Ashley's Travel Diaries

Europe 2019: Paris, France- Day 9

Hello again everyone! Welcome back to another exciting blog post. Yesterday was a busy but immensely fun day filled with incredible moments that will last a lifetime. I will never forget the experiences we had. You can read all about it below!

Tuesday, July 30th, 2019

Today, I started the day off by finally getting to sleep in and trust me, I NEEDED it. The multiple days in a row of waking up at 8:30 am or earlier were really starting to get to me and I was becoming exhausted even earlier in the day. I woke up at around 10:45 am and since our first timed event was at 1 pm, got to take my time getting ready in the morning.

Soon enough, it was time to go so we caught the metro to our first location for the day, the Catacombs of Paris, which we had to be at by 1pm for our reservation. We waited about 10-15 minutes before going inside. We were provided with an audio guide which helped a lot and provided us with information that we would not have known otherwise, such as at least 6 MILLION people’s bones are down there! It was all kinds of spooky. We then climbed down 132 steps into the tunnels and walked through until we reached the ossuary, where the bones were. It is so cool and creepy inside there. The minute you entered, you saw REAL human bones to the left and right of you! (See photos below!) We walked through the ossuary, amazed at the millions of bones and then climbed the 112 steps back up into the gift shop. At the gift shop, I bought a Catacomb/dead themed rubber duck because 1) I am an Oregon Duck and 2) because of this, I have a mini collection of ducks going! It is cool to have a duck from Paris!

A wall stacked high with BONES! You can see skulls, femurs, and more!

After the catacombs, we walked around until we found a local cafe for lunch. I had a chicken baguette sandwich, Alex had a Croque-Monsiuer (a ham and cheese sandwich with warmed cheese on the top) and my dad had a ham baguette sandwich. My chicken sandwich was really good though the baguette was hard, as it is supposed to be, so I had a hard time biting through it.

After our quick lunch, we then took the metro to the Eiffel Tower for our next timed event. The closest available metro station (some were going through maintenance and were closed) was by Palais de Chaillot and the minute you turned the corner and walked into the courtyard, you got a FULL VIEW of the Eiffel Tower! It was so amazing and I had a “Colosseum” moment upon first glance. (The Colosseum Moment is when I see something I have only seen on TV or in textbooks for the first time EVER and my mouth physically drops open and I get all heart-eyed. I call it the Colosseum moment because that first happened at the Roman Colosseum in 2016, there is really nothing like the first ever view feeling) We stopped and took photos at the courtyard and even watched a man propose to his now fiance! It was so adorable, there was a big sign and everything! Then, we walked across the street and river and underneath the Eiffel Tower (which is massive BTW) for our 5pm reservation to go to the summit. We went up the tower by elevator and hung around there for around 1 hr 30mins. My dad even found a granite stand up there! We shared a “tropical” flavored one. I also went to the gift shop because I knew before going on this trip that I wanted to get a mini-version of it, and the gift shop had just the thing. We then went back down by elevator and headed back to the metro station.

Just one VERY HAPPY American girl living out her bucket list dreams in Paris.

I took this candid of my brother taking my parent’s photo by the Eiffel Tower. Paris is known as the City of Love and not only do I love them so much, but they love each other a whole lot too.

One of the views from the summit! (324m up! For my non-metric system users, that’s 1062 feet!)

My Uncle James and Joshua were in town for one more day, so we met up with them for dinner along the Champs-Elysees and took the metro station together to a good place for restaurants and food after not finding anything substantial in the area. We eventually settled on a place called Le Compas. For dinner, I had meat with french fries again, and a Fanta (which tastes and looks different than back in the states), and it was all very appetizing (but not as good as last night!). For dessert, we all decided to instead walk down the street where we found a gelato shop. My brother and I got straticcatella (basically vanilla with chocolate flakes), my mom and Josh got coffee, and my dad, lemon. It was excellent gelato and very strong tasting.

