BALD HEAD ISLAND THROUGH MY PHONE

It feels good to be back out in the sun despite the hot temperatures. Yesterday we arrived on Bald Head Island in North Carolina and I absolutely love it here. We’re surrounded by cute houses and even palm trees (which I did not expect haha). So far we’ve just been driving around in the golf cart (cause there’s not actually cars on this island) and exploring our surroundings. This morning I woke up quite early like 5:30 and sat outside in the hammock for an hour or so. That was super nice especially being surrounded by a flurry of chirping birds mixed with the buzzing of insects swarming across the patio. For now I’ll be soaking in the sunny rays and getting some more color on my skin.

ANN ARBOR

I am currently sitting at the airport in Detroit ready to fly down to Raleigh in North Carolina. Because my flight is early in the morning and on the other side of the state, my friend Lea and I drove out to Ann Arbor which is quite close to Detroit airport. We visited her school University of Michigan and just walked around town eating a lot of food and spending too much money.

We also took a trip to whole foods, probably my favorite grocery store and the simple fact that they don’t have it in Europe is really annoying. Like where am I supposed to get good Kombucha haha just kidding I’ll survive.

One of my favorite parts was driving around Greek row and seeing all the sorority houses. A sorority is something I really miss in Europe and I wish they had something similar at my university but unfortunately they don’t. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to come visit Lea tho and then I’ll be able to experience US college life at least for one week!

SUMMER DAYS

Last week I got back to Grand Rapids to visit my family and friends one last time. This summer my family has decided to move back to Europe and join me in the Netherlands. I’ve been enjoying my time here eating a lot of sushi, pizza and tacos. Probably my favorite foods especially sushi…One of my fav restaurants here is called Maru and I probably ate there about four times these past days. So they really be getting a lot of money from me haha.

My friend Libby joined my for my first sushi lunch, it was great to see her again.

If you know me then you know I always get the same thing at restaurants haha and at this one it’s the crouching tiger roll which is basically a california roll but a lot more exciting.

I’ve also been eating a lot of pizza haha. This was from a dinner at another good place called Terra where we went with my friend Lea and her family before heading out to watch comedian Bill Maher.

The first few days that I was here, the weather was honestly a little gross and grey. But finally it cleared up and I managed to spend the day at the pool. Unfortunately I did not manage to avoid a sun burn and after about 5 hours laying out I had turned myself into a lobster. I must say I’m still kind of in pain haha, but luckily I have aloe which I’ve been covering myself in.

Today we headed for the beach to celebrate my friend Sarahs birthday. Sadly we didn’t stay at the beach for too long because the weather got kinda cold but we still managed to have a fun day.

Since this was my last time coming to Grand Rapids and it being my official home I decided it was necessary to get my hair done one last time with my hairdresser. She is a super sweet girl and does the most amazing job. Last year I got baylage for the first time and I love it so I decided it was time to refresh it. I also got a cut because my ends were just getting too bad… haha

The saddest moment this past week was probably when the container arrived at our house. My family had been living in Grand rapids for five years and I think we were all quite sad to see it come to an end. Of course it is always for the best and now we will finally be closer to our family but it’s still unfortunate as we’ve all really created a life for ourselves here.

DAYS IN THE HAGUE

Very slowly the weather here in the Hague is actually getting better but we still have lots of rainy days 🙁
But I am really enjoying the sunny days here. These pictures are spread out over the past weeks of just the daily adventures in the Hague. If it’s a pretty sunset, a relaxed evening cooking or just talking a walk around town, there’s always something to do. Tomorrow will be my last day here for the next three weeks and hopefully when I get back I will be welcomed with constant sunshine haha! Except it is the Netherlands so maybe not so good to get my hopes up…

BLUE MOMENTS

Being in Iceland I was always surrounded by blue or green wherever I looked. If it was the ocean or a waterfall, these colors could be really found everywhere and multiple shades. When visiting the Blue Lagoon the color had a gorgeous turquoise touch to it and created a really nice contrast with the sky.

I probably spent about two hours in the Lagoon completely disconnected from the outside world. All around the lagoon there are different opportunities to sit and rest for example the massage section or a waterfall. I found myself a quiet spot in a corner and just sat there with nothing but my face out of the water (I did get burned haha who would’ve thought). It was a great opportunity to sit back and just think.

I absolutely love the ocean and could not get enough pictures of it. When standing on a boat and being hit with the wind and the fresh air is one of my favorite feelings. It really creates the best vibe. Here again you see the different shades of blue you can find all over Iceland. Even the animals blend in.

Blue is on top of the earth and right underneath deep down into a glacier as well.

so basically 50 shades of blue haha

touch down in Iceland

This morning we took off from Frankfurt and were on our way to the Island in the middle of the ocean. It was quite interesting landing because you couldn’t see anything but rock (no trees!).

We finally got all checked into our hotel and headed out into Reykjavik to look around and have some dinner.

We ended the day with a little walk to explore the shoreline. It’s funny because in these pictures it kind of looks like the sun is setting but we’re so far north it basically stays light 24 hours. Like currently it’s 11 pm here and it’s as bright as day outside. Kind of throwing me off tho…like it just doesn’t really feel like it’s time to go to bed ahah .

Quick stopover in Frankfurt

Today my grandma and I are heading over to Iceland! Before we left I came to Frankfurt to see her and so that we could travel together. We had a chill time form when I arrived and just prepared for our trip, did some chatting obviously (because if you know me then you know I can’t stop taking haha).

Later in the evening we went for a nice dinner at a new restaurant called Casa Nova. We both had some simple pasta Arrabbiata with fresh homemade bread. It was quite a funny dinner because someone spilled Limoncello all over herself….but with a full stomach we went back home and jumped into bead to make sure we weren’t tired for our travels tomorrow haha.

weekend trip to the farmlands

The title might say farmlands but we did include a little city into this weekend trip to make sure we had some civilization at some point haha. Last weekend consisted of a long train ride all across the country to a little section of the Netherlands surrounded by Belgium and Germany. It was a good little getaway before the official start of studying for exam season ugh

We went with our study association and stayed in the little house in the back. We were surrounded by fields EVERYWHERE and if u wanted to take the bus into the little village we were staying at you still had to walk 20 min…