One more year until my life begins...

There are so many issues in this world that are far worse than mine: poverty, starvation, homelessness... However, my problems are still problems & need to be addressed right here & now for my own sanity. I have one year until I graduate college. ONE. That means one year until I start my life on my own. Not that my parents are kicking me out; It’s quite the opposite actually. Nevertheless, I’ve been dying to get out on my own in the world & support myself. I just don’t know what I want to do with such newfound freedom & responsibility.


 Here’s my most recent Facebook status that may clear up (or confuse) what I am trying to say: “So many options to choose from & only 1 year to decide. What the heck am I going to do with my life!? Live in Warwick/get my masters while working at West Point, teach English in India, work in NYC/live in Queens with Dad, live in Italy with Mom & get my masters? Can someone just assign me an awesome job that has lots of vacay time to travel, make loads of $, & involves my major? K, thanks.” As you may have gathered, I am conflicted with staying close to home (Warwick), the place that has sent me off the grid (emotionally) & grounded me all at the same time, or elsewhere where I may not feel as connected but may have a better chance at a career. I am also conflicted because money in my family is very important because we work hard for it. Nevertheless, I am not striving to be filthy rich. I want to be surrounded by people that I enjoy being around, eat good food, & travel as much as I can. As long as I have those 3 things fulfilled, I’ll be happy. & maybe a puppy too. I love puppies. On top of all this confusion, I have one problem that is at the forefront of all of my problems-my relationship. Am I stable enough to be in a relationship right now? How can I let Sam go when he is the best person I have ever met in my entire life? Morals, ideals, beliefs, & my future are completely scrambled, but I am now realizing that this blogging thing is a great way to figure this stuff out (even if no one reads it). Thanks, Blogger/Google+, for saving the day. =)

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Chania, Crete, Greece

On a whim, I decided I wanted to go to Greece. I looked up RyanAir flights from my mom's apartment in Vicenza, Italy to Greece & found one flight that went to the island of Crete. I was set. I told my mom & she found a bed & breakfast. I booked the hotel & flight & we were off. We left on a Thursday. We arrived a little after midnight in Crete & waited over a 1/2 hour for the car to pick us up, which was set up by our B&B, but it never came. We then asked a cab driver to take us there, but he was unsure of where it was so he called the number that was listed in the email that was sent to me. The owner of the B&B made a mistake & thought we were to arrive the next day at midnight-honest mistake. So my mom & I arrive at the B&B & the owner, Vicky, couldn't have been more apologetic & nice about the whole situation. The next morning, we had breakfast, & it was just me & my mom in the entire room since you can call to have breakfast made at any time of the day. Breakfast was served every day of our trip & we ate outside by the pool, which was decorated to look like paradise, hence the name, Paradise Hotel.

 Mom & I explored the Old Town since we decided to rent a car. The rental was cheap & quite necessary since the B&B is in the middle of nowhere. The next day we visited 2 monasteries (one of them is pictured above), which had amazing views of the ocean & old historic paintings & writings. Mom & I also picked some beans at the monastery off the tree & kept calling them "holy beans." Come to find out, the beans smell like garbage when they ripen & are fed to pigs HAHA. 

We connected so well with the Paradise Hotel staff that we felt like a part of their family. The staff consisted of Vicky, her son, & 2 stepsons, & her husband. What a friendly & welcoming bunch of people to say the least. They told us so much about the Greek culture as well as recommend great restaurants & even sent us to Vicky's husband's mother's restaurant where they gave us free dessert. Everyone on the island of Crete was so warm, welcoming, & are willing to speak English to anyone & find out a bit about the person. Also, even the tourist trap restaurants have amazing food & I am not one for tourist traps. If you ever have a chance, visit Crete & stay at the Paradise Hotel in Stavros on the island of Crete!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Adventures with Dad & my Italia Exploration with my 2nd Family

In my final weeks of study abroad, my dad & his girlfriend came to visit me in Barcelona. We ate at great restaurants, visited a lot of the tourist sites, & the two of them went to Tarragona for a day trip. I was really glad they came & it was a great way to end my study abroad program. On April 27th, Sam & I had to fully move out of the apartment & we were on our way to my mom's apartment in Vicenza, Italy. Sam stayed for a week. We toured Vicenza & Rome. Rome was not what I thought it would be: The crowds are insane & the food was not what I expected (it was terrible quality).

Where my mom lives in Vicenza, however, has great food & the best gelato. I have had so much gelato since being in Italy. After Sam left, I went to work with my mom a couple days. Then my best friend Alexis, & her mother & sister came to visit. They spent one night in Vicenza & then we went to Venice & Florence. I did not expect Venice to be all water & to have water taxis & ferries to get around the town. It is a beautiful city & I cannot believe it is so close to where my mom lives.

We took a very nice tour where the tour guide told us the ins & outs of Italy & how the locals really live. Florence was amazing as well. We toured the city as well as took a food tour. That was the most amazing part of the whole trip. Cheese with jelly? Who would think that would have been good. We made 15 different stops on the tour to local restaurants & markets. It was absolutely amazing & I would recommend everyone take a food tour. I left Alexis & her family & took the train back to Vicenza & they continued to travel to Rome. It was so nice that they traveled so far so we could take this amazing trip together & I am so happy I got to further explore Italy!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Mom came to visit & Spring Break!

