In 2007, I walked into Higgins Hall and straight down the metal sheeted steel stairs to my school’s concrete and brick basement theater. I strolled down the center aisle and sat on the aisle seat, 6 rows back, on the right side of the theater. Just like every other History and Theory of Architecture class, I sat there, with sleepy eyes, learning about all these amazingly built structures across our world. Never thought much importance of it, I was only 18 years old at the time and didn’t know how to appreciate humankind’s history in built form. Professor Porter was presenting that day. He was a bit off the wall, but for good reason; he was passionate about what he loved to do. He talked about how every year he took a group of students to visit Machu Picchu. The well known aerial view of the ruins flashed on the projector screen, displaying a vast area of broken walls and paths with endless fields and mountains of greenery. Ancient times, I thought, way before anything like “architecture” was even a name for itself. 10 years later, I find these same broken walls and paths stroll right in front of me. It was quiet and vast and such an awe to look at. The infinite rows of curves continuously carved out the side of the Earth. The llamas were aimlessly roaming the land, waiting for someone to get too close so they could spit on them. And the mountains were so tall, I felt that we were Greek Gods at one point, watching everyone on Earth wander about. Time stopped here. It was a sacred place that spoke of terror and happiness, laughter and pain. There was a magical force that surrounded Machu Picchu. Maybe the Incas’ spirits still roamed their land. Or maybe it was the fact that we were weary from being 4,300 m above sea level and probably had so much coca leaves in our system by that point, we didn’t know what was real anymore. We will never know. 🤷🏻‍♀️  

What makes you feel alive?

Today, it is the breath from an exhausted heart.. inhaling fresh air from a place that touches beyond the familiar skies. It is the heart that controlled the mind that thought it couldn’t make it pass that first mile. Exhausted, but full of faith, wonder, and persistence, it keeps going. No stopping now. It keeps pushing. And so, before the eyes realize it has made it to the heavens, the stomach growls.. telling the brain that you haven’t ate all morning. What were you thinking?

This is heart. This is my heart.

This is my heart that craves for something that’s more than physical substance to keep it alive. It feeds off of memories, both old and new. It feeds off of adventure, reaching limits that didn’t know existed. It feeds off of the undying energy that brought it there in the first place.

It’s about going that extra mile to feel what only can be felt in the depths beyond the visual. It’s going against the grain, going against everything you ever knew. It’s about exerting physical abilities that you thought you weren’t capable of.. climbing new steps (quite literally) to see, to feel, to experience liberation at its highest level.

This is what led me here. This is what I live for. This is what makes me feel alive.

Please, do yourself a favor and take some time to experience these places for yourself. Take that extra mile and let your heart feel it too.

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If you have been following my blog thus far, you know that the Roma Girls and I have vowed to make a trip once a year to different parts of the world. Last year was Europe, this year - South America. Unfortunately, one of our Roma Girls couldn’t make this trip, but there wasn’t a day when Xingy didn’t cross our minds. We missed ya dearly, Xingy poodle!

The first leg of this trip was Peru. And my, oh my.. did Peru deliver. I have mucho respect to all of the Peruvian people who all seem to carry the lungs of the ready born marathon runner. Their endurance and trekking capabilities were beyond anything I have seen. Y’all do it for the ‘gram; they do it for the sols ($$$). Cusco is surrounded by many hilltops. Think of San Francisco.. and then multiply those hills by 20. Every street led up to a great view of the city, but you would wind up breathless just trying to get up there. TIP NUMERO UNO: Take a day or 2 to acclimate. Altitude sickness is no joke! We didn't really follow this rule and well, let's just say it didn't end very well. Side note: can we take a moment to appreciate this BEEyootifull alpaca? *Googly eyes*

We started our first (full) day hiking up La Montaña de Siete Colores, otherwise known as Rainbow Mountain. The mountain top reached 5,020 meters high, making it the tallest mountain in the region. Let me put things in perspective for you: New York City is 10 meters high; Denver, Colorado is 1,800 meters high and Machu Picchu is 4,200 meters high. Yeeeeahhhhh. And for 3 little ladies who do not have much hiking experience, this was probably one of the most strenuous activities we have ever done in our lives. Pure pain, but pain which later became pure pleasure. Because after several hours of suffering from the lack of oxygen, lack of sleep and the lack of preparation, it was worth every breath (or lack of breath), every muscle ache, and every horse gallop to see the tops of Peru’s mountains.

