The Eternal City

Imagine living in a place with over 14,000 years of history. Walking down the streets each day is like walking the pages of a history book. From the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and so many other sites, I absolutely loved calling Rome my home for four months my junior year of college.

We lived in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, which was full of vibrant young people and the best food in Rome. We spent every moment we weren’t in class or traveling roaming the Eternal City. Quickly, we learned some of the bigger tourist attractions, The Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain, were best seen at night. Often times after a night out we would wander over there to enjoy one final drink with a view before bed.

As for food, the Italian definitely knew what they were doing. To this day I still crave cacio e pepe pasta from Tony’s and tiramisu from Miscellanea. We were regulars at quite a few places, and are still in contact with many of the restaurant owners who are eagerly awaiting our return. No words can describe the experience that is living in Rome.

OBX

Other than Disney World, my family’s favorite vacation spot that we always return to is the Outer Banks. We always stay at the northern end of the island, in either Duck or Corolla. There’s not too much up there, especially in Corolla, a grocery store, a few shops, a few restaurants is all. Corolla is peaceful, which is why my family enjoys it so much.

This past summer, the entire family decided to rent a house right by the beach, on a lake. The house was big enough to fit my parents, both sets of grandparents, my aunt and her friend, my little brother, my friend, and me. The house was three stories, with two kitchens, six bedrooms, two family rooms, a wrap around porch on every level, a pool, and a hot tub. Needless to say, we could have not left the house all week and been content.

We would wake up early to spend our mornings sleeping on the beach. After our morning naps, we would head back to the house for lunch and an afternoon outing. The afternoon outings consisted of kayaking, climbing a lighthouse, a wild horse tour, shopping, and a wine tasting. If you’re looking for a peaceful vacation spot with a lot to do, Corolla is the place to go.

Sunburns, Sand and Shirley Temples

Cruising has always been one of my favorite ways to vacation with my family. I have been on over ten cruises, the majority with Royal Caribbean. So when friends suggested we spend our senior year spring break on a cruise, I was all for it.

We booked a four-night cruise leaving from Port Canaveral, Florida, so we could spend the night before our trip with my grandparents right by the port. While I was skeptical that four nights and five days was not going to be a long enough trip, I was most definitely wrong.

We boarded the ship that Monday and immediately headed to the pool, what we hadn’t realized before that moment was that our ship consisted of 95% college students. We spent that day and night at the pool, only leaving for dinner.

The next morning the nine of us woke up, went to breakfast, and then headed off the ship to CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. We quickly found lounge chairs and spent the morning napping on the beach. After napping we woke up, ate lunch and decided it was time to swim. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the water, and headed back for the ship thoroughly sunburnt.

The rest of the cruise proceeded in a similar fashion, the main focus being spending time in the sun as well as eating. By the end of the week we were all ready for a second spring break, happily sunburnt.

This is What Dreams are Made of

One of our first few rainy nights in Rome a group of us decided to have a movie night, solely watching movies set in Rome. One of the many we watched was the Lizzie McGuire Movie. Having all seen it before, we wanted to experience all of the places Lizzie did on her trip. One of our favorite places she visited were beautiful gardens, so after some research we got on a train and headed to the ancient town of Tivoli.

Our destination in Tivoli was the Villa Adriana, home of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The entire estate is gorgeous, overlooking sprawling hills. A wedding had just occurred at the church next to the Villa and the reception was taking place within the gardens, the entire scene was beautiful. The gardens were sprawling, and overlooked the nearby town.

After exploring the Hadrian’s villa we headed into the small town for food. I’ve learned that basically anywhere you stop to eat in Italy the food will be fantastic. So after yet another amazing meal we shopped through the town, stopping for gelato on our way back to the train. Our trip to Tivoli fulfilled our childhood dreams of being Lizzie McGuire.

Prost: Oktoberfest

Before we even left for Rome, my friend Steve and I knew that one of our many trips while abroad had to be to Oktoberfest in Germany. For those who don’t know, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest “funfair” which is held annually in Munich, Germany. Despite its name, Oktoberfest runs from late September until early October. With the fair running while we were already in Europe, we felt we couldn’t miss it.

We ended up attending Oktoberfest the last weekend of the festivities. The trip was booked through Bus2Alps, our favorite travel company while abroad. That Thursday night we got on the bus for our 12-hour bus ride from Rome to Munich. Those 12 hours were spent attempting to sleep, as the fun would start the second we got to Munich.

