Livin’ Like A Local

Our contributing blogger Lisa explores what it means to travel like a local in Italy.

Photograph courtesy of Lisa Glover

I always knew I’d miss the days of living in Florence; the lifestyle we had of jet-setting to a different country almost every weekend, indulging in breads, pasta and gelato because the phrase “when will we ever get to live like this again?” was uttered almost daily. All of it. I knew I’d miss it, but I never realized how much I’d long for it. Crave it. There will always be opportunities for the big things – like traveling, learning a language, eating out at new restaurants. What I miss are the little things, like walking along the cobblestone paths and knowing that a little man would be playing the tunes of Andrea Bocelli on my walk home from night class. Or watching the sunset from our rooftop deck as we huddled with blankets and plates of pasta. I knew I’d miss the traveling, but I never realized how much I’d miss the little things that only a true local can appreciate.

Secret Gardens of New York City

When I think of New York City I think of the color green. Which is not how I saw the city on my first trip there. Then, it felt like all those gigantic buildings of glass and brick were looming over me, choking out the sky. I thought that the hurrying dark clothed masses would trample me to get to the next sidewalk. New York City seemed to perfectly fit my idea of Batman’s Gotham: dark and forbidding. If there was just a bit of green tucked away somewhere, I knew I could manage to find some peace in this urban jungle of metal and asphalt.

Shop, Drink, Eat… Repeat: Washington D.C.

Our contributing blogger, Lisa, explores the United States capital in her three-day excursion.

Washington D.C., specifically Georgetown, has captured my heart. Ranking as my favorite city in the United States, I find more things to love about it with each passing visit. While the city offers plenty of culture and historical significance, my post will focus on what we girls do best during getaway weekends: indulging in eating and shopping. It was a Friday afternoon when my friend Angela and I boarded the bus for Washington D.C., leaving New York behind, eager to soak up the weekend and relive our college “glory days.” Angela’s cousin, Emily is a senior at Georgetown, and acted as our tour guide for the entire weekend, introducing me to places I had never been to before.

Riding Waves

I have seen the films obsessively: “Endless Summer,” “Chasing Mavericks,” and “The Ultimate Wave.” I have driven down the California coast from Half Moon Bay to Huntington Beach, watching the black wetsuit clad figures as they ebb and flow with the swells. I have looked up the weather forecast for far away places like Jeffreys Bay and the Mentawai Islands to find out how high the breaks would be. I have never surfed, but it’s been an ever present nagging thought at the very back of my mind: what if I could ride the waves? Luckily, I live in a time where almost anything can be learned at any age, if you have the resources. So when I got the chance to plan a trip to Oahu, Hawaii, I let go of fear and booked myself a day lesson on surf’s Graceland: Waikiki Beach.