Rainbow Mountain has only been taking tours for about 2 years now. So it’s not that touristy yet. We decided to take a tour with Viajes Cusco who I would definitely recommend.

We got picked up by bus around 4 am in the morning and made our rounds picking up other people. The ride up was about 2 hours to our first destination to a local home in the country side that served us breakfast. We got to sit in a little house out back where the family kept their llamas and roasters roaming their farmland. It took about another hour to get up to the entrance of Rainbow Mountain.

Our tour guide provided us with proper tips, equipment, and knowledge about the hike and how to basically survive one of the hardest treks you would ever do in your lifetime. I guarantee it. TIP NUMERO DOS: take that coca tea! Trust me, it’ll be worth it.. in more ways than one. 😏 Also, chewing on the coca leaves help as well as taking some of that coca candy. Oh, and don't forget your walking sticks!

TIP NUMERO TRES: If you're not an avid hiker, take that horse up. Your lungs will thank you later! Especially when you're gasping for air at the tippy top of the mountain! All 3 of us decided to take the horse route. I named my horse, Bob. And Bob’s leader was named Marcel. Bob and Marcel liked to run. Through grass, dirt, mud, snow, and hail.. nothing seemed to stop Bob & Marcel. Ain’t no mountain high or valley low enough, to keep me from EVER DOING THAT AGAIN. I literally had to hold on for dear life. But nothing was more impressive than watching Bob and Marcel doing the damn thang.. while I hopped in unison with every gallop Bob made.

At such high altitudes, you can experience all 4 seasons in one day. At one point, it started hailing and Bob didn’t like the hail. He kept rocking side to side to try and get the hail off of him. I thought he was ready to rock me right off. TIP NUMERO CUATRO: bring lots of rain gear and sunblock. There's some mean sun rays up there! And the rain likes to creep up on you every now and then.

TIP NUMERO CINCO: Our tour guide recommended that we sip water every 10-15 minutes.. which was probably the best advice I could give you since the bathroom situation is not the most pleasant one you will ever experience. You need to stay hydrated but you also would probably want to avoid using one of the out houses. That or at least wear an adult diaper, I kid you not. The 'out houses' were holes in the ground that leaked a rancid odor. I suffered through this experience so that I can advise you NOT to go. First off, I hate porta potties to begin with. But when you gotta go, you gotta go. Secondly, the mix of heat and that awful smell could leave a person senseless for the rest of their lives. Imagine trying to hold your breath so that you don't inhale the toxins that probably have been sitting below you for Gaawd knows how long, but then you might pass out from not breathing since the heat is probably pounding down on you and the little wooden out house. This was probably the biggest dilemma of my life. To breathe or not to breathe... that is the question. I hope that I will never have to face these kind of challenges again. But let us end on a positive (not so disgusting) note. Here's what it looked like when we finally reached the top! Enjoy!

It was the weekend of 4th of July, and a friend and I decided to celebrate America's birthday by paying homage to one of America's most recognized architects, Frank Lloyd Wright. A legend in residential architecture who put America on the map during the early to mid 1900s. His most famous east coast home called Fallingwater, sits on top of a waterfall in the small town of Mill Run in Pennsylvania. It lives about an hour south east of Pittsburgh and is roughly a 6 hour drive west, outside of New York City.

What's amazing about Frank Lloyd Wright is that nearly 500 of his 1,000 works have been built and are still standing strong. Of those 500 works, his most famous pieces of architecture were completed towards the end of his lifetime. He was in his late 80s when he designed the Guggenheim and was still motivated to leave a lasting impression on the world. An architect is always trying to stay ahead of his/her time and I would say he successfully created a world of timeless designs that we still try and replicate today (minus the unrealistic maintenance requirements needed to upkeep his homes.. but that's why we have MEP and structural engineers now a days. Duh!).

