explore.

Sometimes you need to just get out & explore! Life is so much more fun when you're seeing, touching, hearing, smelling & living in the outdoors & mingling with the natives.

Whether you're in New York preparing for a new step in your life, backpacking through Europe on your own after college, moving to another country with a one-way ticket or just traveling with your family, make the most of it! Have a little or a lot of fun & get out there & EXPLORE!

This holiday break (this is a bit belated), my parents & I traveled to Peru & the Galapagos. We met the people, we walked the streets, we learned how to make colors out of bugs, we trekked on ancient ruins & cities, we swam with sea lions, we got our hands dirty, we played local bar games, we watched Sally Lightfoot crabs' mating dance, we ate the food (guinea pig & alpaca) & drank the drink, we listened to the music & we (attempted) to talk the talk! It was an experience to remember & something I couldn't even try to forget.

We started off in Peru with our "dear friend," Guido & became engrossed immediately in the city of Lima.  Sometimes it's hard to get out of a geocentric mindset. I visit a city in another country knowing it's not permanent, knowing that in a few weeks, I will be back at home sleeping in my own bed.  I forget that for millions of other people, this is their life. They walk these streets every day, they wear these clothes & they pass those buildings. For me it's travel, for them it's life.

Lima was a bustling city. There were cars everywhere, tall buildings, shopping malls, museums & even a coast line. There were parks & homeless people, bicyclists, stray cats & litter on the streets.  There was graffiti on the walls, street art being sold, bus stops, Starbucks & Subways on the corners & restaurants everywhere. The city I'm describing doesn't sound that different from Chicago or New York, but let me tell you... it was a whole other world.

Something interesting about Lima is that it never rains. EVER. Lima averages less than 1 inch of rain per year & it shows too. The city is dry & the roofs of all the buildings & homes are flat. Who needs a slanting roof when there's no rain? Another different aspect is how Lima itself is broken up into several different areas. When driving in the city, you can cross an invisible line & the city goes from clean & neat to trash piled everywhere with dogs rolling in anything they can muster. That invisible line is the difference between a governor with money & a good following & a governor with no funds on the brink of being booted out. The city was a checker board of safe & sketchy areas.

Once in the country, there was no questioning where you were. The people dressed in the brightest colors, wore the coolest hats & lived the most interesting, yet simple lifestyle. While nothing seemed to be actually going on... everything was happening. Little girls would sing to us for petty change, small snacks or stickers, women would sell everything & anything they could get their hands on & kids would scream in excitement over a small bracelet or trinket. They were a crafty bunch & it was cool seeing different ways people use their skills. Every skill had a purpose.

Now it's time to talk about Machu Picchu... It was crazy. I literally (yes... actually literally) have goosebumbs as I am even thinking about the place. I can't even imagine what Hiram Bingham thought as he pushed aside the overgrown Amazon bushes & saw that he was standing on an ancient Incan city from the 15th century.  How did this society build & sustain a life on the side of a jagged mountain in the middle of nowhere? Seriously... how? It was so incredible that it is hard to explain. I would love to return one day & hike the four-day Inca trail.  I would love to walk up to the Sun Gate once again, but this time from the other side, & see Machu Picchu sneaking out from behind the fog. I know that would just taste so good after four days of hiking & waiting.

We did tons of other stuff in Peru too, but if you've actually made it this far... you're probably about ready for me to quit writing; however, I haven't even talked about the Galapagos yet & you don't want to miss this! It will be quick... I promise!!!

This was our friend, the sea lion... he just wanted to play & luckily he invited us to join him! This little guy had so much personality & it made our adventure awesome! He swam with us in the water, barked like a dog, chewed sticks & practically played fetch.  He is the dog of the sea & for good reasons too!

 
The final most incredible part of this adventure was the group we traveled with. We went on a tour to these amazing places with a company called, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) & we were lucky enough to have the most dynamic & incredible individuals traveling alongside us. It was great getting to interact with people who have done such amazing things, have lived in incredible places, have traveled to the strangest locations, have been through crazy experiences & in the end, all ended up on a dusty road in the middle of Ollantaytambo with a huge smile on their faces & a taste for adventure.  I know this experience could have been 100% different & 100% less thrilling if the group had been a dud. But the group was awesome & I wouldn't have wanted anything to change; not even 1%.

Anyway, now is the time to explore. Now is the time to go outside. Now is the time to travel. Now is the time to follow the wind. Because there just isn't a better time than now.  Whether you do it now, or do it in 5 years... guess how old you'll be in 5 years? You'll be 5 years older... (good math, I know).

