It feels like this picture is the closest I'll ever actually get to Europe, what with half my friends off on European adventures this spring! In fact, the one country I'd love to visit more than any other, Ireland, seems to be the hotspot for SNC Study abroad, not that I can blame them all for wanting to go there! However, despite the fact that some are studying in one country, they often travel all over Europe, as they should, meaning that now I'm seeing pictures from Ireland, France, Spain, and Italy all almost daily. Talk about twisting the knife, right?
As for me, I'm still here in Wisconsin, where we're expecting a huge snowstorm (classes even got canceled for me...amazing!) and living out the regular old college life. I did realize today that maybe I can't complain too much, because I've certainly spent a life traveling while others spent time like I am now: home rather than off on some epic adventure. Plus, my annual pass promises another trip to WDW in the near future, and while it may not be the real Europe, World Showcase certainly does an excellent job of taking you around the world.
I will say that exciting things do happen here at home, and aside from keeping up on reading the any number of travel blogs I'm making an effort to follow this semester, I'm shoulder deep in plenty of projects to keep me busy! However, remember that you can check out my friend Jessica's travel blog detailing her semester in Italy HERE, which I read religiously and inspired this particular blog post. Gosh what I wouldn't give to be with Jessica right now!
As I mentioned, I'd love to go to Ireland if I could visit somewhere in Europe, but where do you want to go? Let me know in the comments!
Saying goodbye never gets any easier, so that's why I tend to say that it's not goodbye at all, but rather "see ya real soon." You, my blog readers, probably recognize this as a common response from our favorite mouse, Mickey, but it's the only way I could ever get myself to leave Disney, with the knowledge that somehow, I'd be returning. I've come to a point now that I'm starting to have to say very real "see ya real soons," especially as my friends from college head off into the real world, even if just for a semester.
Jessica, on the left in the above picture, is heading to Italy for a semester of studying abroad, and I couldn't be more excited for her and the adventures she's sure to have. Personally, I'm unable to study abroad due to the number of credits I need in order to fulfill the requirements for both of my majors, but I absolutely understand the importance of travel, especially at a time like this in our lives, when responsibilities like school and literally take place in the place we travel. It doesn't make the farewells any easier, to know that she's about to go off and have the time of her life while I'm stuck here doing pretty much the same thing I've always done, but she'll be back soon enough, and in the meantime, there's plenty of memories to recall, including one of our last before she walked out our door for the last time before heading to Italy.
After forgetting a sweatshirt, Jessica ended up coming back to our new apartment with food in hand, specifically a treat brought back by a friend who lives in Europe. We agreed quickly to try out chocolates with her, because who turns down something like that, and were pleasantly surprised to find two varieties of sweets before us: a chocolate and a powdery sort of confection that we were unsure of.
The chocolate was indeed delicious, as are most things from Europe, but as we moved onto the second, covered in powdered sugar, we couldn't help but think of The Chronicles of Narnia. If you remember, in one of the films, Edmund is basically addicted to Turkish Delight, and after a comment from Jessica about the treat, I double checked the box, only to realize that it was, indeed, Turkish Delight!
After trying it out we looked up what it's made of, because if you've ever eaten Turkish Delight, it's a pretty weird experience. We're even more confused about the treat now though, because apparently it doesn't taste good half the time and this stuff was delicious. It seems Edmund knew what he was talking about.
Either way, I still have a chocolate on my desk that Jessica shared with me, and it has plans to stay there until she comes back...or at least until I give into the temptation to eat it. If you want to check out some of Jessica's Adventures as she tours across Italy, you can follow her own blog HERE!
Have a magical day and Jessica, the best of luck in Italy!
(Note: This blog post was written on January 25 due to travel).
It seems like the list of places most of us would like to travel in our lives has a million locations on it. Personally, I know very well that I could easily name at least 15-20 cities, tourist locations, countries or areas in the world I'd like to see with my own two eyes, Ireland and Steveston (aka Storybrooke) currently at the top, but what's weird is when you sit down and have a real, serious conversation with others about the places you'd like to travel and why.
This week, Disney Cruise Line announced their 2016 Cruise Line-Up, and apparently in my world, it's been pretty big news. You can read the official announcement HERE on the Disney Parks Blog and here's the announcement video from Disney Cruise Line, just so you can get an idea of what's all been announced:
Yes, you heard correctly, Disney Cruise Line will be headed to Ireland in 2016, and now proceed with the questions. "Lizzie, I thought you wanted to go to Ireland? Why not go!?!"
