not even bicycles. UNESCO has awarded it a special recognition for preserving "integrity of place." Donkeys, mules and your own two feet are the basic modes of transportation and I will do another post soon about this experience.

Greece and the Greek islands have figured prominently in my explorations for thirty years and will definitely feature in my upcoming posts !

My individual style is very eclectic and wide ranging in interests so I expect this will be reflected in my blog .............

be prepared for something different !

Carpe Diem*     Sabrina  

                             " Life itself is our ultimate solo journey " - Sabrina