CaminoGirl - Laura Polt

Hometown: Seattle, Washington USA

I finally took that trip around the world that I always wanted to do. The catalyst was my experience with breast cancer in 2005, which taught me that if you really want to do something, don't wait! As soon as I regained my health (and I'm actually more healthy now than I was before diagnosis), I started planning my trip. I traveled solo for a year, and I met amazing people along the way. My itinerary included Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Europe. I also added the USA as part of my trip on the way back home.

"Camino Girl" refers to the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), a 1200 year-old pilgrimage across Northern Spain that spans 500 miles/800 Km. I decided to begin my adventure by walking the Camino for 35 days. It was definitely the right decision... Check out my Spain entries below for the photos.

By the way, if you want to be notified when I post a new entry, click the "Subscribe" button to sign up. Be sure to send me an email... I'd love to hear from you!

- Laura

Spain
June 2nd 2008 -» July 23rd 2008 Mt. Rainier, USA
August 15th 2008 -» September 23rd 2008 Australia and New Zealand
October 1st 2008 -» December 20th 2008 SE Asia
December 21st 2008 -» March 30th 2009 Europe
April 1st 2009 -» May 12th 2009 New York City, USA
May 13th 2009 -» May 16th 2009

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Joined on: May 13th 2008
Last Login: November 18th 2009

Blog Entries: 47
Photos: 814

TB Code: [blogger=72600]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by CaminoGirl, order by Date newest first.

By CaminoGirl
May 14th 2009

USA - New York City North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan

Times Square

3 Days in New York City [View Full Entry]

By CaminoGirl
May 8th 2009

Ireland Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Carrigaline

Whitney and Laura at Blarney Castle

Ireland Because of my hair color, most people assume I'm from Ireland. Obviously, I just had to go there. As far as I know, I don't have any Irish in my heritage, but while I was there, I felt right at home... [View Full Entry]

The famous Blarney Stone is located on the top floor of the castle

By CaminoGirl
May 5th 2009

Scotland Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

Scotland From England, Whitney and I continued by train to Edinburgh, Scotland. This was Whitney's second visit to Edinburgh, and my first. Very impressive city! And I'm so glad we took a bus tour of the Scottish Highlands. We even got to see the Lochness Monster... [View Full Entry]

We rented headsets for the self-guided tour.

By CaminoGirl
May 2nd 2009

The English Countryside Europe » United Kingdom » England » Devon » Dartmouth

Laura, Frank and Whitney
Frank is Whitney's grandfather (on her mother's side). He was in England for the 65th Anniversary of [url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30977039/page/2/] ExerciseTiger[/url].

The English Countryside I'm back home in Seattle now, and just now uploading photos from the remainder of my trip! After Austria, Whitney and I flew to England and took a train down to Devon in the south. The countryside there is just how I imagined it... rolling green pastures, quaint stone-built cottages and winding, cobblestone roads. Our first stop was to see Whitney's other grandfather, Frank, who was there visiting from the States with other WWII vets who survived ExerciseTiger on April 28, 1944. This was a top-secret exercise [View Full Entry]

By CaminoGirl
April 27th 2009

Austria Europe » Austria » Vienna State » Vienna

Polt Family Photo - taken in 1905
Our grandfather, Joseph Polt, is the little boy on the left in the front row. He was probably 6 years old in this photo.

Finding my roots in Austria My grandfather was born in a small village in Austria, called Gebharts. Back in 1899, when he was just a baby, his family decided to immigrate to the United States to start their new life in Nebraska. Times were tough in Austria back then, and America was the "land of milk and honey." I've always wanted to go to Austria and see the village where Grandpa Polt was born. While visiting my cousin, Whitney, in London a few weeks ago, I found out that she had the same idea! Whitney lives in Baltimore, but she's been [View Full Entry]

Gebharts, Austria - the village where Grandpa Polt was born.

By CaminoGirl
April 15th 2009

Lisbon, Portugal Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley » Lisbon

Tower of Belem

In Love with Lisbon [View Full Entry]

By CaminoGirl
April 7th 2009

Barcelona Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Padrera, designed by Gaudi
Gaudi had great influence in Barcelona.

Barcelona Now I know why everyone raves about Barcelona... It's clean, fun and has interesting architecture. It's located in Catalonia, next to France on the Mediterranean Sea. The weather was cold, windy and rainy while I was there, but there was so much to look at! [View Full Entry]

View from one of the towers in the Sagrada Familia

By CaminoGirl
April 1st 2009

Next Stop - Europe Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » London City

Westminster Bridge
London Eye in the background

London After three months in SE Asia, I flew from Bangkok to London in 12 hours. New continent, new culture, new weather. Luckily I was carrying a fleece jacket, hat and gloves. As for the rest of my thin Thai clothes... I put them all on in layers. An American redhead walking the streets of London with baggy Thai clothing - interesting combo. [View Full Entry]

By CaminoGirl
March 25th 2009

Phnom Penh, Cambodia Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh

SreyTa and Sothea
Sothea is Virak's sister and SreyTa is her daughter (11 yrs old).

Phnom Penh, Cambodia I made the ultimate travel photography mistake... lost my memory card in an internet computer somewhere. I can't find it in my luggage, and I don't have a backup of my photos from Phnom Penh! Here are the only two photos that I have... found in my "sent" email files. Anyway, I was lucky enough to spend a week with a beautiful Cambodian family in Phnom Penh. The connection was my new friend, Virak, who works with my brother-in-law in Seattle. Virak lives part-time in Cambodia with his parents, sisters and nieces. They fed me home-cooked Khmer food, [View Full Entry]

Hangin' with Virak's family in Phnom Penh

Drinking fresh "coconut juice" at the family's farm outside of Phnom Penh

By CaminoGirl
March 1st 2009

NorthernThailand - Elephant Sanctuary Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai

Elephants in the Mist
at the [url=http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/]ElephantNaturePark [/url]

Volunteering at the Elephant Nature Park What an amazing week, unlike anything I've ever experienced before! Last month I volunteered at the Elephant Nature Park ElephantNaturePark, a sanctuary for Asian elephants in Northern Thailand. While I was there, over 20 volunteers from all over the world worked together on projects ranging from clearing elephant night shelters to digging elephant mud pits. We also got to hand-feed the elephants, bathe them in the river, and walk with them in the jungle! This park is unique, because [View Full Entry]

Baby and mother after playing in the river

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CaminoGirl - Laura Polt

Hometown: Seattle, Washington USA

Blogs & Travel Journals