The luck of the Irish: Dublin, Ireland

Greetings~

Last weekend I ventured off with only me and my roomie to Dublin, Ireland. I had a great time embracing this city and country.

It started out our hostel, Jacob's Inn, which was our very FIRST hostel experience. Fortunately we chose a great hostel, as we heard from experienced hostel-stayers that we met. I will say that hostels are the best way to meet all different people across the globe! I met some really cool people whom my roomie and I had some great times with. But...sharing a 10- female bedroom with only 1 bathroom is rather difficult (Yes, one bathroom!). We always had to lock our stuff up and our shower decided on when the bathroom was free. Then when we did get to shower and get ready, I felt like I had to race to get ready because others needed to use it too. Besides that, it was a crazy and interesting experience. Did you know that hostels have large kitchens where almost everyone cooks their own meals every night? It's definitely a cheap way to travel and a good way to meet others. Me and Sara tried it one night, except we settled with some frozen pizza and chocolate while others made gourmet meals. Overall the hostel experience wasn't too bad, but I will say that I admire hotels and even motels much more!

After arriving at the hostel, we headed out for our first night at the many infamous pubs. In Dublin, the area where most of the night life and pub scene reside is at "Temple Bar." Sara and I ended up checking out about 5-6 different pubs. They were all really laid back but filled with so many people, endless drafts of beer, and great live music. The next day we checked out the city, ended in a street market, did a little shopping,  and took an Irish dance class. The Irish dance class was the best part! One of the great perks about hostels: so many free activities, hence free Irish dance classes. It was so much fun and actually a great work out! By calves were so sore. Being a dancer, I kind of picked up the steps easily so the instructor thought I'd be his permanent partner for the class. The instructor was a little weird, but I now have a new respect for Irish dancing and their commitment and pride for their dance. Once we finished our session, I headed out for another pub night, but this time with some cool people we met at our hostel. We had another great night out and met some other weird/interesting people along the way. But it just added to the funniness and experience of our trip. 

The next morning Sara and I headed out to finally see some greenery! We ended at a great coast side city called Bray, which I highly recommend anyone going to Ireland to check out. It's simply beautiful because it offers the gorgeous coast with endless green hills. We spotted this cliff and Sara, being a lover for hikes, decided we were going to make it to the top! About a mile or more uphill hike and a couple of breaks, we finally made it. Totally worth it! To our surprise a simple, yet sacred, concrete cross resided at the top of the cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the green countryside. Sitting there embracing all of the beauty, I felt God right next to me. I was reminded from our uphill struggle climbing to the top that God's love is never failing and constantly surrounding us. Even though we face struggles  and sin , just like the pain I endured climbing to the top, we have a redeemer always there for us. I felt blessed to experience this moment and once again, thankful to see and experience a new part of the world.

Through out the rest of our stay, we toured the Guinness factory, which was great except for the fact that I hate beer and got a free pint. Thankfully Sara didn't mind drinking mine for me ;)

We ended our trip at a pub with a friend we met at our hostel listening to some great music. It was definitely a fun weekend and perfect ending!

Now I'm in London for a couple of weeks ready to explore more before November comes and I have trips planned almost every weekend and then home :( Ah....time is going by way too fast and I'm not ready to accept that. I miss seeing my friends and family, but sadly I do not miss California or LA that much, except my bed, the food, and the dollar.  Well, I'm continuing to live every moment to the fullest because that's all I have. 

Cheers from London

xoxo

Bonjour Paris!

Bonjour Paris!

Bonjour! 

Comment allez-vous? In French that means, how are you? That is probably the extent of my French with the exception of Parlez-vous anglais, which means do you speak English and probably the phrase I used most in France. Sorry for my lack of frequent posts but times are getting pretty busy. But now I'm here, ready to share with you my travels in beautiful Paris!

My wonderful school planned a trip to Paris for us, which was a nice break from all the planning I have done recently. Although I  visited Paris before in high school, I was excited to go back and experience the city once again. We began our travel on the Eurostar, which is a train that runs directly from London to Paris under the English Channel. We arrived Thursday afternoon, checked into our cute  hotel, Hotel Paris France (could the name be any more original? haha jk). I forgot how small hotel rooms are in Europe and the elevators! The elevator was so small it could only hold 4 our luggages. We sent our stuff up as we ran the stairs. Well once we settled in we took a river cruise along the Seine River and got some great views of all the national and historical sites. After the cruise, we had a nice dinner at a local French restaurant and then hit the stores for some shopping. Later that evening, some friends and I sat at an outdoor cafe near the Eiffel Tower and gorged ourselves in some of France's delicious array of desserts. They were quite delicious, but nothing beats a fresh crepe from a side vendor with Nutella. It is so simple, yet probably the best treat you'll find. Anyways, we finished all of our desserts and then watched the Eiffel Tower glitter and glow in the distance. It was a beautiful sight! 

