Love, Locks and Lovers (Paris)

Thousands of delusional lovey-dovey couples flock to Paris every day. Paris is said to be the city of lovers, one of the most romantic place on earth.

Flowing through the heart of the city is the Siene River. One of my favorite parts of the city are the adorned bridges that are filled with hundreds of colorful love-locks. As tradition goes, lovers would get a lock and inscribe their names onto it. The couples would then lock it onto the metal bridge and throw the key into the river, symbolizing their eternal love and commitment for each other. How rrrromantic! (insert girly sigh here)

As you stroll on the bridges, you can admire or detest (based on how you feel about your current relationship status) the ocean of colorful padlocks adorned with little hearts and names of the lovers who proclaimed their everlasting love. Perhaps you can even add to the collection if you're there with a special someone, hmm? (insert nudge and creepy wink here)

Anyway, I later learned that the heavy metal locks quickly overwhelm the bridges as thousands of hopeful lovebirds of the world come to proclaim their never-ending love. As a result, every couple months, the city has to go around and clip the locks from the bridges. I hope those relationships last longer than the locks. So much for never-ending love, huh?

I think we all know the real winners of this tradition: the lock making business must be pretty lucrative in France.

Walking on Sunshine

As I walk to the train station in the early morning, with each step it gets lighter and lighter as the sun lazily creeps into the sky. I am most definitely not a morning person, but I woke up extra early to catch a train to my next destination.

The sunrise reminded me of my dad. He would always call me "sonechko," meaning sun in Ukranian. He'd especially use the nickname for me whenever I would get up in the mornings (usually late mornings), saying "O, sonechko stalo" meaning "aww, the sun is finally up."

Now that I think about it, I find it ironic because I´m always grumpy in the mornings. Regardless, I was always his sunshine. That's why he named me Olena, my name meaning "light."

The last time I heard my dads voice was one year ago, when he called to wish me a happy birthday.

Wealth of the Vatican

The Vatican, the center of Christianity, has over 4 million visitors each year marvelling at its interesting museums, unique art collections, and architectural masterpieces. I, too, waited since the break of dawn along the walled gates to get inside.

Although within Rome Italy, the Vatican still retains its autonomy. The population of the Vatican is under 1000 (according to Wikipedia), yet it has its own postal system, used to mint its own coins before the Euro, has its own army of Swiss Guards, and retains Latin as the official language. Althought the Vatican may be small in size and numbers, it has power and influence over millions of people worldwide.

Inside the Vatican museum

Ischia, On the Rocks Please

Ischia, a volcanic island off the coast of Naples, is known for its natural thermal waters.

Setting out to find these natural hot waters for myself, I headed to explore this rocky island. Having to descend down from the cliffs, down the winding road onto the jagged rocks below was long journey. Just as I reached the first corner, "ciao bella," an Italian man on a scooter offers a back seat ride.

Well, of course! No trip to Italy can be complete without a ride on a scooter while holding on for my dear life to an Italian man as he speeds through the streets.

In Old Napoli Where Love Is King

The streets of Naples

Naples is never quiet. The streets are booming with commotion every day and night. The energy is contagious!

Napolitains are the loudest Italians I´ve met. And even thier voices aren´t enough because for every word there is a hand gesture that goes along with it.

During one of the nights of my stay, I thought the world was ending! People were screaming out thier windows, all the cars were honking furiously, air horns torturing your eardrums, and fireworks shooting in every direction. I found out that Napoli's soccer team had a match that evening, the reason why whole city was going crazy. Mamma mia!

Near the city of Naples is the only active volcano in Europe's mainland. Eruptions in the past have wiped out thousands in the area, yet perfectly preserving the civilizations beneath with ash. Now a popular tourist attraction, people come to see the everyday life of people in 79 A.D. in the cities of Herculaneum and Pompei..

Pitiful Attempt In Learning How To Ride A Bike Again

I don't remember the last time I rode a bike. So here is my pitiful attempt in trying to relearn it...

Step 1: Find bike.
 Inspect mechanics. 

Semester Course Schedule on the Road

Course overload? Yes, traveling is a 24/7 classroom. I've learned so much about everything and anything. Every city I visit has its own history, culture, people, language, politics, art, and more. It's incredible how much you learn just from travelling.

