Backpacks and Barbells

I've spent a lot of blog time talking about the backpack side of my journey and have left a lot of the barbell side unsaid, but there has been a journey there as well. There has been reflection, changes in perspective, good times, and some awesome friends along the way. My Europe box count is somewhere around 15 at this point. Most for just a day or two, but a few for a bit longer. I've experienced a ton of different gym cultures, training styles, coaching styles, and programming focuses. Some gyms are gymnastics based with majority of the wods based around body weight movements. In other words, for me, #win. Some gyms are endurance based with at least a mile of running incorporated into every workout. Lord help me. I've found a few that have a programming structure similar to what I'm accustomed: a variety of strength, skill work, and sprint metcons. With every box I visit, I follow the workout laid out for that day. I know that a lot of time, planning, and effort go i...

I hate London! This was honestly my first impression of a city that I actually grew to love over the three weeks I spent there, and the very reason I chose to do extended stays in a few places. There is so much more to every place than what the breadth of tourism offers. I hate being referred to to as a tourist actually. I'm a traveler. There is a difference. The difference is in the richness taken from each experience. It's in understanding what lives beneath the surface of a place, the culture and the people, as opposed to simply paying to see iconic buildings and buying cheap souvenirs. I do love London, but I would never buy a shirt that says it.  My first few days in London though were spent doing just that: being a tourist. Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace. I'm in no way saying that these places aren't fascinating. They are and shouldn't be missed, but oh my goodness the people. It was worse than Times Square in New York or Disney World on the Fourth...

Alright. Back to the grind. I'm just rounding out a little over a month in Ireland and the UK. Let me start off by saying that these places were more like the US than anywhere else I have been thus far. English is the spoken language. Subways, McDonalds, and Starbucks strategically line public streets and are open later than 8 pm.  Grocery stores have more than a single brand option, and there is always peanut butter on the shelves. I never came across a toilet that couldn't handle toilet paper. Even the people: the mannerisms, concept of personal space, respect; all of it fell in line with what I'm starting to miss from home. They do drive on the other side of the road though which is pretty imperative to remember. Frogger goes really wrong when you're looking for traffic in the incorrect direction. Most crosswalks, however, have these handy little reminders that say "Look Left" or "Look Right". I guess I'm not the only traveller who has struggl...

I'm really behind in my travel blog. A lot has happened, and I can't wait to share it all with everyone. I actually have another post that I was planning on posting today, but something has touched my heart in a different way today.  I woke up this morning to the social media posts and news stories on the death of Robin Williams. Let me preface all of this by saying that I'm not a celebrity person. I couldn't pick out most celebrities in a crowd. I don't know the names of the actresses and actors in most of the movies I watch. I don't ogle over People Magazine's sexiest list. Robin Williams the celebrity was honestly not someone I knew a whole lot about. He was in essence a complete stranger as he was to most others reading of his death this morning, but as I was reading all of the news clips, it was a flood of memories and smiles that this stranger had put in my life. I'm pretty sure my family has pictures of my brother and I riding magic carpets as tod...

Wait what? How does that make any logistical, financial, travel sense? How does that make any sense at all? It doesn't. Ha. It truly doesn't, but sense and rationality are irrelevant in matters of the heart. Okay, so who is this, and where is Amanda? Where is the Amanda that plans her days weeks in advance, that hates to pay more than $30 for any article of clothing or anything for that matter, that is rational living defined? There is no way she would change all of her plans, book last minute tickets, and travel half way around the world at the drop of hat...I've changed a lot in the two months I've been over here. Not changed in the way that I'm a different person; I still stand with the same values, same sense of self, same future aspirations, but I've learned to view life as an experience as opposed to a checklist. I've realized things about the life I was living that were keeping me from truly experiencing. I lived a schedule. An impenetrable continuous...

Just over a month in the land of pasta and pizza, and there are some things that appear commonplace in Italy. Here are a few of the things that stood out to me as an American. Things that reveal a way of life different than what I'm use to at home.  Food... Italian. It's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the States we can have sushi for lunch and Mexican for dinner. Maybe a gyro for a snack. Gelato for dessert. A wide range of options pretty much whenever we're hungry. In Italy, there are still a ton of options, but they are all Italian. How many ways can we make pasta? And protein...protein in Italy is like a salad at McDonalds. It's expensive and you just get weird looks when you ask for it. It's all about the carbs. Carbs and wine. I realized pretty quickly on arriving in Italy that it would be nearly impossible to stick to my fairly selective American diet without sacrificing a large part of the experience (and my budget). Food in Italy is more than just food...