To be completely honest, that video did a spectacular job of convincing me to go on a European Cruise (probably much to the delight of my Mom and the terror of my Dad), and in reality, I guess it wouldn't be that bad...as long as I get to go to Ireland and all of the other locations. However, I feel like I'd also like to spend time back in Ireland for a while longer...meaning a more expensive and longer trip. So when it comes down to it, I wouldn't want to fly all the way across an Ocean to go on a cruise and miss out on sightseeing in Colin O'Donoghue's hometown of Drogheda. (So Mom...those are my terms).
But my roommates actually went and looked at the pricing for this same cruise, which I found pretty darn amusing, and then decided that they couldn't afford it (what college student could?) and put it on the backburner for a trip in the distant future (which I'm all for...assuming I have a job that can help me pay for it). And that led to a conversation about other places we'd like to go. As I said previously, I'd love to go to Ireland, specifically Drogheda, which is about a half hour from Dublin. Aside from that, there's a lot of locations across Europe I'd like to visit, including the usual France and Italy, but also England and, thanks to Frozen, Norway. But if I can't afford a trip of that size, I'd definitely like to head out to the Northwest in the future, see Seattle and, of course, make the trip across the Canadian border to see the town where my favorite fairy tales come to life, Steveston, a short distance away from Vancouver. Actually all of Van would be great to check out, if only because it's home to many of the locations my favorite actors frequent.
As for my roommates, we also talked about Hawaii, since I had a conversation about that with my Mom the other day as well. Personally, I think there are many other locations I'd like to go to before Hawaii, although I'm sure it's lovely there. Megan and I just talked about the possibility of where the SNC Wind Ensemble might go in 2016 for our bi-annual trip. I'm pushing for Ireland, but I'd be good with anywhere in Europe or even branching out as far as China, New Zealand or Australia.
And of course, on top of all of these locations, there's always all of the Disney Parks throughout the world, and since I have a friend who recently headed to Disneyland Paris, the want to travel to the foreign parks is more real every day. That's all in the future though, and for now I'll just be settling for Florida and the distant land of California. Maybe Europe will be a 2016 thing, after all.
Have a magical day!
(Note: This blog post was written on March 27 due to the common cold).
As much as I feel like Disney has taught me a lot about the countries around the world, specifically those featured in World Showcase, it's an entirely different experience to see those things in person. After all, the Eiffel Tower at Epcot is much, MUCH smaller than the legitimate one in Paris. Then again, how would I really even know, as when it comes to touring Europe, I certainly haven't gotten past the East Coast of the United States. Yes, my family is quite well versed in travel, but that travel mostly occurs during our trips to Florida. Beyond that, I have visited many of the other states including Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Colorado and California, just to name a few. But Europe? Not so much.
That doesn't mean I have no want to go there, although the really long plane ride does throw me off a bit. We all know how much I hate two hour plane rides, much less 9 hour ones. Regardless, my Travel board on Pinterest is filled with unique locations all over the world, including much of Europe.
About two weeks ago I was home for part of the weekend when my Dad suggested that I watch an episode of Rick Steves' Europe with him on Wisconsin Public Television Online. I've seen plenty episodes of Rick Steves' before, which, for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, is basically a television show travel guide, to say the least. The host, Rick Steves, travels across Europe giving you tips and information on some of the most popular and historic locations. It's really a wonderful show, especially if you're looking into traveling to Europe in the near future.
The episode, on the other hand, that he wanted to show me, was a behind the scenes look at the creation of the show, which I enjoyed greatly if for no reason other than my own work on the SHS 2014 Band Trip Video. I definitely understood the trials and tribulations of rainy days and getting the perfect shot and writing a script, even if I had no lines to memorize for my own production. Still, I was able to appreciate that as a writer.
Then I looked into some of the other episodes online, specifically those on France, which I watched while studying for my French Class (and gaining me a favorite on Twitter by Rick Steves himself!), and the #1 country on my bucket list, Ireland. It literally took him about 10 words to have me more excited about Ireland than before I hit play, but I suppose that's to be expected when one of your favorite actors originates from Drogheda.
The point here is this: World Showcase + Rick Steves + Colin O'Donoghue = Lizzie wants to go to Ireland like no other, even if there's no Ireland pavilion in Epcot (whyever not!?!). Of course, someday I do hope to see the Eiffel Tower in it's full size, but until then I think I'll settle for the scale model and the French film accompanied by an Eat Around the World adventure.
Have a magical day!
(Note: This blog post was written on February 23).
