Cascais, Portugal

As nice as it is to go to the Picasso Museum, see the beautiful Sagrada Familia, meander around Parc Guel and other Barcelona tourist attractions, there is nothing like having a real vacation.  Just sitting down, sipping on wine, enjoying the view and exploring for fun, and not because you feel like you have to see something!

So that my friends, was my Portugal trip. R&R to the max, and I enjoyed every single second of it. So much that leaving was quite hard for me considering as much as I love going around, seeing things and being active, nothing beats sitting on the balcony and watching the ocean with your best friend!

You would think that with all of this traveling I would be tired, and you're right I am.  But spring break is here, and Paris and Italy are calling my name! 

Don't worry America, I'll see you soon : )

♥euniece

Home is Where your Heart is

While being abroad for the past three months has been one of the most incredible experiences ever, I'll admit that what I have come to realize is, that there is no place like home. But being the luckiest girl I am, home came to me this weekend, all the way from Pittsburgh.

So what do you when the one you love, travels thousands of miles to see you? Eat good food, talk, eat more good food, site see and drink wine of course!

Kisses for my sleepy world travelor!

While I am may have been biten by the homesick bug lately, his visit made me realize that when you're surrounded by the ones you love, home can be anywhere.

♥euniece

Tibidabo

Girl in class: "My friends tried to hike up to the top of Tibidabo, but they gave up because it was too difficult to make it to the top without taking the funicular!"

Me: "Challenge accepted. Let's go hiking."

Before my friends and I even began our voyage to the top of the mountain, where there lay a beautiful church and an old school amusement park, we were quite unsure how to actually get there..

That's when we ran into the cute man in the photo below.  At 66 years old he hikes this mountain every single day, shared his life story with us, gave tips on being healthy, and safely got us to the top. Sometimes you just have to trust that people are good and won't steer you in the wrong direction...I mean what is there not to trust about an old man who is open enough to share "that even though his son is married to a Brazilian, she still has a flat butt"! <--Oh spanish people!

 Being away from the hustle and bustle of the city of Barcelona was much needed and was so nice for the day. It made me appreciate being able to venture through a dirt path for miles without the stop and go of the streets lights, it made me appreciate being able to enjoy the views that come along with each step to the top, it made me appreciate being able to take a deep inhale and not feel like my lungs are being poisoned with city pollution, but most of all it made me appreciate my home in the United States, and how lucky I am to have grown up surrounded by such beautiful nature.

♥euniece

STOP KONY 2012

Sadly, it is really difficult for news to move me. Because the news is always the same, about war in the middle east, about gang violence in America, about politics, about the elections, about oil and gas prices. It is almost as if my mind has built up a barrier that mutes everything I hear and has me look the other way without a care. I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was check my twitter. I scrolled down and everything was hashtagged #STOPKONY. 

I had no idea what it was in reference to. I thought to myself, could this be a new candidate running for President, could it be a rapper with some controversial lyrics?  I let it pass and then logged in to check my next social networking site 'Facebook', and what did I see, more Stop Kony, and videos that went along with these statuses. I watched it, I cried, my heart sunk, and then I shared it, because even though it was just a click of a button, I know someone else will watch it, and hopefully share the message too. 

We all have voice and can do something about it, together. I hope you can share the video too, or at least watch it.  For yourself, for your own knowledge, for the child soliders, and for our future generations.

The more we know, the more we can do.

♥euniece

Not all who wander are lost

I am the type of person that always needs an agenda.  I like to know what I am doing, where I am going, what time I'm leaving, how long I am staying etc etc etc. But yesterday, the day I had planned out for myself turned into me wandering around Barcelona and stumbling across some wonderful things. Sometimes not having an agenda is good, really good.

Hoffmans: The best croissant I have ever tasted was purchased here.
Sorry, no picture - after the first taste I inhaled it.

Apparently there is nothing, that you can't find in this market.

 After visiting, I can attest to this.

I didn't know what this place was until I walked in.  What was it, you wonder? A mall! My heart sung, I felt at home for the first time since I left America.

After walking for miles and miles, 

I settled on this view of Barcelona while sitting on the dock. 

Beautiful ending, to a beautiful day.

♥euniece