Through The Lens: Monte Bianco

Spent our last weekend in the mountain town of Courmayeur, located at the foot of Mont Blanc, or Monte Bianco in Italy! It was quiet and quaint, with a lot for visitors - including spa lodges, hiking, and outdoor sports. 

The Journey Home

The past few days have been a whirl-wind and travelling has made it difficult to update. We spent our last weekend in the Italian Alps, in a tiny mountain village called Courmayeur, located at the foot of Mont Blanc (or Monte Bianco as the Italians call it.) After a beautiful weekend there, we went home to Milan to pack! Tuesday morning we flew out of Italy and spent a long day flying, finally reaching my home outside of Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday evening. It is crazy to think that my trip is over. I do, however, feel like I was gone for a long time. I am happy to be home and I am ready to start the crazy and scary process of job hunting! Wish me luck........

Afternoon Lunch with Fresh Italian Specialties

In Italy my lunches in usually consist of fresh bread, cheeses, meats, fruit and wine. 

I prefer softer, more spreadable cheeses like mozzarella or brie. They are best spread on fresh bread with a drizzle of honey or mixed with some jam. I usually have fruit, such as an apple or peach with it as well. Sometimes we will make sandwiches with prosciutto or other cured meats to go with the cheese. Everything is so fresh and delicious. Its a simple lunch that I will never get tired of. 

Oh, and a crisp white or rose wine is a perfect pair for this light lunch!

Travel Tips: Renting through Airbnb

During the month that we have spent traveling in Italy, my family decided to try out the website Airbnb as an alternative to hotels. Overall, we had a very positive experience with this service. Since there are four of us, we usually rented a two bedroom apartment, which ended up being much cheaper than a hotel for 4 adults. Since we rented apartments rather than hotel rooms, it was definitely a less conventional way to travel and a bit of a learning process.

Here are some quick tips for renting through Airbnb when you travel.

Beauty: Secrets to Surviving a Sweltering City Summer

I've lived in Europe two summers in a row, and both times, have been so excited about the prospect of going away for the summer that I always forget one small detail............ Living in Europe during the summer also means living without AIR CONDITIONING.

Through the lens: An Italian Meal

We had a delicious Roman-style dinner at a restaurant in Milan for my best friend's birthday. Numerous courses, shared family style, outside with a beautiful view of the square and Roman ruins. It was a perfect summer evening meal.

Review: AirBnb.com

After the past few weeks of almost constant travel, I have felt the need to do something different from my previous posts and write a quick review on our experiences with the website AirBnb. 

For those who have not used Airbnb, it is kind of like Expedia or hotels.com, but for travelers who wish to rent from private owners and avoid hotels. Basically its a service that connects travelers all over the world to people renting out their extra living space. It is geared towards travelers who are on a budget, and it is possible to rent anything from a bed or single room to an entire apartment. Most places can be rented anywhere from a night to a week or longer, and is usually cheaper than staying in a hotel.

Through the Lens: Lago Maggiore

While our college friends were visiting, we took a day trip to the lake town of Stresa, located on Lago Maggiore. 

It was beautiful there, a quiet town on the lake. We even took the boat to visit a few of the island towns that dot the lake's center. 

Through the Lens: Rome, Italy

Rainy Roma and Stairways to Heaven

We left Sorrento early Tuesday morning and headed back up north to Rome. I am the only one out of my family who has not been there, so I was excited for them to show me the city. We got to our little apartment, through the strangest door and up 4 flights of winding stairs, in the early afternoon. Its located close to the river, and not far from the Vatican and Colosseum. My dad picked it for its central location, which made it super convenient to walk around. We walked a lot around the city, last night and today. I can't believe how twisted and confusing the streets are... I was able to get my bearings on the main roads but the little streets make it easy to get turned around.

The city is lively and full of tourists. I got to see most of the major sites, but its been a quick visit. It turned out that our apartment was located in the exact area of a huge nightlife spot. Throngs of people, mostly Italians under 30 and college students from all over, would come over the bridge to the many bars and restaurants that are all around our building's square and tiny streets once the sun starts to set. I am constantly amazed with the nightlife during the week.... there are so many people out at night, no matter what night of the week.

It rained a little both afternoons, but they were quick storms and didn't hinder our travels.

