Once Upon a Trip

As a non-minimalist ex-digital nomad who used to regularly live out of a 55-Liter backpack, Mary Grace has learned how to pragmatically cut corners throughout to truly get the most out of travel. In this episode, Mary Grace handpicks and goes through 20 specific travel hacks that she has implemented in her own life-saving situations abroad, and all of which she believes every traveler needs to inc...

If you'd like to level up on your global cultural awareness game to have a higher cutting edge on your next business trip or transaction endeavor, or if you'd just like to be more culturally informed and ready on your next trip abroad, then this episode is for you! In this episode, Marco and Mary Grace discuss their own witnessed and lived-through experiences on business trips and relations in Ame...

From a borderline passive-aggressive roommate experience in Madrid, to watching friends tear apart a rabbit skull in traditional paella in Valencia, to recommending a wealth of truly Spanish food recommendations and culture tips to be aware of as a tourist in Spain, Joshua Craig takes us on a colorful, more local, cultural-enriching journey through the eyes of his experiences of living twice in Sp...

Why do some Europeans hide their faces on social media? Why don't Americans care more about how their personal data is being used by companies and the government? Why are Europeans seemingly more private and why are Americans seemingly more negligent? What's the best way to approach a European when getting social media permission and how effectively enforced are European data protection laws in no...

If you're curious about how love, crushes and dates all go with Europeans... then this episode will be quite a fun ride for you! In this Part 2 EUROPEAN version and sequel to Mary Grace's earlier episode of Dating Fails with Americans (Ep. 12), Mary Grace handpicks and shares her love treasure chest full of dating mistakes, realizations, very embarrassing moments, and most valuable lessons learned...

In this short and slightly different-than-usual episode, Mary Grace highlights a common challenge and phenomenon that sometimes even the most hardworking, motivated versions of ourselves inevitably face due to the lack of time and energy: doing our best and showing up, even when things aren't 100% perfect for us, and how we can best recover from our slump moments. Please feel free to share your cu...

You said WHAT??? In today’s episode, Mary Grace transparently shares her top wildest, most adventurous, and most eye-opening discoveries and lessons that she picked up from her 10-day experience traveling in different parts of Morocco—many of which completely caught her off guard, and of which she deems valuable for people planning a trip to Morocco to know for themselves. (00:00) Intro and Episod...

Which would you rather live in: America or Europe? In this episode, Mary Grace and Marco take a deeper dive into this question and share their own takeaways and experiences of living both in America and Europe - at different times of their lives - and how their current home, lifestyle and culture in America have all shaped and gradually changed the way they view the norms of Europe and Europeans....

Arguably the most hilarious, full-of-nonsense episode that Mary Grace and Marco have done to date! Grab yourself your favorite drink of choice and enjoy a laugh or two (or ten) as we dive into some quite peculiar yet educational entertainment to kick off our week! (00:00) Intro & Overview (01:40) The Language Question (03:09) The Hitler Questions (07:50) The Toilet Question (09:45) The Dating...

In January 2016, Mary Grace embarked on one of her most memorable, eye-opening, heartwarming trips to date: an extensive 10-day trip to Russia, in the cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow, where the friends she met, the things she saw and the biggest lessons she realized about people on the other side of American TV news set her young travel bug energy in motion for the next decade to come. (00:00)...

Official unofficial New Year's episode on the whim! In this episode, Mary Grace pieces together and touches upon four main categories of lessons and unspilled tea - time management and priorities, friendships, travel, and proclaiming self-worth - along with her own "aha moment" of burnout that she experienced in 2024, all with recommendations on how to best approach and capitalize on them to kick...

A Christmas and New Year's fusion episode! Six years ago, on Christmas Eve 2018 in Wroclaw, Poland, Mary Grace said goodbye to a short-lived long distance relationship with Mario, a Romanian native from Bucharest, after he had constantly ghosted her and showed that he was never going to change. Mary Grace then spontaneously changed her New Year’s plans with Mario and went solo to Kyiv, Ukraine for...

