Amsterdam, a set on Flickr. If you've read Eat, Pray, Love, you'll remember a section where Liz talks about how every city has a word. In Europe I've been thinking a lot about this. If Amsterdam had a word I think it would be chill. Everyone was so chill, a fact that me and my [...]
Category: Traveling
Discovering American Potatoes
Sweet potatoes, a photo by julahooper on Flickr. The sweet potato became a part of my diet after a discussion with my dance professor about increasing my potassium intake to decrease muscle spasms. Low potassium levels put you at risk for muscle spasms (charley horses...) as well as other less fun conditions. As the kidney [...]
A Catanese Christmas!
You know how there are people you meet with whom you immediately feel a connection, like you’ve known them in another life? Well, I get this feeling with places. The first time I felt this was when I went to London. My father told me that I was feeling the pull of my ancestors who [...]
The Italian Experience
Let me tell you a story... As most of you know, I am teaching high school English in Seriate, Bergamo. This means my upper-level students are only 2-3 years younger than me. In my fifth level classes I have been teaching lessons on American politics, which happily coincides with the elections in the US. I [...]
Of Mushroom Hunters and Sheep Parades
“The hills are alive with the sound of music!” I wanted to jump from my bus and run singing through the green pastures of the pre-Alps of Bergamo province. To distract myself from this rather strange urge, I was content instead to spend the last ½ hour of my trip counting sheep. Total tally: 238 [...]
Exploring La Jolla: My Top 5 Hidden Gems
Having lived in La Jolla my entire life, I never expected to do a post about the sites here. Tourist season, packed beaches, and my love of the sun have inspired me to venture off the paved sidewalks to hidden spots of Californian paradise . Here are my top 5 beaches and lookouts to rival [...]
The Lake Life
As you can probably see from the simple change in scenery, I have left the Jersey shore and headed north to my home away from home, New England. Currently I am recovering from my cafe and shore lifestyle in a not-so-little house on Squam Lake in New Hampshire. The road to recovery has not been [...]
The Garden State
Why is New Jersey called "The Garden State"? "Because 'Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State' wouldn't fit on a license plate?" (Miss Congeniality) Historians claim that the name was coined in the late 19th century, when Abraham Browning of Camden compared the state to an "immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, [...]
Reflections on Catania from a Wannabe Sicilian
“U tuoi beddu ùocchiu verdu cùomu u mari.” I looked at my roommate Ivana for an explanation. She translated from Sicilian into Italian, “Your beautiful green eyes the color of the sea.” I smiled at the crusty fisherman before me, thinking, “But my eyes aren’t green, and the sea here is definitely blue.” He rewarded [...]
Who’s on 1st?
I've gotten a lot of questions about what exactly I am doing in Ocean City, New Jersey. Well, in answer to that I am hanging at the beach, cooking fantastic meals, reading a Clash of Kings, and making lattes for a living. I am working at a small cafe on 1st and Asbury St. here in [...]
TYPE 1 TRAVELER 