The Motherland.

On the regular I am asked, by students and people I meet during my trips, "What is your favorite place you have traveled to?"  It is one of the hardest questions to answer because every city and country I have traveled to has been unique and wonderful in its own way and I have enjoyed every trip I have been on.  I tend to just say "EVERYWHERE!", but now after a recent trip to Ireland I have come to the conclusion that Ireland is by far my favorite country to visit.
There are several reasons why this is the best place:

1) The beautiful country side

2) The Irish are the friendliest and most hospitable people (and the Irish accents!)

3) The various kinds and flavours of Cadbury Chocolate (It is the best chocolate I have ever had)

4) Guinness Beer & Bulmers Cider
(yes, in my world chocolate comes before beer on the list...)

Plus I take such pride in my Irish heritage when I am in Ireland and I enjoy seeing my family who live there; this is my Motherland. 

{Cliffs of Moher} 

{Guinness Brewing Factory}

Sláinte (Cheers!)

Never Stop Explorin'

I am not as good at this blogging thing as I wanted to be...I guess when you are busy traveling to a different country in the EU every week it is a little hard to keep up to date with blog posts.  

I spent the majority of March traveling, country hopping and guiding students on their spring break trips.  I was in a total of five countries this month - each city amazing, unique and historical.  After traveling this last month my desire to never stop explorin' the world stays strong and I am much more excited about my continuous travels through Europe this summer. 

Fun facts about the cities I ventured to in March:

{Prague} 

In the Czech Republic beer is cheaper than water!

{ John Lennon Peace Wall, Prague, Czech Republic}

{Berlin} 

About 127 tons of sausage is consumed every day.  Currywusrt - pork sausage with curry ketchup -  is a popular fast food dish.

Also, the first Dunkin Dounts I have saw in over 3 months was in Berlin!

{Beer and pretzels at Hofbrau House in Berlin, Germany}

{Amsterdam} 

There are more bicycles in this city than there are permanent residents!  There are also more canals in Amsterdam than in Venice. 

 {I amsterdam sign in Amsterdam, Netherlands}

{Paris} 

Well Paris is the city of love and also one of the most expensive cities I have visited.  

The Louvre used to be the palace of the royal family before it was turned into a museum.

{The Louvre Museum in Paris, France}

{London}
My favorite city of all - the land of Harry Potter and very attractive British accents, enough said.

{Platform 9 3/4 - on my way to Hogwarts, London, England}

John Lennon Was (Not) Here.

I first ventured to Prague as a student two and a half years ago.  I fell in love with the city then and now that I have been back two more times in the past two weeks it is safe to say it is my favorite city in Europe right now.  Prague is a magnificent, beautiful and unique place;  across the river and on the hill overlooking all of Prague is Prague Castle making it feel like you are living in a fairy tale.  {Maybe if I go back enough times I will find my Prince Charming?}

A famous tourist attraction in the city & the best place to take pictures is the John Lennon Peace Wall {but really the pictures you take here are awesome, my FB cover photo has been the same picture of the Peace Wall for the past two years because it is that cool}.  Believe it or not, John Lennon was never actually here at this wall.  It was named after him because during the 1980's, after Lennon's death,  he was a hero and a sign of peace to young Czechs so during the time of communism they used the wall as a way to protest and defy the authorities by painting his face on the wall.  They also filled it with other John-Lennon inspired graffiti, flowers, peace symbols and song lyrics from The Beatles.  No matter how many times the wall was washed people found a way continue creating messages on it.  To this day the wall still undergos changes and will always represent love and peace for everyone everywhere.  The Peace Wall always has something new to share with the world; people visit from all over to paint large portraits of peace signs and graffiti lyrics and some simply just sign their names in sharpie {my name is on the wall somewhere!}.   I am looking forward to seeing what new additions make it on the wall next time I travel to Prague.  

A great day signing the Peace Wall

QU takes over Prague

"Never Stop Explorin'.." John Lennon Peace Wall January 2014

John Lennon

The Gelato Life.

