Work hard, play harder

There was one point in college where things just weren’t going right… my grades were slipping.. I hated my classes.. running started to get boring.. broke up with my boyfriend.. and I was just an unpleasant friend to be around. I decided I would make a bucket list of things I wanted to accomplish, maybe start over a little bit. I spoke with my coach so he made an exception (most athletes can’t study abroad) and said that as long as I ran a few races abroad, I could go.. and I’d have to be even faster when I returned. So I did just that – looked up a few races, made a list of places I’d like to see.. and off to Florence, Italy I went! here’s a little bit about my bucket list a few years ago.. and now for this spring in Barcelona!

January 29

There was a local race in Florence up the Piazza Michaelangelo. I decided I’d try to get my barings the first few weeks.. meet some people.. and figure out how to run on cobblestone. They didn’t keep track of the winners.. for some reason everyone in this race was a winner! I decided that path was exactly what I wanted to train on.. up the stairs to the top of Firenze every day.

There are always races and events going on in Barca. If you like to run, look into the half and full marathons they host starting around the city center. My goal is to do 2 different races this spring, if they fit around my traveling schedule of course Running on the sand has also really saved my legs in training.

February 2nd - Interlaken

I’d always wanted to go skydiving and thought snow boarding was just the coolest.. a bunch of kids were going to Switzerland that weekend to board so I tagged along. skydiving. CHECK. attempting to snow board in the Swiss Alps. CHECK. running around 2 of the coolest/greenest/prettiest lakes I’ve ever seen. CHECKKK. it’s fun, it’s gorgeous, and it’s the city of the Bus2alps headquarters. we know everyone and get the hook up at our sister company, Outdoor Interlaken, with discounted rentals and extreme activities.

February 11th – Montserrat & Cava

studying in Florence, I did a few wine tastings in Tuscany with my mother when she came to visit. you’ve got to experience the Catalan traditions while studying in Barca.. why not eat a traditional meal followed by some cava (Spanish champagne) at the top of Monserrat. good food, good views, and a necessity of the Catalonian culture.

February 16th – Florence and Venice Carnevale

I studied abroad in Florence – an Italian favorite and another branch of our Bus2alps family. from Florence, we’ll take a bus trip to Venice Carnivale, one of the craziest parties next to Carnival in Sitges (19.2.12) and Las Fallas in Valencia! get your flight back to Barcelona before 8pm Sunday and do both Venice and Sitges Carnival in ONE WEEKEND! #BCNLIKESTOPARTY

March 1st – Barcelona * Thomas Gold at Opium Mar *

Barcelona hosts some of the hottest music artists in Europe.. and one main goal was to see as many concerts abroad as I possibly could. Thursday I’ll be hitting up a sick show at Opium right before a big break to Morocco, nbd.

March 2nd-10th - Morocco Spring Break

I didn’t even THINK about making it to Africa while studying abroad. but if you break it down, it would cost so much more to come back to Africa from America than it would while I’m already over here, right? camels and sand boarding. Atlas Mountains and Moroccan food. how many of your friends can say that!? AFRICA. checkKKK.

March 15th - St. Paddy’s in Ireland… or Sensation White Berlin

my best friend growing up was extremely Irish.. I was always jealous when she’d vacation to different areas like Dublin, Galway, and the Cliffs of Moher EVERY year and come back with crazy stories about it. definitely on my check list..

where else can you party the hardest with the locals besides Munich? if the flights to Dublin are sold out St. Paddy’s weekend, I’d definitely try to go to Ireland another time.. and head up to Berlin for Sensation White instead! I went to Brussels last year this time for my birthday and it was ONE of the craziest festivals I’ve ever been to. round two? sure why not.

March 29th – April 7th: The Northern Loop SPRING BREAK!

I’m not sure why I never hit up multiple cities in one shot – it makes more sense to do as much as you can, especially if someone else can do the planning for you. one of Bus2alps’ most popular trips (after the Award-Winning Amalfi Coast) is the Northern Loop. it includes tours of Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris. there’s absolutely NO WAY  you can see all of these cities in 10 days for less.

kick it off with castles, some of Europe’s hottest nightlife, a massage for (what is equivalent to) less than 10 euro and save with the Czech crown in Praha. my good friend Annabelle is now living and working in Berlin, so we’ll probably do the pub crawl and walking tour, and also have her show us her favorite spots. I can’t WAIT to go back to the East Side Gallery. I’m even more pumped to see the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank’s house, and of course, hit up the the Heineken Factory for some beers at the end of the day. and last but not least, the romantic city of Paris. experience the hottest attractions in France (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Cour, Versailles, the Louvre) and see DAVID GUETTA LIVE! I could go to his show Friday or stay an extra day and go Saturday. club can’t handle meeee

April 12th - Amalfi Coast

Sorrento. Capri. Positano. Pompeii. sunning in the beach, cruising around in private boats, checking out the ruins of ancient history and staying at one of the best hostels in Italy, Seven. RATED NUMBER TWO TOUR IN THE WORLD IN 2008. I’d be silly not to.

April 19th – Portugal

Definitely have been dying to learn how to surf.. where better to try than in Lagos, a surfer’s paradise! I tried in Florida a few times but this round I’m going to try out the camp to really break it down. I’ll probably rent a bike to explore the coast and definitely hit up the crazy nightlife later in the night.. Spanish clubs are nuts!

April 22 - Found a cheap train to Milan for a few days with my friend Irene.. I had decided it was time to check my running fitness again after all this traveling. They had a 5k/half/full marathon scheduled the day after we had arrived and a long night of partying for her cousins birthday (I don’t know what I was thinking). I attempted to run the 5k and missed the turn (keep in mind my Italian was AWFUL), and ended up winning the half marathon. I didn’t even know (clearly, because I couldn’t understand them) and ended up speaking to a young woman with broken English… telling me I’d won a bunch of booze and a medal. best prize EVER!

This time, I’ll try to fly on to Madrid a little early to run a marathon that Sunday. I have a few extra days saved up that I could miss and Irene actually lives there now! what a coincidence.

April 26th – Munich Springfest

I went to Oktoberfest 4 times my fall semester. yep, every weekend it was offered. Frühlingsfest is similar but even more exciting because you can party even harder with the locals in 2 of the most popular tents at Theresienwiese – Hippodrom and the Augustiner.

May 3rd – Barcelona

Kicking it in Barca.. last weekend to say goodbyes, as well as students from Prague, Florence, Rome, Madrid, London, and cities all over Europe will be in town!

I definitely left a couple weekends for me – there are always rad concerts and festivals that randomly come up or trips you may never know existed

checklist of my spring semester of 2012…

- skydive…CHECK

- snowboard..CHECK

- experience Catalonian culture.. CHECK

- Venice Carnivale and Sitges Carnival.. CHECK

- ride a camel.. CHECK

- sand surf.. CHECK

- water surf.. CHECK

- run 2 races.. CHECK

- Frühlingsfest.. CHECK

- visit Irene+Annabelle.. CHECK

- Ireland for St. Paddy’s.. or Sensation White… CHECK

- 2 awesome concerts.. CHECK

- 4 major cities in 10 days.. CHECKkkkkk

I made a list and made it happen. The only thing I would change is to take back that Eurail pass  I never used, planning my flights earlier, and travel a little more with friends. I met a lot of cool people I wish I could have spent more time with.. and remember meeting some awesome kids from cities all over Europe on the trips I did with Bus2alps.

I came back so refreshed I ran some of the fastest times I’d ever raced, loved design again, and got an internship with Sports Illustrated for the summer. Life was good again, and I’d seen a whole new world. I had also met a girl that will probably be in my wedding someday, as well as some awesome friends I’ve gone to visit on the east coast at least 2x a year since we’ve returned. 13 off that bucket list in less than 4 months.. WAHOO!