We arrived at our little, cute and quaint bed&breakfast around 6:30 in the evening, in a town not too far from Fallingwater. We spent the remainder of the day familiarizing ourselves with what we would call home for the next 2.5 days. The Youghiogheny River Lake ran right through the nearby towns and so we decided to go and check it out. There was a super small beach that eroded from one side of the riverfront. Here, we were able to catch the end of the sunset. Nature painted the sky with endless strokes of blue, pinks and purples before the blanket of night could take over. Often times, I try to take advantage of these little things that nature tends to do. There's nothing more beautiful than watching nature do its thang.

We started the next day, bright and early. Our lovely B+B hosts served us a delicious breakfast, outside on the back patio. We ventured out right away to try and cover all the grounds of Fallingwater before our tour time at 12:30pm. The grounds consisted of several winding paths, each opening up to a view that perfectly framed the home and its surroundings. The soothing sound of moving water could be heard from every inch of this estate. And instead of it interrupting the silence of nature, it perfectly synchronized with it.

The house consists of several horizontal planes that pierced and cantilevered across the waterfall that lived below it. FLW takes you on a journey through the home by ways of access to the exterior. Every space emphasizes its connection to nature whether it be through a visual connection or direct access to it. He begins by taking you across a bridge to the front door that lives at the back of the house (how ironic).

His typical moves of playing with the human scale, of compression and expansion, of materiality all can be felt within the first 5 seconds of stepping into the threshold of the home. Like most of his homes, his claustrophobic entryway opens up instantly into the Living Room where the heart of the home, the hearth or the fireplace, stands. This ultimately becomes the focal point of the ground floor. All windows face east/south allowing each and every space to be flooded with natural sunlight. To the left, a stairway runs down to a platform that gives instant access to the water beneath. Nothing but pure nature runs through and through this entire home.

The sequence of spaces are pretty clear: dark, tight corridors which lead into spacious, semi-lit bedrooms that then connect to outside terraces. The terraces take you away from the home, stretching and reaching out to its neighboring tree branches and entangling you in nature. There is nothing else to see but Bob Ross trees for days on end.

Now I could go on and on about how everything in the house from the furniture to the light fixtures to the direction in the wood grains were all controlled and designed by FLW, but let me not bore you too much with the deets. We have a few more homes to cover.

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Next stop, the Kentuck Knob, a home that lived about 20 mins outside the Fallingwater estate. I won't lie. I knew nothing about this home, let alone the fact that it existed. And although, this home is not as well known as Fallingwater, it does not fall short of FLW expectations.

All front facade windows hugged the top portion of the house exterior. This datum line allows for a few things to happen: light and air are kept to a minimum on one side of the home; this 'wall' allows for built in seating on one side, forcing its occupants to face the opposite side of the space. FLW purposely designs the opposite elevation with floor to ceiling glass windows and doors which overlook the surrounding woods beyond; again, FLW throws nature in your face for your own good.

What's unique about this home is that everything was designed around geometric shapes: the triangle, square, parallelogram, and hexagon. Whether it be a triangular aperture opening for light or the parallelogram shaped dining table which echoes the spatial movement into the adjacent spaces, FLW exhausts all possible design configurations of these geometries through every single detail, down to the seams in the material.

The best part about this estate though is right outside the back of the house. You can find views upon views of straight rural life.

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The tour for the Duncan House, also included 2 other guest houses within the same area. These houses are treated quite different from the other FLW homes. These were houses that were mass produced during the time and are currently the only homes in which you can plan to stay in for a few days, if desired. These homes were originally designed by FLW, but he never saw them through so a lot of typical FLW details are lost within the execution of the homes.

But one thing that remained was his attention to seam details. FLW carefully placed seams that aligned from floor to wall to ceiling, from tiles to columns to joists, and continued this idea from interior to exterior; visually keeping the continuity between all planes in all directions. The second house we visited clearly made this visible. Off of the main Living Room was an indoor porch that cantilevered into the woods. Everywhere you looked, whether it was inside or outside this room, followed this vernacular.

