Sayulita, Mexico

Hey! Sorry I haven't posted in so long!! I will definitely try to post more each week if possible for me.. I had so many pictures and videos that I took on my camera and then I realized that I lost the cord to transfer everything to my computer... Oops. I'll definitely figure it out though..

Recently, I visited the small tourist town of Sayulita. It's about 25 miles away from Puerto Vallarta, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about. I loved it so much and had loads of fun that I wish to share with all of you in the blog post!
Sayulita is a coastal town like most of the towns I speak of. It's a very small town but it is truly fascinating. There is a lot of culture put into this small town but a lot of tourism which is great for people who haven't been outside the country before.

One of Sayulita's many streets (Image Courtesy to The Tig)

As you can see in the photo above, each building is a shop filled with handmade items from locals, massage services and food. There are also vendors at the very end who hire others to roam the beach selling their goods. All of the stuff is great and they don't pester you too much which is also quite nice.
The food here is OH MY, so good. I had a bacon wrapped hotdog and it was like the best. (Another photo stuck on my camera...) It also seems as if all the black beans and rice are better in Mexico.. shocking. But actually though, the food is phenomenal whether you go to a hotel restaurant or a taco stand, everything is great.
I'm so sorry I haven't been on in like 3 weeks and I'm sorry I couldn't make this post a bit longer. I will try to get those pictures as soon as I can and make a part two to this post! Thanks! :)
(P.S. I'm thinking of making another blog..thoughts?)

Blog Reflection (And next country details)

As I have mentioned before, I am doing this blog for my Honors English class at school. Well, it's been a long journey and even though I have changed my mind over and over about whether or not I like this activity. I have come to a conclusion and decided I do in fact like it. I love writing about places I've never been to or that I have been to several times before. It makes me feel like I am actually there when I write and that is why I write about traveling.
When I started my blogging journey, with my first post all the way to my last, I was sitting in my room pondering about what interesting things I had to talk about to get a good grade. Now, I sit in a corner somewhere (that hasn't changed) and write. I just wait as the the words flow from my fingers and I don't worry about that grade anymore, I worry about what the post is going to say. I worry about what the post is going to contain, how my photos are going to be aligned with the text or where I want to imagine myself as I write these posts. I could care less about the grade but being the person I am, I care a lot. Soon, I will be finished with this 'graded assignment' and start a new journey without actually restarting my blog. I'm going to continue to write and as I do so, I will not worry about a grade.
This is my final assignment for the whole year and after that I'm home free. I'm rereading this over and over and as I do so, I am realizing how dramatic I sound. Trust me, it's a school assignment, it isn't that dramatic. I'm just sitting here doing state testing and trying to figure out something that will get me a passing grade. Personally, it's quite amazing how things have changed so drastically since the beginning of the year. I write more, I've learned about new places, and I have certainly figured out how to use Blogger. That makes me happy. Also, I appreciate all of my family and friends that have followed me throughout my blogging journey and read all of my stupid puns or 'long' posts. It really means a lot, thank you! :)

The start of my journey. (Image Courtesy of Intellect Realized.)

Getting off of that dramatic note, I am done writing about the United Kingdom...for now...and I've decided to write about somewhere that's always intrigued me. Guess what it is? You'll never be able to so, it's Croatia. I watch vlogs online and I'm very surprised at how much vloggers travel... I watched this one video and the vlogger was traveling around the coast of this place and I thought, "Wow, I really want to go there." In my next post, you'll see why. Right now, since I have school, the closest I'm going to get to Croatia is writing about it in a post.
To conclude, thank you for putting up with my ramblings about the places that I dream of going to or the places I brag about already going to. I've literally tried to write this sentence over and over again without sounding too dramatic. I really need to calm down.. ANYWAYS! Thank you and I hope those of you that like to read my blog stay with me throughout the rest of this quest. :)

London, England, UK

You thought I wouldn't blog about London, didn't you? Well, here it is!
London, the capital city of England, sitting on the River Thames,  is an iconic city that everyone knows about. But, I just decided to elaborate a little bit if you didn't know much..This beautiful city has so many attractions that maybe you didn't know about so let's jump right in.

