Life is a Journey.

Thanksgiving in LA - November, 2008

2009-02-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

November is my month of traveling apparently...I flew down Wednesday night after school to LA to spend Thanksgiving with the California cousins. I stayed with Katie at her new swanky house in Hancock Park, and we headed over to Jenny & Marc's house early afternoon on Thursday to help with Thanksgiving dinner. Jenny had quite the guest list - 30+ people, family, friends, neighbors, kids and Katie and her came up with a seating arrangement that managed to fit everyone...phew! Everyone contributed to the feast, I attempted to make a baked brie appetizer but since Katie never uses her oven and doesn't really know how to work it, we ended up overcooking our one contribution, and up bringing wine instead. Michael brought his special sweet potato pie, and there were even turkey shaped jello shots, green for the adults (with alcohol) and red for the kids (without). Katie and Jenny made a job jar, so when everyone arrived they had to pick a job from the jar, some included grace, water duty, wine duty, dishes, etc. Katie and I were elected dish duty girls to help Jenny in the kitchen. The feast ended up being delicious, 2 types of turkey, like 6 different types of potatoes (from mashed to scalloped), 3 types of stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, fennel gratin, a wide selection of fresh baked bread from their chef-neighbor, apple-cranberry pie, the list goes on. All in all, a fantastic Thanksgiving at the Bolger-Rey's!

Purdue University & Chicago, Nov. 2008

2009-01-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Go Boilermakers! My first trip to the Midwest. Since most of my family lives in Southern California, Seattle, Alexandria, or New York, I really have never had a reason to venture to the middle of our fair country. This fact was utterly astonishing to my boyfriend, who hails from the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. Well, the time came when I got to scope out the flat land that lies between the two coasts. Bobby and I flew to the freezing flatlands of Chicago, Illinois, and then drove 2+ hours south to West Lafayette, Indiana.

What's in West Lafayette, you might say? Good question! Purdue University, Bobby's alma mater, home of the black and gold Boilermakers. We flew back for the big rivalry game (comparable to our Apple Cup, but pump up the animosity and the intensity say...hmm...about 100%). It appears Indiana University and Purdue hate each other more than the Huskies and the Cougs, who would've thought? We were lucky to get a hotel right on campus, literally a stumbling distance from all the college bars, restaurants, and popular hangouts. Bobby gave me a driving and walking tour of campus, I got to see the gigantic houses on Greek Row with enormous yards and plenty of parking space (definitely something we were lacking at UW). On Saturday we tailgated in the freezing cold temps with his college buddies, and watched the Purdue reign victorious with a win of 62-10. We celebrated with friends out at the historic hangouts, "Harry's Chocolate Shop," and "Jakes," until the wee hours.

On Sunday, it was time for us to head back into Chicago for our evening flight home. We arrived in Chicago mid-afternoon, just in time to see some sights, including Oprah's home, Lake Michigan (which looks like an ocean, it stretches on forever), the Sears Tower, the Chicago River, and of course, the one sight I really wanted to see, The Bean. Also known as "Cloud's Gate," by Anish Kapoor a famous installation art piece in Millenium Park. As an art history major it was definitely on my list of "must see's." Bobby of course was like..."the bean? Why do you want to see a bean?" Well, it was pretty fantastic, and worth the crazy drive in search of it. We got some great photos of our reflections in and around the sculpture. We closed off our day at Chicago with some deep dish pizza and then headed home.

San Francisco, Oct. '08

2008-11-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Since one of my best friends from college - Lindsay lives in LA, we try and plan trips to visit each other every couple of months. In lieu of doing the usual LA/Seattle swap, we thought it would be fun to meet in the middle - picking the fabulous city of San Francisco. It worked out well because I had free miles and enough hotel points saved up to get us one night free at the glamorous Westin in Union Square. The weather could not have been more perfect - 70 and sunny with almost no wind (which is almost unheard of for SF). We got in late Friday night, checked in, and almost immediately hit up the Mission. We somehow managed to squeeze ourselves into a tiny table at "Cha Cha Cha." Our table was totally an afterthought, a little 2-seater piggy-backing off a birthday party in the backroom. After our amazing meal of fresh cerviche, spicy mushrooms, fried potatoes and plantains, we found ourselves singing "Feliz Cumpleanos" along with the birthday goers, cheers-ing everyone over sangria. Good times! We hit up a few more places in the Mission including "Beauty Bar," which is the coolest bar ever, there was a manicurist on duty until midnight, and old fashioned hair dryers, and great 80's music.

We spent the majority of the next day shopping around, even did the touristy Ghirardelli Square and Marina waterfront walk where we met up with Lindsay's sister Ashley who lives by the Marina. We took a trolley ride back up toward Union, and met up with Ashley again that night for at a Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant.

On our last day, we went out to brunch at "The Grove," on Chestnut Street and shopped around the cute boutiques around there. A little later, Ashley picked us and drove us to the old military base Crissy Field and we took a short hike up to view the Golden Gate bridge. Except, unlike the gorgeous cloudless skies we'd had Friday and Saturday, Sunday was chilly with so much fog, it completely concealed the bridge, walking across it felt like walking into an abyss! Despite the weather, we still got some great pictures, and had an opportunity to see the gusty winds in true San Francisco fashion. Overall, a great (and packed) weekend, I definitely slept well on the plane ride home!

The Gorge, September '08

2008-09-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

Made the drive to Eastern Washington to see Dave Matthews Band in concert at the most gorgeous outdoor venue there is - The Gorge in George. Quite honestly, I'm not a huge Dave fan, but it sure was a much needed, relaxing last hurrah of summer before the start of the school year.

I met up with Bobby and his friends from Purdue at the campsite. I wasn't able to drive in with the group since I spent the majority of the week setting up my classroom, in nervous anticipation for my first day. (eek!) I arrived to cloudless skies, and warm sun...perfect tank-top weather! The last time I was at the Gorge for Sasquatch my friends and I found ourselves trapped in the middle of a hail storm, so needless to say this warm weather was well received. Bobby brought quite the spread, and cooked up a sausage, vegetable, egg, and cheese casserole for breakfast, and then shrimp tacos for lunch. We hung around the campsite, people watching, playing Catchphrase, and catching some rays before the concert started.

The show was great, he played the few songs I actually know the words too, "Cornbread," "Satellite," and "Crash," so I actually felt like a legitimate fan being able to sing along. The evening was cool but not too chilly, and we laid back and enjoyed listening to Dave croon, laying back to enjoy the melodies under the stars.

I had to leave pretty early the next morning, after Bobby and I walked to the one coffee stand on the campgrounds and got my much-needed fuel for the drive home. All in all - a great little getaway, back to reality...

North Peninsula, August '08

2008-08-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Camping trip 2008! Jody scouted out many a place for us to spend a weekend out of the city, and apparently everyone else had the same ideas...so we opted to spend 2 nights at their camp friend Murph's property in the North Peninsula, about 2-hours north of Seattle. Eight of us ended up making the trip; Jody, Anton, Anna, Alex, Kostas, Andy, Margaret, and myself, a great group. We arrived at the campsite which had a stealthy firepit, kitchen area, and wall-less shelter that was floored with thick red gym mats - perfect!

