MusicTalk - playlist 30.april.2014 - The Donnas, Garbage

This week, we're rock, rock pop, grunge (ish) kinda mood...

I love this song by the Donnas... Take it off... 

I recall this song by Veruca Salt back in 97 or 98? It was in high school... ha ha

You pretend you're high...

You pretend you're bored... 

JUST to be adored...

#stupidGirl. <3 garbage="" p="">

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Mahalo for reading. Until next time.

Playa de las Catedrales, Ribadeo, Mondeñedo #miVIDAenGalicia

English Dinner Club - May 2014

This was the first dinner club, that was a day trip! 

This past Friday, the weather was so bad, I thought that we may have a little bit of problems on Saturday, but nope, the weather was perfect.

There were only 6 of us... but this was great - it allowed the group to be more flexible and go to many different places!

First group #selfie!

We met at 0930 and had some breakfast and off we went to Playas de las Catedrales.  We actually didn't leave A Coruña until around 1030 because some minor issues... haha...

One of the surprising things is that it was the first time there for one of our group members - and it wasn't me!

We arrived around noon.  While it didn't give us that much time to explore because the tide was rising quickly... we were still able to check it out form the ground and take lots of pictures...

Did I mention it was a sunny day?

After walking around, to a couple more sights along Playas de las catedrales... we ended up at Restaurante Yenka - which was completely surprising because we only ordered 1 round of drinks and we had about 4 rounds of tapas!

Restaurante Yenka

Then after chatting, talking - back to the car and off to Ribadeo...  On the way back... you'll see below that the path we were walking on has now been submerged in ocean water... high tide - make sure you check the tides before heading out - especially if you want to walk along the beach!

Semi-high tide

Ribadeo - the town itself is a pretty cool place to go to.  This is my 2nd time here and everything seemed familiar, we ended up eating pizzas for lunch and had coffee at the same exact place I did last year... 

Deja vu - last year I took a nap at this exact spot!

However, unlike last year, our adventure wasn't over... we stopped by a couple more places...

Next stop: Faro de Isla Pancha - which was so amazingly beautiful... The entrance to the island was closed, but it was still beautiful from afar...

Our final stop was Mondeñedo... Right in the middle of the town was this amazing cathedral.

Traditional cake from Mondeñedo YUM!

For more pictures - add me to google+

CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS HERE: http://www.youtube.com/user/hawaiiinsomniac/videos 

 Mahalo for reading. Until next time.

The Max you know. The Max you knew.

Social media is an interesting beast... 

It allows people to connect and also reconnect from previous lives.  

Yes, previous lives.  Though I'm 33 and turning 34 this June, I feel that there has been a couple points in my life which changed the course of my life so drastically that I don't even think I'm the same person that I was 6 years ago.

If you actually have not spent time with me the last 6 years, please don't think that I am the same person that you knew.  If you have not talked to me, don't assume that the person and image you created is still the same as today.

You'd be sadly mistaken and miss out on the real me.

Love to you all.

CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS HERE: http://www.youtube.com/user/hawaiiinsomniac/videos 

 Mahalo for reading. Until next time.

TravelTalk - Independence Square (Kiev, Ukraine) - Unedited

Aloha everyone,

I received a couple of requests to see the unedited photos... and yes - most of my pictures will be posted on Google+.

Just in case you wanted to see the awesome work of +Poli P CLICK HERE

TravelTalk - Ukraine - Last Day

Considering I have my alarm set for 3 hours from now, I probably shouldn't be writing this blog...

Then again... there are a lot of things I have done which I probably shouldn't have.

O_O

Today was an awesome day - the weather was perfect, sunny, slightly breezy, not too hot, clear skies and beautiful...

With that said... most of the things I remember from my travels are the special moments... Yes, there is a lot to see here in Ukraine and Independence Square will be something that I will never forget...

but the people I have met are the ones I'll never forget...

(all pics will be posted on Google+)

Whether it's +Andrea Naccarato and having connoli at Curi Curi and making my first home made risotto fungi... or +Jamie Knight and +Amber Collins in Amsterdam, or having a picnic with +Donalie-An Mugnier, cooking tofu for +David Azevedo and +Joana Ribeiro, or bringing +jen mcveay a vanilla latte at 5 am in the morning, or +Putali Kandel (who always brings a smile to my face when I see her), and +Dàniel Pál (which we drank so much absinthe and puked everywhere to find out we were near the hostel the next day)... yes I can go on and on and on... 

 I feel that the people I meet on my travels really helps me shape my view of a particular place.

Kiev and Ukraine is no different.

The hospitality I have received here is beyond words.  This is why I somewhat make a difference between traveling and tourism...  My first night here, I was greeted by Alex... and eating home cooked meals of borsch and salo (with garlic), or hanging out with Arseniy and Olena, serenading Plain White T's on their guitar... not to mention giving an English lesson and getting to hang out with +Andrii Prepiialo all day...

To all of the friends I have made around the world along my travels and to my new friends in Kiev...

This blog is for you...

Now keep it down, I need to get my 2 hours and 55 minutes of sleep...

See you soon!

CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS HERE: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/hawaiiinsomniac/videos 

 Mahalo for reading. Until next time.

TravelTalk - Kiev, Ukraine... day 7? 8? lol

Ooohhh... remind me to take pictures of my hostel... It's an awesome place... 

(yes, I know that hostels normally aren't "awesome") 

Oh yeah, my last hostel was so bad (compared to this one), it was in the middle of nowhere - took me 20 minutes to walk to the metro, and I didn't really sleep... there were no curtains and across the street was a super bright light... anywho, I digress.

Yikes... I can't believe I have 24 hours left... so many things I want to do 

Actually, on my last day, I'll probably take it easy and just go to a museum and go eat at different places. #nomnomnom

One of the things that I love about traveling is being completely open to the world around me... 

Yesterday, I went to the Kiev Polytechnic Institute University and gave an English lesson.  

It was quite fun... I got to see the campus, walk around 18-22 year olds... ha ha... 

(which I wouldn't have seen otherwise, if I wasn't invited by Ksyusha)

From Ukraine - With Love

English Class!  =D

After class, #selfie, I got to hang out with +Andrii Prepiialo and my couchsurfer hosts (which I will have to write a completely separate blog about... yup...) had a couple of beers, walked around and had a great time... (no, I didn't take too many pictures at night), oh... lol we stopped by a bar and we ended up speaking in Spanish... there's a bar (which we're going back to tonight, I only went to use the bathroom... =P) which has a cool Spanish vibe... My first time hearing a Ukranian speaking Spanish (quite well, actually)... 

Well, I really should write more, but I am hungry and my breakfast is here... 

(^___^)

Then off to the museum.  #last24hours.  Sun is out!  OMFG!

CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS HERE: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/hawaiiinsomniac/videos 

Mahalo for reading. Until next time.

Day 5 - Independence Square - Kiev, Ukraine

Wow, I can't believe it's my fifth day here and I finally got to spend some time in Independence Square...

Photo edited by Poli, http://alongcamepoli.blogspot.com

I was just a lost for words... While there are areas of destruction and signs of battles, I felt real safe.  An abundance of Ukrainian flags, music, and an atmospheric ambiance of pride was all here.  I literally stood in one spot for almost an hour just allowing the energy of this site to permeate my soul...

Photo edited by Poli, http://alongcamepoli.blogspot.com

Soldiers walking around, eating, chatting... Reporters with their camera crews recording videos... Me, standing there, trying to imagine what happened at this very spot... Acknowledging what happened in the past, living in the present, and providing hope for the future...

Photo edited by Poli, http://alongcamepoli.blogspot.com

My words cannot do this justice... See for yourself and try to imagine...

Photo edited by Poli, http://alongcamepoli.blogspot.com

Photo edited by Poli, http://alongcamepoli.blogspot.com

Photo edited by Poli, http://alongcamepoli.blogspot.com

Special thanks to Poli, for editing the photos... Don't forget to check out her blog...