Amsterdam
A birthday for the books.
22 Things I Learned During 22
22 was an adventure.
What I've Learned Living Abroad
Last week was my birthday. And last year, I wrote a post called 20 Things I Learned During 20. You guys seemed to like it, ya crazies, so this year in honour of 22, I present you with 11 things I learned in Ireland and 11 things I learned in life over this past year living abroad.
20 Things I Learned During 20
On Saturday, I turned 21. So so much has happened in the past year of my life. I traveled outside of the U.S. for the first time; I met my family in Greece; I shared some amazing experiences with my boyfriend Killian and my new roommate Mikayla; I graduated college; and then I left it all behind and moved to Ireland!
And where would I be if I hadn't gained some life lessons along the way? So here are 20 things I learned while I was 20 years old.
The Rock of Dunamase
On Saturday, Killian and I went to see Dunamase Castle. It's not too far from where we're living, and it's been on my wishlist for years! It's one of the castles that's more in ruins than still standing up. But I love that kind of thing.
Cinque Terre: Doors
My favorite part of Italy (other than the coast) was the colorful buildings- and the colorful doors! They were all so different, and so gorgeous. And the mailboxes in Europe are so much better than ours.
Cinque Terre: Corniglia
Most of our time had been spent hiking so far. So our stop in Corniglia was pretty short. It took a million steps to get there. But we peeked around a bit. Then we went to our last town in the hike by train: Manarola.
Cinque Terre: Vernazza
After Monterosso we arrived in Vernazza. Definitely my tied for my favorite town in Cinque Terre. It was lunch time by then, so we stopped and ate at this restaurant on the sea. We watched the waves crashing into the rocks and everyone playing on the beach while we ate. This was where I had the best pizza of my life. The sun decided to come out so I enjoyed that while we ate. When we finished eating we explored the tower. Then, it was back on the train to the next town: Corniglia!
Cinque Terre: Monterosso
The first stop on our hike was Monterosso! After taking the train from Riomaggiore, we explored the town a tiny bit. There was a small looped trail up through some houses that we walked along. The houses were gorgeous. Then we enjoyed the view of the sea and had our first snack of some fruit. Alec and I wore our swimsuits just in case, but the weather couldn't seem to make up its mind that day.
Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore
Alec and I both celebrated our birthdays on this trip. We're a year apart in age, but only a week apart in birthdays. I chose to be in Cinque Terre (pronounced Chink-Wa Tehr-Ay) for my birthday. If you don't know where this is, google it before you even see this post. I wasn't on a boat, so I couldn't capture beautiful pictures of the colorful buildings on the coast. But the pictures that are out there are fantastic!