...Back to Italy!

Alright folks, time has come to go back to the Bel Paese to celebrate Christmas with my family...after last year's loss, it's going to be amazing with all my relatives again :')
See you in Italy people, flight takes off in a few hours! ;)

C.

Dublin: Cold, Beer and The Friendliest People In The World

Sooo...what to say! Dublin is awesome!
I just got back home from Edinburgh Airport (8.30am) after a night spent in downtown Dublin/Dublin Airport and I'm sooo damn tired, so I'll try to be brief ;)

Alex and I got to Dublin on Friday night, we took a bus to BlackRock and my friend Mery came to collect us. It was soooooooooooo damn cold, I didn't expect to find such a freezing weather! We went straight to the student accommodation of UCD (where Mery lives), had a hot camomile and fell asleep. Alex in particular was a zombie (poor thing, she hadn't slept in 40 hours to be done with her essays!).

The day after we woke up around 10 and headed to downtown. We saw the Trinity College, the Spire, went shopping near by and enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere. We took some pictures of the Liffey, and then we headed to the Temple Bar area:)
There I met my friend Lauren, met in San Jose during my exchange, who took me and Alex to see another part of the city (Grafton Street and around there), as well as to experience pure Irish pub at the Dandelion Bar & Club :)

Afterwards we met at the Spire with my other friend from San Jose Sarah, my dear friend Mery, her sister and her sister's boyfriend.

 We ate something in a wee pub next to the Temple Bar (the Shack Restaurant), and then we spent the rest of the night in a near by club/pub (Buskers Bar). Nice place, live music, friendly aged Irish people (Alex actually broke some hearts), and crazy dances in front of the stage. Awesome, awesome.

After such a great night, we headed back home to get ready for the following day, and I have to admit: My knees hurt so bad at that point!

The morning after, Alex and I went with Mery and her sister to visit Bray, a wee town not too far from Dublin. We too the train from Blackrock, which took about 30 minutes to get there.

When we arrived, the wind was very cold, but the scenery was delightful. Sea, green hills and some sort of Irish cliff...aww. Definitely a place to visit:) We ate something in downtown Bray, and then Alex and I headed back to the city for our last day in the Irish capital.

Once we got back to downtown, Alex and I went to a nice pub near the Trinity college. She had an Irish coffee I guess...? Oh well, she was satisfied anyways: coffee and Bayles :)

Before heading to the Temple Bar, we visited the Christ Church Cathedral, which was pretty impressive. Especially because the night made it even more special.

 Finally, to get back our blood circulation back we headed to the Temple Bar, a must for every respectable tourist. I must say that despite the bar is one of the most popular for tourists, I felt like I was surrounded by great Irish fellows! There was live music, and Alex and I spent about..8 hours inside there!??hahah! Our favorite group was the Lad Lane, which was composed by three talented musicians. I was like hypnotized. Typical Irish music in a typical Irish surrounding, how WONDERFUL!

Around 12am we decided to head back to the airport (as our check in was at 5am-.-), so we went back to O'Connel Street to catch the shuttle bus. Then, once at the airport, we spent about 4 hours on those comfortable cold chairs.......Seriously, never again.

..and now I'm back to the Burgh, super tired but super happy. What a great adventure, really can't wait to o back to Ireland! Next stop...Galway maybe??:)

C.

Dublin's Calling!

Hello World!

I know, it's been a while, busy busy times at uni during the last three months!
Anyways, the time has finally come for another trip: from Edinburgh to Dublin! Tomorrow, after my last presentation in the morning, I'll finally fly to Dublin with my friend Alex!
It's gonna be a fun girls time, as my friend Mery will host us for a couple of nights ;) stay tuned, news and pictures coming up soon!

PS: winter trip with Josh coming up soon as well! We haven't seen each other in four months, as he's still in California to finish his degree! Missing him so much, Christmas time is going to be fun.....! Italy, France, England........more details coming up soon ;)


C.

Art Attack in Edinburgh!

This quite made my night. Just a way to vent your "Art Attack" ;) http://www.drawastickman.com/ Enjoy!


C.

Silicon Valley & Steve Jobs: Endless and Timeless Inspiration

We all knew this moment would have come. But no one suspected that it would have happened so soon. Steve Jobs died.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wordpress, Blogspot, Mashable, and thousands of other media are reporting the same news: The Apple Genius just left this earth. I can hardly believe it, and it's probably because so much success and power wouldn't be associated with death. But this is how it is. This is how life can trick you. You create something great, you become successful, you change the world. But you can't change the flow.

I truly believe today will always be an unforgettable day. "The edge of glory" for an icon of innovation, technology, true passion, true belief, true enthusiasm.

I read many posts saying that Apple won't be the same now that he's no longer here. But I don't think so: He gave very deep and strong values to his company, as well as to all his "faithful followers". Why should this change now that he's not here anymore?

Steve Jobs' inspirational speeches and ideas will always be the core of his company, no matter what. Endless and Timeless, R.I.P. Steve Jobs.


C.

One World and So Many People!

Today I found this picture on the Internet and I totally wanted to share it with you. http://imgur.com/gallery/3skvA

...Isn't it so cool?


C.

Soft Clouds and Fresh Breeze: Hello Scotland!

I seriously can't believe I'm writing from my cosy room in Edinburgh. It's just amazing! I got here on Tuesday afternoon (after another of the thousands Easyjet's rip off -.-), and when I was landing I got emotional because of all those green fields that I fell in love with already two years ago!
..since I took my first step in the Scottish ground, then I haven't stopped for a second!

Amy organized a welcome back party for me that same night, and most of my Opiates friends were there! (Why Opiates? Because we are always at Opium, a rock pub/club in Cowgate). It was just amazing seeing all of them after more than a year, and it was like nothing had changed! I'm just sooo lucky to have found such a company, useless saying how much I love them:)

Yesterday I had to go shopping for some stuff, then got stuck in a bank for a problem with my card (mpfhh-.-), and then...I went to collect Jacqueline at the airport! Jacqueline has been my roommate during my first semester at the International House in San Jose. Can't believe she'll be here for a year-long exchange now! The World seems to be sooo small...it's like she was round the corner and she took a trip here. It'll be a great year for her, Edinburgh is definitely the place where you want to study abroad :)
..I can't wait for Josh to arrive, too. He'll be here in three months, maybe a wee more. Missing him so bad, who would have thought I'd have found myself with a Californian boyfriend!:') I'm looking forward to show him around the city, and to travel around Europe as well. It'll be awesome!

My evening was really calm and peaceful, spent with Jean and John eating , chatting and doing some work. Jean and John have been my host family during my first year in Edinburgh, and I'll stay with them for the next month (after that I'll move closer to downtown and I'll live with Amy). It's gonna be sooo hard to say bye, because they've been (and they'll still be!) the perfect family everyone would like to have!:)

Now I'm ready for another day, can't wait for Saturday to arrive: Freshers' Festival! Ka-Wing and I will be there to promote Study Abroad (obviously! ;))


C.

Bye Bye Italy: It's Time for Tartans!

Alright, sooo...after 15 days in Italy (where I split myself among parents, grandparents and friends), I am (super) ready to head back to my beloved Scotland. Can't believe I've been away from Edinburgh for more than a year..be ready from great posts about Edinburgh, I simply love that city.
Awww. It's time. Flight tomorrow at Noon from Milan Malpensa :)


C.

USA vs. Europe: Thoughts From a Humble Point of View

It'll be interesting to read, just gotta find the time to write everything down.
I'll update soon ;)

C.

Milan..Fashion Rules!

