The main photo is my favourite from January 2023 taken at a festival in Zaragoza, Spain.
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January 2023: – Sedavi, Spain and Zaragoza, Spain.
I had been in Sedavi since November 2022 … one of my longest stays – at 46 days! But just 10 days of that was in January. It was also one of my most expensive stays … I think I thought I would treat myself over Christmas and the New Year and although I liked living in a small community for so long (Sedavi is about 40 minutes by bus from Valencia, but feels a world away) the airbnb did not live up to my expectations. It was too large for one person and because it was winter it was difficult to heat, so although the host did her best to help out I managed to get a bad cold and felt really miserable for some of the time.
Zaragoza was a different story. About a third cheaper, this was a lovely place made special by being on the 16th floor. Up until then I had never been so high and I really enjoyed having a panoramic view over the city. The airbnb had a strange layout having a large living area and a tiny kitchen and bathroom, but I worked with that for the month I was there.
Lessons learned: – small and cosy is best in winter. No need to stretch the budget for something special.
February: – Zaragoza Spain and Palermo, Italy.
I was hoping to travel to Palermo by boat, but there were no sailings in February, so I had to fly from Barcelona Airport. I was a bit worried about Palermo’s reputation but I also really wanted to spend time in the city, so I deliberately chose somewhere in the poshest part of town. It was also on a direct, regular bus route into the city and also out to the beach so was in a very good position. The cost was somewhere between the two Spanish stays but it was comfortable, although I didn’t like the fact that the electricity was only activated by the door key. This caused problems with the router and was not good for my teaching schedule.
Lessons learned: – avoid places where the electricity has to be switched off when leaving an airbnb. Palermo was probably the most “gritty” of all the places I have been to including the Balkans. Useful to have a travel pass – means that getting the wrong bus / tram is only wasting time and not money.
March: Messina, Salerno and Bari – Italy.
I think the 2 Airbnb’s I liked least were in Messina and Salerno, luckily (well maybe well-planned) they were very short stays of 2 and 4 days respectively. Bari on the other hand was a delight. Mainly because of the hosts who were so lovely and brought me home made focaccia and other goodies during the stay. I would have liked to have seen more of Messina and whilst in Salerno was blown away by a trip to Pompeii …
Lessons learned: – try and stay in places which are owned by locals not “management companies” and enjoy the personal touches that these hosts bring. Look for quality even during very short stays.
April: Bari and Pescara – Italy.
More Bari – a lovely place to stay, but travelling around the area was difficult, especially using the buses where tickets have to be purchased in advance and cannot be transferred between bus companies. Pescara is a seaside town, nice enough but a bit empty in the off-season and during bad weather.
Lessons learned: – using public transport needs a lot more planning than you first think. Off-season tourist towns may not be the best places to stay.
May: Venice, Italy. Sheffield and Dronfield Woodhouse, England.
Venice was both the best and the most expensive experience I had during the year. I decided to stay on the Island of Murano as it was cheaper and quieter than the main island, but needed less time to get around than by staying on the mainland. It also meant that all my commuting could be by waterbus which I loved! After that I flew back to the UK to try and sort out some issues with my health and storage, but this didn’t work as I had committed too little time to the process (I had not taking into account long waiting times for healthcare in the UK)
Lessons learned: The NHS works slowly, so need to commit more time when I come back to the UK. It’s worth splurging for once in a lifetime experiences. Sadly I doubt I can afford to ever go back to Venice again.
June: Ljubljana – Slovenia. Zagreb – Croatia.
I went back to the same airbnb in Ljubljana that I had stayed in during October 2022 and was not disappointed. It was good to go back to an area I knew and not have to do all the location logistics of being in a new place. I went back to some of the places I had good meals in, but sadly my favourite bar had closed, not sure if that was on a temporary or permanent basis. Zagreb was interesting, I was on the 20th floor (my highest yet) and felt very comfortable. But I hadn’t realised that the bus service on my street was just one per day and although the tram was only 15 minutes walk away, by the time I had done that I may as well have stayed in the local area.
Lessons learned:
Returning to old haunts can be relaxing, no need to find things out. Just looking at where bus stops are is not enough when researching public transport.
July: Zagreb and Osijek – Croatia.
19th July will be a date to remember – that was when the typhoon came to Zagreb and I realised that being on the 20th floor when that happens is not pretty. I was on a zoom call at the time (not teaching) and all I could see were various things leaving my balcony, tables, chairs, potted plants. I got off quite lightly, sadly several people were killed by falling trees and one person in a crane that collapsed. The destruction was so sad to see as I tree lover.
I travelled onto Osijek late in July and enjoyed the first few weeks there.
Lessons learned:
Maybe being so high up isn’t that safe, (though exciting!) When you are thinking of going to an attraction go. I nearly went to the arboretum on the 18th. After the 19th it closed for the rest of my stay, sadly.
August: Osijek and Slavonski Brod – Croatia.
Osijek was probably my biggest lesson to be learned from failure.
I went partly because of possibility of riding on the local tram network, without doing adequate research. The tram system had been completely ripped up for a refit and was not going to be working again until early 2024. The bus replacement service was not the same. Did make some nice trips out of town though and the Airbnb was the best of 2023. SB was my favourite short stay, and my favourite photo was taken there.
Lessons Learned: You can never do enough research of what is happening now and in the near future of the places you are going to visit. Bookmark some of the short stays for places to return to in the future, if time permits.
September: Doboj and Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Doboj was the scene of my most interesting Airbnb experience – which I wrote about in my blog post here. It was also the first place I visited outside the EU on this journey, a strange town, almost in two halves and would liked to have seen more, but was only there for 3 days. Sarajevo would have been a delight, but after the first few days it became clear I was going to be ill and had what I believe was covid for about 3 weeks, limiting my days out.
Lessons learned: Check when you arrive that you are where you think you are and certainly before you leave your accommodation. If you are going to be ill, try to be ill somewhere where you are staying for weeks at a time (at least I got that one right!)
October: Mostar – Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cavtat – Croatia. Kotor and Ulcinj – Montenegro. Prizren and Pristina – Kosovo.
Phew. Glad I got over the illness before I attempted all this travelling, although it was easier than I thought it would be. Saw some beautiful places and felt like a proper tourist again (something I had not felt since leaving Porto!) I could have spent more time on the coast instead of in Osijek … well maybe, but the coast would have been very different earlier in the year as lots of other people would have had the same idea. At least Osijek was quiet!
Lessons learned: I don’t like lots of short stays. Lots of stairs maybe good for me, but are not the safest especially coming back from a bar after dark. Staying near an exit (in this case the local bus station in Ulcinj) may not be the best strategy if it overrides other considerations. (See November!)
November: Skopje and Bitola – North Macedonia. Tirana – Albania.
I wrote about my 3 days in Skopje here. A packed time both good and bad.
Getting to Bitola was difficult and getting out again even more challenging, and will be the subject of another blog post. Tirana was a welcome change and although in the centre of a size-able city I loved being settled somewhere at last.
Lessons Learned: So many! But mainly to watch my step when walking in a dark area and to remember that things can change very quickly when it comes to transport. Staying near transport hubs can be very noisy.
December: Tirana, Vlorë and Sarandë, Albania. Corfu Town, Greece.
My remaining time in Tirana was fairly uneventful, though getting used to the run up to Christmas. Transfers to Vlora and Saranda were stress free and I enjoyed seeing the spectacular Albanian countryside. Now in Corfu the first stop on a 3 month trip in Greece.
Lessons Learned: Just because I have one bad transfer experience, I mustn’t let that put me off. It would be nice to spend some time out in the countryside, but I would need to sort out the transport conundrum.
The main lesson learned from 2023 is to not worry so much about what I have spent but to remember the experiences that I have had. That being said, I will need to either increase my income or reduce my expenditure going forwards. The main thing is that I am still enjoying the experience of being a nomad tremendously and am looking forward to continuing this vagabond life into 2024 and beyond. I wish every reader of this blog and happy, healthy and prosperous 2024!
If you have enjoyed reading this blog in 2023, why not support it in 2024 by buying me a coffee. It would be very much appreciated! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newlifesteev
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Comments
I live in a tourist town that off season is next to impossible without a car. Lovely town, but public transport is terrible. It’s on the side of the Algarve that literally only has one train track so trains are about once every two hours, and that’s even in high season. In low season, it’s even worse
Thanks for the roundup Steev. Wishing you happy trails in 24! Mick
Hi Steev,
I love reading your blog! What I’d like to read more about are your personal impressions of places and people. There are always moments that just blow us away in terms of what we see. It would be nice to hear about one such place each month for instance, how it made you feel, how it impressed you. Same for the people you meet, tell us even of very short meetings with limited communication. Tell us how you manage with the languages, I find all that just fascinating and would love to read more. Thank you for sharing your experiences, you have a fantastic life.
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