Our dinner! It tasted great and because my mom, dad, brother, and I all ordered the same meal, we all got to try each of the sauces offered! My mom, Alex, and I enjoyed the onion sauce the best, whereas my dad enjoyed the Bernaise sauce (pictured here)

After dessert, we all headed towards the metro station and boarded the same train before Josh and Uncle James had to take off slightly earlier than us because they were going a different direction. We stayed on till our stop and walked about a block back to our hotel and turned in for the night. Bonne nuit!

Thank you all so much for reading about one of my favorite days this entire trip. Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person and getting to go up it was such a surreal and fun moment for me. I will truly never forget it and can not wait to go back again one day! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog on museums such as the Louvre!

Europe 2019: Paris, France- Day 8

Hello from PARIS! We are going to be here for the next four days. Today, we did some really cool and fun things that I can not wait to tell you about tomorrow! But today, you are going to find out how we got here, and what we did once we got here. It is so unreal here and I love the vibe I get! It honestly reminds me of New York in some ways, which I love. Anyways, keep reading below!

Monday, July 29th, 2019

We started today by waking up at around 7:30am to get ready for the day by packing our bags. We then went over to the villa to get our last free breakfast in Italy. The breakfast was again the same as the days before except instead of egg-puffed waffles, we had mini pancakes. The pancakes were nice and fluffy and kind of tasted like a non-glazed doughnut, in a way.

After breakfast, we went back to our villa and grabbed our stuff and headed down to the bus area where we met our driver who woulld take us to the airport. The drive from our villa to the Naples International Airport was about an hour long so I found myself falling asleep along the way.

Our B&B! Since we are a family of 4, we got a separate villa about two doors down from this one with a loft space for the extra bed.

At the airport, we waited in a long line to check our suitcases before walking to our gate. Along the way, we stopped at the World Duty Free Store to look around and found a giant pack of Chupa-Chups (italian lollipops). At our gate, we only had to wait a total of 15 minutes before the boarding process began. This airport is one of the ones where you have to go outside and climb the stairs into the plane. We walked down stairs to get to the ground level and up the plane steps to get into the plane.

It was about an 2 hr 20 min flight from Naples, Italy to the Paris- Charles De Gaulle airport. AirFrance (the first international, non-United, Southwest, etc, airline we have taken) served us sandwiches with tuna as our mid-flight lunch/snack. On the plane, I napped again and played the few games I have on my phone.

Boarding the Air France plane! Bye Italy! Hope to be back one day!

Upon arrival at the airport, we walked to the baggage claim to retrieve our suitcases and then to the tourism information booth to ask about museum passes and the metro pass. Then we went down to the train station and took a cycle of trains into Paris and our hotel.

What the interior of the train into Paris looked like. I’d say it’s a mix of the subway, Bart, and an actual train with the seating.

Metro line map! Looks complicated but it’s actually pretty easy to follow. (I say that like I can navigate it, lol, I can’t)

A glimpse of what the Parisian buildings look like

We then walked about a block to our hotel, checked in (two separate rooms, one for me and Alex, and one for my parents), and hung out in there for a little bit before meeting up with my Uncle James and my cousin, Joshua. Due to all of our busy schedules at home and the fact that I am away at college for 8 months at a time, we rarely get to see them and we live in the same city! They were in Paris to see the end of the Tour de France and our trips just happened to be overlapping.

We met up on the Place de Concorde by the Luxor Obelisk and took Ubers to a restaurant for dinner. We ate at Le Relais de Entrecote which is unique in that it only serves one dish, meat with french fries and sauce and there is not a menu except for dessert and drinks. The food was absolutely amazing and probably the best meal I have had so far this trip! For dessert, I enjoyed a raspberry sorbet ice cream, which was very raspberry and absolutely delicious as well.

The family (and a couple of the extended family at dinner!)

The meat entree! This photo doesn’t make it look very appetizing but it was absolutely DELICIOUS! 10/10 recommend!!

The dessert! Raspberry sorbet! So delicious!

After our dinner we all took a night walk along the river and saw Paris by night. We walked across the river and in the direction of the Louvre, which we are going to try to visit later, and saw it in all its glory. The actual Museum building is very large and would probably take you a week to go through! (I am totally kidding, but seriously!) We also saw the Eiffel Tower lit up with the lights flashing, which happens every 30 minutes.

