Our final day in Madrid was a bit more low-key than our other days in Spain, but nevertheless, we packed in as much as we could before taking our overnight train to Portugal. First stop, the Reina Sophia. Although not timed, we bought our tickets in advance to avoid queuing at the museum. Getting there … Continue reading Adventures in Spain: Madrid Day 3
Just a short train ride away from Madrid is the charming fortified city of Toledo. This city's history dates back to the Roman empire and is often associated with two of its most famous residents, El Greco and Cervantes. When planning your trip to Toledo, I would recommend booking train tickets ahead of time. In … Continue reading Adventures in Spain: Toledo
Our second day in Madrid began with a tour of the Prado Museum, the national museum of Spain. This sprawling museum holds masterpieces from Rembrandt to Caravaggio to Matisse. We hired a private tour guide (shout out to to Drica for being an awesome guide!) using the website With Locals. I highly recommend going this … Continue reading Adventures in Spain: Madrid Day 2
By taking advantage of Spain's high speed rail system, we were able to travel from Barcelona to Madrid in about two and a half hours. We left the city as peaceful protests were turning into fiery clashes with the police that were closing down the airport and train stations. After checking in at the beautiful … Continue reading Adventures in Spain: Madrid Day 1
Although late August is the time to escape the city, it comes with one very travel prohibitive drawback...evening thunderstorms. Attempting to fly down to Charleston, South Carolina for the weekend, I was faced with this incoming tempest. Needless to say, my flight was canceled. Despite the travel setbacks and delays, I eventually made it down … Continue reading Summer Vist to Charleston
Our final day in Iceland before heading back on the evening flight to New York was spent exploring Reykjavik. I wish I had more time to explore this capital city, but we managed to do a lot in just one day. There are many different street art murals and touristy gift shops lining the streets. … Continue reading Adventures in Iceland: Part V
After our first night in the capital city of Reykjavik, our next road adventure was the Golden Circle Day trip. These are some of the most famous sights in Iceland given their nearby location, ease of accessibility, and historic significance. Heading out of the city, there was snow on ground even in early October. The … Continue reading Adventures in Iceland: Part IV
A few weekends ago, former ADA Jared Mogil and I were in Austin, Texas for a wedding. As our Saturday evening did not have any wedding festivities, we decided to head out to Rainey Street to explore the city. What is really neat about this area of town is that all of the bars and … Continue reading Adventures in Austin: Emmer & Rye
On the third day of our Icelandic adventure, we returned to Jökulsárlón glacial lake in order to see it in the bright sunlight. With brighter light, the blue color of the iceberg glaciers is even more stunning. With global warming, the start of the glaciers can be seen receding more and more every year. After … Continue reading Adventures in Iceland: Part III
Taking advantage of super cheap airfare on (the now defunct) WOW air and a long holiday weekend, we spent a few days this past October in beautiful Iceland! A quick six hour jaunt from JFK, and we landed in Reykjavik, grabbed our rental car, and hit the road. Driving down the south coast of Iceland, … Continue reading Adventures in Iceland: Part I
Athena Pappas 