Vesuvious and Lemon Fever

My family packed up at the last moment on Friday and headed south from our apartment in Milan. We spent a night in a small castle town, Montepulciano, and then stopped in Sorrento for three nights. Sorrento is a beautiful coastal town outside of Naples and across the bay from Pompei. They are famous for their lemons, and the groves go on for miles up the cliffs of the mountains. From the shores of Sorrento you can see Mount Vesuvious, grey and quiet in the distance and rather indistinct from the other mountains and cliffs that surround the coast.

The food here has been (predictably) excellent. That is one of the many reasons I love eating in Italy. Even in the touristy towns and areas you can still find good food. The best is a little bit harder to find, of course, but I have yet to have a bad meal here.

Of my many, many food obsessions, one of my top top favorites happens to be fish and seafood. Therefore, whenever I am visiting a beach, no matter where in the world, I feel morally obligated to eat some form seafood at every meal. It's just so fresh, why any one would order anything else while sitting and looking at the beautiful ocean is beyond me.

Tonight was our last night in Sorrento, and I ate accordingly. We split an antipasto with cheese, meats, and pickled fish and grilled cold veggies. I panicked when ordering because I can never make hasty decisions and I ordered the fried mixed fish (you never know quite what that will be until it comes to you) and a simple primi pasta of spaghetti pomodoro, just to be safe.

When my meal got to the table, I was glad I played it safe. I had a selection of fried whole fish and some calamari thrown in too. I have never experienced eating a whole fish before, so it was a new experience to check off the list. I didn't mind the fact that they were whole, but my fish were small so picking out the tiny bones became timely and a little arduous. And I don't think I'll ever fully get over having my dinner stare at me while I'm eating it.

The fish was, however, extremely fresh and cooked perfectly. I liked the taste and flavor but it was definitely work. The pasta was also amazing. I usually avoid boring old spaghetti in restaurants because, well, I can make it at home!! But the menu was limited and I didn't regret my decision. The sauce was extremely flavorful and light, it had a lot of olive oil and some cherry tomatoes thrown in for texture.  Overall, simple and delicious.

A Flurry of Friends

After our first week in Milan, the excitement started picking up. My best friend from college flew out to stay with us for the week as a graduation gift from her parents. Immediately after she arrived, we headed to France for the weekend to spend the weekend at the beach (see my post on Nice and pictures of the trip). We came back Monday morning, and that night my sister's friend from college came to visit for a few days as well. We planned busy days so that Sarah and Emily could get the most out of their short visit. We spent Tuesday visiting the lake town of Stresa, and Emily's birthday was on Wednesday so we went shopping around Milan and went out for a big dinner at a Roman-style restaurant. Thursday we went to the Italian amusement park, called Gardaland. Then the girls had to leave, fly back out Friday morning, and we (my family and I) headed out in the afternoon for a week of traveling, to Montepulciano, Sorrento, and then Rome.

Through the Lens: Milan, Italy

Photos from my first week in Milan. To read more about it, click here.

To see even more photos, check out my Flickr!

Milanese Living

I've decided to to a few retrospective posts to catch up on everything that has been going on since graduation. The first week in Italy was spent mainly in our apartment in Milan, spending time sightseeing, enjoying amazing cheese, and lots of wine.

Heading to Milan wasn't a completely random decision.. My parents moved to Italy temporarily for my dad's work in January 2013. My sister and I were unable to come with them, since we were both still at school, so we had to wait until we had finished with our semesters to visit them.

The first week in Milan was definitely relaxing. As I mentioned before, life this year has been pretty hectic, so  by the time we made it to Italy I was ready for a bit of a break. The amazing thing about spending a significant amount of time traveling (I am here for a full month) is that you can pace yourself, and you don't feel like you have to do as much touristy things as possible in a short amount of time.

My dad is at work all day so our days the first week passed by pleasantly. Mornings would consist of a breakfast of fresh fruit, bread, and cheese from the market that my mom would pick up before I woke up. Then we would set out to explore the city. Since my mom has been here since January, she has gotten to explore a lot and has wanted to take us to all of her favorite places. We did a lot of shopping, as well as pastry and pizza eating!

I've eaten so much cheese since arriving, but everything is so amazing it never feels like too much!

Through the Lens: Nice, France

To read about my experience in Nice, read this post

Check out more of my photography on Flickr