One Rising Star

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.  ( Walt Disney ) When you’re a young kid, adults regularly tell you to work hard and that you can do anything you want to do when you grow older. Often though, it can be hard to believe these words without proof. I’ve learnt in recent years that I can pretty much do anything I want to do, as long as I am willing to put in some hard work and to take some chances; it doesn't matter whether it be at the gym, at work, or in my everyday life! Just over a year ago, I took a chance when I left the stable job and life I had in Canada to move to Dubai, UAE. Some people may have thought I was crazy to leave everything I had going for me there, but others understood that I was taking a step in the right direction to pursue my dreams. Some of the most encouraging people were (and still are) my Canadian students. It was very difficult to tell them about my decision, but they showed great maturity...

As soon as I set foot into Switzerland, I was pretty much in love with the place! The views of the mountains and the lake immediately took my breath away. The small town of Lausanne and its French speaking population made me feel right at home. I was beyond excited to be surrounded by French people, French school resources (I wish I could have bought everything) and the French culture in general. During my short stay, I got to spend some time at the beach / pool area, to walk around the city centre, to take a boat over to France and visit Evian, to drive up a mountain for amazing panoramic views and to eat some fondue. It was definitely a very nice and relaxing few days! I really didn’t know what to expect when I decided to make a trip to Switzerland, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s really a beautiful country! Only downside is that everything is REALLY expensive here! Thank you to my friend and former work colleague Alena for showing me...

My time spent in Portugal was made up of some relaxing moments and of course, some more sightseeing.  First off, I began my Portuguese passage in Lagos. Lagos is a great little touristy town with fine beaches, beautiful landscape and…VERY cold water. I enjoyed walking around there, checking out the little stores and market stands and eating in a variety of small restaurants. During my stay, I also had the opportunity to kayak through caves along the shoreline. That ended up being a fun experience! After a couple days in Lagos, I got to visit Lisbon, Portugal’s capital. In my opinion, Lisbon was a lot like most other big cities I have visited in Europe; fountains, monuments, parks, stores, restaurants... One day though, I did get to visit a cool place called the “ Oceanário ”. It was basically a very big indoor aquarium with a variety of water species displayed. Very cool! On my last day in Portugal, I went to Sintra, a smal...

Travelling through Spain has been a fantastic adventure!  Firstly, staying in peoples apartments (airbnb.com) and in hostels (hostelworld.com) in 4 different cities has been a really interesting experience.  Secondly, travelling with all my luggage by metro, taxi, bus and train from one city to another has been painful at times, but well worth it in the end. Here is a quick look at my thoughts on each city visited in the last week or so. 1-     Barcelona Barcelona was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be: a large touristy city with lots of things to see and do. While touring in the day, I had the opportunity to enjoy the beach and to see numerous architectural treasures; one being the famous Segrada Familia. In the evening, I got to enjoy wonderful tapas (basically like appetizers) and a great stroll down La Rambla (a long street with little market stands and many restaurants). 2-     Madrid Madri...