Travel – Page 2 – Studio Josie

A day in Florence

But first, a song for you, because Florence, Italy isn’t the only Florence I love.

Last time I visited Florence, I left knowing I’d come back. There’s something about this city — its easy accessibility from Rome; its not-too-overwhelming size; its location in relation to the rest of Tuscany; and, obviously, its food — that keeps me thinking about it and wanting to return.

Yesterday, I did, along with my friend Lauren. We spent the day in beautiful Firenze, and I was able to see parts of the city I hadn’t seen last year.

I think I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Florence because it was the first solo trip I ever took. And whenever I think about doing another solo trip (which is quite often), it’s the place that always comes to mind and that always makes me eager to travel again.

We left Roma Termini around 8:30 a.m and arrived at Santa Maria Novella station at around 10:00 a.m. Lauren had never been to Florence, so I made a pretty detailed itinerary to ensure that we’d hit all the must-see spots I was familiar with, while also seeing some places I hadn’t been able to check out last year.

Our first stop was Caffè Gilli, the oldest cafe in Florence which I visited last time and loved. It’s definitely not the cheapest breakfast spot, but it is so special, and the service is wonderful. I feel like I’m watching a choreographed dance as waiters juggle trays of gorgeous pastries, or baristas effortlessly froth milk for cappuccini.

Here’s what we got: for Lauren, un cornetto al cioccolato & una ciocolatta calda, and for me, un bombolone (the pastry I eat pretty much every day for breakfast that I will miss so dearly this summer) & un cappuccino.

After breakfast, we headed out to see some of the must-see sights in the historical center of Florence.

In my bedroom in Rome, I am constantly looking out the window down at the street. I watch people walk as they head to work or to school or to the bar, and it’s rare that anyone actually looks up. So I try and look up as much as I can, when I remember, and it’s always fun to spot fellow people-watchers.

We walked towards Piazza del Duomo and it became immediately clear that tourist season has begun. I wish I counted how many tour groups we saw throughout the day; it had to be at least 10.

This entire piazza is unreal. The tickets to enter the main structures are a little pricey, but next time I visit I need to tour all three of the masterpieces: the cupola, the duomo, and the bell tower.

After admiring the piazza, we made our way towards another one: Piazza della Signoria, which is home to a bunch of statues and Palazzo Vecchio.

This one is the one that always holds a spot in the back of my mind: Rape of the Sabines by Giambologna.

I’ve got a thing for taking photos of empty or half-finished drinks people leave on the sidewalks very often here in Italy. Here’s a recently-finished spritz.

And here’s a pretty much perfect row of vespas.

I’ll admit, whenever I travel, I always do more research about the food than the actual historical aspects. Before returning to Florence this time, I did even more research about Tuscan and Florentine cuisine. I had some pretty incredible food experiences here last year, so I wanted to make sure I could say the same this time.

I had already tried one of the famous Florentine street foods, the lampredotto panino, which is made with meat from the fourth stomach of the cow. I loved it, and I knew that I had to find another great panino this time.

I found two places that were highly-rated amongst Italians and ended up going with this place, I Fratellini. You know when you just know the restaurant you chose was the right one? Yeah, I knew that this was the right one the very second I stopped in front of it. The line out the door said enough, but the small, hole-in-the-wall vibe was the selling point.

Customers are encouraged to grab a paper menu while they wait in line so no time is lost once they get to the register. I eyed the extensive menu filled with panini (all of them priced at four euro): prosciutto, mozzarella, tonno, finocchiona, porchetta, mortadella… I felt more indecisive than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

I alternated between three panini for about five minutes, and then decided to go with the very first one on the menu, since they said it was one of their specialties. It was a panino of prosciutto crudo, crema di formaggio, & rucola (prosciutto, soft cheese, and arugula).

I ordered it at the small storefront, where one man was taking orders and running the register, and another was preparing drinks. There must have been a kitchen somewhere in the back where some extremely hardworking people were cranking out panini by the minute.

