I am very lucky to have been given the chance to visit each of the countries pinned below. Traveling is my favorite thing to do and I love to meet new people as well as learn about their cultures. My parents grew up in Wanganui, New Zealand which is located on the North Island and has a population of about 47,300. They moved to the United States over two decades ago after my dad got a job opportunity in Lake Tahoe. After they earned enough money, my parents moved to Southern California where my dad started his own business.
Coming from nearly 7,000 miles away, my parents jumped right into a new culture and found this desire to explore and learn about other cultures as well. My dad had to travel a lot for work and even though my parents say I have visited some countries that are not pinned, I was not old enough to remember the trip and therefore do not want to count it until I can go there and create experiences that I can look back on. I suppose you can say this is when my parents really started to get into traveling, and this love has been handed down to me and my sister.
I would say one of the most amazing trips that I have ever been on was to the Virgin Islands. My family rented a catamaran, and with my dad as the captain, and my mom and I as the deck hands, we navigated the islands and spent a night at each. We cooked our own meals on the boat and even caught some fish to cook up a few times. The waters were so blue and salty, that the front of the boat would collect a layer of salt. My dad and I wanted to scuba dive as there are some incredible sites, but unfortunately I had a bit of a head cold and didn't want to chance it with the pressure underwater. It was truly a stunning place and we were so lucky to get to see some of the places that were hurt, like the Bitter End, from Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Another great place that I have had the opportunity to visit is La Carolina Lodge in Costa Rica. The rooms reminded me a lot of cabins, but there was a jacuzzi that was heated by a wood fire in the back of your cabin and we were right next to a river that we could swim in. The meals were all family style and it was a great way to get to meet people from all around the world. In Costa Rica, we also stayed with our friends who had a condo in Tamarindo and we ate lots of banana creme pies at Nogui's and we got to choose our own fabrics to create bikinis at Papaya Con Leche. Our friends there know some people who have a house up in the hills and it is truly one of a kind with a beautiful open concept where you could take in the breathtaking views, and we even got to take the ATVs for a ride.
For my spring break in 2019, my friend and I went to Amsterdam and Paris for the week. I loved renting bikes in Amsterdam and biking around the city, however, I did fall off and people came running to the rescue! For restaurants, I highly recommend Coffee & Coconuts and also Jansz. If you are looking to do any tours, we did one that ties together the Keukenhof Gardens (so many tulips!) and windmills/ cheese/ clogs all tied into one, and it was amazing and so cool. The canals running through the city were unlike anything I have ever experienced and I quickly started telling people about how I wanted to study abroad here or even move to Amsterdam. We took a train to Paris after three days and a friend from our high school who was studying in Paris for a year before transferring to USC showed us around. She took us up to Montmartre and showed us how to use the trains, but my favorite thing was going to Pink Mamma and having their truffle pasta. Cafe de Flore is also a really nice place to get breakfast and sit outside and admire the beautiful city. I also recommend for shopping, going to the Galeries de Lafayette by the Arc de Triomphe, it had just opened when we were there and it was really cool and unique from any shopping experience I have ever been through.
I definitely have to talk about New Zealand because it holds such a special place in my heart. It is probably my favorite place on earth. The country is so beautiful and I always look forward to seeing friends and family when we go back. Wellington is one of my favorite places to visit. The city itself is so pretty, they have good shopping, and it is the capitol of New Zealand.
I also love Napier, which is very art deco and they have a very good allergen friendly cafe.
When my mom and I were there over the summer of 2019, we stopped by Cathedral Cove for a hike and the views were breathtaking.
We also went to Auckland, which we hadn't really spent a lot of time there before so it was cool to check the city out and this restaurant Amano had really good truffle gnocchi.
I highly recommend checking out the Lighthouse at Castlepoint, it is incredible.
Lastly, if you like to do adrenaline spiking things like me, then I suggest you try out Taupo's bungy!
I am so grateful for all of the memories and experiences I have made with traveling thus far and I really hope that I will one day have the opportunity to visit more places I have never been to.
Some of these places include:
-South Africa
-Denmark
-Japan
-Morocco
-Spain
Comments