Up Until the End (19 weeks later)

After my trip to Morocco, my time abroad flew by. My very good friend, Erica, came to visit on her spring break for a week. During her week in Madrid, we were able to do so much together. I showed her some of my favorite places, but we also did new things and tried new restaurants. Our favorite was La Musa, which we ate there twice! Our time together reassured me how blessed I am to have amazing people in my life who will fly across the ocean to see me. It also made me incredibly excited for future travels with all my loved ones and the adventures we will embark on. It was hard to see her go because I felt so at home with her with me, someone I could have amazing conversations with. Our week together flew by and before I knew it (2 weeks after) it was my spring break! 

On my spring break I visited the Spanish city, Seville, then headed to Portugal for the remainder of the trip. I absolutely loved Portugal, it was incredibly relaxed, beautiful, and flooding with history. I would definitely love to come back here. After I returned from spring break, I stayed in Madrid up until my mom came to visit me. Again, I am so lucky that she was able to come visit me and so happy she came. I showed her around Madrid, she met my home stay mom. Oh that is another bittersweet moment leaving my home stay mom was really hard...I cried. She was a really special woman and although she would frustrate me at times, I realized everything she did for me was with genuine care and love. Although she may not know a lot about my life, I learned a lot about hers, and those are stories I want to never forget. Anyways, afterwards my mom and I spent one day in the medieval city of Avila, and finally left to spend a couple days in Barcelona. I could not have asked for a better travel buddy than my mom. We did some serious exploring and walking around, that once we made it in Barcelona we took a 4 hour nap. Oops. I mean it was our vacation! We were relaxing. Finally, I headed home back to California, marking the official end to my 19 weeks abroad. 

I have been home exactly a week now and time really does fly when you are having fun. I have been trying to find the best ways to simply describe and summarize my time abroad. I realize that my answers will always vary to anyone I talk to because I learned a lot about my surroundings, others, and most importantly, things about myself while abroad. Obviously I wont explain this in boring detail to everyone I talk to but I made memories I will cherish for a lifetime (especially being with my mom and Erica), I met my home stay mom, I made a wonderful friend who I know I will see again sometime soon, and I learned that I am not done exploring this world. I am incredibly thankful I was able to embark on this once in a lifetime journey and as much as I wish it would not end, I am happy to be home with my family and friends to make new memories and have new adventures. Now, time to document my summer...

xoxo

Photo Diary of Morocco #2

This is my follow up post of my weekend in Morocco. The following images show me camel riding (for a total of 5 minutes lol) in Tangier, enjoying a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caves of Hercules, and the city of Asilah. These cities, including Chefchaouen, were beautiful. I hope one day I can explore other cities in Morocco and learn more about the culture and way of life. I would especially love to return to drink the tea!

Day 2: Tangier and Asilah

Baby camel was only a week old

He gets me

Caves of Hercules

Asilah

xoxo

Photo Diary of Morocco #1

This post is long overdue and I apologize for the delay. It was hard to find time to finally post about my weekend in Morocco. I visited three cities in the span of two days: Chefchaouen (the Blue City), Tangier, and Asilah. Instead of detailing every activity through words, I will let my pictures tell their own stories. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Day 1: Took a tour of the city of Chefchaouen

My tour guide

Women gossiping 

My view while drinking Moroccan tea

xoxo

Madrid, España: iPhone Edition

I have been really excited to post these pictures. Five weekends ago (omg time flies) was one of the most beautiful weeks in Madrid. I enjoyed the sun everyday, which made me miss California more. However, I am slowly becoming more in love with Madrid and by the end of my semester I know I will be terribly sad to leave. Every corner is more beautiful than the last corner. The people, the buildings, the trees, and even the dogs are just so beautiful to me. Then you add a little sunshine and it becomes a perfect day. I absolutely adore it and I really hope this means the sun is here to stay. 

I went to Parque del Retiro two days in a row and I am so happy I did. I explored some parts of the park I had not had a chance to visit yet. There were so many people, I do not think one piece of Retiro was not covered by a family, a couple, friends enjoying a picnic or dogs playing fetch. It seems as if all of Madrid was at Retiro that weekend. I then explored some small adorable streets off of Paseo del Prado, right next to Retiro, only to realize I had been there before. I would have continued to explore except my feet could no longer withstand the pain so I had to head home...after I treated myself to a milk tea with boba of course. Those two days I decided not to bring my camera and I am really happy I did not, but I captured some great images of Madrid on my iPhone. The quality may not be the best because my phone is old for technology standards...I have only had it for two years, but whatever. Please listen to the song by Lykke Li, which I have played on repeat while writing this post, and the last couple of weeks. Let's fall in love with Madrid together.

♫♪ Lykke Li-I Follow Rivers (Magician Remix) ♫♪

Piece of art from free mini museum in Parque del Retiro 

Spring is coming!

My best friend 

Peacocks in Parque del Retiro

Night view from my room

xoxo

Last Day in Praha, Czech Republic

The second day was more relaxed, but we still did a lot of walking. We crossed over to Old Town and walked along the Vltava River, which is the longest river in Czech Republic. We made our way to a Church Nicolina had discovered on her own. There was this beautiful park and a view of Prague, the lesser known part. We walked along the sidewalk leading to the main view of Prague and in the distance you could see the Petrin Tower and Prague Castle. At this point, we were looking for some lunch so we went to this adorable market. Inside, they offered free samples of their olive oil accompanied with little pieces of bread. I definitely went for seconds, I only wanted to select what olive oil I liked the best... Afterwards, we walked toward Kampa Island, which had more swans and a beautiful view of Charles Bridge. We sat on a bench (mainly to rest our feet) but also to take in the beautiful sunny day. 

Vltava River 

Sitting on Kampa Island, Charles Bridge in the distance

We made our way over to Wenceslas Square, where I was in the mood for some tea. I tried a iced green tea with little slices of mango, thinking about it now makes me crave it, especially on this hot day in Madrid. Nicolina and I thought Wenceslas Square was Prague's equivalent of the Champs-Élysées in Paris. We poked our head into some tourists shops and eventually walked our way to the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square. The Astronomical Clock is the third oldest in the world and the oldest one still working today. This specific weekend in Prague they were celebrating Carnival, as was the rest of Europe. There was small festivities in Old Town Square. Nicolina knew of a hotel where we could go to the top to see a view of the city so we went on a mad hunt. Eventually, we located it and just in time for the ringing of the clock. My favorite part was seeing everyone gathered in front of the clock to watch the little figurines move and ring their bells. At the end of the little display, a man at the top of the structure plays a trumpet medley. I swear he pointed at me across the way, I waved. 

Wenceslas Square

Astronomical Clock on Old Town City Hall 

Everyone gathered around the clock

Prague at my fingertips 

Nicolina and I walked towards the Jewish Quarter in Prague. I caught a glimpse of the Old Jewish Cemetery, as no one is allowed to go beyond the gates. The sun was beginning to set and we decided to get one last glimpse of Charles Bridge. Charles Bridge is closed off to cars, so it is where tourists and locals alike walk to reach both sides of the city. Along the bridge, there are street performers, venders selling paintings and jewelry. Our last stop was the Dancing House, that I had seen in passing because Nicolina lived right across the bridge from it. I really liked this building and Nicolina said she learned in her class that it represents the figures of the male and female dancing movements. Since I was a huge fan of Czech food, especially the potato pancakes, we decided to get dinner and call it a night. I tried the famous goulash and I am a fan. Overall, I could not be happier that I decided to visit Nicolina because it was very special exploring such a beautiful city with someone so close to home. I hope one day we can go back. 

My two favorites: Nicolina and food

xoxo