HOLLYWOOD, CA (USA)

My entire life I wanted to go to Hollywood. To be a part of the fame and success that we undeniably associate with California. The funny thing was, when I visited Hollywood and saw the sign, I was more confused thinking "this is it?" You could see the sign once you turned off the off-ramp. Movies glamorize the West, and this just did not seem glamorous to me.

Despite my initial bewilderment, I let the city take ahold of me. Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard definitely gives you the feeling of stardom, since you are literally amongst the stars and their hand-prints in concrete! To know that their hands were actually in the concrete, is a pretty awesome experience, particularly if you love pop culture like I do! Also, try to head in to see a Lakers game at the Staples Center. There is always so much to do. Check random fliers posted at coffee shops because you never know what could spark your fancy!

Hollywood is also known for its amazing late night party scene. Clubs, like Koi and Cocoa, are tailored for the classiest people. With expensive cover charges and dress codes, you are sure to meet some well to do, interesting people.

Just remember what Marilyn Monroe said, "Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."

New York, New York! (USA)

I <3 NY! Who doesn't? This city that never sleeps surely is exciting. Central Park, the plays in Broadway, Manhattan, and Time Square all take your breath away-especially in the winter time with the huge Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center and ice skating at Radio City!

I climbed up to the crown in the Statue of Liberty (when you still could) and then took a ferry over to Ellis Island. This was unreal because I actually saw my family's name on one of the walls. It was a very moving experience to know that my ancestors immigrated from Italy to Ellis Island and many years later I was standing in the same spot where their hopes and dreams were embraced!

New York is classy, fashionable, and known for its sex, and the city. It's only of the most culturally represented cities in the world, and a place where talent and dreams mesh together into complete success. New York City, like Hollywood, is a place people go to fulfill their dreams which is such a beautiful notion. Everything about New York experience is amazing!

Montreal, CANADA

Montreal is a very cold city in Canada and it's a hit for kids under the age of 21. The drinking age there is 18, so many under-aged kids rush up there especially for New Years because they can party and hit up the club scene, legally!

The hit spot up there is St. Catherine's street and it is where all the popular bars are. The first night I was there my girlfriends and I met some guys and we went up St. Catherine's getting a specialty shot at each bar. We also visited some hookah bars and (unfortunately) a strip club on the way. On New Years Eve, we bought advance tickets for a club. The cost was 80 dollars a ticket and gave you free drinks all night. It's important to buy tickets prior for any big evening or holiday because you cannot get into the clubs without them.

My friend lives in Montreal, so the other nights I was out the girls and we received free bottle service all night at some of the nicest high end clubs. So, get to know the locals-it can make the experience much better since they know the hot spots!

In Montreal, the Canadians dress very fashionable. So, you need to make sure that you check out the huge malls like the Eaton Center, Place Montreal Trust, or the Les Ailes de la Mode. You also need to hit up all of the little shops. Once you see the other Canadians all dolled up, you will be eager to make a dramatic change in your wardrobe. Montreal, since it is so cold, is also near some great mountains like Mont Tremblant.

On the way back from Montreal, my friends and I didn't realize that gas was counted in liters, not gallons, and we only had 5 dollars between the five of us -since we spent it all, so we ran out of gas in the middle of Canada. We got off the highway and broke down. Then we ran up and down some residential areas asking for gas, but they didn't speak English, so we had to act out the scene of a car breaking down.
So, the final thing you need to know before you travel to Montreal, is FRENCH!

Quick Travel Tip

When booking airline tickets and hotels, make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to book airline tickets and book hotels. Also, if you want to travel to a place, always go with your gut instinct. You will never know what you're missing out on unless you try it out for yourself and take a chance!

LINCOLN, New Hampshire (USA)

Loon Mountain has my heart because that is where I learned to ski at the age of 3. It is a ski/snowboard mountain located in northern New Hampshire that has a huge focus on family fun and getting the most one possibly can from the outdoors.

It's a great place to visit in the wintertime because of the skiing, snowboarding, skating and winter snow tubing. It is also a great place to visit in the summertime because of the hiking, swimming, boating and other outdoor activities offered.