I am officially finished with my study abroad program in Barcelona! I am sorry that I haven't kept up with my blogs, but things have been a bit crazy. But let's start where I left off. After I traveled to Budapest, my mom came to visit me in Barcelona for the weekend. We went to Parc Güell & ate the usual paella. Then I ended up getting really sick & my mom took care of me, which was certainly a nice change of pace from taking care of myself all semester. After my mom left, it was time to board the MSC Cruise ship for my Mediterranean cruise. 30 CEA students boarded the ship, which included 9 of my friends. 

We cruised to Casablanca, Morocco first where we were culturally shocked at how different it was from what we were used to. Some of the children we saw were blind, there was a lot of poverty, & there were not many sites to see other than the mosque. We did not want to pay the tour fee for the mosque so this guy said he could give us a tour for cheap so we went with him. We get to the back entrance of the mosque where there are spiral stairs leading down to a pitch-black basement. Fortunately, they were not out to kill us as it may sound. In the end we paid the guy 5€ & made it out alive. We also ate at Rick's Cafe in reference to the cafe in the movie Casablanca. 

 We then sailed to Cadiz, Spain, which didn't have anything other than a beach. Next, we went to Lisbon, Portugal. It was raining that day so we took a tourist bus around so we could see the sites. I really enjoyed the structure of the town & would love to go back there on a nicer day. Lastly, we went to Genoa where we walked around the town, ate authentic Italian food (& pesto!), & had a wonderful time being with each other. 

 The cruise itself was okay considering the food was not what I'd expect since I've sailed before. But for the price & how many countries I got to travel to with my friends, it was well worth it. It was definitely the best spring break I ever had.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Budapest, Hungary

We got to Budapest, where Sam’s ancestors are from, and it was so cold and windy. For the majority of our weekend, it snowed heavily, which we are not used to since being in Barcelona since January. We got to see the castles, where the queen used to live, and we tried the traditional goulash and other stews that were pretty good. We first explored the Buda side, which is mostly residential and where our friend from Pace University was staying for his study abroad semester. Then we took the bus to the Pest side where a lot of the tourist sites are. Although their currency, the Forint, is weaker, it is very confusing and it is easy to spend a lot of money for 200 Forint is equal to 1 USD, but prices for lets say a bottle of soda could be 800 Forint or $4.

 After a while, I just stopped spending money for the first night I was there I spent $98! But Sam and I had a great time. I think Sam really enjoyed it once he got there because that is where half of his family is from. We found a bottle of wine with Sam’s family name on it. We also found a street name with Sam’s family name. Overall it was a great trip and I’d definitely like to go back there when the weather is warmer.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Madrid trip with CEA

 

 I went to Madrid this past weekend with my study abroad program. We took a high-speed train called Renfe, which took only 3 hours from Barcelona. We got there & it was raining & our hotel was uphill; We were not very happy travelers. When we finally got to the hotel, we were called one by one to be checked into our room. It was definitely worth the wait since I got Sam as my roommate! We dropped our bags in the room & then we went on a tour of Madrid with our program. The tour was half walking & half bus tour. I decided to only do the bus tour since it was raining, but Sam did both. That day, we met new people who I actually clicked with. Me & nine others spent the weekend together eating our way through the city. We had a great time together but came to the conclusion that we liked Valencia better than Madrid. However, I advise everyone to visit!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Valencia trip with CEA

Valencia is the home of paella & horchata, which is a drink made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, & tiger nuts. With all the hype around these two traditional eats, I had to try them. The paella had chicken, snails, & bean,s & the horchata tasted like carrot juice to me. Both were an interestingly tasty experience that I was glad I was able to try. & a great addition was that we ate paella on the beach. After eating paella (which is shown in the picture above), we went for a walk on the beach, & stumbled upon a dead cat that had washed up on the shore. It looked like it had been floating for days since it was skinned & bloated. It was so disgusting & sad. That was the only downside to the weekend. As I’ve written in previous blogs, I love Europe but have not been loving my program all that much because of the students in my program.

Well, this weekend I had the best time with a group of 11 people that I met. We went sightseeing, clubbing, barhopping, & experiencing all of Valencia we could in one weekend. The people I hung out with were so nice & easy to talk to. Maybe it wasn’t me after all; I was starting to think I was socially inept. I guess I wasn’t finding the right people. & the best part is that we are all going to Madrid together this coming weekend so we get to experience another city together & have just as good of a time like this weekend.

 The hotel we stayed in was quite nice: four stars. The best part about our hotel was that it was right next to the firecracker show at 2pm & the fireworks at 8pm. These festivities go on the entire month of March every single day in every town of Valencia. It is called Las Fallas- The Festival of Fire. It was amazing to get to experience Las Fallas, especially on the first weekend. Since the beginning of the weekend, I have become less homesick & have really enjoyed hanging out with the people from CEA (my study abroad program.) If you ever get the chance, definitely try to make it to Valencia. It’s about 4-5 hours from Barcelona. & make sure you try the paella & horchata!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13