The next day we toured Museum d'Orsay, which holds some of the worlds finest pieces of art. 

Most of the art  are pre-Impressionist and Impressionist pieces. Some of the artists include Monet, Van Gogh, and Degas. My personal favorite is Edgar Degas. I had been to this museum before, but I was thrilled to see his work again. A lot of his images reflect dancers and ballet performances but the colors and painted strokes create a less refine image. I wouldn't mind owning one of his paintings one day ;) After visiting the museum, me and some friends headed to Champs Elysees for a nice lunch, some shopping and the L' Arc de Triomphe.  We ate lunch at one of France's famous cafes, Laduree, specifically famous for their desserts and macaroons. They held true to their standards because my meal and Tarte Tatin were amazing, as well as all the other desserts we all ordered and shared! Burning off all our food, we did some window shopping and then headed inside the 5 story Louis Vuitton! I had never seen so much Louis before and couldn't help but think, "graduation is coming up, which purse would I want?" ;-) Luckily the L'Arc de Triomphe was right next to the LV store so we ended up there for a while taking pictures and then headed back to Eiffel for some day shots. We finished our evening with the Louvre and then a great night out at The Rex Club, also known as the origin of Daft Punk- hence the singers of that one electronic song with 3 words we all know, "Around the world, around the world." 

Now onto Saturday! Since I had seen and visited many sites in Paris before, I thought I'd go a bit outside of the city and visit Versailles. What a beautiful place this is, especially the gardens. If you don't know, Versailles became the official kingdom of France after  King Louis XIV came into power. The palace also holds some of the world's most beautiful gardens. The palace and gardens far exceeded by expectations. I felt like I was still living through that time when I looked out into the vast, green gardens from the opened windows in the elegant palace. I was so happy I got to visit this historical, royal place in time. Once returning back to Paris, we grabbed some dinner and then headed out to a special evening in France, "White Night," which were open art performances from evening until dusk throughout Paris. 

On my last day in Paris, we went on a walking tour and toured the Jewish quarters. Upon our finished tour, I tried a Falafel. Since I'm a lover of Mediterranean food and hummus, this was quite delicious. Falafel is a type of bean smashed, pretty much the same as hummus, except this Falafel was fried and then placed in a pita with tomatoes, cucumbers,  red onion, carrots, and hummus. It was really tasty and one of our directors kindly treated us all! After, me and my rommie decided to spend our last couple of hours and do as the French do- people watch. We ended our time near the Pompidou, the coolest building ever and also the museum of modern art, and watched all types of people pass us by. It was  great way to end our trip in Paris!

Paris is beautiful and filled with so much to do. I was so thankful, once again, to experience a different culture as well. I'm glad that I finally felt like a foreigner since the language barrier was a bit difficult but I enjoyed that aspect. It's definitely a city of love and romance but also a city of art, culture and historical preservations. Another blessing I got to experience and yet another stamp on my passport :)

Oh, by the way, I saw Elle MacPherson at the train station in London (literally right next to me) and no joke, VALENTINO at the train station in Paris! Let's just say Elle looks amazing, definitely very tall and slender, and Valentino, posh, chic, and really orange. haha He was nice though after my friend  asked to take a picture with him and he politely smiled and said okay. Guess my trip to one of the fashion capitals of the world was complete! 

Au Revoir!

xoxo

Greece Baby!~ Pictures

Greece Baby!

I love Greek islands, Greek food, Greek people, Greek families, all Greek! Last weekend I had the opportunity to jet-set on my first weekend trip to the island, Paros and Athens. What a rush of excitement I felt when we finally arrived to Paros island after our 3 hour plane ride, 1 hour bus ride, and 4 hour ferry ride. I was in Greece from Thursday-Monday and each euro I spent was totally worth it!

We started on the island Paros which is part of the Cyclades Islands, including Mykonos andSantorini. It was beautiful! I felt at home when the 80 degree sunny weather touched my skin. London is beautiful, but I missed seeing the sun and feeling warm outside. We stayed at the cutest hotel on the island, Hotel Erie. I was with 4 of my friends so we stayed in a 6-bed apartment which had a huge balcony overlooking the entire Aegean Coast. We had the best view in the entire hotel! After we first arrived at noon on Friday, we immediately put our bathing suits on and headed out for our first Greek meal. So I like Greek food, but after eating from each family run restaurant, I became in love with Greek cuisine. I think I tried almost ever authentic dish and they were all delicious! And the desserts, don't get me started...I now have a new appreciation for honey, nuts, and phyllo dough. My favorite Greek dishes areMukasa, filled grape vines, stuffed peppers with feta, and gyros! It was all amazing and I can't wait to come home and take everyone out to a real, authentic Greek restaurant so everyone understands what I'm describing.

