Travel

Venice, Italy

Spending the night in sketchy discount hostels is a large part of the student travel experience. Some offer a luxurious “free breakfast,” which usually ranges from white bread to cellophane-wrapped, chocolate-filled croissants, and an assortment of jams and butters, if you’re lucky. My Venice experience was in one of these less-than-three-star accommodations and as a solo female […]

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Travel

Tenerife, Spain

An Island off the coast of Africa, Tenerife is a typical travel spot for German and English vacationers in winter. Since the climate remains on average between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s essentially the European equivalent of the Bahamas. I was traveling, for the first time, with a friend! Molly and I are both Americans in Madrid, […]

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Travel

Edinburgh, Scotland

I had the pleasure of traveling to a new city to visit an old friend.  Nina and I hadn’t seen each other in maybe ten years but when we discovered we were both studying in Europe, it was the perfect excuse to reunite. Her apartment was truly Pinterest-worthy, and she even introduced me to her friend, Scarlett, who […]

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Travel

Dublin, Ireland

I made a bucket list of all the Irish sites I was looking forward to visiting, and tried to see as much as possible.

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Travel

Four Cities, One Day: Manchester and Other Misadventures

It’s 8:35 p.m. and I am standing at the Ryanair ticket booth in the Adolfo Suárez Madrid Airport Terminal 1. I have missed my flight to Dublin. In this moment, I was living the traveler’s nightmare. Realizing that no one was here to help me through this crisis, I had to figure out what to […]

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Travel

What Happened in Valencia: An Honest Account

This weekend was nothing short of a never-ending fiesta. While I generally try to include some iota of historic art or culture exploration into my travel itineraries, I genuinely can’t remember an hour on this trip where I wasn’t intoxicated (or severely hungover), and I think my photos from this trip accurately reflect that… Take 2: That being said, my […]

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Travel, Travel Tips

Navigating Culture Shock: An American Girl’s Guide to Madrid

I’ve never considered myself “super American.” In fact, I even left the States to go to university in Canada. Also, I call “college” “university,” see? Still, I was struck by many aspects of Spanish culture that made me feel like a true foreigner. Though a large city like Madrid is inherently international, I’ve noticed some many culture discrepancies between […]

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Travel

Toledo, Spain

If you’re looking for artistic inspiration, search no further. It’s no wonder El Greco was moved to paint the Toledo cityscape. Just take a glimpse at this view: The city, located an hour south of Madrid, is surrounded by the Tagus river. While the city has a rich history, I was too distracted by marzipan, cobblestone streets, […]

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Travel

Vilnius, Lithuania

Welcome to Vilnius, Lithuania; Population: 539,939, Time Zone: 7 hours ahead of New York, Weather: ~20 Celsius in September with an expected 75+ mm of rainfall. Fun Fact: Lithuania was the first country to leave the Soviet Union (Source). I’m generally a hyper-organized person, but the thought of traveling to a foreign country, trying to navigate in a language I […]

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