There are two things that I love to do when I travel.

Go to bookstores.

And go thrift shopping.

I frequent my local thrift shop at least once a month, but if you’re in a different city that’s an entirely new set of things and possibly a different take on fashion.

What I mean here is you’ll probably find a slightly different stock between Iowa and say California.

And sometimes if there’s a particular item you can’t find where you live, there might be multiple of them where you’re visiting.

I remember seeing entire racks of overalls in a shop on Brick Lane in London, and feeling in heaven.

So, yeah I always enjoying heading into a thrift store or two regardless of where I am. That is, of course, if thrift stores, or vintage shops are a thing there.

I didn’t find it in a thrift store, but I found my dream bike on Craigslist after months of searching. I wanted a Bianchi, but try as I might I couldn’t find one in Des Moines. I ended up going out on a ledge and looking in the Colorado Springs area because I have an uncle out there. I found a bike I loved, he went and looked at it, and a friend driving through picked it up from him and brought it back to me in Des Moines.

I think another thing I like about thrifting is that it’s something I do at home, and I always like to do things when I travel as if I lived there. Work from coffeeshops, go to the grocery store, ride a bike, go for a run or hike and go into thrift shops.

I just got back from San Francisco, and I spent quite a bit of time up on Haight Street going through the different thrift stores and vintage shops. I ended up finding a black denim mini skirt, which I’ve been searching for this for awhile, as well as a nice summery dress, which I’ve also wanted more of.

I also splurged in a non-thrift way and got myself a pair of vegan Doc Martens, something I’ve wanted for quite some time now. Normally, I stay away from regular stores when I travel, but being from Des Moines, we don’t have the full array of stores here.

Anyways I highly encourage you to go thrifting when you’re traveling.

Are there any fun things you always like to do when you find yourself in a different city?