Interesting day in Milan today, I went there to shoot some pictures for a website..:)

After chasing some people for pictures (I needed some fashion styles, Milan never disappoints;)), Ade and I went to visit the city before heading back home...Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, il Duomo di Milano..and La Rinascente, of course ;) There's so much more to see in Milan (and around Milan), but the time was limited unfortunately. If you will ever end up in this area, don't miss the Castello Sforzesco, and so the Egyptian museum. I sill remember it from a high school trip, definitely worth it a visit;)

Additionally, if you are passionate about history you can't miss the Valcamonica Rock Art, definitely an impressive site.

After a whole day spent in the business capital of Italy, Ade and I headed back to the train station.. There I ran into a very current issue which is the political situation in Libia...check it out, the picture speaks for itself.

C.

Time to Fly: San Jose-->Minneapolis-->Amsterdam-->Venice.

coming soon!

San Francisco: Alcatraz, Golden Gate and a "See You Later"

Today has been an awesome day. Despite the fact that it's my last day here in California, Bay Area, I'm very happy. I spent a wonderful day with my wonderful boyfriend, exploring Alcatraz (go visit it, totally worth it! The website that I've put there is definitely the best one for cruises around and on the island/jail) and enjoying San Francisco:)

In the morning, after missing our ship (woops...), we got to the island about an hour later. We visited the jail itself, all the rooms (and I was personally really excited since Alcatraz has been set of MAAAANY films..The Rock, just to mention one. Aww). The atmosphere was very creepy, especially if you think that the scariest personalities have been there. Yeah, also the fluffy unicorn. I mean, the fluffy Al Capone. Hahah). Rooms are sooo freaking small, I'd totally freak out after one hour inside there. Okay that I'm a homy person (kind of), but being so relegate must be incredibly frustrating.  If my freedom was taken away, there would no longer be any reason to live.

We spent the whole morning til about 2 o'clock (I think), then we moved back to the mainland. We immediately headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. The goal was to cross it (despite the polar weather), and so we did.
A roundtrip took us like 40 minutes, it was freezing cool and foggy....but it was sooooo cool!!!! We also earned a great sunset B-)

Afterwards, we headed back to the car (completely frozen), and we headed to a healthy In'n'Out, awww, I'm gonna miss that so freaking bad!!!
Josh also wanted to get some awesome donuts, and I got the one with cream inside. How a great way to end my American exchange ahah ;)

And now I'm here, wondering how to fit all my stuff in the luggage. Seriously, people. A year abroad in the US, with a favorable exchange rate Euro-Dollar. How the hell am I gonna bring back all this stuff?
I guess I'll have to ask Josh to deliver something hehe:)

Well, folk...what to say. Time to sleep.
See you all in Europe!!!:')

C.

Europe Calling..."Already"!

It's been a year...yeah, basically a year. And I feel like I got here not even a week ago.

It's incredible how time goes by when what you live is intense, exciting, new, and unexpected.
So many questions before, and so many incredible answers after. I'm just so grateful and surprised, so many people left a sign on my heart that I won't ever be able to erase.

...The countdown begins.


C.

Morgan Hill: The Hike to El Toro!

Before even starting, I hate admitting it: It was great.
But let's go in order.

It was Saturday morning and I was in Morgan Hill at Josh's house. He was more active than a 5years-old kid, and with that excitement he forced convinced me to go hike El Toro, the challenge that you have to overcome if you are a native from Morgan Hill (seriously....HIKE ON SATURDAY!? REALLY!?? My view of the weekend sees only swimming pool, cinema, books, a walk in downtown, and MAYBE bowling..which sometimes can be considered kind of too extreme though.)

So we drove to the hill around noon - I think - and we started the titanic hike. After 30 seconds I was already ready to take a break. Seriously, it was damn hot and flies where starting having fun flying around me. Those little bastards-.-

..We kept going for about an hour and twenty minutes, when we finally got to the top! The view was great, we could see lakes, towns, hills...and San Jose downtown! The fresh breeze helped us catching up, we took some pictures and we rested under the shadow of a tree. Soo good!
Josh has been a saint during the whole trip, I was really being the most annoying creature on earth due to the hike. Not my fault if I get bored!!! ;)
After a while we decided to head back, and there it goes another hour. Hell!

..Once we got back to the car, we changed clothes and Josh drove to downtown to treat me with a Froyo (heart!) ;)

...and you, if you are from Morgan Hill and you've never been to El Toro, SHAME ON YOU. I'm from Schio (wtf!?) and I'VE DONE IT! So either you do it too, or you come to Schio and I'll let you hike El Tretto! hahahah! ;)


C.

Seriously, This Is Hilrious!

For how much I love dogs, this cat cracks me up!

C.

Exchange Student Earns Internship With Scent Technology Startup - SJSU News

Seriously, this is amazing.

Exchange Student Earns Internship With Scent Technology Startup - SJSU News

San Francisco Farmers' Market: Big Deal!

Today I went with Michelle and her parents to the Port of San Francisco to see the Farmers' Market. Apart from the wonderful day - seriously, we weren't wearing jackets, and we even got burned! In San Francisco! Waaaw! - we also ate great cheeseburgers and fried chicken! The Farmers' Market is set mainly in front and inside the Ferry Building, and it offers a wide range of products coming from all over the world. I even met an Italian fellow selling real Italian olive oil. Blessed him. Haha:)

Close by there was also another kind of market, more about accessories and really nice printings. Yeah, I would have spent the whole afternoon there haha!

Afterwards we went to the Italian area of San Francisco, all the way to North Beach. We had a snack at a tiny Italian place called "Il Colosseo" (just to be original-.-) and we tasted a crispy bruschetta (English speaker, the pronunciation of "bruschetta" is NOT "brushetta"...but "brusketta"!) and some cheese and apple. Yummy!

After hanging around for a while and deciding which house would have been our in 20 years, we starting heading back to the car. The weather was so good that we would have spent the whole evening as well!

...so back in the car, back to San Mateo. And tomorrow: Santa Cruz with Josh + Romantic Drive-In in the evening! I can't wait!

C.

UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Sacramento: An Unusual Monday!

coming up so, I'm just very tired right now and the only thing that I can see is my pillow. Haha. Gnite World!

San Francisco: Alice 97.3′s “Summerthing” Free Concert

work in progress!

Santa Cruz: The House of Rising Sun!

Sooo  Friday it was a great day spent with two great people, my friends Michelle and Vinh.
The plan was to leave San Mateo (yes, readers, I'm leaving in San Mateo with Michelle for the summer! Bless her little heart!) around 1.30pm to get to Vinh's house (San Jose) at 2.15, so that we'd have reached Santa Cruz around3.15...
Well Vinh was a little late......but yeah, we made it at the end!

The day was awesome and the drive to Santa Cruz was incredibly nice. Once we arrived there we enjoyed the last sun and listen to the concert of The Animals...yes, THE ANIMALS! "There is...a house...in New Orleans...The Houseeee of Riiiising Sun..."! I couldn't believe it was actually them, so cool! Afterwards, Vinh and I left to go enjoy the attractions (see picture haha) and Michelle got frozen on the beach. Bless her little heart! ;)


After the concert and some time spent on the beach, we headed to downtown Santa Cruz to eat pizza - again -  while talking with British accents - again! too much fun:) The pizza was yummy, so delicious. Downtown was sooo nice, not too cold, not too warm. We ended up in a second-hand bookstore - which I loved. I bought a couple of books about films - obviously - and after that we headed back home. Such a great day, I won't forget it!

San Francisco: The Discovery of MoMa!

Today Michelle and I took the whole day to enjoy San Francisco and one of the best things the city can offer: Art exposition at the SFMoMa! The exposition that we got to see was the incredible Stein's collection.
You may want to read something more about Gertrude Stein, she was the one that mostly invested on the collection, with the help of her brother Leo Stein.