Once in Munich we headed to Jaeger’s Hostel, only a few blocks from the fairgrounds. After quickly dropping off our bags we headed directly to the Hofbrauhaus tent to meet up with friends who were already there. The tent was filled with people of all ages, but with a strong number of college aged adults. There was music, food, and ample amounts of beer. In the late afternoon the tents clear out for those who chose to reserve tables, and we headed over to ride the Ferris wheel and eat pretzels the size of our faces. As we barely slept the night before, Friday was an early night in order to prepare for the next day.

Saturday morning we left for the fairgrounds early, as it is a mad dash to get tables. We again spent the day at the Hofbrauhaus tent, meeting up with friends old and new. Once again when the tents were cleared for those who reserved tables and we headed back into Munich to the Hofbrauhaus restaurant for more beer, chicken, and spaetzle. After dinner we met up friends’ cousins who were locals, which meant they knew how to get back into the tents for more music and fun. They took us to the Hacker-Pschorr tent where we spent the night dancing next to the live band. Oktoberfest is definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

The Luck of the Irish

One of the best parts about being abroad is being able to visit other friends wherever they chose to study. One of those types of trips was to visit one of my closest friends from high school, Brittany, in Ireland. Of course when you tell people you’re going somewhere they haven’t visited yet, they’re likely to join in the fun, so for this trip my friends Michelle, Marisa, and Chrissy joined me.

Since Italians don’t exactly celebrate Thanksgiving, we flew to Dublin that night. From Dublin, we took a bus ride up to Northern Ireland to the city of Belfast. The hostel we stayed in was a cozy remodeled house that we absolutely adored.

The next morning we woke up early and took a bus tour farther up the coast to visit a World Heritage Site, The Giant’s Causeway. It causeway is made up of hexagonal columns that form stepping-stones that extend of the cliff into the sea. The legend behind the columns is that the columns are the remnants of a causeway built by the Irish giant Finn to battle a Scottish giant. When Finn goes to fight the Scottish giant and realizes his size, he quickly retreats home. Finn’s wife then disguises him as a baby and the Scottish giant is fooled into thinking that Finn must be huge if his baby is already this large. The Scottish giant flees and destroys the causeway as he goes.

After our trip and a fantastic lunch of Irish stew, we returned back to Belfast to explore the city. As it was late November, the Belfast Christmas Market was in full swing, full of crafts, food, and holiday cheer. In order to warm up again before we adventured out again we stopped and ate more Irish stew before venturing to the pub, where we learned how to Irish jig with the locals.

The next morning we headed back to Dublin to explore the city. Our first stop was to the Guinness factory where we learned how Guinness was made and how to pour the perfect pint. That night we explored the shops and pubs of Dublin, ending our Irish adventure.

Under the Tuscan Sun

My love for Brunello di Montalcino started on the hills of Tuscany on a day trip from Rome. The Tuscan countryside is one of the world’s most lush regions and home to top-notch wines and produce, rolling hills, medieval villages, and sprawling vineyards. Our trip took us to the town of Montepulciano where we had snacks and wine tasting at Winery Gattevecchi and to Montalcino, and the Altesino Vineyard.

Montepulciano is a small town on top of a large hill, creating breathtaking views. For the Twilight fans out there, the scene in New Moon where Bella runs through the square to Edward before he steps into the sun was filmed in a square in the town. The fountain in the movie was built just for the movie. Although a movie was filmed in Montepulciano, the town still has a small sleepy town feel. We spent the morning popping into various shops and exploring small alleys that led to incredible views. Once done exploring, we went to Gattevecchi for a wine tasting and snacks of bread, olive oil, cold cuts, and cheese. From there we departed for Montalcino.

Once in Montalcino we headed straight to the Altesino winery. On our tour of the vineyard we learned how wine is made, from picking grapes, to the different aging processes, to bottling and labeling. With our new found knowledge it was time to taste wine, which was when I was first introduced to Brunello di Montalcino a wine made entire from Sangiovese grapes that have been aged 3 or more years in large oak casks. We sipped wine and looks out on the sprawling hills of the Tuscan countryside, completing our perfect day under the Tuscan sun.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Limoncello

Although I might bias, there is no better coastline than that of Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Bright colored houses are stacked like a game of Jenga right up on the beach. The visibility is amazing, and the blue ocean spans on for miles and miles. My trip to Sorrento on Italy’s Amalfi Coast took place my second weekend studying abroad in Rome, and was our first unforgettable trip of the semester.

