Bringing the World to You
This week, I decided to take one more walk around Atlanta for pictures! And… Well, let’s just say it was a perfect reflection of how 2020 has treated everyone.
Oh, yeah! And Merry Christmas!
All of these photos are available for prints!
Follow me on Social Media pages!
This week, I share a collection of street photography taken in Atlanta in August of 2020.
I try to make it down to the city at least once a month for a day of shooting. I love the buildings, graffiti, streets, and views that the city has to offer. The month of August was amazing.
COVID-19 did bring the entire world to a halt, but in August the city of Atlanta is still pretty busy. The streets are less crowded, which makes it easier for me to take pictures without pedestrians in my shots, but it also makes the city feel a little empty.
But that feeling doesn’t last for long. It felt like the more we walked and rode around, the more city seemed to come to life!
Maybe it was the wild amount of caffiene in my oversized coffee, but this trip, Brianna and I covered a ton of ground.
The goal for this trip was some cool shots of the capital and the church that’s close to Underground and The Masquerade. That of course did not happen, but we went just about everywhere else in the area!
To finish out the journey today, we rode by one of my favorite spots, the Jackson Street Bridge. I know, it’s a stereotype for instagrammers and tourists, but it’s a very beautiful view of the city. Rest assured though, I am on the lookout for the perfect view of Atlanta.
We know that creating a budget for a vacation can be daunting, so we made a video that tells you our step-by-step process of how to create your budget. We also sprinkled in a little knowledge about how to save yourself some money. Click this link to check out our video!
I told you I would talk about St. Mark’s Clocktower! The Torre dell’Orologio is the clock tower that sits to the east of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. It was constructed after a lot of its neighbors in the piazza, between 1496 to 1499.
The first two years were for the tower, which displaced a couple of buildings in order to be placed where it was. The clock tower was supposed to be a connector between the financial and commercial center of the city (the Rialto) and the religious and political center of the city (the Piazza di San Marco). It was also meant to be visible from the lagoon to show the wealth of the Venetian people. 
From top to bottom, let’s talk about the decorative features of the tower. At the very top, there are 2 bronze statues. One old and one young, to show how time passes, strike the bell that is between them every hour. This duo is called “The Moors”.
Next is the Lion of Venice in front of a blue background with gold stars. It originally had a statue of Doge Agostino Barbarigo kneeling in front of the lion, but it was taken down by the French when they conquered the city.
Below that is the panel with the Madonna. There’s a blue and gold background with a statue of the Madonna (Virgin Mary) and child under an archway. To the left side is the current hour in Roman numerals. The left shows 5-minute intervals in Arabic numerals. On Epiphany and Ascension Day each year, 3 magi and an angel with a trumpet come out from the numeral doors to bow to the Madonna and go back into the tower.
Below the Madonna is the actual clock part of the tower. This is where the last two years of construction were spent. The clock face is blue with golden zodiac symbols corresponding with the Roman numerals. It was replaced and restored many times over its history.
For more information or to book a tour in advance, which is the only way to do so, click here!
For our first time in Venice, we did not plan a long stay. The goal of the trip was to see as much of Italy as we could. So, naturally, a lot of sites and cities got left out this time.
Our boat ride from the train station in Venice to Hotel Elena, which is where my friend so kindly let us use his points to pay, was very rocky. Since my fiancée and I have virtually no sea-legs, we had a hard time.
I managed to take some pictures of what we were seeing, but it was due to rain any minute. The pictures I took reflected how I was feeling: sick from the waves, a little sad that the only day in Venice seemed like it was to rain all day, and a little too focused on getting to the hotel to put our heavy packs down for the day.
After a brief rest on a bench in the courtyard of our hotel, we set off on foot to see Venice!
There was a point that Amanda and I both recognized as the end of “off the path” Venice, where the top of a bridge gave us a clear look at the amount of tourism that Venice hosts per day. It’s a lot more than you could imagine.
We struggled through crowds and rainy weather for a couple hours. The pictures I took were… okay. I longed for the sun to come out and bring this city to its full glory. But I figured that we only had one day, and if the skies didn’t clear, this was what Venice would look like for me.
So we kept walking, and I kept snapping.
About the time we got to one of the world’s most famous bridges, Ponte Rialto, the rain had stopped. As we began to head back to the hotel, bright and sunny Venice came out to play.
