Waiting at the train station felt a lot like waiting in an airport but with less security. My train ticket got me into the waiting room, where I sat until it was time to board.

The sleeper cars are right behind the dining car.

The corridor was so narrow that you could only walk down it single file.

A step up from sitting in coach, where you get a regular train seat, a roomette is a private space with a door and blinds to cover up the windows.

Inside, there are two seats across from each other, a table that folds out in between, and a bed above the seats that pulls down. The seats also pull out into a bed.

With the seat down and the sink folded up, you'd never know there was a bathroom in the room.

There was no privacy for those traveling in pairs.

A decade ago, I may have had a bigger problem with the toilet situation next to my bed in the Roomette. But, thankfully, I had packed some Poo Pourri, a spray that goes in the toilet just before you poop to eliminate odors.

There was a bathroom at the back of the sleeper car where I could use the toilet.

The table had two foldout leaves, too, for more space. 

In addition to the ceiling light, each seat had its own area light, reading light, and night light. I counted 11 light switches in my Roomette.

My Roomette had a temperature dial and air conditioning vents, and I kept it cool in my room, around 66 degrees Fahrenheit.

When I stood up to walk through the train cars, I felt like I was on an airplane during turbulence. It felt like this the whole journey, and I ended up feeling motion sickness for the majority of the trip. 

Even though eating in my room was an option, I didn't want it to smell like food in my bunk all night. 

I had braised short ribs, mashed potatoes, and a hard roll. While I didn't love the meal as it came, I made a little sandwich out of the ingredients, which tasted better to me. 

The room's seats fold out into a bed on the bottom level, but I wanted to try sleeping up top. 

The bed was suspended in the air, and there were blankets wrapped in plastic that I found surprisingly soft and comfortable. 

As I nestled into a sleeping position, I listened to the choo choo of the train whistle and pretended I was on the Polar Express until I finally fell asleep. 

I woke up a few times in the night feeling disoriented, and I had to remind myself where I was. There were also times when I was worried I might fall out of bed.

Even though I didn't sleep well, I'm glad I went with the top bunk because of the views I had in the morning. 

I passed a lot of the time working. 

While the train had internet, I found the connection to be unreliable. So I was glad I had downloaded movies, TV shows, and podcasts to my phone and iPad before my trip.

Since 2021, I've gotten more comfortable on overnight trains and have learned to appreciate them.

In my opinion, taking a long train journey is a lot like taking a road trip — if you consider the ride a part of the vacation, then maybe it would be worth it for you. 

"Black Barbie," produced by Shonda Rhimes and directed by Lagueria Davis, explores how three Black women working at Mattel — Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride-Irby — were responsible for the debut of the groundbreaking doll in 1980. The new Barbie ultimately paved the way for the representation of all identities.

Streaming on: Netflix

Comic-turned-director Page Hurwitz's new doc, which recently premiered at Tribeca before streaming on Netflix, looks back at the history of LGBTQ+ stand-up comedy as a form of resistance. It features comedians including Lily Tomlin, Margaret Cho, and Rosie O'Donnell.

Streaming on: Netflix

Particularly if you're a Federer fan, this doc is a must-watch. But really, any sports fan will appreciate this look into the final days of the superstar athlete's career, from his retirement announcement in 2022 to his last match.

Streaming on: Prime Video

Netflix's messiest reality dating show dropped its finale this week. It featured a surprising winning couple and more last-minute drama for Harry Jowsey and "Love Is Blind" alum Jessica Vestal.

Streaming on: Netflix

This three-part docuseries tells the story of Sherri Papini's kidnapping hoax and its aftermath.

Unlike the disturbing tale at the heart of Netflix's "American Nightmare," Papini's actually was a real-life "Gone Girl" case.

Streaming on: Hulu

This is one of the most disturbing documentaries I've seen in a minute.

