Average Adventure: Nashville, TN

September 4, 2016September 21, 2017Mary2 Comments

At the start of August, my family traveled from Pennsylvania to Tennessee for the wedding of a family friend. The wedding was just outside of Nashville, so before we headed to the town of the wedding we spent a few days there.

What I found really cool about the city was the combination of new and old architecture.

I think this AT&T building is probably one of the coolest buildings I’ve seen. It’s just so different. It kind of reminds me of a castle for some reason.

Another view of the same building I believe.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen (maybe I haven’t noticed) a coffee bar before. Of course I had to go, it was pretty good. I did find the guys working super nice and the interior was pretty cool. It was right on Broadway, which is pretty much the main tourist street in the city.

There are a lot of Honky Tonks in Nashville, I’m not sure what it is. We did go to this one, one evening because the live music was really good and not too country for my family. It was interesting because they had two live bands one downstairs and one upstairs, the one upstairs is what we heard from outside and the one that made us go in. If you were inside you could only hear the one on the floor you were on which I don’t know how that works but I thought it was really cool.

Think of the max number of boot stores you could picture at one time and triple it. That’s the number of boot stores in Nashville. Seriously it’s insane. My youngest sister was annoyed every time I asked if she wanted to go in to one. We actually didn’t go in to any but cowboy boots are super expensive so I didn’t really need to.

I love fluorescent lights at night. Like signs like this make a city great in my opinion. It helps it to stand out and gives it a different charm.

This picture is not about the fluorescent signs, but rather the amazing chocolates that this shop sells. I got the peanut butter flavor, and as a peanut butter lover, really the best option. I’d say better than a Reese’s.

We drove here, it is a replica of the Parthenon and it’s super cool but you do have to pay to get in. They filmed some parts of the Percy Jackson movies series here.

Sneak peak of my favorite outfit post to come!!

This was inside the of the Parthenon and this is Athena (which in the Percy Jackson movie held the ball thing). Just super cool. Thought it was nice and shiny.

Overall it was a really nice trip. It was also nice for me to get away since I didn’t do a major vacation this year. The car ride was long but it was worth it. Highly recommended weekend trip. I think it would be a little bit nicer (and cooler) for a fall trip rather than early-mid August, but still it was fun. Also getting to see old friends and going to the wedding was super nice and fun too.

Average Adventure: Madrid, Spain

December 13, 2015September 21, 2017Mary5 Comments

First things first, whoops on the post that was supposed to go up tomorrow. Anyway, after going to London, my next stop was Sevilla, but it’s to expensive to go straight there. I was going to try and work out the bus from Madrid to Sevilla, but they don’t accept American cards online so instead, I chose to take the train the next day and spend the night in Madrid, because that was still cheaper than flying straight to Sevilla, plus I got to see more of Spain. While I’m super glad I went to London and Brighton, I kind of wish I got to spend more time in Spain, but that just means that I’ll have to go back one day.

Part of the problem about going to Spain was that I remember very little Spanish. I knew very little of what things said. This was some type of museum, of what I’m not sure.

I found it really interesting that so many of their street signs were covered up with stickers. I thought it looked really cool but also it might be confusing to drive around if you don’t know your way.

Here’s some treetops.

My favorite thing about Spain was that everything was so intricate and there was so much attention to detail. This was just the Metro but the gate was detailed, the sign was detailed, it was just nice place.

Then finally just a few more snaps of Madrid. It’s just a very pretty place. I took a lot of pictures but unfortunately most of them were not in focus or I hated them, so this is it for now.

12 Days of Christmas starts tomorrow!

Weekly Average Adventure Log: Week One

September 20, 2015September 21, 2017Mary4 Comments

Week One

This week I arrived in Dublin, Ireland, while I’m here and maybe afterwards, I will be doing a Weekly Average Adventure Log, where my average adventures will be documented.

Sunday

On Sunday I started my journey to Ireland. It was odd because to save money on the flight my family and I drove to New York, so I could fly to Philadelphia, which happens to only be an hour from my house.

This is actually one of the prettiest flights I’ve been on, it was so short the plane couldn’t get the whole way up in the air so the scenery was pretty the whole time.

Then I flew from Philadelphia, a very speckled picture of the overview of the city. I watched one movie, put on The Big Bang Theory and fell asleep.

Monday

Monday I arrived in Dublin. I wanted for a little bit in the airport in some of what I would call a very disorganized fashion. When I finally got to campus, we had less than an hour once we finished paperwork and everything to put stuff in our room and start a walking tour.