We got to the city around 12ish and we parket right next to the museum. We paid our ticket and we saw one of the best expositions I've personally ever seen! The Parisian Avant Garde was the main topic, and Matisse and Van Gogh were the main artists.
Given that I love cubism and expressionism, I felt chills when I got to see their pieces of art. Especially when I saw "Femme au chapeau" (Woman with a hat) by Matisse, wow, it was like a dream coming true! Being able to see right in front of you the paintings that you've studied for many years is simply inexplicable!

Related article here.

Galloping Horse, Muybridge 1878

Apart from the Stein collection, another interesting section caught my attention: The photographic exposition "Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change." You can read more about it following the link that I've posted, but I definitely want to spend some words about it. As the title of the article says, Eadweard Muybridge was San Francisco's Father of the Cinema. And this exposition was the direct explanation to this statement. Who has never seen his "Galopping Horse"? That's simply amazing. And that was just one of the many pictures presented at the exposition. I love how the beginning of motion pictures started by studying photography, and I love how these two fields are so interrelated with each other. I really can't wait to start working in this field, motion pictures and video editing are exactly what I'd love to work for. 

Personal Values, Magritte 1952

Another thing to point out is the presence at the exposition of Magritte's "Personal Values". Aww my beloved Magritte :)
Dali' was there too, but Magritte will always be my favorite painter, not only for the fact that he was the father of Belgian Surrealism, but especially for his creative view of life - and his different ways to portray it. You may not know what something means, but your interpretation still won't be wrong. Certainly this can be applied to most of the Avangards, but I particularly feel it for Surrealism.

Fountain, Marcel Duchamp 1917

Oh, and how could I forget this! Even Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" was there! Pretty interesting experience ;)













After a complete visit of the museum, Michelle and I went for a meal at Ferrari's, and then headed to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a windy day, nothing better to wear some flowers in our head...:)



C.

The Fabulous Las Vegas: We Survived!

After three days of intense partying, dancing, boobies, butts, and drinks...we are safe back to the Bay Area:)
The weekend was awesome, Vegas is something that goes over and beyond any kind of imagination. With this I don't mean that it's an awesome place where I' love to live and raise kids (obviously-.-), but a place where everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - can happen. In good..and in bad!

So, everyday (day time) we went visiting and enjoying the strip and the different casinos. We visited the Luxor, and there we also took an awesome and useless unusual video of us flying over Vegas on a magic carpet (something like this ;))
The whole afternoon was spent around the Strip, and around 5ish we went back to the hotel to get ready for the night...;)
That night we went to celebrate my birthday with a yummy buffet at the Luxor; after eating like porks we headed to the LAX to get free drinks (for girls ahha ;)). Quite soon it got really overcrowded though, so we decided to change location. We moved to the Cathouse, and that was definitely awesome! Many people there were there, but much more space as well. We danced on the tables and admired perfect butts. Haha.
Around 3am we decided to head back to the hotel, the next day would have been another great one :)

On the second day, Josh and I went to visit his grandparents (who live on one of the Vegas' hills) for a while. We ate something together and talked about our crazy journey. They were so nice! Afterwards we met up with the others on the Strip. We went visit the Cosmopolitan (totally go see it if you want to see the stereotypical Vegas life, swimmingpools, beautiful women and men, money and waste. Also, go enjoy your night at Marquee if you have the chance. It's supposed to be crazy. And f***ing expensive. At least for us, poor university students. Haha -.-)
For the night we kept in touch with a promoter of Tao, a nightclub based in the Venetian. That was AWESOME. Not to sound like a weirdo, but it was full of half naked beautiful women (taking a bath...Haha. For a while i wished my boyfriend was blind. Haha O_O) and the atmosphere was totally sexy. Totally Vegas. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Waw O_O

(Just a quick thought about it: I really don't know if something like that could exist in Europe. Not the nightclub itself, but a WHOLE CITY like that. As I see it, people would get crazy if some kind of Vegasland was created somewhere in Europe. You may argue that Amsterdam, London, maybe even Milan, have something in common with that. But it doesn't, believe me. Especially in terms of money. I've never seen so much money at the same time in the same place. So much of "everything". And legal. Money, Amusement, Prostitution, Lights, Alcohol, and probably Drugs. People would get crazy, I strongly believe that.)

Anyways, after a great night spend in and out from Tao, we headed back home around 4ish I believe.
Some sober, some not :P

The following day was mostly a day to recover from the previous night, so the evening was pretty chill and spent around the city. We went to the Bellagio (set of several movies: Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Thirteen, The Hangover...;)), enjoyed the shops and all the lights around us:)

We headed back pretty early (around1am probably). We scheduled to wake up at 7am, go enjoy the Strip for the last time (believe me, you would never stop walking along it!) and to leave the city around 12pm. That way we would have made it back to the Bay by 11pm.

..And so the last day arrived, and it's when I had to say goodbye to my friends Isa and Elisa:) They'd have taken a bus from LV to SF, reasy to fly back to Italy the day after. Wawww many tears!

My crew and I went for another couple of things before leaving the city: unmissable picture in front of the Vegas sign, and Wedding Chapels! Josh and I (well...mainly because of ME) wanted to take some pictures in front of them (yeah...not inside..yet. Haha). We ended up visiting a couple of them, and we stopped by the the Little White Wedding Chapel (which is supposedly the most famous one). There are many of them, but you gotta go to the "Old Town Vegas" to find them. Fremont Street is very cool, I wish we could have spent a little more time over there.

Well, after all this...what to say: Vegas is great!!! So glad I turned 21 in such a crazy city, it's definitely something that I will never forget!


C.

Las Vegas: My 21st Birthday in Sin City..!

It doesn't happen every day to hear "Last weekend? I was in Vegas...". And if I think that I am here right now, with the only intent to celebrate my 21st birthday....WAHHHH!!I SOUNDS AWESOME!
My crew and I left San Jose last night (April 29th) and got here early this morning. We rested for a wee while, and now we are ready to go explore this incredible (outrageous, unbelievable, incredible, rich and so on) city and what it has to offer. Umm. Yeah. Sounds nasty.

Next stops: The Strip, New York New York, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, the Parisian, the Venetian, The Cosmopolitan, Cesar's palace...and Chippendales maybe? ;) ahah!
...I'll see you in three days, hopefully we won't wake up in a room with a tiger and a whining kid ;)


C.

My Video To Promote Study Abroad :)

This is a video that I've created for a visual communication class. I decided to focus on a topic that I consider really important for me, which is Studying Abroad. I chose ISEP as my organization, since it's the one that allowed me to come here in the U.S.
Useless to say how grateful I am.


Study Abroad, if you don't do it now, WHEN!?? :D

Hope you'll enjoy :)

***   WATCH ME!   ***


C.

Day 3: Yosemite National Park and Long Hike Up to Yosemite Falls!

After an entertaining night (thanks Nizar for the show...jeez, I've never heard anything similar to that in my whole life O_O Snoring, farting...jeez, welcome to the guys' floor O_O ), we finally got up and had a really good breakfast.

We left the cabin around 9.30 (and guess what.....WE WERE 2 HOURS LATE!dahha) and we headed to the entrance of the Yosemite Park.

The weather was extremely foggy and cloudy, really low temperature and annoying drizzle...arrrgh.

After about an hour though, it improved. There was a kind of "sun" keeping us "warm". We saw the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls (check this out: http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/Waterfalls/YosemiteWaterfalls.html ) and...yeah, the plan was to hike to the Top of Yosemite Falls. 

Seriously.

NEVER AGAIN.

Dahahha no okay, I'm kidding. It was actually one of the most amazing experiences ever. 