This Semesters Course Schedule:

• HISTORY 256: Ancient European History

• POLI_SCI 356: European Union Politics

• ITAL 150: Introduction to Italian Culture and Language

Renaissance Woman (Florence)

Walking down the streets of Florence, I think to myself, "Wow! I am walking down these same streets that once walked the brilliant and famous Renaissance men- Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci,  Machiaevli, the Medicis, Boticelli, and many more." 

You are constantly surrounded by the city's history and beauty- statues and monuments around every corner, famous art galleries throughout the city, gorgeous bridges overlooking the river, and the huge cathedral right in the middle of it all. The birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and the center of European trading and banking, Florence is filled with more things to see than there is time.

When walking down the streets, you have to be careful of all the scooters that jet right past you on every turn. In this city everyone gets around on the scooters. I've seen business men in suits, grandmas with over-sized bags and even women in stilletos hittin' the gas pedals like professional racers. 

Leaning Tower of Pisa (A Non-Boring History Lesson)

After a 177 year long construction (a heck of a long time for a construction of a building) since the beginning in 1173, the Tower of Pisa began toppling over because the ground beneath it was sinking. (Whoops! Picked a great location, huh?)

Centuries and centuries passed by (along with a few wars, government changes and lots of monetary investments), the Italians were still trying to figure out a way to stabilize the Torre Pendente Di Pisa. Finally, they used cement injections in 2001that did the trick, but the Tower still leans about 4 degrees.

Presently, the town of Pisa attracts thousands and thousands of visitors each year just to see this infamous problematic Tower. What was Pisa's burden became Pisa's gold mine.

Hows that for a history lesson?

I spent a whole 2 hours in Pisa, walking across the whole town from the train station just to see the (strategically placed) Tower, made a few circles around it and walked all they way back to the train station.

Full Speed Ahead in Germany

Boarding the bus, an older lady asks me to switch seats with her so she can sit next to her friend. Pffft, give up my boring isle seat for a front row of the double-decker bus. I suppose i'm okay with that...


I absolutely friggin' love sitting in the front seat on the top of a double decker bus! Its the best view you can get while travelling. Jammin out to the songs on my ipod, I watch the rolling fields, hilltop villages, solar fields, grazing cows, motorcyclists speeding, all on this never ending winding road.


When I got to Nürnberg, Tina, a friend I met in South America, and her boyfriend, Cristian, greeted me at the bus station. After we arrived at thier house and I drank my first German beer with limonada.

Czech it out!

View from the top of St Vitus Cathedral

Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen thus far. I couldn't stop looking up because every building in the city had such beautiful and detailed architecture. And each building was all of different styles, colors and designs.

One of the most amazing places was the view from the famous gothic St.Vitus Cathedral. It was absolutely breath-taking, and definitely worth the long breathless stair-climb to the top. I took many pictures, but you just can't capture the real beauty of the city on camera.

All throughout Prague, you can find unique and interesting artwork. One of the most interesting things I saw was the astronomical clock, in which Death (represented by the skeleton) would strike on the hour every hour.

Bone Art at Kutna Hora

I've seen people make art out of almost everything, but out of human bones?

It's rather chilling to see flowers made out of the crania and pelvises and chandeliers out of ribs and skulls.

Near Prague, there is town called Kutna Hora. And one of their main attractions is church filled with art made from the from human skeletons. During the European Plague, the cemetery in Kutna Hora was overflowing with plague victims, so they stacked the bones of over 40,000 people in this cathedral. Then at some point, a monk thought to himself, "hmmm... what to do with with all these bones? Why not make art out of it!"

Is it creativity or insanity?

Drawn Into Art in Prague [PHOTOBLOG]

Wandering through Prague, I watched many talented artists draw beautiful caricatures and portraits. I think it is absolutely amazing how the artists start with a blank white canvas and bring it to life through such detailed and intricate portraits of the persons sitting right in front of them.

I can't draw for the life of me, so maybe that's why it draws me in so much...

