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For Disney fans who have to drive multiple hours or book a flight to enjoy the Central Florida parks, the Walt Disney World Resort often tops the list of vacation destinations and weekend getaway locations. But for those who live close to the parks, peak seasons at Disney World are often green lights for travel outside the Sunshine State.
Credit: Becky Burkett
Such was likely the case for a young woman from Florida who jetted off on trip transatlantic trip of a lifetime earlier this year. But her harrowing and extremely stressful experience may serve as proof that the old adage is true: there really is no place like home.
An Orlando Native Jets Off to Europe
When Claudia Larson began her solo European vacation in April 2024, she had no idea that it would be more than two months before she returned home.
Throughout the trip, Larson chronicled her journey on TikTok, sharing the story of her overseas trip, but she likely had no idea that her online travel journal would read more like a written nightmare than the tale of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure in several foreign lands.
The 24-year-old Orlando native began her excursion in Athens, Greece, some 5,764 miles from home.
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“First day living on a Greek island was a major success,” Larson said in a TikTok video dated April 6. But success was fleeting, as she began to experience symptoms of a viral infection like a head cold. But despite feeling extremely congested, Larson decided to continue with her travel plan and bid αποχαιρετισμός, or farewell, to Athens.
Credit: TikTok/LarsonTravels
She boarded her flight bound for Lisbon, Portugal, some 1,793 miles away by plane.
Once she was on her way, however, Larson says she realized that her illness was far more involved than she had originally thought.
Things Begin to Take a Turn For the Worse
“I got on the flight not really thinking anything of it, and then while flying, I experienced the worst pain of my life,” she explained. “I realized when I got off the flight that all the pressure from the airplane had worsened my sinus congestion, [and] my ears were so clogged that I couldn’t hear for about two weeks.”
Credit: TikTok/LarsonTravels
Shortly after landing in Lisbon, Portugal, the young freelance photographer made an appointment at a local hospital to see a physician.
At Hospital do Litoral Alentejano, Larson was prescribed antibiotics that, according to her healthcare provider, would help clear her sinuses, thus alleviating her headaches and the continual crackling she heard in her ears.
Hospital do Litoral Alentejano/Credit: Ventura Partners
No Relief in Sight
“Then I went to another doctor in Lisbon who spoke English, and she said, ‘Okay, well, I’m going to give you this medication, and if you’re still not better in five days, then you need to see an ENT,'” Larson said, recalling her conversation with the doctor.
Credit: TikTok/LarsonTravels
As she likely expected, her symptoms saw no improvement over the next five-day period, and an appointment with an ear, nose, and throat specialist was in order.
“Nothing helped for those five days, so I went to see an ENT,” Larson explained. She continued, saying that the ENT, or otolaryngologist, advised her to undergo additional medical evaluations to determine her exact diagnosis. At that time, however, the first available appointments for those evaluations were more than a month away.
More Challenges at Every Turn
To make the situation much worse, the expiration date on Larson’s visa was drawing closer, and the young woman couldn’t afford to stay in Portugal without finding a job.
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It was then–when all of her options were gone–that Larson made the difficult decision to cut her losses and return home to Florida. Even so, she faced more challenges.
“I got a little creative about it,” Larson said, describing her plan to finally return home to Central Florida.
A Silver Lining in the Clouds
“They were like, ‘We just want you home, so do what you need to do,’ ” Larson says. “They knew I’d traveled around Europe for months and that I was capable of doing this. My friends, on the other hand, all think I’m crazy.”
Southampton, England/Credit: Disney Dining
A Carefully Executed Plan For Returning Home to Florida
Larson began to make plans for her journey home, but she soon realized that the only boat she could take from Europe to the United States would leave on June 9–from Southampton, England. It would take some very fancy footwork to ensure she was in Southampton in time to depart for the United States.
From Lisbon, Portugal, Larson took a ten-hour bus ride to Madrid, Spain. From there, she took another ten-hour bus ride to Bordeaux, France. Then she boarded a train for a two-hour ride to Paris, and once she arrived in Paris, Larson boarded another train and settled in for a three-hour ride to Calais, France.
She then boarded a ferry in Calais, and after a one-hour ride, she arrived in England, where she finally boarded a transatlantic ocean liner.
The weary world traveler with a mystery illness finally arrived in New York City on June 15.
Even after her whirlwind trip to get to Southampton on time, Larson was positive when describing the ocean liner that delivered her home to Florida.
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“It’s incredibly fancy,” she said during an interview. “It’s crazy. I kind of feel like I don’t belong, especially walking up with my big backpack.”
“When I was planning this whole trip, I was prepared to spend $800 on a flight back when I thought that I could fly,” Larson continued. “But now that I’m taking a boat, and since I am one person in a two-person room, they have to double charge.”
Ultimately, Larson’s ticket on the boat cost her about $1,400.
Reflecting Back on Her Journey
Larson has used her TikTok videos to chronicle her journey, but her adventures abroad have captured the attention of social media users on the platform, many of whom began following her on her way home from Europe.
In one of her videos, the young freelance photographer reflects on her time abroad, saying, “Being sick has been really lonely at times, but people are being so nice and supportive.” She continues by admitting, “I think it’s just a really good thing for me right now.”
Credit: TikTok/LarsonTravels
After several grueling weeks of being held captive by a mystery illness in another country, Larson finally arrived in New York, where she boarded a train that took her all the way home to Orlando, Florida. It was another long ride–22 hours long, to be exact.
“I looked at it as an adventure,” the young adventurer said. “It wasn’t the adventure that I had planned, but it was an adventure nonetheless, and I’m always up for an adventure.”