The London Eye (Image Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Let's talk about something before we go into all the cliché stuff, the London Eye. The London Eye isn't a giant eye in the center of the city but it is a giant ferris wheel. This ferris wheel has giant clear capsules that carry several people at a time. Get this, there are also private capsules that you can have dinner in, a romantic evening, or some family time. Just imagine that! The London Eye would be a fantastic experience for tourists to get a birds-eye view of London.. As you can see in the photo to the right, there are a lot of capsules and it is a GIANT wheel so I guarantee that you will get on. Just in case, book your tickets before you go! If you want to know more, I suggest taking a look a their website :)

Buckingham Palace Guards (Image Courtesy of Buckingham Palace)

Next, get a taste of royalty with the Buckingham Palace. Everyone has heard of the Buckingham Palace but does everyone know about what it holds? Ok! First, before you even go into the palace, stop by and take a photo with these guards that are so serious it makes Kanye West look happy all the time. Shocking, right? Those guards aren't the only cool thing though. For years, this palace has been a home to Britain's monarchs but now, it is just their office place. According to the Buckingham Palace website, more than 50,000 people go there to enjoy history and a nice lunch everyday. But the queen still holds meetings there in several of the rooms. Wow!
Besides the Palace and the London eye, there are so many interesting things to do but I don't think that I should carry on telling what you have to see and what you can't see. This city is definitely a go-to place (like I say about every place I write about), but don't expect a lot of great weather. Oh well, I just think that it would be an awesome experience seeing one of the world's most famed cities! *wow* :)

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Edinburgh Castle (Image courtesy of Edinburgh City)

Moving North from Brighton...

Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, is a beautiful city if I do say so myself. Even with all of it's hills, it still has a famously, medieval Old Town and, of course, a sophisticated new town. After doing some research, I found out that Edinburgh houses an extinct volcano in Holyrood Park which is open to the public for recreation such as hiking or running. Also, this city is home to a massive castle that holds Scotland's crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny which was used for the rulers' coronations.

Princes Street (image courtesy of Post Muse)

On a street called Princes Street, you probably want to be a prince because they only allow buses, taxis and private cars. This is the major shopping street in this big city. On the south side of the street, there are no shops, just a great view of Old Town and the Edinburgh Castle. But, on the north side, the street is crammed with shops. Only the east end of the street allows cars but other than that, it's only buses and trams.

This town is very old and therefore very historical; a must visit. I don't know much about this Scottish city but if you visit it you will probably know more than I do in a day of being there. Well, I believe that's all there is to say! :)

Brighton, UK

**Hello! I've decided to blog about other countries!! (shocking..) The country I'm going to be blogging about for the next couple posts is...the United Kingdom!**

Some people can say this is the Bright-on Pier *audience laughs*
 (image courtesy of Single Mum's Home Swap)

The North Laine. (Image courtesy of Angloberry)

This post is about a small seaside town just south of the famed city, London. If you are just looking for somewhere to run around in for the day, Brighton is perfect. Just like any other seaside town, Brighton has a wide variety of shops and restaurants lining the streets. Also, other seaside places have another thing in common, a pier. The Brighton pier has a lot of activity on it has rides and attractions for everyone and, of course, food. This pier is surrounded by a white wall but inside the wall, it's like a carnival! As you can see in the picture to the left, there are many rides and tents containing games, refreshments, food, etc. Of course, there is a beach to keep you busy if you would prefer, I do think that having a little walk down the pier would be fun though..But keep in mind, this isn't the only fun thing to do in Brighton! Well, I mean, unless you truly just want to hang out on the pier. It does look very fun doesn't it! :)

In every post of mine, I always have to have some kind of shopping or food place on here. So I thought, why not both! :) Let's start with shopping. There is this kind of small street in the center of Brighton called North Laine. North Laine has over 400 shops, cafés, and entertainment. Yeah, that's a lot. This whole area used to be a massive farm land split into areas and sections for the continuous crops. In fact, it's in the name! "Laine is a word of Anglo Saxon origin, used locally to describe large arable fields which used to cover the land in Brighton and the surrounding areas." (Welcome to North Laine)

Finally, one of my favourite parts. Food! There are so many places to choose from but I chose to write about a hamburger restaurant called Gourmet Burger Kitchen. GBK is a chain restaurant that I've heard from many other bloggers and vloggers that it is just amazing. They have everything from Burgers to salads, veggie meals to desserts, and so much more. If you ever go to a city where a GBK is, I definitely recommend going to try it out!

