Throwback Thursday: Travel!

Some of the best memories I have from growing up happened while travelling. Luckily enough, my parents not only chose to give me a world-class education, which taught me to get out of the box––sometimes probably too much, too often– and find the magic in different cultures and societies that coexist in our world.

One of the trips I remember the most––probably for its simplicity and its close distance to home, yet its adventure and beauty––was when we went to Isla Margarita, in Venezuela, when I was around 8. I'm pretty sure that when I was that young, I didn't realise how important travelling was to me, or how it would shape the way I view the world today. But I did love seeing the world from a different perspective, and in a place completely different to the city I've called home for the past two decades... Especially when there were horses and birds around!

Love,

Summer Nostalgia

Every time I feel the summer coming, I can't help but fly back to 2011, when I worked at a summer camp for the season. Those 10 weeks at camp were probably the hardest moments I've had in my life––working with horses, children, and adults with disabilities is definitely not an easy job! But those 10 weeks have also been the most nourishing weeks I've ever had, and I would definitely not be who I am today if I hadn't lived them.

Not only I learned to teach young, inexperienced riders how to ride, and even jump their first fences, but I also learned some basics of horseback riding for persons with disabilities. I learned about myself and about God––even if I tried very hard not to be influenced by the religious atmosphere of the camp. I learned about love, about giving to others, and about friendship.

I sometimes regret not staying in closer contact with the people I met at camp. I guess I could still write to them and maybe even schedule a Skype meeting––and I might probably do so, before more time flies away without staying in touch with them––but I regret I haven't had the chance to talk more in the past few years with all these wonderful people.

But at least I know all the memories I collected with them will be forever in my heart. All the beautiful Maine landscapes. The sunrises and sunsets, the beach, the morning sound of the waves hitting the land. Fireflies on the way to the horsefield at night. The Sisterhood, Pants and Liz. Our mother Betty. An unpronounceable name reduced to PJ. Storytelling in the woods. The semi-savage, bipolar horses, the kids that rode them, and Sue's "I did it" every time she hopped on a horse. Crazy people. Midsummer fest. Fairy lights. Escaping to Boston and chilling on a rooftop. Feeling like Portland is the biggest city on Earth. Tie-dye. Wishing for beer, eating the biggest pad thai to ever exist, and playing with miniature sand. Wednesday Barbecue. Arts and crafts, baby showers. Ice cream. Running in the rain back to camp from Old Orchard Beach. Being left by the train, running to Saco, and being left again. Getting our nails done. Irish fairy dust. Irish people always have their feet cold. Piano man. Lilies and broken lilies...

...I just realised I could go on forever, but I guess I'll leave it here. Here's to you, beautiful Oceanwood, to your children, to a place I know I can call home, and to all the friends I made there! I hope I can visit you again soon!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio – Natalie Souness

A Weekend in Terni

As part of the conferences I'm taking part of while in Italy, we spent the weekend commuting from Rome to Terni. For those of you who don't know, this is a little town, located around an hour away from Rome, heading to the northeast. It is absolutely magical, although there's not much to do.

We were busy most of the time during the conferences, but we had the chance to walk around this wonderful place. One of the most interesting things is the mix between old buildings and more modern forms of architecture. What I heard is that many old buildings were destroyed during World War II, so that's why there are also a lot of more recent buildings.

On our first day there, we went to a new restaurant called Cucinaà. We had a tagliata di chianina con ratatouille, which was by far the best meat I've had in a long while. It came with cooked vegetables, although they weren't so good.

That afternoon we had tea with tiramisù, and I absolutely loved them––mainly only because I was craving to have some tiramisù!

The next day, we had pasta for lunch at the slowest restaurant I've ever visited. I had strozzapreti alla norcina, a very mushroom-y sauce. It was really good, but I couldn't finish my dish, since my body was rejecting Italian food that day.

The next day we had to eat at the exact same place, since it was Sunday and nothing else was open. I wasn't very excited about the idea, but my choice totally made up for the bad service. I chose to have some gnocchi with beans, meat and tomato sauce. This was the best dish I'd had––until then... You'll have to come back to find my new favourite! We also had chocolate cake with cream filling, which was delicious!

By this time we were ready to grab the train and head back to one more magical night in Rome, before leaving for Naples. But I'll talk about this tomorrow!

Love,

Photography: Laura Beltran-Rubio