The main Louvre pyramid at night! There are 3 in total. The building that wraps around the pyramid is the Louvre Museum full of art!

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. You can see the Louvre through the arc!

Me by the signs pointing to the multiple different attractions in the area by the Louvre

At the Louvre, we then each parted ways, my cousin and uncle on electric scooters you can rent, and us on foot to the metro station where we took a train to the nearest station by our hotel. We walked back towards our hotel, I went inside and up to our rooms, while my parents and brother walked down to the closest grocery store to see if it was open.

Brothers! My dad (left) and my uncle, James (right) with the Ferris wheel from a fair in the background

I then got ready for the night with a shower, writing this blog, and then turning in early (1 am compared to like 2 am) because I would not have internet due to maintenance happening at 1:30 am. Bonne nuit! (Good night in French! New country, new language!)

Thank you all so much for reading this blog. Stay tuned to tomorrow’s to hear about our (basic) tourist adventures and what I call my “Colosseum” moment! I am so excited to be here! It has been a bucket list place of mine for a little while now!

Europe 2019: Positano, Italy- Day 7

Hello everybody! Welcome back to another blog post. We are actually in a new location, a new country actually, PARIS, FRANCE right now! But this blog post is only about our last day in Italy, which was really chill and involved pretty much doing nothing, which I loved. Keep reading to find out more!

Sunday, July 28th, 2019

Today, I was woken up by my dad at 9am to get ready for our free breakfast next door. The breakfast is only from 8-10 am so that is why we have to get ready early. The breakfast today was the same, but with a few minor alterations like egg puffed waffles instead of a whole platter of fruit and the pastry basket included doughnuts this time. As for the eggs, they were prepared and served the same as yesterday.

After breakfast, we went back to our own villa and basically hung out there all day. We did not have lunch, again, so I regretted not filling my belly fully during breakfast and found myself looking for snacks at around 2-3pm. At around 2pm, my parents and brother went down to the town to look around the shops for ceramic pieces and souvenirs to bring home. I did not want to walk all the way down so I chose to stay at the villa and go on my phone while they were gone. I told my dad to get me the snowglobe we saw last night becuase I simply cannot leave a place without a souvenir to commemorate the time spent there.

Shortly after they returned, I wanted to go into our B&B’s pool that they had next door so I got dressed into my swimsuit and went over to go swimming with a view. The pool water was about as cold as the ocean, which is not as cold as the Bay but not as warm as Hawaii. Beforehand, we had a little photoshoot to remember how beautiful Positano was with all our cameras (iPhones, Canon G7X, and Nikon Mini).

I still can not get over this view and I am currently miles away!

I took this photo of my parents. (Can you tell? Lol this is why I leave the photography up to my dad. There is a big difference in the views!)

I swam in the pool for about an hour while my dad only put his feet in, my mom napped poolside, and my brother played games on his phone. After the pool, I went back and showered off the chlorine and then sat and scrolled through my instagram before dinner.

The view of Positano from the B&B pool! It’s absolutely stunning!

We decided to have dinner at a restaurant that was kind of far away, but had a shuttle that would come and pick their customers up and bring them there. We had scheduled a shuttle and it picked us up at the bus stop by our villa. For dinner, I had pasta with lobster, which was so delicious, and dessert was a chocolate souffle which was warm and the chocolate flowed out the center, as it should.

The chocolate soufflé! Also extremely delicious!

After dinner, the shuttle brought us back, we walked up to the villa, and turned in for the night, Good night!

Thanks for reading everyone and sorry this blog is SO LATE! We got back at 12:15 am from our exploration around Paris and dinner and the hotel decided to do mainentence starting at 1:30am, so I was not able to upload as the wifi and electricity was turned off. It takes me a little bit to write the blogs with all the details and find the photos so I could not upload this till this morning. But stay tuned for another blog (Day 8) tonight!

