Can't Forget It{aly)

On this wonderful little blog about an American girl in Paris, I found a neat project called "Can't Forget It{lay}." Yes, it caught my eye because I'm certain my heart lies in the European culture, under the Tuscan, with a giant bowl of pasta. 

On Making Magique, Haleigh, was contacted and asked to film her entire trip to Italy and create a finished video to share with the world. Did I mention the company paid for it all? Oh. Silly me. Well that was the deal! Her exact words were "all expense paid trip to Italy plus cash and prizes." In exchange for her video of the trip! Where do I sign up!?

Check out what they do & why

And then watch some of the amazing videos they've got!

{ Right here }

SPAIN!

Remember when I bought that spontaneous flight to Brazil... Well I'm back at the spontaneous spending friends. I bought my flight to Spain today! I have to admit the purchase of this flight was just slightly more premeditated than my ticket to Brazil. I've known that my brother will be studying abroad in Spain this summer and naturally, the traveling soul that I am, I knew I had to visit him. Oh, and it's his 21st birthday and he will be in a country without a legal drinking age... the irony! I'm excited to visit and celebrate his birthday though!

This time around, I will be traveling with my roommate, Erin, and we're really excited to see a lot of Spain. You may remember that I did an illustration for my Brazil trip... this time around I depicted our travels within Spain. We fly into Madrid to stay for a day or two, then take a train to stay in beautiful Barcelona for a few days, and then we meet up with my brother in Malaga for his b-day celebrations. Next, we visit Seville for a day (maybe two because I've heard its gorgeous), then head back to Madrid for the flight home. I have never traveled in such a nomadic way when going abroad. My previous experiences include; studying abroad in Italy, in which our trips were planned by other people for the most part, and Brazil of course, where I stayed with a friend and was in Rio for almost all of the trip. I'm really excited to get a different, less planned, travel method under my belt; all the while sipping sangria, eating chocolate covered churros, followed by a wonderful Spanish guitarist. Hey. A girl can dream.

The Cristo! Rio De Janeiro {Part 3}

On our very last day we packed in anything and everything we could! Of course we had to start our day at Cafeina, with fresh OJ, fresh papaya, bread, cheese, turkey, and honey & jam! And then we spent the rest of the day venturing up to the Cristo. WOW. Words can't describe how amazing that statue is – and the view of Rio was spectacular!! At 130 feet tall, the Cristo is a religious icon for Christianity as well as a cultural icon for Brazil. His open arms represent peace, but originally the plan was to have a globe in one hand and a cross in other. At the bottom of the statue, there was a beautiful little chapel. Photos were not permitted, but I will tell you, it was small yet wonderful!

I had to end with one of my favorite snacks (while in Brazil) from BB Launches, a little Suco Bar on Joe's street. Pastel de carne, somewhat like a beef empanada, but there's a small surprise in it... half of a hard boiled egg! Call me crazy, but they're delicious and I guess you'll just have to try for yourself! Oh yeah, and of course I couldn't leave with out fresh acai and granola.

Brazil, I miss you dearly!

Rio De Janeiro {Part 2}

The adventures continued, from late nights at Vellosa Bar, to the steps of Santa Teresa, and one of my favorites: hang gliding! We really packed in a lot in our 10-day trip. Joe's friend, Brad (an american also working in Brazil), was a wonderful asset to our trip. He spoke Portuguese very well, and was willing to talk for Catie and I (major relief!) and hung out with us for most of the trip while Joe was working. Like I said, one of my favorite adventures was hang gliding; the first series of photos. Our guide, Paulo, was a peach. He let us each have an almost 35-minute ride (usually 15-20 minutes)! We were up in the mountains and clouds, looking down upon the beach and the gorgeous houses with their own fancy pools. We also landed on the beach!

Another must-see in Rio, that we did was the tiled steps of Santa Teresa. They were truly amazing! Selaron, the artist, was actually sitting on the steps painting that day! He claims they will never be finished; he is always adding and editing, like a true artist! 

*Note the Michael Jackson, Guns & Roses, and Bob Marley tiles. YUP-– my favorite ones!

Oh, and that mouth-watering sandwich, lunch at Cafeina of course!

{what? I told you we love that little spot! Oh, and we almost always sat at the same table}

Rio De Janeiro

These photos are from the first few days after Buzios, in Rio. With Joe working most of the day, Catie and I explored the beaches and the town. I was loving the grainy sand, the crashing waves, and the fresh coconuts. On Joe's street, we started just about every day with a coffee from Cafeina and then leisurely went about our day from there, in true vacation style. It wasn't too hard to get around knowing only a few words in Portuguese. It was a beautiful language and would like to learn more of it one day! The last few photos, are from our dinner at "Garota de Ipanem" ((translation The Girl from Ipanema)). A famous little spot, where the song was written by Vinicius de Moraes. It was by far one of my favorite authentic Brazilian meals! The steak cooked on a hot plate that sat at your table and was accompanied with rice, beans, and a flour-like crispy dish that you coated your steak with.

Beautiful Búzios

Our very first day in Brazil, we landed in Rio de Janeiro around 9:30 am. We were picked up at the airport shortly after, and arrived at Joe's apartment to meet his friend Brad. Brad decided the best thing for us to do on our first day is check out a local Cafe (it soon became Catie and mine's favorite breakfast spot) and take us up to see an amazing view of the city from Pão de Açúcar, in English it's known as Sugarloaf Mountain. 

Some photos from our view:

Our first weekend in Brazil, was spent at a beautiful house in Búzios with some of Joe's co-workers and friends! Words cannot explain how wonderful the beaches were and how charming the house was we rented... some photos from the weekend: