Saint Patrick's Cathedral

St. Patricks Cathedral. Last day in Ireland.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 25, 2014 at 7:17am PDT

Dublin Pride Parade

Ran into the Pride parade in Dublin!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 24, 2014 at 7:54am PDT

Walking around Dublin

The sky was out of control beautiful on our walk to Temple Bar.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 22, 2014 at 2:27am PDT

Irish Pub

Thank God for Guinness in Ireland!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 20, 2014 at 1:02pm PDT

Cathedral in Cordoba

Virgin Mary... Or Dementor? The Cathedral in Cordoba.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 17, 2014 at 2:42am PDT

Details at the Alhambra

Details in the Alhambra Palace wall in Granada, Spain.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 15, 2014 at 3:40pm PDT

Alhambra in Granada

The Al Hambra Palace in Granada.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 15, 2014 at 3:30pm PDT

Gelato Stand

I liked how this gelato stand advertised their flavors!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 14, 2014 at 10:52pm PDT

Goodnight Seville!

Good-bye Seville! Until next time.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 14, 2014 at 2:35am PDT

Palace in Seville

The Palace in Seville! I had never seen anything like it before! The moorish architecture with the tiles and colors where amazing to me. I wondered what it must have been like to live in such a place. I wondered if they thought 800+ years from now commoners would walk about it's walls.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 14, 2014 at 2:33am PDT

Seville Catherdral

Orange Grove in Seville!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 13, 2014 at 11:39am PDT

Atlantic Meets Europe

Where the Atlantic Ocean first hits inland Europe! The tip of Portugal.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 11, 2014 at 2:21pm PDT

Beach Exploration

The southern algarve region of Portugal. Tomorrow we will search for more beaches!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 10, 2014 at 3:05pm PDT

Sintra Beaches

It was difficult to capture just how steep these cliffs where that led to one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. We found this treasure minutes before the sun went down. It reminded me of everything that was good in the world.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 10, 2014 at 3:12am PDT

Aquarium in Lisbon

"Penguins are the most charismatic of the Antarctic animals." In other words penguins are always a hit at the aquarium! I liked how the one penguin looked like he was laughing.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 8, 2014 at 8:13am PDT

Tile Museum in Lisbon

I liked how mathematical these 2D tiles were! At the tile museum in Lisbon.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 8, 2014 at 8:09am PDT

Lisbon

So happy to be in Lisbon! I'm in love with the apartment I'm staying in... It has so much kitchen "space" by NYC standards anyway. It looks over the Port and has different pockets of rooms throughout the apartment. Love love love! Can't wait to explore the city- I think it will be a beautiful affair!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 6, 2014 at 1:22pm PDT

Cathedral in Toledo

The cathedral in Toledo, Spain! I liked this statue!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 6, 2014 at 9:30am PDT

Basque Country

We found a beach on the coast of Basque Country! They yelled at us for being in the "surfing only" section although we had no idea. After our swim we had an awesome ham sandwich made by a local woman.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 5, 2014 at 8:17am PDT

San Sebastian

San Sebastián! After eating pintxos in the old city we went to the beach and the stumbled upon this stunning sight!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Aug 3, 2014 at 7:26am PDT

Inside the Sagrada Familia

Pipe Organ

The Alter at the Sagrada Familia

Pillars in the Sagrada Familia

Detail in the Door of the Sagrada Familia

Details in the Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is a cathedral designed by Gaudi that is still being built today.

Walking Around Barcelona

Sunset in Vieques

Last sunset in Vieques. Your beaches and tropical waters will be missed.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on May 18, 2014 at 8:25am PDT

Vieques Beach

Beach! Beach! The island of Puerto Rico in the distance.

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Flight to Vieques!

We flew on a tiny 10 person plane to the island of Vieques! Everything was calculated... Weight of the bags and people. The physics of such a small craft is so intimate!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on May 18, 2014 at 8:14am PDT

El Batay - the greatest bar EVER!

San Juan! I LOVED the lamp at this bar! Visitors could add business cards or whatever to the lamp shade! The lamp had a fluidity of movement in the island breeze that I envied.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on May 16, 2014 at 9:43am PDT

The view from the Bosporus

Istanbul Sunset

The Hills of Istanbul

Driving back to Bari

I loved watching them fish on the bridge between Asia and Europe

Gargano National Park

Evidence of spring! It still exists!

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Feb 20, 2014 at 4:28pm PST

Southern Italy

We decided to go to southern Italy last minute..... Rent a car drive from coast to coast... Got hopelessly lost... Drained our electronics... Used the moon as a guide. We sang "Italian adventure!" The whole way.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Feb 20, 2014 at 12:31am PST

Olive Grove

Abandoned Buildings somewhere near Vieste

Shore near Vieste

Driving through the Villages

Sunset

Amalfi Coast

Waves and Beach

The Amalfi Coast

The Blue Mosque

Byzantine Marble in the Hagia Sophia

Lamps in the Hagia Sophia

Inside the Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia was the Roman Empire's first Christian Cathedral from 537 to 1453. In 1453, the Turks took over Constantinople (renamed it Istanbul) and converted the cathedral into a mosque. Today it is a museum. Here you can see evidence of this history with the recovered Virgin Mary over the first dome. In the top right corner you can see an angel that was painted over during the time it was converted into a mosque. In Islam pictures of people/God are not created for religious reasons, so they covered the original paintings when they changed it to a mosque. The circular hanging banners were also added during its days as a mosque and remain today. Finally, in the left you can see evidence of the scaffolding as the museum works to preserve this amazing building.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. Standing in the back of the church where the sultan's harem worshiped along with all the other women of the Ottoman Empire.

A post shared by Amanda H (@ahochsta) on Feb 17, 2014 at 2:37pm PST

Turkish Delight

Hagia Sophia at Night

Grand Bazaar in Istanbul