"Tell Them You Love Me" explores the complex and controversial story of Anna Stubblefield, a married white professor of ethics at Rutgers University-Newark, and Derrick Johnson, the nonverbal Black man with cerebral palsy she was convicted of sexually assaulting.

Streaming on: Netflix

Long before NXIVM and Twin Flames, there was Peoples Temple.

Arguably the most famous cult in American history, it was founded by Jim Jones in the 1950s in Indianapolis and culminated in the horrific Jonestown massacre of 1978, in which the cult leader ordered his followers to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanine. In total, 918 people died, including more than 300 kids.

The new Hulu documentary features interviews with several survivors of the event, some of whom argue that the tragedy should be seen as a mass murder, not a mass suicide as it's commonly been labeled.

Streaming on: Hulu

The fourth season of Kevin Hart's talk show kicks off with the comedian's interview with Ben Affleck.

Streaming on: Peacock

Lucy Lawless stars in this Australian-New Zealand dramedy as private investigator Alexa Crowe, a former detective who solves mysteries and has a bread-baking business in her spare time.

Streaming on: Acorn TV

If you were a fan of the original "Orphan Black," the Canadian sci-fi thriller that starred Tatiana Maslany as several genetically identical human clones, this one is a no-brainer.

But even if you weren't familiar with the earlier series and just like the genre, "Echoes" is worth checking out. It stars Keeley Hawes as an older version of Kira Manning, the daughter of Maslany's character Sarah from the original show, and Krysten Ritter as Lucy, a woman with amnesia who finds herself at the center of her own clone mystery.

Streaming on: AMC+

The fourth episode of the satirical superhero drama's new season is a standout, largely thanks to Antony Starr's stunning performance as Homelander, who returns to the lab where he was raised.

Seriously, just give the man an Emmy already. We only have one season left to do it after this!

Streaming on: Prime Video

I remember when spirit jerseys were all the rage back in 2017 — you could barely get your hands on one before they sold out.

But as they've gained popularity, they've also increased in price.

As cute as they may be, I can't fathom spending upwards of $90 on a long-sleeve T-shirt.

Every Disney adult loves accessorizing their outfits with some Mickey ears.

It can be tempting to browse the new and seasonal releases in the shops. But after going to the parks my whole life, I already have a stellar ear collection.

I don't see the point of spending $35 to $40 on another pair — especially because they were closer to $20 to $25 just a few years ago.

I remember the good old days when I would go to Disney World and automatically get three FastPasses for the day. It was glorious.

Now you have to pay $20 to $30 a person daily for those same three line-skipping passes through a system called Genie+.

As a local who has ridden every attraction at Disney World dozens of times, I don't see why I'd ever splurge on that.

The Mickey ice-cream bar was one of my go-to park snacks as a kid. It's such a Disney staple — super tasty and good for any Instagram photos.

But they currently cost about $6. I'd rather spend that money on a bigger portion of ice cream, like a Dole Whip or a sundae, to get more bang for my buck.

Like the spirit jerseys, I'm no longer spending money on Disney Loungeflys. No small backpack should cost over $100 — no matter how creative or cute the design is.

It's so easy for me to go into a Disney merchandise store and get sucked into this section, but I've recently realized that these prices are ridiculous.

I used to work at the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Party back in 2018, when it cost about $80 to $90 a person. That's still a pretty expensive ticket add-on, but I genuinely thought it was worth the price.

The experience includes unlimited appetizers, treats, and drinks, along with a premiere viewing of the fireworks show from Tomorrowland Terrace.

But now the price for one adult is $130, which is almost the same as park admission.

Alternatively, I recommend paying $70 a person for a delicious three-course dinner at Be Our Guest restaurant. Then just go to hub lawns in front of the castle about an hour before the fireworks show to secure an amazing spot.

I've always been such a big fan of the seasonal events at Disney World. I used to go to the Christmas and Halloween parties at Magic Kingdom every year.

But that was when the tickets cost about $100. In 2023, tickets sold for up to $220 apiece, which is more expensive than the average full-day ticket to Magic Kingdom.

As sad as it was to cut this out of my holiday celebrations last year, I had to. I can't rationalize spending over $200 for a six-hour event in the parks.

Almost every quick-service restaurant at Disney World has a chicken-finger meal, and it used to be one of my go-to orders.

But as an adult, I'm realizing that it's kind of a waste of my money — especially since prices across the parks have been creeping up over the last couple of years.

I'd rather spend my money on specialty treats or seasonal foods that I can't get outside the parks and grab Chick-fil-A on the way home.

The ingredients for the bag-method ice cream included half-and-half, vanilla, sugar, salt, and ice. I also grabbed some cookies to possibly use as a garnish or mix into the finished product.

I filled a small sandwich bag with 1 cup of half-and-half, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, pushed the air out, and sealed it. Next, I filled a slightly bigger plastic bag with 3 cups of ice and 1/3 cup of salt.

Per the instructions, I placed the smaller bag in the bigger bag and started to shake them.

Things also became messy as the bag got wet from the condensation and dripped. To make the process easier, I stuck the bag in a big pot lined with a kitchen towel and shook the entire thing back and forth.

Overall, I vigorously shook the bags for about 10 minutes, which was tiring and just annoying.

After 10 minutes, it seemed the ice cream had come together so I spooned it out of the bag to try it.

The bag-method ice cream wasn't bad at all. It wasn't very smooth or creamy but it had an icy, chunky texture and good flavor.

I think that some of the salt water may have seeped into the smaller bag and gave the ice cream a slightly salty taste, but I actually didn't mind. The flavor was pretty good on its own so I decided not to add the cookies.

The bag method yielded fast results and got the job done.

However, the ice cream seemed to melt quite quickly once I scooped it out of the bag, which may have been because it was no longer insulated by the bigger salt-water bag.

Though the whole process took only 15 minutes, I'd only use the bag method again if, for some reason, I desperately needed ice cream in the middle of the night.

Making this ice cream was my first time using my Ninja Creami, an appliance designed to make creamy desserts.

It took some fiddling around for me to figure out how to put it together. That said, once the appliance was up and running, the recipe was straightforward.

For this method, I followed the base ice-cream recipe from the pamphlet that came with my Ninja Creami. The recipe calls for cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, milk, and an extract of the user's choice. To keep things consistent with my other creations, I used vanilla extract.

Putting the base of the ice cream together was simple.

I softened 1 tablespoon of cream cheese in a bowl and added 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I began to stir and once that was smooth, I dissolved the paste into 3/4 cup of the heavy cream and 1 cup of milk. 

The recipe called for freezing the ice-cream-filled pint for 24 hours.

This was my main issue with the Ninja Creami method because it's not very fast and it requires freezer space before the dessert is even finished. You also may need to really plan ahead if you want ice cream. 

After 24 hours, the pint was frozen solid. 

I stuck my frozen pint in the machine and let it do its processing.

The Ninja Creami's blade drove into the frozen pint and churned the mixture into a creamy dessert. Though the process was a little loud, it was done within a couple of minutes.

If you want a creamier texture, you can also choose to go for a second respin cycle.

The consistency of the Ninja Creami ice cream wasn't hard, though it was a bit crumbly and melted somewhat fast when I started eating it. Next time, I'd opt to spin it again to get it smoother.

It had a somewhat creamy, soft-serve texture and that good classic vanilla ice-cream flavor. 

After freezing the finished ice cream for a day, it hardened up and had a fairly identical texture to a typical store-bought vanilla ice cream.

For the three-ingredient method, I opted to mostly follow a recipe from food blogger Mighty Mrs.

Right off the bat, it seemed like the simplest of the three recipes and required only heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.

The recipe instructed me to beat 4 cups of heavy cream in a large bowl but I opted to blend it in my Nutribullet until I got stiff peaks.

The accompanying blog post for the recipe said whipping the heavy cream can "add air to your ice cream" to give it "that perfect ice-cream texture you know and love." As I followed the recipe, I realized this turned out to be true.

After I blended the heavy cream, which took about 30 seconds, I mixed in a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. 

I transferred the ice-cream mixture into a loaf pan and stuck it in the freezer for several hours. According to the recipe, the ice cream needs a minimum of two hours in the freezer.

Minus the freezing time, the entire process literally took me under 10 minutes.

After a few hours, I took the ice cream out of the freezer and scraped a few bites off of the surface.

This ice cream was thick, super creamy, and unlike the other two ice creams, wasn't icy at all. It almost had a chewiness to it and didn't melt very fast. It had a similar texture to a Melona Bar, dense but still delicious.

Next time I have a craving for homemade ice cream, I'm going to whip out my blender and three ingredients. 

The simple recipe yielded my favorite creamy, thick texture. The finished ice cream didn't melt quickly, was nice and dense, and took very little effort to make.

Still, the Ninja Creami was a close second because making ice cream was pretty easy once the pint was frozen for 24 hours. I think those who prefer a softer, store-bought ice-cream texture might like this method best.

The bag trick was a little too annoying for me to want to try it again, but it certainly did work. 

This story was originally published on September 2, 2023, and most recently updated on June 21, 2024.

Daley, 30, told Business Insider that the most important thing when traveling is to try to maintain some kind of routine.

He started diving at age 7 and made his Olympic debut in 2008 at just 14 — understandably, Daley said his body has changed since then, impacting how he can and can't travel.

"When I was younger, traveling when you're 10 to 15 years old, you don't really have many issues," he said. "But then as soon as you start getting a little bit older, and as I've been more of an athlete now for 23 years, I just have to start thinking about how can I look after myself best when I'm traveling," he added.

The concept of routine is also an important part of how he stays disciplined while training and focused during competitions.

"I think the one way to be able to stay motivated and determined and committed to what you need to do is a sense of routine. Being able to stick to the routine, being able to know what you're going to be doing, when, it's all about the consistency," he said. "If you consistently stick to your routine, then you'll eventually get there."

So, if you normally like to go for a walk in the mornings, plan to do the same thing on vacation; this will give you something familiar to do while you're away from home and make it easier to continue that part of your routine once you're back.

While we understand wanting to use all your travel time to binge-watch "House of the Dragon" or "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars," it's a good idea to take a break to move around.

"Even just being able to get up and move around, being able to stretch your legs," Daley said. "I often find myself doing lots of things to be able to stay as loose and nimble as possible."

The American Heart Association recommends getting extra steps in at the airport by skipping the conveyor belt people-movers and walking around while waiting for your plane to board. The AHA also recommends staying active during long road trips by frequently stopping to stretch or take short walks around rest areas.

"I try to find myself doing in-seat stretches, as far as standing up and stretching your legs out, stretching your arms out," Daley said.

Stretching is beneficial because it can help improve flexibility, mobility, posture, and mental health.

Some seated stretching options include neck, shoulder, wrist, and ankle rotations. These motions can improve circulation and allow you to avoid feelings of stiffness.

Daley told BI that he's found meditation "can be really, really useful to be able to arrive as fresh as possible."

Some of his personal meditation tips include focusing on contact points, such as where you're touching the floor or seat. He also recommends counting where you inhale on one and exhale on two — and so on — until you reach 10.

"It's being able to keep your mind constantly active, but then also not really thinking about anything other than breathing. But once you get the hang of it, it's really useful," he said.

The benefits of meditation range from better focus and concentration to improved self-esteem and self-awareness, as well as reduced stress and helping manage anxiety or depression.

Daley said there are "so many amazing things to be able to do around Europe," like playing tennis on public courts, surfing, or his favorite, wakeboarding.

Whether you're into hiking, biking, or water sports, Daley's "Summer Sports Tour of Europe" has other recommendations to help you stay active on vacation.