First is... Tucson, Arizona.
My parents moved from OKC to Tucson in 2012, and when I went to visit that Christmas, I fell in love. Tucson is so unique and quirky that I couldn't help but love it! In fact, I just applied to graduate school at the University of Arizona to get a Master of Public Health degree just this morning!
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| (Image information: personal photo of two of my best friends and I taken in Sabino Canyon; photo from March 2014) |
My grandparents lived in the middle of nowhere in North Carolina throughout most of my childhood, and every summer I would go visit them. It was kind of like summer camp, but the only other kids were my sister and my cousins. We would go to barbecues, go whitewater rafting, ride horses, feed the chickens, and go looking for treasure in the woods. One time we even found the remains of an old bootlegger's still next to the creek!
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| (Blue Ridge Mountains, NC: Wikimedia Commons) |
I seriously could not list my favorite places without mentioning Paris. I've been there 3 or 4 times since I was 4 years old, and I've been in love with it since day 1. Going to Paris at such a young age inspired me to learn French, which I've studied for 8 years now! My last trip to Paris was my freshman year of high school, and I look forward to returning after graduation to try out my (hopefully) much-improved French speaking skills!
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| (Image information: personal image of my best friend and I taken in Paris, France; photo from March 2008) |
Having spent half of my last two summers in Arezzo, I couldn't leave this one off the list. I studied abroad in Arezzo during the summer of 2013 with the Microbiology in Italy program, and I loved it so much that I managed to go back the next summer as a TA for the program with one of my best friends and fellow students. I met one of my best friends last summer in Arezzo, and I can't imagine how different my life would be if I hadn't studied abroad there. The town is so charming and the people are so welcoming. Plus, it's in a perfect location to explore the rest of Italy, a country I've visited quite a few times with my family, since it's my parent's favorite country. If you've ever (or even never) considered studying abroad in Arezzo, or even just visiting, you should! It'll change your life!
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| (Image information: personal image taken outside of Arezzo, Italy; photo from July 2013) |
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| (Image information: personal image taken in Piazza Grande, Arezzo, Italy; photo from July 2014) |
- Lillian
Hi again, Lillian! After your email, I was so excited to see your post and your picture of Sabino Canyon. Beautiful!!! And that is so exciting that you might be going there for graduate school. My dad was a professor there back in the 1970s (that's how we ended up living there for a while), and I have nothing but great memories of that place! And the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains too: wow! (Right now I live in central NC, very near the Virginia border... no mountains, but lots of woods!) ... and Paris! ... and Arezzo! FABULOUS! These favorite places posts are so much fun to read, but they always make me wonder if I will get a chance to go back to these beautiful places again myself or not. So many places, so little time! :-)
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos and how awesome to say you have been to Paris, not once, but multiple times! Another place that is on my bucket list :)
ReplyDeletePersonally I've never been to any of these places, but you make them sound so wonderful! I want to visit them! Typically NC isn't on my mental radar, but the rafting, horseback riding, etc. make me want to go there. I've always wanted to visit Paris and Italy, so I think it is WONDERFUL that you've been to both. They seem like they are placing that are full of wonderful culture.
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