After the walking tour I got a quick lunch with some people in my program group.

Tuesday

Monday was short lived on pictures because I was exhausted. Tuesday was packed filled with more walking tours. Well one walking tour and then trying to find basic supplies needed.

We went to see a castle, just see it. It was very strange because it’s old and then it looks like a lego building.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we walked to Marsh’s Library where you couldn’t take any pictures, so I have this one from the outside.

Then we went on a bus tour, there was a lot of tours this week. I took this opportunity to see more of the city, and then finally get some hangers after my clothes had been hanging off the top of my wardrobe all week.

The city is huge, like I’ve been here twice before and I’ve only seen parts of the city. It’s a lot bigger than I had originally thought.

The view outside my room is amazing. Here it is at sunset, it’s simply gorgeous.

Thursday

Thursday was filled with orientations and such. Things that are supposed to be filled with information but really weren’t. There aren’t any pictures because the most I did was go to the grocery store.

Friday

In the morning we met up to go to Croke Park. It’s where they play Gaelic Football and Hurling, today was the biggest game so they were all getting ready for it.

Also pictured is the chandelier of different sports balls that can no longer be made and the fancy box seat table, the fancy parts of the sports arena essentially.

We got some really good views of the city too.

Then on the walk back I saw a sign for the Guinness Tour, which I actually don’t plan on doing because for someone like me, I think it’s a waste of money. It does seem cool though.

Friday was the annual Culture Night. We got lost trying to find the Chocolate Factory, but it’s definitely something I will be looking for again in the near future, in general the chocolate is much better here, even like the kind you just get at the store. I also don’t have any decent pictures from that night because I forgot my camera. I did get my bus pass, which will be nice and easy to use to get around the city.

Saturday

Saturday was my birthday. My roommate and I went shopping in the morning. I saw a little flower stand, well actually a lot. I just think they’re so cute.

We then met up with some other girls in our group for dinner. It was a little more crowded in the city than expected so we couldn’t get into our first few options, but that was actually kind of lucky. I had the best pizza and garlic bread. The garlic bread, which I thought had mozzarella on it, turned out to be chunks of garlic, it wasn’t bad, just different.

Conclusion

So that was my week this week! What did you do? I had a lot of fun, however, the disorganization is getting to me. I am ready for a schedule and to get into the swing of school. Next weekend I’m going to the Cliffs of Moher and I’m so excited, I think it’s one of the prettiest places in the world.

Average Adventure: Washington D.C. (again)

June 29, 2015September 21, 2017Mary2 Comments

Okay so here’s the thing I go to DC every now and then because it’s literally an hour from where I go to school and sometimes it’s kind of like, why not? Well today we were supposed to go to Annapolis but we changed our minds and decided to wander around aimlessly in DC.

Today there are only a few pictures, more so from not so touristy places because those pictures get boring really fast. So enjoy some more pictures of like historic and like scenery (I know scenic is the right word to use, I just don’t want to use it) pictures.

Okay so this is the same street. I have this weird obsession with city streets lined with trees. It’s kind of like how I feel about sailboats.

This is a sign for Logan Square, Logan was with me (as was Eric) so I had to take a picture of this sign of course.

I really liked this house. Afer looking at it a bit closer when walking by, I think it’s like a double house. I don’t know though. Probably very expensive, but very cool. I would live there.

Here is some more tree lined thingsssss. This is a side walk that’s treelined.

DC is way more than the museums and really cool government buildings. There are other things more than the touristy everyday things that you see every time you go. A lot of exploring and adventuring can be done outside of the everyday things. What’s your favorite thing to do in DC?

Country Life

July 6, 2014Mary2 Comments

Beep beep boop, guess who? The new freaking WordPress that I still dislike. Also I wish you would answer my tweets about the problems I’m experiencing with your site. That’s really how I judge customer service and you’re failing me.

I basically live in the countryside, it has it perks, and it’s downfalls. Since I go to school in a more metropolitan area I’ve seen the perks of that too, and after spending my whole life in the middle of nowhere, moving from a borough to a village when I was five, I can honestly say after graduation (post volunteering in an orphanage in another country) I will be living in a city. However that is not the focus of this post.

To be honest, as much as I complain about living in Lancaster County it’s really beautiful. I mean where else can you see a view like this for miles upon miles? Not many places.

