#so me and my friend had to spent hours researching american pizza restaurants. amazing

[pyjamaart]

My entry for the 7th Anniversary Gallery! >:]

[asterlizard]

UK trip summer 2019

(Argh! I’m sorry for the delay! I meant to finish this back in June, but I haven’t had much time to finally get around to it)

I haven’t been to the UK in 3 years, and while the feelings were admittedly mixed, because it involved a lot of cleaning up and donations of my grandparents’ items, I did get to have a bit of fun and do some new things on this trip.

Our flight would leave in the middle of the day, but we still had to wake up early so that we could arrive at the airport, do airport security, and get to our boarding gate in plenty of time.

This started off by waking up at around 7:00 in order to meet a Lyft driver (for a first time rideshare, Uber failed to find someone for us) who would take us to a bus stop, which would take us directly to the airport.

As we were arriving at SFO, I could have sworn I saw some beehives in a patch of grass between the weaving roads. However, researching it doesn’t seem to bring up anything. Hmm...

I was looking forward to eating pizza at the selection of restaurants before the security checkout, but unfortunately it was closed, and all of the other restaurants seemed to have been replaced. So the only thing that appealed to me then was Chinese food. It was pretty tasty though.

The entertainment on the flight was a little different than what I’m used to (then again I haven’t flown in a few years). They had more limited music options, and the only decade available was the 80s. I could also zoom in anywhere on the map, which is a horrible distraction for someone like me :P Also, the food was pretty tasty, especially the mango sorbet, which was the definite winner for me :P

Cool view of Alcatraz just before we flew past it

I witnessed an airplane halo, also known as a ‘glory’!

Since we travelled light, we didn’t have to wait to collect our luggage afterwards. We also breezed through the passport check, since we’re British citizens.

I like this mirror effect, but the distortion made it extra cool

At this point, it was 7 in the morning, and we had to meet up with a family friend who lives in London, where we would stay at overnight before progressing to our destination. Along the way I saw some students using the Tube to get to school (it was a school day after all). This was kinda interesting as someone who grew up in America and never had to wear a school uniform.

We actually had to meet our friend by walking from the nearest Tube station to her house (which is fine, I don’t mind walking! Especially after a 9 hour flight). Not long after we met up, she showed me this little fox sleeping outside her window (I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person before!) It likes to do this when the sun is out. Unfortunately for it, it was sleeping next to a couple of squawking magpies.

We then went on a short walk along the canal. There we saw a swan family and a coot family (and babies!!)

We would then head over to the British Museum. Our friend told us in advance that it would be hosting a manga exhibit, and we arrived the day after it debuted. Just before heading over, she brings up that the Rosetta Stone was also there. I didn’t anticipate this, because I thought it was held in a different museum. So I was getting more excited to see the Rosetta Stone over seeing the manga exhibit xD (I joked that I was about to meet my ‘rock star’)

It was about ￡20 to enter the exhibit, so only I went, while our friend and mum explored the rest of the museum. The exhibit started off with a ‘trip down the rabbit hole’, in reference to perhaps the most influential British work in Japanese media, Alice in Wonderland, and its appearances in manga over the years.

Then it showed the history of manga, manga influences, a brief manga how-to, and genres of manga. I saw some familiar works, like Astro Boy, DragonBall, Sailor Moon, a work from the creator of Akira, One Piece, Golden Kamui, Saint Young Men, etc. I also saw some works that I've never encountered that I'm interested in (a rugby manga, a wheelchair rugby manga coming soon, a murder mystery manga at the British museum, a manga about a saxophonist)

There were also some video exhibits, whether it's clips from anime next to their respective manga, creators/staff talking about their creative process, artists drawing their manga, or a series of clips from Ghibli films, but you weren't allowed to take pics of these.

At one point, I even saw an Attack on Titan cosplayer! (ready to take down the giant inflatable titan head I presume)

It’s difficult to read, but this is Morohoshi Daijiro, and it says that Hayao Miyazaki was strongly influenced by him. I’ll have to look at his stuff sometime.

I probably spent about two hours in there, longer than I expected. Admittedly I was tired, and my legs were getting sore, and a little over half an hour before I was done I needed a loo. I was feeling all sorts of physically gross at this point, and I had no idea how much of the exhibit I was actually absorbing even though I tried.

Before the end of the exhibit, I waited in line to get a photo taken, so the machine would add a comic-like gradient to it and insert it into a comic panel. Once I was done, I made a beeline to the nearest loo (for a split moment I panicked that they would be the ‘pay-to-use’ loos, and I didn’t have any money on me, as all of my stuff was with mum, thankfully it wasn’t).

After meeting back with mum and our friend, we headed back to our friend’s home, as I was feeling too exhausted to do anything else.

By the way, I did get to see the Rosetta Stone, but I would need to see it again when I’m not jet-lagged and there’s less people. By the way, I also learned that the figures on the pediment over the British Museum were created by my ancestor, so... y’know, there’s another reason to revisit the place.

I finally went to bed after some dinner, dessert, and a refreshing shower. I had been awake for about 32 hours!

The next day, mum and I stocked up on food (most of which I missed after a long time of not eating them. I still wish I could eat them more often!) and travelled by train to our destination.

The train also was different than what I’m used to. The livery is different, and instead of there being a ticket(?) on the top of an occupied seat, there was a red/green light above the window that indicated whether the seat was occupied or not.

At some point our passenger neighbours were cracking up and couldn’t stop laughing, which was contagious enough for me and a few other strangers to laugh. It was a great moment. When we arrived, we met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin, and we had fish and chips and a good chat.

The day after we arrived, we already got started with clearing my grandparents’ house. At this point, I already made peace with the fact that we would need to sell the place (nobody in the family wanted it, plus it needed a lot of work done to it, which would have been pretty costly). Unfortunately, because they had a lot of things, we had to be a bit ruthless with what we had to get rid of, because we certainly couldn’t keep it all. I also let go of a few things I grew up with that I was willing to part with and donate. Still there were several items we were able to keep and bring home with us. Thankfully mum’s friends also would try and keep other things for us. It was still a bit of a heartbreaking process though.

I also finally (after a long time) had a 99! It feels good to walk into an ice cream shop and order one, and they'll know what you're talking about :P

Speaking of food, according to my friend, it’s apparently a crime that I haven’t been to a Gregg’s yet, so I tried some of their food, which were delicious! Unfortunately, they didn’t have an iced split, which my friend has, and is apparently really good. (I love international chats, because my friend can say something like 'try a 99 with monkey blood', and it will make no sense to non-Brits) Even the berries are tastier here! idk if it’s because we’re closer to berry farms, but they’re sweeter and juicier than the ones I get back in America.

Speaking of which, the shops in town are different than what I remember. Only a few places I visit regularly remained.

