Boost The Bliss: 2015

MY FIRST TRIP TO CANADA! How excited do I sound? As you can tell, Vancouver is what made me fall in love with Canada...and I haven't even visited anywhere else yet!

Here are just a few of the things I fell in love with.

1. Biking around Stanley Park. I believe it is about 6.2 miles if you just go all along the seawall.

2. It is a popular filming location! Here are just some examples of movies that have scenes shot in Vancouver.

-Apollo 18 -Juno -Rise of the planet of the apes -and more

3. Gastown! It is full of boutiques and great stores for tourists to get souvenirs.

4. It is very ethnically diverse!

5. Grouse Mountain or as the say the Grouse Grind. Very steeply inclined hiking trail but once you get to the top you will understand that it was well worth it....... or you can ride in the cable car up ;)

6. There are random pianos around the city.

7. The Capilano suspension bridge park. This brings thousands of tourists but I mean come on... you get to walk along tree tops!

8. Fly over Canada. It is a virtual experience that will take your breath away. I'm not kidding there were a few tears in my eyes because of how beautiful it was.

9. Granville Island. This is probably one of my favorite spots because of all the delicious food, especially the fruit!

VIDEO :)

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

MY FIRST TRIP TO CANADA! How excited do I sound? As you can tell, Vancouver is what made me fall in love with Canada...and I haven't ...

Salamanca, Spain
For 3 months, I studied abroad in Spain and to this day it has been the best decision I have ever made. Living in a college town, in Europe, was like living in a dream but only better. Everyone knows that you make life long friends, you party, and, of course, you get to travel to other countries. However, I am here to say I gained an education that money couldn't buy. I gained a cultural perspective. I gained a love for people I've never even met and for things that I've never even seen.

Every college student should study abroad no matter what your major is. You would gain a leg up in the real life by showing that you were able to adapt to your surroundings even in challenging situations. For all you people that say, "it's too expensive!"... depending where you are from and where you will be studying the cost of living can be cheaper. Hostels are CHEAP, Ryanair airplane tickets are CHEAP, cook CHEAP pasta every day! The expensive part is paying for classes, books and an airplane ticket to that country. Minus that one ticket, isn't that what you already pay for to go to college?

I have never loved another city as much as my hometown, but Salamanca has changed that. I went with the AIFS program and have nothing but good reviews. They had day trips planned for us and even took us to Morocco! Trust me, sometimes it is worth it to be adventerous and do something you would never do.

These are all my beautiful friends from study abroad.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

My Adventures

STUDY ABROAD: SPAIN

Salamanca, Spain For 3 months, I studied abroad in Spain and to this day it has been the best decision I have ever made. Living in a coll...

I will forever be adding to my bucket list but, I will never take off anything no matter how crazy it may sound. It's a way to see all my hopes and dreams of that particular moment!

Visit all seven wonders of the world

Taj Mahal, India
~~Colosseum, Rome Italy~~ (May 2015)
Giza, Egypt
~~Chichen Itza, Mexico~~ (July 2015)
Petra, Jordan
Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
Machu Picchu, Peru

Random

Swim with a manatee
~~Swim with a dolphin~~ (July 2015)
~~Study Abroad~~ (Spring 2015)
Live in Canada for a year
~~Ride a motorcycle~~ (May 2015)
~~Slide down a sand dune~~
~~Travel with strangers~~ (February 2015)
Arrive at an airport not knowing where I'm going
Be in a flash mob
Blue Lagoon, Iceland
Lantern Festival
Visit every country
Road trip with friends
Stay on an island for a month
Dance in the rain

Spain/ Portugal

Visit the oldest working restaurant in the world
~~Go wine tasting~~
~~Visit the party capital of the world: Ibiza~~ (May 2015)
~~Take a cooking class~~
Go back a second time
~~Go to Running of the Bulls~~
La Tomatina festival
Go to a Spanish guitar show
~~Take a flamenco dancing class~~
~~Witness Semana Santa~~

New Zealand/ Australia

Hobbiton movie set

France/ Germany

Share a kiss under the Eiffel Tower
Eat snails
~~Visit the Mona Lisa~~
~~Visit the Berlin wall~~
~~Go to a concentration camp~~
Octoberfest

USA: Alphabetical Order

Watch the New Years ball drop: New York
~~Golden Gate Bridge: San Francisco~~ (October 2015)
Have a night in Vegas like "The Hangover": Vegas, Nevada
~~Yellowstone: Wyoming~~

Morocco

~~Ride a camel~~
Buy a rug
~~Bargain with a local~~
~~Visit Chefchauen, the city of blue buildings~~
Visit Marrakech
~~Visit Tangier and Tetouan~~

Mexico

Coco Bongo Nightclub
Tulum
~~Jump off a boat in the middle of the ocean~~

Croatia/ Austria

~~Krka national park~~

My Bucket List

MY BUCKET LIST

I will forever be adding to my bucket list but, I will never take off anything no matter how crazy it may sound. It's a way to see a...