This is cliche, but I love it, because it reminds me of my aunt... so here it goes.  "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years!"-Good ole Abe Lincoln. So I'll say it again, get out there & EXPLORE today!

~ciao~

biggest moments.

Big/Little reveal Round 3: I am not quite the biggest, but I am far from the littlest.  I am a grandbig with an infinite legacy above me & a growing legacy below me.  It is interesting to think that I could have a great-great-great... great-grandbig dating all the way back to Kappa Kappa Gamma's founding year here at Florida in 1978.  Isn't that strange to think about... that there are members of your sorority chain out there & you don't even know it?  Can you imagine how many Gs they must have?  One of Kappa's finest mottos is, "It's not just 4 years, it's for life," & seeing my own great-grandbig return with 4Gs on her hat makes me so happy & makes that statement true.

With each passing year I raise higher & higher on the totem & my number of Gs on my hat goes up & up.  This year marks my first G.  & it only goes up from there.  Don't worry, I'm not reminiscing in the past because I know we are "living in the moment," but when did I get so old?  I'm almost a real person... oops!

Well anyway, big/little reveal is always one of my favorite events because all the families dress up & show off their individualistic & amazing personalities through a family theme, but most importantly, they make hats.  In our family, the hats are different every year to match our theme, & some families fall to tradition & wear the same hats every year!  The hats draw the littlest ones to her rightful owners in a way that says, you are now one of us... Welcome to the HOT MESS Family!  Yep, we are an eclectic bunch & we wear tacky tourist clothes on Thursdays... you can't sit with us!  

Aren't we cool?

I feel like you are in a "state of limbo" before you get your big because you don't really have any real/personal direction yet, but once you join a family, you have so many mentors that truly treat you like family.  It is an unconditional love.  For me, it wasn't until big/little reveal when I was reunited with my big, Danielle, & my twin, Alex, when I felt at home at Kappa.  They all made me feel so special & so loved that I couldn't imagine any other experience. 



And then of course, getting your own little just makes you even more connected because now you are a role model for someone else; a friend & family.  Alyssa is my perfect little & now it is her turn to be the perfect big! 

"It's the LITTLE moments in life that make the BIG difference."

I'm going to get cheesy now (I know Danielle wouldn't mind ;)), but "once you go Kappa, you can't go backa."

Ciao

amalfi coast.

GIORNO TRENTUNO

Pretty much the view from Hotel Spicy

Amalfi Coast today!  I woke up ridiculously early wide awake and ready for a nice run along the Arno!  This morning was beautiful and I loved running because the weather was cool enough.  When I got back I showered and relaxed until class.

Italian class was normal... except for the part where this fifty-six year-old guy named Bobby (already can see the problem... right?) did his oral presentation and told us that he has two kids and a girlfriend.  Wait... then why was the University of Central Florida professor out last night taking pictures with college aged students and taking shots?  WEIRD!  So creepy, and just no.

After Italian class we had an exciting day in Wine!  We went on a tour of all the places in Firenze that Livia likes to buy a good bottle or just have a glass.  Why didn't we do this weeks ago instead of the last week of our time here?  Oh well... we walked all around and took our pause at Livia's favorite gelato place called Vivoli, which is also apparently one of the oldest in Firenze.  I can't see all 100 pounds of Livia eating gelato let alone anything... We ended our tour right next to my apartment in this little family owned wine shop where we had a wine and balsamic tasting.  The wines were all so good and I especially liked a dessert wine called Moscato D'Asti with only 5.5% alcohol.  My type of wine!!!  The cover was so cute because the daughter designed it herself.  The balsamic was amazing too!  There was one super sweet one that had been aged for forty years!  That is nuts!

After I bought the bottle of dessert wine, I returned to my apartment to pack up the last few things before heading to the train station at six-thirty to go to the AmAlFi CoAsT!  A million hours later (aka 2 am) we tiredly rolled up to Hotel Spicy in Sorrento.

GIORNO TRENTADUE

Today we woke up pretty early in order to get all our tours in order!  We ate breakfast, stole some items off the buffet, and took a forty minute trek down to the Sorrento port.  We walked down the steep stairs and waited by the water until our giant carrier approached, unloaded 468737835 cars, and let us board.  It took about thirty minutes until we arrived at Marina Grande in Capri.  Once we landed, we immediately boarded the smaller ferry that took us on a tour around the island.  We quickly arrived at this tiny cave opening in the side of a rock face with several other boats, waiting our turn to enter.  We got into these tiny row boats with a guide and he paddled us over to the tiny little hole in the rock of an entrance into the Blue Grotto.  The waves would move up and down and we timed our entrance when the waves were low enough.  We still had to lay completely down so we would not hit our heads on the roof of the cave opening.  Once inside the cave was completely black except for the illuminated water in the color of sea glass blue.  It was so beautiful.  We only had a few minutes in there, so we jumped in and took a few pictures in the freezing water before returning to our boat.  Legit.

Once we returned to the ferry, we continued on the tour around the island.  Along the way we saw the Green Cave, which has rocks that appear green from the reflection of the water.  Everyone on the lower level reached out to touch it.  We continued on to what is known as the "lover's arch," where loved ones are supposed to kiss in order to get eternal love.  Some day... right?

So... we kept going, seeing the beautiful completely clear blue water, the "baby factory" beach, the single lady statue sitting on the rock waving, and the bright orange coral on the rocks.  Everything was perfect!

When we arrived back at Marina Grande, we followed the Florence for Fun tour guides to this hidden beach on Marina Piccola, where we ate a quick lunch and laid out on the beach *ahem* I mean rocks by the beautiful, cold water.  On the way there we walked down this steep path along the rock face that is known as "The Wall of Capri," a play on China's Great Wall.  They were basically the same thing except this wall was intact, along the water, and probably about 3465646 times smaller.  But other than that... pretty much the same.  We swam over to this little area on the other side of the restaurant and collected sea glass.  I love sea glass; it is so pretty... I really don't understand why we don't have as much in the US, but they have loads of it here!  There was a nice rock in the middle of the water that kids were jumping off of, so we grabbed Cole's GoPro and took jumping photos.  It was awesome.

Allora, one of my main goals of this summer was to get a great Chaco tan for camp.  I left my shoes on pretty much the entire weekend attempting to get some good tan lines going.  So far so good... you can definitely see where my shoes were!

We stayed at the beach until about four-thirty when we rode a bus up to the city center for our limoncello tasting.  All I have to say is ew.  I didn't like it at all.  It is so strong, and so unsatisfying, and so gross. No... not for me.  We walked around a little longer, until we reached this fruit stand where we bought these amazing drinks called granitas.  They were basically lemon slush with freshly squeezed orange juice mixed together.  I have never drank something so refreshing in my life.  I was  a happy camper, especially because I was outside in the hot sun, looking at a ridiculous view, drinking a citrus drink.  Nothing could have been better!

After the granitas, we caught the cable car back down to the port, where we headed back to Sorrento for dinner, which was average, but eatable.  We were so exhausted from our day in the sun for pretty much the first time in the last six weeks, that we fell asleep immediately after dinner; all five of us in the one small room, with one bathroom, and five little single beds.  It was a tight squeeze.  

GIORNO TRENTATRE: "The Naked Truth"
Today we woke up a little later and stole a little bit more from the buffet for our lunches and beautiful day in Positano.  We took the bus forty minutes to Positano, where we entered the city and walked around until we arrived at the beach.  Along the way we passed all these shops that started to look very familiar to me.  It all started with this stairwell with these giant lemons hanging from the railings, a restaurant above that said, "Delikatessen," and the bougainvillea hanging from the roof.  I had this gut feeling that there would be a store around the corner with my name on it and guess what?  I was right!  My name was everywhere!  I thought my name was French, but I have seen it twice now in Italy, so I am starting to think that it is Italian.  They call me "Rah-kelle."  It has a nice ring to it.   

 

When we reached the beach, we walked to this cover-up store, where I found the most beautiful homemade white lace vest ever!  It was so perfect and Ihad to get it.  Everyone else bought super cute cover-ups and it was already a good day!

Allora... we REALLY wanted to go cliff jumping because we heard that the best place to do it was in Positano, so we rented a boat for an hour and drove on over to a thirty(ish) foot cliff to jump into the water.  It was so awesome!  The water felt perfect and we met up with some other Florence for Fun people along the way who told us about this cave where you could swim.  We followed them and wound up at this awesome cave that you could enter on one side and exit on the other. We found some fun nooks and crannies, and afterward left for the beach feeling refeshed and satisfied that the day was already perfect.

 At the beach I relaxed with Erika, Cole, Savannah, Danielle, Tarah, and Christina for a few hours, bought fresh roasted/candied hazelnuts, ate my lunch that I stole from breakfast, and swam in the refreshing water until about three when we decided to meet back up to look at the homemade sandals.  They were beautiful, but far too expensive, so we ended up just walking around the tiny city and admiring all its cute qualities.  I could have totally stayed there forever...  

