Greece 2016 // Corinth, Mycenae, Dimitsana

Day 3
Our first day on the road in Greece, we wanted to get a good start on the day, so we woke up at 6:30AM, and after a short (but sweet) breakfast on our balcony, we headed to the car, cranked the local station of traditional Greek music, and began making our way to Ancient Corinth.
It wasn't long before we arrived, and first made our way to the museum which although much smaller than the Acropolis Museum in Athens, was very impressive with quite a lot of statues and other artifacts. Although still relatively early, by the time we began exploring the ruins it was already sweltering. Still, we spent around an hour walking around, and taking in what was left from a time long ago.

Greece 2016 // Athens

Now in full swing of summer, I am finally writing on the blog again, and currently back in Austria visiting family. About a week ago, I returned from a six day trip to Greece I had taken with my parents and cousin. Originally I had been unsure of whether or not I wanted to do a blog post on the trip; in the end I figured the trip was so wonderful that I should share the experience. If you happen to be going to Greece soon, or are wanting to take a trip this sometime in the future, maybe this can give you some inspiration for some places to see. Our journey started in Athens, and we took a rented car throughout the Peloponnese taking in as much as possible in what felt like an extremely short trip!

Day 1
We flew into Athens on June 25th, arriving at 2:30 PM local time. We were shuttled to the car rental place, where we picked up a little white Nissan, plugged in the GPS, and began our drive to Athens. As we entered the city I was immediately taken with the feel of the streets; before arriving I didn't really know what to expect from Athens. It was so unlike other European cities I had visited. Narrow streets were crowded on both sides by lined up cars and plethoras of motorbikes constantly whizzed by our car, trying to get ahead of the traffic. Buildings looked slightly dilapidated, and graffiti was scrawled all over the place... but they were also painted in cheerful colors with plants overflowing on balconies, making the streets appear homey and well lived in.

10 Texts I'm Glad I Read During High School

Around Christmas break, I got the idea to write a post about texts I am glad to have read during high school. I had my last day of high school (ever!) last Friday, and it is incredible to think that a portion of my life has now come to a close. Although I have always really enjoyed English class, this year has been especially influential for me. I am a firm believer that having a passionate teacher can have a huge impact on what you take away from the class, and this is why I hold teachers with such high regard. My English teacher this past year was absolutely phenomenal, and I am very thankful for having learned a lot from her. I think the most important thing she taught me is simply to love reading, because it is how people (of any race, color, age, gender, etc.) can share their stories. Not only this, but all stories are connected and come together to create the one larger story which relays the human condition.

Any time you read, always have the question 'What does it mean to be human?' running through your head. A good book––no matter what genre or style––should answer this question in some way! There are a surplus of wonderful books in the world, and I look forward to reading many more (and I already have a good list going for summer). However, for the purpose of this post, I condensed things to ten books that had an impact on me during my high school years. I would absolutely recommend people to read all of these books, and if you have any suggestions for me, I would love to hear about them in either an email or in the comments!

A New Outlook of Life: Jumping in the Lake

Within the last couple of weeks, Spring has finally reached Pennsylvania. Currently I am sitting in the garden, with the sun pouring down on me, and birds are chirping all around. Each day seems to become more beautiful: flowers popping up, trees sprouting luscious green leaves, and the days become warmer and longer. The renewed feeling of Spring has made me appreciate each new day, and in general I have noticed a dramatic increase in my mood... Seeing the sun again after a long winter is a feeling like none other. Last weekend I was on a hike with a friend of mine, and I was telling her a story which became the backbone of a new philosophy I am taking on life... And I would like to share that story with you.

Every year my family goes up to the Adirondacks in New York to help friends of our open a cabin they have on a lake for the summer season. Essentially this means cleaning all the different cabins, making sure the water works, setting up the dock, etc. It's something we all look forward every year, because the Adirondacks are absolutely stunning; going up for a long Memorial day weekend is a great way to start off the summer vibe. Because Memorial day is in late may, you would think it would be really warm, but the air temperature is actually quite a bit cooler because of the elevation at their property. The cabin is right on a big lake, and jumping in the lake is extremely cold (as it has been frozen all winter). Normally we will all jump in the lake at least once on our last day, despite it being too cold to really swim. This past trip, however, it was particularly cold,and on the last day I ended up wimping out, and never jumped in the lake. I distinctly remember having been mad at myself for not jumping in, because it was another annoying example of my extreme indecisiveness.

Washington D.C. Travel Diary

Over the recent Easter break, my family and I drove down to Washington D.C. for three days. We had planned this trip back in January thinking that it would be a nice little get-away; little did we know it would be the ideal time to be in D.C. with cherry blossoms at their peak! To say the least, it was a pleasant surprise to find the entire city adorned in the delicate beauty of the pale pink flowers. The cherry blossoms also have a very sweet history, as they were a gift from Yukio Ozaki (previous mayor of Tokyo City) to the US, celebrating the growing friendship between the US and Japan. This gift has become a symbol in the capitol, which is celebrated annually with the national cherry blossom festival. So if you are planning a trip out to D.C. and don't know when to go, I would absolutely try to do it in early Spring. Because we were there for three days, I wanted to format this travel diary a little differently than others I have done, and just give my top recommendations (as opposed to a blow-by-blow of the trip). In terms of things to do, the majority of these are free, making this trip pretty inexpensive. I wasn't really sure what to expect of D.C. prior to the trip, but I can now say with certainty that I am already looking forward to my next trip back!

Marmorgugelhupf (Marble Bundt Cake)

As you may know, this today is the official first day of Spring! I am beyond excited for spring, and already here in Pennsylvania you can tell that we are moving out of winter. Although it is still quite cold, bright sun and blue skies are making more appearances, the grass is growing greener, the days are longer, and birds are happily chirping outside. One of the most exciting signs that spring is on it's way is little patches of snowdrops that are popping up. If you aren't familiar, snowdrops are little white flowers that bloom in very early Spring. When I was in England there was a garden estate where the snowdrops grew all over the place, and it became a magical place to see the first signs of warmer weather on it's way.

Although it is quite overcast today, I wanted to stay in the spirit of spring, so I wanted to share a recipe I think is perfect for spring and summer. The cake is made in a bundt pan, so it looks beautiful. The primary reason this cake is so nice for the warmer months of the year, is because it is very delicate and light, while still remaining extremely moist. The secret trick for getting this wonderful texture is separating the eggs, whipping the whites, and then gently folding the whipped whites into the rest of the batter at the end. This does become an extra step of work, but overall the cake is still very easy to make.

Our little patch of snowdrops!

San Francisco Travel Diary

Last week I was in California visiting my grandparents for spring break. They live in the Bay Area, and only about an hours drive from San Francisco, so we planned a day trip into the city. I have always loved the idea of San Francisco. At heart I'm fully an east-coast girl, but San Fran has always intrigued me. Maybe it's the picturesque pastel houses and the way you can gaze down the streets for miles. Or maybe it's the plethora of urban coffee shops in alternative/artsy neighborhoods. Whatever it may be, I was excited to be going back (as I have been there a number of times before). The difference with this trip was that I was making all the plans for the day, so the night before I got the map and marked out specific places I wanted to hit, as well as general districts which were must-sees.

I always like to see where I've been in cities using a 'map my distance' site; including bus rides, we went approximately 21 kilometers during our day in the city!