Just an advice, if you'll ever do it: DON'T DO IT WITH THREE ATHLETES, as long as you're not one of them O_O

Isabella, Elisa and I were literally dying while trying to keep up with those three Gods. Hahah.

The hike took about 6 hours round-trip, and during the last 45 minutes the thing go really difficult: Hiking through the snow with flat Converse IS NOT THE BEST (and most clever, I know) THING IN THE WORLD.

...But the effort was worth it! The view was amazing, and so was the satisfaction cos we made it:)

After enjoying the scenery for a while, we headed back ( I wanted to cry knowing that we had to do the same way backward O_O).

The return was quicker, and when we arrived to the car the immediately left to San Jose, because our rental car was due at midnight.

It was definitely a great experience, moving from two completely opposite places in less than 36 hours is totally something that you want to do at least once in life! Dry Desert v. Rainy Forest....aww, AWESOME!

C.

Day 2: From The Boiling Hot to the Cool Snow

Alright so...Day 2.
AS USUAL, we left late. Damn schedule.

After rising Ali from the dead (we found him in this position - see picture), we slowly went back on the road - with the GPS set on Yosemite National Park as our final destination.

The driving from Death Valley to Yosemite was nice, we got to see some very good-looking sceneries.
After nine hours on the road, we finally arrived to the cabin where we'd have spent the night.

Everybody from the I-House was there, and it was pretty nice to meet them. We spent the night eating, chatting, rosting smores, and drinking (again, NO, DAD, not me) on the pier.
It's hilarious what can come out form certain discussions among international people when everybody's a bit buzzed...humm..."happy" hah.

Once I finally lied on the bed, I fell asleep in 0.2 sec :)


C.

Day 1: Death Valley, Deadly Amazing.

SOOO...What would you do if you knew that you were going to face a boiling day in Death Valley?

Buying beer, OF COURSE.

And this is exactly what my drunk group decided to do. You gotta survive in the desert, somehow! Haha.
So after breakfast (with beer) we headed to first see the sand dunes ( http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/sand-dunes.htm ) , and that was AMAZING. And hella hot too O_O

Afterwards, we went to the camping site to make sure to have a place for the night - and the guys built an amazing tent, ready to be taken aways form the wind anytime-.- aahha no okay, I'm just kidding. It was great....

Then we went back on the road, heading to Dead Waters and the Devil's Golf Court  O_O
http://digital-desert.com/death-valley-national-park/

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/Death_Valley_National_Park-752056/Things_To_Do-Death_Valley_National_Park-Devils_Golf_Course-BR-3.html

It was so damn hot and I felt like passing out after a while!

..After a long day spent in the middle of the desert, we went back to a oasis that we previously saw. There, we had dinner, I discovered that my credit card had been locked (yes, they thought somebody stole it and used it in 33 different states in the USA...wahah...THAT WAS ME, HELL!-.-), chilled and talked for about an hour.

We went then back to the camping then - it was night already - and a loooong night began..
So there was me, Josh, Ali, Niza, Elisa, Isabella, Mr. Bacardi, Mr. Beers and Ms. Vodka. (lol Dad, don't worry, I was just watching. SERIOUSLY.)
After recalling for the whole night our friend Vilok (Vilok!Vilok!..it was a joke like Akuna Matata... I know it's weird, but I can explain if you want) and started stalking due to the alcohol level (again, NOT ME, DAD), I went to bed. Wrecked. Hhaha:)

[the details for the night are censored - just know that Elisa and Ali got lost in the camping site o_O]

...Ready for Day2!

C.

Night 1: Driving to Death Valley

So the adventure to Death Valley started on Thursday night at 1am - yes, I know, it was supposed to be at Midnight. Eheh.

The heroes were: Josh, Nizar, Ali, Elisa, Isabella, and yes, me:)

There's not so much to say about this driving, LONG DRIVING, but that we arrived in Death Valley around 10 am the day after.

DAMN HOT.

Coming soon....

...This week there will be a trip to Death Valley and Yosemite National Park! The plan is to leave on Thursday night, get to Death Valley around 10ish on Friday, overnight there surrounded by scorpions and spiders, and then head to Yosemite on Saturday morning. We'll be back to San Jose on Sunday night, after a night spent in the amazing Yosemite Park.

Next week, my crew and I will also go to Vegas to celebrate my 21st birthday! Pretty excited, what happens in Vegas stays...ON MY BLOG! ;)
...stay tuned!:)

C.

Day 5: Bus to Manoa Falls!

Our last day in Hawaii was spent visiting the amazing Manoa Falls. We left Waikiki Beach around 2pm and we took the bus 19 til a mall. Once we got there, we waited for about an hour for the damn bus no. 5 ....which finally arrived.
On the bus, we met an alert old man who basically told us about his whole life. That was pretty interesting!
After about an hour, we finally arrived to the Manoa Falls, ready to start the hike.
It was really humid, and obviously all mosquitos were already enjoying my skin. Yeah.

The hike took us about 40 minutes. It was nice stopping every now and then to take some pictures, the scenery was amazing. And I also kinda liked the drizzle that started coming down.. Magical atmosphere!

When we arrived to the fall, we found a good amount of people resting in front of it. It was beautiful! Sooo high and natural! I took a good amount of pictures, which I will publish soon!

After half an hour, Ace an I headed back to the beginning of the hike. Once we arrived there, we had to wait for Jamie - about 40 minutes - because somehow we passed him and he didn't notice it. So he was waiting for us as well, but still in the forest -.-

Super tired, we arrived home at 8ish in the evening.
After a shower and something to eat, we went out to enjoy our last night on Waikiki Beach.
It was really warm, more than a summer night in CA!
The sound of the waves crashing on the beach, people talking, colorful flowers and sandy beaches...ahhh, HAWAII YOU'RE AMAZING!

C.

Day 4: Road Trip around O'ahu!

I'm catching up with the stories from yesterday, Day 4:)

So, after managing to wake up the two sleeping beauties Ace & Jamie, we headed to the rental car company. The guys insisted to get a convertible car, so that way we could have enjoyed the nature...it was actually pretty good, but deadly uncomfortable!
Our first stop was at Pear Harbor, where we got to see the historical site.
It was pretty weird to think what happened in that place not so many years ago..:/

After that, we went back on the road heading to North Shore. On the way, we stopped at a farmers' market where Ace got something to eat. It was actually a pretty nice place, full of everything!

We finally arrived to Waimea Beach, where we spent about an hour - and where Jamie jumped off a rock haha:)
The sea (Pacific Ocean, actually) was incredibly clear and colored with different shades of blue: Typical Hawaiian beach and sea, really warm sun and breeze...amazingly beautiful!

Afterwards, we headed back to Honolulu downtown. I had a pizza - a really GOOD pizza! - and Jamie and Ace ate sushi. Pretty long day!

We arrived back home very late and super tired, but happy after such a great day:)


C.

Day3: Chill And Lazy On The Beach

I'm catching up with yesterday only this morning because last night I was realllly tired!
The day has been pretty lazy, just chilling on the beach, sun bathing, pictures here and there, swimming...:)
The nice part was the evening, when Jamie and I decided to go for a walk. We said half an hour, and we ended up staying out for a couple of hours haha:)
Waikiki was really nice last night, yes, full of turists, but sooo lively. Jamie and I walked along the strip and we ended up seeing so many nice places - most of them were really commercial - and he also went for an ice-cream:)
Back in our hostel, we collapsed on our beds in less than 30 minutes - Ace was actually already collapsed, but he woke up around 11.30pm to start reading-.- perfect timing -.-"

Now I'm the only one to be awake (it's 8am and we were supposed to wake up at 7.30, since we have to collect the car at 9), but don't worry, I'll wake up the two Sleeping Beauties...somehow =_=

...Oahu, here we come!