This small, salt producing town, is absolutely picture perfect. It is located in the Salzkammergut region and is home to the oldest salt mine in the world! Inside the mine there are steep slides that you get to slide down to get to other rooms and i'll leave the rest of the mine a mystery because you have to experience it for yourself! The salt mine, and of course the views, are what bring tourists to Hallstatt. However, this isn't a heavy tourist filled area because it is a little more difficult to get here. I was coming from Vienna and took a car shuttle service called Bean Shuttle which I highly recommend. You have locals drive you which is your chance to ask questions, ask where to go, and the best is you get to look out the window the whole time and enjoy the views.

Inside the salt mine

One of the amazing views.

Europe Travel

THE BEAUTY OF A SMALL TOWN: HALLSTATT AUSTRIA

This small, salt producing town, is absolutely picture perfect. It is located in the Salzkammergut region and is home to the oldest ...

I'm ashamed to say I'm late on this one. Ramen. On a recent trip to Vancouver, Canada I went to a restaurant called Ramen Koika (means love song in Japanese) and ordered the Queen's Ramen. I am now obsessed, it was like eating a huge bowl of comfort. This restaurant makes their noodles fresh everyday and you can even watch them being made while you are eating. If you are ever craving a ramen burger, yes the buns are made out of ramen noodles, they are open until 10:30pm on the famous Davie St. Now I will forever be on the lookout for good ramen restaurants.

Food North America.

FIRST TIME TRYING RAMEN

I'm ashamed to say I'm late on this one. Ramen. On a recent trip to Vancouver, Canada I went to a restaurant called Ramen Koika (...

"The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been, and the memories we've made along the way". -Author Unknown

If you ever have the opportunity to go to a color run, do it. I went with a group of friends to one in Los Angeles and sometimes it's just a good thing to get a little dirty. It's a 3-mile course of happiness! Throughout the course, there are people that spray you with these powdered colors and at the end of the race they give you your own packets of color to mess around with. There was music playing, people were dancing, and the whole experience was extremely enjoyable.

Tip #1: Wear shoes and sunglasses that you don't mind getting dirty! The sunglasses help protect your eyes while they shoot the color at you, but, of course, it's optional.

Tip #2: Do NOT do the race with your cell phone without it being protected. I saw some people who took zip locks and put their phones in them to protect it from the color powder while they were taking pictures. However, you are doing it at your own risk.

Tip #3: Don't be afraid to take your time. You do not need to run, many people walk to get the ultimate amount of color stuck on them.

Tip #4: Make sure you bring towels for after the race to cover the seats of your car.

Tip #5: Also, after the run, go out and enjoy a good meal, you deserved it :)

My Adventures

HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL COLOR RUN

"The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been, and the memories we've made along the way". -Auth...

I was fortunate enough to meet up with a geologist, who does all of his work in Death Valley, and I learned a lot about this beautiful and ALIVE dessert.

California

1. Its Badwater basin is the lowest point of elevation in North America! It is even the largest national park in the United States.

2. There isn't any cell service, so take the family and enjoy a technology free vacation.

3. Parts of STAR WARS were filmed in Death Valley. Yes, I had a major fangirl moment:)

4. Watching the sun rise on top of the Mesquite sand dunes.....is magical.

5. It is full of Geology! It has salt formations, alluvial fans, basin and ranges and much more.

6. There is an area called Artist's Palette which is a must see. These rocks get its colors by the oxidation of metals.

7. You get to walk around a HUGE crater. (Ubehebe Crater)

8. Last but not least, it has a mystery. The mystery of the racing rocks. There are boulders that move across flat lands only leaving a trail. Nobody has seen any of the rocks move and geologist have still not come up with a solution on why it is happening.

North America Travel