The majority of the semester we traveled via a travel company, Bus2Alps. The bus trip to Sorrento was about four hours, which felt like no time at all with how excited we all were. That night we checked into our hotel and enjoyed a drink on the rooftop bar before heading to bed early for the exciting day ahead.

        Friday morning we woke up and took a ferry ride to the island of Capri. Once there we explored the Blue Grotto, one of the seven natural wonders of Europe, which depending on conditions glows neon blue. Once awestruck, we took a boat tour around the rest of the island. After disembarking the boat, we walked into the town of Capri and enjoyed lemon slushes and Limoncello, as Capri is famous for their lemons. From there we piled into buses and headed to Anacapri, the highest part of the island.

In Anacapri our first stop was to Canfora, an Italian sandal maker who made shoes for Jackie Kennedy. After a reassurance that our custom sandals would be dropped off at our hotel, we rode the chairlift to the top of Mount Solaro for incredible views of the whole island. We spent the afternoon eating lemon gelato on the beach and then headed back to Sorrento for dinner, for the best gnocchi alla Sorrentina I’ve ever had.

          Saturday we spent the day at the beach in the town of Positano. The little town is incredibly colorful with black sand beaches. On our walk down to the beach we passed multiple couples taking wedding pictures due to the beauty of the location. Also along our walk we stopped at Vini e Panini for the best sandwiches on the Amalfi coast. After relaxing on the beach, we went cliff jumping and cave diving. That night, we went back to the rooftop bar for our final night on the Amalfi Coast.

The City of Light

Paris is a wondrous city, known as the City of Light, due to it leading role in the Age of Enlightenment. I’ve been to Paris twice in my life, both times with my friend Sean. Our first trip was summer after our senior year of high school, the second was our junior year of college, Sean was studying abroad in Madrid, I was in Rome.

Before that first trip to Paris I had never been to Europe and now I plan on going back as often as possible. That first day we did all the typical tourist spots; my favorite will always be Notre Dame. The following day we visited the opulence that is Versailles, walking through the gardens is like being transported to a different world. That summer we managed to be in Paris for Bastille Day, France’s version of 4^th of July, so we watched the parade and went to the top of Montmartre to see the fireworks.

That first trip to Paris definitely warranted another trip when we returned to Europe. We met in Paris with a few other friends in November of 2014. Being the Disney fanatic that I am, we decided on a trip to Euro Disney was in order. The park was near empty and decorated for Christmas, it was a magical experience. That night we went on a river tour of Pari
s, watching the Eiffel Tower glitter on the hour. After the tour was over we sat underneath the Eiffel Tower eating crepes and drinking champagne.

The next day, early in the morning, we climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower, although visibility wasn’t great, being up that high was incredible. After, we explored the Louvre, which we all agreed we easily could have spent another full week discovering. The next stop was the lovelock bridge in Paris, which easily might be my favorite spot in the city. Seeing how many couples have visited the spot and locked their love onto the bridge is inspiring. The four of us locked our friendship onto that bridge and promised we would all return to Paris together in the future.

It was all started by a Mouse

Travel has been apart of my life since long before I can remember. In my childhood, travel coincided with one place, Disney World. My first trip to Disney took place when I was just nine months old and since then I’ve been to the most magical place on Earth over thirty times.

Although we went multiple times a year and eventually my mother and brother got sick of going there and requested we vacationed elsewhere, the magic never died for me. Even though I understood the logistics behind the magic, but the sight of those younger than me experiencing what I loved for the first time made Disney still a memorable experience for me.

One of my favorite parts about Disney vacations is that no two vacations are ever the same, even though they take place in the same location, with the same attractions. Up until I was eighteen, the trips consisted of various members of my family, whether it be my brother, parents, and I, or my brother and I with our grandparents. Senior year of high school, our class trip was to Disney. There is no better Disney experience than visiting with over fifty of your closest friends.

I enjoyed that trip with my high school friends to my favorite place so much that I decided to spend my senior year of college fall break in Disney with three close friends. That trip to Disney was my first without parents or adult chaperones, and we had a blast.

Not only does the Disney experience change with people, but also time of year. I’ve been to Disney every season, as well as for Halloween and Christmas. Disney at holidays is fantastic, all of the parks are completely decked out for that specific holiday, Halloween there are giant jack-o-lanterns, Christmas means Christmas trees everywhere.

Disney does entertainment extremely well; the messages they portray resonate long after the movie is over. They tell stories that stress the importance of hope, family, and chasing your dreams. I enjoy the park because it shows Walt Disney’s dream come to life. He started with nothing and created an empire. Disney best described his dream with the quote, “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.”