• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

  • Food
  • Fitness
  • Organization
  • Productivity
  • Etc.

4 Reasons You Should Travel Solo

May 5, 2017 by Taylor Leave a Comment

4 Reasons You Should Travel Solo - Espresso and Ambition

One major “first” that I experienced while studying abroad is that I took my first truly solo trips. For one of these, I went to Amsterdam for a weekend, and for the other, I did my borderline-crazy 3-day country-hop of Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria. After these excursions, it’s safe to say that I’m a major proponent of solo travel. Today, I’m discussing some of the biggest benefits from travelling alone – hopefully they’ll make you want to hop on a plane by yourself and break out the selfie stick (yes, they’re annoying, but yes, they’re worth it).

1. You get to do exactly what you want to do

It’s a bit selfish-sounding, but being able to set your own itinerary and do everything at your pace is so fantastic. I’m a morning person, so I love the chance to get out early and start exploring, something my friends aren’t necessarily as equally fanatic about. I also have some really specific travel obsessions (really high up views, artisan coffee shops, and vegan restaurants) and traveling alone allows me to satisfy these desires to my heart’s content. You also get to do all of the planning yourself, and if you’re like me and are Type-A to the extreme, having all of your travel plans perfectly organized at the tip of your fingers gives you an adrenaline rush.

2. It’ll make you a more confident human being

Proving to yourself that yes, you’re able to navigate a relatively-unknown area, see some beautiful things, and eat in restaurants all by yourself is honestly a fantastic confidence boost and will really make you feel like a fantastically self-sufficient person. Those types of skills transfer over well into normal, everyday life, and can make you more of an independent, functioning adult when it comes to day-to-day tasks, like setting up your own doctor’s appointments and successfully driving to a new location without getting horribly lost. (If you don’t naturally struggle with at least one of those, I envy you.)

4 Reasons You Should Travel Solo - Espresso and Ambition

3. You see more of the city

Don’t get me wrong, traveling with other people is great, but I swear you see more of a city when you’re by yourself than when you’re with someone else. Without a constant conversation partner, you spend way more time looking around you and truly absorbing your surroundings. I noticed countless details and interesting architectural elements that I might not have caught had I been trying to carry on a conversation as well, or if I had been trying to corral a group of friends with me.

4. It’s fantastic “me” time

Regardless of whether you’re naturally an introvert or not, everyone can use a little time for themselves. You get some quality thinking time to refresh your mind, and you get the peacefulness that comes with pure aloneness. Even for someone like me, who thrives off of human interaction and can safely be considered an extrovert to some degree, three days of traveling solo was a perfect breath of fresh air. Depending on your personality, more or less time traveling alone may work for you, but that’s my sweet spot. When it was time for me to rejoin the world of my friends/acquaintances/classmates, I was a much more positive, relaxed, and sociable person because of that time apart from everyone.

4 Reasons You Should Travel Solo - Espresso and Ambition

On the note of solo travel, I’m actually hopping on a plane to Washington D.C. today, where I’ll be interning for the summer. I can’t wait to share all that I discover there with all of you!

xo, Taylor

Related Posts

Filed Under: Etc., Thoughts, Travel

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow

Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

Instagram

tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
.
you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
.
1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
.
2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
.
3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
.
4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
.
throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
.
👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
.
also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
.
1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
.
2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
.
3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
.
4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
.
5️⃣ 12 commandos
.
6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
.
repeat 4x total!!
.
👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
.
anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
.
#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
.
do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
.
1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
.
2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
.
3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
.
4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
.
5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
.
6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
.
repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
.
👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
.
circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
.
circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
.
circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
.
👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
Load More... Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Search


Disclosure

Some of the links featured in my posts may be affiliate links. The links and the products they lead to come at no additional cost to you but help this gal continue to make Espresso and Ambition happen. Your support means the world to me! <3

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Espresso and Ambition
  • Subscribe
  • Disclosures and Privacy Policy

Blog Design by TinselPop