For some reason, this Basque Country, so close to the border of France is not bragged about constantly. After a year abroad and visiting beautiful places all over the world, this city makes the top 5 for sure. With a history of an industrial city, it’s hard to believe there is so much beauty. If you…
Month: May 2016
I Don’t Want To Go…
I have less than a week in Rome left, and as much as I would love to stop home and see everyone and do my summer traveling, the idea that I will not be returning to Rome, to my new home, seems unreal. However, I still have a few days left, so for this post…
Gardens of Ninfa
For the final excursion of my program, they took us on a day trip to the gardens at Ninfa. Ninfa used to be a city, but was destroyed sometime in the middle ages. In more modern times, its wealthy owners decided to use the ruins of the old city as a foundation for a garden….
The Best Excursion!
In mid-April, finally it was time for the ISA Rome excursion I had been looking forward to the most: Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii. Visiting Pompeii has been a dream of mine since I was a small child reading the Magic Treehouse series. The story of Pompeii was always my favorite, and as I’ve gotten older…
Spring Break
Over Spring Break I decided to visit some of my friends who were also studying abroad. This meant going to Athens and then Paris. While both are places I had hoped to visit during my time abroad, if I had not been intending on visiting anyone, I’m not sure if I would have done these…
Japan Food Diaries – Part 3 – The Best Ramen Shops (Plus Extras)
On my previous post, I talked about the basics of Ramen and in this I am going to present to you a list of the Ramen places I have been to (and remembered). Although I have problems with memorizing the actual name of the Ramen shops, here is a brief but adequate overview of the…
Japan Food Diaries – Part 2 – R.A.M.E.N
What does ramen mean to you? If you say it’s one of those things that come in packets that you add hot water to, my friend, I unfortunately have to make a revelation to you that it’s not! It is a completely different heavenly food made typically by Japanese masters who have perfected their cooking…
Japan Food Diaries – Part 1 – Dorm life, food life
Do you want to know my first and foremost reason for coming to Japan? It is food and yes I confess my gluttony. Culture, people, travel and diverse academics follows. Being one who likes to cook, and eat of course, Japan did not fail to disappoint my taste buds. I owe it to my dad…
The Bamboo Forest – Arashiyama, Kyoto
May 3, 2016 I have always heard about the bamboo grooves in Kyoto but, to my shame, never went there until now. I went there with my speaking partner, q couple of her friends and a couple of mine. By the way, Kansai Gaidai offers the Speaking Partner program where exchange students get paired up…
Osaka – The New-York close to Hirakata-shi
To be honest with you, I am not a big fan of big cities, but Osaka is an exception for sure. It lies about 20-40 minutes from Hirakata, depending on how deeper in the city you want to go. Kyobashi is, in my opinion, the closest stop. Sinshaibashi is where I hang out often since…