Europe 2019: Positano, Italy- Day 6

Hey everyone! Welcome back and thanks for tuning in every day to read my posts! It really truly means a lot to me that you guys care and are interested in what we are doing around the world! Today was our last day in Italy before we move to a new location for the next week. Keep reading below to find out what fun things we did yesterday!

Saturday, July 27th, 2019

Today, we woke up at around 9:30 am (which is actually still early for me) so that we could have the free breakfast by 10am. We went down to the main building for our breakfast which was assorted pastries, assorted fruits, eggs cooked to how you preferred them, and yogurt. I had a croissant with jam filling, scrambled eggs, a strawberry yogurt, and a bunch of fruits including apricots, kiwis, and nectarines. Everything was delicious and I was glad I was full afterwards because we skipped lunch today.

After we had breakfast, we walked back to our villa and basically just hung out there until the late afternoon. Positano was meant to be our “rest” location from Rome before our next two locations which will, once again, be a ton of walking so there is not that much to do here other than go to town and the beach.

At around 3pm, we decided to go down to the beach for a little swim before our “sunset” cruise at 6pm. After figuring out that we did not want to spend 100 euros just to rent beach chairs, we found the small free section of the beach and decided to put up shop there. The beach is rocky here, so it hurts your feet to walk if you are not wearing some sort of water or support shoes. Also, the water was sort of cold as well, but you get used to it as time goes on.

My dad and I stayed in the water for about 30 minutes to an hour before we slowly made our way up to our towel, with the tiny pebbles stabbing your feet as you walked. We packed up, found a semi-discreet place to change into back into normal clothing, and then went and found a gelateria (ice cream shop) to get an assortment of cold treats. My brother, Alex, got a cookie ice cream sandwich, my dad got a lemon granita (as always, it is his favorite), and I got a peach gelato, which was very yummy.

Peep the Oregon shirt! Always repping my boys 😉 Funny thing about this photo: while taking it, my brother commented on how it made us look like “white girls”…he’s not wrong but I would say “basic” instead XD

After we ate our treats, we walked over to the pier to board our boat for our “sunset” cruise. It was a little cloudy and 6pm so we actually did not really get a “sunset” but instead, got a fun boat ride along the coast and saw the city from a sea level point of view. On the boat, we also got a free glass of prosecco and drank it as we sailed over the slightly rough seas. During the ride we got to admire Positano’s views, see an underwater cave, a bridge, and just admire the beautiful Amalfi Coast overall. It was really fun and our captain, Giuseppe, was great. 😉

The underwater cave! Our boat was too big to go inside.

The bridge we went under. The road on top is the main road everyone takes, which is crazy, busy, and can get narrow!

The only sunset we were able to get! It was early and a little cloudy, so we weren’t able to get a great, picturesque sunset, but it was still beautiful!

😉 (Lol I didn’t actually finish it, I’m not a huge fan of Prosecco because to me it takes like Apple cider and barf combined)

After the cruise, it was around dinner time, so we found our way to a restaurant nearby called Brasserie del Covo (which is actually apart of the hotel Covo dei Saraceni) for dinner. I ordered my usual, tagliatelle w/ bolognese sauce and it was yummy. I was happy to have my favorite back. We decided not get a dessert because on way down to the beach, we found a patisserie (pastry shop) that sold profiteroles and said we would come back and grab some.

The yummy bolognese pasta with lots of Parmesan, my absolute favorite food!

We went to La Zagara, the patisserie, and got our desserts. I chose a chocolate creme-filled cannoli, my dad chose the profiterole, and my mom chose a chocolate mousse. The cannoli was delicious and this was only my second time having one! I really enjoyed the chocolate filling most of all, that was the best part.

After dinner, we all caught the bus back to our villa as my dad and brother discovered the other day that it is harder to walk back up than it is to come back down. When we got back, we hung out and got ready for bed. Buono noche! (good night)

Thanks for reading everyone! I still love Italy and it still reigns supreme, at the moment, for my favorite destination that I’ve ever been too, but I think that may be about to change ;). Stay tuned for an exciting next location!

