Lead the Dway

Join me in my travels.

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Beautiful Peru June 2015

Shot with iPhone 6 and GoPro 3+ Black. Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, and Macchu Picchu. The song playing is Geronimo by Sheppard.

My mom and I spent a wonderful week in Peru earlier this summer and here's a little video I made of our trip! I meant to make this video a lot sooner but taking three summer classes took a lot of time and effort! Lol

I tried to put everything in chronological order so this video has a bunch of clips from Lima, Cuzco, Aguas Calientes, Macchu Picchu, and a little walk through tour of Second Home Peru, which is a beautiful mansion we stayed at that is owned by the famous Peruvian sculptor Victor Delfin!

Can't wait to go back someday

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The Colosseum in Rome, Italy 

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Some (shitty) pictures from the Vatican City State 

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Rome, Italy

Our flight from Athens to Rome was delayed a couple hours so we didn't get to Rome until abut 4 AM, but our hotel was right down the street from the Vatican City State, which I thought was awesome and super convenient! 

Unlike Athens, I was absolutely impressed by Rome. The architecture was surprisingly very similar to France but it was gorgeous nonetheless. The locals were awesome and they kept the cities very clean. But one thing that I would advise to people visiting Rome is to pay attention to menu prices and try not to ask the waiter for their recommendations on what to eat. We ate at a restaurant that was down the street from the Vatican and ended up spending about $200 when we usually only spend $50 because we let the waiter choose our dishes for us. Not only did he order us the most expensive entrees the restaurant has to offer, but they tasted disgusting. Oh and also, stick to foods that you have already tried because most people aren't happy with the new dishes they try. While in Italy, I would definitely recommend spaghetti with clams, spaghetti with meatballs, or lasagna because those dishes never disappoint! The pizza in Italy is also amaaaazing! Nothing like the crap we have back home-although I'd say that Evelyn's is quite delicious. 

So in Rome there are three things you must see:

The Vatican City State

The Colosseum

The Trevi Fountain

You should dedicate at least half a day for the Vatican City State and make sure you go with a tour because you will have to wait in a ridiculously long line to get in and you probably won't be able to learn about the historical significance! Make sure you dress modestly as well. After all, the pope lives there! 

We got to the Colosseum about a half an hour before they closed for the day but it was plenty of time to explore and take pictures so don't worry about spending a lot of time there! Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain was under construction while we were there but I'm still glad we went! You won't need a lot of time to visit the Trevi Fountain, but you might want to eat lunch or get some gelato while you're there because there are plenty of restaurants and gelaterias! 

As for transportation, I would recommend buying a day pass for a double decker bus. We chose the City Sightseeing Hop on Hop off bus, but the other companies go to the same stops as ours did and I think they might be a little cheaper so look into that before buying a ticket! Anyways, we only bought a day pass because that's really all you need since Rome really isn't that big and all the tourist destinations are in close proximity of each other. 

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Some pictures from the Acropolis. 

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Athens, Greece

Athens was the first destination of our trip that we all absolutely hated. It is a very dirty, vandalized city and the locals were nowhere near as friendly as the others we met in Santorini and Thessaloniki. Plus, there isn't much to do. Luckily, our hotel was only a 15 minute walk away from the Acropolis, but all the other tombs and ruins are over an hour drive away.  

On our first day in Athens, we went on a tour and I can't even remember the names of the tombs we visited-that's how bad it was. This is also the problem with how I didn't keep up with my blog though, because I am quite forgetful therefore I am unable to write about my experiences accurately...Oh well, lesson learned.

Anyways, my mom wasn't feeling well the next day so my sister and I let her rest while we visited the Acropolis of Athens, which contains the Parthenon, Erechtheion, and other famous and historic buildings. I didn't realize how beautiful Athens really is until I stood on the marble platform overlooking the city at the Acropolis. Then again, cities almost always look beautiful from hundreds of feet above. 

There is a shopping market below the Acropolis and it is the perfect place for souvenirs. After spending a few euros and a couple minutes of our time, we headed back to the hotel and waited for a taxi to take us to the airport for our flight to Rome, Italy.

If you are planning on visiting Athens, I would recommend for you to spend a day at the Acropolis. It won't take you the full day to explore all the ruins and shop around though, so you could spend the rest of the day at a bar or lounge around at your hotel afterwards. One thing that my family and I didn't have time to do was take a day cruise from Athens to Hydra, Poros, and Egina, but I have heard that it is absolutely beautiful and worth every euro! Prices start at 99 euros. Also, research the different tours before you get there. We let the receptionist at the hotel pick the tour we went on and it was a waste of time and money.

I do not plan on returning to Athens, but maybe you will have a better experience there than I did if you go. 

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Guess Who's Back

In the past month, I have visited 7 countries and 42 different cities. I'm flying out to London tomorrow and soon I'll be in Amsterdam and wherever else my family and I decide to venture out to. I miss my friends and family back home dearly, but I only have one month left in Europe and I am going to continue to make the most out of everyday! Now it is time to update my blog with all the pictures and experiences I have gathered in the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!

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Oops...

It has been a very long time since I've updated my blog. Since my last post, I have visited many different cities in Germany, Austria, and Italy. In the next week, I will be in France. I have so many pictures and experiences I want to write about, but I have not had the time :(

But I will mention that Venice stole my heart and I am so excited to visit Cannes next week! I'll update my blog when we get back to my uncle's home in Mainz. 