The second I took a bite, I knew that there is no bad panino at this place: anything I ordered was bound to be delicious.

The bread was tough but not too much that it was hard to bite into. The prosciutto was slightly stringy and perfectly salty, and the cheese — oh, my god. It was like a cream cheese, but it had the texture of chèvre, and it was like heaven. I wish you could taste it. And I wish I could eat it every single day.

From there, Lauren and I split up for a little while. She wanted to see the Statue of David, which I saw last time, so I got to roam around a bit on my own. I wanted to check out the Mercato Centrale, so I walked about 15 minutes to get there.

It’s basically two floors of foodie heaven. The top floor felt like an extremely elevated mall food court. It was crazy busy, so I decided not to get anything there. If I lived in Florence, though, I know exactly where I’d be doing my shopping.

Next, I stopped by Bar Vivoli for some much-needed gelato.

I was considering trying a new gelateria to break from routine since this is the one I’d visited last year. However, Vivoli makes some of the very best gelato I’ve ever tasted, so naturally, I had to come back. I had to get the same flavors, too: pera e caramella & fragola. Perhaps this will be a Florence tradition for me: it’s just too damn good not to visit every time.

The pear/caramel combo is insane, and while Fatamorgana here in Rome is hard to beat, Vivoli’s pear is slightly sweeter, which I love. There are bits of caramel flakes that create the most complex texture with the slightly-grainy pear. I can’t get enough of this flavor, so I do not regret playing it safe.

It’s also the most charming little gelateria ever. I love the neon cursive font.

This church, Chiesa del Santi Simone e Giuda, is right across from Vivoli. Lauren met back up with me, and we decided to step in and check it out. We had the whole place to ourselves, so we took advantage and rested a few minutes inside. I cannot believe that I can just walk into places that date back to the 1100s here — and that they still look this beautiful.

This elaborate wood ceiling stopped me in my tracks. It also happens to feature my favorite color.

After exploring the church and resting for a bit, we began to walk towards the river. We walked through the Uffizi Gallery’s piazza where tons of artists had their pieces for sale outside.

I wasn’t too eager to see Ponte Vecchio again, but it felt necessary to show it to Lauren. It’s one of the busiest and most touristy places in all of the city, but its history is quite cool.

I do think it’s more fun to look at it from afar, though; after all, you can’t see the bridge and all its beauty while on the bridge.

We walked over the Arno and began a longer stroll towards Piazzale Michelangelo. I’d wanted to check this out last time but decided against it, and honestly, I’m glad I waited! It was more fun with another person, cause walking a million stairs and steep hills isn’t so fun to do alone (mostly because there’s no one to complain with).

The weather was so perfect, so even though this was a pretty intense uphill climb, it was just nice to be in the sun. And, of course, the view let me know that it was 100% worth it…

Like, come on! Florence is a painting and a poem and a fairytale all squished into one city.

Here’s another with a horizontal view. I spotted a church a little further up the piazzale, and we decided that (somehow) we could bear to do some more climbing.

This is what I had spotted and what we checked out for a little while: Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte. The inside boasted some gorgeous frescoes, but I am so impressed by the facade. Its green and white marble is very reminiscent of the structures in the Piazza del Duomo.

And here’s me, smiling at literally no one.

(Also, I’m no fashion blogger, but I must say: this skirt is one of my favorite things I’ve ever thrifted. I found it a few years ago at Salvation Army for only three dollars.)

After taking photos and resting inside the abbey, we walked down all the hills and stairs and paid one euro to use the public bathroom. I wanted to show Lauren Piazza Santo Spirito since it was one of my favorite places I’d visited last time. We walked quite a bit and had aperitivo there. I didn’t take any photos, but we ate some of my beloved pappa al pomodoro alongside some drinks before walking back over the river for dinner.