The last house we visited had one other unique FLW detail that remained. Each bedroom had an extra door that granted easy access to the exterior. Again, he allows the occupants to be immersed in nature as often as possible. FLW made sure to show off Mother Nature at every opportunity he could get.

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Disclaimer: As you may have noticed, this post did not include the Roma Girls. Although, they were in my mind and heart as I journeyed through FLW's lands.

Most photos are not mine and were taken by my dear friend, Marco. Please follow him on Instagram and check his stuff out 'cuz he's one talented fellow!

The 'Gram: @marcopenajoia

Website: http://www.marcopenajoia.com/

Hooray to country #12! Gotta start speeding up this process. Time is ticking!

Anyhow, I hope everyone had a safe MDW, the unofficial start to summer! The #Romagirls and I spent it in Montreal, Quebec that weekend. And wow, I cannot believe it took me 28 years to travel across that border. Canada is a hidden jem amongst the rocks. Never thought I'd be so in love with Canada as much as I am now. I'd even consider moving there.. but only during the summer months, of course.

Canada is only about a 6-6.5 hour drive from NYC, so we decided to take a road trip instead of flying up there. What we paid for our apartment and gas money didn't even amount to half the price of a plane ticket. All we needed for the ride was our 90s playlist along with some Girl Scout Samoas, and we were ready to hit the road.

The drive there was actually pretty easy. Just a straight shot up Route 87, and you'd hit the border. On the way up there, the scenery was surprisingly eye catching: greenery everywhere with part of the mountain tops way up in the clouds. It was a bit rainy on the way up but the rest of the weekend was clear, sunny, and WARM. The weather def worked in our favor that weekend. It only rained before and after we left Montreal.

We got to Montreal around 11pm, Friday night, dropped off our things at our apartment and took a walk down St. Paul's to find some grub. Our place was right in the heart of downtown, so it was only about a 10 minute walk. We ended up at Mechant Boeuf Bar-Brasserie and had our first taste of poutine! Finally! Perfect way to end the day and KO.

The next day, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and our tummies were growling. First, we went to Olive & Gourmando to grab some breakfast. There was a bit of a wait, so we decided to knock out some of the touristy tingz near by. The Basilique Notre-Dame and City Hall was a 10 minute walk from where we were so we decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and check it off the list. We passed by a few shops and I got a $875 Canada Goose jacket for only $650. Yup, I got a Canada Goose jacket in Canada, and for wayyyy less than what others usually pay for. Good find, Bernie. 👌🏽  Once we got called for our table, we jetted back and got our brunch on. I had this sandwich called egg in your face with a golden ice tea.

We started our adventures at the Habitat 67. I tried to call to schedule a viewing of the interiors but unfortunately, there were no openings until the end of June. Regardless, we made use of the time we had there. Olga and Alyshia got scolded in French by the security guard who basically told us to GTFO cuz we weren't residents. But dude, have you seen this crazy building?! Who wouldn't take pictures of such an ironically built 2nd year studio project? (To my archie friends, am I right? Or am I right?)

As crazy as we are, we decided to walk across a 1.5 mile bridge to get to Parc Jean-Drapeau which was on its own little island. There were no guardrails to separate us from traffic and the majority of the moth population in the world resided on this specific bridge, I kid you not. When we got to the end of the bridge, there wasn't a sidewalk to continue our journey. So we did what any logical group of friends would do. We ran across the bridge like NBD. Talk about taking risks when 5 cars (and buses) start charging at you.. it's either now or never and so, I said "fuck it, NOW". And of course, my friends followed me. We roamed around, found our way to the Biosphere by Buckminster Fuller and ended our walk at an art sculpture that stood tall at the island's waterfront which overlooked Montreal's skyline.