I also got to see a circus for the first time. Although the acts were amazing, my favourite part of the show, believe it or not, were the clown segments. They consisted of a father and 10-year son duo, and the antics were amusing (the duo trying to run and hug each other but missing and in the end hug ‘around’ each other instead, the father getting an audience member to throw a potato onto a carving fork held in his mouth and epically missing, the father getting some audience members to ride an invisible motorbike with him, etc) Unfortunately the show did have some strobe lights and animal segments (even if they weren’t hurting them, I still don’t see the appeal of watching wild animals doing unnatural things :/ )

One of the things that hadn’t changed was our local cobbler still being in business. Even before the trip, mum wanted to pay him a visit so that he could repair her shoes. He's one of the last relics of the old town, he's 78, and has worked for 57 years including 7 years as an apprentice. He was even one of mum’s first memories from when she was small! There’s something charming about a town shoe shop having several piles of stuff, topped with a huge pile of shoes and the smell of glue and shoe polish while a shoe repair motor runs in the background :)

The local bookshop owner also had a charming shop, with piles of books everywhere. And yes, it’s so small and narrow, only one person at a time can visit. We visited his place a few times to donate most of my grandparents’ books, as well as old items like maps and photographs. We can breathe a sigh of relief that they will be protected and given a new home.

Went for a 2.5 hour walk, first along the beach, then through a newer and more secluded area of town that I’ve never visited before (I ALMOST saw a robin, I’ve only seen the American robin in person)

At one point after shopping, I was holding a leek in my hand, and a lady passing by quipped to me, “I know we’re Welsh, but that’s a bit excessive” :P

Also, idk what made me think of it, but I imagined, instead of dog shows, there would be snail shows. It would last for hours, walking the snail would last for 10 minutes instead of 10 seconds, and the awards would be something like: 'Largest Snail', 'Fastest Snail', 'Hungriest Snail', 'Perkiest Snail', 'Longest Antennae'...

>:U

(I took quite a few panorama shots during this trip)

Unfortunately, a pathway I like to take was closed off

We visited some friends of ours, and some friends of ours visited us. My family and I also did a little burial ceremony for my grandparents (originally mum wanted to buy sweet pea flowers, as they were my grandmother’s favourite. I then ask if my grandfather had a favourite flower. Mum didn’t really know, but she did remember he would always buy my grandmother a rose because he loved her so much. So we bought a red rose as well (afterwards I learned from a friend that sweet pea flowers are a symbol of protection and goodbyes, which is INCREDIBLY SWEET BUT SAD 😭))

The next day we had miserable weather due to Storm Miguel. It was surprisingly the only bad day we had weather-wise. And yet, for some reason mum and I decided to eat out at an Indian restaurant (the food was pretty tasty)

During most of the trip, my family have been fervently trying to research who the people in my grandparents’ paintings were and how they were connected to my family. The only thing I got out of it so far is that my family might be more Scottish that I thought!

Went shopping in Carmarthen (and crossed a bridge next to some sheep, close enough to hear them), but I had to make a train that arrived half an hour after I woke up! Ate at Pizza Express (the food was tasty, but the strawberry still lemonade was PERFECT) Unfortunately we had to cut our shopping time short, because our earliest trains to catch were at around 14:30 and 17:30, and we would rather get back home as soon as possible. We were able to get most of what we wanted though.

One day while I was hanging out with my younger cousin (we chatted a lot during the trip, he does Irish dancing, and he taught me the difference between the different dances), he introduced a couple of fun games that the family got to play: Camping, and Spoons

Camping: Preferably played with 3 or more people It's a rotation game in which the rest of the group has to figure out what the leader's pattern is Starting with the leader, each person says 'I'm gonna go camping, and I'm gonna bring...' and then a noun. When the leader says their phrase and noun, they have an unspoken pattern they decided to follow, whether it's a bit of subtle body language they make while saying it, or if it has to do with the nouns themselves. The next person then says the phrase and a noun in hopes that they will follow the pattern. If they do, the leader will respond to their phrase, 'you can come', otherwise 'you can't come'. After the pattern is revealed, the next person becomes the leader, and the cycle continues. Players are allowed to guess the pattern depending on how many people got it (eg: you are allowed to ask for hints if stumped, and if everybody gets it, the pattern can be revealed) In hard mode, if your attempt is part of the pattern, regardless of whether you know the pattern or not, you have to sit out the rest of the game. (examples of patterns: saying whatever while having both feet on the floor and hands on lap, dog breeds, alphabetical succession between players (eg: 'hedgehog', 'iodine', 'Jamaica'...), the nouns have to begin with the same letter as your eye colour (lol I never got this one because I don't regularly make eye contact with people), the noun has to begin with the same letter as the cardinal direction you're facing, the noun has to begin with the same letter as the colour shirt the player after you is wearing)

Spoons: Preferably played with 3-13 people It's a game of speed, similar to musical chairs There are n-1 spoons in the middle of the table for n number of players and n number of ranks One player becomes the leader, in which they shuffle the cards and deal four per player. When the leader says 'go', every player including the leader removes a card and places it for the person to their left to grab, while each player must always end up with four cards per 'go' (when saying 'go', the key is that there shouldn't be much time for thinking, the game must move quickly, but there should be about a second or two to organize your cards if needs be, so roughly every 3-5 seconds per 'go') If a player has four of one rank, they must grab a spoon, and all of the other players must grab a remaining spoon as quickly as possible, in the hopes that they won't be the last player without a spoon A player that ends up without a spoon loses a life, and after three lives are up, they're out of the game. With this, a spoon and a group of four of a rank also sit out of the game When it's down to two players, one of the players sitting out must shuffle the remaining deck, so that the two remaining players don't know what kind of deck to expect, and say 'go'

Went for a lovely walk near the beach

Tiny friends!

Ah yes, this bed of rocks looks comfortable to sit on...

I also got to finally try a 99 with monkey blood, though the syrup isn’t called monkey blood where I’m from apparently. Mum and I also tried to feed the sparrows, but larger birds were lurking and wanted to sabotage the efforts.

After some final decisions on what to bring and what to keep, mum and I left the house for what might have been the last time. We will miss it though. I did take some videos of the place not long before we arrived, as a kind of snapshot of the place, not only for memory, but for a potential reference in one of my stories.

At the airport, I got a pat down for the first time in my life because I had worn the wrong trousers that had more metallic fixings on them >:[

During the flight, I chose a better selection of films on the plane:

旅猫リポート: Cute but kinda sad film about the life of the man who adopted a cat and why he has to give it away to someone he can trust.

Christopher Robin: Very charming film, and the British wildlife scenery was depicted beautifully

Wonder Woman: Well-written film

(I’m curious to know where this is near London)

Overall, this trip was different than what I’m used to, not just because it was less of a family visit, but rather a lot of aspects of what I’m used to have changed a lot over the years. I’m hoping, even if I never live in that house anymore, that I can still pay the town a visit somehow in the future, as it’s still a dear place to me that I had grown up with all my life.

[ashleysouniqueblog]

A Guide on “How To” Habana

If you came across this blog post, you may already have found out that planning a trip to Cuba from America is not the easiest task. There is not much information online and the information that is online conflicts. This may be since some of the information is 4-5 years old and things there are in the development stages. I too had a hard time finding information and this is what made me determined to pass on real experiences and suggestions.

