Sweet Summer Travels

Traveling is my passion, I love to see how different people and places are just a few miles away or across oceans.

Just a couple of weeks before school ended I spent a few days in St. Augustine which made my urge to travel grow and made me be set on traveling as much as I can this summer. I fell in love with the Old City and made sure to remember every bit of its fascinating history.

The culture up there is so different from what we have here in Broward, it's a different world altogether! But it is beautiful, everyone is extremely nice and helpful, and it gives you a glimpse back into the past and as to how the Spanish used to be. Definitely a place to check out for any history buffs out there. I fell so in love with the city I'm even considering applying for their college.

We're already a few weeks into our summer vacation and I've already started my travels and planned more for the weeks up ahead.

The first week of the summer started with a trip to Orlando and the surrounding area. Everyone loves Orlando because of Disney World, of course, but this time I wanted to see how the city is from a local's point of view. My family and I ate and shopped at local places whose profit doesn't directly come from tourism. The hospitality was still there though, and that's something I really love about Orlando. Whether in the middle of the tourism market, or on the outskirts hanging with the locals, the warm feeling and treatment of the people never changes.

Now I'm getting ready for a trip down to Key West this Sunday. I'm taking a tour of the city with my dad, always fun to travel with him. He is a person who loves traveling close to how much I do. I'm hoping the trip turns out great and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures (another one of my passions)!

Treats and Eats

With the first month of summer coming to a close, I have to say that so far, it's been pretty fun. Not to mention, it's also been relaxing. I mean after all the stress from the SATs and boatloads of school work, I finally get to sleep until 12:00 p.m. in peace.

After going through an extremely boring summer last year, I made sure that this summer would be filled with new experiences that would appeal to my trendy personality. I thought there would be no better way to kick off this summer than go out with my cousin for her sweet 16th birthday, which was exactly two weeks ago.

My cousin decided that she wanted to have a spa day with all her close friends, so we all went to Contour Day Spa in Plantation, FL. I personally never been to a spa before and I absolutely loved it! The staff and service were amazing. After getting a massage, manicure and pedicure, I forgot that it wasn't my birthday (it sure did feel like it).

After the spa, we headed to the Cheesecake Cake Factory in Sawgrass Mills. This was the first time I had been here as well and I have to say, it wasn't at all what I thought it was. I've had the cheesecake there plenty of times before (yum!!), I just never dined and ate there. The service wasn't that great and several orders were messed up, but for the most part, I'm happy that I was able to go to a new place.

Today was another first for me. I finally went shopping at the Shops at Pembroke Gardens. Despite the sudden down pour of rain, it was a treat for me, after all there's nothing I love more than fashion.

While there, I also got to eat at the Asian restaurant, Stir Crazy. Unlike my experience at Cheesecake Factory, the service at Stir Crazy was great and the food was even greater. I personally recommend the Sweet & Spicy chicken and the Teriyaki chicken.

Here's the link to my blog! I'm not constantly updating it, but I wanted to try and make it like tumblr. xo

http://rachelepstein11.blogspot.com/

The Southern Most Point Soothes

The school year is finally over, and the buzz of summer is taking control. I have high expectations for the upcoming two months: I plan on sleeping in as often as I can, but still have a blast.


This past school year I've worked extra hard, and I'm so glad that I finally have a break from all of the pressures of the FCAT, etc. Next week my family and I are going to Key West for a few days just to relax and see the sights once more. Key West is one of my favorite places in the world, and here's why:

It has that New York City vibe, a small island packed with people and shops on every corner. The sights and sounds are a playground for the senses, everywhere you turn there's a guy on stilts or chickens happily strutting around.

There's a lot of cool places to visit, like Ernest Hemingway's House (filled with six toed cats), The Truman Annex, and Duval Street which is filled with awesome shops.

I've been to Key West many times, but I've never been on a haunted tour. Personally, I love learning about the paranormal, so the tour that I'm going to take with my stepdad is definitely going to be one of my highlights of the trip. I want to meet Robert the Doll, who's supposedly possessed.

Ghost Tours aside, Key West is truly a relaxing place. I plan on just chilling on the beach and soaking up some sun.

History Bowls and Freddie Mercury

(http://www.allthetests.com/quiz23/picture/pic_1197252008_8.jpg)

So I'm a bit on the nerdy side and decided to go to a History Bowl a few weekends ago with some friends for no real apparent reason other than that we had nothing to lose.

All we really wanted to do was get at least one question right and not embarrass ourselves or our school.

We didn't study or really take it seriously, but once we beat the first team that we played against, we figured that we at least had a shot at doing some serious damage in the competition.

Although we got creamed by the second team we played (you could tell that they studied for history all the time, they knew every answer), we won 3 and lost 2 rounds.

Somehow we managed to semi-final and got to play one last round against the school that we got creamed by. However, we played their B team which was different from their A team that we originally played.

They were a really good team, so we were a bit apprehensive to say the least.

We actually held our own against them, with one of their teammates saying at one point, "They just did a 50 point sweep..."

We were all on edge, hoping that by some chance we could maybe beat them.

The reader started reading this question about a man who was born in Zanzibar before moving to India and learning piano before moving to England and starting a band... somethingsometing Sheer Heart Attack... somethingsomething died in 1991 of AIDS...

I hit the buzzer so hard and yelled, "Freddie Mercury from Queen!!!!!!"

Out of all the pop culture questions to ask, they asked one that I had just read about a month before.

I was ecstatic that my knowledge of Queen-- one of the greatest bands to ever exist-- could come in handy in an academic competition.

Recommended song(s): Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust, Don't Stop Me Now

Are you a Freak of a Geek?

Christmas showed its beautiful face again this year, bringing with it tons of holiday joy.

Nestled among the wish list gifts under the tree (a Magic 8 Ball and Katy Perry's perfume, Purr) was an unexpected obsession in a box set.

The gift was the 18-episode box set of the 1999-2000 Paul Feig and Judd Apatow show "Freaks and Geeks," complete with all of its original music.

(L to R Freaks: Daniel Desario, Lindsay Weir, Nick Andopolis, Ken Miller; Geeks: Sam Weir, Bill Haverchuck, and Neil Schweiber)

The show revolves around Lindsay Weir, a teenage girl in 1980. She befriends a group of burnouts, or "freaks," and her younger brother Sam heads the group of "geeks."

The show's subtle humor is hilarious, yet each episode has an interesting plot line.

Full of present-day comedic heavy hitters such as Jason Segel, James Franco, and Seth Rogen, "Freaks and Geeks" has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorite TV shows... ever. Although the show didn't last through an entire season before the plug was pulled, it is a classic that I would recommend to just about anyone.

I will end this with dialogue between Lindsay and Mr. Weir (Lindsay's father) that I think epitomizes how funny the show really is.

Mr. Weir: You know who used to cut class? Jimi Hendrix. You know what happened to him? He died! Choking on his own vomit.

Lindsay: Daddy, I skipped Latin.
Mr. Weir: Oh. Well I can understand why you wouldn't want to learn about that. It's only the building block of our language!

Recommended episodes: I'm With the Band, Smooching and Mooching, Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers

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