April 2018 – Angela's Great Adventure

What’s it like to live and work in Luxembourg? I got inspiration from reading Refinery29’s Money Diaries, which I think is a great way to expand on the sometimes taboo topic of money. I decided to write my own money diary for a week and present it here, excluding my salary information. Everything that was in Euros has been converted to USD at a rate of 1.23, which is where it’s been around for the last 3 months.

Occupation: Business Analyst
Industry: Operations and Transportation
Age: 28
Location: Luxembourg

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $879.45 (Monthly total of €1,430 including water, trash, and heating is split in half with my boyfriend)
Student Loan Payment: $0 (I am extremely lucky to have generous parents)
Cell Phone Bill: $40.58
Internet: $23.92 (Monthly total of $47.85, split in half with my boyfriend)
Electricity: $19.47 (Monthly total of $38.94, split in half with my boyfriend)
Public Transportation: $22.79 (My company subsidizes roughly 50% of an annual pass that allows for unlimited travel throughout the country)
Spotify, Netflix, Adobe, iCloud: $26.41
Gym: $25.82
Charity: ~$50, to various organizations

Continue reading “Money Diary – Lux Edition” →

Living in a tiny country has gotten me used to frequent traveling, so after my ACL reconstruction, I felt like I was grounded in Luxembourg. Although I did a fair bit around the city, I didn’t go anywhere else for over 2 months. I had actually booked my flight to Turin the day after my surgery in anticipation. However, I always equated Italy with warm weather (yes, I know the Alps are there, but that’s in a high elevation right?), so I wasn’t happy when I checked the forecast and it was colder than Luxembourg… The good food more than made up for it though 🙂

20171203-DSCF9583 — Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi

Day 1 – Torino

Working in an international environment really has its perks. Nico and I got several recommendations for where to eat and what to do from people who are either from Turin or had lived there before. First up was to get some bicerin. It’s a drink from Turin that is basically thick hot chocolate with espresso and milk. We went to the popular Cafe Al Bicerin, est. 1763, where the decor is reminiscent of an old timey candy or coffee shop. We had to wait in line outside because the space only fits about 15 people cozily. If you’re in the mood for anything savory, you’re out of luck, but damn was the bicerin a perfect start for a cold day.

Cafe Al Bicerin

20171202-IMG_3619 — Turino Advent Calendar

After we finished filling ourselves up with sugar, we took a stroll around the centro and then ducked into some indoor sites when it started raining. We visited the Turin Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, where the Shroud of Turin is stored. It sits in a closed off area in a box, behind a curtain, behind glass. Super exclusive. They pull back the curtains once a day (?), and I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the box. Afterwards, we checked out the Royal Library, Sabauda Art Gallery, and the Armory Museum.