 My trip to Havana, Cuba was a full 3 days, from Thursday to Sunday. I planned this trip for myself along with 12 others. So here are some key takeaways:

1.       Flights: In order to a book a flight to Cuba from America you have to fall into one of the 12 OFAC Categories. All airlines require you to choose one before being allowed to book the flight. Make sure that you choose correctly as you will be asked again when it’s time to check in and when you land in Cuba. Also, Visas must be purchased at check in or at the gate they can range anywhere from $20 to $100 depending on the airline and departure city.

·       Visiting family

·       Humanitarian projects or to provide support to the Cuban people

·       Official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments and certain intergovernmental organizations

·       Journalistic activities

·       Professional research

·       Educational activities by persons at academic institutions

·       People to people travel

·       Religious activities

·       Public performance, clinics, workshops, athletic or other competitions and exhibitions

·       Authorization to provide travel services, carrier services and remittance forwarding services

·       Activities of private foundations, research or educational institutes

·       Exportation of certain Internet-based services

 2.       Housing: Booking an Airbnb instead of staying in a hotel falls under OFAC “Support for The Cuban People” also if you do choose to stay in a hotel make sure it is not on the U.S. Department of State Restricted List. Quality Airbnb’s tend to get booked quick so make sure you are giving yourself time to life the life you want to while in Cuba. Make sure you communicate with the house host as some houses have strict rules. For example, you may not be able to bring outside food or drinks into the home, no guests can come to the house, no parties, no loud music, men may not be able tot sleep in the same room, etc.

 Due to my group of people being over 10 people the options we had for Airbnb’s were off the back limited as we later found out that the city does not accommodate large groups very well. Furthermore, I found an Airbnb called “Blue Mansion Hostel My Way”. This home had none of the house rules as above and the host was more than accommodating while communicating with me before I booked. La Casa Blue Mansion Airbnb pictures does not do this house any justice. This house was beautiful and huge we had more than enough space!! Online it says that there were double beds in most rooms then 6 single beds split between 2 bedrooms. When we got there the single beds were Queen sized and the double beds were King sized. Everyone in my group had their own bed, and even some had their own room. Every bedroom had separate bathrooms and ample towels etc. There was 24/7 security, house cooks and waitstaff were on standby for whatever you may need, or request. This is a very clean family house and it has a very cultured feel. My group spent a lot of time in the many patio areas around the pool or in the bar club area that also had a pool table. We were very pleased.

 3.       Currency: Visa, Mastercard, American Express or any other debit/credit card is not accepted in Cuba so bring enough cash with you for your entire trip. US dollars is hit with an extra conversion penalty and lose value dramatically is you convert directly from USD to CUC. Therefore, we converted USD to EUR prior to our flights, then converted from EUR to CUC once we landed in Cuba.

 Cuba has 2 currencies: CUC and CUP. You should always get CUC as it is more widely accepted, and CUC has the higher value. For instance, CUC is 1 to 1 to USD/EUR/CAD (roughly), while CUP is 1 to 25 USD/EUR/CAD. CUC is what we seen prices in tourist areas listed, while businesses that displayed CUP were in neighborhoods. Of course, food was cheaper in neighborhoods.

 How much to bring? We were there for 3 days converted between $500-1,000 USD and once the trip was over we pretty much converted most of it back. It’s safe to bring more than what you’ll expect to spend just in case. Also, if you save your receipt from exchange centers in the airport, within 30 days they allow you to convert back without a fee at the same rate you purchased.

 4.       Airport Experience: When you first land in Cuba, you will be outside and will walk into the building. The customs agents and TSA are 90% women. Their uniforms are quite interesting as the military style miniskirts and black fishnet stockings fit very sexy. I was pleasantly surprised. Waiting on baggage claim was okay until my bag was literally the last one out on the belt and the moment I grabbed it, agents wanted me to step to a table on the side for an extra check. The bag that I checked was actually school supplies that I was planning to give to the kids at a school near our Airbnb. They were speaking Spanish and I only caught on to key words like “violation”. I was started to wonder why? There was nothing I brought that was against the law, just folders, composition notebooks, crayons, markers, and chalk. As they checked the pages on the notebooks they had all my friends who were waiting close the door come back to scan all of our bags through a metal detector. Shortly after, they let us go. Weird.

 5.       Airport Transportation: We booked airport transportation through our house because several of us took different flights and landed at different times. The house had someone waiting with a sign at every single one of our flights. Airport Taxis literally wait in the airport line all day to get someone who is going into the city, not from one terminal to the other. So, keep that in mind for your departure date because it will be hard to find a ride from one terminal to another.

 6.       Taxis: Taxis in the city are cheap. You’ll be fine but ask how much before you ride off with them so that you aren’t shocked by the rate. We allowed our house to organize taxis to and from the city and club. We were dropped off at different meeting points and gave him a time to pick us up. He was always on time.

 7.       WiFi: Most American cell phone plans do not work in Cuba. So as soon as you touch down you most likely will not be able to contact anyone. Hotels and Wifi parks sell WiFi cards $2 for an hour of online activity. Two guys in my group found a park and waited in a long line to get one.  The rest of us did not see any of the WiFi parks. Some people were able to make calls from there cell at $2.49 a minute, but they could not receive a call. We were there for 3 days so soon after we stopped worrying about being able to get on social media and focused on enjoying the time and people that were right in front of us. If you are anything like me, be prepared, plan ahead. Download Maps.Me and download the Havana, Cuba offline map. Also, take screen shots of restaurants, addresses, important information, flight information, etc. as it is very likely you will not have connectivity.

 8.       Giving back to the Cubano kids: I planned a school drive as a form of giving back to the Cuban kids. We all brought supplies we thought may be scarce or just needed to be replaced to give to them. With the help of our Airbnb host we were able to get the Principal of a local school (I will not name the school) to allow us into the school to give the kids supplies. They were happy children with big bright smiles in their uniforms. This warmed my heart.

9.       Restaurants: Most dishes we found in Cuba of course were seafood. But you were able to find chicken, salads, and pizza as well. I won’t detail all of them but 2 in particular. There is the O’Reilly 304 Gin Bar and Restaurant. We were all completely amazed by the bartender and all of his concoctions of drinks. We also met the manager Julio we completely accommodated us and had a million stories to tell of U.S. celebrities who has stopped by his spot. One thing I must say is that we were wondering what was taking so long with our food and soon after Julio and another guy comes in with fresh veggies and a string line of fish just caught out the ocean! Not to mention the food was seasoned very well! Make sure you try the salsa for the plantains, you will not be disappointed. Another day we went to Del Mar beach but met at Rachon Don Pepe, a beach hut restaurant. There drinks were $2.50 each! If you find yourself in the area stop by and get the lobster tail and boiled shrimp with hot sauce! There is also a pinacoloda spot next door that will completely give you beach vibes.

 10.   Beaches: The most popular beach that everyone says to go to is Veradero. This beach is 3 hours out of the city. Planning this trip, I did not want to have to commute 6 hours for anything, so I did some research on other beaches and found Del Mar. ‘Playa Estes Del Mar” was absolutely perfect!!! We all fell in love from the moment we walked up a sand hill and got to the top and saw the crystal-clear water and warm smooth sand. If I could I would go back just to have another day on that beach.