The weather could not have been more perfect, we made a trek up to Costco prior to departure and stocked up on all of the goods to make foil dinners (Anna, Jody, and Margaret's specialty from the camp years)...We unloaded our cargo, sleeping bags, and food and chatted around the fire, telling stories until the wee hours. The next day we set off on a canoe expedition, packing trail mix, fruit, water, and sandwich supplies to keep us going. The sun was scorching, and the paddled grueling - roughly 4 hours on the water, but it was well worth it to hang out with friends, playing various games across boats; 7 Degrees of Separation, sing-a-longs, and connect-the-songs...

We weren't entirely roughing it, we did drive into town for some drive-through coffee at a local barista, but we figured after our day of paddling, we deserved it. O a side note, I ended up red as a lobster, my entire back was so burned that I couldn't sleep on my back for a week after the trip, but overall it was a great bonding experience and an opportunity to venture outside the sweaty reaches of Seattle for a day or two. Definitely going to do this again next year!

Whistler, May '08

2008-06-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

Sarah's "hen night," became a bachelorette weekend, in Whistler, B.C. With Canada being the destination du jour, we were able to bring our one youngster, maid of honor Samantha along with us. We started off at the Galando's where Alicia presented all the girls with t-shirts to commemorate the wedding of Sarah & Nathan with the tag line, "White is the New Gai." We piled into the suburbans and began the 6 hour trek up to Whistler to begin the bachelorette festivities. After opening presents we got all dolled up and headed out on the town, with Sarah sporting her bachelorette sash. It was a rowdy, roaring good time! The next day we laid by the pool, and shopped Whistler village before getting ready for another night out. We headed to a fancy dinner at a Japanese Steak House, where we treated the bride to a fabulous meal cooked right before us, and a few sake bombs, just for good measure. We rallied at Longhorns with a bachelor party to whom Sarah knew the groom, and proceeded to dance together, before a late night trip to ZogDog for some sustenance. All in all, a fabulous bachelorette weekend, cheers to the bride!

Seaside, Oregon, March '08

2008-04-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Anna's 27th birthday, 12 of our closest friends took a road trip to Seaside, Oregon for a birthday weekend getaway. Anna's grandparents have a sweet little pad about 3 blocks from the beach, which built to accommodate her enormous family, made for comfortable sleeping arrangements for all. On Friday we rolled into Seaside late in the evening after work, and the festivities began.

Saturday we played Frisbee on the beach (and found an awesome sand castle) while walking en route to Seaside proper. While in town, we took in the local attractions: Tilt-A-Whirl, mini-golf, video arcade, and other small town novelties that shouldn't be missed, including saltwater taffy...Yum! Jody and I stumbled upon $5 viking hats in a hat store, which we simply couldn't pass up. All 12 of us ate lunch at Be-Bop Burger before walking back to the house, resting and relaxing before our Greek counterparts whipped out an amazing birthday dinner for Anna.

Nick, Kostas, and I made a trip down to the local grocery store and snuck behind the deserted bakery case to select for Anna the perfect b-day cake (the selection was minimal)...a tall, pink frosted cake, upon which we wrote "Happy Birthday." We drank wine and toasted to the birthday girl, before an evening of beach bonfires and relaxing. All in all, a great weekend!

Vail, Colorado (February 2008)

2008-03-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

Presidents Day is the greatest holiday! A free day off in the middle of winter, perfect opportunity for a ski-weekend getaway. My family rendezvoused in Vail, Colorado for four sweet days of skiing. Unfortunately my sister Allie was unable to attend because of school, but Katie was able to fly in from New York City.

I had a terrible cold before we flew to Vail, and it stuck with me for most of the weekend, but I did manage to get 2 days of quality skiing in. The snow was AMAZING, at least a foot of fresh, lightweight, dry powder that completely covered my ski's.

At night we made the best of Vail's restaurant scene, eating at great locale's including Sweet Basil and Larkspur. I tried to make the best of it, even though my Sudafed cocktail did not mix too well with wine and spirits. It was great being all together again, especially since we hadn't seen Katie since she came home for Christmas. All in all it was a great, short but sweet family vacation.

Providence, Rhode Island, December 2007

2007-12-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

After visiting Katie I took the train up to Providence, Rhode Island to visit Allie at Brown University for a couple of days. I didn't realize when booking this ticket that Allie would be in the middle of finals week. As such, College Hill was pretty quiet, apparently it is pretty lively every other time of the year. I got into Providence about 3pm to snow flurries, on top of the 2 feet of snow they had received the day before. The problem was, it froze that night, so all the sidewalks were extremely slick, I must've slipped like ten times walking up Thayer Street. Turns out Uggs have zero traction - who would've thought? We ended up going out to her favorite pizza joint for dinner and then caught the late showing of Polar Express at the IMAX theater in downtown Providence, part of our festive countdown to Christmas.

The next day Allie gave me a tour of the campus, we slipped and slid along the pathways through the campus. We took some pictures in the main green, Brown's version of a quad, which is a rectangle of gorgeous old buildings, and was covered in a white blanket of snow. We walked through the Greek Row, and by the famous Brown gate, where all the freshman ceremoniously walk through at convocation, and then all graduates exit out of.

We walked up to the gym and I got to see Allie's locker room - which was covered in fiesta decorations; streamers, sombreros, and cactus's, apparently freshman decorate for certain games. After Allie did some studying and I did some shopping we took the trolley up to Federal Hill, known for its famous Italian restaurant row for dinner. After dinner we waited in the freezing cold for the trolley to return. I was jumping and dancing in place trying to keep warm, much to Allie's chagrin. She claims to now be used to the cold weather...I don't think that is something I could get used to. Even when you finally get inside, it takes at least 10 minutes to defrost!

Allie had yet another night of studying, but we grabbed Starbucks and made a quick stop at the bookstore for some Brown University duds and in the morning before I took the train to Boston for my flight back to the west Coast. A quick, mellow side trip, but it was great to see a slice of her college experience.

New York City, December 2007

2007-12-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

I flew out to New York City the day after my last class. I just beat the blizzard and arrived in the FREEZING city to a fresh coat of snow. Katie has been living in Manhattan since late August, and I stayed with her at her cute and cozy apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood. With Katie working Thursday and Friday, I was left to explore the city solo, and meet up with her after work. However, Thursday came with additional snow flurries, and even though I was able to make it to a few Christmas-y sights (Rockafeller Center, Palace Hotel Christmas tree, Lord & Taylor, and Macy's window displays)...my feet were soaked and freezing by mid-afternoon, so I hiked back to the West Side and warmed up at her apartment watching Project Runway and Top Model reruns. We met up later at Alta - a tapas restaurant/bar Katie had read about, in the West Village, and dined on some awesome fare: bacon-wrapped almond stuffed dates, tomato crostinis, and fried goat cheese balls (Katie thought any food with 'balls' in the name was worth ordering for a laugh, ha ha ha).