I have stayed in the hotel right on the mountain of Loon every winter vacation of my whole life. There is an outdoor hot tub and I remember going into it when I was younger with my family while the snowflakes come down and heard my mother say, "Life doesn't get any better than this."

Any age group will surely enjoy the Loon Mountain experience.

PHOENIX, Arizona (USA)

The best place to embrace the desert heat and see a natural wonder of the world is when you're visiting Arizona! The Grand Canyon is one of those places that makes you lose your breath when you look at it. You feel as if you are on top of the world. When you are there you must take a donkey ride down into the canyon because that is where one can best understand the beliefs that surround this natural wonder and fully immerse yourself in the culture.

When I visited the Grand Canyon, I drove from Phoenix. I drove on a highway that had just experienced forest fires, so all of the trees on the highway were completely barren. It was very desolate and depressing to be honest. That night in the hotel, I heard some commotion outside and went to check it out. There was an enormous MOOSE outside the hotel. It was so random, but then when I took a drive into the desert the following evening we saw a lot of deer and moose scattered around the forest. Arizona was a great place for adventurers to go hiking and explore the unusual landscape. It was quite the experience! Arizona will surely bring you to a place of happiness and make you enjoy the simple moments in life, but watch out for the cactus's! Before you leave, try to grab a Mexican blanket for home!

SAN DIEGO, California (USA)

San Diego is a phenomenal place for a getaway destination if you're searching for a laid back relaxing environment! There is plenty to do there from sightseeing the huge navy ships and seals on the harbor cruise to visiting the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park which is full of fountains, culture and art exhibits!

San Diego is a great place to embrace the West Coast sun and spend time on the beach. Some of the nicest places to see, like the scene of the cheer competition in the movie "Bring it On," was right down the street from where I stayed in Carlsbad, and there are gorgeous boardwalks and piers scattered all throughout the coastline. There flowers were gorgeous- even on the side of the highways! Surfing, Whale Watching and visiting beautiful hotels in the San Diego area are a must when you're there!

TRAVEL=LIVE LAUGH LOVE

Personally, I feel like Travelling is when you fully connect with the basics of life. The basics that I believe to be life is LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE. Those three words are what make life great. The problem is sometimes when we find ourselves in a routine we loose sight of the tiniest parts of life that make it so worth it. When you're travelling however, you embrace them to the fullest extent.

LIVE-While travelling, one is truly living. Every part of the traveler's experience is new, fresh and lively. Dull moments simply do not exist.

LAUGH-Laughing is a guarantee. Whether it be from the language gaps you experience and the miscommunications you get yourself into or witnessing a drunk man slouched over a bar stool crying out in an English accent for their "MUMMY!" Life is funny, so LAUGH!

LOVE-Anyone you meet you love because they have merely given you the time to converse with them. You embrace every kind of person because as a foreigner, you believe in their culture and are therefore eager to learn as much about the strangers that walk by you. This is definitely something unique to travelling. It's like you suddenly believe in love at first sight again! You love the buildings, the people, and the cultures of new places almost immediately.

MURCIA, Spain

Murcia, Spain was a great place to celebrate my 21st birthday! Spain was the most colorful place I had ever been to. The beach that I layed on was a part of the "MAR MENOR" which means "Small Ocean," and is the enclosed area shown in the picture. I spent my birthday sailing the Mar Menor, swimming in the Mediterranean and avoiding the jellyfish, and going out to a fancy dinner on a crowded boardwalk that over looked the Ocean.

I was in Spain on the Feast of the Ascension of Virgin Mary on August 15th(the night before my birthday-in case you were curious). The streets were lit up, there was a parade with crowds of Spanish people dancing to music and embracing the religious ceremony. The funniest experience I had in Spain was when I walked into a restaurant called "ROUTE 66" which had a tag line of "An American Bar and Grill," and asked them if I could talk to an American that worked there. All of the English waitstaff glanced around at each other, like deer caught in headlights, as I ranted about how I as an American thought it was hideous and shocking to have a restaurant with that title to have it be owned by an English person and that it had no American representation within the establishment. I then laughed, winked at them all, and left the restaurant. They already had a bad interpretation of Americans before I came along anyways, right?