C.

Day 2: Waikiki Beach and Surf lessons!

The main fact from today was my first approach to SURF!!! What to say...totally amazing!
We got to Waikiki Beach quite early and after about 3 hours it started raining.
People were leaving, but Jamie and I decided to go back into the water. Sooo good! And slowly, with his persuasive skills, he convinced me to go with him and try to surf.
<<Alright, let's go dying eaten by the waves O_O>>
...We moved on a close beach and he taught me the basic moves.
After losing the control of the board a couple of times (maybe more than a couple haha), I started getting the principle.
And that was amazing!!! Waves were kind of huge for what I've always been used to, but after a while I started getting comfortable with the idea - also because Jamie was always next to me.
So my first approach to this sport has totally been a success - more for the enthusiam, rather than the results haha:)
Tomorrow we'll probably do it again, hope I'll survive!
And on Sunday...Tour around the island! Can't wait!


C.

Day 1: Aloha, Honolulu!

So here we are, on this amazing island!
The flight was pretty long (5 hours from San Jose), but it passed quickly. Lot of turbolence especially at the end of the journey, but nothing too creepy:)

After some shopping at Cosco (even Cosco's super expensive here-.-) we headed to the hostel (really nice actually) where we meet some people from Russia, Canada and Thailand!

Afterwards we totally RAN to the beach, where we spent like 5 hours under the sun (OMG, it's sooo damnnnn hot!), swimming and being eaten by the waves! And now I'm so proud to say that we're all happily burned haha:)

Due to the 3 hours difference from California we became soon really tired (the guys are already snoring, God save me-.-) and now I'll head to bed too.

After this pretty satisfying day (I also went for some shopping for family and friends, hellyeah), tomorrow we'll spend another day on Waikiki Beach, trying to learn how to surf! Awesome!


C.

Ready to Leave to Paradise: Hawaii, here we come!

Yes, this is kinda reunion from the Epic Road Trip (see December/January): Ace, Jamie and I (together again, omg, this is a nightmare.....dahah jocking) will explore the beauty of Honolulu for the next five days...

AWWW!:)
I'll try to update the blog every day;)


C.

Day 4: Chino, Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood Sign, Beverly Hills, UCLA, Bel Air, Hollywood Boulevard, Universal Studios, Encino!

Sooo our last day in LA has been a blast! In the morning we woke up early and we drove through Chino (GUESS WHY.....?!The O.C., OF COURSE! ;)).
Our first stop has been LA downtown, which was extremely surprising compared to the first time I saw it. Completely another feeling.

We saw many business suits, you can totally say that it's a business center! The weather was awesome and the skyscrapers stood out. I really liked all the buildings in that area, specifically around the Disney Opera House. And wow, so many fire escapes like in movies haha!

Around Noon Josh and I took a street to get as close as possible to the Hollywood sign. The neighborhood was veeeery pretty, so many awesome houses and the landscape was woodsy and flowery! We got very close to the sign and we clearly took a hundred pictures under it ;)
Sooo cool, I can't wait to go back there!

Right after that we headed to the Sunset Boulevard, reaching Beverly Hills. Such a prettyyyy area, oh my God....! And pretty expensive too! It was full of famous brands, especially close to Rodeo Dr.

Our next stop was UCLA (University California Los Angeles). This university has been used as set for several tv shows and movies, since it appears as the typical American college environment. The campus is great, very huge and full of green. One of the most popular site is the Powell library, which is right in front of the Royce building.
Requirements to get into this college are very high, and if you happen to visit you'll understand why!

And now - my favorite part!!!We drove up to Bel Air drive (which is really close to UCLA) for thirty minutes, and we got to the end of it. Houses there are U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E!!!!!!!
Not to be repetitive, but you know what you see in movies!??? THAT'S IT!!!OH MY GOD!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! Josh and I already decided a couple of options that we'd like to consider for a future purchase. Haaaaaaaahaha. SURE!
The "old money" of LA, musicians, artists, politicians, actors, movie stars filled up Bel Air. Stereotype talks.
"New money": Newport, Laguna, San Bernardino, Escondido, San Fernando Valley...:)

Afterwards we had a great, romantic and intimate meal at In n Out (sitting in the parking lot), right before visiting the Chinese Theater, Kodak Theater and Hollywood Boulevard! We went to get a T-shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe (I'm such a turist -.-), I took a picture in front of the Kodak Theater (heart heart heart),  and there we also met Jenny and Cat - who told us that also the rest of the I-House crew was around!
We decided to meet them in front of the Chinese Theater and again, I took another picture with my beloved Johnny Depp haha! (see Thanksgiving)

Our last stop before heading to Encino (at Josh's auntie's house, Margie) was the Universal Studios! A kind parking guard allowed us to get into the parking for free (because it was very late!), and we went to see the entrance of the park. Yeah, the famous globe is right there ;) I wish I spent more time there, and the next time I'll definitely go visit the whole park!!
Ahhh, I can't even explain how much I love movies!

..After such a long day, we went to bed around midnight, ready to wake up at 4.30 to head back to SJ ;)

...Waw, I really love Los Angeles:)


C.

Day 3: Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palace Verdes, Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Venice Beach, Malibu, Santa Monica

So this morning we left around 9 and we got lost and drove through South Central Los Angeles, Compton, and collected directions fron Taco Bell. At that point we arrived in Manhattan Beach, and took that Pacific Coast Highway South through the scenic way Rancho Palace Verdes. Such a great drive, we also stopped to take some pictures:)
Afterwards we went over Long Beach Harbor (so many cargo ships from Asia!) and then we headed to Downtown Long Beach - and stopped because nature called.
Long Beach is a very commercialized and industrialized port, there are many cargo and cruise ships. Definitely not a touristy place, even if the name is pretty popular.

Next we drove North through Torrence and we arrived in Redondo Beach. Such a pretty spot!!! We headed to the pier and we enjoyed some warm sun. The beach was very clean and not too crowded, definitely a place that you want to check out!

After that we headed back to Manhattan Beach, where we stopped for half an hour. The pier was very nice, and not too many people were around. BUT I'VE SEEN THE POLICE ON BIKES!! THAT'S SOOO TV SHOW!!Hahha:)

But here's the big part! VENICE BEACH!!! We arrived there around for 4pm and we found that there was kind of a sunset festival, so it was pretty crowded! Music, dancers, street performers, skaters, tourists, medical marijuana head shops....yeah I mean...A MESS! And I loved it! Typical Californian beach and surroundings! If you're looking to visit one of those places full of blondies with big boobs and white teeth, sculpted tanned surfers and cheap marijuana...well, go to Venice. Haha!
It's not all that though, the beach is great and so is the weather. Oh, and great palm trees ;)

After a great two hours spent there, we headed to Malibu (yeah, I wanted to see Britney Spears' house....FAIL!). The coast was simply amazing, we even wanted to stop for a meal butttt yeah, for poor university students the thing was a little too pricy -.-
It was almost sunset time, and the colors started getting warm and "Californian"...so beautiful!!!

We arrived to Santa Monica right for the last half an hour before sunset, and it was amazing! The pier was great (that's why it's the most used pier for TV shows....like The  OC...OMGGG. Heart.)
We went on the back of it, took a picture in front of the Route 66 poster and enjoyed the last sunshines. Sunset was amazing, I can't wait to go back there.

Finally, after a great day, we headed back home ready for tomorrow! Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles!
Good night!


C.

Day 2: Mexico Border-Tijuana, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Balboa Island

This was definitely a great day!