When I went to Washington D.C. for the first time Spring 2018, it was definitely one for the books. We only paid just shy of $350 for our hostel. And, yeah, I know that a bit much for 2 people for 3 nights, especially to be “on a budget,” but we got a private room, and believe it or not, D.C. is an expensive city. The dorm hostels sell their beds for about $30-$50 for the ones closest to the National Mall. There are a few that are less expensive, but further away. The Airbnbs are around $70 to $170 a night for the ones closer to the National Mall.
I recommend staying close to the National Mall and walking rather than using public transit. There are transit passes you can purchase if you do end up further away from the Mall. The day passes were around $15 when this was written. To me, that’s a little more than I would like to pay when I can walk.
Food is a different story. You can’t really save a lot of money on this trip by not eating! We ended up mostly eating at the convenient, refreshments stands located on the National Mall. They are pretty expensive though. We ended up sharing a lot of our small meals, but they were so tasty! The black bean burger was one of my favorite things we ate while in the city. Each visit to the stand ended up costing us about $15 for one meal: entree, side and drink.
Speaking of great food finds, there’s a gelateria in D.C.! Pitango Gelato Penn Quarter is a treasure! I had the pistachio flavor, and it made me feel almost as if I was back on the warm streets of Italy. Almost.
Now let’s talk about the sites. There are so many things to see in Washington. Everyone knows the big ones: the Washington Monument, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial. Most of the museums, monuments, and memorials are free to see. The museums along the National Mall usually close around 5pm or so. They also count tickets for a lot of them, so be careful.
If you’re dying to see the Holocaust Museum, buy tickets ahead. There were folks who got in line 4 hours before they opened and still didn’t get tickets for the main exhibit. We also didn’t get tickets for the main exhibit, but the others were moving, as well.
For the most part, I think Washington, D.C. is not one of the more ideal destinations to go on a “budget” vacation, but it is possible if you know how and where to save. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks on the blog. I hope I’m helping you make your travels affordable! 
One thing that I know everyone is looking to figure out is how my fiancée and I pay for our vacations. It seems like every few months we’re trekking out to explore more of the world.
So, I wanted to share with you how we paid for things in Milano! So, here’s everything from the planes we took, the trains we hopped, the places we stayed, and the things we ate!
So I’m going to let you in on how I budget money for my fiancée and I for daily spending. One thing we can’t live without is food and water. So, we cut down on our water spending by using Britta filter water bottles. No matter where we are in the world, the water is filtered and drinkable. Most countries in the world have perfectly potable water, but we like to stay cautious and prepared for any situation. They are not too expensive at Target and the replacement filters are affordable, too.
With water at our constant disposal, that means we get to splurge when we sit down to eat meals. We get sodas only when we eat, and occasionally Powerade, which is a product of Coca-Cola and available most places in the world.
It is important, which I learned the hard way, to replenish your electrolytes when possible. Water is great, but it is not the only thing you need. Buying in packs makes it an economic option as well. Even buying individually at a market instead of at a restaurant can save you 50%.
For food, we try to do street food during the day. Grab-n-Go food is easy and usually full of carbs, which are very helpful when you do the amount of walking and exploring we do on vacation. So, pizza by the slice and sandwiches were daily options for us in Italy.
To save money, don’t just eat at the first food stand you see near the main attractions though. Food prices are often hiked where tourism is prevalent. Going literally 2 or so streets over can save you a lot of money.
For dinners in Italy, we usually got plates of pasta. Since we were staying in an Airbnbs, hostels, and hotels, we had access to refrigerators that we could use to store our food and microwaves to reheat leftovers. We didn’t utilize this as much as a solo traveler might because it was just as easy for us to share a plate instead of keeping it for leftovers.
So here are some numbers for what I’ve noticed in my time in Italy.
Pizza by the slice can run you anywhere from a Euro and some change to 4 or 5 Euros. Sandwiches are about the same. They can be up to 8 Euros or so. Plates of pasta and risotto can be anywhere from 10 or so Euros to 25 or more. No meat means it will probably cost less money, and all of these prices are subject to how close they are to the tourist attractions. You will pay way more for a plate with meat at a restaurant that is on the corner of the Duomo di Milano than if you get a plate of Pasta Arrabbiata at the little restaurant down the street from your not centrally located Airbnb.
