IN SHORT Puerto Rico’s nickname is the “Island of Enchantment” and I’ve also heard it described as “Latin America for beginners”. I think both are true, and great reasons for visiting. You can get a feel for Latin America–the colorful art, welcoming culture, upbeat music, tasty food–without having to be fluent in Spanish, think about currency conversions, get a passport, or worry about avoiding drinking … Continue reading Quick Guide: Puerto Rico
IN SHORT It’s one of the most-visited cities in the world, and along with popular tourist attractions come hordes of tourists and the downsides they can bring too. It can be a pretty city–so much beautiful architecture, the glittering Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero at night, the stained glass in Notre Dame–but it can also be unfriendly and dirty. Many of the locals get very sick of … Continue reading Quick Guide: Paris
Choosing a destination for your trip The world is a big place, so choosing what exotic locale to visit can be the hardest part of planning any getaway. At least as I see it, the point of traveling is to go somewhere else to see and experience things you couldn’t at home, whether that’s foreign cultures, unique cuisine, mountainous landscapes, ancient ruins, a tropical climate, … Continue reading Trip Planning: Where to Go
If you’re traveling to Paris, the Louvre should be in your Top 3 (right up there with Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower). It’s a world-renowned museum with a vast collection of art, so it can be a little intimidating to visit. I’d like to share my experience at the Louvre and hopefully give you some advice for your visit. 1. Research before you go … Continue reading Beginner’s Guide to the Louvre
Planning activities for your adventure Once you’ve chosen your destination and narrowed down where you’d like to focus your trip, the fun can really begin. I love planning trips, and researching all of the options and places that you can go is one of my favorite parts. A great place to start is UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are sites that have been chosen by … Continue reading Trip Planning: What to Do
In August of this year I traveled to Bolivia with my university’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders. We have a clean water project there, and our mission was to go down and install a chlorinator. The project is at the University Academica Campesina (UAC) in Carmen Pampa, which is near Coroico, Bolivia. The UAC educates the local people in subjects like agronomy, nursing, tourism, and … Continue reading Bolivia with Engineers without Borders
Things have been crazy for me this year–I got married, bought a house, honeymooned in Puerto Rico, and traveled to Bolivia, all while going to school and working and that sort of stuff. As the year is drawing to a close, I’d like to share a little about my travels this year, starting with a little bit about our time in Puerto Rico. First Night … Continue reading Honeymoon in Puerto Rico
Today, our last day in London, was definitely a fun day! Sarah, Tawny, Emily, the other Laura, and Chase joined us for the first part of the day (we split up at lunch time). We started out by visiting one of the oldest and largest department stores in the world, Harrods. It’s known as a very fancy department store, but many of the items there … Continue reading London: Harrods, Abbey Road & British Museum
Today we got up early to finish packing and catch our train to London. As we were walking to our subway station and saying goodbye and good riddance to Paris, we were greeted by a scene of two men fighting fairly violently right in front of our subway station. It was pretty scary. One of them was whacking the other one with who knows what … Continue reading London: Westminster Abbey & Piccadilly Circus
I dislike Paris again. I think I must have a sort of love-hate, off-again on-again relationship with this city. Or maybe it gives a bad first impression, then you warm up to it, but then when you delve deeper you realize it really is a dirty, unfriendly city. But let’s start with something more pleasant. On our way to The Louvre this morning there were … Continue reading Paris: The Louvre & Montmartre