Josh and I left LA around 9ish and drove til the Mexican border. Everybody told us not to go - because apparently it's pretty dangerous -, but yeah, I really wanted to see the beginning of Mexico:)

For what I could see, the difference between California and Mexico (Tijuana) was pretty distinct: on the US side things were still pretty ordered and organized, whereas on the Mexico side I could see soooo many houses everywhere. The whole Mexican territory was overcrowded!Woo!

What I liked the most though was the HUGE Mexican flag waving wight in the middle of Tijuana. 

How I wish I could have gone there! Josh's passport was expired - unfortunately - so we had to stay on the US side.

Anyways, another thing that I noticed was the strict control applied especially to all people and cars coming from Mexico to the United States. The queue to get into Mexico from California was flowing, on the other hand the queue to come to California was endless. 

After spending a reasonable time in the zone, Josh and I headed to Laguna Beach. And that was incredible! Both of us thought it was somehow "homy", a small high class village! We stopped on the beach for a while - it was freezing haha - and seriously, the house on the top of the cliff looking at the Pacific Ocean one day WILL BE MINE! Muahahha!

Oh dear, that was amazing. Really amazing.

Back on the road, we headed to Newport Beach, my dream since I got to California (Yes, I admit it, it's because of the TV show The OC, yes...oh come on, can you blame me!??:P). And...yes, what to say....I LOVED IT! Even higher class than Laguna (from our point of view) and full of crazyyyy houses...and with "crazy" I mean "AWESOME"! And most of the houses closed to the port had their own pier right in front of the entrance. Seriously, "Bye honey, I'll go sailing for half an hour around the Californian islandssss!"...yeahhh O_O

From there, we took a ferry to visit Balboa Peninsula, a tiny and cosy peninsula right in front of Balboa island...sooo nice! Josh bought a frozen banana and we enjoyed it next to the colorful feris wheel. Lifestyle was slower, much slower than downtown LA. Everybody seemed to be calm and relaxed, the atmosphere was really nice:)

So yes, I finally realized my dream to see the places of my favorite TV show haha:)

Afterwards, we drove back home, through amazing hills and cuddled by the sunset's tint.

C.

Day 1: From San Jose, through Santa Barbara, to LA!

Soooo, another adverture has started:)
This morning Josh and I left the house at 10.35 (late, obviously) and headed to South Silicon Valley for some travelling suppiles - and to wake up Jenna of course!:P

Afterwards, we headed to the US 101, dreaming of Santa Barbara Palm trees! The weather was not good at all up to Monterey, but it started improving after that. Thank God O_O

We passed San Luis Obisbo, Pismo Beach and Santa Maria. At around 4.30pm we finally got to Santa Barbara's Pier! It was pretty sunny but VEEERY COLD!!!SOOO WINDY!!!!My haird became straight! O_O
What we noticed immediately was the slow lifestyles and the lack of professional suits, totally different from downtown San Jose!

After enjoying Santa Barbara's atmosphere, we headed to LA County.
We arrived around 7.30, and on the way to our accommodation we saw film related buildings (NBC Universal, Capital Records....awww!) and downtown Los Angeles:)

We arrived at home at about 8.30 and now here we are, super tired ready to recharge for tomorrow!
Mexican border, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Long Beach!
...Can't wait!

ps: of course you're gonna sleep here...aribaba!!!

C.

Spring Break is coming...Stay connected ;)

...So, the beloved Spring Break is almost here, and I can't wait to leave for another adventure:)

The plan is to visit with Josh all the major beaches in LA area, LA downtown, Hollywood, til all the way down to Tijuana, Mexico - even if his passport has expired, and I'll have to go by myself -.-"

After that...3 members from the Epic Road Trip (see posts from December to January!) will get together again (kill me now ==") to go and visit HAWAII!

Stay connected, it'll be fun  O_O
ahhaha!:)

C.

Japan: A Worldwide Tragedy

This wants to be a short post. What happened in Japan should touch everybody's mind, not only for the tragic images that we all got to see, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxL36ngIJA8 but also because it's a problem that could affect more than one country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sMxKHx2tD8 & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXW-s8sT-gs&feature=relmfu

This is probably the best moment to stop and help. Here's the unicef link to give a donation to Japan.
The world is one, help saving it!
https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=9640&9640.donation=form1

Simon's Cat 'Fly Guy'

Nothing to do with my journeys, but i HAD to post this!

If you have a cat, you will laugh really hard!!! ENJOY!

Lake Tahoe: A Paradise Between California And Nevada

A couple of weeks ago I visited Lake Tahoe for the first time, a popular holiday destination for both people from California and Nevada.
Josh and I left early in the morning and we got to our hotel - which was exactly on the border between the two states, in Kings Beach - after about 4 hours and a half.

The weather was chilly but the sky was reaaaally blue :)
Not longer after, Josh realized that he was starving (what's new -.-) so we originally decided to look for a McDonalds. Haha. And I seriously hated him, because he managed to eat healthy also there. Anyways I got him to eat at least 10 of my 50 nuggets haha.

After that, we tried to find some good views of the lake to take some good pictures. The environment was really cool, so many trees, wooden houses and fresh breeze.
We changed three beaches before choosing the one for the sunset. And that was was pretty amazing. So many colors, mixed with fog on the horizon.
Such a romantic moment, nothing to say :)

The day after we went visiting the Cal Neva Resort, a hotel casino known to be holiday destination for the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. Inside of if there's a popular fireplace which shows the state  line between California and Nevada. We also saw Frank Sinatra's theatre, pretty nice room with a tiny stage. Red velvet sofas, smoky atmosphere and a mysterious silence.. I really could smell the magic of that place.
Cal Neva is also famous to be a place occupied by ghosts - so the weiter told us - Apparently she got used to their behaviors, but sometimes it's still creepy to her. WAHA O_O
The scenery from there was pretty amazing, I bet the Kennedys loved that place :) http://www.calnevaresort.com/ppc-special-offers.php?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=cal+neva+lake+tahoe&utm_campaign=CNV02_winter15&_vsrefdom=Cal_Neva-ppc

Afterwards we kept travelling with the car and we arrived til the south line state. We stopped in several amazing places before getting there, the day was awesome.
Once in  Stateline - where we saw Heavenly, aww, amazing! http://www.skiheavenly.com/ - we parked the car at Harrah's http://www.harrahslaketahoe.com/casinos/harrahs-lake-tahoe/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml and we went to see around. We also got to visit South Lake Tahoe, such an amazing place. http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/ Visit this website and book your flight now!!! Seriously, that was pretty cool!

It got dark soon and we finally started heading back home. Before getting to San Jose, we met with a crew from the International House who went to ski for the day. Ate quickly something at In&Out, and headed back home :)

It was such a nice weekend, needless to say I'd do it again! :)


C.

Monterey: Summertime In January!

A couple of days ago i visited Monterey with my international friends for the first time. And I've been happily surprised :)

It took us about two hours to get there with the bus from San Jose - and I gotta say that our bus driver was pretty crazy. When we took off I fought against myself no to throw up -.- I'm sorry for this awful detail -.-

Anyways, despite we are still in January, the weather was awesome: Blue sky, just a few clouds that didn't ruin the atmosphere, warm breeze coming form the sea and bright sun.

The group was pretty big and half of us went to visit the famous aquarium; The other half - including myself - went to enjoy the beach and the historic downtown.

We got to the most touristic area in less than ten minutes and the pier was overcrowded.
We tasted like four different soups (clam chowder) - gotta love free samples haha - and we decided to go for the last one.