Europe 2019: Amalfi Coast, Italy- Day 5

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another daily installment of “Ashley’s Travel Diaries: Europe 2019!” Today, we took it easy and just went way down to the beach and hung out, but this blog is about yesterday, as usual. Keep reading to find out what we did!

Friday, July 26th, 2019

We started the morning off by waking up VERY early (6 am!) to catch a bullet train from Rome to Naples which was only an 1 hr 10 min ride. On the train, we played games of Uno, of which my dad won most of, and admired the scenery as we passed through Italy. The train was going very fast and the Italian scenery was so pretty!

Once we arrived in Naples, we met up with a driver, Roberto, who would drive us to Pompei and give us a tour of the Amalfi Coast as we drove down to get to Positano. First, we drove to Pompei and met up with a tour guide as we got a private tour of the ancient city. It is still so crazy to me to know that 2000 years ago, this was a busy city with many houses and stores but after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, it became a place frozen in time. We got to see some shops, homes, and some of the people who were frozen in time after breathing in the ash from the volcano.

One of the roads in between the shops and houses, which are all still standing and REAL!

The main stretch of road lasts for about 1 mile. The three blocks of stone you can see here were to mark the end of the road leading into the main square!

One of the things that were “frozen in time”. This was a dog!

After Pompei, Roberto drove us down to Amalfi where we got to walk around the little bit and grab a quick bite from a local store. For lunch, my brother and I shared a salami and mozzarella cheese sandwich, my mom had a croissant, and my dad had fish and chips from a shop across the street! Amalfi is at sea level and the water is SUPER clear! We could see local reef fish right below us from the pier’s parking lot, it was insane. It is also so pretty but so hot as well.

This is the Cathedral of Saint Andrew the Apostle in Amalfi. It is so pretty! (We did not go inside)

The view from one of the local beaches. The water was so blue and so clear! It was such a nice (and hot) day too!

The family! (Again, my dad is our photographer, as always, love you Dad!) (Also, Lol my mom in this pic XD

After Amalfi, we decided to go to Sorrento to explore the shops so Roberto drove us there and dropped us off and we were off on our way to explore another beautiful town. At Sorrento, we bought orange and lemon hard candies, my mom bought a pair of shoes and a shirt, and we, of course, stopped for gelato ( i got Mango today) and granitas. Though Sorrento is beautiful, I will admit that it was a little boring. All you can do there is shop, so it was definitely underwhelming.

Then, Roberto drove us back to Positano and to our Bed & Breakfast, where we are staying for the next couple days. Since Positano is basically built into and around a mountain, we had to climb lots of steps and uphill to get to our own villa, which is hard work for my parents and brother because they were also carrying the suitcases! (I was not because I have a hard enough time getting around as it is.) The lovely B&B owner showed us around and then we basically relaxed until dinner time.

Dinner time also means trekking down to the main road, which means more steps. It is harder for me to go down than up because after the knee surgery, my left leg is now weaker than my right. So the climb down to the beach and restaurants was a struggle and still is for me. We actually got lost along the way because of my brother’s and mom’s poor navigation skills so by the time we were down there, my leg was shaking! It is hard work!

We ate at a restaurant called Le Tre Sorelle and I had shrimp in white wine sauce which was good. (I forgot to snag a picture, my bad! We were all very hungry because of the small lunch) We also got a Tiramisu to go, which was also good, but had way to much coffee powder on the top.

After dinner, my mom and I rode the local bus back to where our villa is, while my dad and brother walked back. It was late when we got back so we all got ready for bed and hung out on our phones before falling asleep. Buona Notte! (Good Night)

I simply can not imagine waking up to that view everyday. I love being by the water.

Thanks for reading everyone! Positano is absolutely stunning and i am so sad that tomorrow is our last day here but I can not wait till we get to our next exciting location! Keep checking in for more blogs! 🙂

Europe 2019: Rome, Italy- Day 4

Welcome back! Sorry this blog post is a up a little later today, we were busy all day today and I chose only now to start and finish this post. Yesterday was our last full day in Rome before we moved to our current destination, Positano! Keep reading below to hear about what we did!