Besides all the scrumptious food I ate, the beaches were breath taking. We found the perfect hidden beach called Parasporos. It felt like our personal beach because no one was there, but there were umbrellas, lounge chairs, a bar and cafe on the beach, and the beautiful teal Aegean Sea for us to play in all day. I lied in the sun in complete bliss. Nothing beats 80 degree weather, a lounge chair, a cold frappe ( their twist on an iced latte, but way better ), and waves slowly crashing against the sand. After we headed out to another great dinner, this time at a sea food restaurant. I had octopus and mussels for the first time and they were delicious :) As you can see, I enjoyed the Greek food maybe a little too much. 

The next day we headed out for Athens to tour the Acropolis and to spend our last night in Greece. Okay, so our ride back to Athens on the ferry was a trip from hell. Unfortunately the cheaper, calmer ferry was completely booked when we tried to purchase tickets in the morning so we had to pay for the more expensive ferry that was supposed to get us back to Athens quicker. Let me first say, I should have gotten my 50 Euros back after this 3 hour journey! The ferry sat like an airplane with assigned seats and carried about 300 people so we were forced to sit in these small cramped seats with our luggage. As soon as we took off I knew this ride was going to be rocky. We must have been going 75mph on some of the choppiest waters. Most of the journey included half the ferry in the ocean, rocking heavily back and forth. I couldn't believe this kind of transportation existed and that the driver never slowed down! Well after our 3 hours of prayers, we finally made it to land and had to take a serious break from looking at the ocean. From there we took an hour bus ride and made it to Athens. That night we had our last dinner in Greece and my favorite part, saw the Acropolis all lit up! My breath was instantly taken away as I turned the corner and saw this magnificent building all lit up on a hill. I was speechless, in awe, and felt so blessed to experience this! The next day we actually got to tour the entire site and I spent as much time as I could there. If you don't know the Acropolis holds some of the oldest ancient ruins, such as the Parthenon. Also acropolis means highest city, which holds true to it's meaning because the Acropolis in Athens resides on a high hill. Apart from the amazing ruins, the views of Athens and the coast were unbelievable. I can't even describe how beautiful these views were. The city seemed endless. 

After seeing Paros and the Acropolis, a part of my life changed. I felt so humbled in the moment when I was gazing over Athens next to the Parthenon. To be able to stand in such ancient ruins, filled with so much history made me realize how appreciative I am for my life and having the opportunity to see the world. In Paros, I was able to experience a culture that was genuine, family oriented, and deeply appreciative of their family and friends. Every restaurant was family owned and the people were all extremely friendly. I have never felt more at home in such a different culture and country. It was comforting to know people continue to enjoy their lives, apart from cars, commercialism, and the constant growth of modernity. I am so thankful for my family, especially for letting me study abroad and see the world (Thank you mom and dad. I love you so much and can never thank you enough). 

May everyone get the chance to see something new and exciting, even if it's in your own backyard. I encourage everyone to see the world and experience as many different cultures as you can. You will be amazed at what you will discover. The possibilities are endless!

Cheers from London!

xoxo

My 21st birthday in London!

This past weekend I finally turned 21! September 13 to be exact :) Being the baby out of all my friends, I felt this moment would never come, especially this summer when everyone was out and I was home getting phone calls at 2am to pick people up! lol Well despite not being in the States to celebrate this right of passage, I can't complain because I think I had the BEST 21st birthday ever.

The night began on Saturday, September 12th in Piccadilly Circus, which would be equivalent to New York's Time Square-loud, busy, crowds of people, and a ton to do. At 11:55pm we started the official countdown and at midnight, my group of friends were all with me to start loudly singing, "Happy Birthday" in the center of Piccadilly Circus. It was a great moment! Following that, we headed to a huge bar to watch our proud Trojans defeat the Buckeyes! It was airing live, which means 1 AM London, but it was worth it! At the bar, let's just say I didn't have to pay for a single drink ;) It was great and of course, we won! 

In the early afternoon of my big day, I was given a little surprise party by all my friends! It was the cutest thing ever! I walked into a room filled with balloons, a lit cake, and a big card everyone signed. I literally was so surprised and couldn't have been more happier and thankful. No one has ever given me a surprise party, even a small one like that, and it was so thoughtful of them. I feel truly blessed to have them all in my life! After eating some delicious cake, we headed out to our first pro football (aka soccer) game. As you know, football here is a huge sport. We had great seats and the team we were rooting for won! Following the game, some of my friends and I had a delicious Italian dinner, upon my choice. I really wanted some good pesto, and I got it. They even sang happy birthday to me and let's just say, it was the loudest celebration I was ever given at a restaurant. Not only did they turn all the lights off in the restaurant, but proceeded with the banging of every pot and pan,  utensils, drums, and were kind of screaming. The funny thing was they didn't even sing Happy Birthday, not even like the Olive Garden song ( I do know it! haha). But all in all, I loved it!

