Category: Uncategorized

{Travel Tuesday} Jamaica: They Have BMW’s Too

Leave a comment

20190414_140229

I have one of the coolest, down to earth, kind, generous, LOVING boyfriends. We met unexpectedly on the last night of a Royal Caribbean cruise a little over a year ago… My best friend and I took a girls week and Kevin was with his family. From the night we met, through the months of us talking, to his traveling to see me in my home state of Pennsylvania so he could take me out, and eventually me caving to his asking me so many times to be his girlfriend… I realized how many presumptions and assumptions I had about his country.

But these presumptions and assumptions only came to light as I began to get to know the man pursuing me. The man pursuing me LOVES his BMW, knows more about American football than I do (and I worked for a prominent collegiate football team), and when we are together he tries to take me out for date night every night. He’s educated. Flew planes for six years in Miami. Played soccer (football) on the same field that Usain Bolt trained for running. And! …He pays for my Netflix!! Well. I just use his because last year as a student I wasn’t trying to spend extra money on frivolous things like TV shows.

Getting to know Kevin has opened my eyes to what I thought I knew about Caribbean culture and as a third world country. You see, had I thought Jamaica needed to be rescued. Oh, I knew it was a gorgeous tropical island with great beaches and rum. But only for tourists at resorts. Locals had to deal with crime and danger at every turn. To be honest, before Kevin I hadn’t really met anyone from Jamaica and my closest encounter with the country was the missions trip my childhood church went on to save the poor country from itself. (I wasn’t allowed to go. Tells you how close I got to Jamaica before this spring).

20190420_060245.jpg

When I finally got to visit Kevin this past spring, my island guy introduced me to brunches and coffee shops in the mountains with views, local business shops with trendy styles, resorts with endless food buffets, impromptu ballroom and beach dancing, friends who called me “queen” and “empress”, and nights in the city complete with bottles of wine.

Like anywhere, Jamaica is full of so much to do see and experience. People are kind and fun. There are beautiful homes, churches, schools and lush scenery everywhere you turn…  Like anywhere, there is crime. Poverty. And more to be done to help others less fortunate. You don’t need to travel to a third world country to give to to those in need. You don’t need to stay in a first world country to drive a BMW. Jamaica isn’t perfect, but as I write these Travel Tuesday posts I have yet to find a perfect country in any way. And as Ziggy Marley says, “When people come to Jamaica, we don’t want them to think about the problems of Jamaica. So let them come be in their paradise.”

 

 

I’m grateful my island guy drove me all over his home country those two week this last year, taking pride in all that he showed me. He’s passionate about where he is from, and wanted me to experience the best of it when I was there. And thanks to him, Jamaica’s paradise became a little bit of mine.

{Travel Tuesday} Nice: Beautiful French Riviera

Leave a comment

DSC07707

DSC07763

 

The French Riviera though!!! The closest I’ve see to the gorgeous city of Nice in the USA is Santa Barbara, CA. You’ll just fall in love with walks along the beach, sunsets below the city, or in the hills above it, coastal views that wrap around harbors and marinas, up, down, in the city, or along the water, the beauty of the French Riviera, and today’s Travel Tuesday post in Nice will have your mouth watering.

I only spent three days there, but as a single female, traveling by myself that winter break in 2018, I felt comfortable walking and exploring both with the sun up and down. The city was pretty easy to navigate with a cell phone, but honestly the best was when I didn’t use a map and walked taking photos everywhere I went. If you have a camera you’ll hardly want to put it down, the quaint buildings, European architecture, and beach made for some of the prettiest photos. And if nothing else, I spend my time popping in and out of the cute shops after getting my fill of hills that line the coast and beach runs.

DSC07677

DSC07777

DSC07566

The hills were easy to climb and DEFINITELY worth the trek up. Stairs led the way, and at one point on the beach I looked up at the hills and saw an amazing waterfall with people milling about. Once finding my way, I realized the waterfall was man made, but only added to the unique appeal of city + coast + mountains.

DSC07639

Nice was a TAD expensive. I did the Air BnB thing which included breakfast, and I only bought food once a day outside of the morning toast and coffee provided, so I kept my costs down. That and I traveled after the holidays (a few days after New Years) and I think that helped me get around the tourist prices of traveling to the area. However, I treated myself to one “nice” meal (haha get it?) and though my host who recommended the restaurant said it would be okay for one person, I remember paying about 60 euros for just the food. Yikes! And the shops weren’t that far off as far as expense either… though I admit I spent most of my time in the touristy areas of Nice. Perhaps deeper into the city it would be cheaper? To me buying things wasn’t the point of my visit. My photos were enough of a souvenir and even now after going through them for months, I have too many to choose from to get printed and framed!

In all I recommend Nice 100%. Go here before Paris, please.

{Travel Tuesday} Rome: Vatican City and Trevi Fountain

Leave a comment

ⓉⓇⒶⓋⒺⓁ 𝒯 𝓊 ℯ 𝓈 𝒹 𝒶 𝓎 ✈: I counted and realized I’ve been to 26 different countries (not counting airport stops/layovers). I’ve decided to implement a “Travel Tuesday” post for both social media and my blog as a way to remember and encourage others to travel to new places, learn, and grow through culture shock and meeting people from all over the world. 😨😁😎

Today’s post highlights a little bit of ɾσʍε including the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, and other fountains and bridges from the historical city. 🇮🇹⛲🍕

The best part of the Vatican was the one window with a view that looked over Rome and simply leaving due to the sweaty crowds that pushed their way through the museum and cathedral… loved wandering through the streets of Rome to see old architecture, bridges, and Trevi fountain one of the most spectacular I’ve seen.