 11.   Cuban People: I’m not sure if I just didn’t know what to expect Cubans to look like but they look like us! The country is full of beautiful black and brown people! I absolutely loved the looks. Everyone we encountered either did not say anything to us or was very nice and talkative. I believe they are just as curious of us as we are with them. A lot of Cubans are artists, I was not expecting so much beautiful art! If you have the chance stop by the market and bring extra cash to buy some timeless pieces of art and paintings.

 12.   Night Life: Our first night in town we went to a place by the name of “Mio y Tuyo”, drinks and food was cheap, and they had a good DJ with the videos to the songs playing in the background. We found out later that is place is someone’s home. They made the first floor of their home into a club. Cool right? Our second night, we went to “Fabrica de Arte Cubano”. This place is about 7 clubs in one big building with patios. Each club played a different type of music but all of them made you want to stop and dance. All throughout the building was a display of art from local artists, which I absolutely loved. The bartenders make all the drinks hand crafted and none of the mixers come from machine. Everything was from fresh ingredients. The 3rd night we were going to go to “Fantasy” but we ended up throwing a party for ourselves in our Airbnb club (the house seriously has its own club).

 13.   Tours: Book the Vinales Cigar rolling and Horseback riding tour, it’s an all-day tour but is worth it, so plan to have 1 full day of your trip there. If you are short on time as we were, there is a Cigar Factory and Rum tour in the city that is roughly 3 hours, and they are only open on weekdays. If you book an Airbnb, allow the house host to book the tours for you as they have direct contacts to these businesses. But I do recommend not to pre-book the old American car tours. Online prices were average $45 per person, while walking up to them and negotiating they quoted 60 CUC per car (split between 3-4 people in each car) for a city tour and to drop us off at a Restaurant in Del Mar (30-40min out the city).

 14.   Time is not of the essence in Cuba as it is in America. They are not in a rush to do anything. If you set a time for your taxi to pick you up and you are not ready they will wait on you. You cannot pay to skip the line at the club (trust me we tried to offer $$$), you must wait in line. There is no quick bite to eat as all the food is made to order and the drinks are handcrafted with detail. So, find some patience.

  I hope my tips help you and yours enjoy your trip! Follow my group and our tags on IG: @AshleySoUnique @Wolf_of_Peachtree @DrCarlaMoore @Corrien3 @__Jayalessia @_miamor @_meaganh @Supreme.bliss @modernmillennia @teddy_atl @blkgrl_ashley @lala_kki @quinashai_chelette

[jonasmaurer]

a taste of the Big Apple

Hi friends! How are you? We’re back from an amazing girls’ weekend to NYC. Liv has been asking us to take her for years and since I had a companion pass that expired in January, we decided to go for it.

We left Friday morning and got into LGA around 10pm. We were both hangry so we literally had a midnight snack at the hotel: avocado toast for her and a turkey burger with sweet potato fries for me.

We stayed at the Hyatt Centric in Times Square. I did a little bit of hotel research and chose this one because it had awesome reviews, a great location, and wasn’t bananas expensive. It’s close to lots of shops, restaurants, Times Square (obvs) and the theatres. We got an AMEX platinum card earlier this year – we use a few different cards for miles and points – and wish we would have enrolled sooner. It is AMAZING. You get awesome perks and benefits (like free entrance into many airport lounges for yourself and 2-3 guests) and the travel benefits. I booked our hotel through AMEX travel and the rates on the site were much lower than the other rates I found online. You also get free hotel upgrades upon arrival (they upgraded us to a bigger room on a higher floor), early check-in, late checkout, and hotel credit at certain hotels. We got a $100 credit, so room service twice was free. I’m not affiliated with AMEX in any way, but if you’ve been scoping out the platinum card, my referral link is here. We loooooove it. 

After our midnight snack, we crawled into bed and woke up the next morning ready for a full day of adventure. After a quick breakfast, we spent some time walking around Rockefeller Plaza, hitting up the enormous American Girl store, LEGO, and FAO Schwartz. We walked over to the New Amsterdam theatre for our first show: Aladdin.

TBH I didn’t have super high hopes for Aladdin. We’ve seen the animated version at least a thousand times, the live-action version a handful of times, and while I love Disney and LOVE Broadway, I didn’t know if I’d be thrilled with it. (I was just trying to find some kid-friendly shows that Liv would enjoy so she’d fall in love with Broadway forever.) I was thrilled with it. It was so different from the animated version and the cast was insane. The genie. You guys, the genie is a pure masterpiece of a human. He’s hilarious and incredibly talented. Friend Like Me was maybe 15 minutes long and I never wanted it to end!

Interesting fact: the man who played Jafar is the SAME GUY who voiced the animated character. He was also brilliant. The whole cast was wonderful and I loved that they made it a little different (and way more entertaining) than the animated version. 

After Aladdin and our lunch of popcorn, M&Ms and skittles, we dropped all of our shopping goodies off at the hotel, added some layers (beanies, tights under our pants, and gloves), then walked over to Bryant Park to spend the rest of the night ice skating and exploring the Christmas shops. 

(That’s a waffle with Nutella, marshmallows and strawberries)

Bryant Park is one of the many things that makes me want to live in NYC. During the holidays, it’s magical. There are little shops and food stops surrounding the ice skating rink. (Pro tip: get your ice skating tickets online so you can book a skate time in advance and avoid the giant line.) We had dinner at Fever-Tree because it was heated – it was chilly! – and then skated for 2 hours. Liv was a bit apprehensive at first, but within 20 minutes, she was skate-RUNNING around the rink and I was chasing to catch up with her haha. Let it be known that I managed to avoid falling by some stroke of luck.

Saturday morning, we had hotel room service while we got ready:

(they had banana almond meal pancakes that were fantastic)

and then caught a cab to the Museum of Natural History. This was my first time at this museum and I was blown away by the exhibits. The animals and dinosaurs were massive and we walked around for 2 hours, jaws on the floor pretty much the entire time. It was really cool to explain some parts of history to Liv that she hasn’t learned about in school yet, and I learned a lot of new facts surrounding cultures, animals, and their habitats. I’d definitely pop it in the “must-do” list for NYC with kids. (Note: I bought our tickets online in the cab on the way there and it was another easy way to skip out on the giant line to get in.)

We walked around in Central Park for a little while, and then caught a cab to the Gershin Theatre for Wicked.

Wicked is one of my favorite musicals of all-time and I was really hoping that Liv would love it. As soon as it ended, she told me she wanted to see it again. I’ve seen it maybe 8 times now and don’t ever think I’ll be sick of the story or the music, and I think that this Elphaba was my favorite one.

Here’s a little video of her singing for morning enjoyment.

    (Fun Broadway tidbit: I went to high school with Ben who’s the phantom on Broadway and was in a couple of shows with Sean who’s starring in Beetlejuice. He was Captain Hook when we did Peter Pan and I was a male pirate— a glimpse into the future for how our respective acting careers would transpire lol.)