We took an Uber back down to Little Burgundy. Grabbed a drink at Drinkerie and then made our way back up St.Catherine Street. I'm still trying to figure out the neighborhoods of Montreal. Everything is kind of scattered. For instance, the southern part of St.Catherine is what I would consider the financial district of Montreal. And that's where we started, right by Westmount Square which is Mies Van Der Rohe's office building, very similar to the Seagrams Building in NYC. As you make your way up north, you enter Asia Town (couldn't call it Chinatown or KTown since literally every other restaurant was a different type of Asian cuisine). A few blocks up, and you found yourself in Herald's Square with all the typical shops you can find down 34th St. We passed by a Saq, bought ourselves some wine and sparkling wine (cuz we fancy and we celebrate once someone finishes paying off their loans). Then, briefly passed by the Reso to check out the underground city. We headed back to our apartment to drop off our purchases and went straight to dinner.

Btw, all recommended places to eat in Montreal WILL have a line. Just warning you ahead of time cuz you will need to get comfortable with waiting, which I usually am not. But, it is DEFINITELY worth every minute. We first were suppose to eat at Mangiafoco but there was no way we were getting in. I'm pretty sure it was reservation only and we didn't even think to make dinner reservations anywhere. We ended up at Robin Square and thankfully so. Hands down, the best food in all of Montreal! Still dreaming about it today. We shared 3 dishes, family style: the mac and cheese, the beef shoulder, and the pork belly. And they gave us a complimentary dessert dish as well. And we also made a new friend, Sylvia, the boss woman of the restaurant. She was awesome! Super bubbly and lots of fun (just like me!). She invited us out to a free beach club event the next day, but with the limited time we had, we couldn't join.. but would've loved to with the locals, if circumstances were different. Afterwards, we ended up walking down to St. Laurent where all the bars, clubs, strips clubs, were. Had a few beers and then called it a night.

The following day, we ended up grabbing brunch at St. Viatuer Bagel & Cafe. Everyone kept telling us we gotta have a Montreal bagel, and so we did. It was ok... NY bagels are better 😉  but it was still delish, none the less. After brunch, we went to Parc du Mont-Royal since it was literally around the corner from the bagel restaurant. We lucked out and didn't have to pay for parking. When we were trying to buy a ticket, someone gave us there's which still had an 1-1/2 hour time still on it (I swear everyone in Montreal is so nice, and not like fake nice. Like legit nice nice). We took the hike up to the top of Mont Royal which overlooked the entire city and then made our way to the Mont Royal Cross. Both great sites; both places you must see when you come out to Montreal.

Then we decided to do a little shopping. We stoped by a flea market and then went to La Banquise for the infamous poutine. Got some gelato (cuz I'm addicted to ice cream!) and then grabbed some dinner to bring home. We wanted to have a chill night so we ended it sipping on our wine and chowing down on some arepas. Also tried to take the party to the rooftop which overlooked most of downtown Montreal. We had a jacuzzi too, but we weren't the only ones who wanted to party on the rooftop (besides the moths). So we went to explore the rest of the building instead. We found a small gym but that was about it for the amenities. I would probably stay in another Sonder. It was a better experience than a hostel, for sure. See link below for images of our place.

Hotel Motel Holiday Innnnn

The next day was a bit rainy. We tried to grab brunch at L’avenue but that line was ridic. So we went to try and go for Faberge but same deal. So we found ourselves at the Art Cafe, about 3 blocks from Faberge and with NO line. Had a really good eggs Benedict and then went vintage shopping to walk off all of that fat we consumed.

On the way back, Customs was ridic! Def try and leave before the crowd comes. Otherwise, you'll be stuck at Customs for hours! Although, I did find a small loophole. Advice: just don’t follow the crowd. Use all lanes. Trust.

I leave you here with a video and some pictures for you to enjoy!

[embed]https://youtu.be/sDvTEE75oIU[/embed]

The hipster nation of the world. The birthplace of the iconic Bauhaus (and beer..duh!). And the beginning to the end of our EuroTrip '16.

Before we dive into the historical and architectural beauty of Berlin, let's talk about the Tesla that pulled up to the scene with the ceiling missing. I'm not quite sure as to how we were able to get a Tesla as a taxi to scoop us up to the airport, but it was fun to run through Euro with my woes. Only in Europe can you find Teslas, BMWs, and Mercedes Bens as taxis. No big deal.

