Hey, Alexa West here— from The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide.

I know I’ve been MIA—but I’ve been working on the return of my most-loved email series:

✈️ Solo Girl Stories ....to teach you how to travel safer and smarter than me. 

I probably shouldn't be telling these unhinged stories publicly ...but they'll be in your inbox every Thursday. Starting now.

Real Quick...

In case you forgot who I am:
✦ Author of The Solo Girl's Travel Guide
✦ Creator of Facebook communities like Solo Girls Travel.
✦ And founder of Glow Up Travel. 

I live in Seattle with my boyfriend and we're renovating a river cabin on TikTok. (more on that later). 

NOW -- Lets get in to the first unhinged travel story + lesson. 

Don't Give Married Men Muffins

So there I was...

23, fresh-faced, and living alone in a post-communist apartment block in Bulgaria, just trying to make a good impression as a new Peace Corps volunteer. 

Did I speak the language? Barely.

Did I have friends? Not yet.

Did I think baking homemade apple muffins and passing them out to my neighbors would help meet people? Unfortunately, YES.

What I didn’t realize was… I was about to become the neighborhood sex threat. Because I started handing out homemade muffins to the stay-at-home men ...which was interpreted as an invitation for sexual relations. 

Spoiler: one old man invited me over. Another backed into a corner yelling “I’M MARRIED!” And by the end of the week, I was officially known as the hussy of the building.

Apparently, bringing muffins to men in Bulgaria was basically the equivalent of asking them on a date...or signaling to them "hey baby, I baked these for you in an attempt to convince to leave you marriage and be with me (even though you're old enough to be my grandpa)".

Shit. 

Rumors spread quickly. To the wives of the building, I officially became the foreign American woman here to take their men. 

I'll tell ya, after this day - I never baked apple muffins again...

💡 What's the Lesson?

...to leave my Texas neighbor “Hi y’all, here’s a Jell-O mold!” energy at home. In Bulgaria, I started watching how the local women interacted with the men—unless it was her husband, lifelong neighbor or cousin...the women basically ignored the men.

 Meanwhile, I was out here waving them down with baked goods like a cat in heat.

The Takeaway: When in doubt, observe the women and how they interact with the opposite gender. Follow their lead. And maybe skip the homemade muffins that could be misinterpreted as a mating ritual.  

So yea, this is what to expect in my newsletter series, Solo Girls Travel Stories.

the next email you receive from me:

Once a week, I’ll drop into your inbox with the wildest, most WTF moments I’ve survived while traveling the world.

In this newsletter — you’ll also be gifted:

• First dibs on new Female-Only Group Trips

• Recipes from around the world (have you ever made Mexican cochinitas?)

• Deals on my best-selling books, itineraries, and courses

• Opportunities to meet IRL (meet ups and group trips!)

Don’t Want Stories? Only Deals...

Click the button below to subscribe to just the essentials:

✨ Girls Trip Invitations

📚 New Guidebook Releases (Baja Sur is next!)

💸 Exclusive Discounts

👀 BTS of the big announcement coming for The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide this year