At Prague, I walked back and forth on the infamous Charles Bridge starring in awe (perhaps some would call it subtly creeping) and taking pictures of the artwork.

Isn't it gorgeous!?

Salty Underground Exploration (Krakow)

Near Krakow is the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine. When I got there, I read a sign that advised to wear warm clothing as we were about to head down to into the cold underground mines. Having just a light shirt, I was worried I'd be shivering the whole 3+ hour tour, so I downed 3 cups of hot coffee in hopes it'll keep me warm.

After going down a never-ending staircase (constantly wondering whether I should brace myself in having to climb back up the 100+ flights of stairs), we finally reached the underground tunnels. Caffeinated and jittery, and feeling a bit claustrophobic, we set off to explore the tunnels.

The Salt Mine was huge! It was a town itself, underground, with places to work, sleep, relax and pray.

The Weiliczka Salt Mine is one of the oldest in the world. Back when the tunnel was operable, people would live and work in these underground tunnels.

All the tunnel was had salt walls, floors and ceilings. Statues and sculptures were built out of salt. The chandeliers were made out of salt. The underground lake was filled with salt. You could even lick the salty walls to get a taste. 

Goin' Solo in Krakow Polska

It's intimidating, at first. Upon leaving Ukraine, driving away from the bus stop, I watched my family and friends wave as I set out on my own. I had a hard time sleeping on the bus and passing through customs in the middle of the night made me nervous as they collected our passports for checks. We arrived at dawn to Krakow to an almost empty bus station. As I was trying to figure out where to go and what to do, I found it rather ironic that three different people asked me for directions. Maybe I seem to fit in naturally in Polska?

After a fresh cup of coffee, an overpriced breakfast sandwich accompanied by a complicated city map, I pieced together the route to my hostel. Trudging my over-packed backpack and a bag of food, I finally got the the hostel to settled in.

Soon thereafter, feelings of intimidation turned to feelings of liberation. I was free to wander and explore. Strolling through the charming city, you automatically feel relaxed, yet curious. So many quaint cafe shops and gorgeous artwork on display all over the city. I loved being a tourist here! One of my favorite spots was the the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

"Scusi Scusi, Pizza e Vino. Grazie. Ciao."

Peet-tsahhh!

My two previous attempts of learning Itallian failed. Playing Super Mario Bros. and watching Jersey Shore Season 2 were probably not the best ways to approach it.

My "Zia Katerina" was visiting from Italy and she's been teaching me a thing or two. I'm going to visit her next month in Italy. I bought an "Italian for Dummies" book and hope to learn at least some basics before I go to Italy. My goal is to learn Italian on this trip.

So far, I think i'm already an expert. This is what I know:

• Pizza (pronounced peet-tsah)
• Spaghetti (spah-geht-tee) 
• Mozzarella (moht-tsah-rehl-lah)
• Cappuccino (cahp-poo-chee-noh)
• Vino (vee-noh)
• Amore (ah-moh-re)
• Ciao! (chah-oh)

Well thats probably all I'll need, anyway. Right?

(Super Mario Bros and Jersey Shore weren't a complete waste of time either. Mario taught me how to pronounce words (I imagine I'm Mario and pronounce everything just like he pronounces "it's me Maaario!" And Jersey Shore has taught me just about everything I should probably not do. Thanks.)

Lviv, A Gem in Eastern Europe

Lviv (Ukrainian), Lwów (Polish),  L'vov (Russian), Lemberg (German), or Leopolis (Latin). Whatever you may call it-- the city is full of history, art and culture. 

Although I was born here, I never realized how much the city had to offer until now- so many art galleries,  coffee shops, cathedrals, monuments, bazaars, museums and more. 

Lviv has a very rich and diverse blending of cultures (as seen by all the different names for the city) that is reflected though the arts and architecture throughout the city. Some churches and buildings have been around since the 13th century and as you walk through the city you can see all the different styles (gothic, renaissance, baroque, traditional). Even though the city has been rules by various nations-- Lviv was under the Austrian Hapsburg empire, then was a major Polish and Jewish cultural center before World War II, then was under German occupation, then was under Soviet control, and finally part of independent Ukraine-- much of its diversity is still preserved throughout the city.