When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things
On day three of our trip, we trekked to Amsterdam Centraal to catch an early train to The Hague, a city most famous for hosting the UN’s International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. The city’s name often graced manila envelopes when I worked a summer at an attorney’s office, but I’d not really considered going there until it came up on a list of the best Christmas markets in the Netherlands.
Read MoreOur first stop on day two, which was our museum-heavy day, was the Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands and is dedicated to Dutch arts and history. It’s the largest art museum in the country, making it a must-visit if you’re coming to Amsterdam. Look out for work by the Dutch masters Jacob van Ruisdael, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Rembrandt. I was also intrigued by one of the paintings I noticed in their collection, pictured below, which is the only known portrait of a Black man in early European painting.
Read MoreFor Ryan’s 30th birthday, I offered to plan a surprise trip for him. He had some general options to choose from (beach, hiking, city, cold/hot climate), but the rest would be revealed only when we were in the airport on our way there. As a huge Christmas fan, something that Ryan has always talked about has been going to the European Christmas markets, and since his birthday is mid-December, this felt like the perfect opportunity for this trip. He ended up blindly choosing from one of my Christmas market itineraries (among the choices he didn’t pick were Munich & Salzburg, Vienna & Budapest, Vienna & Prague, and Switzerland & Strasbourg). Right after passing my first qualifying exam for my PhD, we were off to experience the Christmas season in two new (to us) European destinations: Amsterdam and Brussels!
Read MoreOn our final day in Terceira, we took a roadtrip to the northern part of the island to check out the natural lava rock pools of Biscoitos. This area of the island is famous for its wine, and the drive took us through lush green pastures and vineyards. The lava pools are along the coast and filled by the ocean but protected from the waves. They’ve built platforms where you can sunbathe (or eat yet another grocery store atum sandwich), and some of the pools have concrete steps or ramps built down into them. The shallower pools/the ones further away from the ocean tended to be warmer, and we enjoyed swimming with some interesting looking fish while being sheltered from the waves. I would recommend having some kind of swim shoes (my trusty Chacos did just fine), since lava rock is deceptively sharp.
Read MoreOn day four, we caught a flight from Ponta Delgada over to another island, Terceira, or the lilac island. It’s one of the largest islands of the Azores, and it’s home to the oldest city of the archipelago, Angra do Heroísmo.
Read MoreOn day three, we took a roadtrip to Furnas, which is the thermal hotspot of the Azores. The town itself is nestled in a dormant volcanic crater that last erupted in 1630. The residual volcanic activity is still present in the form of steaming fumaroles, thermal pools, and natural mineral springs.
Read MoreOur second day on São Miguel, we booked a full-day whale and dolphin watching tour that included a snorkeling excursion to Vila Franca Islet. We booked our tour through Picos de Aventura, and it was a good experience. The tour left from the marina, where we were given heavy-duty raincoats to keep off the cold sea spray. The boat itself was pretty small, so you got hit by a lot of spray. The seats were fairly comfortable on the ride out to the island—you were essentially horseback riding the cushion, with each space for a passenger separated by the seat back. On the way back, my thighs and butt were definitely feeling pretty sore from this position and the up-and-down motion of the choppy waters.
Read MoreFor any of you who have eczema—especially an eczema that you can't hide with clothing or makeup—know that you aren't alone. Know that someone else understands the anxiety over staying at a hotel or walking into a Bath & Body Works. Know that someone else understands the sleepless nights and four-times-the-recommended dose of allergy medication. Know that someone else understands the itch or what it feels like to watch your own skin slough off no matter how much lotion you put on it. And know that you are worth more than your skin.
Read MoreOur first stop of the day was to see (besides Old Faithful) one of the most iconic features of Yellowstone: its Grand Canyon and staggering waterfall. Yellowstone River, the longest undammed river in the continental United States, carved this canyon through erosion about 10,000 to 14,000 years ago (making it relatively new in geological terms). The canyon walls are painted in yellows, oranges, and reds from the iron compounds in the rock--as the iron is oxidized, the rocks rust.
Read MoreThomas Jefferson wrote in his autobiography, "So ask the travelled inhabitant of any nation, In what country on earth would you rather live?—Certainly in my own, where are all my friends, my relations, and the earliest & sweetest affections and recollections of my life. Which would be your second choice? France."
Read MoreIt's been a weird year, full of changes, travel, and bravery. Here's to a 2018 that's jam-packed with more serendipitous adventures.
Read MoreEach year, the end of the semester and beginning of the Christmas season brings three things: an insatiable desire to travel after barricading myself in my apartment to finish final projects, beautiful Instagram posts of festive-Europe, and Facebook advertisements for discount plane tickets. It's a perfect storm of stir-crazy and wanderlust that compels me to research trips that I know I won't have time to take or the money to afford. So instead, let's reminisce with a tale from a 2016 European adventure with my fiancé, Ryan. This is the story of the chocolate chickens that saved us
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