Back Again!

Hi there! It has been a long time since I have posted to this blog. I am so sorry for falling behind on it and not continuing it. I want to finish recounting some of my time in Malta. It has been awhile, so I may just focus on other places I visited while I was there. I want to turn this blog into more than just about my times in Malta but also about all of my travels that I have had and have yet to have. I want to talk about trips I have within the states that take me to new places or ones I'm going back to. I want to talk about when I do go abroad. Trust me, I have places in mind i really want to see. Particularly, Japan!!! Please tune in again! I promise to post more consistently!

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett

Lots of Love,

Ari <3

Thanksgiving in Venice! :)

Hello awesome people,

To start off, I am sorry it has taken me so long to write a new post! I planned on writing one for you all a week ago. I promise to try really hard to not let so long go without a post! I hope this one makes up for the wait! Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! I hope it was a great one! Everyday I am thankful for things, but Thanksgiving is just a reminder to always be thankful. I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends who have always supported me even if it meant I would be traveling far away.I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given to expand my knowledge and learn things about not only my program of study but about myself as well. I am thankful that I was able to travel to Venice for Thanksgiving. I have always wanted to go to Venice. I think my fascination began with Assassin's Creed 2. It is one of my favorite games, and I became enamored with Italy. Walking around in Venice, I just kept picturing Ezio, the main character in the game, running across the rooftops and scaling the buildings. I felt like I was in another world. It was such an incredible feeling I was awestruck by the buildings themselves and all of the canals. I loved witnessing all of the boats and gondolas. It felt magical to be there. I also love it because it is older, and I love the character and history it has. I always try to imagine what it would have been like to live there so many years ago. I wonder what it would have been like to see the city grow and change. Venice has a place in my heart, and one day I hope to return and explore so much more that there is left to see.

The picture on the left is the court yard of the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). The doge Palace was built in Venetian Gothic Style. I just had to take a selfie at this spectacular palace.

The left is a ceiling in a room in the Palazzo Ducale. They really went all out on ceilings back in the day. Every ceiling was breathtaking. You can tell a lot of time and effort were put into the ceilings. I couldn't stop looking up. The pictures in the palace were breathtaking as well. After walking through the Palazzo Ducale, I decided I really like Venetian Gothic style. It is absolutely stunning.

You cannot do Venice without a gondola ride, so that is exactly what my friend and I did! It was so awesome to go through the canals and look up at the buildings. It was a great way to view Venice from a different aspect. We also went down the grand canal. It was such fun!

The left is the view of Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) from Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark's Basilica). The Basilica was breathtakingly beautiful! It is an example of Italian-Byzantine architecture. The ceilings were covered in gold mosaics. I was awestruck by its structure.

Canals galore! It was awesome to see canals everywhere and constantly walk over them. It was such a different experience, and I loved it. I constantly thought of Ezio climbing the sides of buildings, jumping across them, and running through the crowded streets. Sometimes I felt like I was in the video game. 

Venice is prone to some flooding especially with current rises in sea level. Here are some examples of it that I experienced! Taking rain boots to Venice would not be a bad idea!

There are some snapshots of my adventure in Venice, Italy! It was truly fantastic, and I hope I find my way back there again some day! 

Is everyone excited for the holidays? I know I am! This is my favorite time of year! 

Stay tuned for more,

:) Arianna <3

Weekend in Sicily!

Greetings everyone!

After a busy, stressful assessment week made up of tests, projects, and assignments, what better way to spend a weekend than in Sicily! And what a fun filled weekend it was! :) The food was delicious! I was in food heaven all weekend. My stomach was grateful for all of the deliciousness I gave it. What pretty sights I saw too! It was an amazing relaxing weekend venturing to a place I had yet to go. 

The Castello Ursino in Catania

Mount Etna!

Me striking some poses fascinated with the amazing views and being on an active volcano!

"Volcanoes are one way Earth gives birth to itself." 

-Robert Gross

In a couple of weeks I will be going to Venice :)

Thanks for following my adventure!

-Arianna <3

Happy Halloween from Malta!