Rome is walk-able, which came at a surprise to me considering its size, but one important thing to note is that even if you don’t like walking and prefer public transportation, the city only has two running lines. The catacombs benieth the city, which are still being excavated, make it nearly impossible to make new metro lines underground. Just remember to wear decent walking shoes! Though my flip flops held out for the day, I kept saying I had “Jesus feet” because of how dirty my feet were under my maxi dress that picked up every piece of dirt and dust from the city streets. I swear that just from my attire, I left Rome cleaner that day! The main sights were within a few minutes of walking through the windy streets from each other… by accident from walking past the Vatican to Trevi Fountain, my mom and I stumbled upon the Parthenon building. A fun surprise since we had limited time, and weren’t initially aiming for it.

Walking allowed us to take in modern Rome with ancient Rome all intertwined in the city that dates back to Bible times. I’m going to do a second Rome post on the Colosseum, Rome is just too deep of a city with history to be able to write about everything, however the depth of it makes worth visiting. The Vatican, it’s own city with it’s own currency, was flooded with thousands of people when I was there. Up to 30,000 people a day visit this iconic place as the birth of the Catholic church. Highlights were the many sculpture rooms, tapestry rooms, and leaves that were added to male statues to cover their private parts when the statues were given to the popes! Of course Michelangelo’s ceiling is the ultimate reason to visit the Vatican, along with St. Paul’s Cathedral. Be sure to book a skip-the-line tour in advance, otherwise you’ll be standing in lines lasting hours just to enter. I’ve done it once, and don’t think I’ll go back due to the overcrowding and heat, but definitely a historical and inspiring city to visit, if you are in Rome.

There is more to come about Rome soon… the food, wine, and Colosseum will get their own post, but to start with Vatican City and highlight photos including Trevi Fountain, I’ll pause for now for next weeks Travel Tuesday.

#traveltuesday #travelswithmom #europe2019 #Rome #Roma #romantic #IEtookmehere #touristytravel #vatican #trevifountain

A Voice to the Invisible

Leave a comment
HT Infographic Poster v1.3

Human Trafficking in the USA. Stats and definitions for clarity of what it is and how it effects us without thinking most days.

Human Trafficking is a hot topic right now in the USA. And I’m glad because we need to be more aware of what it is exactly, and how it effects those in the states.

Though this infographic doesn’t show stats on child trafficking in the US, nor how it plays out in every state, it does give a glimpse of some stats of trafficking in the US. It starts putting numbers in perspective of what you and I buy as far as technology and clothing coming from other parts of the world. And a glimpse of sex trafficking this last year in some states according to government sites, sports articles, and leading Non-Profits who study and help with modern day slavery. All of the sources going into this infographic are listed below for more information.

This is just an awareness post. And I’m hoping that the information inspires you to learn more, and get connected to a non-profit near you to help!

Sources Include: https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking; https://news.wjct.org/post/florida-among-three-worst-human-trafficking-states; https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/human-sex-trafficking-up-842-california-leads; http://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/25876477/the-rise-exposure-human-trafficking-sports-world; https://www.reuters.com/article/us-football-nfl-superbowl-trafficking-an/is-the-super-bowl-really-the-u-s-s-biggest-sex-trafficking-magnet-idUSKBN1FL6A1; https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/2018/findings/country-studies/united-states/; https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts

 

 

 

Because Photography

Leave a comment

 

One of my goals while earning my master’s degree this year in Spain was to in my free time travel and pull out my camera. In the last eight months of moving to Europe, I’ve definitely been able to accomplish both of those things! I live in Madrid and though there are certainly some pretty spots that feature architecture and history such as Plaza Mayor, to get out of Madrid for cities like Sevilla is refreshing.

I HIGHLY recommend the springtime Feria festival held two weeks after Semana Santa each year. The bright colors, smells of seafood and churros con chocolate, horse drawn carriages, and women dressed in flouncy flamenco dresses encapsulate Andalusian vibes. Between walking the festival, el Rio Guadalquivir, and the city to my favorite spot- Plaza de España, Queen Amadala’s castle in Star Wars, it was a HOTTT 90° weather weekend, but worth it for the photos and study abroad memories years before.

Sevilla memories of drinking Tinto de Verano (Spain’s drink of choice leaving Sangria to tourists), studying by the water, and all the parties we used to show up at midnight not leaving till 4am make for some of the most fun memories of college. And last weekend was a blessing to return to this underrated, incredibly beautiful city.

Besides the travel, putting my mind to improve photography, and getting the chance to really see what a wide lens can do with the city scenics. It is way different than my close up, tight, detail photos I usually aim to capture. Trying new techniques and lenses makes me realize that as soon as I get “good” at one thing in the world of video or photo, there are 1,000 other new things to learn and try with the camera.

At the end of the day, to walk away with 30+ photos that I’m proud of from one city, means that my goals in photography this year are coming true and I’m excited to see what other photos I will get in the next two months as I finish out my schooling.