Farsickness Monthly Recap: April 2015 (And an Introduction to #BloggerHouse Gargano)

At the end of every month I like wrap up my favorite moments, posts, Instagrams, and meals while giving a behind the scenes look at some of the moments that otherwise wouldn’t make the blog.

April was quite the month, one which saw me covering both a lot of miles and emotions. It started in Jordan where I had an amazing time with my fellow #GirlsGoneJordan and ends in Palermo where I’m beginning six weeks of travel in southern Italy. In between I said goodbye to my job and family and a few friends and tried to prepare myself for this solo journey.

Destinations Visited

USA: New York City

Jordan: Amman, Jerash, Madaba, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Wadi Feynan, Dead Sea

Italy: Bergamo, Palermo

Miles Traveled

20,102 miles. With 3 trips over the Atlantic I think this will be the most miles I travel in a single month all year. God willing.

Highlights

Jordan. All of it.

Yes, even falling off a camel in Wadi Rum. There was something about Jordan that just clicked for me and I immediately fell in love with the country and its food and culture. While I obviously loved seeing Jordan’s word class sites like Petra and the Roman ruins at Jerash, some of my best memories are because of my wonderful travel companions- sitting in the van, editing photos at night in our hotel rooms, or smoking shisha on the Dead Sea, it didn’t matter, we were always laughing. Jordan turned out to truly be the perfect place for a girl’s getaway and I can’t wait to write about it all in more detail over the coming months.

36 Hours in New York City

I found out a few days before our trip to Jordan that I needed to book myself flight from Louisville to JFK. The cheapest return date turned out to be Monday, two days after we’d get back from Jordan. I immediately texted my friend Tobye and we soon had plans to eat our way around Brooklyn. While I’ll be going into more detail next week, I can say that it was so nice to reconnect with an old friend and check out some new parts of this city!

Returning to Italy

Duh. Yeah, it’s a little weird getting back in to the solo long term travel swing of things, but I’m back in my favorite country of the world and I’m so happy about that. Bring on the food!

Lowlights

Touring New York City’s Airports

In the past month I’ve been to each of New York City’s three major airpots twice. This is especially impressive considering I don’t even live in the city. Flying from Louisville always involved a layover or two and in an effort to save money I will apparently do anything- even transfer between airpots for a connecting flight.

Some Serious Post-Trip Blues

Coming home from Jordan was hard. I’ve always suffered from the “post-trip blues” but this was probably the worst case since college. It was harder than expected to say goodbye to my friends, and I really wasn’t ready for our week of exploration (and eating) to end. Throw in some exhaustion cum jet lag and I was a hot mess for about a week.

Saying Goodbye

Does saying goodbye ever get easy? Not for me. I’d gotten pretty comfortable with my life in Louisville. It wasn’t very exciting, but I was used to going to work, blogging, hanging with my family, and occasionally going out for beers or good food. Bidding farewell to both my family and the comforts of home (ie showering without sandals and sleeping alone) were both tear inducing moments.

Favorite Farsickness Posts

Finding Bits of Rome in Amman

Is Solo Travel Really For Me?

My Writing Around the Internet

Go Overseas The Go Overseas Guide to Au Pair Jobs in Europe

Meal of the Month

I stuffed myself as full as possible three meals a day every single day I was in Jordan, but this lunch at Lebanese House Restaurant in Jerash stands out as one of my favorites. We ate outside on a lovely terrace, the hummus was creamy, the lemon mints were refreshing, and the chicken main course was hands down the best chicken I’ve ever had in my life. I’m so excited to go into more detail about food in Jordan next month!

Books I Read

The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber This memoir of a Jordanian-American woman connects important memories of her childhood, in the both US and Jordan, with the dishes that remind her of them. I enjoyed the premise, but something about this book didn’t captivate me the way other food memoirs (and Jordanian food itself) have. That being said, I will be trying out some of the included recipes!

May Travel Plans

I landed in Palermo this morning and will spend the next almost two weeks exploring Sicily. I’ll be based in Palermo and Catania for most of my time, but I’ll also be spending a couple nights in both Enna and Siracusa and taking a few day trips.

From there I head back to the mainland to Calabria and Matera (the city in Basilicata where Passion of the Christ was filmed. The last week in May I’ll meet Claire, former flatmate and one of my favorite travel partners, for a week long road trip around Puglia.

Introducing #BloggerHouse Gargano Puglia

For the first 3 days of our trip, Claire and I will be staying at Pizzicato Eco B&B as part of their #BloggerHouse campaign. Giuseppe, the owner of Pizzicato, is keen to use bloggers to help showcase not only his B&b but also the surrounding area. Located in the Foggia province of Puglia, Gargano is home to some beautiful beaches and ancient forests, both of which I can’t wait to explore.

What were your highlights this month? Any good plans for May? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!