The night of my birthday the "CERVEZAS" were spilling (beers!), my Spanish was rolling off the tip of my tongue, and the "BESOS" (kisses!) were coming at me from every direction! Oh, and we took a taxi back home- the taxi was a Mercedes Benz. Live the good life-go to Murcia, Spain!

BOSTON, Massachusetts (USA)

Boston-a city well known for the freedom trail, Paul Revere, college kids and the heavy Boston accent. My family settled in Boston right when they arrived off the boat from Italy and Ireland. My Irish side settled in Southie and drank their faces off, while the Italian side settled in the North End where the Mob ran rampant.

As a Red Sox fan, I would recommend going to a baseball game, especially if it's against the Yankees. The guys are drunk and the tension is high-which creates some exciting brawls. The best time of the year to be in Boston is when any Boston team wins a championship game. The parades last for hours, people are wasted, and the players act as if they are actually reaching out to touch their fans hand- when in actuality they have no intention of doing so. I went to the Lakers parade in L.A. this past summer (just to observe -I'm not a traitor to Boston) and I swear I blinked, and almost missed Kobe Bryant completely. It was the fastest damn parade I had ever attended. At least in Boston, the players PRETEND to like their fans! See yah later Kobe!

In Boston, there are fine art gallery's, plenty of "cultural pubs" to get acquainted with, night life that is classy, but difficult to maneuver when walking on the cobblestones in heals, and has entertainment galore-like the Boston Opera House, and the outdoor theater called the "Hatchshell." At any age, Boston will surely impress.

Taste of Home.

There are times when traveling that you desperately desire a taste of home. For example, my American flatmates and I, while in Wales, craved McDonald's so badly that we walked a mile and a half away from the train station- getting lost along the way- just for a 10 piece Chicken McNugget, a large Diet coke, and a medium french fry. Nothing smells more like home (America) than walking into a foreign McDonalds. We barely made the train back to London, but we all got our fix.
I'm an observer, and I find daily life and daily interactions with people to be hilarious. Some of the most entertaining experiences in my life have occurred when I have been traveling. The unknown is always present when traveling and so is the feeling that there is actually no one in a group that has a true idea of what is going on. The only thing that is known is that you're all just going with the flow. This is one of the happiest feelings for me. No one's power tripping- or if they are-they'll be proved wrong when they are the reason you got lost for an hour and a half. Traveling forces you to relax and live in the moment.There's a big, promising world out there if you just get the courage to take the chance, and don't worry there will still be McDonald's and Starbuck's on every corner.

Colorado Springs, Colorado (USA)

On the plane ride to Colorado, I embraced the Hippie vibes I had heard so much about. I met a woman on the plane from Boston to Colorado, talked her ear off about my anxieties about life, and then once we landed and I realized that my friend couldn't actually pick me up from the airport- I took a ride with the stranger I met on the plane. "Don't talk to strangers" was advice that my parents had instilled within my core. However the first "big" trip I took flying alone in my life, I went against their well-instilled advice despite the fact that I knew that ruthless, serial killers look like everyday people. The woman dropped me at my best friends college, I met up with her, and smoked the hookah immediately with her in an open field with other hippies.

In Colorado, even in the coldest of months, the sun shines brightly making the ski experience just that much more enjoyable. I skied Vail, Breckenridge, and Keystone when I was in there. Vail's trail map took approximately 8 folds to get it all the way open. It did not compare to the mountains in the East. The first run my best friend took me down a back bowl. If you're not a skier, you should know that bowls are ungroomed areas on a Mountain that have the deepest snow. I turned from the groomed path onto the bowl, and skied for about a minute and then fell to my knees. My best friend thought I was crying and rushed over to me. I was laughing hysterically because it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life. This thick powder was such a challenge, and I was not use to it. I got back up, learned the appropriate way to ski in powder (which was to lean your whole body back), and then rocked the Rockies the rest of the day. Every day skiing in Colorado was like Spring skiing out East which is the time of the year all skiers look forward to!