Pictures of Cinque Terre

Pictures of Rome

Italy

With 3 girls and 5 guys, I knew the trip to Italy was going to be exciting! We hopped on a plane and flew to Rome. It took me several hours to grasp the fact that I was actually standing in the streets of Rome looking at the historical sights! I saw the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Sestine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. The Trevi fountain was my favorite and I made my perfect wish! Rome was everthing I expected and more! Then, we traveled by train to Florence. I loved walking the streets with the group just snapping pictures and taking in the beauty of Florence! While in Florence, we saw the Durmo, bought authentic fine leather, and ate tons of GELATO! Our last leg of the trip was to Cinqua Terra... B-E-A-UTIFUL! This was one of the prettiest sights I've seen. Cinque Terre is a national park with 5 small quaint villages scattered throughout the mountains. When we got off the train all 16 our our eyes widened! We could not get over the beauty of the village! Our days consisted of eating pizza, scarfing down gelato, shopping, hiking all the 5 villages, and watching the sunset on our balcony overlooking the Medeterranean Sea... yeah, that's right, there's nothing better than that. I had the best vacation with the best people in the best cities of the world! Enjoy the pictures!

Malta!!!

GORGEOUS. AMAZING. STUNNING. and absolutely BREATHTAKING! I've never been to Greece, but Malta reminds me of all the pictures I've seen of Greece. Little white buildings cover the land with the Mediterranean Sea glistening against the sun and moon. This was a definite vacation for me. The five of us had a legit apartment with a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean. The three days consisted of laying by the rooftop pool, lounging in the sand by the beach, and eating at the local cafes. Also, I experienced my first and best crepe! Nutella and bananas! yummmmoo!! We went back to the crepe place every night! I had so much fun with the girls! We laughed a lot, made hilarious videos, and made memories to last a lifetime.

Spain and Portugal

Portugal was a mix of Brazilian flare and Jamaican spice! The buildings were masterpieces painted with soft pastel colors. It was Fashion Week in Lisboa Portugal, so we tried to get in. FAIL. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, which was amazing to eat a real American burger! We spent the nights walking around the city and capturing the culture. During the day we layed by the beach and ate authentic food. Spain was crazy! We visited Madrid and Barcelona. In Madrid, we toured the city by foot and experienced the sights. In Barcelona, we did a Fat Tire Bike Tour, which was the best way to see the city! We literally rode in the streets of Barcelona. We peddled through the back streets and flew past the Barcelona citizens, and we had lunch on the beach! Yes, one girl on the tour fell on her face! I have to admit seeing her spack the pavement and her shoe flying off was a bit humorous haha! That night we saw a flamenco show.. incredible! I will post a video. The singing and dancing sent chills up and down my spine! For lunch the next day we ate in a huge market.. fresh fruit and bread yummo!

Malia's 20th Birthday!

My best friend in the entire world celebrated her 20th birthday on Saturday March 6th! She is the butter to my bread and the spark to my flame! (whatever that means). That is extreme exaggeration, but she really is so important in my life. We had the time of our lives on her birthday! I'm pretty sure celebrating your 20th birthday in Oxford, England would be the best way to go. The day and night was full of excitement and we were all pleased with how her birthday turned out! Malia, if you ever read this, I want you to know that you mean the world to me and I do not know what I would do without you. Thank you so much for being in my life and sticking with me! We are just alike and I love that! I thank God for you everyday! I love you girl!

My current obsession: Big Ben

Oh London!

On Friday, the group traveled to London for the day! Dr. Lytle arranged for the group to have an exclusive tour of Lloyds Bank. Did you know that Great Britain only has four banks? Compare this to the thousans of thousans of banks in the United States. During the tour, we each had about 45 minutes to discuss individually with a stock-broker. This was very interesting. Andy, my personal stock-broker, showed me how just seconds can change an interest rate. My favorite part was seeing the exchanged rate of GBP change with every second. Thank you Greece for whatever is going on, because you are helping the EURO go down down down!! Next, the group traveled to Parliament. Once we arrived at Parliament, we were joyfully welcomed by thousands of people rioting on the street corners. One sign read, "We don't welcome racists" with a lovely swastika. I'm joking about being joyfully welcomed. It was literally the opposite. Along with the mass of people, thousands of policemen were around... on horses. The riots were due to the South African Prime Minister being in London. Anyways, Parliament was absolutely wonderful. Dr. Lytle worked his butt off trying to get us inside. We even had VIP badges! The Queen's thrown is breathtaking. Solid. Gold. Everywhere. !!! As part of one of my classes I'm currently taking, Introduction to Global Studies, we have to watch and reflect on the Prime Minister's Questionnaire. The PMQ is every Wednesday morning for thirty minutes. You think British politics are nice and polite... think again. I'm talking brutal and cut-throat! Well, as part of the tour, we got to sit in the room where the PMQ takes place! It was a great tour. AND let's not forget to mention I saw Parliament at NIGHT! It was beautiful, but I'm going back to take a night boat ride down the Thames River to capture an even better view! Cheers!

Adventures in Austria

Planes, trains, & automobiles=$$$ Countless hours of travel=$$$ Hostels=$$$ Shopping=$$$ 5 days in Austria seeing the Alps=PRICELESS. My five day excursion through Austria consisted of eating at pubs, relaxing on the river, shopping, and not but certainly not least The Sound of Music Tour!! I saw the famous house, the gazebo where Liesl and Ralph sung "I am Sixteen going on Seventeen", the fountain where Maria and the children sung "do ra mi", the stunning church where Maria was married, and we traveled through the Swiss Alps. The trip was a hit and very relaxing!