Anyhow, we arrived in Berlin pretty late and went straight to our hostel that was filled with teenagers. The grandma in me came out, not going to lie. These kids were loud and all I wanted was a night cap and some sleep. That's how you know I'm getting old.

When I first started traveling, I was still in college. So it made sense to spend $40/night in a place where you'd meet other young adults your age who were just like you, searching for adventure. When we traveled to Barcelona and Paris, we picked the cheapest rooms which meant a few things: you stuffed all your belongings in a teeny tiny locker every night, slept with strangers next to you and dealt with the bloody awful communal bathroom situations, which pretty much sums up your college dorm experience. But we would stay out all day and only went back to the hostel to sleep and shower, so it made sense to stay since it was all we could afford at the time.

Paris had these individual stalls with closed doors (a step up from the communal bathrooms), but they had those push knobs for faucets so you'd have to have one hand on the knob to allow the water to run continuously and the other hand with soap, washing yourself. Good times, good times. But if you find a hostel with the right price and your own private bathroom IN YOUR ROOM, you're golden.

We stayed at the Generator (https://generatorhostels.com/) in both Amsterdam and Berlin. Since we usually travel in a group of 4, hostel/hotel rooms are an easy find and we split the cost evenly. Our room in Amsterdam was actually quite nice. But our room in Berlin was a deal breaker. Our bathroom was like those bathrooms on cruise ships: cramped and smelled like recycled airplane air. It wasn't ideal, but I guess it was better than communal bathrooms. But honestly, spending those extra few bucks to stay in a hotel is worth it. TRUST.

Out of all 3 countries, Germany was one hard city to navigate. Not everyone spoke English and not all the signs were translated. So we spent a lot of time just trying to figure out our way around. We stayed in the Prenzlauer Berg area of Berlin and decided to just walk the city to appreciate all the graffiti and art history that Germany had to offer us. We walked over to Winsviertel, where there were several little cute and quaint shops and cafes to grab some breakfast. Many of the restaurants had seating outside, which we didn't take advantage of since a common problem (to us, at least) seemed to be the buzzing bees that surrounded each and EVERY corner of where food was served. But unlike us, it didn't seem to bother a lot of the locals.

After breakfast, we took a bus through Tiergarten, the city center, and ended up at the Bikini Berlin shopping center in Charlottenburg where I got car sick. What a memory, right? I remember feeling super uneasy. Let's just say I left my mark on the streets of Berlin. Once I took a breather and felt better, we made our way to the rooftop that overlooked the Zoo Berlin next door. We decided to walk through the neighborhood and found our way to the Bauhaus museum of Archives where we could appreciate drawings, furniture, and sculptures done and directed by some of Germany's greatest starchitects and designers of all time such as Mies, Gropius, and Meyer. We tried to see the Neue Nationalgalerie by Mies, but unfortunately, it was closed and ended our night at the Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind, one of the most controversial landmarks in living history. Both its physical walls and what inhabits it hold more political and historical power than words can explain.

 

By the second day, we sort of figured out how to use the trains. We hopped onto the train to take it across town to see the Berlin Wall. There were no turnstiles or people who checked to see if you bought a ticket to ride the train or not. It was a bit striking to see how trusting the Germans were. Heck, there were people walking around the streets without shoes who were clearly not homeless and they whole heartedly believe in not wearing shoes. How trusting of you to not worry about stepping on dog's feces, broken glass or sidewalk piss. For real, that's what you can call trust, not ratchet at that point.

The Berlin Wall was an iconic piece of standing artwork. Both sides were filled with colorful strokes of paint. Each graffiti piece telling a significant story that was frozen in time. The past, present, and future of Germany were scribed into this 28-mile long double sided wall.

The last thing on our agenda was to take a beer tasting trip around Berlin. Our beer guide took us all over the city to several bars and biergartens. Getting full off of beer was the best way to end our 10-day Euro trip! Take a deeper look into our Berlin experience below!