For budgeting and spending money, I try to budget about $50 per person per day. This usually covers the cost of food with a little extra for the set of playing cards with pictures of the city (which is what I collect) or the Roman helmet keychain that you just have to have.
Within that budget, I usually come out with extra for daily expenses, but that leaves you wiggle room for when seasickness causes you to not catch the first boat going to the train station in Venice and you miss your train to Rome and costs you about $200… (Sorry about that, Amanda). 
One thing that I know everyone is looking to figure out is how my fiancée and I pay for our vacations. It seems like every few months we’re trekking out to explore more of the world.
So, I wanted to share with you how we paid for things in Milano! So, here’s everything from the planes we took, the trains we hopped, the places we stayed, and the things we ate!
Staying in Milano is cheaper than you would think. So for our trip, we ended up staying at an Airbnb. For those of you who don’t know what that is, basically locals put up either spaces in their homes or entire spaces that you can rent.
There are many options for what kind of place you can stay, but our default amenities are one bed in a private room for 2 people with wifi included, but there are so many options to choose from.
You can have the entire place you yourself, have breakfast included, search for places with certain amenities like washing machines and a/c. It really is a useful tool. I highly recommend Airbnb if you are traveling with someone or multiple people. It makes it affordable.
If you are traveling solo, there are other ways to find affordable housing. For example, there are plenty of hostels around Milano that are very affordable for a bed for the night. HostelWorld is my favorite search engine for this as well.
If you are traveling with a partner, like I do with my fiancée, this might not make as much sense for you. There are other options for you as well. Couchsurfing is a great economic way to stay, but you have to be mindful of what they’re offering. Home Away is a place for house sitters to connect with people in need.
We specifically stayed with James and Martina. Their place had Chromecast for us to watch Netflix or whatever on a TV which was nice. They also had a city guide and were very accommodating. It was close to the city center and only about a block or 2 from a Metro stop on the Green Line. They were the best.
I know what you’re thinking. What did it cost though?
It cost us about $160 total for 2 nights. And for 2 people, that’s not so bad! A room to ourselves, highspeed wifi, TV amenities, and the nicest people with an adorable kitten.
The average Airbnb per night is $120 currently, and the average hostel will run you around $25 to $35 a night for a bed in a dorm room. However, there are cheaper and more expensive options, depending on where in the city you are and what amenities you need.
One thing that I know everyone is looking to figure out is how my fiancée and I pay for our vacations. It seems like every few months we’re trekking out to explore more of the world.
So, I wanted to share with you how we paid for things in Milano! So, here’s everything in pieces from the planes we took, the trains we hopped, the places we stayed, and the things we ate!
Okay so the first thing is getting there, obviously. In order to get to Milano this time, we flew from Atlanta to Milano Malpensa. That sentence is misleading, however, because we had a total of 3 planes to catch each way.
Let me explain.
This trip was a rugged, how economically can we actually do this kind of adventure. So I researched and figured out how to get the cheapest international flight. The search engine I use to look for flights is called Skyscanner. It gets information from a lot of flight records and you don’t get pricier flights when you search around a lot, unlike Google which all but requires a browser history clearing for the best flight prices.
Now, for some probably arbitrary reason, the closest city to you will have more expensive prices for international travel than a further city. For example, when I searched flights from Atlanta to Milano today, I found around 1,300 to be the cheapest round trip flight. Now if I search flights from Miami to Milano, I can find tickets for about 1,000. It makes more sense economically to get a flight from your city to another city and then to your other locations.
Some other things to consider are the dates for your flights. It varies from location to location, but the day of the week that you fly affects the price of your flight. That’s why I use Skyscanner. They have a feature that lets you look for the cheapest flight days.
So for us, the best day to leave was a Sunday. We caught an early flight from Atlanta to Orlando. From Orlando, we flew to New York, and from New York, we took an evening flight to Milano. On the way back, it was a little more tricky, because we had an airport change in our London connection from Milano to Orlando.
Since we didn’t check bags and used as much public transportation as we could, the total for 2 people going from Atlanta to Milano was a little shy of $1500.
Once we got to Milano, we stayed for a few days so we got Metro passes. They are easy to use and get you exactly where you want to go. They aren’t very crowded, and they are definitely worth the money.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this where I talk about where we stayed in Milano!
Allora Studios 