After that we went up to the panorama view to take some pictures. Aww that was soooo good, love the smell of salinity :)

We moved then to the beach, where an unpredicted wave made us really wet! We walked for a while following the shoreline when we finally met up with the rest of the group.
The guys decided to show off their courage and they got naked - kind of - to go and swim in the ocean.
...
Useless to say that they got frozen haha ;) Actually there were so many people swimming, but most of them were wearing suits to cope with the cold water. If you will ever decide to go surfing or scuba diving on the west coast, be sure you're provided of good equipment. The bathing suit is not enough :)

Afterwards, we went back visiting the town and we ended up in the most famous street in Monterey: Cannery Row.
So many good hotels there, amazing views and a great restaurant right on the beach. We didn't eat there, but I really wish I could go back just to sit there and enjoy the landscape :)

Before going back to take the bus, we passed in front of the United States Army - Presidio of Monterey and then we finally got back to the bus station.

Despite the short time, we definitely had a good time. Monterey is really tiny and nice - maybe a little too much touristic -, and the weather is supposed to be good pretty much all the time. I really feel like suggesting it as a stop if you will ever pass near through the area :) http://www.monterey.org/

C.

San Francisco: The Dream City :)

It was not my first time in San Francisco, but everytime I visit it it's like living a dream :)

Josh and I took the train from San Jose at 9am and we arrived in San Francisco at 10.30ish. The first stop was in a cosy bar close to the train station. Maybe it was just the San Francisco atmosphere, but that hot chocolate tasted really good ;)

We walked for a wee while and we ended up in the Union Square. And everytime that massive Macy's looking at me like "Come and visit, Carlotta...Come and visit ;)"...EVIL.
Instead, we took some pictures in the square and (I) spent some money at Victoria's Secret - that's worse than drung, hell -.-

Facing the Union Square there's a very high hotel. We went in and we used its transparent elevators, til floor 32. The view was awesome. And fortunately it was also a really nice day, so we could see pretty far.

Back on the groundfloor, we headed to China Town. That was simply a mess haha...sooo many people walking, talking, buying, moving. We were actually starving, so we decided to find a nice place where to eat. And we ended up in "New Asia", a restaurant in a secondary street. Well. If you have the chance... DO NOT GO THERE!!!Jeez, the worst restaurant I've ever been in! Definitely overcrowded, bad organized and really, really, REALLY DIRTY! When our chicken arrived, we immediately noticed SEVERAL hair on the meal...I wanted to throw up.
Not longer after, we left that disgusting place and we headed to the Coit Tower. On our way, we also saw the Church of Scientology, haha...no Tom Cruise around though ;)

To get to the Coit Tower we basically had to climb SF -.- It's located up to a hill, such an effort to get there -.- , but it totally worh it. The view was amazing :) http://www.aviewoncities.com/sf/coittower.htm

Afterwards, we moved to the bay. We got to the Pier 39. Josh got a huge ice-cream, I had fun watching the sea lions playing. Really close to the pier there are so many shops, so I managed to spend some money. Shit -.- Hella cool though haha:)


After visiting the Chocolate Ghirardelli Factory - they give free samples away, go there! - we headed to the Italian area. Little Italy is really nice in SF, full of nice pubs and restaurants, lights and people :) Definitaly better than the one in NYC!

On our way back we passed again through Cina Town and Union Square (again on the elevator, by night was definitely amazing!) and as last stop we went up to the top of Macy's, awesome!

Back at the train station, we waited for our train to San Jose :)
It was such a nice day, San Francisco makes me always very happy. It's definitely my favourite city in the US :)

C.

Day 28: Back to California!

...The drive back to San Jose was quite good.
We all were really tired and the guys have been very good in maintaining their focus on the driving.

Sooo many feelings and emotions during the journey, I couldn't believe we actually made it.
32 states in 28 days, 10000 miles, 5 people, 741 arguments, 50 stops at McDonalds, 4 nights spent in the car, about 200 hours driving...AHHH! Simply an amazing experience! Best time of my life to live something like that.
What I liked most has been probably the Grand Canyon, as well as the Niagara's Falls. In terms of cities, I really liked New York and Miami. Other story for New Orleans, that was simply unique. The rich culture behind it was really amazing, I actually saw with my own eyes those places that I used to study for my music classes:  The birthplace of blues and jazz, yay!

...Feeling happy to be finally back home (back to accessible toilets, comfortable beds and available facilities;)), but also kind of weird beacause of the habit to travel everyday, we arrived in San Jose around 7.30am. We moved all our stuff out from the Megmobile, and finally finished our adventure.

In one word, simply Memorable.

...My crew and I ended up hating each other, OBVIOUSLY, but now things are fine again. More than before! Now it's not that we are forced to stay together 21/7, so we are spontaneously led to look for each other as we shared so much :)

...If you had the chance, don't be scared: DO IT!!!!

Crazy American Road Trip: WE SURVIVED!

...Thanks for following my adventure!

C.

Day 27: Monument Valley (Utah), Grand Canyon (Arizona) and...Las Vegas!

Finally I manage to write the last two days of the road trip. I've been really busy since I got back to California :)

So, after a freezing cold night we finally woke up. It was 6.30am and we absolutley wanted to see the sunset in the Monument Valley. We collected Tom and Ace - in a good mood after a night spent in the hotel -.- and we drove to the famous spot to enjoy it.

When we got there there were a bunch of people ready with cameras and hot tea. Useless to say that it was incredible. Colours were wonderful and the shadows created by the rising sun emphasized the already amazing scenery. Blue, orange, black and no noise. Really enjoyable. http://www.americansouthwest.net/utah/monument_valley/
We stayed there for about half an hour, and afterwards we decided to head to the Grand Canyon.

It took us six hours to get to the park and the drive was really awesome. Certain landscapes were simply...unreal! When we arrived to the entrance, we tried to corrupt the guard to let us in for less money - yes, we used our "Bambi eyes" - but it didn't work =_=

As soon as we got inside the park, I immediately started feeling a deep sense of freedom: Those wide and peaceful sceneries just led me to breathe life.
The Grand Canyon presents so many different landscapes, and the one that made me most excited was the one with huge mountains. Check the website! http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

We spent about three hours in the park, and after that we started heading to our last destination: Vegas!
Before actually getting to the city we had a small stop at the Hoover Dam, which is exactly between Utah and Arizona. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam

Back on the road, thirty minutes later we started noticing that the sky was getting lighter and lighter...light pollution, Vegas was close.
And that's it, at 7ish we got to the city where everything's possible! Las Vegas!
We parked the car in the Bellagio's parking and we started our tour. Oh my god, that's not a city. That's a..Fake world! It was really amazing, but also kinda creepy. Everything's all about money and sex, a true Sin City.

All casinos were pretty amazing, lights everywhere, cars, people dressed up and people waving cards in front of you advertising naked women  O_O
We saw the New York and the French areas, and all those buildings around.
Pretty amazing. We've also been lucky to see the amazing music-watershow in front of Bellagio: Emotional!

Despite the deeeeeply fake atmosphere, I really liked the city. And yes, that's gonna be the right place for me to turn 21 ;)
Around 11pm we decided to start our long drive back to San Jose, so we went back to the car ready for a long night!

C.

Day 26: Santa Fe, Petroglyph National Monument, Monument Valley

In the morning we woke up and everybody took a shower. We said goodbye to the lady and after paking - and checking facebook - we went back on the road.

Before starting our drive though, we stopped in Santa Fe downtown to collect Jamie B., our friend. At that point, the car was REALLY packed O_O We could have been stopped by the police for "overtransportationofstuffandpeople". Hahahha.
New Mexico roads were pretty characteristic, we saw so many ranches and we also went through an apparently "Ghost City"...exciting ;)

We stopped at the Petroglyph National Monument to ask for some advice and they suggested us to visit the Rinconada Canyon Trail. They said it was a pretty famous site for its old drawings on the rocks.
So we headed there, and, yes...It was okay :) We mostly enjoyed the landscape, the typical arid weather and, finally, a human temperature! It was not freezing anymore and that was pretty encouraging!:)

Afterwards, we started our drive to the Monument Valley. We got there in the evening and Ace and Tom decided to book a room. The two Jamies, Jenny and I decided to follow our homeless side and sleep in the car to save money! And that was such an adventure O_O

Before starting sleeping we decided to use the toilets, not too far from the hotel. Those toilets were the ones used by people camping (who the hell go camping with that cold??Haha Jamie M. proposed that...CRAZY!), but we luckily had the code because we previously asked for it at the reception in the hotel.

That place was CREEPY. Nobody around, just us. Looking like zombies. Haha.
Back in the car, we said we could have slept in front of the toilets, just to have them ready...but after a few seconds...headlamps pointing at us... O_O A ghost car appeared from the nothing and approached us...We started the engine, ready to leave. At that point, a man got off from the van and started looking around...in a creepy way...so decided to leave...even if Jamie M. thought that he was lost and alone and wanted to offer his help...(I just said LEAVE NOWWWW!).

We ended up on hill close to the hotel, and we started setting the stuff for the night. We took the cooler off and, at that point, Jamie accidentally honked which made us loud. Exactly two minutes after, the same creepy man arrived with the ghost car. He asked us what we were doing and what we were looking for. Jamie B. promptly replied "Oh, we are just re-setting the luggage"..yes, sure. We were NOT going to sleep in the car.........no......ahaha.
So basically the guard told us to head back to the hotel and to park in front of our friends' room. And so we did, because we were kind of scared.

Once we got there, we started getting ready for the night. Obviously, after five minutes the man drove again behind our car to see if we were in the right place. Creeeepy.

The looong freezing night began, and at least the car was a bit more comfortable being just four people.
Following day: Sunrise in Monument Valley, Grand Canyon...and Vegas!!!


C.

Day 25: From Texas through Oklahoma to New Mexico!

This morning has been sooo difficult to wake up and leave our warm beds.
It was really cold, plus we were still very tired. But the day had to start! We got ready and also ate something for breakfast (free breakfast has become a V.I.P. stuff haha).
After that, we put all our baggage back in the car and we left Wichita Falls.

The goal was to eat in a really characteristic Texan place, so we set our GPS on Amarillo: we would have eaten at "The Big Texan Ranch"! Considering the time zone, we got there at 12.30pm. That place looked amazing! A real Texan place - saloons, small old style hotels and.. the big steak competition! 72oz Steak!
If you get to eat it in an hour, you'll get it for free! If you won't...you'll pay 72 bucks haha :P http://www.bigtexan.com/

We got a pretty nice meal, and after chilling for a while we went back on the road...on the Route 66, baybe!
After I don't remember how long, I started needed the toilet. But jeez, we were exactly in The Middle of Nowhere O_O Just trees, bushes and hills. CRAP. After like an hour of "thinking about something else", we finally found a gas station. The typical "horror movie gas station". Fine. We asked if there was a toilet, and the man said "Yes, but it's 2 dollars". DONE. I'd have paied also $20 for a toilet ahah! So he gave me the key...and I what i found was completely the most disgustingly dirty toilet EVER. Plus I couldn't flush, and not even the sink worked. YEAAHHH =_=


Anyways, since I was pretty terrified I ran back to the car and we headed again to Santa Fe.
During the drive we saw an amazing sunset, awesome colors and amazing landscape. Magical!


We arrived in Santa Fe at around 6.45 and we met up with Jamie! So nice to see him. He also gave us a name for a place where to stay ovenight - Couchsurfing again ;) - and we decided to meet up tomorrow.
Before getting to the house, we ate something in a tiny restaurant (in the first restaurant they asked us for IDs...shite!) and we briefly visited Santa Fe by night. Really pretty, in my opinion :)


Got the the house, we met our host family and we had a long chat with them. Really friendly and welcoming people!


..Tomorrow we'll visit Santa Fe and then we'll head to Albuqurque! We'll then have an ovenight drive til the Monument Valley and then Gand Canyon. After that....VEGAS!
I'm not sure I'll manage to update the blog in the next two days, I'll do it as soon as possible anyways!

C.

Day 24: From Louisiana to Texas: Dallas and Wichita Falls

Incredibly, this morning we managed to leave as scheduled. By 8.15am we were already leaving New Orleans.
Since then, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN TRAVELLING! It has been a pretty tiring day, mainly spent singing, sleeping, watching outside the window. And it was great because we never got lost. Haha.

I actually really enjoyed the drive through Texas, it was exactly like movies portrait it! Wide lands, some farms, dry grass, ranches... Sooo good! And creepy ;)

During our drive we watched the movie "American Psycho", just to relax O_O
When we got to Dallas, around 8pm, we discussed about it, sitting in a characteristic restaurant and eating burgers and steaks :)

Afterwards, we headed to downtown Dallas, which I really enjoyed. It seemed pretty sad and gloomy actually, not so many people around, not so many lights or things to do (that's why someone previously suggested us to visit Hudson or San Antonio). But probably because of that weird atmosphere, I kind of liked it. I wish I could have visited it during the day, but it's okay. I'll be back.

On the road again, we set the GPS to Wichita Falls. Before getting here, we also passed through a town called "Scotland", which was pretty funny. Jamie and I were quite excited, but we didn't manage to find a sign to take a picture with :/

Anyways, after four looong hours drive we got to Wichita Falls. We are spending here the night, and tomorrow we'll head to Santa Fe, where we'll meet another friend of ours, Jamie (yes, another Jamie!).
He'll drive back to California with us - and believe me - it's going to be a big challenge: The car is totally packed and there's no even room for us...Haha, I really start missing my room! :P

...Santa Fe, here we come!

C.

Day 23: New Orleans: It's Time To Feel The Rhythm!

As forecasted, we arrived in New Orleans at 5ish. I didn't even notice that, because I was happily sleeping. Well, happily: Hard to be happy to sleep huddled up in such a small space. Such a bad backache -.-"

We woke up at about 9am, and we got ready for the day. It was quite a shock to wake up with such a cold weather after four days in Miami!
We first visited the Cemetery, very popular in New Orleans. We then headed to downtown, where we had a nice breakfast: eggs, potatoes and pancakes......yesss.
In the afternoon we visited the famous French Quarter: beautiful balconies, houses, pubs. The atmosphere was completely different from any other city visited so far.
Jackson Square and Burboun Street have definitely been my favourite places.

Hanging around the city I got closer to the deep tradition of this place: Everything conveys to the history of slavery and to the convergence of different cultures, a long time ago. Voodo dolls, masks, ancestor worship, religion.. I didn't think I'd have found something like that! This definitely surprised me!

After a nice afternoon spent in hanging around, we went to check-in at the hotel. With our usual routine;)
We ate a pizza in our room (Jamie and Tom went to pick it up) and we chilled for a while.
Also, Ace, Jenny and I also experienced a movie scene while Jamie and Tom were away: The heating wasn't working in our room, so Ace had the brillant idea to call the reception. And of course, they sent someone to fix it. What happened?? Since we were supposed to be just two people in the room (Ace and Jamie), Jenny and I had to hide: Myself in the toilet, Jenny in the closet.
That was hilarious.

By the way, at 9.30 we decided to leave the hotel to explore the city by night.
...SOOO AWESOME! We sat in a dark, tiny and cosy pub, listening to live jazz and drinking something. That was simply amazing! The freakiness of this city soaked into my veins!
Listening to jazz drives me crazy, especially if it's live and well played. I'd have spent the whole night in that small and crazy place.

Now we're back at the hotel, ready to catch uo with our sleep :)

Tomorrow: Ten hours drive to... Dallas, Texas!:D

C.