Thursday, July 25th, 2019

Today, we woke up early so we could go to the train station and board a train to Tivoli. Our scheduled activity for today was not until 4:30 pm so my parents decided to go to Tivoli and check out a famous villa, which was once owned by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, Villa d’Este. Villa d’Este is one of three villas in the city. We chose this one because it has a beautiful garden with a bunch of water fountains and great views of the Italian country side.

One of the beautiful fountains at Villa d’Este. Sometimes I find it hard to imagine that people 2000+ years ago knew how to build all of these things without technology!

We only spent about an hour and a half in Tivoli because of our reserved activity so we headed back to the train station and rode the train back to Rome. It was already around 2 pm when we arrived so we had decided to eat at the station’s McDonald’s. We ordered the “Tasty Basket” which consists of nuggets, wings, and fried cheese balls with bacon bits, and is only found throughout Italy! The McDonald’s back in the states though is definitely a lot more tasty but that is probably because ours is covered in grease and Italy’s is not. After lunch we made our way back to the hotel and rested for about 30-40 minutes before we made our way back to the train station and took the metro to the Colosseum.

The “Tasty Basket” Basket. Sometimes I wish the McDonald’s in the states would offer chicken wings like they do here.

We had tickets to explore the Roman Forum, which is something we did not last time, and it included the Colosseum. Since we had already seen the Colosseum the last time we came, we eventually decided to find a spot in the shade to sit and rest for a while before we headed out in the heat to the Roman Forum. Italy, but Rome especially, is really hot and humid this time of year (98 degrees!) so it can be a bit unbearable to walk around in the sun for a while. We then walked through the Roman Forum and got to get a sense of how the government operated during ancient times. Most of the forum has been destroyed with the ages, but some buildings still remain.

One of the government buildings still standing at the Roman Forum! (Though, it was probably modified at some point because of the bricks)

Roman Forum from the wide angle of my iPhone 😉

After the Roman Forum, we headed back to the metro station, got a granita (lemon flavored) while we waited for the crowd to dissipate and took a metro back to our hotel to rest before we went to dinner. Since all of us were worn out from the walking, we decided upon a restaurant close by our hotel called Nerone. I decided to stretch outside of my comfortable bolognese comfort zone and get a Carbonara instead, which i have tried many times before at my university’s pasta bar in my residence hall. I found the carbonara to be a bit bland and lacking in the sauce and ended up wishing I had just gotten the bolognese as always. For dessert, we all enjoyed a tiramisu, an Italian classic! That was DELICIOUS! I love having a major sweet tooth, lol.

My carbonara from Nerone. A carbonara is pasta with egg based sauce and usually bacon!

Then from dinner we walked back to our hotel and packed up our suitcases as we were leaving early the next day and all went about our nights as normal. Good night everyone!

Thanks, once again, for reading! It was our first day in beautiful Positano today and we all had fun getting to relax as we rode in car and toured the Amalfi Coast. I’ll tell you more tomorrow but that is all you are getting for now ;).

Europe 2019: Rome, Italy- Day 3

Hello everybody and welcome to another blog post! Today I am only covering day 3 of our vacation, which is also our first full day in Rome. Continue reading down below to hear about what we did!

Wednesday, July 24th, 2019

We started this morning off by waking up “early” (for me) or at around 8:30 am and caught a metro (subway) to the famous Spanish Steps. We took a lift to the top of the steps and went into Trinita dei Monti, the church at the top of the steps. No photos were allowed inside but it was still really beautiful.

The Spanish Steps. The church you can see in the background is Trinita dei Monti, which we went into.

After the Spanish steps, we walked around and explored the stores around the area and eventually found an H&M. We went inside and I ended up buying a shirt. We then walked some more until we found some Angels and Demons (book and movie) destinations, taking a break and eating a Granita, shaved ice with fruit juice/syrup, along the way. We saw the outside of Castel Sant’ Angelo, the St. Peter’s Basilica (as we were in the area), and walked across the bridge, Ponte Sant’ Angelo, by it.