A Christmas holiday trip down memory lane! 10 years ago in 2014, 19-year-old Mary Grace went to Prague, Czech Republic with her dad just a few short days before Christmas to meet and spend long-awaited time with her online friend and Czech crush in the city, 25-year-old Liam. This episode recounts a highly personal account of Mary Grace’s short fairytale and memories with Liam at Christmas time in...

A Frohe Weihnachten/Merry Christmas themed video episode! Grab yourself coffee, Glühwein, or other hot drink and be sure to ho, ho, hold your horses today as Mary Grace and Marco both share their various Christmas season upbringings, memories and holiday experiences in Europe (especially Germany) and in the United States - all of which the children and adults in ourselves have lived through once b...

In December 2022, Mary Grace went on a trip to Washington State having a friend there, and came back to Georgia six days later breaking things off and no longer having that friend in her life. This episode is a very detailed account of the six-day series of events, bottled-up emotions, harsh conversations, awkward confessions, and the reality of taking an eight-year online friendship offline, just...

Thanksgiving holiday themed episode with the twist of a European perspective! Join Mary Grace and Marco as they share their personal Thanksgiving experiences, as well as their takes on witnessing the chaos of Black Friday and all that they are thankful for this year. Enjoy! (00:00) Intro (00:32) Episode overview (02:34) Marco’s thought on Thanksgiving (03:30) A little background and history (07:03...

A deeper snippet and deep dive into the American dating scene and stories! Join Mary Grace as she divulges her experiences, fails executed and witnessed, and lessons learned from dating four different American guys in Atlanta, Georgia throughout the year after she left her life in Turkey and Europe behind, plus, as she reveals more about the one European from Germany who changed up the dating game...

Inspired by a recent friend group trip to the northern cities of Tayrona, Barranquilla, and Cartagena, Colombia, Mary Grace and Marco take some time to casually reflect upon and discuss a number of scenes and situations they witnessed of locals and what they learned from them during their short time in this vibrant, biodiverse and multi-faceted country than either of them are used to. Enjoy! (00:0...

A little throwback to high school days! Join Mary Grace and Marco as they talk about some of their school experiences and comparisons between America and Germany respectively (but primarily from Marco's and the Europeans' point of view). Enjoy! (00:00) Intro (00:33) Episode overview (01:41) What kind of student were you? (02:53) Transportation to school in Germany (04:33) American yellow school bu...

One of those "do as I say, not as I do" travel throwback stories. In this episode, Mary Grace divulges a very vulnerable and fortunate sequence of events that she experienced on her very first night after arriving solo in Medellin, Colombia, and the aftermath and realization of what happened going into the following morning and day. Fully intended NOT to endorse naive and poor decisions by any str...

So many laughs packed into one collaborative episode! Join me today with my wonderful friend from my time studying abroad in France and at the University of Georgia, Josh. We talk about all sorts of things France and share French cultural insights, tips and memories from our own experiences studying, working and living in France as Americans that we believe you'll really get a great kick out of. A...

A spontaneous mini VIDEO episode and announcement to throw into our weekly mix! Enjoy! (00:00) Intro and hello (00:31) The podcast name has changed! (01:19) Your feedback (02:21) Why I’m changing the name (04:15) Why “Once Upon a Trip” (05:51) Next things to come (06:32) Dedication and appreciation to you :) (08:07) Wrap-up

In today’s episode, we take a very comprehensive dive into this highly popular question that Mary Grace has been asked regularly throughout the years, and how Mary Grace was able to live and travel abroad in Europe and Turkey for the majority of her twenties. Enjoy!! (00:00) Intro & episode overview (02:19) How it all started & my first trip to Europe (03:35) Studying abroad in France &amp...

It's throwback time! In this episode, Mary Grace and Marco take a trip down childhood memory lane and talk about their kiddy favorites and flashbacks growing up in America and Germany, respectively, in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Listen for nostalgic and happy feels, thinking about your own childhood experiences, hometown, foods, candies, TV shows and cartoons, and the things about childhood t...

The first of many dives into all things Turkey! In this episode, Mary Grace tears apart personal experiences, insightful details and not-so-well-known facts about 7 things she loves and 7 things she hates about Turkey, a place where she used to live and call a home for two years in her mid-twenties. Listen and enjoy if you’d like to gain a deeper, moving understanding and perspective about life, c...