The video my students made me from Spain. Prepare for tears. Love them so much!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1z-rx2UYuA

Finally home.

Well, I am finally home. I have been home now for nearly two weeks. Life has been so hectic I haven't been able to blog! The day I got home my sister came into town from Phoenix, Arizona so I spent most of my time with her.  Saturday I graduated college! Yes, I finally graduated! Sure it took me 6 years but I am so proud of myself! I paid for everything alone all 6 of those years. I had an interview last Tuesday at Potter Gray where I just finished my student-teaching! I don't know what will come next for me in life! I am not sure if I will continue traveling or if I will try to get a job in the Bowling Green or Warren County area. All I know is that my adventure abroad was the most AMAZING experience of my life! Also, in my interview the standards board wanted to know all about my trip! It truly makes you a better teaching candidate and it is the experience of a lifetime.


Go. Live. Dare to Dream. Succeed.

La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell.

Please watch my YouTube picture video. This video is a collection of photos and music from my travels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9uoH4vYCo

London! 🇬🇧

Wow, London was AMAZING! We were at Buckingham Palace when they announced the BIRTH of the ROYAL baby! We even saw the easel outside announcing her birth! Everything in London is lit up and illuminated in pink, even the London Bridge. Paparazzi fill the streets! How amazing; can you believe we just decided to travel to London on the day that royalty was born?! 

London was truly a MAGICAL experience! I will definitely visit London again. The food in London was PHENOMENAL! I am now obsessed with roast and fish and chips! Mmmm Mmmm! The food in Spain is good too, but the food here reminded me a bit of my favorite food at home! 

We stayed with a girl named Polly and her wonderful family. Polly is a free spirit like I am and she was able to show us ALL around London in 2 days! We literally saw everything there is to see! I am so happy we were able to stay with a local! Her family cooked us an amazing Sunday roast on our last day in London. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I think Polly and I will stay friends. I am so excited to have a friend now in London that will make going back to visit so easy! 

Also, I am a HARRY POTTER fanatic! I was able to see platform 9&3/4 YES that is right! I was able to live out one of my nerd dreams!!!! If you travel abroad, PLEASE go to London! I promise you, you'll LOVE it! :)   

Here is the house we stayed in! 

The London Eye 

Daily thoughts.

After this trip, sometimes I truly wonder if staying in Kentucky is meant for me... I do not want to leave in a week. This has been the greatest and most thrilling adventure of my life. I haven't felt alive until I came here.

Colosseum and Roman Forum

Last weekend I traveled to Rome, Italy. I have already posted once about the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican City in Rome. It was phenomenal. However, I have not yet blogged about my experience at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. 

The Colosseum: This name appeared for the first time in a famous prophecy of the medieval monk Venerable Beda: “Rome will exist as long as the Colosseum does; when the Colosseum falls so will Rome; when Rome falls so will the world." 


As I stepped foot off of the tour bus the first thing I saw was the Arch of Constantine. This triumphal arch is an amazing entry way to the Roman Forum. Inside the arch are reliefs of Trajan's victory over the Dacians. The archway was the first thing we saw of many awe inspiring monuments. 

My attention was then drawn to the Colosseum, in all its bright and historical glory.  The Colossuem is one of the most inspiring structures I have ever laid my eyes upon. I just remember closing my eyes after soaking in the astonishing splendor of it all. I imagined learning about the Colosseum when I was in grade school. I remember learning about the gladiators who lost their lives in the arena. I closed my eyes and imagined the trumpets sounding, the crowd rising to their feet in gleeful cheer and stomping their feet while the gladiators paraded around the arena like heroes. I imagined the Colosseum in all its grandeur, with white stone walls filled with spectators. It was a humbling experience, I was standing on ground once soiled by blood where history was made. It truly is a feeling I cannot describe, the magnificence of it all is more than I can put into words. This entire adventure has been moving. While walking around the Roman ruins I felt as though I was present in the bible times. Growing up reading about the Romans and the letters to the Romans I could distinctly imagine the forum bustling with people walking about the gardens and the city. 

The Bible records a number of ancient civilizations however, the most famous of these is ancient Rome. By the time the New Testament Rome was the major world power. Jesus was born and crucified during the reign of Roman emperors. The book of Acts even records specific events about Rome. True facts are somewhat shrouded in the mists of time; yet while I walked around the Roman ruins I felt the realness of it all. The impact of the Romans on the gospel is apparent right from the beginning of the gospels in the Bible. Walking around the ruins helped me to imagine the world in which Jesus lived. Once again, my eyes filled with tears and my body was covered with chills. Now, it has been said that Christians were killed and crucified in the Colosseum, I do not know what is true but just the thought of it chilled me to the bone and made the whole experience ETHEREAL. 

If history means anything to you, believe me...the Colosseum and Roman Forum is a place you NEED to travel. 

When I had my eyes open it felt as though I was walking through the skeleton of Ancient Rome as a ghost viewing the city through misty eyes. Yet, when I closed my eyes I could clearly see the colosseum and forum in all its glory, gory and majesty. 

The Vatican & Sistine Chapel.