Across the bridge we kept walking until we came across Piazza Navona, which is also an Angels and Demons destination. The fountain in the center was where a cardinal was found in the film. Each of the dumping grounds were chosen as the four elements, Piazza Navona’s Fiumi Fountain was water or death by drowning. We also went into Sant’Agnese in Agone which is a church containing the shrine with St. Agnes’s skull. St. Agnes was a martyr who died very young just for refusing to marry because of her Catholicism. Her foster-sister Emeretiana died even younger because she was caught praying at her sister’s tomb and was therefore stoned to death because of her religion. While at Piazza Navona, we decided that this would be a good place to stop for lunch and ate a local restaurant in the center of the plaza. For lunch, I shared a pizza with my dad and brother and also had a fruit salad for myself.

All 3 of us (again, Dad is the photographer) by the Fiumi Fountain

Next, we walked to the Pantheon, which we had already been into but decided to go again. We did a real quick walk through inside and went back out and ordered another Granita, this time orange and lemon flavor mix and went back to Piazza Navona to sit on a bench in the shade and kill time before our next fun activity.

When it was time, we walked to a restaurant called Pasquino and attended a homemade pasta making class! We all learned how to make our own homemade pasta, which only uses two ingredients, an egg and about a cup of flour (100g) and a lot of hard arm work rolling the dough out. It may have been hard work, but it was fun! I love when I get to be a chef because the kids (me and my brother, Alex) aren’t allowed in the kitchen because we make messes. So anytime I get to bake or cook, I always have fun doing so! After we made the pasta, it was cooked and served to us. Everyone in my family chose the bolognese sauce. It was also served with Bruschetta, Meatballs and Saltimbocca, and Tiramisu. I also got to have alcohol for the first time because the drinking age in Italy and most of Europe is 18! I tried red wine (yuck), my parent’s white wine (eh) and Prosecco (Slightly gross but I liked it the best, lol). I thought the pasta was delicious as well as all the other foods.

Making the pasta! (Notice the tongue sticking out of my mouth? That’s my concentration face XD)

A proud beginner chef with the pasta she made 😉 It was so yummy! Maybe one day we’ll make it from scratch at home?

Our homemade fresh Tagliatelle pasta with bolognese sauce!

After dinner we walked to the Trevi Fountain because another impulse decision was made to see it at night. We also stopped at a homegoods store called Flying Tiger Copenhagen, to look around and my dad found a light up LED rabbit that we ended up getting. It may be a unnecessary purchase but I have a very special “thing” with rabbits. (I’ve owned three, it is my favorite animal, and it’s my Chinese zodiac animal!) After visting the store, we walked back to our hotel and turned in for the night.

Thanks for reading everyone! Hope you are enjoying the posts so far. When I have posted this, it is actually our last day in Rome 😦 but we are heading to Positano and the Amalfi Coast next! I can not wait to be near the water and go to the beach while we are there for a few days! Stay tuned for another post tomorrow, from Positano!

Europe 2019: Rome, Italy- Days 1 & 2

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first ever travel blog on this blog site! For the next 15 days, we are taking a “grand” tour of Europe by visiting Rome and Positano in Italy, Paris, France, and London, England. This is my second time back in Italy and Europe as I first went in 2016. I love Rome as much as I did when I visited 3 years ago! Keep reading to find out what Days 1 and 2 consisted of.

Our plane! It was huge! We had really comfortable seats too! 😉

Monday, July 22nd, 2019 & Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019