Positano... you can see the 1999 hotel in the background

At the meeting time, we all walked back to the bus and returned to Hotel Spicy for showers and dinner.  Dinner was way better tonight!  We decided after that we would walk over to Sorrento "beach," which was just a short walk down to this cliffside to watch the sunset.  IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!  I practically, meaning I totally sprinted, to the cliffside to make the sunset in time.  It turned out I didn't need to run, but I got a few solo sunset shots in the mean time and stared at how wonderful this weekend already was.  I was in a state of pure perfection.  So happy.

As we were walking back down to leave the cliffside, we noticed this small cover of turquoise water below.  In the corner we saw the sketchy staircase leading to the small beach, so we went down there and there was a tiny cave opening at the other end.  It was sompletely surrounded by cliffs with teh small beach and crystal clear water.  It wasn't real.  It felt like a mirage.  But it didn't feel like one... we decided to jump in.  And yes, we were wearing clothes, so of course, the "Naked Truth..." we went skinny dipping.  We only had one scare when we heard a man's voice yell something.  We all literally freezed and just stood there for a few moments unable to do anything.  The coast was clear.  It was so worth it!  It was so much fun, and it was too funny.  This had to be one of the most fun days of the trip so far... I just didn't know how it could get much better.  We thought about how it would be funny if we heard that there is some ridiculous fine for skinny dipping.  Leave it to Italy to have the strangest fines... we haven't heard anything yet.

So... it was now time for shower number two since I got wet at the cove.  Per usual, the second we hit the pillows we fell asleep since we were outside in the sun all day.  Another perfect ending for the day.  It marked the "one week left" of our trip... it is a scary thing, but hey, it will be nice to be home and see my family, have a dryer for my crunchy clothes, and go hiking in Colorado.  Summer isn't over yet!

GIORNO TRENTAQUATRO

Today we visited Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius.  We woke up and checked out of the hotel to drive the forty-five minutes north to Pompeii.  It was a sweltering kind of day in the ruins of Pompeii, but it is definitely a really cool place because this town, which is about ten miles from the volcano, was competely destroyed by the explosion.  There were places in the rocky streets where you could still see the remnants of where hot objects left impressions in the rock.  There were human bodies still twisted as if writhing in pain from the heat of the lava displayed in glass cases.  You could even see the bone fibers in teh foot.  It is crazy how quickly these people lost everything, but it is equally amazing how they were able to create this town in such an ancient town.  It never ceases to amaze me how much humans can do...

We walked along with the tour group... unfortunately.  I would rather walk around myself because I just fail to listen.  I just want to explore, not stand around.  I mean I love history, but when I'm in it... all I want to do is see it for myself.

After the tour, we had about an hour to hang out and get lunch before we left for Vesuvius.  I bought another delicious granita and ate my stolen breakfast sandwiches again until we walked around at all the crappy souvenirs in the desert-like heat.

We then drove about thirty minutes almost to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, where we exited the bus, got our tickets, and started hiking up the trail to the top of the active volcano.  It only took about fifteen minutes to get to the top, but once there the views were absolutely gorgeous.  You could look down into the deep crater and out into the distance across Pompeii and the ocean. 

After the climb, we headed back down to the bus for our six hour adventure back to Firenze (home) with the dirtiest feet ever.  The ash from the volcano was caked onto my feet because I was only wearing my Chacos and it was so hot, so I was covered in sweat (yay).  Not my preferred choice of travel conditions...  We were about halfway there when the bus stopped and we coasted to the edge of the highway. Dead.  The bus ran out of gas... what?  That doesn't just happen.  In fact that isn't even allowed to happen.  But it did.  And we sat there for (luckily) only an hour before one of the other buses came to our rescue with gallons of gas for us to make it to the next rest stop.  We were only five kilometers away... -___- *sigh*

Anyway... at least it was only the gas and not anything else.  After stopping at the MOST EXPENSIVE EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENTIRE WORLD rest stop for a quick dinner, we continued on and arrived in Firenze before midnight.

I was never so excited to shower off my ashy Mt. Vesuvius feet and go to sleep!

Ciao-Ciao!

blown away.

DAY TWELVE

The beautiful sea glass colors of Murano in the morning

As I stated in the last post... I woke up freezing.  Italy, why?  Oh well, at least my sleep was AWESOME (no sarcasm! Seriously!)!  Anyway, the hotel provided us a skimpy, but free breakfast before we left for another full day of Murano and Venice!