I made a reservation at Trattoria Marione Al Trebbio for 7:00 p.m., which is quite early for Italian standards. They had just re-opened for dinner, so we were one of the first to sit down. I was very proud of this restaurant selection, which I found last-minute but had a good feeling about.

As we ate, a huge group of Americans, likely on a food tour, sat at a long table behind us. Their accents sounded very Bostonian, which was so funny to listen to. One woman, who was extremely loud and Lois Griffin-esque, said, as the table clinked wine glasses, “When in Rome… or, when in Florence!” to which the entire table responded with a cacophony of laughs and howls. It was quite funny, and I felt, just for a second, like I was back in the states.

I ordered la ribollita, which is a classic Tuscan bread soup, similar to the texture of pappa al pomodoro. I don’t even know how to describe it, other than the fact that it is the most flavorful mix of vegetables and beans and bread. I’ve been dying to try it, and wow was it good. It’s always the least photogenic dishes that taste the best. But seriously — I am so excited to learn how to make it and to eat it again someday.

Also, as seen, a glass of Chianti, because even though it’s not my favorite… you can’t go to Tuscany and not drink Chianti!

Following dinner, which didn’t take nearly as long as I thought, we strolled a little more around the historical center and then eventually made our way back to the train station. I bought some chocolate at Venchi, the only storefront that was still open inside Santa Maria Novella, and we waited for about an hour for our train to arrive at 9:43.

I read on the train so that I wouldn’t fall asleep. A man next to me observed some sheet music on his laptop and played air piano with his fingers. And after an hour and a half, we were back in Rome.

I am really happy with how the day turned out. My itinerary was pretty much followed to a T! We saw everything we wanted to see, and I ate everything I wanted to eat. We walked around 30,000 steps in total, but it was totally worth it. I feel so lucky to be able to take day trips to such incredible places.

Ti amo tanto, Firenze… a presto. ❤

Postcards from Italy — August 26, 2021

[Queue this song.]

I’ve arrived in sunny and sweaty Roma, where I will begin (and hopefully end) my undergraduate college degree.

I’ve been here since Monday, but a mix of orientation activities / exhaustion / hesitation to leave my apartment has prohibited me from exploring by myself, until yesterday.

After a meeting at the school, I decided to wander, with no plan or route in mind. Since yesterday, I had only been out with school groups and with my roommate, so it was nice to be alone for a couple of hours. The week had been filled with mingling/get-to-know-each-other activities, all of which have been horribly exhausting for my introverted brain, so the next few hours were a much-needed recharge.

I wasn’t planning to be out for more than a few minutes, but it was oh, so, hot that, naturally, I began to crave gelato. I walked and walked and walked and eventually made it over the bridge that overpasses the Tevere, or the Tiber River — the third-longest in Italy.

I passed by a few gelato shops, but decided to keep going and make up a route to explore some of the city I hadn’t been to. Here are some of the things I saw:

La Fontana dell’Acqua Paola, built in 1612. It’s very reminiscent (albeit much smaller in size) of La Fontana di Trevi, which sits on the other side of the Tevere.

This building looks like it belongs in New York!

I love street art, and this made me laugh.

Walking over the Tevere. I tried my best to capture the color of the water here because it was so blue and beautiful.

There is so much graffiti here. More than I’ve ever seen anywhere else.

I wish the mailboxes in the US were this charming. Italian design is on a whole different level.

And that concludes my first set of Postcards from Italy. I am going to try my best to post these once a week.

I am kind of in shock that I’m even here. The first few days were tough. I was feeling super homesick and confused and scared. I couldn’t even listen to music because it reminded me too much of home, and of driving in my car, and of my friends, and of everything that’s so far away from me —

— but as time goes on and the days continue to pass, I realize that those things are all still there; here, I get to be apart of new things I’ll surely miss when I’m home. It’s pretty cool how many little worlds we can create for ourselves everywhere we go.