I first want to ask, did you understand my pun? (It's underneath the photo of the pier...) Moving away from stupid puns,  I think that Brighton will certainly be a fantastic place to visit. With the amount of humble people that roam the streets, I believe that they will be very welcoming to tourists. Personally, I would really want to learn more about this place and maybe even visit it sometime. With it being only an hour train ride from London, a lot of traveling could be done. I hope this place stirs some interest in you about visiting it! Enjoy! :)

Greenwich, CT, USA

It has been around for years, decades and centuries! Ladies and gentlemen...give it up for...Greenwich, Connecticut! *audience applauds* Let's get right to it then! First of all, it is not pronounced, "green-witch", it is pronounced, "grenich". A lot of people I have met have pronounced it incorrectly and made a fool of themselves. But, I guess it's just a matter of opinion. Honestly, this town has a lot of history buried in it's walls.

In 1640, two Dutch travelers came to Connecticut and founded a small town, now known as old Greenwich. It became a road between Boston and New York that many famous travelers, such as George Washington, traveled. During the Revolutionary War, General Putnam hid in a cabin (Putnam's Cottege) to escape from the British. It was a well-known escape and his hat that he wore throughout the battle is presented in that very cottage today.

Putnam Cottage (image courtesy to Greenwich Sentinal)

If you are the kind of person that just adores learning about the history of our nation, I urge you to go check out the many museums and scenic areas all around this town. There are so many, that if you are here for a week, you will never not be busy. Even if you think that you know everything about the history, I bet you'll leave with a little something that you learned. If you aren't that type of person, I have just the right thing for you...

For those non-historic people, you might want to check out Greenwich Avenue. If you're a shopper, this street is now your new home. You will never want to leave the many stores that line this lane. The stores definitely range from very expensive to reasonable prices though...there are jewelry shops and clothing stores to coffee shops and electronics. Also, if you aren't a shopper, there is a beach area called, "Tod's Point" or most commonly known as "Greenwich Point". There is a beach and walkway for anyone who's up for it. I must warn you though, the water is cold. There are ruins of a castle on the center of the island that you can go up into. It is pretty cool to experience and for those photographers out there, this is a great photo op. But, I don't want to give anything away...

It's very hard to talk about this town and not give any of the greatness away but I think that I did a good job. This isn't all of the things there are to do in Greenwich and I think you'll be surprised at the amount of stuff you can find that aren't listed on this post. As I am writing this conclusion, I can think of at least 5 more things there are to do but I'm going to let you discover those! Enjoy! :)

Jack Morris (@doyoutravel)

Dear Jack Morris,

I know that you love traveling because you've been almost everywhere around the whole world. Which, if I may say, is fascinating. I started this blog for school and had no idea what to write about and then I discovered your passion for traveling and photography and I decided to write about my own travels. I hope that you can relate to some of the places that I have written about and recall a time in which you visited that place. A goal of mine right now is to travel around the world as much as you do and try all these new things that I never thought of doing in my life time.

(Image Courtesy to Polyvore)

One of my favorite and top places to visit that you have gone to is Bangkok, Thailand. You said that sitting on that 47-foot abandoned building makes the city look amazing. I want to see what you mean but not by looking in a photo.
I also really like the idea of traveling to Montserrat in the Caribbean. It looks calm and very secluded with a lot of amazing photo opportunities. I, personally, wouldn't mind going there any day of the week.


Well, I must say that all of these places that you visit are just phenomenal and it's shocking how much time you can spend in each place. Thank you for motivating me to write about traveling and helping me find that I really like going to new places. I hope some day I can do what you do everyday; take photos and travel. :)

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Well, when I thought of Philadelphia to write about, the first thing that popped into my head was the How I Met Your Mother episode where they licked (that's right, licked) the Liberty Bell. Yeah, that 

(Image Courtesy to Athena's Web)

famous bell with the giant crack in it, you know the one.