Hi everyone!!!

Sorry I have not been posting as much lately. Things have been rather busy. Happy Halloween! I have Halloween related stuff to tell you all about! I went on two ghost tours. One was in Valletta, and the other was in Mdina and surrounding areas. They were really awesome. Mdina, the silent city, is very creepy at night. During that tour, I also saw a cemetery that was a mass grave site for plague victims. Hearing ghost stories and how much history impacts them was fascinating. One of the ones in Valletta reminded me of slender-man. I thought it was cool how I could relate stories for locations that are a great distance apart. Do you all have any spooky ghost stories to share? Leave a comment if so! I also attended a paranormal circus. It was rather interesting. I was not sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. The paranormal worked really well, and the music choices were great. At the end, they did part of the thriller dance which was just amazing. I was surprised to see so many Halloween themed things while I was here. Halloween is big in the US and I wasn't sure it would be here, but I did see some Halloween themed candy, stores with Halloween things, and of course the paranormal circus. Here are pictures for you all!!

The Valletta Ghost Tour! Our guide dressed up as a vampire, Spooooky!

The Saint people prayed to regarding the plague

At the paranormal circus! We really were trying to look scared, but we were just not successful. At least we tried!

When I first tried to take a picture in the coffin, a skull guy cut me off and just stood there staring at me. I was not very found of him. The picture on the right is inside the circus! Creepy!

Eyeball candy! The perfect way to start off the Mdina ghost tour, especially with Halloween approaching! Mdina is creepy at night. It surely proved the nickname "the silent city" right. It was a full moon! Time for the werewolves to come out!

I thought the phone booth looked creepy in Mdina 

A store with Halloween stuff! 

I am sad I didn't get to dress up this year. Are any of you? If so, leave a comment and say what you are dressing up as! :) Everyone should!!! :) Anyways, I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! :)

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title." ~From Scooby-Doo

Have a Spooktacular Night!

-Arianna :)

Cats in Malta! (And other random things)

Hi everyone!

I hope you have all been doing well! Last night, I saw a ton of stray cats and wanted to talk about them. When we were touring the Msida main campus, our guide said that students fed stray cats they saw and it evolved from there. While walking around, I have also seen random spots on the sidewalk that have bowls with food and water. It is amazing to see so may people taking care of and feeding all of the roaming cats. For the cats, they are not just homeless because the whole island is their home with  its residents stepping in to aid them. It's very different than from back home, where I do not see very many stray cats. 

On another random note, I saw the International Space Station fly over Malta. It was visible with the naked eye! Here are some neat facts about it. It travels at 25,000 km/hr, orbits the earth 15 times a day (astronauts see a sunrise and sunset every 90 minutes), and weighs over 400 tonnes. It was really awesome to see it flying over in the night sky. It went by pretty fast. I almost missed it! 

"Without the dark, we'd never see the stars."

-Stephanie Meyer

Until Next Time Folks,

-Arianna :)

Comino

Hi Folks,

This week we went on a trip to Comino for a field study. The population in Comino is only 4! Sorry to make this post short! I promise to make it up to you next week! Here are some pictures!

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

-Albert Einstein

Next week I promise I will do a quote from myself again!

Ta Ta for Now

-Arianna :)

A Month has Come and Gone

Hello Wonderful People!

I have been in Malta for a month already! Time passes quickly! In such a short time, I have been introduced to so many different places in Malta. I have been enjoying every minute of my time here. I still have so much to see, learn, and explore. I can't wait! Classes are going well. I am staying really busy. This week for International Coastal Clean Up Day, the US Embassy here in Malta hosted a clean up at Gnejna Bay where we collected a metric ton of waste! It shocks me how so many people don't care about the environment and the damage they are doing when they litter, especially when a garbage bin is not far away. Anyway, here are some pictures!

Gnejna Bay

Getting ready to Clean Up the Coast!

The Ambassador 

Hard at work

So much trash! One metric ton of waste collected!

Until Next Time Folks!

"There is beauty there. Can't you see it? There is life there. Don't destroy it."

-Arianna