Barcelona Bites Back

Sometimes unfortunate things can happen while you're traveling, and like in life, you just have to take them in stride and handle the situation. Our second day in Barcelona started well enough, but concluded with a bit of a struggle, in the form of two stolen cell phones. 

We all like to think that we're conscientious enough to not get our stuff stolen. That all those crime alerts about ripped away cell phones are just dumb people not paying enough attention. Really though, it can happen to the best of us, especially when traveling in a foreign country known for its master pickpockets. 

Barcelona sits on the southern coast of Spain, along the Balearic Sea. Brooke, Lindsey, and I thought we would take advantage of a beach day, being the California girls we are. However, though they may be beautiful, Barcelona's beaches are nothing like California. People line every inch of the sand, and there are panhandlers consistently harassing you. 

"Mojito! Mojito! Fresh mojito!" 

Endless sun

After Bre and I's morning at the pool we went and harassed Poppy about how to acquire a quad for the day, a process which proved to be surprisingly easy and cheap. We didn't even have to sign our lives away (like in ol'America). 

Lounging in Santorini

When Bre and I arrived in Santorini, there were clouds in the sky and sprinkles of rain falling. We were a bit dismayed by this weather, but quickly perked up as we arrived at our quaint Grecian retreat. 

Villa Manos is the perfect homey island escape destination (on a budget). For just $12 a night each, Bre and I got a large room to ourselves, with the added bonus of the nicest hotel staff in history. The woman who runs Villa Manos, Poppy, is about the sweetest lady on the planet, and essentially the greek mama you never had. Her and her husband run a pristine hotel, and are always willing to help you with any of your island needs. Bre and I went running to Poppy on more than one occasion over our 7 days stay trying to figure out how the hecky to get around the island.

Planet Amalfi

Sometimes living 'the life' gets all kinds of overwhelming and time consuming, making for one very inconsistent blogger. When I last penned out a post for my dear bloggy I had said goodbye to London. I, however, failed to mention that I was departing from my new found (future) home to head off on another adventure on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. 

After spending a week in London, the evening I returned to Florence I found myself with a fierce contention for Italy. Why are there so many people on this miniature sidewalk? I forgot how to speak this language! Hey you with the creepy eyes: don't you dare holler at me! I had a bit of re-culture shock situation on my hands. 

Fortunately, the cure for any negative feelings for fair Italia is to briefly recover from exhaustion with a good ol' fashion bubble bath and then head off to somewhere entirely new that will remind you just how magical of a country you live in. 

-Insert 4 hour train ride to Southern Italy here-

My friend Elsa and I arrived on the train in Salerno, then set off to Amalfi by bus. Arriving in the sloping land of Amalfi, Elsa and I were both left speechless. Usually when you arrive in a new place you can compare it to somewhere you've been before. This is not a possibility on the Southern Ionian Coast of Italy. It was like arriving on an new planet. Even the Amalfians portray their tiny town with some very alien-like figures. 

Peace out Cali

"I took a road to nowhere on my own...because I left everyone I love at home. I don't want to be alone forever, but I can be alone tonight. I don't want to be alone forever, but I love Gypsy life." -Lady Gaga

The past couple weeks have been crazy. I did a hundred things and ran out of time to do a thousand more. There were so many moments and faces that just flew by. From the last day of our San Francisco weekend to my departure on a new adventure, there hasn't been a second wasted (as long as you don't count marathon Doctor Who-ing as time wasting, which I do not). 

When you live somewhere for so long it becomes easy to take for granted how lucky you are; California is a prime example of this. One weekend, we went to San Francisco to celebrate my Mom's Birthday, explore a castle (see here), visit my Aunty, and explore creepy toy artifacts, all whilst enjoying a mild 65 degree climate.

Coming back

Bad-blogger Kenna here. I've obviously been lax in telling you lovely people my summer stories, so I'm going to consolidate a few adventures, all about a troublesome trio aka myself and my besties, Brooke and Lindsey. 

When you've been friends with someone your whole life, or at least since high school, you expect your friendships to change as you get older. You graduate, go to college, move to new places, meet new people...things do change. If you're lucky, though, some things always stay the same. 

Bye bye blue

If you think about it, it is kind of amazing how many different colors water can appear. You have the crystal clear of a clean river, that mossy green of a lake, the stormy gray of the ocean on a cloudy day, and even crazy pepto-bismol pink lakes that take form around the world. My personal favorite though? That true-blue color of the ocean on a bright sun shiny day. That's the blue we got on our last afternoon in Oregon. 

Jewel and I went exploring the rocky eroded bluffs. It was a pretty good spot to just soak in the sunshine and that spectacular view. (And also jump on rocks, dance around, and generally act like silly kids).