My Roaring Twenties

Yesterday, I celebrated my twentieth birthday. I have entered my twenties, and I could not be more excited.

In a way, I'm a little intimidated. When I think upon my teenage years, I find myself disappointed in ways that I squandered time, in certain years that were wasted on trivial concerns. But I also am encouraged by how much I have grown and by the time that was not, in fact, wasted. I am encouraged when I reflect upon the knowledge I have gained, the relationships I have cultivated, and the dreams and goals I have pursued.  

With this birthday, I greatly anticipate this next year of life. I anticipate an amazing new decade with which to accomplish so much more! And it is with this idea that I've crafted a set of 20 things I want to do in my 20's, some of them trivial, some of them not. But this post is, essentially, a way for me to celebrate my entrance into a brand new stage of life. A new "Time", if you will. 

20 things I want to do in my 20's

 1. Entertain. 

Host dinner parties, be hospitable, share my time with others. 

2. Wear ridiculous clothing.

After your twenties, it's not as excusable to wear polka dot pants and absurdly high heels.

3. Find my signature cocktail. 

Something I can serve at dinner parties. 

4. Become a wine expert. 

My first two months of my twenties are being spent in Italy, after all. 

5. Fall in Love. 

Commited Love. Unconditional. 

6. Travel. 

See something new every year. See the world! 

7. Go on a missions trip. 

Share as much love as I've so graciously been given. 

8. Gain fluency in another language

Or two...

9. Start an independent study every year. 

There's so much to learn.

10. Write something. 

A novel, a column, a journal, a short story or a system of essays.

11. Land a solid, paid performance.

Perform as much as possible. Anywhere, everywhere. 

12. Obtain my Master's. 

Finishing my Bachelor's would be good, too. 

13. Buy a piano.

An old, rustic upright piano would be ideal. 

14. Dig deeper. 

I desire to stretch my mind in every way possible, learning to more fully understand different opinions. 

15. Support an organization I believe in. 

Raise awareness for something I'm passionate about. 

16. Dwell in possibility.
Read the classics. 

17. Discover my heritage.

(And what it means to me.) 

18.  Get an "adult" job.

 Something I love that pays the bills.

19. Live fearlessly.

Take advantage of adventure. 

20. Love.

Love more fully than I ever have before.

Spring break, part three: Vienna, Austria.

My previous journey to York can be found here: England!

Traveling to Vienna was not the most pleasant experience. I was exhausted and sick. Departing York at 4:45a.m. I took a car, a train and two planes to the beautiful country of Austria. And I was thrilled to be there. Did I say that Paris was my favorite city? I may have found my home. Vienna is so cozy. I absolutely fell in love with the city. And I got to speak German while I was there, which made me very happy. 

In Vienna, I met my friends Alyssa and Sara - we stayed with a friend's relatives. They were so incredibly welcoming, and it definitely made our stay worth it! Our first day there, we checked out the Naschmarkt, which is right next to the Secession building. 

The Naschmarkt has all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, hummus, scarves, and textiles. I bought a pair of pants. They're pretty great. I'll post a picture soon. Here's some produce. 

Vienna is absolutely filled with beautiful churches. 

This is St. Stephens. It's unbelievably gorgeous. 

While in Vienna, we ate lots of Spaetzle. 

Additionally, Vienna is big on Easter. We went to three different Easter markets. They have these beautiful hand painted eggs. There were so many of them. I was a bit overwhelmed. 

Tempted to bring them all back, it's probably a good thing that I didn't have room in my luggage, and that they were about 7 euro an egg. 

They were all so intricate. 

This egg was bigger than me. 

On Saturday, we went to Belvedere. A gorgeous palace-turned-museum. 

Karls Church:

When I decide to move to Vienna, I'll have no time adjusting to all the apfelstrudel. 

We got a tour of Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera House. Absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see an opera at Vienna State. However, we did end up seeing Die Zauberflöte at Volksoper. It was a delightful performance. 

Hofburg Platz. 

And finally, Schönbrunn: 

Vienna was the perfect conclusion to a beautiful spring break. Despite the cold, I had such an amazing adventure discovering more of Europe. It was a week filled with loving friends and family, and I was introduced to so many new people and cultures! 

Until next week,

♥ Em

Spring break, part two: York, England.

For my first part of spring break, which I spent in Paris, read here: Paris!

I was not prepared for the weather that England threw my way. In Paris, with a cozy 13 degrees centigrade, England's bitter -1 was very unwelcome. I was met in Manchester by my dearest friend Mauri, and a couple of her friends from school. The drive back to York was quite adventurous. I'm happy we survived. Upon arriving at Mauri's flat, I dropped by bags and touched up my makeup. (Early morning flights are quite brutal.) Then we went to explore York!

We got our first round of tea and scones and began to catch up. As we always do, we picked right up from where we last left off. I appreciate our friendship so very much, and Mauri is such an encouragement! Besides, there's not a thing that brings you together like scones and tea.

To be honest, the majority of our time together was spent catching up. It was equally pleasant that I had already visited York, because there was no added pressure to see the city again. She took me to a lovely coffee shop called Spring, which had incredible coffee. I've begun to forget the concept of "large cups". The Italians are very particular about their coffee, and you can't usually find coffee in sizes larger than 8 oz. 

