BUENOS AIRES
Spent 3 weeks at my friend Alyssa's place in Buenos Aires. Alyssa is originally from the US, and I met her while I was working at a hostel in Spain (a year ago). I also met a Finnish girl there, named Sanni (the three of us worked at the hostel together). Sanni and I agreed to go to Argentina and vi...
SKARAMANGAS
Spent three weeks volunteering for A Drop in the Ocean at the Skaramangas refugee camp. I worked 6 days a week, 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, and 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. About the camp: https://www.drapenihavet.no/en/locations-2/athens/ The Skaramangas camp is not an "emergency camp" like the o...
ATHENS
Spent three weeks in Athens. The purpose of my stay there was to volunteer for A Drop in the Ocean, so that's what I spent most of my time there on. I worked 6 days a week, and shared an apartment with a guy from Couchsurfing who also worked a lot. After work, I relaxed in the apartment (by myself)...
ROME
Day 1: Arrived in Rome just before 2 pm after hitchhiking from Viterbo. Met up with our friend, Sam, in the centre (he had just arrived via airplane from the UK), and took the metro + a bus to our accommodation (a camping village). Hung out in our accommodation the rest of the evening, and had dinne...
Hitchhiking Viterbo -> Rome
Walked (about 25 minutes) from our Couchsurfing host's house to the road going towards Rome. Started hitchhiking at 9:40, but gave up after 40 minutes and walked for another 10 minutes. Started hitchhiking again at 10:30, and got picked up after less than 5 minutes. Got dropped off after 5 minutes a...
Hitchhiking Pisa -> Viterbo
Walked from the guest house to the road going out of Pisa. Started hitchhiking at 9:05 am and got picked up after 5 minutes. Got dropped off along the motorway near Livorno after 15 minutes. Tried hitchhiking from there for 35 minutes but then gave up and walked to the exit towards Livorno. Started...
Hitchhiking Florence -> Pisa
Walked (about 1.5 hours) from the hostel, through the centre, to the road going out of Florence in the direction of Pisa. Started hitchhiking at about 12:50 pm. Got picked up after 10 minutes. Got dropped off in Empoli at 1:25 pm. Started hitchhiking again at 1:30 pm and got picked up after 10 minut...
FLORENCE
Arrived in the afternoon on the first day, and checked into a hostel. The next day, I went out to explore by myself. I first walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo, where there is a nice view over the city, and hung out there for a while. After that, I went to Piazza Santo Spirito, and then back into th...
Hitchhiking Bologna -> Florence
Took the train to Casalecchio di Reno (just outside of Bologna) to meet up with Dave there. Started hitchhiking from the nearest entry to the motorway at about 10:45 am. Gave up after 30 minutes, as it was clear that it was not a good spot. Walked to the other side of Casalecchio di Reno, and starte...
BOLOGNA
Arrived in Bologna early in the afternoon after hitchhiking from Rimini. Found a Couchsurfing host after arriving there and spent the evening with him. He gave us a tour around the city, showed us the most important sights, and told us a little bit about the history of Bologna. The next day, Dave an...
Hitchhiking Rimini -> Bologna
Walked (about 1 hour) from the hotel in Rimini to the motorway going out of the city. Started hitchhiking at about 10:30 am. Got picked up after 5 minutes. Got dropped off at a service station along the motorway, just after Cesena, at about 11:05. Started asking people at the car park if they were g...
Hitchhiking San Marino -> Rimini
Walked from the historic centre of San Marino, down from the mountain, and stopped at a bus stop at 2:20 pm. Tried for 25 minutes to get a lift from there, but then kept walking. Stopped again at 3:15 and tried to hitchhike again. After 5 minutes, a police car stopped. The officers told us we couldn...
Hitchhiking Rimini -> San Marino
Walked (about an hour) from the hotel in Rimini to the main road leaving the city towards San Marino. Started hitchhiking at 10 am, and got picked up after 10 minutes. Got dropped off just after the border of San Marino at 10:25. Walked for a little while, and started hitchhiking again at 10:50. Got...
