In this concluding episode of my travelogue chronicling my first solo travel trip, I shift gears a little bit and recall a fun night out in Gorizia and Novo Gorica that I had with my conference buddy. We bar hopped, chatted with some young Italians about the impacts of Austerity, and hit up the casino and casino buffet in Slovenia.

I also talk about my day trips to Udine and Trieste and the valuable lessons about going off the beaten and not being afraid to wander. I conclude by talking about a harsh lesson I learned about cultural differences arriving to the Venice International Airport just a few minutes before security locked the doors as well as how my entire first solo trip overseas planted the seeds of the flourishing person I am today.

Content Breakdown

0:00 - A fun night out in Gorizia with my conference buddy

3:17 - My feelings on Slovenian free casino buffets during recessions

5:30 - The Beauty of meeting new people and of random adventures when travelling

10:40 - The inspiring view of the Italian Alps from the middle of a random field in Udine

15:29- Discovering Trieste and the value of veering of the beaten path

17:18 - Full Circle: Returning to where it all began

19:48 - Almost spending the night outside a locked airport in Venice (and other situations my ignorance forced me to quickly troubleshoot)

21:50 -Concluding observations on how my PhD studies and first solo travel adventure made me the person I am today

#gaysolotravel #italy #travelpodcast #academia #personaldiary

Part 2 chronicles my experiences with being declared a "missing person" by my Greek mother (CALL YOUR MOTHER), observations about some of the cultural differences I learned very quickly after landing in Italy, my first evening and morning in a small "mom & pop" B&B, and a moment of personal reckoning while visiting Gorizia Castle.

Content Breakdown:

0:00 - Travel Before Google

0:49 - Declared a Missing Person / CALL YOUR MOTHER

6:00 - Wandering Around Venice

8:21 - Travel Lesson 1: Paid Public Toilets and Always Having Change

10:00 - Travel Lesson 2: Not Every Accommodation Operates Like a North American Hotel

13:16 - Nona's Story and Discovering Moka Pot Coffee

15:30 - Travel Lesson 3: Exploring Gorizia and Accidentally Crossing Into Slovenia

18:47 - Travel Lesson 4: Shooting Cappuccino and the Discovery of Caffeine Jolts

21:58 - I'm On Top of the World: Sublime Views from Gorizia Castle (and Harsh Realizations)

22:40 - Sliding Doors Moments: Deciding to Drop Out of Graduate School

23:40 - Paying Off Student Loan Debt Only to Go Back Into Debt (for a PhD in the Humanities)

24:50 - Parallel Universes and the Arrival of Funding

26:35 - Abandoning Freedom and Re-Chaining Myself to Academia

27:04 - What Is My Parallel Doppelganger Doing Right Now?

#gaysolotravel #italy #travelpodcast #academia #personaldiary

Part 1 of my second episode where I talk about my first solo travel & first trans-Atlantic trip that took me to North Eastern Italy in 2010 for a conference that was taking place in Gorizia, a small city in the North East of Italy that shares an open border with Slovenia.

This episode focuses more on my own personal history prior to my trip. I discuss the financial and physical challenges I was experiencing at the as a new Ph.D. student struggling in the early stages of the "Great Recession" in 2009-2010 and how my life at the time framed my travel experience and vice versa.

This episode provides important contact for the subsequent two episodes and it invites listeners to reflect on the intimate relationship between finances, mental health and travel.

Content Breakdown:

0:00 - Hello and Welcome to My Podcast! (and Some Shameless Self-Promotion)

3:33 - Ph.D. Conference Travel - Gorizia Bound!

6:18 - A Day in Venice, Udine, and Trieste

9:33 - The Great Recession, Debt, and (the lack of) Grad School Funding

11:59 - Escape to Italy

#gaysolotravel #italy #travelpodcast #academia #personaldiary