Lost in Wanderlust

I can't believe how quickly 3 months went by, but it's official..My course has come to an end. I know that Salamanca will always have a special place in my heart, and I will forever be grateful for the experience..but that being said it's time for a summer of travel and adventure! On Thursday I packed my stuff into a backpack and set out for a two month tour of Europe. As I was walking to the bus station in the ninety degree heat I questioned my sanity but that's what travel is all about, breaking out of the comfort zone! (Don't let the smile fool you I was dying inside) First stop was Porto, Portugal! When I got there I felt a mix of emotions.. overwhelmed, excited, nervous. I was no longer in a country where I know the language and everything seemed foreign but this kind of unknown thrills me. After I got to my hostel (all by myself mind you) I checked in and set out to explore the city with some new friends. Later in the evening I reunited with Hayley, ou...

What better way to spend my last weekend in Spain than a trip to the Canary Islands?! One of my new friends in Salamanca offhandedly mentioned she was going and asked me to join...I have been dying to go ever since I studied abroad 7 years ago so I immediately went home and booked my flight..the best part? It was free because I my travel points! Tenerife is one of the bigger islands, Its off the coast of Africa means it's always hot and sunny 😎 We went to Madrid the night before our flight at first my idea was grab dinner and go to bed early because we were flying the next morning ...but then we found out about a pub crawl which ended in Kapital night club😱 For those of you who are unfamiliar, Kapital is a famous nightclub in Madrid with  seven floors and live music ..basically heaven for two American girls who love to dance ..so naturally plans changed and we ended up strolling into our hostel at 5 am. Needless to say catching the flight the next morning was ROUGH and I'm...

It's been a few weeks since I got back to Salamanca and I'm still having trouble finding the words to describe my 5 day excursion to Morocco. It was the most amazing, life changing, eye opening trip. For years I have wanted to go to Morocco but let other people's opinions dissuade me. People said it was dangerous especially as a woman but I was intent on seeing for myself. Finally, I found a guided tour and figured safety in numbers right? So I signed up for a 5 day excursion to explore Morocco, ride camels and camp in the Sahara Desert. Seeing as I was travelling for almost  3 weeks before I arrived in Salamanca I really didn't have time to think about my upcoming trip to Africa. However, once it was a week away, my nerves started to get the better of me. It's a new continent, new language, new culture, will I be safe? The opinions of others started to get into my head, and then on the first day of classes I learned that my school doesn't give us Easter week o...

For the last three days of my European tour I returned to Valladolid, the city in Spain where i spent a year teaching English. It's very close to Salamanca, so I figured I should pay it a visit since it was only a bus ride away. It was really nice to reunite with a couple of friends and to see some of my old students, but on my last day there, I was left feeling unsettled. It's a strange feeling being back in a city you once called home and simultaneously feeling out of place, like you no longer belong. Physically, everything looks the same, but romances have dissipated, friends have moved away and you're left with the memories of how things used to be. You realize that even though the plazas and streets still look the same, in fact, everything else has changed. However, it's moments like this that can give us the best lesson, if we are willing to look for it. I believe that people and places come into our life for a reason, and although they will always be a part of o...

Once I heard about what happened in Parliament Square  I was more than happy to get out of London..luckily I ahead already planned a visit to Margate to visit my friend Hayley. We were roommates during my TEFL program and we try to get together every year! After a couple of  relaxing days in the English countryside Hayley and I hopped on a plane to the country where we first met 5 years ago..ITALY!  Florence is my favorite city in the world,  and of course there is no other place I wanted to go for my birthday weekend! We set out at 4 am, and by the time we got to Florence it was after 3pm but we were all smiles to be back in this amazing city!  The first order of business was obviously finding some pizza, and eating the entire thing because when in Italy are you really going to count calories? NO After lunch we hiked up to my favorite place in the city, Piazzale Michaelangelo. To our surprise we found a free concert on the steps of the Piazza, a ma...

I have officially survived my first week of this crazy adventure! A week ago, I was landing in Edinburgh and had no idea what was awaiting me. I was definitely most nervous about this part of the trip because I was going to be travelling solo and have never been to Scotland before.. but I was in for an amazing surprise. This city totally captured my heart! I met some absolutely amazing people and made memories that will last a lifetime! When I first got off the bus in Edinburgh to be honest I was feeling defeated. I had to pay an arm and a leg for overweight bags, and I lost my phone on my layover. I was dragging my suitcase up a giant hill and then all of the sudden I turned a corner and saw this amazing view Seeing Edinburgh castle for the first time literally took my breath away. I couldn't help but stop and smile. Here I was jet lagged, drenched in sweat from carrying all my stuff but just seeing something so beautiful made me know that no matter how hard it seems at ti...