Once dinner was over, we headed for the Thames River festival and watched a firework show over the river! It was a beautiful, spectacular, and amazing  ending to my 21st birthday. I don't think many people get personal firework shows. I think London had me in mind the entire time ;) Standing on the bridge overlooking London's lit skyline and watching the fireworks burst over the river, I felt extremely blessed and thankful. Even though I missed this milestone birthday in the States, I knew in that moment that it was meant to be in London. For having to wait so long, it was definitely worth it! Let me conclude with a re-cap of everything I didn't expect to happen on my 21st...

1. Everyone singing happy birthday to me in the middle of Piccadilly Circus at midnight.

2. USC beats Ohio State! Go Trojans!

3. Surprise party by all my lovely friends :)

4. First pro soccer game, and the team I was supporting won!

5. "Personal" firework show over the Thames River ;)

6. Having the longest 21st Birthday ever! Started at midnight in London, but technically 2pm in the States, when my dad actually remembered and texted me first :), and ended at 8am Pacific Time, 4pm London time on the 14th of September, when I still was receiving Facebook messages. In total, my birthday lasted 40 hours!

Overall, nothing beats my 21st birthday! I'm officially legal when I come home...it's about time.

Cheers from London

xoxo

Coasting down the Thames River: Greenwich Village, The Globe Theatre and Windsor & Hampton Court

Recently I've been spending a lot my time and visits along the River Thames. The Thames is the river that cuts through London and eventually funnels out into the English Channel.  Surrounded by the Thames are of course, Tower Bridge, the London Bridge, Big Ben, The Eye, The Globe Theatre, Greenwich Village, Windsor and Hampton Court, Parliament, huge sky-rise buildings, beautiful homes, penthouses, restaurants, and much more. Before the new mixed with the old, the river was a central hub of commerce and work. Now, it's much more contemporary and a posh place to live; however, many of England's premier attractions line the river, in which I had the delight to experience last week.

For my first tour, we took a 45 minute ferry down the coast to Greenwich. Luckily, the weather was beautiful. Nothing beats 75 degrees in London, riding along the coast overlooking London's beautiful city sky line. Greenwich began as a site of a Royal palace and later turned into the Royal Naval Hospital for Sailors but now most of the older buildings are used for the University of Greenwich. Even more fascinating, Greenwich  is best known for  the Greenwich Meridian, also known as the Prime Meridian where 0 degrees longitude is positioned. Therefore, I got to straddle the middle of the earth, hence the Eastern and Western hemispheres. It's pretty cool to say I've been in both hemispheres at once!  Greenwich also is known for  Greenwich Mean Time, which is one  of our time zones. A lot of history derived from this small marine town and it was thrilling to experience this.

Continuing down the river, I had another stop at The Globe theatre this week. If you do not know, The Globe is the mecca of where Shakespeare's plays were originally performed. It's an outdoor venue, rich with character and intimacy, since the theatre only holds about 600 people. Sadly the original was burnt in the 1600's but in 1997 was rebuilt as an exact replica. We were able to watch one of Shakespeare's plays,  "As You Like It." There aren't many seats, so we  experienced what the peasants might have done and stood for 3 hours. Though, we were right in front of the stage and really got to interact with the actors. The atmosphere of Shakespeare's play in the middle of his theatre was a great opportunity and one I'll never forget!

The last stop along the river this week was Windsor and Hampton Court, two of England's greatest castles/palaces. Windsor is home to the Queen, in which she continues to visit and stays in all the time! I found that extremely fascinating. The castle is beautiful! All the rooms were delicately ornate with gold details, elaborate ceilings, beautiful drapes, art, and decor. I got to see the Queen's china, which she still uses every time she comes or has an event. Let me also add that the china I loved the most happens to be the Queens' favorite. What can I say, we both have good taste! Hampton Court served as a royal palace and was a favorite of King Henry VIII. The inside was not as beautiful as the Queen's royal palace, but the darker woods and character I guess fit the style of a king. Also the gardens were magnificent! They were perfect and no I'm not over-exaggerating. The shrubs were all the same  shape and the flowers formed perfect patterns. They kind of reminded me of the Queen's gardens from Alice and Wonderland. Also included in the gardens was a maze! About 7 foot shrubs form this huge maze that took all together about 15-20min. to locate the center. It was quite funny when some of us were completely lost, but could hear our friends laughing in the center. 

Well my week down the Thames and experiencing all it's history was quite delightful. And to top the end of my week, I got to experience a beautiful firework show over the river on my 21st birthday! Nothing beats that! 

Cheers from London 

xoxo