My last post left off in a small Tuscan town just north of Pisa. Lucca, Italy. I spent three full weeks in the splinded city living in small apartment right in the heart of the town. If you're looking for the Italian town that depicts romantized Italy, Lucca is your destination. It's not a city overrun by tourists but one in which the restaurants, gelaterias, churches are very much maintained by the locals. It was easy to feel immersed. A part of the crowd. There was less English spoken here than most other touristy areas of Italy. I can't tell you how many times I was approached with a flash of Italian words, and all I could do was give the dumb American look and with a smile say "no Italiano". Sometimes this meant that we just understood each other through a mutual language barrier. Neither understanding the other's way of speaking, and it was ok. The universal use of English is so often used as a crutch when abroad; and without it being a constant, I actual...

Naples. Rome. Venice. Three Italian cities each with their own culture, own personalities, own uniqueness. Each having a plethora of different things to offer, but all sharing one thing in common. Antiquity and simple, beautiful age. From the countless museums and churches to the quaint cafés and family owned gelaterias, everything  has a story to tell.   Every corner is painted with a sense of history, and everyday the modern day public traverse and live in these streets and buildings once utilized by so many historic greats. I actually found it quite challenging to wrap my mind around this concept, but in the moments that I could "feel" it, it was an indescribable feeling of being connected, of understanding, and of appreciating.  I'll start in Naples. Luckily my first day in the birthplace of pizza was not a precursor to the rest of my time there. My bag dried out, and there was no more rain. Beautiful weather to experience two main highlights of the area: Po...

Italy! Of all the destinations on my list, Italy is the one I am most excited about exploring. My first day in Naples, however, was a reminder that life is still life even when rustic Italian buildings and pizza parlors are your backdrop. Bad days still exist. When I arrived at the Napoli airport, it was raining, and the descent of my flight was delayed due to the weather so we just flew around for an extra hour or so. No big deal. It rains in the US. I had left Santorini almost 11 hours before so I was getting a little tired, but the end was in sight. Or so I thought. The plane finally lands, and it's not just raining. It's a torrential downpour.  The planes in Europe don't pull up cozily to the terminal. They park in what looks a bit like a plane parking lot then you exit using the plane's staircase and a bus shuttles you to the terminal. In my case, all this means is that I am soaking wet, drenched from head to toe by the time I make it to the terminal. Unfortunately...

Next stop.. Santorini. One of the many Greek islands that thrives primarily off of tourism, and after visiting, I can understand why. They are amazing. It's like hitting a slow motion button on life. I traveled from Athens to the island on an eight hour ferry. Not as painful as it sounds. There was plenty of room to spread out, and I met a friend. Lydia. She is a 23 year old student finishing a study abroad program with a few weeks in Greece and would be the one to teach me my first lesson about traveling alone. We spent the evening together in Santorini. We got fish pedicures where you basically stick your feet in a fish tank full of about 200 tiny fish and they proceed to nibble on dead skin until your feet are smooth. Gross right?  I was actually pretty freaked out by it. I enjoyed the experience though, and it worked! Anyways, we had dinner, talked about life, about relationships, about traveling. I got to know her. The waiter kept bringing us free glasses of wine (must be th...

First city in the books. I spent two full days in Athens, Greece, and did the best I could to see all that the city had to offer. With Athens being the first city, I arrived completely exhausted. I left Gulfport, MS at 5 am on Saturday morning and arrived in Athens at 9 am Sunday morning. I hadn't slept. I don't know if it was nerves or excitement, but sleep just wasn't happening. Amazing what you can get accomplished on a 10 hour flight when you don't sleep. Regardless, I strapped on my 37 pound pack and walked into the city. Overwhelming is a good way to describe my first few hours in Greece. Train ride, Greek street signs, euros, and no Google Maps. Stop taking your navigation apps for granted. Real maps are hard. :) I found my hostel and checked into my bed (yes bed. I don't have my own room).. Not quite Hampton Inn but when you haven't slept In a day, it doesn't really matter.  Days 2 and 3 were spent walking the city. Ancient Greek monumen...