[embed]https://youtu.be/eE-8c5Kaa74[/embed]  

Side Note: See what I did there? In honor of Kendrick Lamar’s FIRE album, I had to dedicate this post to him. DAMN. AmsterDAMN, to be exact - the city of cyclists, canals, and coffee shops. We landed about mid-afternoon in Amsterdam and spent the rest of the day walking and crossing bridge, after bridge, after bridge. We decided to just explore and wander the local streets without a specific destination. I usually like to plan the day, but we thought why not just wing it and get lost? How often does life allow you to get lost, on purpose? Not many. So why not take advantage of it? There’s always something waiting to be discovered. Anyway, it was not very hard to get lost since Amsterdam is not set up like New York City's grid. Amsterdam is built around several concentric half circles that formed the current canal system. So after crossing 1 or 2 bridges, everything kind of starts to look the same (in an ironically, beautiful way). It was easy to lose track of how many canals you crossed. And before you knew it, you were almost half way across the city, running into sex shops at the Red Light District. Between the charming vintage cars and the roaming romantic gondolas, Amsterdam was definitely a city full of excitement and pleasure - both for the lovers and the lusters.. and especially for the travelers. We ventured for frites (cuz you know your girl loves potatoes in any shape or form!) and landed ourselves at the Original Dampkring coffee shop. The interior was something straight out of the psychedelic 70s in which Bohemian Buddha was our host for the night. And well, amongst other things, we can just say that we had a great night. :) The next day, we decided to live like the locals and cruise around. I was told that there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam, and I totally believe it! Here, you get cut off by cyclists, not taxi drivers. And if you can’t keep up, it’s easy to lose your friends amongst the flock.. The Roma Girls know, firsthand. We rented bikes from our hostel and rode to Rijksmuseum. Rijksmuseum stands proud amongst the 3 main museums in that area. And you can actually ride through it to get to the other side. We made it a requirement to celebrate the art and history of the Dutch, so hitting up Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Rembrandt House Museum was nothing short of perfection to get our Art History fix on. Let’s take a look back at that sweet, sweet Dutch life.

I cannot emphasize enough how beautiful Iceland is. From the city center to the outskirts of the country side, there is not one part of Iceland that isn’t fascinating. At times, it felt like we were traveling on another planet. I would like to imagine that Neptune looks alot like Iceland. The open roads were accompanied by moss covered rocks that appeared to reach the sky, at times. Every twist and turn of a road led to unravel new scenery. It was an endless surprise of breathtaking views.. and wandering herds of sheep, lots and lots of sheep. Iceland offers many different tours to explore its land. But instead of attending the tours, we decided to rent a car ourselves and pick our own destinations. We took the southern route for our 3-day adventure. Our first stop was Kerio, a volcano crater lake. We hiked the trail that wrapped around the outskirt of the lake and led us down into the crater. Our next stop was Keldur, a small, quaint, historical place of farmland and preserved turf houses. Most of our destinations all branched off of Route 1 so we decided to just follow the main route all the way down to the Black Sand Beach at Vik. We made a few stops along the way, including the Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano and then made our way to our ‘guesthouse’ for the night. We started our 2nd day climbing up the Skogafoss Waterfall, roaming around the Solheimajokull Glacier and hiking to the world’s end to find the Seljavallalaug Hot Springs. We were staying at someone’s AirBnB in Reykjavik that night, so we decided to drive early into the city so we would have time to explore. Hallgrimskirkja stood right outside our windows. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the interior but was able to see this beauty from the outside. We wandered the city’s streets and actually saw the Northern Lights for a quick second. We ended up at a resturant where we ate Puffin (yes, I know. You’re probably thinking we are INSANE to eat this cute, little thing, but we wanted to eat something different). I was told that hot dogs from the street stands were BOMB and man, were they right! When in Iceland, you must hot dog! On the 3rd day, we spent the morning at the Blue Lagoon. We then headed up to the Golden Circle to see the Gullfoss Falls, Thingvellier National Park and the Geysir Hot Spring Area. This was pretty much our Icelandic adventures in a nutshell. Please click on the video below to see more! Enjoy!