Espana

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Hostel’s are much different than how we American’s imagine them. This particular one was huge, bright, clean, had sitting areas and many amenities.  In fact, each one of our rooms had large patios that overlooked the courtyard. Needless to say, staying at hostels was much better than I anticipated, thank goodness!

Barcelona is a giant city that has multiple attractions and I tried to cram as much of those experiences into my time there. I began exploring the city in the Gothic quarter, taking a tour of the architecture and winding roads and alleyways. In these alleys are the tiniest cafes and shops, but the owners are so kind and welcoming that you can’t help but jam yourself in with other strangers to enjoy an espresso.

Sacre Familia Cathedral was the crème de la crème of the gothic style architecture. The detailing on just the outside will make your jaw drop. I can’t even begin to describe the unbelievable skill that went into creating this ornate building.

There is a market off of the main street that is unlike any other that I’ve seen before. The variety of fruits, the vibrant colors, the hustle and bustle of the patrons. If you ever make it to Barcelona, do yourself a favor, find this market and get yourself some fresh fruit!

A few of us went to explore the famous Parc Guell. When first arriving it looked like we were about to walk into Hansel and Gretel’s world, because a few of the buildings looked like they were made of candy. But that was just the beginning of this gigantic park, there were multiple pathways that spiraled upwards towards other castle like buildings covered in mosaic tiles, caves created out of stone and various lookout points.  Along our journey to the top lookout points we passed many street performers, but interestingly enough they all used different instruments (strings, harmonica, guitarists, didgeridoo, flutes, singers).  At the very top of the park there were extremely rustic stone steps that lead to a cross overlooking the entire city of Barcelona. It was a bit dangerous, but the view was worth it.

After our climb to the top of Barcelona we decided to grab lunch on the beach. A city on the water, with culture, history and delicious cuisine, what else could you ask for?

Oh, that’s right, you could ask for a Spanish Guitarist, Flamenco dancers and Sangria! Which is exactly how our group spent our evening.  

The dance of Flamenco is extremely serious with fiery passion. The crowd gets involved by shouting “Ole” while the dancers use props as their skirts, fans and castanet’s to add variety.  After watching the incredible show, they taught us some moves and we danced all night long in true Spanish style.

Long overdue European adventures

LONDON

After an eight hour flight into Heathrow, I took the underground to my hotel near Russell Square. With only a day to see London I briskly walked around looking at some usual sights. Soon into my exploring I noticed a few things, firstly, everything seems smaller and more narrow (roads, hotels, benches, public transport). There are also a plethora of trees in London, which came as a surprise to me, in fact I later found that they have more trees per resident than anywhere else. The diversity in London also caught me off guard, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was a melting pot of cultures. It reminded me a bit of Chicago. After my exploring it was off to meet my Contiki group, my family for the next month. 

Early the next morning, and I mean 5am early, we all piled onto our Coach bus, our new home. We then drove to White Dover Cliffs and took a ferry across the English channel to France. 

FRANCE

Paris: Our first night in Paris we all went to a restaurant to have famous French cheeses, escargot and Champagne then we made our way to the Effel Tower to watch it sparkle. The following day we were on our own in Paris exploring the sights (Effel Tower, Cathederal Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe,  Catacombs, Champes Elysse). We ate crepes and baguette hotdogs from street carts and macaroons from a sweet bakery.  That night the entire group went to go see a show at the original Moulin Rouge, it was not what I had expected, but it was interesting, to say the least.

Beaujolis Wine Region: We stayed at Chatau Criox overlooking the vineyards, absolutely breathtaking! Peaceful, quiet and beautiful. A few of us went exploring in the nearest town.

Nice, France

Nice: Up there on my favorite stops. It was a city on the beach, the had antique markets and cozy cafes.

Monaco: Yachts, money, casinos, more money and yachts and fancy cars. 

Monaco

All you need is LOVE

I tend to limit my media intake because I find myself just becoming saddened by the awful stories out there. Whether it be negative political rants, public shootings, family members killing each other or protests all over the globe; they all break my heart. I often find myself asking, "What has this world come to?"  Violence, hate, destruction, terror. These are the things our children are all too familiar with.    Nobody really has an answer on how to stop it, but the first step is loving each other. I am aware we all can't go over to the Middle East and just start hugging people, but start small. Start by loving the people in your life, smiling at strangers, being polite, appreciate the things that you have and think positively. 

Life is short, fill it with love. 

Oh, The Places You'll Go

Sure, I've seen my fair share of our amazing country, from sea to shining sea. I wanted to take it one step further, I want to see life outside the US, I want to see the world. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to travel the entire world, so I started with Europe. It's something that I've always said I would do, and what better time than the present? So I booked a month long European adventure with Contiki Tours. This is where I went...