Friday night - I continued my solo venture by day - mostly cruising the Upper West Side, though I took a detour to check out the "Block Beautiful" in Gramercy Park, a street of picture perfect New York brownstones. At night we ate at Bread - famous for what else, different kinds of bread! After dinner and some wine, we walked around the Meat Packing District and then took a cab we met up with our high school friends Lauren and Jeff, at a fun bar in the East Village.

Saturday was our day of walking and shopping, we did brunch at Bubby's in TriBeCa, got a few token pics in front of the firehouse, prowled the flea market in Hell's Kitchen, and basically shopped all day. We spent most of our time in the West Village, which is probably my favorite neighborhood in New York. All the storefronts, shops, and residences are so picturesque, its the perfect blend of old and new. Most of the buildings are old and historic looking, but have been restored and prettied up to become scenic hot-spots. And because of it's chic street appeal, many designers have taken up residence, Marc Jacobs, Coach, and more. We did also stumble upon a Santa and elf pub crawl which was a sight to see!

As it started to get dark and cold, we headed back to Katie's apartment to change and met up with Jeff, Lauren, and Brett at a Chinese restaurant for dinner, before going back to Brett's apartment to watch SuperBad. Afterwards we walked to Rudy's - hands down one of the most random bars I have ever been to, but such a fun time! They served $7 pitchers, and gave out free hot dogs - you can't go wrong! After we were a couple pitchers deep we decided to play flip cup at our booth, acquiring plastic cups from the bar back. All in all - it ended up being a pretty good time, lots of drinking, laughs, and good times to go around. We ended up changing locations at about 1:30, taking full advantage of the fact that bars don't close until 4am in New York City! We ended up at an Irish pub around the corner, and befriended the DJ to play our favorite 80's and 90's songs, and danced around, laughing and being silly until 3:30, when we finally retired. It was a blast!

Paris, France (June 2004)

2007-12-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

Katie and I arrive in Paris to torrential downpours. Seriously. It was not quite the Paris I had imagined - the City of Light overcome by enormous curbside puddles and blustery winds that would turn your umbrella inside out every 100 yards. However, we decided to make the best of it, and explored as much as our soaked feet would allow us. We stayed in a cozy B&B in Montmartre, literally in the shadow of the amazing basilica Sacre Couer. We were a two minute walk from the Place du Tertre - the artists quarter, where you can walk through and around easels of Paris's scenic sights. There was a creperie on the corridor from Sacre Couer to the Place du Tertre, which had delicious crepes, both sweet and savory. My favorite was the crepe de pommes (apple) and nutella banana (hazelnut and chocolate spread + sliced bananas). Katie and I tried a savory crepe, it had something like egg, cheese, ham, and spinach in it. Definitely prefer the sweet ones, the savory kind reminded me of a not-so-great breakfast burrito. As we continued to explore the city, we found arrondisements we liked more than others. While the Champs Elysees is a must-see, the surrounding area is one giant tourist trap, food and souvenirs are double the price, if not more. We liked the 8th, the area around the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, there are a lot of great patisseries and coffee shops with character, especially on Rue Cler. Also worthwhile is San Germain, across the River Seine from the Louvre. There are an array of famous coffee shops to choose from, many of which once entertained the likes of Hemingway, Victor Hugo, and Voltaire. My favorite was Deux Magots - which has a long standing rivalry with its neighbor Cafe Flore (also good).

We also hit up a lot of the usual tourist attractions: the Louvre, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, one church I would highly recommend also on the Ile de la Cite is Sainte Chapelle. This church is a famous reliquary as well, home to the Crown of Thorns. The building itself is supported by a delicate framework, built so that you are hardly aware of the beams, making it feel as though you are completely surrounded in stained glass. It is definitely a very peaceful and spiritual space, well worth the 12 euro. So there you have it - even in the rain you can have a fabulous time, it's simply Paris!

Las Vegas, December 2007

2007-12-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

This was the Vegas trip of shows! Typically my Vegas trips are wild weekends with the girls - lounging by the pool during the day, and going out clubbing at night. However, this December, our trip down to Sin City was prompted by the reunion tour of none other than the Spice Girls! I kid you not... Ashley entered the ticket lottery and received a code for the Las Vegas show - not only did we get tickets but at the best location! Four plane tickets later, and we were on our way... We arrived in Las Vegas late Thursday night, and spent the majority of Friday cruising the strip, shopping, showing off the city to our Vegas newbie Carrie. My dad called us around 3 and said, he had been given 5 tickets to Celine Dion from her theatre's manager! We weren't planning on going to 2 concerts that weekend...but hey, why not? We got dressed up, drove down to Caesar's Palace and met up with my dad. Our seats turned out to be AMAZING, we were in the 6th row, center, on the floor. It felt as though she was singing directly to us, and she looked absolutely stunning, her outfits are exquisite! Our show was one of her last performances, wrapping up her 5 year "A New Day Has Come" tour. She was somewhat emotional during the performance, saying that the people in her show have become a family, and these 6 final shows are exciting but heartbreaking at the same time. Overall we had an amazing time, and left the theatre belting out her songs as we walked through the casino. Then for the much anticipated concert: Spice Girls! Unfortunately we weren't sitting quite as close as we had been in Celine, but nonetheless, an AWESOME concert, it was all I hoped it would be! The Spice Girls started out with (what else) "Spice Up Your Life!" And as you can imagine, the crowd was mostly twenty something girls - like ourselves - dancing and singing along to every word. There were a lot of special effects, and wardrobe changes, they opened in their new Roberto Cavalli designed outfits, but even hearkened back to updated versions of their former alter-ego's: Posh, Scary, Baby, Sporty, and Ginger. They played from about 9:15 - 11:00 covering all the greatest hits, the singles from their solo albums, and a few candid songs from their movie. The finale was AMAZING, glitter rained down as they sang "Wannabe" and then finished with a rousing chorus of "Spice Up Your Life." It was picture perfect, I couldn't have asked for anything more!

Victoria, British Columbia (January 2006)

2007-12-04T17:01:00.001-08:00

Chris surprised me with a weekend getaway to Victoria, B.C. for our 1-year anniversary. We took the Victoria Clipper ferry there and back, a 2-hour boat ride that goes by surprisingly fast. As part of our vacation package they gave us a basket of muffins, fresh fruit, and champagne which we nibbled on as we filled out crossword puzzles to pass the time. I had been to Victoria once before, but I was like 10 years old and traveling with my grandparents. Needless to say, this was a slightly different experience.