As I stepped foot off of the airplane, I knew that I was in for the adventure of a lifetime. Four of my fellow colleagues and I took a shuttle from the airport in Rome to the hotel we were to stay at, Hotel Florida. When we arrived at the hotel, I felt as though I was in an old time movie. The hotel was a four story walk up hotel located in a shopping strip at the heart of Rome. To the right of our hotel was a Michael Kors store and to the left was another high end Italian clothing store. The hotel had italian charm and was located on a cobblestone street. The hotel room had large bay windows that you could open up and see the city or the courtyard in the center of the hotel. It was just like a dream! We arrived to Rome late in the evening on Friday. I decided to venture out past the hotel! I convinced two of the girls to adventure with me. We found a Gelatto shop that was still open, the only store open in the whole area! We were so excited for it was 1 in the morning and we were hungry. We enjoyed our ice cream on our walk back to the hotel. I knew as soon as I arrived, Rome was a city I would cherish forever. 

The next morning we made our walk to the Vatican City. The smell of sweet grapes, wine and coffee filled the air. The streets were bustling with tourists and peddlers trying to make money. We stood in the line for the Vatican for an hour and a half. The Vatican is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It is considered an individual state in Rome. It is said to be the smallest country in the world and a city-state as well. The Vatican serves as the home of the Pope who is head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican is also the site of St. Peters Basilica, a large beautiful building encircled with walls and statues. 

My personal favorite portion of the Vatican was the world-famous Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is without a doubt one of the greatest art treasures of all time, and I of all people was given the opportunity to view the Chapel and the artwork first hand. The Sistine Chapel was the last stop on the Vatican Museum tour. The tour was amazing, every ceiling, wall and floor was decorated with the most beautiful paintings and mosaics. I have never seen anything quite so astonishing. As soon as I walked into the museum I stood in awe while the other girls walked ahead. Tears filled my eyes in every room, I was constantly reminded how lucky and how blessed I was to be standing in the Vatican, the home of art and history. I couldn't help but think about my parents and all the other people in the world who would never see such beauty in their lifetime. It was a truly humbling experience. It was also an emotional experience for me. I realized while I was standing looking up at the ceilings just how blessed I truly am to be on this trip of a lifetime. As we walked through the museum the anticipation heightened. Every step was one step closer to seeing Michelangelo's work the Sistine Chapel. This is something I have learned about in my history books for my entire life, and here I was a little Auburn girl about to see history and famous art with my own eyes. 

Let me tell you, the Sistine Chapel didn't disappoint. I have never experienced something so heart-stopping in my entire life. I literally just stood in the center of the room with my eyes on the ceiling and my mouth opened wide, awe-stricken. The room is completely overwhelming. One could spend an entire day in that room and never even see all of the works of art. Every character in the painting is magical, telling a particular story of the Bible. While looking at the ceiling I remembered learning about Genesis as a child; I could vividly see the 9 scenes of Genesis jumping off the ceiling and off of the walls into my imagination and into my mind. I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life, it was truly heart-stirring and spine-tingling. The over feeling I received when I walked into the room was a feeling like I have never felt before. Tears filled my eyes once again when I laid my eyes upon the altar and the "Last Judgement." It reminded me that this life is fleeting. We only have one life to live, so we have to make it the best life possible. The scene was a moving experience, I realized at that moment that this wouldn't be my last trip to the Sistine Chapel. 

I wish everyone could experience what I experienced when I was in the chapel looking up at the paintings. It is something everyone should experience once in their lifetime, it is humbling and awe-inspiring. I hope that this blog helps to paint a mental image for you of how magnificent the Sistine Chapel truly is. I am blessed. 

Pictures from Rome, Italy.

Leaving for Rome after school!

I am so excited!!! Emily, Katie, Brianna, Erin and I will be leaving for Rome, Italy tonight! I am SO excited. It hasn't completely hit me yet that tonight I will be in Rome! We will take a flight there, then a shuttle to our hotel! We will arrive at 11 pm this evening! I hope to get there in time to still grab a Slice of pizza or something yummy! Well I will keep you all posted! Until then, it's a lovely day at St. Paul's!!!

Rice, squid, squid ink... Oh my!

My favorite food here so far is paella! Delicious rice with seafood (squid or octopus) with cheese, and squid ink. I kid you not, black squid ink... It is delicious!!! 

Have a nice day...

This guy is...

I just love how carefree people here in Spain are! 

Happy Sant Jordi's Day!!!

Here in Spain everyone celebrates a lovely holiday called Sant Jordi's Day. This is a day filled with love! It is much bigger than our Valentine's Day. Here in Barcelona there are thousands of book stands and flower stands selling roses. 

The story says that once long ago in Spain there lived a terrible dragon. Each day he was fed cattle, when all of the cattle had ran out they began feeding the dragon townspeople. These people were drawn out of a hat at random. 

One day, they drew the name of the princess. She had to go to the dragon and Sant Jordi (George) came to her rescue and slayed the dragon. From the blood there grew a rose and he gave the princess the rose. 

Now days the men in Spain give the women roses on Sant Jordi and the women give men books. They celebrate love and literature on this day. 

So far today I have received 3 roses! It's been a lovely first Sant Jordi's Day for me!!!!