After Wicked, we were ready for dinner, so we walked over to Don Antonio’s for the best pizza of our lives. They make legit Napoli-style wood-fired pizza, and the gluten-free pizza was like REAL PIZZA: doughy and briny and perfect.  

Liv loved the margherita pizza and we also shared a fresh salad with arugula, balsamic, and tomatoes.

During dinner, we talked about how much we loved the show and both agreed we wanted to see another one. So, we ran down to TKTS and got cheap 5th-row seats for Frozen. I felt very similarly about Frozen as I did to Aladdin (not on my personal “must watch” list but really wanted to pick shows Liv would be into) and ended up loving it. They also had some small twists to the story and the cast was fantastic.

We walked around Times Square, enjoying the commotion and the lights, and came back to the hotel around 11. 

Monday morning, we caught our flight back to Tucson! It was a whirlwind of a trip – and we really only had two full days there! – but I think we absolutely lived it up. The best part: Liv is already begging the Pilot to let us move out there.

It would be pretty easy for him to fly out of LGA or JFK, just sayin’.

I thought I’d share two things that made this trip way easier:

– This inflatable booster seat. While I wouldn’t use this for daily transportation, it’s perfect for traveling. Let it be known that I’m the person that sucks at blowing up balloons (it takes me like 20 years), but I could inflate this in 20 seconds. It gave Liv the perfect little boost in the taxi to and from the airport and also to and from the museum on Sunday. Since I had it with us, it also made the perfect booster seat for our shows on Sunday. (They offer boosters to the kiddos but they go quickly for matinees. It was convenient to have our own!) It folds up and fits in your backpack, and I just carried it in our shopping bag that day.

– These boots. (Most similar one is here!) Easy Spirit reached out to see if I’d like a pair of shoes. I usually delete or decline free product offers because I feel like it’s wasteful and sometimes brands request multiple posts about their $20 salad spinner or whatever and I’d rather just buy and share what I like… but I thought these were cute for winter. Most of my boots aren’t very comfortable for all-day walking, are too fancy, or too high. I ended up wearing these every day we were there, fresh out of the box, and no breaking them in. (Yes, a risky move.) I liked that they were cute enough to wear to a show, but comfortable enough to walk around in all day, and didn’t give me a single blister. Wins all around.

(with these jeans, this jacket <— on sale, and this sweater)

(with these jeans and similar sweater)

I really enjoyed a special weekend with Liv and had such a wonderful time with her; something I’ll always remember. I think NYC is still a bit too much walking for P and the shows might have been a tad long for her. Also, since her eardrum ruptured she can’t fly again for a couple more weeks.

She had the best weekend with the Pilot and it was fun that they got to spend some time together. He took her to Chuck E Cheese, jumping at Get Air, to a birthday party, and to Friendsgiving at Kyle and Meg’s house. I missed that little goose so much!!

Now we’re back in town with the fam and I’m starting to get pumped for Thanksgiving. This morning, I’m off to tackle my exploding inbox and get some work stuff done before a fun crafting party with friends.

Have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya soon!

xo

Gina 

The post a taste of the Big Apple appeared first on The Fitnessista.

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[pinkguacamole]

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Garden Route, South Africa

Another Wrong-Side-of-the-Road-Trip

When I left Afrikaburn, I did not have anything planned. I’d been in the desert for 11 days with no internet. I did not even know when I would be leaving Afrikaburn because the car I’d come in had a bit of a mishap and my friends and I were waiting for a new rental car to arrive. I figured I’d somehow find a place to stay in Capetown when the time was right.

The car arrived late Sunday evening, and on Monday morning, my South African friends Ryan, J, and Monica, and I piled in, sore and dusty, finally leaving the Tankwa Karoo and 11 incredible days behind us. 

On our way back to the “default world,” the dusty road soon became majestic rocky mountains and cell phone reception eventually returned. We ate a gluttonous meal at a very racist restaurant called Spurs. (The theme is Native American -WTF? It is a chain all over South Africa). We just wanted warm food and cold drinks desperately. During the meal, one of my friends, Monica, talked to her dad who has a house in the beach town of Hermanus and he invited us to come to his home and decompress! 

All of us were euphoric to accept the offer. A nice house! With warm showers! A home cooked meal! A beautiful beach town! It was exactly what we needed.

When we arrived at Monica’s family home, we all took time to clean up and relax. Her father loved Jazz and played standards from his iPad all night, urging me to sing along. We ate a traditional South African Braai- a barbecue of many meats and thankfully many vegetarian options as well.  After a night of singing and the color coming back to our chalky cheeks, we all had a nice, hard sleep. 

The next day I did laundry using the family’s washer and dryer (it’s the small victories!) and then Monica’s father drove us around Hermanus, showing us the gorgeous beach scenes from down below, and up above on one of the rocky mountains. It was a perfect day. 

That afternoon, my South African friends had to leave to fly back to Johannesburg and I needed to find a place to stay in Capetown. As I was researching where to go, my Canadian friend Sam, whom I spent a lot of time hanging out with at Afrikaburn, messaged me and asked if I wanted to join her and her friend Josh on a road trip on the Garden Route for a few days. I said I couldn’t be back in Capetown in time. She asked where I was and it turns out Hermanus was on the way! So once my South African friends departed, I waited by the beach for my Canadian friends to scoop me up. Talk about serendipity! 

That evening our team of North Americans drove to a quiet beach town near Agulhas National Park where the Southern-Most tip of Africa is located. We stayed at a sweet Airbnb and attempted to cook canned-food in the microwave. Not too bad. 

The next morning, we walked through Agulhas National Park, along the coast. The pebbled-shore was glowing nicely in the morning light. There was a lighthouse looking out over the point and it shone brightly against a misty view. We found the southern-most tip of Africa and the accompanying landmark, climbed on the rocks, and took some photos. 

Then we drove for a really long time. We saw some elephants along the road at one point! We listened to music that was popular before 2011, because Josh’s phone deleted everything current. There was some One Direction in the mix. It was your typical road trip music…

By late afternoon we made it to Wilderness, South Africa. Yes, that is the name of the town. It wasn’t as abandoned as it sounds, but it was surrounded by gorgeous beaches and dense forest. The afternoon was foggy and we frolicked on the cold and misty beach. It looked so much like my foggy coastal Californian home; it almost made me homesick. 

That evening when we went out for dinner, we met a cool South African guy who was looking to move to Canada. My Canadian friends gave him all the tips he needed and he in turn told us all about Wilderness. 

The next day we entered Garden Route National park. We rented some kayaks and paddled down the Touwsrivier to the waterfall at the end of Giant King Fisher Trail. I was double kayaking with Sam and as we were mostly in-sync, she encouraged me to sing Pocahontas songs while we rolled through the morning haze. My life has pretty much become the musical I always hoped it would be. No complaints.

We hiked through the damp forest at the end of the river and climbed to the waterfall. Everything was beautiful. And everything still reminded me of California. This all looked like Pescadero State Park where I spent my childhood at Girl Scout Camp. 