Till then!

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My first glance of Germany!

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Trevi Fountain! Under construction :(

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June 20

We took a tour of the Vatican City today! Did you know that the Vatican City is a country with a population of only 800? Woah!! I thought that was awesome. Anyways, it was so beautiful and huge. The paintings and sculptures in the Vatican museum were so beautiful and it reminded me a lot of the work in the Louvre except everything seemed a bit more organized at the Vatican. Oh, and I have realized that Europeans like to make everything as massive in size as possible. People say that everything is bigger in Texas, but they obviously haven't been to Europe! After our four hour tour of the Vatican, we went to the Colosseum! That was beautiful and huge as well. I'll post some pictures soon, but the wifi at our current hotel isn't very reliable so I'll probably post them when we get to Germany. Trevie Fountain tomorrow!

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June 17-19

June 17. We went on an impossibly long, boring tour today and I’m currently writing this during the ride back to our hotel. We chose this tour because the hotel receptionist recommended it to us, but I honestly have no idea why he spoke so highly of it.We visited some tombs, but we basically just drove and listen to a woman talk about Greece for eight hours. I don't really like Athens. It is full off vandalized, abandoned buildings and rude locals.  I prefer Thessaloniki and Santorini. I meant opened the prices were cheaper in Thessaloniki, but the prices were equally as cheep in Santorini as well as Athens. Great place to vacation on a low budget!

June 18. After our tour last night, we decided to go to the roof top of our hotel for drinks and we realized that our hotel had a perfect view of Acropolis and it was only a twenty minute walk away! These "kiwi's" from New Zealand sat next to us and we spent two hours talking to them and after our conversation, we decided that New Zealand is next on our list for traveling! They were so friendly, funny, and they spoke so highly of their home-can't wait!

Anyways, my mom is really sick so my sister and I decided to walk up to Acropolis. I felt bad for leaving my mom alone in the hotel room, but Athens has been horrible and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to see the Parthenon. After all, when will I ever come back to Athens?! Hopefully never...

Okay sorry, keep getting side tracked! Haha. But I'm glad we walked up to the Acropolis. The walk was very pleasant minus all the creepy men that stared at my sister and I throughout the city. The view of Athens from the Acropolis was amazing and the ruins up there were awesome, but most of it was under construction :( The floors were really slippery because most of it was marble, but at least I was wearing my free runs and not flip-flops! Oh, and before I forget, the entrance fee was 12 euros. 

We ate dinner and we bought some souvenirs for our friends and family before we returned to our hotel. Our taxi picked us up shortly after we arrived to our hotel and we found out our flight was delayed until 1 AM when it was originally supposed to be at 11 PM!!!! That sucked, but no harm was done.

June 19. Our flight was practically empty and I got an entire row to myself! The flight lasted about two hours but I savored every second of sleep I got. A taxi took us to our hotel and some confusion took place that I don't want to mention on my blog, but long story short- it sucked. We slept until about 5 PM and my sister and I went out for dinner. Our hotel is down the street from the Vatican, so we walked around for a while after we ate. We saw this girl that put self-tanner on and it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. One side of her leg was completely orange while her face and the other side of her leg was as pale as my friend, Nicole West. HAHA, if you're reading this, love you, Nik! 

It's 8 PM now and I'm gonna upload some pics from my camera to post in a little bit. 

Ciao. 

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June 16

It is currently 8:34 PM and my family has already fallen asleep. As a result, I am sitting on my bed, wide-eyed and freezing due to the impossibly cold AC in our hotel room. 

Athens has failed to impress me so far. The receptionist of our hotel that we met this morning was unnecessarily rude and bad-tempered and since we only got four hours of sleep last night, we slept for the majority of the day. Tomorrow we will actually venture out but until then, I will continue to prefer Santorini over Athens. 

I didn’t write much during my time in Santorini so I will take this opportunity to do so now. I miss it. Tons. The locals are friendly, the food is delicious, and the view is to die for. The streets are made of stone and marble, which were a bit slippery but beautiful regardless. Most of the buildings are painted white with blue accents and those that are not are still painted a neutral color-easy on the eyes. 

On the day of our arrival in Santorini, we dropped off our bags at our hotel in Fira (the island’s capital) and we ate lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the Mediterranean sea. Later that evening, we rode a bus to Oia, a town all the way at the edge of the island. Oia is known for their sunsets, which I posted pictures of earlier, but most of the pictures that are advertised of Santorini are taken there because of how picturesque everything in their town is- not just their sunsets. 

Yesterday, I mentioned that we spent some time at the black sand beach in Kamari, but I wasn’t being very specific. Something I found really interesting about that beach was that the beach chairs and beds were open to the public, free of charge. I have been to many beaches and I have always had to pay a couple dollars to borrow a beach chair for a few hours so I appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to do that for once. Thank you, Kamari!

Tomorrow, we are going on a tour of Athens and I’m excited to see all the ruins! Can’t wait. 

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Santorini, Greece 

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Santorini sunset

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My sister and I strolled through Santorini after the sunset last night and we took some awesome shots, but this is one of the few that I have on my phone! Although she didn’t mean to take it, I love it.

I miss you already, Santorini.

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One of the donkeys from today! Cute but stinky- very, very stinky.