For the first three weeks that I was living in Florence I was hesitant to go out and indulge in Gelato {which was so hard because there is a Gelateria around every corner, even one right outside my front door!} because I knew after that first gelato I would love it too much, not be able to control myself and end up eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I finally had my first cup of gelato last week and it has indeed become my main source of food {well gelato and pasta}.  Along with adding gelato to my diet I am glad I have also incorporated long runs into my days so hopefully it all balances out. Gelato is just so yummy, I think I even enjoy it more than ice cream.  Unlike ice cream, Gelato uses more milk so it doesn't have nearly as much fat.  It also gets turned at a slower speed which means there is less air mixed into the base making it more dense and it is served at a much warmer temperature to keep it creamy.

Gelato comes in every flavor imaginable - you can walk into a Gelateria and be completely overwhelmed by the 50 + flavors inside the Gelato case.  I personally love Cookies & Cream and Hazelnut gelato but lets be real each kind is delicious!  I have two goals when it comes to gelato while living in Italy - 1) branch out and try a different flavor each time 2) Not eat it for every meal, just once in a while.

Check out different Gelato recipes you can make yourself here!

&

For some more fun history on gelato check out this little video :)

I am a Nomad.

Over the last few years I have acquired the nickname of 'nomad'  {meaning someone with no permanent home, moves from place to place}.  My friends gave me the new name, not because I don't have a home {I have a lovely home and family}, but because they know I really enjoy traveling and constantly being in new places.  It is a realistic nickname, I do live a nomadic lifestyle and am always on the go - during college breaks I would barely go home, instead I would go visit New York, South Carolina, New Jersey, California or any other state I had never been to before.  Being a nomad is my way of staying in touch with my adventurous side and keeping my desire to see the world alive.
My latest nomad move was the best one I have made; as you all know I moved from Massachusetts to Italy and I couldn't be happier.  I made the choice to run towards all that the world (well Europe right now) has to offer instead of settling for a monotony office job. 

Here are a few good travel quotes that help sum up why I love traveling and why I think it is important for everyone to be a nomad at some point & go explore the world:

"We travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us." - Anonymous

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a chance that goes on deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." 

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere.  That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."

"I just wanna go on more adventures.  Be around good energy. Connect with people.  Learn new things. Grow."  

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls." - Anais Nin

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

"Not all those who wander are lost." - J.R.R Tolkien

The Happiest Place On Earth.

Did you know that Switzerland is one of the happiest countries in the world? 

I am fortunate enough to have been able to travel to Interlaken, Switzerland twice now - once as a student and again last week for staff training and orientation with Bus2alps.  After spending time in Switzerland I agree 100% that this is one of the happiest places on earth.  Interlaken is a beautiful town with breathtaking views of the mountains and the lakes. There are endless possibilities of activities and the fun never stops.  As a group we were able to go snow shoeing in the Swiss Alps, try night sledding and walk around Lake Brienz.  If you visit be adventurous and go skydiving, canyon jumping or skiing. Out of all the places I have seen and explored, this is by far one of my favorite spots and I cannot wait to go back!

{Bus2alps Spring 2014 Staff in the Jungfrau Mountians}

To see how cool Interlaken is click here :)

My Internet Diary.

When ringing in the new year I decided that one of my New Years resolutions is to focus on my blog. I started this blog mainly for myself because I enjoy writing but I also started it as a means to keep family and friends updated on how I am doing while living in Italy. As I write each blog post I almost feel as if I am back in middle school and writing in a diary; Im writing down what I am up to, my thoughts and feelings but unlike a diary I want to share it with who ever wants to read it.  

My goal is to have Tuesday be blog day - so new blog posts about a new city I visited or a new recipe I like or new wisdom I learn from the Italians will be posted on Tuesdays.

{If you want to hear about my adventures with bus2alps or see selfies of me in front of historical monuments then you should definitely bookmark / favorite this blog and read it every Tuesday morning with your cup of coffee.}

Here are some tips about blogging I learned that I would like to share with any of you that blog/want to blog:

1. "Write for yourself first & foremost. Ignore the fact that anyone else will read what you write; just focus on your thoughts, ideas, opinions and figure out how to put those into words."
2. Be consistent.  Blog on a regular basis to keep people interested and to have them continue reading your blog.
3. Write catchy headings on each blog post to grabs people's attention.
4. Be yourself while writing/blogging.

{If you like reading my blog but it's not enough - you want a hand written note from me on a postcard, just message me your address and I will be sure to send you one}

-ACM