Hawaii

Hello Everyone!

I said that I would post something about Hawaii so I will make it short and sweet!

I had a fantastic time in Hawaii! Marissa is just like a sister to me so being with her again was the best part of the trip. I got to spend more time with her and her new family (Tony and Jordan) and was able to see all of the lovely island of Oahu the she currently inhabits!

I was able to see her wedding dress (I won't post pictures! ha!) and the site where she will be getting married and having the reception.

We spent a good amount of time at Pearl Harbor. The place was wonderful! It was a gorgeous day when we were there. Several survivors from Pearl Harbor were on site which was really neat to see. The Arizona Memorial was pretty impressive. The site was free and we were able to see all of the exhibits they had to offer. I would recommend it to anyone heading out to the island =]

The scheduling throughout the week never seemed to be in our favor =/ The two days we had planned to go snorkeling, the beach was closed (it was in a national park) and the day we planned on doing a hike at Diamond Head, that was also closed (another park).

We took a hike to the Makapuu Lighthouse and the view was stunning! I also attempted to surf the Pacific with Tony but an attempt is all I can call it... Marissa and I also spent a whole day at the Polynesian Cultural Center where we learned about the 6/7 main islands that share the same history. It was a really great day and it ended with a luau and a show called Ha: Breath of Life. Oh yeah - it was over 82 degrees the entire time I was there =] hehe I experienced my very first (and hopefully only!) tsunami evacuation after the earthquake in Japan. Thankfully nothing happened but it did result in sitting in a 'safe place' until about 4am =/

There are some pictures below but I didn't get a chance to take a whole lot because a lot of them are from driving in a car. Enjoy!

Love, Sha =]


Pearl Harbor with the USS Arizona Memorial in the far right corner



The USS Arizona Memorial (The rusted portions sticking up above the water are actual portions of the ship. When you are inside and you look down, you can see the battleship and a map within the memorial tells you what parts of the ship you are looking at.)



Marissa and I at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor (and yes, I am that short!)



Just showing off my newly discovered photo skills. Pretty sweet, huh?



The USA flag and the Hawai'i state flag



Homeless Hawaiin Lane! (They get checks from the state but they like living in tents in downtown Waikiki better!)



Fort Hasse (spelling?) Beach which is on base closest to their house



Cheesy pose at Pyramid Rock Beach on the other side of the flight line



Another beach on base (I don't remember the name) that is full of coconuts! (See, she has a coconut!)



A lovely view from the car window!



The fog always surrounds the mountains like this!



Another lovely Hawaii beach!



A view of Diamond Head, the mountain that we tried to hike. From the top, there is a beautiful view of Waikiki =]



Marissa, Tony and Jordan at the Makapu'u Lighthouse Hike on my final morning



View from the top of the Makapuu Lighthouse Hike!



Me at the luau



Marissa at the luau



In front of one of the Polynesian places, Rapa Nui



Me and the mighty Pacific



Just monkeying around ;]



Can you see me?!



Me in front of the Iolani Palace



View from the base of Diamond Head



Us!

Links to the European Adventure Pictures!

So! After I sent around an email to some of you stating I didn't know how to send the links out, I figured out the way to do it!

Here are all of the links to the photo albums - Once you click on the link, the album will appear along with the album title (so you will know where I am!) The captions from the pictures should appear!

Portugal - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271556&id=502113220&l=53d1a30777

Barcelona - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271967&id=502113220&l=22acf509ca

Seville - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271971&id=502113220&l=df28b94c74

Madrid - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271981&id=502113220&l=f904397a15

Rome 1 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271985&id=502113220&l=9f2d1bb203

Rome 2 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272049&id=502113220&l=a93ce2c3c2

Rome 3 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272061&id=502113220&l=a0ff79574d

Florence - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272067&id=502113220&l=48a7b1e342

Venice - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272070&id=502113220&l=5f76e9193e



Other albums include:

The Wallace Monument - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272073&id=502113220&l=7b0747f4f0

Iceland - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=204190&id=502113220&l=074a31e645

London - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=205221&id=502113220&l=95700808ce

Stirling - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=208161&id=502113220&l=a5a1e2f657

Stirling Castle - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=246750&id=502113220&l=5d053feb49

Isle of Skye 1 (Fall Break) - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=246615&id=502113220&l=231f442582

Isle of Skype 2 (Fall Break) - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=246986&id=502113220&l=b7010ec4ab

Paris 1 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=252926&id=502113220&l=89ff3ec0d9

Paris 2 - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=252953&id=502113220&l=0b54d40806

Glasgow and Edinburgh - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=254571&id=502113220&l=2d17af8e9f

Stirling Randoms - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=248914&id=502113220&l=b61db27544



That should be it until the Hawaii post!!!

The Return Trip and Some Reflecting

My flight from Berlin to Scotland was delayed because of some snow. I was able to make it to the grocery store before getting back to the flat and I actually did run across campus back to my flat because it just felt so good to be back! I went to the Wallace Monument with my friend Elsa and took a night to go out with the friends I made that were still on campus. Lisa and I headed to Glasgow the afternoon of the 19th in order to beat the storm and make sure we were by the airport. We had a relaxing night out in the city and watched a movie and skyped my family from the hotel room.

The next day was an adventure - I went to the airport with Lisa the following morning (who flew out hours before me) so I spent A LOT of time hanging around the airport! My flight out of Scotland was delayed an hour and then from Iceland, it left another 30 minutes later. Then on the flight home, we were put in a holding pattern because it was snowing in Boston. Point is - I made it home!!!! Ryan and Chris were waiting for me right outside the international luggage return and boy were they a sight for sore eyes. My mom and dad drove the van up and we all hugged like crazy people! When I got home, I ran right to Sugar's cage and found out she wasn't excited to see me because Katie, Mary Kate and Tina were waiting right next to her cage on the couch to surprise me! They decorated the house and I ran right by it! They also managed to cover my ENTIRE bed in balloons... =]

The holidays were wonderful it was great to be surrounded by all of my friends and family for the first time in months. The family had a great Christmas. New year's eve was spent with the Church family as usual and then with Katie and some friends in New Britain.

My flat mate Melanie came to visit me Jan. 3rd-9th. I met her in New York on the 3rd and we spent that first night roaming around Times Square and Rockefeller Center. The next morning, we headed for the UN Building and had a really interesting tour. If you ever go to NYC, I would recommend it, especially if you are like me and don't know too much about it. After that, we walked by the Chrysler building, headed down to the Financial District and the World Trade Center. We also walked over the Brooklyn Bridge before heading home to CT for dinner with the family and Katie. I got a really awesome cold so the next day, we took it easy and had a driving tour of Haddam and the shoreline and even made a stop at the beach! Melanie started to get my cold (she will tell you that it was really because of allergies!) so we rested up and headed to Boston for a day trip on Thursday. We stopped by Frog Pond and the Mass. State House which was hosting an inauguration that included a very large amount of free food that we took on the rode for dinner! We headed out to Old North Church where Paul Revere started his famous ride and then followed the Freedom Trail to the Revere house, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market, the Bunker Hill monument and the USS Constitution. On the way home, we stopped to visit my friends Steph and Kofi in Worcester. Friday, we went to breakfast with Katie and then went up to the airport to pick Chris up. We spent the rest of the day with the family and packed up for NYC. Saturday, the three of us visited Central Park, took a trip on the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, went up to the Empire State Building and overlooked Times Square from the Marriott hotel. We grabbed a meal and then headed back to the hostel for an early night in (bedtime at 9pm!) Melanie got in a shuttle at 4:30am! to head to Mexico for her study abroad program (she made it safe and sound!) and Chris and I spent the rest of the day exploring the Financial District, World Trade Center, Times Square and Rockefeller Center before heading back to CT.

I've been using my time at home to re-organize and get ready to head back to Clark. I am looking forward to going back with my same routine and have regular extra curriculars! It will also be good to have my friends near me again and to finish up senior year back in the states! If everything goes according to plan, I will graduate on May 22nd =] It's been great to be at home and to finally get some of the sleep I always seem to be missing out on! I still can't believe that time has gone by this quickly!!!

