Travel Bugg: Start your travels here
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One week in Istanbul, Turkey
A friend once described Istanbul as a “storied city,” and that phrase stuck with me. Istanbul is a city of diverging stories that defies classification. It’s impossible to cover everything within the space of two or three days, and although I spent about a week there, I barely scratched the surface. I was lucky enough…
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Solo Travel in Cappadocia, Turkey
If you have been a millennial engaged in any sort of travel in the past five years, you’re going to have seen the balloon pics from Cappadocia. It is inevitable, the only objects that have been more instagrammed are those white and blue buildings in Santorini. I like to avoid hype when traveling. For this…
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Armenia Road Trip
We weren’t supposed to go to Armenia. I’d told Susan it would be great to check out, but thanks to amazing hiking in the Caucuses, we wanted to stay in Georgia. However, due to some iffy weather, we booked a night train to Yerevan from Tbilisi, and it ended up being one of the best…
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3 day trips from Tbilisi and Kutaisi, Georgia
Susan and I met up in Tbilisi this summer, which is a gorgeous city on its own, but also offers great day trips and accessibility to other regions of Georgia. Here are three trips we took together. Day Trip 1 Mtskheta A trip to Jvari Monastery as well as the neighboring cathedral and convent is…
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Texans protest family separation at U.S.-Mexico border
This story was originally printed in the fall 2018 version of Fellowship! Magazine. By Ashleigh Bugg The children’s detention center is housed in an old Walmart building in Brownsville, Texas. The former big box retailer can hold roughly 1,500 children who have been separated from their parents, many against their will. “The detention centers have…
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Day hikes in Asturias, Spain
One of the reasons I moved to the region of Asturias in Northern Spain was for its incredible hiking along the coast and mountains. Since moving here, I try to do a route every weekend. Here are some of my favorites day hikes: Routes in Natural Parks Picos de Europa Lagos de Covadonga This is…
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We must stop Islamophobia
Attacks on Muslim neighbors are gaining strength in my country and globally. Now in New Zealand, one of the most peaceful countries in the world, at least 49 people are dead because of the color of their skin and the way they choose to worship. I heard on the news about a young girl in…
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Spanish Coasts: Cabo de Gata and Almería
Although I have an undying love for Northern Spain, the beaches and capes of Southern Spain must be appreciated. Here are my favorite beaches and villages in the municipality of Almería: Cabo de Gata Natural Park When I moved to Murcia, one of my Spanish friends would constantly tell me about the beaches of Cabo…
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London and Bath!!
I’ve dreamed of London since I was a little girl. Although not everyone loves this sprawling and crowded capital (one friend compared it to the “gates of hell”) I still found myself smiling like a kid when I visited. My good friend Victoria recently moved to the city to pursue her master’s in international relations,…
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Christmas on the Camino del Norte
Over the Christmas break, I completed six days of the Camino del Norte, the northern route of the Camino de Santiago. The Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, is a pilgrimage that Catholics and non-religious people have been walking for thousands of years. It usually starts in France and ends in the…
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Couchsurfing the Camino de Santiago
They say all paths lead to Santiago de Compostela, one of the five holy cities of the Catholic faith. You can choose the popular Camino Francés or the lesser known Camino Inglés. You can walk through Portugal or even France. I chose the Camino del Norte, which begins around the border of France and Spain,…
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Won a writing contest with guide to Spain!
Excited to share I published my fourth travel essay with the magazine Transitions Abroad. You can read my guide to working with the Language and Culture Assistants Program in Spain on their website. It will give you an overview of the program, the basics of applying and information on the 17 regions of Spain as …
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