Girls Weekend in Boston

Looking for a fun weekend trip on the east coast? Look no further than Boston Massachusetts. This historic city offers good food, local bars, and of course tons of history.

My recommendations:

Food: Tatte Bakery and anything Italian! Boston has tons of cute cafes but Tatte seems to be a local favorite and a must-try in my opinion! The cute bakery offers tons of delicious makers items and is located all throughout the city. Also, the north end basically has an entire Italian food district where you can get authentic Italian cuisine for a delicious dinner!

Picture spot: The more ritzy part of Boston, Beacon Hill is home to the famous Acorn street which is perfect for taking pictures on cute cobblestone paths and against quaint brick rows of houses!

Others:

• Fenway Park (we didn’t do because it was SUPER COLD)
• Faneuil Hall Marketplace for food, shopping, bars, and more!
• Boston Common

Tip: This may seem obvious to most but if you’re going in the winter don’t forget to pack a coat and scarf because Boston can be extremely cold especially along the water! 

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Best Apps for Traveling Europe

The Apps I used while Studying Abroad:

City Mapper

Unlike Google maps, city mapper shows you multiple routes and times for the type of transportation you’re looking to take. It is also great if you’re looking to take a train because it tells you which platform number to go to.

Uber

Although Uber is not available throughout all of Europe, I found it was in most locations. In order to avoid the scams of many taxi drivers or the struggle of hauling a cab, Uber was really helpful for getting around.

What’s App

In need of a way to connect with loved ones or friends from different area codes? What’s App allows you to communicate without WiFi and its ability to create group chats with people from all different countries make it easy to make plans and get around.

Hopper

I can honestly say I don’t know how I would have made it through studying abroad without this App! Hopper was a lifesaver when trying to find cheap flights and figuring out when was the best time to fly. The App also allows you to be notified when flights go on sale and give you suggestions on places to go based on which flights are currently really cheap! Although I wouldn’t recommend booking the flight directly through the app. Instead, utilize the information and go directly to that airline’s website.

Hostel World

Helps you find cheap hostels and view all the ratings. Hostels can be great when traveling in small groups when airbnb’s aren’t available, and to really immerse yourself into the city. A lot of hostels offer many amenities such as tours that airbnb’s do not.

airbnb

I personally prefer air BNBs over hostels because most of the time we were able to get an entire apartment for the same price we would have paid for a hostel. This app allows you to find the perfect airbnb and keep in contact with your host while traveling when you don’t have access to a computer.

TFL Oyster (London Only)

This app is specifically designed for London’s transit. Similar to New York’s metro card, the Oyster card allows you to touch and pay wherever you are going. The app allows you to top up (reload your card) on the go so you never have to worry about running out of money and is an absolute lifesaver if you are studying in London.

Disclosure: This post is in no way sponsored and is solely based on my own opinion

Portugal Guide: Lisbon to Lagos

For the last trip of my study abroad experience, my friends and I choose to go to Portugal. During this five day trip, we visited both Lisbon, the stunning capital of Portugal and Lagos, a town in southern Portugal’s Algarve region. Being Lisbon is a pastel-colored city right on the coast and has a vibrant red bridge linking Lisbon to Almada, the city reminds me of a combination between the Almafi Coast and San Fransico, California. Also, right on the Atlantic, Lagos offers breathtaking beaches that are surrounded by colorful sandstone cliffs extending right into the crystal clear water. Here is how we spent our five days traveling from Lisbon to Lagos.

Day trip to Sintra

On our first day in Lisbon, we started off by taking a day trip to Sintra to see the brightly painted Pena Palace. Who knew castles came in all different colors!? This trip made for some great photos!

Tip: Purchase the “park ticket,” which is much cheaper and still allows you to go up to the castle and walk around the main area.

Lisbon Night Life:

The Bairro Alto district and Pink Street both feature many little bars perfect for a night out. Some of the locals also recommended going to the LX Factory which is supposedly an underground club. However, since our time in Lisbon was short we didn’t have the opportunity to make it there.

Where to Eat in Lisbon:

If you’re looking to grab a bite to eat, two places I definitely recommend trying are the Time Out Market and Pasteis de Belem. The TimeOut Market features a variety of Portuguese style dishes and is great because you can see what you’re ordering before you get it. Which is especially helpful if your like me and not familiar with any Portuguese food. Pasteis de Belem is a traditional Portuguese restaurant featuring the famous Pasteis de Belem (yes, the restaurant and the pastry are the same). It is located right next to the Monastery and hard to miss because of the line of people out the door. Also, while in Belem be sure to visit the Belem Tower.

My Favorite District: Alfama!

While in Lisbon you must check out the Alfama district (The Old Town). It is right on the water and offers some of the best views in all of Lisbon. In my opinion, it looks a lot like the Almafi coast. One of my favorite views was from Castelo de S. Jorge. You have to pay a small fee to get in, but I promise you won’t regret it!

Top Tip:

Take the 28 around Lisbon to explore the area and figure out where you want to go back to. The number 28 Lisbon tram connects Martim Moniz to Campo Ourique and passes through the districts of Graca, Alfama, Baixa, and Estrela. Make sure to start at one of the ends because we made the mistake of starting in the center of Lisbon so we only got to go a few stops, so we ended up just walking the rest.

Lagos:

After spending two days in Lisbon we took the train to Lagos for some warmer weather and beautiful beaches. Lagos is a town in the Algarve district of Southern Portugal and is known for its stunning beaches. I can’t even describe how breathtaking the experience of looking out over the cliffs onto the ocean was. The two that we went to were Praia Da Camilo, and Praia Da Anna. Which I recommend checking out both if you’re visiting Lagos!

Tip: Taking the train is a great way to travel throughout a country on a budget and in my opinion, less of a hassle. With taking a train there is no need to arrive two hours before your flight and no dealing with baggage check.

Varsity: Roehampton vs. Bucks

Yesterday I went to Varsity, which is a day-long event where two colleges compete against one another at multiple sporting events including field hockey, football (American soccer), and rugby.  Our school was competing against Bucks New Uni and the event was being held on their campus so we had to take a coach to get there. We left at around 8am and arrived just after 9am giving us an hour to kill before any of the events actually started so we grabbed breakfast at Wetherspoons “Spoons.” Which is apparently the go-to place to eat for college students in the UK. During the day there were shuttles to take us from event to event, the first being Women’s Field Hockey. Two of my American friends are on the team so I got to watch them play (they’re the two in the black shirts in the first sports pic). After field hockey, we took another shuttle to a park were Men’s Football was being held. We sat on the grass and watched for a few hours before the big event of the night, Men’s Rugby, which was held in an actual stadium with bleachers. We were behind by a few points the entire game, but we ended up winning at the last minute! Giving us enough points to win all of Varsity! I’m definitely glad that I got the chance to go to a school event while in London and experience what its like to be a full-time student at a university in a different country and to anyone who is ever studying abroad I 100% recommend getting involved as much as you can even though you’re only there for a short period of time.