We checked into the grand Empress hotel, which is stunning both in facade and decor. We dropped off our luggage, bundled up for the chilly weather, and went exploring. Victoria is very pedestrian friendly and we walked all around, checking various boutiques and souvenir shops. I had a lot of shopping success and bought a purse, party top, a black jacket, and a tweed winter coat which were all marked at clearance prices (apparently in Canada sales only come twice a year in July and mid-January) - perfect timing! We stopped into a great tapas restaurant for lunch and dined on blue cheese stuffed figs and bacon wrapped dates...along with some excellent sangria, to gave us a nice buzz for the rest of our afternoon. As we were heading back to the hotel we came across a street musician dressed as Darth Vador playing the violin - pretty weird!

We got dressed up and walked outside our hotel to see the Victoria Parliament buildings silhouetted in beautiful lights - a perfect photo op. Out on the town - we had dinner and drinks at a steakhouse (the name now escapes me...) and hung out at a nearby bar/club for a while until my darling but uncomfortable high heels began to hurt more than I could bear. When we returned to the room I was surprised to find chilled champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries waiting for us-what a sweet surprise! We spent the rest of the weekend doing much of the same; sleeping in, checking out the Victoria food scene, and exploring new corners of the city. It was a fantastic weekend getaway!

Florence, Italy (second trip, July 2005)

2007-12-03T17:51:00.000-08:00

Florence is definitely one of my favorite cities in Italy. You can pretty much walk everywhere you'd need to go, there is awesome food and shopping, and if you feel the inkling for open space, the reaches of Tuscany are at your fingertips. This time around we passed on the 4 hour Uffizi Gallery line and 2 hour Galerie d'Academia line (home to Michelangelo's "David") and ventured outside Florence proper. We had heard about a Tuscany bike tour from some tourists on the train, and decided to look into it. I think we ended up going through the company I Bike Italy which ended up being about 50 Euro for a 4 hour bike tour, free bike and helmet rental, our lovely Hungarian guide, and lunch at a Tuscan restaurant en route. We paid our money and were off, eager to get some real exercise, as opposed to just walking everywhere for 3 weeks! After all the brochure promised a "leisurely ride." Not a chance! The 2 hours there was basically all uphill, and we're not talking leisurely hills, these were switchback slopes up and out of Florence. Our saving grace was some incredible views at some of our short lived pit-stops. Our guide must have been a marathoner or something, because he was hauling! After having to walk our bikes up some steep grades, we finally plateaued in a little village outside Firesole. We parked our bikes and found we were eating at a restaurant across from Galileo's childhood home (fun fact). Well, sweaty as we were, this meal was completely worth it - probably the best, most authentic Italian food I have eaten in my life! We drank local Chianti, a selection of antipasti meats and cheeses, amazing pastas and soups - it was like one gourmet dish after another. Satiated from our meal, we were beginning to feel like this bike ride was worth it, and were thrilled to hear that the majority of our ride would be downhill! Hooray, especially since by then my legs felt of jello. We cruised down the hill, overlooking old Medici villas that had been converted into mansions, and countless olive orchards. Our guide gave us a 3 minute schpeal about how many olives are required to make 1 bottle of olive oil. We continued past some gorgeous Tuscan villas with stunning views of the region. Finally we made our descent back into Florence, peeled ourselves off the bikes, and remained achy and sore for the next 2 or 3 days. But overall it was worth it, I'd recommend it to my fellow travelers - just keep in mind leisurely activity it is not!

Innsbruck, Austria (June 2005)

2007-11-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

We dropped on in to Innsbruck, Austria after spending a late night out at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany. Needless to say our two hour train ride to Innsbruck was less than desirable. We arrived in Innsbruck around 11am. The Tyrolian village was cool and quiet, with a dense fog just beginning to lift off the city. As the fog dissipated, the massive, gorgeous Tyrol mountains began to peek through. The entire city of Innsbruck is nestled in a valley between these snowy peaks, you feel like you are completely surrounded by mountainous terrain. It doesn't take long to explore the city center; there are pretzel shops, antique prints, and plenty of options to try a local brew for the beer enthusiast. We strolled through the Altstadt (old town) which sweeps around along the Danube. I don't know if it was that we were taken by the famous "Danube" name or the fact that the river was accessible, but my friends and I decided to climb down to the river and dip our feet in, just to say we did. Well, we climbed down the rocks into the gray clay-like sand, and found that the river is FREEZING! Even in the height of summer! After relaxing by the river, we found ourselves some traditional Austrian grub and retired to our room as the city was overcome by a tremendous lightning and thunder storm.

Venice, Italy (second trip, June 2005)

2007-11-27T19:05:00.000-08:00

Venice speaks for itself. Every turned corner yields a discovery; young lovers kissing in the shadows...families walking together while slurping cones of gelato to avoid paying the fee for a table...elegant gondolas cruising beneath sloping footbridges, a hint of Italian melody hummed by the gondolier. Venice is of course also overrun with tourists in the summer, and pigeons as well: they even sell pigeon food so that tourists can seize that quintessential Venetian picture...or at least an entertaining one. We fell for this, and purchased a handful of pigeon food, outstretched our arms and were overrun with a flock of aggressive pigeons. While it was a little bit gross, it did make for some really funny pictures.
Venice is the perfect city to get lost in, it is even somewhat of a challenge to lose yourself, as most of the canals end up winding back to Piazza San Marco. My friends and I stayed close to the Piazza, but attempted to walk deep into the city, as far away as our tired soles would take us. We stumbled across unknown canals, small gated parks and alleyways strung up with laundry lines, where dozens of garments were left out to be air dried. As we moved away from the tourist hub of Piazza San Marco, the locals seemed to come out in droves, we saw kids kicking around soccer balls in the dirt and old women leaning out their shuttered windowsills, chattering away to their neighbors in rapid Italian. As we found our way back to the city center, dusk was settling in and there we saw a new side of Venice. All the lampposts came to life, and the lights that run the length of the piazza created a dazzling light that accented the stars. My friends and I ate at an outdoor bistro, drank wine, and spent the rest of our evening dancing across the piazza, laughing and singing together.

Windsor, England (June 2004)

2007-11-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

Windsor is famous it's castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world, where Queen Elizabeth II spends many a weekend. It's a quick train ride out of London, and a breath of fresh air from the bustle of the city. While the castle is off limits to visitors, pedestrians can stroll around the perimeter, taking in the hourly changing of the guard ceremony and a few information museums about the castle and its function and purpose. Despite the grandeur and impressive size of the castle, my sister and I found the town of Windsor to be much more entertaining and enjoyable. The streets are quiet, cozy, and idyllic, reminiscent of a storybook. Antique century-old storefronts host a plethora of shoppes; selling everything from meats and fresh cheeses to baubles and souvenirs. There are tourist-pleaser's as well; women dressed in traditional English garments and bonnets stroll the streets carrying baskets of flowers, requesting a few quid in exchange for a picture. My sister and I stumbled upon a "crooked tea house," a tea and crumpet shop that was built to appear off kilter, complete with furniture and accessories that tilted slightly to the right. We also happened upon a new restaurant that was debuting its menu for review. We were seated and told to draw a number out of a hat, upon which they brought us the dishes those numbers corresponded to. Luckily we liked our selections, so we ended up with a free, gourmet lunch only at the cost of our food critiques. Overall Windsor was an relaxing day trip out of London; I wouldn't recommend staying the night as you might find yourself bored without any nightlife or without enough sights to keep you occupied. Either way, it is definitely a worthwhile jaunt into the country.

