Big Bear, Ca: Anniversary Trip!
Stephen & I celebrated our 2 year anniversary by adventuring to Big Bear, Ca! We spent 4 days up in the mountains skiing, sledding (with a few minor crashes), adventuring, and eating really yummy food! I made a video all about it on my youtube channel! We were so happy to celebrate 2 Years together and can't wait to see what the future brings us.
New York City!
When I found out Spring Awakening: Deaf West was going to Broadway, I knew I HAD to find a way to get there and see it. I saw it twice when it was in L.A., and it was definitely my favorite rendition of my favorite show I'd ever seen!
Luckily, my dad does a lot of business in New York City, so I was able to coordinate seeing the shows I wanted to see with my dad's business trip! My little brother and I schemed up a plan to convince my parents that he should be allowed to miss school and join us on the trip, and it worked!
It was Austin's first time in the City, so the three of us did all the typical touristy stuff during the first day: Chinatown, Statue of Liberty, Times Square... the works.
We had time to see 2 broadway shows: Spring Awakening & Hamilton!
Austin and I were physically shaking before we walked through the doors at Hamilton. It was the first Broadway show Austin had ever seen, and we both knew every word to the soundtrack. We were not disappointed.
I documented the whole trip on my Youtube Channel, vlogging was completely new to me on this trip and I absolutely fell in love with it! Check out the video I made bellow.
Italy: Sardegna, Venice & Milan
This trip was so amazing! My second time visiting Italy, this time accompanied by my mom, dad, and younger brother! Sardegna was one of the least touristy places I have ever visited, which of course comes with pros and cons! It was amazing, because it felt like we were really experiencing the island the way the locals do- coastal bikerides, snorkeling through the crystal blue waters, and fresh fruit from the local markets! Cons: the lack of English made bargaining a bit of a challenge!
Venice literally looked like something out of a Disney storybook. The entire island has NO CARS OR ROADS! Isn't that crazy?! The only way to get around is to walk or by water taxi! The streets are beautiful and lively, and I can surely say I did not mind at all getting lost in the endless maze of
winding coridoors they call streets.
Our last stop was Milan, where I had only 2 full days! My mom and brother had already went home, and my dad had work, so it was just me in the streets of Milan! The subway system was surprisingly easy to navigate, and the Duomo was absolutely stunning (well, from the outside at least. I wasn't able to go in since I was wearing shorts! grrrr).
Mexico!
One of my first solo trips without my parents! I went about 2 hours south of San Diego to Puerto Nuevo, Mexico for Spring Break! Myself, Stephen, and a group of about 10 other college kiddos rented this beautiful house right on the water! We had the best (and cheapest) lobster dinner I've ever had in Puerto Nueva. We ate fresh seafood off fisherman's boats in Papotle. We bargained for souvenirs in Ensenada. And, I even danced on the bar at Rosarito Beach! It was an amazing trip!
We made a little video on my go pro documenting the fun! This was before I started my youtube channel, so it's definitely not at the same level of the high quality videos I make now, but it's still so fun to look back on!
South of France
The south of France is absoluteley gorgeous. Although parts, like Monte Carlo, can be touristy, there are plenty of beautiful and secluded beach spots and cafes that are more local. Taking the train is the easiest way to travel down the coast, and it stops at just about every major beach. We stayed in an apartment overlooking the water in Nice and used the train to take small day trips across the coast. It just so happens that we were in France on July 14th (Bastille Day) and there was a huge 4th-of-July-esque celebration with fireworks and everything!
Road Trip: Yosemite
Although I've been camping, hiking, and backpacking a number of times in the Sierra Nevadas, I had never been to Yosemite! My boyfriend and I took a road trip up there for our one year anniversary last December and it was beautiful! We stayed just outside the valley, and it was about a 30 minute drive into Yosemite from where we were staying. I highly recommend exploring yosemite in the winter snow, just make sure you bring a jacket- it was about 30 degrees during the day, an about 10 degrees at night. BRRRRRRR!
Paris
I've traveled to Paris now twice and both times were equally wonderful. Although, I'd have to favor my second trip over my first, because the second time around I got to experience the wine! Paris is beautiful and there is PLENTY to do. While the traditional sights in Paris (Eiffel Tour, Louvre, Notre Dame) are beautiful, there is so much more than that to explore and the architecture in every inch of the city is stunning. My favorite part had to be Disney Paris, though. As a huge Disney junkey, it was at the top of my "to do" list.
New York City
I've been to New York a handful of times (not to mention, I was born there), so I'm just going to include pictures from my most recent trip. I love New York! It's a fun place to explore and there's plenty to do. A few of my favorite New York City experiences are chinatown, central park, the Met, and (of course) Broadway shows. If you are wanting to see a show in New York but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, you can get discount tickets in Times Square the day of the show! This is what I generally do so I can afford to see more productions. My dad and I once scored $40 tickets to Mamma Mia! in the fourth row doing this! Winter is my favorite time of year to see the city, and the deck out all of Manhattan in Christmas decorations!
Australia
Australia is amazing because you can experience everything from the flat "outback" to the industrail Melbourne to the beachy Apollo Bay in just a few hours of driving. Melbourne has a really great trolley system to navigate about the city (and it's free)! We drove along the western coast of Austrialia along the Great Ocean Road and it was absolutely stunning. A must see while you're there is the Lava Pits, it was so beautiful and the pictures really don't do them justice. Keep in mind, the seasons are reversed, so if you take a summer trip, make sure to pack your winter coat!
Hawaii
We began our Hawaii adventure in the more tourist-y Waikiki beach. We spent a day snorkeling in Hanuma Bay which was by far the highight of the trip. It was beautiful, not overcrowded, and easy to access by public transportation from our hotel! I even swam with a sea turtle! We spent our second week in Hawaii on the Island of Mauii and it was alot less touristy and there were alot more unotuched beaches. We snorkled, hiked, and explored, but the best part of Mauii was definitely the day trip to the Seven Sacred Pools. It's a long drive, and you definitely need to rent a car for this trip, but it was so worth it!
New Zeland
I visited New Zeland when I was in my freshman year of high school, and was most excited about this trip because of the landscape (and the fact that Lord of the Rings was filmed across said landscape). It truly did not disappoint! Everything from the white water rapids to the notorious Mt. Doom was amazing. Hiking through the New Zeland redwoods was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. Make sure to schedule at least a day or two in Roderoa, they are world famous for their spas! I bought spa products there that I'm still using today!
Italy
Italy is definitely Number One on my list of my favorite destinations. I'm a total history buff, so seeing the places that I've read about was just amazing. Make sure that you are wearing something that covers your knees when you go to the Vatican, or you will not be allowed entry. We had to buy my little brother pants because he was in shorts when we visited (and the only kind of pants they had in the gift shop were women's leggings, so he wasn't too happy about that). Must see's are the colleseum, The Vatican, and the Spanish Steps! The only dissapointment of this trip was Pompeii. With all the stories of "The City Covered in Ash" I expected alot more than was there.
Capri
Capri is a small island of the coast of Venice, and I was incredibley surprised that this place wasn't more popular! The island is gorgeous! It is most famous for it's "Blue Grottos" where a certain type of algae that lives in these caves makes the water glow blue. Getting to the blue grottos was the best part of the trip, though. You get into these little tiny row boats, and are rowed into the caves at low tide. The italian rowers were singing and it echoed through the caves! Also, make sure to go into the town center at night, it's amazing and you really get a feel for the culture.
Hi Siera, thanks for your posts on so many beautiful places. Looking forward to seeing more pictures from you. How about some pictures when you make adventures in China?
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