My trip abroad was an amazing experience that I am so glad to have had. I made some really great friends (and so far, I have managed to keep in touch with all of them!) and I learned a lot about myself on my trip. There are tons of other mushy, life affirming things I learned and experienced but I wont bore you with those! But what I do know is that I definitely have a thirst to travel and I can't wait to go back to Europe to see my friends and then get out there and see more of the world! Hawaii is my next big trip and I am SO excited - I think it's just about 50 days until I am headed out there!

And this morning, I finally finished organizing all of my photos and ALL of them are up on facebook now. I think there is a way to share the link with people who aren't on facebook and as soon as I have time to sit down and figure it out, I will send those around!

Hope these posts weren't too long or too late for you!!

Love, Shalyn =]

FLORENCE and VENICE!!!!!

So I have been slacking on the blog posts lately....lack of internet around the globe and lack of sleep in Scotland/USA

So, here's the update on Florence and Venice!

It was a long-ish train ride out to Florence from Rome (around 4 hours). The hostel was a short walk from the train station and it was a lovely small town feel. When I got to the square, there was a huge church, called a duomo (if I spelled that correctly). At first sight, it looked like it was a 3-D puzzle someone had constructed because the entire exterior was painted in all sorts of greens and whites with designs and loads of statues all around. The whole thing is massive! Not only is it really tall and have a huge tower, the building seems to stretch forever. It also has a separate building which has been turned into a museum of some sort (but it cost money to go into it and cash was low).

After a walk around the duomo, I ventured over to the gallery where the statue of David is held. The whole gallery is kind of interesting - at this point, I had seen a lot of churches and a lot of artwork so I didn't pay as close attention as I could have. There were quite a few rooms dedicated to paintings while there were others that focused on music and statues. I liked those two because with the music, there was an interactive section that enabled you to hear what they sounded like and it showed me some I had never heard of before. The statue room was neat just because sculptures must take a rare form of patience and skill.

After that, I spent some time walking around the town. I walked through a street market in between a bunch of churches that was filled with signs informing me that if I bought fake/knock off goods, it is punishable under the law. After my 'night time' walk (since it was already really dark), I met some people back at the hostel. The woman that ran it provided us with some home made snacks and wine every night so we could meet other travelers. I ended up going to dinner with about 9 other people from the flat for a traditional Italian meal followed by some delicious gelatto! One of the guys in the flat had been there for a bit so he took a group of us to this really cool point that overlooks the entire city of Florence. This point was also near the fake statue of David that they put up in the town so that you are actually allowed to take pictures of it! Later on that night, a few of us went out for a night out on the town and had a good time.

The next morning, I headed out on another train to Venice. This ride was half as long but cost twice as much - yippee! During the day, I walked around the islands a little bit and spent some time just relaxing in the hostel and reading because it was absolutely freezing out. I took my book (about the history of Portugal!) to go and get some tea and a local little shop and did some reading to warm up! I met a guy named Alex (from Chile) who was also in the same hostel in Florence and we took a night walk around Florence and got something to drink.

The following morning (after a lovely night of 10 hours of sleep!!!), I walked around the entire island on the main tourist path and saw the three main touristy things - bridges and churches. It was another freezing cold day but the island was beautiful - the way that everything is situated in the water is really neat. I would definitely like to go back there in the warmer weather!!!

I hopped on a flight to Berlin that afternoon. I was supposed to be heading there to meet my flat mate Lisa but because of the snow storm in Scotland, her finals were rescheduled so she wasn't in Berlin. I only ended up spending one night in a hotel that I booked and of course, it was snowing like crazy in Berlin and I didn't have enough cash to afford getting lost if I headed into the city (which would have happened with the snow) so I spent the night relaxing, reading and sleeping! Man did that feel good! I was okay with not exploring because I plan on going back to Germany when Lisa and Melanie are both there and spending some quality time with them in their country =]