After we made it back to our starting point and returned the kayaks, we stopped in town for a nice meal and to see our South African friend again. Then we drove off, back west towards the Cape of Good Hope. We continued to gawk at the views along the way. It was sunny now and the beach had a whole new persona. On the way, we had passed through Mitchell’s Plain, which is apparently one of the most dangerous townships in South Africa. It was dark and a bit eerie, but we were fine. 

That evening we arrived in a small town called Glencairn. The name sounds Scottish and the town resembled a northern Scottish fishing village. We were staying at an old hotel that was apparently haunted. Despite the ghosts, it was well-priced and a clean, spacious retreat. There was live music at the bar one night and the guy who ran the place took a special interest in us because we were from out of town. He gave us free drinks as he tried to discuss Donald Trump and America with me. I was so burnt out of this damn conversation and my Canadian friends did a great job defending me. It was bleh. But hey, free drinks… 

On our second to last day of the trip we took it slow. We had a leisurely breakfast at a local cafe and then drove a few minutes into Simon’s Town to see… PENGUINS at Boulders Beach. The penguins were so cute and silly as they waddled around, posing for zillions of photos as hoards of tourists packed along the beach with selfie sticks and DSLRs. 

After we got our fill of adorableness, we continued down the coast to The Cape of Good Hope in Table Mountain National Park. After paying another entrance fee, we drove to the Cape as the weather turned windy and rainy. 

At the Cape, we climbed up on some cliffs but the rocks were slippery and the wind was insane. Then we went back to the bottom to wait as buses of tourists funneled out of the area so we could get a photo with the “Cape of Good Hope” sign. All the important things. 

Then Josh and Sam took a tram up into the mist for some more views as I sat on the edge of the world with some pizza. I was craving melted cheese. So were some of the birds nearby. Not once, but twice, did two birds flap by and grab some pizza right out of my hand. They are pros. I felt like the fat guy from Lilo and Stitch who is always dropping his ice cream. Let’s be real, I am that fat guy.

Once we left the bottom of the world, we stopped in Simon’s Town for a sweet cafe meal and then drove to Long Beach Kommetjie. This was a little beach town covered in white cottages. The beach was spectacular, resting under the glorious mountains of Chapman’s Peak. By this point, we were all becoming over stimulated by the ridiculous amount of INCREDIBLE scenery we had seen in the past few days. We were surrounded by “neature” as the Canadians say. We hopped around taking photos. We were joined for a while by two cute little terrier dogs running on the beach. They were so excited and it was hard to not feel my heart exploding. We left the beach in a satisfied daze.

The next morning we were to return to Capetown, via the Chapman’s Peak road. And my goodness, the views just got prettier from there. The mountains epically sloped into the ocean as a layer of mist hugged each peak. I have hundreds of photos; it was impossible to select 10 for this post. We stopped the car every few feet to take more photos and drink in the majesty. It was absurd. 

We ended our trip with a charming breakfast and Mimosa Toast next to Hout’s Bay. 

That afternoon, I split with the Canadians and moved into a hostel in Capetown in an attempt to process my fantastic and fast-paced month in South Africa and prepare for my travels in Namibia and onward. I organized some photos and ran some errands. I even explored a bit. Luckily I had a hostel dorm all to myself! My solitude didn’t last long, though. Two of my brothers from Peace Corps Madagascar were in Capetown and I went out with them a few times, then on my last day in South Africa, I met an American girl and we visited Table Mountain, one of the prime attractions in Capetown. We took a tram to the top of the windy mountain and spent an hour walking around the top doing my new standard activity of “gawking at grandiose views.” 

Once we’d thoroughly appreciated the glory of Table Mountain and the view of rocky hills, the sea, and the city below, we decided to walk back down. The path was steep and long and rocky, and I was in flip flops… but I am a” super human” -according to many people we passed along the way- (I would have just gone with “stupid and under-prepared…”) But I made it down without any issues!

After some more chill time with some friends, old and new, I packed up my bag to head into the next leg of my trip: Namibia.

My time in South Africa was nothing short of phenomenal. I was completely surrounded by amazing people and scenery every step of the way. It was the perfect “choose your own adventure story” but I learned that I could literally not make any wrong moves in South Africa. Everywhere I went was breath-taking and fantastic. 

Oddly enough though, I felt like I was in a bubble. Traveling in rental cars for days at a time is not how I normally travel. I saw a lot but I felt like I was on “vacation” and I could feel my wallet groaning. I am happy to be on my own, out of South Africa, so I can travel more simply -by taking public transportation and camping and meeting locals along the way.

South Africa has left me feeling revitalized and so excited for the adventures to come. I am feeling completely free and completely in my element. Thank you SA and thank you to all of my wonderful friends that I spent the last month exploring with!

[wokingtheworld]

Cuba Journal 5 May 2017 | Havana here I come!  You have no idea how much cash I have in my pockets right now, because in Cuba - they don't take plastic (meaning no credit or debit cards are allowed).  To top that off USA Banks do not allow money to be sent to Cuba via transfers or even online transactions.  For example, if you decide you want to book your hotel in Cuba online - good luck (your only and best option here is Airbnb). The 10 most important things to check off before your journey to Cuba: 1. Choose to stay in Casa Particulares, or local homestays 2. Bring only Euros (or Canadian Dollars); Do not bring your credit / debit cards from the USA - they will not work! 3. There is internet in Cuba, you just have to be strategic as to where to find it - look for accommodations that ALSO have Internet access; which still means you have to pay for it; 1 hour = 2 CUCs 4. Declare your purpose of travel: Educational or People to People 5. Bring your favorite snacks with you; Cuba is still restricted as to what they can import - so you won't find many familiar food products 6. Only carry-on your luggage; the Havana Airport is known for losing bags 7. Research knowledgeable LOCAL guides to take you around the country 8. Visit Havana, Vinales, and Trinidad - and if you are feeling adventurous, travel to Santiago de Cuba & Baracoa on the East of the Island 9. Visit the local restaurants and be prepared to witness a lot of Traditional Music and Salsa Dancing; Cuban food is not as bad as people say... 10. Do not be worried about obtaining a visa.  The airline from whom you purchase your ticket will assist you, as usually visas are issued at the airport on the day of departure