Alla prossima!

narni, italy – the flight & our first day

If you didn’t know, this past July I had the opportunity to visit Narni, Italy for two weeks. It was a trip run by the Italian language company IACE and the Narnia Music Festival. In the spring, with the help of my Italian teacher, I created a video that I submitted to IACE. I won the scholarship contest and was one of the twenty other students selected to go.

While making the video, I didn’t think much of the trip. I was only a beginner in Italian, and I knew there were tons of other students entering who were ten times more advanced and qualified than I was. I didn’t think I would win, but I tried my best anyways and attempted staying positive about it. When I found out I won, I was shocked, confused, and excited; it didn’t really kick in that I was going to Italy again until I was at the airport.

I’ll talk more about this as I continue sharing photos, but the main reason why it has taken me so long to write about it is because of how special it was for me. The two weeks I spent in Narni changed my perspective on life and opened my eyes in so many ways. I met the most lovely, intelligent, and special friends there, and I laughed (and cried!) more than I had in a long while.

So, you see, the reason I haven’t been able to write about it is that I don’t think I can translate into words how much it meant to me. Also, I feel as though many of the memories are more personal, you-had-to-be-there memories, and I don’t want to over-explain them because I don’t know if they’ll make any sense.

Well, I’m going to try my best to give you an accurate taste of the incredible trip I went on this past July. I hope you enjoy… Andiamo!

My trip begins at JFK Airport in New York on Monday, July 16th. My dad, brother, and I left home at around 8:30 to get to the airport around noon. Once we got there, we had about an hour and a half to kill before I had to meet up with the rest of the group. I ate a snack in the food court area, and my dad got some airport sushi which wasn’t actually half bad. Then, around two p.m., we walked to the check-in counter and met up with the group.

I knew no one in this group, except for the other student from my school who won the scholarship as well. He happened to be in my class, too, so we had the same skill level in Italian, which made me feel a lot better. Other than him, the only known commonalities within our group were 1) we all live on the East Coast and 2) we all are learning Italian. I hadn’t spoken to anyone else before the airport, and this was my initial fear about going on the trip.

Once we checked our bags, it was time to say goodbye to our families and head to security. The line leading up to security was awkward, and no one really spoke to each other. I find it funny looking back at that moment; while going through security on our way home, everyone was talking or laughing their way through the line.

We made it past security and were given free time to wander around until we had to board. There were some students from the same school who paired up and wandered off, but many of us didn’t know anyone. When the group split up, I didn’t know what to do, so I put on my shoes and slowly began to wander. Immediately, I thought that the whole trip would be like this and I’d be alone and awkward the whole time. Horrible thoughts swirled around my brain, but then I remembered I brought four books and would have plenty of time to read (more on that later…), so maybe I would be okay after all.

I quickly exited my negative frame of mind when someone walked up next to me. She said, half-laughing, “I’m not really sure what to do…” and I replied, “yeah, me neither…” (or something like that). From there, we introduced ourselves, and I made my first new friend: Maia.

We talked for a while and made our way to the gate where we continued our conversation. My negative thoughts ceased for the time being, and I was just so happy to have made a friend that early on.

We continued talking until we had to board the plane. Our seats weren’t near each other, so I met two new girls who were my seatmates. I didn’t talk to them at all, which, again, I find funny because the girl who sat next to me ended up being one of my close friends by the end of the trip!

On the eight-hour ride to Germany (where our layover was), I watched Green Book and Can You Ever Forgive Me?, two of last year’s Oscar-winners that were on my to-watch list (both were fantastic, by the way!). I also tried to sleep on the plane because I knew we’d be getting into Rome with a whole day ahead of us, but I was not very successful in doing so.

The eight-hour flight ended eventually, and we landed in Germany at around seven a.m. The Germany airport was super cool. We had some time to explore, so Maia and I rode down the moving sidewalks and checked out the little kiosks and shops near our gate. After about an hour in the airport, we began boarding the flight to Rome.

