Croatia (Travel Recommendations)

Croatia has been high on my European bucket list for quite sometime. It's hard not to let the beauty of the clear blue Adriatic Sea lure you in. Croatia has become a top destination for young travellers, full of adventures and nightlife.

Check out my recommendations for Split, Hvar, and Dubrovnik at my new site!

samanthafaloon.wordpress.com

Living in the Moment

Once again, with a promise to keep daily journal entries and scheduled blog posts, I have failed. I have not written a single thing since my first night in Europe.

To be honest, I love to write and I love to blog, but this whole experience has been such a whirlwind that I do not want to waste a single moment of it trapped in my room. It's more important for me to participate and say yes to every opportunity, within reason.

I can still remember the places I have visited and the things I liked/disliked, so I will write some articles in the future.

I cannot even begin to describe how much of a dream come true this study abroad experience has been. It's different than I imagined, yet some how it has exceeded those built up expectations I've had for 7 years.

For something to look forward to, I will have posts on the following places:

In France: Grenoble, Paris, Lyon, Annecy, Les Deux Alpes, Val D'Isere

The Rest of Europe: London, England; Budapest, Hungary; Brussels, Belgium; Amsterdam, Netherlands

Upcoming Trips: Barcelona, Spain; Nice, France; Monte-Carlo, Monaco; Florence/Rome, Italy; Split/Hvar/Dubrovnik, Croatia

One Day in Paris

(See the full story under the link)

A Semester of Films

This semester, I've gone to the theatre more than usual and by chance, I ended up seeing five completely different genres of film. Though I am no movie critic, nor does my opinion on the subject have strong swaying capabilities, I decided to write a little bit about each one to give you a general idea of what the movies were like and whether or not they are something you'd like to see. If you have seen any of these films and have a similar or differing opinion, please let me know in the comments!

(click 'Read More' to see to see the reviews/ratings)

En Route to France (New Series)

For those of you who don't know, this January I will be heading off to Grenoble, France on an International Exchange. The term is just four months but I'm sure it will be packed with exciting adventures – I also plan to travel around Europe every chance I get.

I want to document my experience and help anyone out who's thinking about going on an exchange or even just traveling around Europe. In my opinion, everyone should try to take part in an exchange program while they can. The life lessons and memories that will develop from this trip will be incredible.

This series will consist of the following types of posts: preparing for the exchange (visa applications, arrangements in France, packing), things I hope to do (bucketlist of sorts), and weekly recaps once I'm there (similar to my New York Travel Diary).

Follow me on Bloglovin to stay updated!

On My Book Shelf (Part 4)

More book reviews! This is one of my favourite series to write, so this post has been sitting in my drafts folder for months waiting for some other content to fill up the blog. You'll notice that I like to try a few different styles of books... I bet you never thought you'd see The Book Thief and Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea side by side.

You can read the other"On My Book Shelf" posts here.

Click read more to see what I have to say about these novels.

10 Reasons to go to University in Halifax

Some of my Halifax keepsakes (Instagram)

1. Youthful City

Halifax is the home of Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent, Kings College, NASCAD, and probably more schools than I even realize. Students run this town! According to Stats Canada, the city has one of the lowest amounts of seniors. The biggest age groups are university students and people their parent's age. Take a look at the charts if you need more proof (heck I found it interesting!)

Basically, you have a lot of potential suitors in this town; nice ones too (see 6). Start looking ;)

2. Everything is Close-By

Halifax is very pedestrian friendly. Walking and biking are welcomed and there is no need for a car (other than for trips to Costco). As a student, bus passes come with your student ID, but I strongly recommend walking on the nice days. To get an idea of how close-by things are: from Dalhousie's Studley Campus, downtown is about a 10-15 minute walk and the lovely Harbour is about 20 minutes. That covers the radius of the places you will likely frequent most. Biking around here is great too. I personally invested in an adorable cruiser bike (this one).

3. Shopping

Downtown (around Spring Garden and Barrington) there are really cute boutiques. My favourite boutiques include Sweet Pea and Biscuit General Store. Some of these boutiques sell my favourite brand Free People, which excites me beyond belief. If they ever get a Free People store here I will fangirl and wait in-line for the opening. No joke.

There are two major malls, Halifax Shopping Centre and MicMac Mall, only a bus ride away. Stores at these malls include Victoria Secret, H&M, Forever 21, BCBG, Dynamite, AE, Aldo, Bath & Body Works (candles!), Hollister, and all other stores you can find in a major mall. Envy is another good one; quite fancy and sells FP; I think it's only in the Maritimes. To Bus: HSC take the 1 and MicMac take the 10.

4. Nightlife

This can be dependent on your nightlife style. So here is my opinion on some of the main bars, in just a couple of words:

Pacifico: LA vibes, dancing, chic, lounge
Toothy Moose: great for country lovers (Friday nights)
Dome: dirty, club, dance, popular, attached to Cheers, 2.50 shots on Thursdays ("Dome is Home")
Cheers: popular, booths, bar, live band, dance, grimy, attached to the Dome
Split Crow: Used to be the Commerce bar, sit down, live band, pub, day drinking on the weekend
Lower Deck: live band, best known for Sunday nights, upper floor for club scene, lower for pub vibe
Grawood: Dalhousie campus bar, tons of events, students galore

These are the ones that I'm more familiar with, of course there are a lot more to check out. Find "your bar" and have a blast. A great way to discover all the bars/clubs is to take part in one of the many pub-crawls. See 5 for more details.

Click read more to find out about events, food, and more!