Hitchhiking Mestre (Venice) -> Rimini
Walked (about 50 minutes) from the hotel in Mestre to the road going out of the city, towards Rimini. Started hitchhiking at 10:15 am. Got picked up after one hour and 15 minutes by two men who were headed for Rome. Got dropped off in Cesena at 1:50 pm. Took a little break there, and then walked to...
VENICE
Spent two days exploring Venice. Took the train from Mestre (10 minutes) in the morning both days, and back again in the evening. On the first day, I decided to just wander around without any specific targets in mind. I wandered for hours and covered most of the centre. Venice is known to be complet...
Hitchhiking Trento - Mestre (Venice)
Got a lift from my friend, Ciro, from Rovereto to Trento (because he was going there). Started hitchhiking from Trento at 10:10 am. Got picked up after 30 minutes by a man who dropped us off at a nearby train station. Walked from the train station and started hitchhiking again at 11:20. Got picked u...
Hitchhiking Como -> Tremezzo
Arrived at the train station in Como at 10:50 am. Started walking along the road from Como towards Tremezzo. Walked for over an hour before we stopped and started hitchhiking. Got picked up after about 10 minutes by a lady who dropped us off in Tremezzo. Hung out in the area for a while, and then go...
MILAN
Arrived in the evening after hitchhiking from Monaco. Spent the next day wandering around the city together with Dave. Walked to the great (and very beautiful) cathedral Duomo di Milano, then onwards through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (a beautifully decorated shopping centre), then through Castel...
Hitchhiking Monaco -> Milan
Took a bus from Monaco centre at 3 pm, just to get out of the city. Started hitchhiking from a service station at 3:40 pm. Got picked up after about 10 minutes by a guy who was going to Milan. (We had originally planned to go to Genoa, but since this guy was going all the way to Milan (and we didn't...
Hitchhiking Nice -> Monaco
Took a bus + a tram + another bus to get out of the city centre. Started hitchhiking by the entrance to the road going towards Monaco at 10:20 am. Got picked up after 5 minutes by a man who was going to Monaco. Arrived in Monaco at 10:40 am.
NICE
The day we arrived in Nice, we went straight to the beach and sat there until the sun went down. After that, we walked to our Couchsurfing hosts' home and had dinner with them. The next day, Dave and I explored the city separately. I first walked along the promenade by the beach, then into the centr...
Hitchhiking Marseille -> Nice
Walked (about 20 minutes) to the start of the motorway going out of Marseille. Started hitchhiking at about 10:45 am. Got chased away by the police for being too near the motorway, and had to find a new spot to stand. Did not have any luck, and decided to make a new sign. Our sign had said "Nice", b...
MARSEILLE
Spent one full day wandering around the city by myself. Left the hostel at 10 in the morning, walked to the port, walked along the port to Fort St Jean, walked from there towards the beautiful Cathédrale La Major, walked from there to Porte d'Aix, then onwards to Gare Saint-Charles, and from there t...
Hitchhiking Saint-Aunès -> Marseille
Got a lift from Henna's husband to a shopping centre located near the motorway. Started hitchhiking from a road going on to the motorway at about 4:05 pm. Got picked up after about 10 minutes. Got dropped off near Marseille airport at about 6 pm. Got picked up from there after about 15 minutes. Got...
SAINT-AUNÈS
Spent two weeks in Saint-Aunès. Most of the time was spent at the house, just relaxing. Saint-Aunès is a very small town and there is not much to do there, but it is close to Montpellier, which is a nice city. I went into Montpellier a few times while I was there. I enjoyed taking it easy and not do...
Hitchhiking Béziers -> Montpellier
Got a lift from our Couchsurfing host to the entry to the motorway going towards Montpellier. Started hitchhiking at about 8:40 am. Got picked up after about 15 minutes by a couple who were going to Montpellier. Got dropped off a little bit outside of the centre of Montpellier at about 9:40 am. Walk...