*Insert a picture of what Lancaster County looks like but WORDPRESS SUCKS FIX YOURSELF BEFORE I FREAK*

Here at night I can see every star, but I can also see the light pollution from Reading, a nearby (not safe at all) city. I think that’s really pretty too. I love that when the moon is orange, you can see it here. I love that my neighbors all know each other and wave when you drive by. I love that I can drive backroads to just about anywhere. I love that we have local grocery stores with all the fresh fruits and vegetable from local places, but I really love the Amish and Mennonite road stands that add so much character.

Country life is fine and dandy, however when it comes down to it, my heart craves the city. One day I will really be a city girl, and my kids will be city kids (if that happens). There’s something about the busy atmosphere my heart craves. Does your heart lie in the city or country?

XOXO,

Mary.

P.S Real life question is anyone else really ticked off with this WordPress because I’m about to lose it.

Average Adventure: Boston

April 12, 2014Mary1 Comment

Okay so incase you guys don’t remember my super excited posts about getting to visit Lindsay, I went to Boston last weekend! I thought I would share this adventure with you guys through a video as well as pictures with more details! So check out the video on my YouTube channel, here’s the link: Boston I hope you like it. Feel free to subscribe since I will be posting DAILY videos over the summer. I’m going to try out the whole daily vlogging thing in addition to daily blogging, in addition to maybe two jobs if I don’t get full time at the one I already have. There’s a way to keep busy. Anyway, on we go! There’s a lot but some of them I’m really proud of so try to look at them all please!

Rain in Philadelphia from the bus. If you want to see cooler bus pictures, there’s footage in the video. They liked to keep the lights on, don’t worry I’ll have a Megabus review later this week. For the parts of the journey that I was awake it was very nice drive in which I enjoyed Camp Takota.

Waiting for the Subway, it literally took forever. I’m exhausted, I had gotten off the bus at 4:50, picked up my bag, found a bathroom and had to try and find my way to find the subway, let me tell you this was not easy. It was even harder when I got off and I had to think, left or right, so I went right. Wrong way. I walked a few blocks before I decided to turn around and as my luck goes if I would’ve gone left I would’ve walked around a sign thing and there would’ve been Starbucks.

So this sunrise started at about 6:45 after being in Starbucks for like 45 minutes I at least got to see the beauty of the city. This Harvard Square by the way, that’s where the shuttle from Lindsay’s school and picks up/drops off.

After going back to her room for a little to drop off my stuff and relax and rest we went out for lunch to Quincy Market for lunch where I got cheese pizza.The guys across from us were disgusting.

Lindsay told me what this was but I already don’t remember. Sorry pal. But it looks really cool. Maybe it was the first courthouse in Boston, but don’t quote me on that!

This was taken on our two mile walk to Brandy Mellville to get free sticker. I’m all about free. This is a row of houses that faces a park.

This was a cool building. Lindsay told me to take the picture and then called me a tourist, which I was, but she was being rude. Rude, rude, rude. But ooo look pretty, also it’s not warm like picture makes it seem, it was very cold.

It was cold in Lindsay’s room but we both did our makeup so she wanted to take selfies.

This is a boxer, who’s name I don’t remember. Over break we were supposed to take selfies with statues but we ran out of time, so we did it in Boston. Admire my new prescription sunglasses, I can now see in the sun without squinting.

There’s the North Church and you can kinda see Paul Revere. We were going to walk the freedom trail but we decided not to.

Well we tried to take a picture with Paul Revere and his horse, but instead I accidently cut off his head.

This is a picture of the Harbor and there was a park around here. We stumbled upon it while exploring, it was very pretty.

This was an archway that looked pretty. Look how blue the sky was it was so beautiful. I wish those people weren’t there though, they ruined the picture.

This is supposed to be a selfie with Christopher Columbus. Lindsay is supposed to be pointing at it, and his head is supposed to be in the picture too.

Well the panorama picture didn’t work out the way I wanted it to, but it’s still a cool picture of the water. This was our last adventure of the whole trip, how sad.

Here I am with the city in the back ooo lala. I’m wearing my Jawbreaking shirt that I won from their Instagram contest which is super cool. I just really like this picture too.

Just another scenic picture of the city.

We found this sandwich place and it was so good. Chicken pesto with mozzarella, was so delicious. Yum, yum, yum.

I got a whole table to myself until New Jersey on the bus and it was so lovely to be able to spread all of my stuff out.

Okay sorry this wasn’t very detailed. There’s only so much you can say when you’re looking at a picture. I’m so glad I got to go visit my best pal. Thanks Lindsay! Thanks for reading everyone!