Rome, Italy (second trip, June 2005)

2007-11-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

Navigating Rome is like navigating a jungle. Narrow alleyways twist and turn, opening into oval piazzas, from which pathways stretch beyond like fingers into the depths of the city. Rome is chaotic but enchanting. Where else can you find Greek and Etruscan ruins preserved in the midst of the city? In addition - the food is amazing; delectable pizzas, pasta carbonara, and mouthwatering gelato, everywhere you look, if ever the hint of hunger should succumb you. My friends and I tried to check out the best of what Rome had to offer, energized by frequent espresso breaks. At the Trevi Fountain, we cast our wishes by tossing a penny backward over our left shoulder into the massive, tiered fountain. We perused the Forum, walking amidst remnants of columns and buildings that still hold the glory of ancient Rome. Fragments of statues dot the forum, saturated with symbolism and legendary stories (you must take a tour, otherwise you will not know what you are looking at). Later we dared to put a hand a inside the Bocca della Verita, "the mouth of truth," at the Church of Santa Maria is Cosmedin, made famous by Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. Legend has it that Romans took their spouses here to test their fidelity, the truth tellers were spared, but the all-knowing river god would bite off the hand of those who had sinned. Afterward, we continued past the Spanish steps, through the Pantheon, across Piazza di San Pietro - leading up to awe inspiring wonder that is Saint Peter's Basilica. Since we were in Rome in June, shortly after Pope John Paul II's death in March, we were able to view his tomb in the basilica's crypt. Four days in Rome is not nearly enough to cover all that the city holds - but you must see and tour the Vatican and the Coliseum. Walk through the Arch of Constantine where Roman soldiers would march through after returning to the city victorious after battle. Take note of the monstrous cobblestones that are marked by deep cuts in the rock, a memento from the days of chariots (truly!). Rome's chaos is perhaps overwhelming in the midst of your journey, but it is an experience that will award you many memorable moments. I still think back to the memory of a perfect baguette, a cat sunning itself in an open window, a local family strolling and socializing through the piazza under the setting sun.

Heidelberg, Germany (June 2005)

2007-11-13T22:22:00.000-08:00

With its baroque charm, and views of the River Necktar, Heidelberg is a charming German town off the Romantic Road. We rolled into Heidelberg and camped out at a family run B&B, just off the main pedestrian thorough-fare. The town's most notable site is the Heidelberger Schloss (the castle atop the hill). And with a city center, Heidelberg is easily accessible by foot, with plenty to explore. We toured the city with a German native, who gave us the inside scoop on University history. Turns out that the Universität Heidelberg used to have a "student jail," for student's who disobeyed curfew and essentially broke the rules. Over the years, this jail burgeoned to house many, many "delinquents" and became a popular fraternity of sorts, as everyone wanted to do wrong to get into the jail. We were lead through the student jail which is covered wall to wall with murals, signatures, and autographs from those students who were considered too disobedient to live without supervision. Eventually the jail was disbanded, but the gates and murals remain - a nostalgic testimony to some of the first students who identified college life with more than just academics. Also in Heidelberg, in addition to narrow streets and picturesque houses we found legal absinthe and hookah bars, definitely a college town!

Civita de Bagnoregio, Italy (July 2004)

2007-11-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

I had heard about this obscure Umbrian hilltown, Civita through my university's study abroad program. Unfortunately the program had been retired a year before I was eligible, but I was determined to seek out this little off-the-beaten-path corner of Italy. My sister and I based ourselves in Orvieto, and went through a challenging ordeal to find Civita. We asked many a local on how to find this seemingly mysterious town. After many blank looks and shrugged shoulders we got some sort of answer in broken Italian. Following this stranger's advice, we uncertainly boarded a bus to Bagnoregio, supposedly nearby. We were two of three people on this enormous blue bus, and definitely the only ones who spoke English. With a hope and a prayer, we stayed on board for about an hour, driving through gorgeous rolling hills of vineyards and fields of sunflowers. Once off the bus we followed handwritten signs toward Civita. One sign read "Il Paese Che Muore," which we later found out to mean "the dying village," referring to Civita's dwindling population of 15 year-round residents. We followed these signs through Bagnoregio's dusty streets until we came upon a fantastic clearing - and there it was! The plateau of Civita rises above a sweeping valley. The town is charmingly medieval in every way, its only connection to the modern world is accessibility to Bagnoregio via a steel footbridge. Standing on the bluff overlooking Civita was both exciting and exhilarating. Once across the footbridge, it was like stepping back in time. Almost all of the architecture is carved from the stony earth. The sleepy town was almost completely deserted, even at midday on a warm, summer afternoon. Everything about Civita hearkened back to medieval primitivism, one church, one B&B, one tiny cafe. There seemed to be amazing views from every vantage point, of the valley below and beyond. Civita seemed like a pocket of Italy that had defied modernity, everything about the town felt so untouched, It was truly rewarding - not only to finally find it after all that, but I felt like we got to experience Italy the way Italy was meant to be seen. Finding this corner of the Umbrian countryside definitely satisfied our appetites for discovery.

Versailles, France (second trip, July 2005)

2007-11-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

Extravagant is the word that comes to mind when describing Versailles. The palace, the decor, the gardens, every part of the estate was built with Louis XIV's mindset of wanting to be bigger and better than anyone had ever imagined. Keep in mind when visiting that the palace is closed on Tuesdays, I experienced this the hard way on my first visit. While the Hall of Mirrors is fantastically decadent and dripping with gold trimmings, the crowds are huge and undesirable. My friends and I grew so claustrophobic from the swarms of people at midday that we rushed through the palace tour and spent the majority of our time exploring the gardens. The gardens are HUGE and stretch as far as the eye can see. Everything is clearly organized into a grid of rose gardens, statues, and fountains. Directly down the steps from the Palace of Versailles is a huge pond where you can rent rowboats by the hour and cruise around Louis's private lake. Kind of a leisurely, lazy way to spend an afternoon - which is exactly what we did. We rented a row boat and cruised around, half rowing, half sunning and talking, with the occasional paddle splash to each other and our neighboring boats. It was really fun afternoon just relaxing, taking a little time out from go-go-go travel to just enjoy the spectacular scenery and great company.

Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 2005)

2007-11-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

Amsterdam has got a little bit of everything to offer its visitors. A little bit of culture; Van Gogh's masterpieces, more canals than Venice. And a little bit of the latter; "coffee shops," oozing with recreational drugs, colorful sex and condom shops. Red Light District display windows where women of every shape and size lean against the glass in their lingerie, saucily enticing the next customer.
Amsterdam is also home to a literary martyr Anne Frank. The three story "Anne Frank Huis," located on the Prinsengracht canal, houses the original hidden rooms where Anne Frank and her family and four others hid from Nazi persecution. Visitors can explore the Achterhuis ("secret annex" in Dutch) where Frank and her family camped out for almost 2 years without surfacing. The Achterhuis was located above a packing warehouse storefront - that stayed in business throughout the Frank's hiding. It is a humbling experience to view the small space where the family lived, sometimes in silence as to avoid being discovered. When walking through, you notice that while most of the original furniture was removed when soldiers raided the house, the wallpaper and papers tacked on the wall have been preserved behind a layer of plexiglass. Anne Frank's own original diary entires are distributed throughout the Achterhuis, and more artifacts are on display in the museum space adjoining the house. The museum hosts an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank. For anyone that has read this moving diary, I highly recommend visiting Anne Frank's house, it allows those of us who read along with Anne Frank's diary entries to experience her world and struggles with new dimension.

Monaco & Monte Carlo (July 2005)

2007-10-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

Monaco is home to the cleanest, most pristine train station I have ever seen in Europe. This clean, orderly, air of perfection extends beyond the train terminal and permeates the tiny country. With unemployment and homelessness rates at 0%, and no income tax, this constitutional monarchy is almost a utopia of sorts. The pleasant climate and casino culture attract tourists from far and wide. We took a 35 minute train ride in from Nice to explore Monaco and Monte Carlo for the day, awestruck by the immaculate nature of the country. Everything is kept up, from the sidewalks to the harbors, to the architecture, nothing is unkempt or on the verge of becoming so. We ambled around town, not really sure of what sights were notable sans the esteemed Monte Carlo Casino. Manicured gardens and boutique hotels are the norm in Monte Carlo - evidenced by the expensive vehicles parked outside. Bentleys, Rolls Royce's, Mercedes, the list continues...basically a car collector's dream, all vying for recognition or sponsorship at the Monaco Grand Prix - Europe's annual, revered car race. While cruising Monaco we also took in St. Nicholas' Cathedral where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier were married decades ago. We didn't have a change to sample any cuisine while in Monaco, as prices were so overpriced, hunger seemed like the better alternative. An item as small as a bottle of water was 5 euro at one shop! The luxurious amenities even crossed from land to sea, as the Port of Monaco was packed with enormous, sparkling white yachts. We laughed, joking that the sight alone prompted the "Lifestyles of the rich and famous," voice to echo in our heads. Overall - while it is perhaps the cleanest, safest destination you will ever visit, I thought it lacked what most travelers seek, culture, variety and of course a little unpredictability.

New York City (first trip, April 2006)

2007-10-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

When a friend from college moved out to NYC right after graduation, talks of venturing out to visit the Big Apple began. We decided to celebrate my friend's 23rd birthday in New York, an exciting journey for both of us, since neither of us had been to the city since middle school. We arrived on an extremely wet April morning...and after lunching at the pizzeria Frank Sinatra made famous- Grimaldi's - we took a stroll in the rain along the Brooklyn Heights
Promenade. Right as we were about to pose in front of the Brooklyn Bridge, the wind caught by umbrella and turned it inside out. My friend happened to snap a picture of me at that exact moment, which ended up being pretty hilarious.
Luckily the rest of the trip was gloriously warm and sunny, very un-New York Like for early April. While our friend worked, we indulged in touristy sites. We skipped the Empire State Building and went for our own concotion of a tour a la "Sex and the City." Visiting Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, Serendipity, the Guggenheim Museum, the Chrysler Building, Bryant Park, and of course the stoop where Carrie lived in "Sex and the City." We went out to eat at some great spots, Corner Bistro (known for peppery Bloody Mary's and amazing burgers), Kemia - a funky Moroccan restaurant/bar with a sultry red decor, Serafina, authentic Italian in the the theater district, 'A' - inventive Caribbean fare on the Upper West Side, and of course Nathan's gourmet hot dogs. We ended the trip with a sunny walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and dressing up for dinner, drinks, and a Broadway show "Putnam County Spelling Bee." If you haven't been to New York, I highly recommend it, and advise you to explore beyond the advertised attractions, you never know what you will find!

Siena, Italy (July 2004)

2007-10-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

My sister and I arrived
in Siena on a warm, summer afternoon, and sought to take it the sleepy town's architectural wonders. The bell tower in Siena is the highest in Italy, overlooking the wide Piazza del Campo below and the Tuscan countryside that lies beyond the city limits. My sister and I climbed to the top of the tower (a total of 102 meters upward). The climb seemed mild at first, but as you gain height in the tower, the interior staircase narrows and the ceiling drops. For those who get claustrophobic easily, this is not the site for you! Once we hit the top (out of breath might I add), the views are spectacular.
There is a good sized balcony area (as bell towers go) to walk around and take snapshots of the panoramic views. There is an excellent aerial view of the Siena Cathedral duomo and its black-and-white striped campanile. While my sister and I were in the midst of snapping pictures, the bell rang! It scared the crap out of us!! The bells clanged with such force and volume that everyone up there jumped in surprise, and was even scarier was that we could feel the vibrations of the bells beneath our feet.
After our jolt, we climbed back down the tower (almost scarier than going up) and continued to explore the other sights Siena had to offer. I highly recommend paying the 5 or so Euro to see the inside of the
Palaz zo Pubblico, the palace of Siena, home to the famous frescoes by Tuscan painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Also notable is the gorgeous Siena Cathedral, which is aesthetically and spiritually stunning.

Nice, France (first trip, July 2004)

2007-10-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

The French Riviera is like a vacation from your vacation. The sunshine permeates the coast, once off the train you feel a sudden overwhelming sense of peace accompanied by a gentle breeze of salty ocean air. Here the locals are jovial and welcoming, and tourists are met with wide toothed grins rather than frowns. The water is unbelievably clear and such a vibrant azure blue, it feels unreal - as if you are floating in neon blue food coloring. And to accompany the quintessential Nice sunset are stretches of uninterrupted beach as far as the eye can see. My sister and I arrived in Nice the day before Bastille Day (France's independence day). The town was abuzz in preparation for the Bastille Day festivities. A celebratory parade marched down the Promenade des Anglais, paralleling the Bay of Angels, complete with a brass band, local military squads outfitted with weaponry, and locals sporting elaborate colorful costumes. The spirit of the day carried into the Cours Saleya, Nice's famous outdoor market (one of my favorite's in Europe). The Cours Saleya is organized in a U-shape, French restaurants, bistros, and cafes make up the perimeter, while daily vendors set up shop in the interior space. The market vendors offer fresh picked fruits and vegetables, delectable pastries, breads, seasoned meats, and fresh caught seafood still squirming, brought up daily by local fishermen. It is a jumble of conversation, laughter, and pedestrians, some wandering, others sipping lemon pressé and dining on the catch of the day. The entire day was exciting because we almost felt like locals, indulging in the celebratory atmosphere of the community. As dusk settled in, we followed the crowd to the Promenade des Anglais, where a spectacular fire works display ensued, cheered on by boisterous French men and women. All in all, a fantastic independence day!

London, England (June 2004)

2007-10-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

London served as my gateway to Europe. My sister and I who had never before been abroad figured if we started in an English speaking country it would be a smoother transition into the European way of life. London, while fabulous in its own right, turned out to be one of the more chaotic cities we visited. London is a hodgepodge of underground stations, winding streets, expansive squares, and rows of identical houses. A place where one neighborhood mingles into the next without so much as a sign or arrow of distinction. As pedestrians we forever were challenged to look right when crossing the street, as cars come speeding by on he "wrong" side of the road. On our first full day, we decided to wing it, navigating the glorious streets of London in the rain, pocketing our map and guidebook and simply hoping for the best. Well turn after turn, and one torrential downpour later we ended up in what we later discovered to be Soho, London's infamous sex district. We found ourselves in the midst of a neighborhood of "XXX" ratings and explicit window displays, all the while huddling together under our umbrella trying to avoid the streams of water pouring from overflowing gutters. It is comical to look back on now, remembering how we were simultaneously laughing and crying, running through puddles in frantic search of a warm place to stay dry (not exactly easy to find in the sex district). Finally we rounded a bend and in the distance, like a beacon of light, was Starbucks! Despite the tourist faux pas of indulging in an American brand abroad, Starbucks was our savior. We warmed ourselves and dried our feet over hot mugs (no paper cups here) of coffee and biscuits, and laughed about our first adventure abroad.

Los Angeles, California (Oct. 2006)

2007-10-19T12:05:00.001-07:00

I flew down to LA for the weekend to attend the bat-mitzvah celebration of Chelsea, the younger sister of my good friend Lindsay. My sister who lived in Newport at the time, accompanied me as my date. After the coming of age ceremony, we moved into an adjacent ballroom for the "Pretty in Pink" themed reception and party. Now I haven't been to many bat-mitzvah's but this was an extravagant soirée, the caliber of the decorations, the favors, and the food made it feel like we were at a wedding (except everything was pink and it was for a 13-year old). Regardless, my sister and I had a fabulous time! There were hip-hop dancers for entertainment, photo booths, and pixie-stix making stations. The interior of the hall was transformed into a pink paradise, complete with hot pink chaise lounges and gargantuan pink flower arrangements at every table. At the end of the night, they passed out pink party favors - princess crowns, blinking rings, pink feather boas, pink glow-sticks. We all enjoyed playing "dress up" and adorning ourselves with the favors, making my sister and I reminisce back to our "dress and dazzle" days. At the end of the night, I was so glad I flew down for the weekend; to see Chelsea all grown up, and laugh, dance, and dress up with two of my favorite people!

Sun Valley, Idaho (Feb. 2006)

2007-10-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was can remember, my family has made an annual pilgrimage to Sun Valley, Idaho for a family ski vacation. About 10 years ago, my mom's best friend and her family built a house in Sun Valley, and we gained a stellar place to stay on these annual vacations. The last time I visited in February, 2006, I took a long weekend and flew with my Mom and her friend to Sun Valley for a "girls trip," as none of our other family members were available. The weather was impeccable, sunny as always. We spent the weekend skiing, shopping, dining out at local restaurants, and curling up in front of a roaring fire watching the Winter Olympics.
On our final day we decided to try snow-shoeing. Snow-shoeing is pretty funny, it feels like tying tennis rackets to your feet and shuffling through the snow with the aide of ski poles. The three of us corralled around in the snow, sinking into drifts, and occasionally losing our balance and tipping over, which I'm sure appeared quite comical to anyone who might have been watching. All in all it was more of a workout than I anticipated. Although I must say, while snow-shoeing, you have adequate time to absorb the wilderness scenery, a nice change-up from a downhill run.

Munich, Germany (July 2005)

2007-10-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

The afternoon we arrived in Munich, Germany was one of the hottest days of our European trip. The sun was beating down on us as we carried our heavy backpacks around town, searching for a place to sleep for the night. Brows sweating, stomachs rumbling, we looked for somewhere cool to rest and grab a bite. After cruising through an outdoor market we stumbled upon a bratwurst outdoor beer garden. It was almost more of an outdoor cafeteria as there were rows and rows of bench seated tables arranged under groves of shady trees. The tables were packed with people, relaxing with large steins of beer and brats. Figuring "When in Munich," we ordered ourselves a few steins, brats (pouring over the large mustard selection in the condiment area) and settled onto a corner of a table to enjoy our German feast. However, once our filling lunch was done, it was back to the heat. Anticipating our evening festivities at the Hofbrauhaus we didn't want to wear ourselves during the day and decided to leisurely explore. In one of the main squares I came upon a large fountain spraying idyllic cool water - and I don't really know what came over me, but I was so uncomfortable I jumped in - (disregarding the consequences of actually being caught, fined, or even arrested) and leapt around the fountain for a few blissful seconds, much to my friends' surprise. Probably wasn't the smartest move, but I did feel much cooler for the rest of the afternoon.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (Nov. 2005)

2007-10-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm usually not one for going out of town during the holidays, but when my friend Ashley invited me to spend Thanksgiving weekend, 2005 in Cabo San Lucas with her and her family, I had to accept. We left at 7am from the frosty weather of Seattle and by 3 were lounging poolside in Cabo. While Thanksgiving was a little different those I am used to, it was complete with a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie - courtesy of Ashley's always prepared mom and the local Costco. The day after Thanksgiving, when most Seattle-ites are getting up early to hit the shops, watching football, and indulging on leftovers, Ashley's family and I took at little adventure and went ATV-ing on the beach. (ATV stands for = all terrain vehicles). I was a novice at ATV-ing which are basically like 4-wheeled dirtbikes you race. Our ATV experience was pretty exciting, we rode along narrow desert trails, through sand dunes paralleling the beach, and finally alongside the ocean. We were in a corral of about 15, 7 of who were in our group for the weekend. We started deep in the cacti, and followed the herd out toward the beach where we had 2 hours to have a free for all! We drove up steep ridges, got stuck in the sand a few times, and did some modest jumps and spins. Overall it was a great time, and a beautiful, warm day, it hardly felt like November, let alone the day after Thanksgiving.

Salzburg, Austria (June 2005)

2007-10-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

I love musicals. My grandparents used to have season tickets to the 5th Avenue Theatre and would take my middle sister and I to every musical that debuted. I did not anticipate my affinity of musicals to catch up to me in Europe, but surprisingly enough - it did. Turns out the most famous musical of all - The Sound of Music was filmed in Salzburg, Austria. We discovered this fact while visiting, and while normally aiming to be the "anti-tourist," (ie. not traveling in tour groups, over zealously taking pictures, traveling in large packs, trying to stand out)...my friends and I decided to take the "Sound of Music Tour."
Now I have to say, this tour was impressive. For four hours you are guided through the hills with an Austrian native, going to the sites of the movie. And the best part was - she played the soundtrack while we drove! So we were literally singing "the hills are alive," while driving along the windy back roads of Salzburg, it was surreal.
Our tour guide took us to see the Von Trapp estate where the family lived in the movie, the gorgeous gardens the children run through in song, the church where Captain Von Trapp and Maria were married, the wall Maria runs alongside singing "I Have Confidence," and finally the gazebo-home to the famous duet "I am 16, Going on 17."
So when we arrived at the gazebo there was a crowd of about 20 or so people...and we come to find out, Liesel (the real actress who played Liesel) was there filming a Sound of Music tribute. It was such a unique and pleasant surprise! Our tour guide said in the 9 years she'd been running this tour, nothing like this had ever happened. It was so cool, we got to meet and take a picture with her. And then the entire crowd, led by Liesel herself, joined in for a group singing of "I am 16, Going on 17," my friends and I were just giddy with delight. Kind of dorky I know, but it was such a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Barcelona, Spain (June 2005)

2007-10-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

My friends and I decided to go to Barcelona on a whim halfway through our trek of Europe. We had originally made arrangements to go to Athens and surrounding islands, but we decided we couldn't tackle all that Greece had to offer in 4 short days. Itching to get to the beach, we cashed in our europebyair.com tickets for three flights to Barcelona. Of course when we got there we had no idea where to go. Which was not a huge deal because we had been winging it in most cities. But we realized we didn't even have a guide book on Spain to coach us on what neighborhoods to stay in and what to avoid, as Spain was not part of our original itinerary. Next my friend suggests "let's tell the taxi driver we want to go to "la playa," the beach - there has to be a place to stay by the beach!" We all agree and pile our huge backpacks into a taxi, saying "la playa" to the driver, who looks at us puzzled and then shrugs, speeding off. We arrive at what is nothing more than a long stretch of beach - with what looks like a few cafes but no hostels, hotels, nothing. He drops us off and drives off grumbling "stupid Americans." So there we are stuck on a beach, with no clue of how near or far we are to anything in Barcelona, when it starts to rain. This beach vacation started off great huh?
Well...long story short we found a place to stay after locating an internet cafe, what did travelers do before the internet?
And though it did continue to rain for most of our so-called beach excursion, we were able to indulge in some culture. Barcelona is the home of architect Antoni Gaudi, famous for buildings that are organic, Art Noveau-esque, and almost other worldly in appearance. I studied him in my college architecture classes so I was eager to check out the real thing. We didn't get to see all of his work, but we did walk through Casa Batllo - an apartment building fashioned to resemble an underwater dragon, which was so cool to walk through - I highly recommend it. We also saw Casa Mila and finally Sagreda Familia. Gaudi died while building this soaring basilica that he intended to be "the last great sanctuary of Christendom." Each of the four facades has a different construction, with incredible religious symbolism infused into the structure. To me it kind of looked like an alien space ship, it has these four spindles that pierce the sky, and the tympanum reliefs look like melting wax dripping off the basilica. All in all, we didn't quite make it to the beach. But we got ourselves some culture.

Bridgehampton, New York (Aug. 2007)

2007-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

This August, my family took a vacation to visit some of our cousins at their summer home in Bridgehampton, New York. We flew into JFK, and drove from the chaos of the city out to the Hampton's - a sumptuous corner of New York; freckled with Cape Cod estates, expansive green meadows, historic B&B's, and beaches with grassy dunes. While we were there, I felt somewhat disconnected from reality. We spent our days lounging around their house, swimming, bike riding through the neighboring lanes, and playing on the beach. Occasionally we would drive into one of the towns; picturesque boulevards of antique storefronts, 5-and-dime stores, and family owned businesses. On any given day you can see people sailing in the harbor, children licking ice cream cones, and celebrities eating at outdoor cafes, unafraid of being recognized.
In the evenings the atmosphere would liven, as everyone would return from their activities of the day, coming together to enjoy an amazing multi-coursed feast. There were about 15-20 people there every night, some family, some friends; just talking, laughing, eating, and drinking together. Overall it was an enjoyable, relaxing vacation, but I was happy to get back to my normal life. Leaving with the knowledge that if I ever need an escape, I know just the place to go.

Cinqueterre, Italy (June 2004)

2007-10-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sure by now everyone has heard of the Cinqueterre, made popular by travel guru Rick Steves. If not, they are five coastal Italian hilltowns nestled in rocky nooks along the scalloped Mediterranean coastline. These towns are gems because they are only accessible by train or footpath, there is no access for cars or tourist buses - an absolute delight! While all five towns are connected by trains that arrive every 15 minutes, my sister and I decided to take the adventurous route and trek the "L'alta via delle Cinque Terre" the highest hiking trail. Wearing tank-tops, running shoes, and carrying our day packs, we began our trek in Monterosso (the northern most town) to the next town, Vernazza. We later found out that this leg of the hike is by far the steepest and most difficult, which we were tackling in the heat of the day, without food or water - big mistake! However the views were unparalleled. The narrow dirt trail hugs the side of the mountain which is lush and green, and has sweeping views of the ocean below. Above us we saw farmers laboring amongst their crops, terraced because the hills are so steep. The hike was very strenuous even for my sister and I who come from a family of avid hikers. But the experience was manifested by our final bend in the trail that overlooked the sparkling town of Vernazza. We could hear children laughing in the water, see the fisherman coming into port, daytrippers sunning on the rocks. It was a fantastic, cumulative moment, and I found that in that moment I was no longer tired, or thirsty, or out of breath - just in awe and at peace.

Prague, Czech Republic (June 2005)

2007-10-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

During the summer after I graduated college, two of my best friends and I took an extensive backpacking tour of Europe, and Prague was our third destination of the trip. When we arrived the air was warm, and the sky a gorgeous azure blue, dotted with hundreds of small, airy clouds. A welcome change from the foggy cold of Germany. We took a taxi from our hotel to Old Town Square, where we began exploring the city. Prague's tagline "city of one hundred spires," rings true as you stroll through the square. The buildings have not been cleaned or prettied up for the sake of tourism as is the custom in Western Europe. I got the feeling of going back in time- the true spirit of bohemia; walking along aging green statues of Christ, street musicians and vendors puttering around selling paintings and marionette dolls, the conversation of guttural accents.

After some sites, we indulged in Prague cuisine - known for hearty, stick-to-your-ribs fare and world renown beer. After discovering a charming restaurant off the beaten path, we enjoyed Pilsner's (so much better in Prague than the US) and goulash. Goulash: if you're unfamiliar is made from beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika, often served over white bread. Now, I have to say when the goulash arrived it looked like brown slop; totally unappetizing. However after my brave friend took a bite and us less adventurous foodies tried it, I'd pass on this advice - suck it up - because it is actually delicious (even if it looks gross).