Europe
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Dublin in A Day: 7 things to do to make for my perfect Irish day
Ireland has a special place in my travel heart. It’s the first country I visited outside of the United States. It’s one of the first places I traveled after I started my journey with remote employment. A day in Dublin may just be the cure for all that ails you. When visiting Ireland, there are so many wonderful small towns and villages throughout the countryside, but there is something special about Dublin. Since most major airlines fly into the capital, I highly suggest sticking around the city for a few days before moving along to other parts of Ireland. I’ve created a perfect itinerary of my personal can’t miss sights…
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A Glimpse of Malta
Recently I’ve been collecting short clips from each country and creating vignettes to share my first hand experiences. They have been fun to put together and although I’m no Spielberg I’m hoping to make these more polished with each country see! I like the idea that the visual adds to the stories I’ve shared giving everyone a fuller picture of my time away. It’s a work in progress so be patient with me but I hope you enjoy it!
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Extending the Olive Branch: My Week in the Greek Olive Groves
Growing up most of us were always told that parents don’t have a favorite child. Everyone is loved equally and although you have different relationships with each child, your parents, for the most part, try not to show preferential treatment. Guess what, they have a secret they aren’t telling you, and it’s that they in fact have a favorite. That’s how I feel about the Greek Isles. Every island I’ve visited I loved, all for different reasons until I met Kythira. Don’t tell any of the other islands, but she’s my favorite. Kythira is the Greek island that dreams are made of. Small villages dotting the coast, lush green landscapes…
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Snapshot Sunday: Kythira Countryside
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Snapshot Sunday: Cinque Terre, Italy
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Going Gaga for Gozo: How I was Captured by Calypso’s Island
“Her lady Calypso clung to him in her sea-hollowed caves, a nymph immortal and most beautiful, craved him for her own.” Think back to high school English class, pimpled faced at your desk rolling your eyes over having to read Homer’s The Odyssey, an epically long poem about an epic journey. You can thank Zeus himself for the tome because if it wasn’t for his persuasiveness, Odysseus would have probably hung out with Calypso for another seven years and the book would have never been written. Gozo the second smallest of the three Maltese islands is fabled to be Ogygia, the beautiful island Homer describes in the Odyssey, and like…
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Snapshot Sunday: Gone fishing, the salt pans of Gozo
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An Afternoon with Art: Visiting the Matisse Museum in Nice, France
Matisse Museum Visit Every year for my birthday since I had moved to Philadelphia I made the tradition to commence the celebration by spending an afternoon at the Barnes Museum, taking in the innovative mixed of styles of art, an amazing aesthetic of early modern and impressionist paintings alongside American antiquities, African art and Asian sculptures. It’s a place of contrasts, the quiet calm of Albert Barnes’ home turned museum alongside the wild back story which leaves the history behind the art maybe more interesting than what is framed on the walls. (If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend watching the documentary, The Art of the Steal to…
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My Favorite Moments of 2014
2014, what a whirlwind! I had several one of a kind experiences this year and I think I spent a lot of time pinching myself making sure I wasn’t dreaming, exploring new places, meeting new friends and enjoying life has a way of seeming unreal. It has been a treat to go through TONS of photos of the past year and I’ve collected a few to share some of the stand outs. My day as a Maltese falconer By far and away one of my more favorite memories of this year. While in Malta I decided to take the Maltese Falcon story to the next level and go to the…
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BirguFest: Vittoriosa by Candlelight
For one weekend each year one of the oldest cities in Malta shuts off all of its lights and holds a festival that showcases the beauty of the medieval city in a wonderful glow of candlelight. Thousands of candles line the streets, rest on balconies and window sills as they guide your way through the town where vendors sell crafts, Maltese food is served and in the center square musicians and performers entertain the crowds into the evening. By the warmth of all the flickering candles it’s one of the more interesting ways I’ve explored a new city; mostly in darkness. Candles are placed on ledges, along the streets,…