This flight was only two hours long, but it may have been the worst flight of my life. There wasn’t turbulence or anything: I just felt sick the whole time. I was constipated (TMI?), I was hungry, I felt nauseous, I was exhausted, my back hurt like crazy, and I was stuck in between two smelly men. I have never felt worse in my life. It felt SO. GOOD. to get off of that plane!

Once we exited, we found our bags and got to change out of our sweaty and smelly clothes. We walked to the tour bus, loaded our luggage, and then we were off!

Our first stop was Ostia Antica, an ancient archeological site outside of Rome. I don’t think this will be surprising, but this part of the trip was not easy to enjoy and appreciate. We were given about an hour and a half of free time to explore the site, but everyone was exhausted, hot, and hungry, so there wasn’t much learning that went on.

Maia and I walked through the site and made it to the food court which was, oddly, in the center of the site. We bought some watermelon and a bag of Cheeto-like chip things called Crick Crok.

I LOVE these trees.

This is an original 7th-century mosaic.

Here’s the theater right within the site. Apparently, they still do shows here, which is really cool. It reminded me a lot of the Greek theater I saw in Taormina, Sicily!

I kept saying this as we roamed around: I truly wish we had come here another day. I’m sure I’d have appreciated it after a good night’s sleep while wearing some clothes that weren’t drenched in sweat!

From there, we drove for about an hour and a half to get to the hostel in Narni. I had a surprisingly good nap on the bus which energized me for the insanity that was about to occur…

Once we made it to Narni, the bus dropped us off in the town square (since the streets are far too narrow for it to drive down). We took our bags out of the bus and began the walk to the hostel.

If you didn’t know, Narni is a medieval town, meaning that basically everything is made from cobblestone. The ground is all cobblestone, too, which is lovely… when you’re not dragging a suitcase. Uphill. In 90-degree heat.

I feel like we all deserve medals for making it to the hostel that day. For real, though, I can’t complain… I was in ITALY, after all! And once we got to the hostel, we enjoyed this view from the balcony! It was completely worth it.

Just thinking about the balcony at the hostel makes me so happy. My friends and I would stay up late talking out there as bats flew around us and lizards climbed the walls. The view was breathtaking, and I can’t believe I got to wake up to that every single day.

This is what you saw looking behind the hostel: rows and rows of mix-matched houses, all of which fit perfectly together.

After showering and relaxing for a bit, we got to explore the town as we headed to dinner. Remembering these little things makes me so sad and happy. I remember the big memories, the ones that everyone reminisced about the most… but the little things don’t always cross my mind as much. When they do, though, they always bring a smile to my face. I hope the little moments of this trip never escape from my memory.

This picture, for example… I remember so vividly sitting on the street staring up at that building. We were waiting outside a theater for a presentation to begin, and everyone was (still) exhausted. I couldn’t believe I was in Italy at that moment; it took quite a while for that fact to settle in. All the time, my friends and I would remind each other that we were actually there, but it took a couple days for it to hit me.

And here we have a photo of my dream car. Whenever I see Fiats here in the US while I’m driving, I am instantly taken back to Italy 🙂

Here’s a photo I took while waiting for dinner. I am still in awe at how preserved these homes and buildings are. Being in Narni truly felt like we were in a different century.

Ahhhh, the cats! This is the first of many cat photos.

There were tons of stray cats throughout the town. It was glorious, and we all made friends with them. I find it interesting that in Sicily I only saw stray dogs, but here I only saw stray cats. There were many dogs here that were on leashes, but in Sicily I saw very few dogs. Weird!

Here’s a view from the balcony, again. I would do anything to be there right now.

Cotton candy skies…

Here’s a photo from the hostel lobby. Lots and lots of religious iconography, here and pretty much everywhere we went. The hostel was lovely. It is designed specifically for students and teachers, so there were only a couple of other students who joined us (they were there for the music festival).

