April so Far

florida bound!

We're off to Florida today and I couldn't be more pleased. With starting clinic this month, treating patients has been my top priority. And it feels like things have gotten a little off balance with managing my personal life. So I'm looking forward to enjoying a much needed week off from dental school. Per usual, I'm making the best of a little time off with a vacation. We've been putting this Florida trip off for so long because it's a pricey one, but are finally doing it and will be crossing several big adventures off the bucket list, including visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (total potterhead here). After Orlando, it's off to Miami and then onward to enjoy the Florida Keys. Looking forward to a relaxing, but adventure packed week. Feel free to follow along on instagram. 

monastery on a mountain

Happy Easter! 

 Since I'm spending my easter weekend locked away studying at my desk, I thought it would be a good time to finally share this European Adventure. I've been on a virtual tour though Europe this weekend with posts from France, Italy, and now Spain. And if you're a regular around here, it will come as no surprise that I managed to find a mountain top to visit while in Europe.  

Part of the reason I've always loved hiking is because it's a transcendent experience for me, the top of a mountain has always been where I feel closest to HIM. So imagine my surprise and genuine gratitude when we stumbled upon Montserrat in Spain, most known for being home of the "black madonna" and linked to the "holy grail". I can't think of a better time to share this experience than Easter Sunday, so here goes...

ciao cinque terre

After landing in Milan, Cinque Terre was our first official stop on our European Adventure. And I was immediately kicking myself for not having gotten here sooner. Because this wasn't my first trip to Italy, nor was it my second. It was my third and I have no idea what took me so long. But thankfully, it was my little sisters first trip to Italy, and Europe in general which gave me a whole new perspective with seeing this place through her eyes. 

I actually was a little worried that it wouldn't be the picturesque place I dreamed because we were visiting during winter,  just a few days after Christmas actually. But the fact that it was Christmas actually made Cinque Terre more magical as all the towns were lit up with festive holiday lights and nativity scenes. 

Cinque Teerre = 5 lands

It's made up of 5 villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Cornelia, Manaroloa, and Riomagggiore. While Vernazza is probably the most well known town (that view!), I think that you can't visit one without seeing the others. The villages are small enough that you can easily do them all in a single day, especially if you go by train that passes through each of the towns.

a charming town in France

If you took a survey asking people where they would most like to visit in Europe, the majority would say France, particularly Paris. And I was the same way, until I was actually there that is. While I have fond memories of Paris....climbing the stairs of the Eiffel Tower, visiting Mona Lisa at the Louvre, touring Versailles, I decided Paris and France in general were not for me.

The people and my interactions there made me never want to step foot into France again. So when my Europe trip with my sister rolled around, I was not exactly happy that our itinerary included several stops through France. But when we visited the charming little town of St. Paul du Vance, this place has completely changed my mind. France is redeemed in my eyes and I can now completely understand why it is the most visited country in Europe.

the gorgeous town on a hilltop coming into view in the early morning light 

march moments

We're getting a bit into April, so if you can't tell, 
I'm a little behind with my blogging. I even thought about skipping my March monthly recap. But March was the best month I've had in a long time. And I would be remise if I didn't take the time to document it. 

that's one mammoth cave!

Crossing another national park off our list thanks to a recent Southern Road Trip. After visiting Nashville in Tennessee, we headed through Kentucky and had to make a stop at Mammoth Cave National Park...the longest cave system in the world. 

Each national park visit gets more and more unique and this one involved lots of tight spaces and spelunking. Good thing we're not claustrophobic! We hiked both above ground and underground, but the obvious highlight was touring through the caves. 

end of spending freeze

After having not bought any clothes for 3 months, I finally broke my spending freeze in a really big way. In March, all the winter gear was on sale so I took advantage of that to stock my closet with this very pricey item on discount of course. Also, picked up a few fun things that will work for the Spring weather. 

Full Length Coat Original $289 + 40% off + $17 in rewards = $156
Seeing as I spend half my year in Boston, I've been wanting a full length coat for a while now, but didn't want to spend a ton. I finally found just what I was looking for and at the right price too. Coats like this stick around for years and was definitely worth investing in. 

day trip diaries: Nashville

Tom and I took the quickest Southern Road Trip during my spring break, we ended up passing through Tennessee with exactly 24hours spent in Nashville. To be honest, I thought Nashville might be lost on us since we aren't exactly country music fans. We could care less about cowboy hats and the grand ole opry. But as it turns out, Nashville is more hipster than it is cowboy. And we couldn't get enough of our time here. 

Had we known how much we would fall in love with this town, we definitely would have planned to spend more time there, but we made the most of the 24 hours we did get. Managed to visit Nashville's most popular areas...the Gulch, 5th street, the District. 

Loved every aspect of music city!