Cuba really is a step back in time.  Classic Cars, crumbling buildings, no grocery stores, sparse Internet, and home stays instead of hotels.  In just a few hours I feel like I now understand why people come to this beautiful country - as it gives you the opportunity to time travel.  I arrived at 4:50 into the Havana Airport, a dirty and very dusty building with several beat-up airstrips. I was lucky enough to be met by an enthusiastic Alber, our guide for our Havana to Santiago journey.  He recognized me the moment I exited the airport and we were off just like that - with his two drivers as company of course.  We visited The Centro, Vedado, Miramar, and Havana Vejo - and stepped into numerous beautiful accommodations along the way. I am staying in B&B Havana Central.  After a tiring day walking through many different districts of Havana , I was met back at my Casa Particular by Roxanne (the owner) and the Japones (the manager).  While Roxanne entertained her guests Japones continued to stop by my place in the sitting room - passing me two bananas, then a bottle of water, and lastly a delicious chunk of pineapple that was leftover from dinner.  Being exhausted and famished - his small gesture meant a lot.  Cuban people are very kind. The only complaint I have with Cuba is the lack of Internet access - which really makes communicating back home very difficult. 6 May 2017 | Morning Not having Internet makes you realize just how hard it is to be unplugged.  I spent 9 CUCS ($12) on two hours of Internet this morning so I could speak with Andrew about what occurred in 24 hours since I departed the USA.  Only 24 hours without Internet, I'm not sure if I have ever gone that long without Internet in years...  Which I realize makes me very embarrassed to admit. Sandy and Andrew arrived, wow is it great to see them! Rachelle and Sandie Frakes arrived - so excited to take this adventure together! It is 12:30am and I am still waiting for P Denise and her mother Florence to arrive, so hopefully we hear from them soon!  Their flight has been delayed for the past several hours...  They just landed! Woohoo!  No I just have to wait for them to arrive, no sleeping tonight!  Finally I headed off to bed, it is 2am - but everyone has arrived and (except 2 luggages that were lost in route).  Welcome to Cuba - we are excited for our tour to start tomorrow. 7 May 2017 | Morning We awoke to the sounds of birds in our beautiful Casa Particular - and the smell of a delicious being prepared.  Alber arrived at 9:00 and presented us the beautiful hand crafted gifts from Cuba.  Receiving a little gift upon arrival is always an exciting touch to the start of a trip.  We packed up all our luggage, and headed out front of our Casa - for Alber's second surprise, this time two old American cars drove up to pick us up outside our Casa.  Havana is known for its colorful buildings and beautiful old cars, and this morning sure wasn't a disappointment. We continued out afternoon with a visit to the famous Hamal street - only open on Sundays, and a street that perfectly showcases Cuban Afro art, music, and dance.  Luckily enough - right next door was the famous pizzeria "a mi manera" here the handcrafted pizza is lowered via a rope from three stories above (where the kitchen is located) to the guests ordering from the sidewalk/street area.  The morning was beautiful, in the afternoon we spent our time picking up the luggage at the Havana airport - before departing to Trinidad (we are currently en route).  We did have the opportunity to stop at the famous local ice cream place where Cubans wait in line for hours to eat the best local ice cream in Havana - luckily we bypassed the line as we were escorted to the "tourist" ice cream stand.  Not as good, but definitely not as long of a wait. Tonight we will arrive in Trinidad a little later than expected - but with all our luggage.  Talk with you then! Xoxo Kylie 8 May 2017 | Early Morning So we arrived in Trinidad, but not with all of our bags.  We had one back arrive (5 hours later than expected) and one bag lost - which means it was probably stolen in customs.  Due to the baggage delay we arrived very late and did not get to stop at the Ceynotes or see the beautiful Trinidad mountains, so luckily we are coming back this same way.  We are staying in two beautiful colonial mansions, Casa Mauri and Casa Colonial 1830.  Both have vaulted ceilings, beautiful tiled walls, and crystal chandeliers.  Not to mention the beautiful birds in the central courtyards that we wake up to each morning.  Despite the lack of many basic amenities, this place really is a dream... I am walking to find Internet now - as I have many photos to share! Our day in Trinidad was beautiful.  We visited the main plaza in the morning to see the locals in action and to walk the beautiful cobblestone streets.  The colors of this city are amazing - bright blue, red, yellow, orange, and green buildings line the streets, with old pontiffs, fords, and Chevrolets in every color imaginable.  The people here are so friendly, and you constantly hear music playing in the streets - and Cuban Music is very good!  I have made some very good friends - including two new adopted grandpas that tried to give me their cigars, which I almost couldn't decline because they were so cute!  In the afternoon we continued on for a horse ride through the Vinales Valley - where we even encounters our first Cuban rainstorm.  Riding through the jungles was stunning, and we even had the change to hike at the end of our tour to a beautiful waterfall.  Our evening was once again filled with a delicious dinner and a cultural Afro-Cuban dance show, definitely a unique twist to the end of the night.

[adventuresinmorocco]

So the big trip has officially come and gone. I actually went to Ireland! This is going to be a pretty lengthy chat, so I’ll get right into the adventures!

It all began Tuesday morning at 11:30 am when my friends Abby and Nicole joined me in a taxi ride to Tangier’s Ibn Battuta airport for our flight from Tangier to Amsterdam. Everything was going smoothly. We checked in for the flight, went through security and passport control, and were sat waiting for our boarding to be called. Of course, this is when problems began to arise. When you live in Tangier for a little while, you notice that things run on Moroccan time which is the same as saying everything runs late. We finally boarded though, getting settled onto the plane 40 minutes after we were supposed to have left the tarmac. We weren’t worried though; our layover gave us plenty of time to make up for those 40 minutes. Boy were we wrong! It was at that moment that the pilot announced over the intercom that due to air traffic control problems at Amsterdam airport, our flight would not be taking off for another hour! So we were left to nervously await the departure time and hope with all our hearts that we would make our connecting flight to Dublin or that it would be delayed. When we finally made it to Amsterdam, the sprint began. Abby and I raced through the airport, separated from Nicole who had to go get her checked bag since the flight was a self-transfer. Our connection hadn’t been delayed at all! We made it to the gate, panting and sweaty, begging the flight attendants at the desk to let us on the plane that was still standing at the gate. Unfortunately, because it was a self-transfer and we had missed boarding, they were unable to put us on the flight. Luckily, they put us on one for the next morning, but they were unable to get us a place to stay in Amsterdam so we were stuck for 12 hours in Amsterdam airport rather than being in our hotel in Dublin. 

We spent an uncomfortable night trying to sleep in the airport before we finally got up and went to wait for our flight Wednesday morning. But in the end, the important thing was that we made it to Dublin eventually and we headed straight for the taxi line after landing to head to our hotel. We got in the taxi and were on our way... or so we thought. About 5 minutes into our drive, the taxi driver was forced to pull over because of a flat tire! Just our luck, huh? Thank goodness he had a spare in the trunk and was able to fix it up quickly and get us to our hotel. Once we had checked in and settled, we immediately headed off into the city for our first destination: the Guinness Storehouse. 

After a lengthy walk through the pouring rain, we finally made it to our destination. The storehouse was really neat. Each room took you through a different step in the process of making Guinness from the individual ingredients to the roasting to the bottling and advertising. We had such a fun time going through each floor and learning about how this internationally famous beer is created. We then took advantage of the amazing restaurants within the storehouse and our vouchers for a free beer and headed to get some lunch which was delicious. 

Our plan after the factory was to get a ride to the train station to purchase our tickets for our train to Waterford the following day, but we got lucky and our friendly cab driver informed us that it was easier to book online, taking us to an internet cafe near our hotel where we could get internet to check out the prices (our hotel wifi took a while to figure out). Once that was done, it was starting to get late so we did some brief shopping on our walk back before we headed into our hotel room, passing out way earlier than we expected. We obviously were super tired after the whole airport fiasco and then exploring Dublin. The next morning, though, we were up early to check out and on a train to Waterford. 