Moving right along, I feel like there is so much history you can learn by just visiting this city for a day. I mean, I was there for a day and I did so much..wow. There's this giant tour you can take for free right at your fingertips, no not your phone, a good old fashioned map. It brings you to all of the most famous historic landmarks and gives you a chance to learn about each and every place on that map. But, if you aren't one for tours (may I add, long tours) Then you can just grab a map and choose a place you want and, well, go there. I have a few places that may catch the attention of those history fans.

Number 1. The Graff House (Most commonly known as the Declaration House) is right behind the Liberty Bell building, as seen in the picture to the left, and right next to the Independence Hall, home of the Constitution. If you couldn't already tell by the name of the building, Thomas Jefferson himself signed the Declaration of Independence in that very structure. Isn't that cool? 

Number 2. "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." A quote from the prominent Edgar Allan Poe. For my writers out there, my Edgar Allan Poe fans, you can finally see where this author planted his life. This home is the only one of his many residences in Philadelphia that still remains today. It makes sense though...I mean, he lived in 1848. That was a long time ago.

Number 3. For all of those interested in boats, the Navy, anything dealing with water; I give you the Independence Seaport Museum. There are several aged vessels waiting right there at the docks for you. In my opinion, I think that the submarine, that you can actually go down into, is really cool indeed. The whole scene is very intriguing to all ages. Everyone would want to board at least one of the ships, but be careful! They can get very crowded!

Well, I bet you can find a lot more interesting places in this city without my help. Before I wrap this up, I wanted to mention the popular "Philly Cheesesteaks". Almost every restaurant in the area serves these however, you never know which one is the best until you try them all. I can't really give my opinion on this food because we all have different taste buds but if you really wanted to try it, you would have to go to Philadelphia. Which is a great historic opportunity that you have to do at least one time in your life. I hope you can get this experience! :)

New York City, NY, USA

You've seen it in movies, you've seen it in photos, you've heard it in the news, but in a blog? Maybe.. New York City home to the New York times, original Broadway shows, giant pretzels, the Statue of Liberty and so many TV shows. For many people, it's their dream to come to this very city at least once and let me tell you, that is a great dream. New York is a beautiful city but very crowded indeed. Especially around holidays. During Christmas, Rockefeller Center's beautiful tree and ice skating rink can hardly be seen from the other side of the street! It's great but not something that you would want to get caught up in during the holidays. Also, New Year's celebrations...It seems like fun, which it may be, but it's EXTREMELY crowded and you have to get there super early to get a good spot. Oh, did I mention it's really cold?

Rockefeller Center(Image Courtesy to Free Tours by Foot)

Enough with my bad opinions. Are you a shopping fanatic? If so, I think that 5th Avenue is where you belong. There, they have everything from cosmetic stores to book stores, electronic stores to coffee shops, shoe stores to stores for handbags. Almost everything you're looking for. Yes, it can be cold if you go in the winter and yes, you will be with all the tourists but who doesn't like shopping? Spending money is really fun..for some people.. Fifth Avenue isn't the only shopping place in the whole city (obviously). Another pretty amazing area is the well-known, Times Square.
So, Times Square is pretty famous already, right? And, if you go to New York, you might think, 'Oh I don't want to go to Times Square because it's crowded and I've seen it in plenty of movies already.' It's actually really cool to go see and it's a really big area so it doesn't seem as crowded as it actually is.
Another fun thing to do is take a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. No, you don't just drive around the monument in a boat; it's placed on top of a small island where you can get souvenirs, great photos and a good view of the statue towering over your head. The park used to allow tourists to go up into the Statue of Liberty but it's very cramped and, I believe, dangerous so I don't think that you can go up there anymore...
I don't know what else to say without spoiling the whole trip for interested people so here's what I have left to say. New York is phenomenal, cold, beautiful, crowded, everything you could want in a city. I hope this makes it on your list of places to go because it is worth it, trust me. :)