Summer is going so fast

I haven't blogged in awhile because this past week my boyfriend, Scott, visited for a week. The week went by so fast I can't believe that it is almost the end of July! Only one more month left until I will be heading back to school for fall semester. Next week I will be in Outer Banks, North Carolina for a family reunion on my mom's side. After that I only have 2 weeks until I will be back in Kentucky!


This past week flew by because I had a good time with Scott and we were busy almost the entire time he was here. Wednesday we went to Newport, RI. I went there last year and once again it was beautiful as ever! We went on the Cliff Walk which is a walk along the water and there are famous mansions along the way. Later, we visited the Isaac Bell House which is one of the Mansions in Newport that people can visit. It was a pretty day outside, but hot.


On Friday we went to Jennings Beach in Fairfield, CT. I've been to that beach a few times but not once gone into the water. This time was completely different because I was in the water the majority of the time. Usually the water is way too cold, but it was hot and humid (over 100 degrees) so it was unbearable to sit out in the sun that long. It was good to get some more sun and tan. After the beach we went to a BBQ restaurant called Wilson's. Scott had seen it featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives on the Food Network, so we wanted to try it out. It was delicious! 

Sunday we went to Boston. We went to a Red Sox game. It was the first time for both Scott and I to watch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. It was a lot of fun and exciting that they won! I now know some of the players for the Red Sox because before I didn't know much about the team. After the game we took the T to Hard Rock Cafe in the Haymarket area for dinner. Then we headed home. The weather was perfect and we had a great day in Boston! I really like that city. 

That's all I have for now, hope you are having a good summer!

 Jennings Beach

Red Sox Game

What about Dragon Tattoo?

Last night I finished the book  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by: Stieg Larsson. It has been really popular this past year. My mom has now read all three of them and she suggested that I read the first one in the trilogy. She has all three on her Kindle so I decided to read it. The first 1/4 of the book was really slow for me. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to read it all. There are a lot of characters and company names that were kind of hard to remember because the setting is in Sweden. The book got really intense towards the middle and I couldn't put it down. I went to bed way too late last night because I had to finish it. The mystery was very unpredictable and action packed! Summary and Reviews


It wasn't the best book I've ever read but I would definitely recommend it! I'm looking forward to reading the next one. 

Sarah's Key

While I was in the Dominican Republic I read a book called Sarah's Key by: Tatiana de Rosnay. I was in a rush to find a book considering I only had one day after I had returned from Spain. My mom had read this book so she said I should read it. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not, but the first couple of chapters got me hooked! It is a mixture of the past and present, and has some history in it as well. I would highly recommend it! It is an easy read because I finished it in only 3 days.

Here is a summary:

In the summer of 1942, the French police arrested thousands of Jewish families and held them outside of Paris before shipping them off to Auschwitz. On the 60th anniversary of the roundups, an expatriate American journalist covering the atrocities discovers a personal connection—her apartment was formerly occupied by one such family. She resolves to find out what happened to Sarah, the 10-year-old daughter, who was the only family member to survive. The story is heart-wrenching, and Polly Stone gives an excellent performance, keeping a low-key tone through descriptions of horror that would elicit excessive dramatics from a less talented performer. Her characters are easy to differentiate, and her French accent is convincing. De Rosnay's novel is captivating, and the powerful narration gives it even greater impact. From: Amazon

Dominican Republic

My family and I went to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for the first week in July. None of us had never been there so we were looking forward to something new and time to relax. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called DREAMS Punta Cana. It was really big, with a long pool, right on the beach, 6 restaurants, plenty of bars, and lots of daily activities and events. Here are some highlights of the trip:

- Took a jeep ride all over Punta Cana- bumpiest ride of our lives. They have so many pot holes in their roads. We saw a BEAUTIFUL beach with really white sand and clear blue waters. We also got to see the Basilica and go out into the countryside to see where they make coco, mamajuana (alcoholic drink famous in DR), and coffee.
- Swimming and laying by the pool ALL day!
- Watching a show on the 4th of July with all popular songs in the US.
- For Nick and Dad- golfing!
- Trying different a different kind of food every night: Chinese, Japanese, Seafood, Mexican, and International.
- Winning $100 at the Casino!!! Chris actually was the one who hit "bet" even though he wasn't even allowed in the Casino because he's not 18.
- Riding horses in the countryside.
- Conversing with some of the workers. (For me IN SPANISH!)
- Learning more about the culture- most people make around $5-10 a day, Dominicans don't like to leave the country, etc. 
- Elvis is ALIVE! We saw him perform on 4th of July.
- Mom and I won bingo our last night there. She won a t-shirt and I won a bottle of Rum...the bingo guy asked how old I was because they don't give alcohol to minors, but I assured him I was 20!
- Trying new specialty drinks: WOW (orange, coconut milk, vodka, ice blended), Mudslide (Baileys, Chocolate syrup, white liquor, and ice blended), and Mama Juana (drink of DR - red wine, rum, and honey)

Paradise

It's been a long time since I last blogged. I only had one day in between my trip to Spain and my trip to Dominican, so I haven't had much time! I will be posting plenty more reflections about Spain and my family vacation to the Dominican Republic. But for right now I just want to share a picture of the beautiful pool I went swimming in everyday at our resort! It expanded along our whole resort- from the lobby all the way to the beach. What a perfect day to sit on raft, read a book, look at palm trees, and take in the sun!

Dreams Resort, Punta Cana