From Redmond to Rome: My Europe Guide

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SPU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I recently went on a two-week trip to seven European cities with my two good friends. What started initially as an offhanded comment that we should all go to Europe (instead of studying as we were in that moment) became a reality the moment we boarded the 10-hour flight together months later. 

Our preparation for this trip consisted of hours of researching the cheapest travel tickets, attraction costs, hidden treasures from TikTok, Copilot/AI suggestions, Airbnb reviews, the list goes on. Looking back, of course, we had setbacks and unforeseen issues, but we were relatively well prepared. As we went along, however, I wanted to keep in mind things that surprised us that could’ve been good to know for other Americans traveling. 

For some reference, our journey took place from mid-June til early July in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. We spent most of our time throughout Italy, so these notes are slightly more skewed towards Italian culture. Here, I am going to share some information from my trip that I think travelers would find most helpful.

1. Packing Tips 

Knowing that we were going to be spending a max of 2 days in a city at a time, we knew we’d be carrying ALL our stuff around frequently. My friends opted for large backpacks, while I used a duffle and a regular backpack. 

The results: major back and shoulder pain from my friends, and two of my duffle straps broke (which, to be fair, it was a nicer bag that probably wasn’t built for the level of traveling we were doing).

To each their own, whatever you think would work better for you. 

We also made packing lists to make sure we had only the essentials. Some things to include were definitely…

• facial sunscreen
• a beach towel (Airbnb did not provide)
• walking shoes (especially for uneven cobblestone streets)
• sweat-proof, light clothes (no light gray tops)
• conservative clothes for cathedrals (covering shoulders and knees)
• passport photocopy (leave in Airbnb in case your passport gets pickpocketed!)
• cross-body bag
• sunglasses
• no workout clothes

2. Budgeting Tips 

My best budget tips mostly consist of Airbnbs and optimizing modes of transportation. The cheaper Airbnbs were often about 30 minutes by train outside the major cities we stayed in. Finding train stations a walk away, Ubering, or using underground transportation was crucial. Most tickets for trains were about 3 euros each, which can add up, but were so worth it. 

Food is also so much cheaper in Europe. I don’t know what it is, but buying a nice, big, Nutella-filled croissant every morning for about 2.5 euros was such a highlight. In Seattle, a regular butter croissant at any cafe would run you about $5. We went to a sit-down restaurant in Milan where I got a huge, thin-crust pizza for 4 euros. It really is insane, even with conversions, that the food doesn’t break the bank. 

I’d definitely recommend NOT getting cash. Maybe have like 20 euros just in case, but avoid it as much as possible. You end up paying maybe $40 USD for 20 euros with fees. Pretty much every place takes tap-to-pay anyway. Also, if you have any credit or debit cards that have no foreign transaction fees, try and use those. I had a Capital One student credit card that I tried to use to avoid them. 

3. Cultural Information

I kept a list of general cultural differences I noticed as we went along, that might be nice to just be aware of (in no particular order).

General manners and norms when out and about:

• On escalators, stay to the right to let people pass (I’m so mad we don’t do this nearly as much in the US).
• Europeans STARE and have RBFs, often not just at tourists but mostly young/eccentric people in general.
• When in religious spaces, cover up, respect the quiet, and sometimes don’t take photos.
• When waiting for something, they often don’t make lines, just clumps.
• Almost no one uses headphones on public transport.
• People trying to sell you things outside tourist attractions have NO SHAME (one guy literally stood quietly next to us the entire time we took photos until we were done to sell us handheld fans). Just say “no” 1000 times and they’ll go away.
• On that note, don’t interact with scammers at all. If anyone comes up and tries to fistbump you, tries to have you extend your finger while they make a bracelet for you, just ignore them. Say no. They’ll move on to the next person. 
• Cars can and will drive down VERY small alleyways and areas you think they would not. People just kind of move out of the way. (Florence shout out).

Restaurants:

• Most tourist city restaurants will have English menus, but if they don’t, take a photo of the menu, highlight the text on the photo, and click “Translate” on iPhones (you’re welcome).
• Waiters will not rush you by bringing you the check unprompted, so you either have to stop them and ask, or go up to a register.
• Water is often not free at restaurants; however, they will happily serve free bread? 

Other interesting observations:

• Lots of Adidas shoes, small dogs, and motorcycles
• Less sugary and iced coffee options, but occasionally will have a non-dairy option for milk (usually just soy or something).
• No athleisure, people dress nicer.
• My friends and I were all of legal drinking age in Europe, but were still almost never carded.
• Not many places have A.C. 
• There are water fountains around cities that just consistently spew drinking water, so you can refill a water bottle frequently when you’re out.

4. Weather / Heat

If you are going around the time we went, it will be hot. Very hot. The first time we noticed it was in the Rome Fiumicino airport, getting off the plane. Immediately, we were hot and sweating inside the building. 

I feel as though it is important to inform you that, yes, you will sweat a lot. After a day or so, I found myself just used to the heat and being sweaty all the time. I kept my hair up when I could and wore light clothes. The temperatures were around 75°F-95°F every day. 

In cities such as Florence and Venice, we were less weather-exhausted due to the frequency of narrow alleyways you are likely to walk down. The shade is your friend. It will save you from sunburns, too. We took many breaks throughout our days in cafes, parks with benches, and at water fountains to stay hydrated. This threw me off, TMI potentially, but we were walking around and drinking so much water, yet we didn’t feel that we needed to use the bathroom very much. It makes sense because of how much we were sweating, but it was surprising with the amount of water we were drinking.

Here’s a kicker: I did not get sunburnt the entire time. Only when we were on the Portuguese beaches, where I laid out with no sunscreen in 10 UV (do not recommend), did I get a bit burnt on my back. Truly, every day just walking around cities somehow didn’t get us burnt. I can only reasonably chop it up to taking enough shade breaks. Because I care about my skin, though, I did bring my face sunscreen stick (lifesaver) and made sure to apply 15 minutes before being in the sun, and reapply every 2 hours. I did get little sunspot freckles on my forehead and shoulders (kind of cute, I don’t mind).