TRAVEL
Study Abroad
During the fall semester of 2017, I had the opportunity to spend four and a half months living and traveling throughout Europe. School and home were in Rome, Italy and I attended The American University of Rome. Below are photos and memories of my experience while abroad.
Croatia - Amalfi Coast - Germany - Greece - Denmark - The Netherlands- Switzerland - Morocco
CROATIA
PULA, CROATIA
My first weekend trip away from Rome was to beautiful Croatia. I traveled alone via train and bus to reach my destination of Pula. Waiting for me at the bus terminal was my childhood friend's grandparents who spend their summers in Pula. The welcomed me to their native country and to their home. While in Croatia, I toured this seafront city for a fews days while enjoying some excellent homemade meals.
The slow-paced beach life of this seaside town was greatly appreciated after a crazy first week of adjusting into Rome. I like to describe my time as a "weekend at grandma's" because my friend's grandmother took excellent care of during my stay as if I were her own.
MEDULIN, CROATIA
Croatian Hospitality
My final night in Croatia was spent strolling on the coast after some delicious ice cream. I really valued my time in Pula for many reasons. For one I can not thank these two enough for all their amazing hospitality. Also, this marked my first travel experience alone and that within it self is a reason why Croatia will stay with me for a while.
AMALFI COAST
POSITANO, ITALY
Helmets? Check!
Holy gorgeous! Talk about scenic views! Positano might have been the most beautiful place I visited during my time abroad. During this long weekend, my friends and I rented vespas and dove up and down the coast soaking up the sun and the breath taking views.
While in the Amalfi Coast, we spent and afternoon on the island of Capri. Capri was like a dream, however my friends and I thought it was a good idea to walk up ALL THE STEPS in on the island, it was not. If you've been to Capri, then you know the steps that I'm talking about. They take you from the ocean all the way to the top of a mountain. Yes it was not pleasant.
CAPRI, ITALY
Do Not Distrub: On
I really valued my time in the Amalfi Coast for many reasons. First, this was the first time that all my roommates and I had the opportunity to travel together. Looking back at this weekend I can't help but smile remembering some of the crazy moments we shared on Italy's most famous beach.
Secondly, I gained an appreciation for simpler things and the simpler times. We did not have to be doing the most to get the most. Just sitting on the beach and chatting about nothing can sometimes be the best kind of free therapy.
GERMANY
MUNICH, GERMANY
Prost!
Cheers, mate! Can I even say I went abroad if I didn't go to Oktoberfest? Probably not. My weekend in Munich was an interesting one to say the least. For starters, Munich is a truly remarkable city filled with nice people and adventure.
My roommate Owen and I decided to camp instead of rent an Air BnB or hostel and this turned out to be a wonderful decision. Although rather chilly at night, the campground was filled with rambunctious Oktoberfest goers like ourselves. A lively scene for a lively event.
OKTOBERFEST
Guten Zeiten und Bessere Freunde
On the day of the actual fest, my entire friend group got a table in the Hofbrau tent. There must have been anywhere from 50,00 - 100,00 people in this tent at a time.
We had a fantastic day and an even better night. Afterwards we walked around the fest and rode the carnival rides and filled our bellies with lots an lots of pretzels. I didn't have any idea what to expect Oktoberfest to be, so I did not sent any expectations, however, if I did they would have surely been exceeded.
GREECE
SANTORINI, GREECE
Mamma Mia!
One beach after another! Owen and I decided to do a long weekend on the island of Santorini. During our visit we got to see the iconic blue dome churches in Oia, travel back in time to ancient Thira, and catch plenty of rays while sun tanning on the beach.
We decided to rent ATVs and use them as our means of transportation. We rode to both tips of the island while cursing up and down the Grecian coast. At one of these tips, we hiked to the very end and I witnessed one of the most mesmerizing sunsets in my lifetime.
JUST KEEP SWIMMING
Look Who I Found!
During one of our many relaxing days on the beach in Santorini, a man comes out of the water hold this little guy. He told me that he was looking for octopus to make calamari for dinner that night. I asked if I could take a picture before it became his next meal.
