Lyd's Travels Newsletter - March 2024 Issue

Welcome to the March 2024 Issue of my Travel Newsletter! this is a supplement to my travel blog where I share more of the personal thoughts and opinions that I discover on my travels.

In this season’s newsletter you’ll find:

• Recent & Future Travels 📍 Las Vegas, Seattle & Vancouver

• My Favorite How to Travels post ✈️ Getting Your Passport & Global Entry

• Travel Finances Check-in 💵 How I have been spending on my trips and my top 3 ways I could have saved money on my recent travels.

• Travel Thoughts 🌎 What is Access to Travel?

• Travel Inspiration Location 🗺️ A Train Trip through the Amalfi Coast & French Riveria

• New News ✨ I was on the Adulting Queen Sippin’ Sunday Podcast!

Recent & Future Travels

March was a big travel month for me! 4 cities and 14 days in hotels! I went to Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix, Arizona, Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, BC, Canada. We had a blast in Vegas, especially with the Grand Canyon, but my visit to Seattle and Vancouver really gave me some new perspectives.

I spent a week in Seattle, I stayed downtown since I tagged-along on my boyfriends work trip. That weekend we came into bright and sunny 70-degree days, so we enjoyed a ferry day trip to Bainbridge Island and some of the main sights on the waterfront pier. Probably the 2 most perfect days anyone has had in Seattle.

During the week is where reality hit me in the face. The simplest tasks of finding a quick bite during the day or trying to explore downtown on my lunch breaks were met with just….. disappointments. I went to our hotel restaurant, they don’t do to-go orders and most of the bodegas downtown were permeantly closed due to crime or the pandemic. My options were a $30 salad and sandwich (from their “cafe”) or over priced room service. I wandered out of the hotel to grab snacks at Walgreens or Target and found private security, limited food (none healthy) options but a great display of grain alcohol and cigarettes. All of this surrounded by the local police corralling large groups of homeless people, some intoxicated on drugs leaning on corners, some asleep, privates exposed, on street benches and others laying across the sidewalks definitely in need of medical attention.

I finally realized the root of my distain, the lack of accessibility in Seattle’s downtown. There was really limited access to food, convenience items and everyday items due to high prices and limited options. I was not prepared for the food prices. If I can’t find reasonably priced food downtown, how is anyone, especially the homeless. Good luck finding dining options downtown after 5pm or paying with cash as many businesses have been driven to closing early and “cash-less” systems due to crime, and they are open about it. Something felt very wrong about things being so over-priced and even if you had cash, you couldn’t even use it.

One of my favorite things about travel is feely exploring and being able to (reasonability) enjoy the foods that the heart of the city thrives on, downtown Seattle didn’t really have this for me. The strong have-and-have-nots vibe really threw me off.

I was mortified by the local politics response to “handling” the homeless downtown, herding people down an alley away from the tourist areas for the weekend is not a solution. So, I will go back to Seattle, happily, but I will not stay downtown, and I recommend you don’t as well.

On a more positive note, My thoughts on Vancouver! I love visiting Canada, just because we can get those beautiful European vibes so close to home. The strong dollar conversion doesn’t hurt either. Vancouver was vibrant and the neighborhoods, especially Granville Island market filled me with so much joy! Markets, providing access to so many vendors and food options, are so important for a community. I love taking my time through these spaces, trying different foods and enjoying a glimpse of the vendors culture. You can take me to Vancouver any day! In the words of our Seattle hotel desk staff, “Oh you're going to Vancouver! it’s like Seattle but nicer.”

My next trip is to Philidelphia for a wedding at the end of April! and I have absolutely nothing planned….

“How-To” Travel Blog Post

To get everyone ready for their summer travels, I wrote a guide on getting your passport! plus using it correctly and with Global Entry! If you hold an United States passport we have access to many benefits that can save us a ton time when we travel! Get your passport and catch up on E-passports and Global Entry in this how-to travel post!

Travel Finance Check In

It’s time for a travel finance review! Here is how much I’ve spent on my recent trips. I like to compare my cost to visit a place with a “cost-per-person-per-day” view, to see if a place was pricey or affordable to visit. I am by no means a budget traveling, but I like to be aware. On each of my travel blog posts you’ll find a full spend break down, because #traveltransparency.

Here are the top 3 ways I could have (or did) save money on my travels:

1. Using public transportation, you can get the most on this one when traveling to and from the airport. Using the local metro, bus or even your hotels airport shuttle can save big on what will probably be the longest local transport on your trip.

2. Sharing meals and not over ordering at restaurants. I love food but I don’t love food waste or wasting money! The travel math is simple, if you spend less per restaurant, you get to try more restaurants.

3. Being aware of hotel costs and using hotel deals. Hotels are one of the most expensive items on a trip so take you time finding a well-priced one AND use credit card rebates and hotel points to save money here. Saving $30-$50 a night adds up quickly!

Traveling takes time and money! So let’s spend them both wisely!

Travel Thoughts

What is access to travel and why is it important? For me traveling isn’t just about visiting a beach. Traveling is about gaining education, learning history and even new careers plus the wonderment that is learning about new cultures and tasting new foods. We are all worthily of these amazing things! so I believe in (and I will continue to work for) us all having access to them.

This is why I blog and wrote my travel handbook. To promote and provide access to travel. I share my activities and amazing photos, but also my travel expenses and share details & tips to help you plan the trips yourself. Access isn’t just about giving you something, it’s also about making sure you can use it. Check out my travel basics handbook and let me know (by reply) if you have any travel questions I can help you with!

Inspiration Location

This month I have been dreaming of a Train Trip through the Amalfi Coast & French Riveria. I've visited the Amalfi coast in Italy and fell in love with the weather, scenic views and culture plus the food! The abundance of amazing local and fresh food plus the hospitality was overwhelming in the best way. I have strong feelings about traveling for a beach because I life in Florida, so it better have something more and the beaches of the western coast of Italy do it for me! I could eat lemon gelato with a cool breeze, overlooking the cliffs and blue water of the ocean for weeks. The French Riveria, and Monaco of course, would be a new stop for me and I am ready for it.

Here’s a photo from my visit to Sorrento. If you’re in Europe please visit for me and sit under one of those super cute umbrellas.

New News

I was on my first ever podcast! I met with Amber The Adulting Queen for her Sippin’ Sunday Podcast to talk about Navigating Travel as An Adult. We chatted about why I started traveling, traveling as a BIPOC and of course how we could also travel more in this economy!

Thanks for Reading! I’m Wishing you a full and peaceful spring season!

Keep Traveling & Pouring into Yourself - XOXO - Lydia

Additional Travel Resources

Here is my main blog page, LydsLifeSkills.com, full of all of my blog posts! Use the tabs in the headers to find the blog post subjects that you love like travel, career and finance.

I love being organized when I travel so I’ve decided to share my FREE Travel Planning Template via GoogeSheets! This template has an itinerary that automagically creates a spend review for your trip! it also includes travel packing and to-do lists. Upon opening, select “make a copy” to save it to your google account.

You can also follow me on Google Reviews and Trip Advisor to see my reviews of the attractions, hotels and restaurants along my travels and at home in Tampa, Florida.

I had a hard time learning the basics of travel, so I’m committed to helping others gain the skills and resources to travel. In 2023, I published my Travel Handbook, “An Introduction To Traveling: The First Step of Many Around the World”. I wrote this Travel Handbook to inspire people, especially people of color, to travel and learn the travel skills needed to become a confident traveler! In it, I review essential travel topics, travel processes and tip on how to travel!

Thank you for Supporting my Blog & Newsletter by Grabbing a Copy!