It honestly felt like a hotel. Our beds would be made every day and the bathroom would be cleaned, too. The breakfast was delicious: there was espresso, juice, fresh fruit (apricots especially!), and a myriad of pastries. I still dream of the chocolate croissant I would eat almost every morning.

Ahhh. Gelato. This is one of the two gelato shops we would visit daily. I preferred this one 🙂

This was the very first gelato I got on that trip. It’s cannella (cinnamon) and oh, boy, was it delicious! I wanted to be more adventurous with my gelato flavors, so I began that streak right at the start.

Another kitty!

I think this was actually the second night, but there was an incredible red moon we watched rise up while sitting on the balcony. It was so hard to take a picture of it, but it was absolutely beautiful. This whole trip feels like a dream.

That’s all for today. I was there for two weeks, so there’s still a bit more to share! Stay tuned… arrivederci e buon weekend!

puppets, balconies, and an open market: downtown palermo {day two}

Today I’ll be sharing the final day we spent in downtown Palermo. This day was my favorite, and you’ll see why in a little bit…

I love this picture. It captures so much: the balconies, the flowers, the sleeping dog!

This building is gorgeous. I fell in love with the design here; more specifically, the balconies. Every. Single. Building. has them. They’re all different and so charming. I wish they were more common in US cities.

The first stop we made this day was to the Museo Internazionale di Marionette. No one in my group was particularly excited to go, but by the end, I think we all enjoyed it. The collection of marionettes was so impressive!

This is one of the very oldest puppets they had.

This room was filled with a million eyes staring right at you!

We got to hold one of the marionettes, and they are SO heavy! It blows my mind how people can put on entire performances holding them.

This piano-playing one is funny.

These puppets, made out of only recycled materials, were really cool.

The photos you’re seeing are just half of all of the photos I took. Everywhere was so picturesque, and I have about a million more! I love this one so much.

Apparently, this is one of the biggest ficus trees. We randomly came across it while wandering through a park.

This part of the day marks my favorite part of the entire trip.

We came across an open market down a long street. It was close to the downtown shopping area, but it felt like a million miles away as we were walking through. We had some free time after we had quickly walked through, so my aunt and I decided to go back and take our time exploring.

This was a little stand making freshly-squeezed juice from oranges, pomegranates, and lemons. They add it to ice and create the freshest-tasting granita you’ll ever try. There are no machines used here: only their hands, which never stopped to take a break.

I tried the orange…Oh, what I would do to have another cup!

The market was huge, and everything within it was so fresh and cheap!

I wish you could smell this picture.

Rows and rows and rows of produce. Some I had never even seen or heard of before, such as fragoline, or mini strawberries. My aunt and I got a little bucket of big strawberries for only two euro, and they were, by far, the best strawberries I’ve ever tasted.

I love this picture. The street was so narrow, but the people riding motorcycles didn’t let that bother them!

Also, look at the top of the picture. You can see more balconies (!!!), so imagine what it would be like living in one of those apartments. You could walk downstairs every few days and buy the freshest food for all of your meals. What a dream.

Have you ever seen oranges so perfect?

My aunt and I stopped at almost every stand, trying to converse with the locals and sample their items. Unlike the touristy areas and restaurants, barely anyone here spoke English. So, I had to use my beginner Italian skills to try and communicate. Thankfully, I knew my numbers (to negotiate a price) and how to ask for things!

Even though we were both English speakers who clearly didn’t belong there, everyone who we spoke to was so nice and friendly. I asked the man at the olive stand if I could try one, and he gave me a sample and a kind smile without hesitation. For the first time, I truly felt immersed in the Sicilian culture. I instantly fell in love with everything about it: the food, the people, the language. It was the most amazing feeling, and I will never forget it! There really are friendly people everywhere you go.

Now back to reality 🙂

After spending a while strolling down the marketplace, eating strawberries and buying goodies to bring back home (like this pistachio cream), we left the chaos and found ourselves with more time to kill before we had to meet up with the group. The second we walked out of the open market, it felt like we were in a completely different world: the cacophony of Sicilian men shouting at each other about fish and the sweet smell of strawberries and oranges slowly diminished.