The ferry took us straight to Murano where we watched a man blow glass.  I originally read that part of the tour on the itinerary and blew (no pun intended) off because it sounded boring.  But boy was I wrong.  It was so cool, I was blown away!  I never knew how/what blowing glass meant.  They actually blow the glass and form it into vases and bowls!  It was crazy.  Even cooler, the man formed the glass into a horse!  Yes. I meant what I wrote... A HORSE!  And it was perfect.  I can't even... wow.  I wish I had taken pictures, but it all happened too fast.  He formed that horse in less than a minute!  Pure talent.
 

After that we had about an hour to walk around tiny, tiny Murano.  It was a very small town that literally based it's income off of glass, glass, and more glass.  All "made in Murano!"  The glass was actually really beautiful, but was very expensive and awfully difficult to carry, so I passed on all the pretty plates, chandeliers, and picture frames in colors of the sea.  It was an adorable little town, but there truly isn't a need to go back.  ALL WE WANT IS MORE VENICE!

Frolicking.

Today we got four straight hours just to frolic in the streets of Venice!  We walked immediately to this adorable little shop called, Oysho, where they sold these cool pants for super cheap!  And as you may know... I NEEDED pants!  We spent a long time in there trying o EVERYTHING in the store since it was all so cute.  Gah!  I love European clothing and I love being a current resident in Italy!  It just feels so right even though I am still struggling with my Italian.  "Build it, it will come."  Maybe?  Just look at me in Italy... don't I look like a native?  Don't answer that.  *Tourist*  

I guess the only thing that doesn't feel right for the other girls is the lack of American food.  They were craving hamburgers and French fries, so we had to dine at The Hard Rock Venice for lunch.  We stomped through puddles, dodged scary pigeons, and scaled bridges to find it!  Now... I am pretty sure I haven't eaten at a Hard Rock in about four billion years so I didn't really know what to expect in terms of expenses, but you have to remember, we are in VENICE so of course it is going to be ridiculously priced.  As is everything.  How do people eat in this city?  Is that why everyone is so skinny?  It can't only be because everyone smokes!  And when I say everyone... I mean everyone!  They all smoke.  It is as if they learn it in school or something because it is ingrained in all Italians and Europeans.  They just live it because it is all around them.  It is so gross, but it is a part of their culture that I have to accept over my stay here, unfortunately.

The meal was actually really enjoyable.  I don't know if it because I was starving (which I was), if I just really love pulled pork (which I do), or if I just really was craving American food, but I ate it ALL!  We lounged about for a long while, soaking up the Americaness of it all and people watching (of course).  There were these two girls on the trip with us who showed up at one point to eat and I was astounded at how much they wasted (money and food).  They both ordered two of what appeared to be a pina colada, hamburgers and fries, two sides of macaroni, and a potato skins to share.  They finished like 10% of it all.  Disappointed.

Bird on the arm... they just jump on you.

Anyway... Venice was almost complete by the end of the day and we were all ready to return to Firenze.  It was overall a productive experience because it is such a different city.  As we we were headed back to the boat dock to catch the ferry we all did something pretty vile... we played with the pigeons.  I know you aren't supposed to, but it happened and I don't regret it.  It was kind of cool even though I know my Dad has a vendetta against them because they seem to always choose to "do their business" on him in almost every country we visit.  Don't know why... but it's kind of funny (sorry Dad, but you know it's funny!!).  Anyway, if you just reached out your hand, they would all just fly up and land on your arm hoping to get crackers or bread.  They are obviously used to being fed, even though it is technically illegal.  Eh, we did it anyway!

So... four-thirty turned into five and our ferry still had not arrived.  I guess five o'clock is rush hour for boats too... who knew?  We waited for a little longer, as the docks became more and more crowded with people trying to get out and boats trying to get in.  It was a mess.  Finally we got on the ferry and headed back to the bus for our long trip home.  I slept most of the way, but woke up just in time to see our drive into Firenze.  It was beautiful because the sun was setting and the fog was weaving in and out of the beautiful lush green hills that surround the city.  It was a cool drive because tunnels are just built into the mountains and the roads are so curvy.  Luckily we weren't on any major cliffs because the speed limit is always pretty fast and that would be terrifying in a giant bus.  Home sweet Firenze! 

Sorry for a rather boring post today!  It is pretty late here and I have to get to sleep!  Hopefully the roommates and I will visit the Uffizi Museum tomorrow for a greater taste of Firenze!  We are gone so much that is it important to step back and actually experience what is right in front of us!  Buonanotte!

PS: Here are a few more pictures from today that I just liked, but had no where to put!