The first evening I was there, Mauri, her friend Hunter, and I went out to Indian food. (The one food I've honestly been missing since I left New York.) It was delightful. Then, we went and played pool. On Monday, we explored as much as we could without freezing and had more tea and scones. 

This was at Goji, one of Mauri's favorite coffee shops. They have amazing scones. 

Part of the York wall and the Barbican: 

The Shambles - a street with great little buildings that over hang. Some buildings date back to the fourteenth century. The Shambles would have once been a market, specifically a meat market, the street being lined with butcher's shops. 

The York Minster: 

On my last day in York, I met up with my brother Sean, and we got lunch. After lunch, we headed to Leeds, because our cousin's band, The Silent Comedy, was playing at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. You can (and should!) check them out at their website here. 

We got to chat with them for a while. It was like a mini family reunion. 

Afterward, I headed back to York, where I caught little to no sleep and a headache, and packed up for Vienna. Bright and early the next morning, I flew out of Manchester, spent a grueling 4 hours in the Frankfurt airport, pacing to entertain myself, and finally landed in Vienna, Austria around 6p.m. You can read about Vienna here: Vienna!

Spring break, part one: Paris, France.

I've found my favorite city. I fell in love with Paris. I was thrilled to start my spring break out with a trip to the city of lights. And what an amazing city! The streets sang, the buildings laughed, and the lights danced. It's such a romantic place to be. I just wanted to soak in every street musician, every monument, and every word of French I heard. I ended up traveling the first leg of my spring break with my roommate, Juliet. We flew into Paris on Thursday night, and stayed in a lovely airbnb near the Latin Quarter. On Friday morning, we walked everywhere. 

Notre Dame:

The inside of the cathedral is just gorgeous. 

And, a dream since I was a little girl: I wore a blue dress in front of the Eiffel Tower. 

Arc di Triomph:

The Louvre:

We found this plaque, dedicated to my great grandpa, generations back, over the spot where he had his first apothecary shop. The plaque reads, "Ici naquiet en 1575 Louis Hebert 1st colon en acadie et a Quebec" - translates to born here in 1575, Louis Hebert, the first settler of Acadia and Quebec. 

Hebert was the first permanent settler in Quebec. He died in 1627. 

The Paris Opera House - the infamous setting of the Phantom of the Opera

We saw the Moulin Rouge and climbed Montmartre:

Since my spring break was quite extensive, I'm creating a post for each city. After Paris, I headed to northern England to see my best friend Mauri, who is going to school in York, and my brother Sean, who's currently living in Sheffield.

You can find my next post here: England!

Week Six: Pompeii, Vesuvius and Rome

When I was a little girl, I wanted desperately to be a volcanologist. I was convinced that I would spend the rest of my life studying volcanoes. In fact, if I had my way, I would have worked in Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, lived perfectly contented on a volcanic island, and died in a volcano eruption or something like that. So it was with great anticipation that I planned a weekend to go see the infamous city of Pompeii and the still active Mt. Vesuvius. And it just so happened that I went to Rome, too. 

The Colosseum. Blew my mind. 

And the arch...

The Pantheon. Pretty cool. 

And here's the Roman forum! One of the most amazing excavations of the old city. 

Under this mound of rocks, my friends, lie the cremated remains of Julius Caesar.

The Trevi Fountain!

I'm now destined to return to the Eternal City...

It was bright and early Saturday morning that we made our way to Pompeii. After checking in to our hostel, we made the decision to climb Mt. Vesuvius, as the weather was beautiful, and we didn't want to risk cloudy skies on Sunday. The views were amazing. 

And that, my friends, is the Mediterranean. 

Here's the crater. In the photo below, you can see some steam rising from the side. Vesuvius' last eruption was in 1944, so it's due for an eruption. The volcano remains closely monitored for any signs reaction to seismic activity. 

Since climbing Vesuvius took us a few hours, we weren't able to see Pompeii on Saturday. So we spent Sunday morning in the ruins. It was my dream come true. I was like a giddy little school girl. Below we saw a few of the body casts, and a lot of excavated pots and household items. 

There were tons of statues still in tact. 

And behind this statue, you can see remnants of the "Pompeiian red" - such a vivid color. Researchers have reported that the remnants of the red color that is found throughout the town's frescoes and on painted walls, could possibly have been yellow - but reacted with the chemicals in Vesuvius' gasses, and then turned red. It's disputed, since some frescoes were deliberately painted with red, but they've found that others started out yellow. 

Below is some more of the Pompeiian red, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. 

After we visited Pompeii, we made our way back to Rome, and had four hours before our train to Florence left. As such, we walked practically the entire city searching for the Vatican. Upon finding it, we were interviewed by Fox News on our opinion of the new pope. (Who has been elected, and is from Argentina, if you haven't heard.) 

It was beautiful. We got a short break in the rainy weather while we were there. We didn't go inside, and the Sistine Chapel was closed, thanks to the papal election, but it was such an amazing sight to see. It's gorgeous. 

So here's to another weekend of adventuring! I can't wait to report some more next week. And, I suppose I should announce my spring break plans. France, England, and Austria are on the menu! 

Living passionately, 

♥ Em