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Edinburgh, Scotland: Castles, Lochs & Highland Cows
Arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland is like taking a step back in time. Everything from the architecture, the homes and castles, to the red telephone booths and old-timey taxis. The miles and miles of lowlands are just as beautiful as the miles of city streets of downtown Edinburgh. It’s a castle lover’s dream and a shopper’s paradise. You’ll find something for everyone to do here. I fell head over heels in love with Scotland – a place like I had never seen before. Even the downpouring rain couldn’t stop the liveliness that I felt during my weekend visiting this country. Back in the summer of 2017, I took my students abroad…
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A Bucket List Experience: Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Feeding, bathing and swimming with Asian elephants at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand was an experience I’ll never forget. I wanted time to stand still just to have the opportunity to soak in every second with the most fascinating creatures I’ve seen in my 26 years of life. It brought tears to my eyes at how beautiful and majestic these huge animals were and at the same time the amount of personality they encompassed. Seeing elephants up close and personal has been on my ever-growing bucket list for a while now. We missed our opportunity back in May 2017 when we had plans to honeymoon in Thailand. Due…
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Balkans Road Trip Part 2: Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
The first four days of our Balkan countries road trip were mostly spent in Croatia, which wasn’t necessarily by choice, but instead due to the fact that we were denied border entry so many times. Luckily, this gave us more time to fall in love with the country, the people, the food, the sea, and everything else in Croatia. If you haven’t read the first post from our Balkan countries road trip, head on over there now by clicking here and then you can return for the second leg and pick up reading below! This part of our road trip went by way too fast as we had a lot of…
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The Best Itinerary for a Weekend Hiking in the Heart of the Dolomites
For July 4th, we celebrated our freedom and American independence by traveling to our favorite place in Italy – the Dolomites. On our very last weekend living in Italy, we couldn’t have chosen a better spot. It’s all thanks to connections made through a Facebook group that I’m an admin/moderator of – Hike the Dolomites – that I learned about Rocca Bruna Dolomiti Bed & Breakfast. If only we had found this location earlier, we would have enjoyed many more weekends here! After a fantastic weekend, I couldn’t wait to share all the details from our days at Rocca Bruna and in the Italian Dolomites. Below you will find the…
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A Tour of Our Italian Home
The time has come for us to say goodbye to our little home in (Costabissara) Vicenza, Italy after 1.5 years. Although our home will never be featured in a Southern Italian Living Magazine, I found peace and comfort inside these walls and we made some of our best memories here. From reunions and parties to new puppies and newlywed memories, we’ll always remember this place in Italy and our first home together. While the rooms in our home never had a “theme”, they somehow turned into a hodgepodge of souvenirs from our travels mixed with IKEA and government rental furniture. A unique style of decorating! We knew we wouldn’t be…
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Business Guide to Vicenza, Italy
Moving to a new place with unfamiliar faces, and especially to a new country, is overwhelming. Not knowing where to find certain goods and services can cause a lot of anxiety and frustration at first. The language barrier, transportation, opening hours – a lot of things are probably different from your previous location, at least they were for me. Luckily, as an army wife, there are a million and one Facebook groups where people can ask these questions – but for the rest of the American community living in our area, the method to find these products and/or services is basically a translated google search or trial and errors. My…
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House Hunters International – A Home in Vicenza, Italy
Choosing your first home as a married couple is no simple task, but choosing one in another country…that takes a lot of patience and time. But I can say without a doubt, that once we started looking for a home in Vicenza, Italy, this decision was one of the easiest ones we have ever made as a married couple. I knew we had found the ONE when we stepped out of the car in Costabissara with our translator. I looked over at my husband, and he had this stupid grin on his face. I asked him what he was smirking about and he responded: “I can smell fresh grass!” One of…
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A Weekend in Marrakesh, Morocco: Shopping, Camel Riding, and Hiking
On any day of the week, you can walk into Jemaa el-Fna Square at the heart of Marrakesh, Morocco and this is what you’ll find: musicians, drums beating, snake charmers, monkeys, food stalls, and restaurants. There is noise, chaos, smoke and dust, fortune tellers, beggars, henna tattooists, donkey carts, a multitude of scooters, taxis, and horse-drawn carriages. And yet, there is still room to walk through. This was what I experienced on a weekend in Marrakesh. Sensory overload like never before. Sound crazy? It is! Marrakesh, Morocco in Northern Africa is nothing like I could’ve imagined. I’m so glad we made the trip and we had a wonderful time. It’s…
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Top 15 Differences Between Europe and America
There are numerous differences between Europe and America. Read on to find out some of the most common ones that I've experienced through my travels.
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Perks of Being a Teacher
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…you don’t read many articles about the perks of being a teacher anymore. Everything is always so negative when it comes to this profession. But, in my experience and in this case, there are many perks. Teaching high school kids is far from a piece of cake. We’re less than 10 years apart in age so I have a very different style of teaching. Some days I think “holy mother father what have I gotten myself into”…other days I want to squeeze them and freeze time because I’m so proud of them, and some days I just laugh uncontrollably because of the crazy things they’ve said.…