The moment we set foot in Waterford’s beautiful, riverside city, I was hooked. This place is seriously one of the most amazing places I’ve been. Sitting proudly along a beautiful river, the oldest city in Ireland is a sight to behold. There’s nothing super fancy or special about it in a factual sense, but to me it felt like I was right at home and I loved every second of being in that city. We checked into our hotel and immediately began to explore. Our first stop was the famous Waterford Crystal factory where we had a tour booked. This tour was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. I got to walk through each section of the factory and watch the men and women work right up close. Every stage from molding the crystal to cutting it was right there for me to watch live. After the tour, we were able to take a look around their sales floor and their Christmas ornaments definitely caught both our eyes. 

After that first plan had been completed, it was time to finish up one other plan I had in store while we were in Waterford: getting my hair cut. Now, I know what you’re thinking... “Why couldn’t you just wait for when you came home?” I could’ve for sure, but to be honest, I was getting really, really sick of having my hair long and I found a walk in salon so I thought, “why not?” So now my hair is short again and I can actually say I’ve gotten a haircut in Ireland of all places!

After this, we headed back to the hostel for what was supposed to be a quick stop, but ended up being pretty stressful in the end. Our original plans involved heading to the Cliffs of Moher from Waterford on Friday so we were working on the hostel’s desktop to figure out the travel plans and make sure we were set for the next day. Unfortunately, that’s when things began to fall apart again. We both realized that the cost was going to be much much more than we thought and we began to second guess our choice. After a tear-filled conversation with my aunt and some more debating about buses, trains, and taxi rides, we made the final decision to stay another day in Waterford and skip the Cliffs. We immediately felt a huge weight lift off our shoulders. Although we had both really wanted to go to the Cliffs, we ended up being very happy with our choice to stay in Waterford, especially because we were enjoying it so much already. 

The rest of our Thanksgiving day was spent wandering the streets of Waterford, experiencing the churches and other sights along the way and stopping at several of the little shops. That night, we were ready to head out to a pub for dinner, hoping to treat ourselves to a Thanksgiving type dinner. I’ll tell you right now, the pub around the corner from our hotel that was recommended by our hostel hosts did not disappoint. When we walked in, it was still fairly early for a pub so not many people were there, but I can tell you now that the owner was tickled to death that he had two Americans in his pub. While he took our orders, he happily chatted with us about our visit and study abroad experience. On top of his cheerful friendliness, he served us some amazing food. I personally had some vegetable soup with Irish soda bread to start, followed by the classic bangers and mash, ending with a scrumptious sticky toffee pudding with hot custard. Everything tasted so delicious and I got to check off several of the foods I had hoped to try in Ireland off my list! After our meal, we bid the owners a fond farewell before heading back to the hostel where we both separated to chat with our families and spend some time with them on the holiday, both of us needing the family time to get over the homesickness of missing Thanksgiving. 

The next morning, we woke to a freshly cooked full Irish breakfast, another thing I had hoped to try, made by our hostel hosts and had the dining room to ourselves to enjoy the yummy food. We then headed out into the town, spending the whole day exploring more of the tourist sights, stopping into almost every little shop we passed to see what they had to offer, and chatting to some of the locals. We were quite amused by the amount of signs exclaiming huge Black Friday sales when we were in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but we weren’t complaining about some of the sales we managed to get! By the time we stopped for lunch, our ankles ached and our bellies rumbled. I was very excited to try this lunch, though, because back when I first started researching this trip, I discovered something Waterford is known for called the Burzza. Now, the Burzza is a pepperoni pizza calzone that is stuffed with a hamburger. Abby and I happily ordered one of these to share, along with a glass of Prosecco which I enjoyed, and were blown away by how good it tasted. After our late lunch, it was getting dark outside but the people in Waterford were just getting started. 

By chance, we had arrived in Waterford just as their Winterval (winter festival) was starting. The streets were filled with thousands of Christmas lights, tons of food stands cooking up delicious smelling and tasting treats, and rides for all the kids to enjoy. They had music playing from a DJ stand, a host calling out for people to win prizes by competing in a dance off, and tons of people just enjoying the atmosphere. We joined in on all the festivities as we headed towards Waterford’s ferris wheel. The night time view of the city was gorgeous from the top of this ferris wheel and a perfect way to end our walk before dinner. That night for dinner, we wanted to be sure to go to another Irish pub and ended up at one that was fairly modern, filled with colorful lights and the best Christmas music. We both ordered huge plates of fish n chips to go with our drinks, beer for Abby, wine for me. I enjoyed the wine and fish n chips, but found myself not enjoying the taste of the dark Guinness beer that Abby gave me. We spent the evening laughing and enjoying the atmosphere of the bar before heading back through the festive streets to our hotel. 

We were both sad to be leaving Waterford on Saturday morning, but we had plans to attend to in Dublin for our last day in Ireland. After the quick train ride Saturday morning, our first stop was Dublin’s National Botanic Gardens. The gardens are free and open to the public. We headed in and took our time walking around the expansive outdoor gardens and the indoor greenhouses. After the gardens, we headed to the Museum of Natural History which is also fondly known as the Dead Zoo. Filled with skeletons and stuffed animals, the museum gave us a lot of information about different animals, their evolution paths throughout history, and even their significance to Ireland/other parts of the world. After we had finished the last few stops we wanted to make, we walked the streets and went into different shops. We eventually stopped for a late lunch at a well known and busy restaurant called Gotham Cafe where I feasted on a prosciutto and goat cheese calzone paired with a bottle of Irish apple cider. Once we had finished eating, we finished up the last of our shopping, including a quick self-indulging trip to the Disney store on Grafton Street. Since it was getting late and our hotel was close to the airport, aka far from the city center, we decided to head to a grocery store and grab some dinner and other snacks before we called it a day and headed to the hotel. On our way, we happened to come across a huge crowd in front of a hotel where bagpipes were playing patriotically into the cold air. As we got closer, we realized that everyone was clustered to try to catch a glimpse of the Irish National Rugby team! How cool is that? 

Soon after, though, we headed back to our hotel for the night, getting ready for our flights back to Tangier the following day. The flights home went smoothly, thank goodness, and we met up with some other UNE students on our way. Although I never wanted to say goodbye to Ireland and its beautiful landscapes and kind people, it was time to head back for, get this, my last three weeks abroad! Now all that’s left is the last 2 weeks of classes and final exams before I’m back home in Maine. It doesn’t feel real and I find myself never wanting to leave and wanting to be back home with all my family and friends at the same time. It’s weird how the travel bug works in your system, making you want to go everywhere at once while another part of you wants to stay in one place and be with your loved ones. Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who has kept up with all my posts and adventures these past few months. This will be one of my last posts. I may post once more about these last weeks in Tangier if anything more exciting than exams occurs and I will definitely post one last time about my trip home, but for the most part, my adventures in Morocco are coming to an end. 

For anyone out there reading this who is on the edge of an adventure, go for it. Don’t wait. I can tell you from experience that you will regret it if you don’t and you will never regret it once you’ve gone.