Volunteering is Heart Work

Uncovering the natural wonders this earth holds, has always fascinated me. Yet, I must say that while traveling I found my greatest joy in the smile of a child. I never really noticed it back then, but every time I was compelled to volunteer, was to do so with children. It first started when I was in high school, going through some difficult times in my personal life. I decided to volunteer for summer camp at an elementary by my house. Being around children fortified me, made me feel like I needed to protect them. I guess subconsciously I was trying to protect the little girl in me from the big world I was stepping into. The years that passed brought many blessings but also challenges, and with that many travels. It was during these conscious travels that I felt I needed to be there for children, to teach them something, and to learn from them.

Big Easy: New Orleans

The name Big Easy is taken after the spirt of New Orleans, for it’s laid back and easy going atmosphere. New Orleans has something to offer everyone, a city where food and music create the perfect formula for an authentic and memorable experience. Home of the Blues and Jazz, this city lives on music. For those looking for a wild and fun night, Bourbon Street has all sorts of bars, including the Tropical Isle Bourbon Bar, famous for the Hand Grenade cocktails.

Mother-Daughter Trip to San Francisco

May is the month of Mother’s Day, and truthfully I could not devote only one day to the woman that has shaped me into who I am today and everything I hope to be. When I was looking for the perfect destination for a mother-daughter getaway, I immediately thought of San Francisco. I love how the urban city meets the bay, and the eclectic aura it exudes. From the Golden Gate bridge to Alcatraz, we made our way around the beautiful city. We also had a chance to escape into nature and visit Muir Woods and visited Napa Valley and Sonoma for some wine tasting, because wine not?

Cuba, Isla Bella

My heart is in Havana

They say that no matter how far you travel, you always go back to your roots. After 16 years, I returned to my birthplace. A place where I left a part of me, and the early years of my childhood. For many, Cuba has become the enigma of the Caribbean. The island where time has stopped, where many are attracted by the 1950’s Chevrolets, Cuban cigars, rum, and salsa dancing. For me, it is much more than that, a feeling difficult to describe because it is intertwined with bliss and pain. Bliss because it is the place where many of the people I love live, and pain because I have seen their struggle.

Cinque Terre: 5 Lands of Love

By the mountains of the Italian Riviera, lays the Unesco World Heritage Site of Cinque Terre. The name means five lands, which are the five small fishing villages that make you believe in love at first sight. The secluded area is not easy to travel by car, and most people arrive by train. However, stepping foot into Cinque Terre makes you travel back in time. The architecture, narrow streets, seafood and pesto pasta, captivated my heart since the beginning.

Confessions of a nomad soul

I must confess that I was once scared of falling for the dulled feeling of routine and living somewhere for too long. I guess that’s why I felt like I constantly had to get away. I just didn’t want to feel stuck in life, I always want to evolve and grow, and to me that meant traveling. However, I am slowly learning that you can find peace and happiness in the small moments of everyday life. When miles and oceans separate me from home, I realize that home is in the hearts of the people I care about.

Berlin: Poor but Sexy

There is no doubt that Berlin is an eclectic city and it’s the melting pot of Germany. Beside it’s rich history which is present in every corner of the city, there is a modern flair of multicultural street art and music that brings the city to life. Because it is so affordable compared to other cities in Germany, many students and artists have made Berlin their home. The locals call the city “poor but sexy.”

Germany: Inside a Concentration Camp

When I was in 7^th grade my social studies teacher, Mr. Leal, taught my class about a subject that would open a window to a side of the world that I did not know. The Holocaust served to me as an introduction of the terror and hate people are capable of doing. I remember reading books like Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, the Diary of Anne Frank, and many stories of kids my age that had lived a nightmare they could not wake up from. I would inevitability learn that the world was not the place that I had imagined to be.

Wedding Bells in Provence

I can’t think of another place more romantic than the Provence region in the South of France. When my friend Ashley asked me to be the maid of Honor for her wedding in Grasse, I graciously accepted. We met while I was living in France during class at the Alliance Française de Grasse, and ever since then, we became inseparable. Her wedding was truly out of a fairytale. The venue was at the beautiful French villa in which we were staying with her family.