We began to walk back to the main square, past rows of little tables set up with the most random antiques, and found my uncle and grandpa. We then decided to get some gelato. I went for the basic flavors in a fancy cone: chocolate and vanilla. If this trip taught me anything it’s that whenever I think I can’t eat anymore, I can. This gelato was huge, and I didn’t think I’d finish it, but I ate the whole thing and even ate some more later on!

From Palermo, we went to a surrounding town (I’ve no idea what the name is, if it even has one other than Palermo!) where we waited to take a tour of a gelateria. We had almost two hours to relax, so we all sat on the grass and bathed in the Italian sun across from the water.

These blue boats are so picturesque. Even boats know how to color coordinate in Italy!

I told you about the balconies. Aghhh they’re so cute!

This is one of my very favorite photos which I actually took on my phone! I just feel like it captures Sicily so well: it’s perfectly imperfect.

My aunt wanted me to take this picture of a cool alleyway 🙂

We took a mini tour of a gelateria and got a sample cup. It was very delicious; I think I got the mango flavor.

We continued to wander while we waited for dinner. This day was full of wandering which is probably why I loved it so much.

A cool silhouette shot.

Balconies, balconies, and more balconies! I admire the European (and Italian) design so much more after this trip. I just love how much history is preserved even in a simple apartment building.

We went to a department store before dinner. This was the view from the top where some of the group sat and relaxed for a while. My friends and I wanted to explore the mall and check out the stores. Maybe it’s because they’re so different from American malls, but I was completely obsessed with everything I saw in there!

For example… an entire section of SMEG products! I have loved SMEG for so long and dream of owning a fridge one day. This, amongst many other things within the mall, made the day 10000x more awesome.

After that, we went to dinner. I don’t have any photos, but I’ll just tell you it was the strangest (and worst) meal we all ate while in Sicily! Despite that, the rest of the day and the good company made up for it. And besides, you can’t complain while in Italy!

I’ll share more tomorrow or Tuesday, but we’ve still got a ways to go! I hope you’re enjoying the series thus far. A presto.

Arizona: part three

At last, the final post of my Arizona trip! As I’m writing this, it’s the first day of fall. All day I’ve been thinking about what an incredible summer I’ve had and I feel so lucky I got to spend it with my family and some of my closest friends. Nevertheless, I am SO excited for fall. I can never pick a favorite season, but I think fall would be in my top two.

Anyways… here’s the final post of my Arizona trip! It’s a biiiit longer than my previous ones, FYI!

We went to the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum) and spent a few hours there. I had actually been there one of the last times I visited Arizona. It’s SO big, I don’t even think we got to everything! It’s a really beautiful museum and the way they have it set up is really neat. Each room is a different continent and there are sections with countries throughout that room. Each section is filled with the instruments from a specific country. They give you headphones that automatically let you listen to the song or piece that’s being played on the TV and it changes through each section as you walk around. That probably makes zero sense, but trust me – it is VERY cool!

Beatles guitar!

I love this photo… that’s Camelback Mountain! You get the perfect view from upstairs in the museum.

After that, we relaxed for a while. Then we went to an Asian market that was a super cool experience. I had never been to an Asian market before and there were so many interesting fruits and all sorts of crazy food there. We left with a bunch of stuff, including GIANT POCKY! It’s SO good. I love pocky, but giant pocky is ten times better. After that, we went to a Chinese restaurant right next door to the market. I learned that I’m not a huge fan of shrimp and I STILL can’t use chopsticks! 😦 Someday!!! LOL. Other than that, the food was VERY good. We tried this soup that’s apparently a popular dessert in China. I was not expecting to love it, but it was delicious. It didn’t taste much like soup because it was super sweet, but I had never tried anything like it!