Let me start by saying that my fellow travelers made this trip what it was. Immediately all 47 of us hit it off right away. Most people were from Australia and New Zealand but then there were some from Canada, United States and even South Africa. Because of this mixture of cultures and nationalities, it made for some interesting conversation. Seeing that the majority of people went on the trip solo, it was a refreshing to meet like minded people looking to have the same life experiences. Don't get me wrong, when you are with the same people in confining spaces, such as a coach bus, for that amount of time, patience is tested and bickering is common. But more importantly, long and heartfelt discussions were had, differences in cultures were discussed and lifelong friendships were developed. I'll always remember my European Escapade with my new "Contiki Family". 

Cruise like a Norwegian

The last few months have been full of travel for me. One month in the Caribbean and one month in Europe. Both amazing experiences, each in their own way.

The month spent in the Caribbean was because I was working for another cruise liner, this time, Norwegian. And naturally, I loved it! Not only is the job of hanging out with the kids so much fun but also the people I meet and the places I get to visit.


This run included Great Stirrup Cay, St. Thomas, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Cozumel. Basically a dream month come true! While working on my tan I was able to do things that I never imagined. Some of my most memorable activities included climbing Dunn's River Falls and "bobsledding" in Jamaica, swimming with dolphins in Grand Cayman, snorkeling in the Bahamas, exploring the old military for in San Juan, PR and having countless relaxing days on the beach.

Lend a Helping Hand

There are two organizations in the DuPage area that are always doing good and reaching out to people that I think people should be aware of.

The first is an organization called Feed My Starving Children http://www.fmsc.org/   They prepare and pack food called Manna Packs to send to children all over the world. It is quite the operation and they have volunteer opportunities in all parts of the country. Please check out their website to see how you could help.

The Hesed House http://www.hesedhouse.org/ in Aurora is a Homeless shelter which provides dinner, breakfast, beds, showers, clothes washer, toiletries and food for those less fortunate. Recently, they had a shortage on blankets (if you live in Chicago you can understand why this is such an issue) but after a few phone calls and emails over 100 blankets were donated by friends and family. To those of you that did part ways with your old quilts and throws, "Thank you so very much! You can go to sleep every night knowing that someone is being kept warm because of you." The staff of the HH was very grateful and shocked at how many blankets were added to their supply this week.




I encourage each of you to take one day out of each month to go volunteer your time and effort to a cause that is important to you. http://www.volunteermatch.org/ These examples are two totally different causes and there are hundreds of organizations like these looking for volunteers, but the one thing that they have in common is helping others, doing good and loving each other. I can assure you that you will leave whichever organization you choose with a lighter heart and being more grateful for what you have in your own life. Sometimes we all need a bit of a reminder of how lucky we really are.

Family Holiday

In the most recent years a lot of holidays were spent either in an airport or at a hotel in a different city. This year, family was my focus and it was the warmest, most cheerful holiday season that I've had in a while.

Thanksgiving:

Since it was just my Dad and I for the "stuff your face" holiday we voted against cooking a lavish meal and instead decided to give back to the community. Santa Barbara, California has a high population of homeless people. The town along with OrganicSoupKitchen.com open up a local VFW and turn it into a banquet hall for those less fortunate to come in an feast on traditional Thanksgiving food, while socializing and listening to live music. We were volunteers to help serve food, talk to guests and clean up. Firstly, I was amazed at how many people were taking time out of their Thanksgiving holiday to give back. I was especially impressed by those parents that brought their children with to help; what an important lesson to instill into your children at a young age. Secondly, I think I gained more from that experience than those receiving the free meal. I realized by actually sitting down and talking to them  that not all of them got to this life by drugs and alcohol, many of them actually have pretty impressive education and skill sets and hard times could happen to any of us. They appreciated conversing with someone that actually wanted to hear what they had to say, listen to their life story and talk about their future goals and dreams. I don't know where any of them are today or what they are doing, but I do know that I will always remember Thanksgiving of 2011 and always be grateful for what I have in life.

Christmas.

There is nothing better than aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, siblings and parents all being under the same roof. The familiar smells of staple holiday dishes (vegetable mornay). The traditions that are unique to your family (The shrine and birthday song) . The silly games and topics that always make themselves present at these sorts of gatherings (post it note and now Wii Dance). The after Christmas Thulis outing (Laser tag or Shedd Aquarium). At least for me, these things are what make it special and although my family is goofy, loud and full of characters, I love them dearly and am grateful for every single one of them being in my life.