Hitchhiking Carcassonne -> Béziers
Walked from our Couchsurfing host's home (outside of the city) to a road going towards Béziers (but it wasn't the main road). Started hitchhiking at about 1:05 pm. Got picked up after about 10 minutes. Got dropped off after about 25 minutes. Walked 10 minutes, and started hitchhiking again at 1:50 p...
Hitchhiking Toulouse -> Carcassonne
Walked to the metro, and took the metro to get to the outskirts of the city. Started hitchhiking by the entrance to the motorway at about 3:10 pm. Got picked up after 35 minutes by three guys who were on their way to Montpellier. Got dropped off by the road going into Carcassonne at 4:30 pm. Waited...
TOULOUSE
Hung out by the river and enjoyed the sun for 3.5 hours after first arriving in Toulouse. Walked to our Couchsurfing host's house in the evening. The next day, I walked around the city by myself for most of the day. Walked to the centre, to a cathedral, to the market at Place du Capitole, over to th...
Hitchhiking Bordeaux -> Toulouse
Took a bus to get from the centre of Bordeaux to the main road going out of the city. Started hitchhiking at 10:20 am. Got picked up after 35 minutes. Got dropped off at a toll station after about 15 minutes. Got picked up from there after about 15 minutes, by a man who was going to Toulouse. Arrive...
BORDEAUX
Day 1: Wandered around the city by myself. Went to a park, walked through an antique market, crossed a bridge, went to a botanical garden, walked along the river, and then back to the centre. Met up with Dave by the cathedral and then walked back to our accommodation. Day 2: Wandered around the city...
Hitchhiking Paris -> Bordeaux
Left the hostel at 8:30 am. Took the metro + RER to get to the outskirts of the city (Massey - Palaiseau). Started hitchhiking at 10:15 am. Gave up after 1.5 hours. Took a bus to get all the way out of the city (to Briis-sous-Forges). Walked for 30 minutes to get to a service station. Started hitchh...
PARIS
I walked a lot (36 km!) during the first day. Walked from the hostel (outside of the centre), to Notre-Dame, from there to a restaurant, from there to Arc de Triomphe, from there to the Eiffel Tower, from there to Louvre, from there back to Notre-Dame, and from there back to the hostel. The next day...
Hitchhiking Lille -> Paris
Took the tram + metro to get to the main road going out of Lille, in the direction of Paris. Started hitchhiking at 10:45 am. Got picked up after 35 minutes by a guy who was going all the way to Paris. Arrived in Paris centre at 2 pm. Booked beds in a hostel, and walked 40 minutes to get there.
Hitchhiking Dunkirk -> Lille
Walked 40 minutes from Dunkirk centre to the road going towards Lille. Started hitchhiking at 2:20 pm, and got picked up after a few minutes by a guy who was going to Lille. Arrived in Lille at 3:05 pm. Spent time hanging out in the centre before eventually taking the tram to get to our Couchsurfing...
Hitchhiking Canterbury -> Dunkirk
Walked 50 minutes to get to the main road going out of Canterbury. Started hitchhiking at 9:15 am. Got picked up after 20 minutes. Got dropped off at a petrol station at 9:50 am. Got picked up from there after 40 minutes. Got dropped off at Dover at about 10:50 am. Spent one hour trying to get a lif...
Hitchhiking Swindon -> Canterbury
Walked 40 minutes to get to the main road going out of Swindon. Started hitchhiking at 10:30 am. Got picked up after 10 minutes. Got dropped off at a nearby service station, where we got picked up again after 1 minute. Got dropped off at another service station (Medway) at about 1 pm. Took a break t...
Hitchhiking Aberystwyth -> Swindon
Got a lift from a friend from the centre of Aberystwyth to a road that heads of of the town. Started hitchhiking at 10:50. Got picked up after 1 minute! Got dropped off at a service station near Magnor after 3 hours. Stayed in the service station for a while because it was raining a lot! Started hit...