The next day, we checked out OdySea Aquarium. We were going to go here a few days before, but instead went to the Heard Museum because it was SO CROWDED! We went on the right day AND got there super early, so it was pretty perfect. The aquarium is pretty new and it’s one of the nicest ones I’ve ever been to…it’s also HUGE. I don’t go to aquariums often, but when I do I am always blown away.

If you ever go here, there was one cool “exhibit” I really loved that you should check out. I don’t remember what it was called, but it’s in this little theater that moves around and takes you through different tanks so it kind of feels like you’re actually in the tank. I LOVED it!

Nemo!

OK, so this was probably another one of my favorite parts of that day. There’s a sloth in one of the first hallways when you’re walking through, and the first time we walked by it it was sleeping. Then we walked past it again and it woke up! Apparently it’s super rare for this sloth to ever move around, but this guy went up the ropes and back down for a few minutes and it was the cutest thing ever. I got a video and it’s seriously one of the best videos on my phone. I hadn’t ever seen a sloth in person and now I love them so much!

Oh – the penguins were also super awesome. They are such cool creatures. I love the way they swim!

The otters were the funniest!! We got there just as they were coming out for the day and it was so cute.

After we got back we went swimming (again 🙂 ) and made lasagna for dinner.

The next day, we decided to check out Butterfly Wonderland. It’s the largest butterfly conservatory in the U.S. and it’s right next door to OdySea. I always think butterfly gardens are super fun and they’re a great place to bring your camera!

OMG. This photo. I am so proud of myself. These particular butterflies are absolutely gorgeous, but the minute they close their wings they’re neutral and blend in with the others. The second I took this it closed its wing! Ahhh! It made me really happy that I got this shot. Isn’t it just the prettiest?!

After that, we walked through Old Town Scottsdale for a while to look for gifts and souvenirs. We stopped at The Sugar Bowl for some ice cream after and I am so happy we did! When I was younger, The Sugar Bowl was one of my favorite places to visit in Arizona. I still love it!

I got the Dusty Road Sundae! (I think that’s what it’s called.) Chocolate ice cream, chocolate fudge, malt, whipped cream, and a cherry. Yuuuum!

And, alas, here we have the final day… *sigh!* This day was actually one of my favorites. We went to Desert Botanical Garden first. It’s absolutely amazing there, but we only walked around for a little while because it was way too hot! Definitely go in the earlier hours of the morning or the evening if you decide to go! I love this photo of the prickly pear cactus.

And this is one of my favorite photos I took the whole trip! Just LOOK how beautiful it is there!! I can’t get over it. I love New England, but going to new places always makes me so happy because the environment is so much different.

Ouch, I would NOT want to fall into that! Lol.

I don’t have any photos, but after that we went go-karting! I had never been and it was actually really, really fun. I was sooo scared at first because I had never done anything besides bumper cars in my life, but it turned out to be a blast.

After that, we went to lunch and then to SMOCA (Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art). I had seen photos of this place online because currently this light exhibit is the big thing there. It’s a pretty small museum, but they’ve got a LOT of interesting art there and an AMAAAAZING gift shop!!

It was around mid-afternoon by then, so we headed back and got all of our things together to get ready for our flight that would leave at around 10:30pm.

It suddenly started pouring and it went on for quite a while. The power flickered on and off for a bit too. Before the storm, we ordered pizza, and apparently the power had gone out at the pizza place, too! Luckily, they had made ours just in time.

When the rain stopped, we saw the owl in the backyard saying one last goodbye to my brother and I. 😉 On the way to the airport, a rainbow appeared and we saw another beautiful AZ sunset. The perfect way to end the most incredible trip!

So, there you have it: my trip to Arizona. It was the first time I had ever traveled alone, but it was also one of the most exciting and wonderful experiences I’ve ever had. I am so, so, so grateful that I got to visit my family and learn and see so many awesome sights there. I hope to visit again soon!!

I hope you enjoyed this little travel series and that you all have a wonderful weekend!