{"id":18822,"date":"2017-03-28T14:30:40","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T11:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tstories.gr\/?page_id=18822\/"},"modified":"2017-03-31T00:34:21","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T21:34:21","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tstories.gr\/en\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

My name is Maria<\/strong>! I love traveling and I cherish the feeling of waking up in a foreign country with endless possiblities ahead of me and one sole purpose; to wander and explore. I enjoy writing, sharing my adventures and thoughts on-the-go. I am a proud solo traveler and I aspire to inspire more and more women to join solo traveling too.<\/p>\n

I love all things travel; maps and globes most of all. I could spend hours just looking at them, daydreaming about traveling and planning my next trip in one of the 197 countries on the planet.<\/p>\n

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I was born in Athens while having roots in Kalamata and Constantinople.<\/h3>\n

Since my early years I was into writing and I very much knew I was going to be a journalist.\u00a0 I studied Communication, Media & Culture<\/strong> at Panteion University in Athens. In 2010, I moved to Italy for my MBA in Digital Media and Communication<\/strong>, after realising that journalism was not going to offer me a steady income. I specialized in Social Media and Digital PR and worked at a renowned PR Agency in Milan. It was only 4 years ago when I decided to move back to Athens.<\/p>\n

My Travel Blog<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

I created my blog while on the train from Brescia to Milano. It was a noon of August 2012.<\/h3>\n

I was on my way to the office (a 2-hour train ride) and I already had more than 15 stories on paper about my days as a train passenger. The blog launched as Trainstoriesfromyworld<\/strong> and featured short stories about my co-passengers. With my return to Athens, I re-named it to TravelStoriesFromyWorld<\/strong>, focusing its content on my past and future trips and on thoughts concerning travel-related topics and issues. My original Trainstories are still featured as a main category on the blog.<\/p>\n

From a full time job to full time blogging<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Having worked as an account manager at a digital agency in Athens and as a community manager at a big organization on the Tourism Sector, I gained valuable experience in managing big accounts of successful brands, as well as, demanding projects and campaigns while persistently writing on my blog.<\/p>\n

While I enjoyed my full-time job, I recently decided it was about time I followed my dream.<\/p>\n

Meaning, I would dedicate my time and resources in working as a full time blogger, making a living from traveling and blogging.<\/p>\n

I took the risk and quit my full time job, overcame any fears and concerns and started a wonderful journey, following my dreams.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Am I going to succeed? Who knows! Wish me luck on my journey!<\/p>\n

My travels<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

I was introduced to traveling as a student during my 6-month stay in Spain where I studied joining Erasmus Mundus, a higher-education mobility programme. It was at that time when I realised that this is a vast and exciting world awaiting to be explored \u2013 Spain was just the beginning.<\/p>\n

I began traveling; with friends, boyfriends or alone without fear or prejudice, I started wandering around the world, meeting new interesting people and places and making friends in each country I visited. By choosing to travel, I was shaped into the person I am today: a fearless, unprejudiced, independent, outgoing person who enjoys being solo as much as it enjoys being with a group of people who might not even speak a language I know. And I do know 5 languages \u2013 like any good traveler does. I speak Greek, English, Spanish, Italian and German.<\/p>\n

My favorite trips (up to this day):<\/strong> My solo trip aboard the Trans-Siberian from Russia to China – a dream that recently came true \u2013 and the two weeks I spend along with 29 fellow travel bloggers in Kerala, South India.<\/p>\n

My dream:<\/strong> To travel around South America in a year!<\/p>\n

How do I afford to travel?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Since I am getting a lot of questions concerning that matter…<\/p>\n

The financial convenience to travel that often isn’t something that came easily for me. I always had to work hard to earn the money needed for my future trips \u2013 saving was an essential for that. I was extremely lucky to have such understanding and flexible managers, offering me the chance to travel while having a full time job.<\/p>\n

Apart from saving for several months before a trip, I hunt for online airfare deals on low-season periods and participate in sponsored trips that offer accomodation and ticket fares. How? Take a look at the Work with Me<\/strong><\/span><\/a> section.<\/p>\n

I hope you like the new lay-out.<\/p>\n

Happy wandering!<\/p>\n

Maria<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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