On our way back to Rome, we had a six hour layover in Athens. Quickly we ran out of the airport with all of our luggage and saw the Parthenon and enjoyed our last gyro while in Greece.
DENMARK
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
København
To kick off the start of our fall break, my good friend Anthony and I started our 10 day traveling journey in Copenhagen. The city was amazingly clean and super friendly!
We started our stay by renting bikes and sight seeing. We saw the little mermaid statue and to be quite frank, a lot was left to be desired. Its just a nice sculpture on a rock, not much too it. What was really fascinating was the Rosenborg Castle. This Danish palace left me totally speechless. With the king and queen's crowns on display to the clothes that they actually wore, this museum was definiatly worth the visit.
ICE BAR
Ice Ice Baby
We stayed at the Generator Hostel, the nicest hostel I have ever seen. Ever. This hostel had everything, even Copenhagen's only Ice Bar, which we frequented.
Another amazing attraction that Copenhagen offered was Tivoli Gardens. This amusement park is what gave Walt Disney his inspiration to open Disney World. Its the oldest operating amusement park and it was breath-taken.
THE NETHERLANDS
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Is There Anything Better Than Traveling with Friends? Nope!
After Anthony's and mine time in Copenhagen was over, we flew to Amsterdam to rejoin the group! We spent a few days roaming the streets and seeing all the gorgeous canals. We took a canal tour and did you know that on average one car falls into the canal a week? Also, there are more bikes than people.
We took a bike tour of the city and saw monuments like the Van Gough Museum, the Bulldog, and the Rijksmuseum. We also had lunch at the same cafe in Oceans 12!
HALLOWEEN NIGHT
amsterDam!
Another exciting activity we did while in Amsterdam was going to the Heineken factory. While at the Heineken Experience we saw how it was made and played a few fun games along the way. We also spent Halloween 2017 in Amsterdam and I wish someone told up before we dressed up that they didn't celebrate there.
Our day ended in Vondelpark where we sat and people watched for a few hours. Amsterdam was surprisingly clean and after talking with some of the locals, we all gained a new insight oh how the world works.
SWITZERLAND
INTERLAKEN, SWITZERLAND
Between Two Lakes
As our time was coming to an end in Europe, we decided to have a boys weekend to Switzerland. We took a 15 hour bus to Interlaken, Switzerland's adventure capital, and had ourselves a very cold weekend.
We traveled to the very top of Interlaken to capture this amazing view. Although this picture doesn't look like it, we were a few miles above sea level and it was FREEZING!
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate
One of the coolest things we did while in Interlaken was go kayaking in the Swiss Alps. The water was the same shade blue as the electric Gatorade, however did not taste like i (yes we tried it). During our kayak trip we went to the top of an old Swiss castle and enjoyed some tea and cookies.
We took a day trip to Zurich and check the city out. It was exciting since we were there on a holiday. It was like a battle of the bands in the middle of streets everywhere. My lunch consisted of purely Swiss chocolate.
MOROCCO
MARRAKECH, MOROCCO
Alexa, Play Toto's Africa
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Two days after my 21st birthday I jumped on a plane and headed to northern Africa! I went with a student group for a long weekend to Marrakesh, Morocco. Morocco was an absolute dream come true. From walking throughout all the souks (markets) to watching the snake charmers in the city center, I loved my time in Africa.
One morning I decided to get a deep tissue Moroccan massage. This hour long intensive relaxation was much needed. They scrubbed our bodies so hard that the first layer of skin was peeling off like spaghetti. That sounds gross but if felt amazing. Also we got to see how Moroccan oil was made and you best believed I stuffed my suitcase with it.
THE RED CITY
Guess What Day It Is? Hump Day!
One of the coolest things that I did while abroad was go camel back riding in the mountains. We hiked about halfway up this mountain and waiting for us were the camels. We rode for about a half an hour gazing over the hills of Morocco. These sweet animals were a joy and this experience was unapparelled.
For dinner we visited a Berber family. Berber are indigenousness people of Morocco. They let us into their home and showed us their farm, shop and was of living. We had a nice meal accompanied by some delicious tea.