Day 1 was technically our Travel day and started out with a 11-hour plane ride from San Francisco (SFO) to Munich, Germany (MUN) during which I binged all of the Avengers films (except for Endgame, as I do not have it yet). This 11-hour plane ride leads us into Day 2, Tuesday, because by the time we got to Munich, it was already 11am! We had an 3 hour layover in Munich before flying to Rome and on this flight I slept, as it was 3:45 am back home, and even though I have been going to bed at 2am lately, I was still tired! Upon arrival in Rome, we drove to our hotel and once again, napped when we got there before heading off to dinner at Grazia & Grazielle in the Trastevere district of Rome. Our hotel is really simple but has really great memory foam pillows which I love because I always hate how the pillows sink as soon as you lie down. For dinner I had the usual Spaghetti and Meatballs. After dinner we found a local gelato place for dessert. I had stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate shavings) and my dad had Mandarino or mandarin orange. It was tasty and the perfect way to cool off a little because it’s hot even at night! We made an impulse move at dinner and decided to go see the Colosseum at night, as we had already seen it during the day time and will again later. The Colosseum is definitely still one of my favorite sights that I have seen anywhere in the world. It is still so surreal to me to see something that I only saw in history books, in real life! After the Colosseum we walked all the way back to our hotel and got ready for bed. Good night!

The Colosseum at night! There were still a good amount of people out and it was about 11 PM!

My family and I in front of the Colosseum! (My dad was taking the photo)

My real simple meal of Spaghetti and Meatballs which was really tasty.

Thanks for reading everyone! Stay tuned for tomorrow, Thursday, for Wednesday’s (Day 3) blog post which will a lot more interesting, I promise!

June 2019 Book Review: Cross Justice by James Patterson

When I was a kid, I was an avid reader. I read all the time and, get this, I actually ENJOYED reading! How many kids can say that? As i got older however, I began to get more invested in my phone and in social media instead of getting lost in a book. So, this summer I made a goal for myself to start reading regularly again, I started with re-reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but wanted something more…thrilling, something i had not read before. This brought me to Cross Justice by James Patterson, one of my parents’ favorite authors.

Recently, I have developed a love for crime fiction novels through a book I had to read for class, The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith and hoped I could find something as thrilling as that novel at my house in California. So, I looked through the bookshelf in my dad’s office and chose the book most interesting to me, Cross Justice.

This thrilling crime fiction and mystery novel stars on of Patterson’s most well-known characters, Alex Cross. In this story, Alex Cross and his family, who usually live in Washington D.C., are summoned to Starksville, North Carolina to help clear his cousin’s name in a murder he says he did not commit. I have to admit, at first glance, the evidence against Cross’s cousin, Stefan Tate, seem to be damning and legitimate, but I learned throughout this novel, not to underestimate him and his family. Tate, a school teacher, is on trial for the murder of Rashawn Turnbull, a fellow student he mentored. Everybody in town, even all of the police department are convinced that Tate murdered Turnbull, except for Stefan’s family. The citizens of Starksville also do not seem to be welcoming to Detective Cross and his family because they are there to help Stefan. Alex has not been to Starksville in over 35-years, and upon his return, he unearths a family secret that forces him to question everything he has come to know about his life.

I’ve opted to keep key details, plot points, and thrilling moments out of this review, to prevent spoilers in order for you guys to find out what happens for yourselves. You may not like to read, but James Patterson’s Cross Justice is a thrilling tale that will keep you on the edge of your set from beginning to end. Keep your eye out because just when you think the book is getting nowhere, Patterson knows how to keep his readers on his toes and will throw in surprises that you would never expect. I definitely reccommend this book to all bookworms and non-bookworms out there, find it at your local library or book store today! 9/10- A- rating overall

Introducing, Me!

Hello world!

My name is Ashley and I am a 22-year-old lifestyle youtuber and college student who attends the University of Oregon! I started this blog because I have been doing “Ashley’s Travel Diaries”, documenting our adventures all around the world, through email with my friends and family ever since I was younger. Now that I am in college and am a Journalism (and film!) major, I figured that it was time to make my blog more “professional” to set an example for myself in future endeavors.

Now do not be fooled by the travel blog/diary name, yes, this blog will primarily be used to document my travels with my family all around this beautiful world, but that is not all I am planning to do with it! I will also do detailed movie reviews of films that I saw, book reviews of books I am reading or re-reading again, life updates of my life in college and in general, and whatever else I feel like! So, I hope you guys enjoy this blog and stay tuned for our travels and adventures to LA in July and our BIG family vacation to Europe (Italy, Paris, and London) also in July! Now for some of my favorites and other random info: