Toledo, Spain

For our final day in Madrid, we decided to take a bus to the town of Toledo, which is not far from Madrid. Since it was New Years Day, hardly anything was open in Madrid, so we figured we'd get out of the big city for the day and check out something that wasn't on the itinerary. 

Madrid, Spain

Next we were off to Madrid, which is where we spent New Years Eve. It was a great place to ring in 2014, though I wish it was as sunny as Lisbon!

You see some strange street performers!

Churros!! 

Lisbon, Portugal

Ever since I got my first taste of international travel, I could hardly wait to get back to Europe. So I began planning a three week backpacking adventure through Western Europe with my man over our winter break from school. 

We went on a hardcore budget and the whole trip to 5 countries and 7 cities cost under $3000, including the international airfare. I started off counting every penny, but lost track at the end, so I can't give you the exact number. We left the day after Christmas and landed in Lisbon, Portugal on December 27, 2012. Then began probably the best consecutive three weeks of my life to date. 

This trip also made me decide that I will be investing in a WAY better camera next time I take a long trip. The one I have is not the best, but enjoy the photos anyways!

Our only bags (We are explorers..obviously)

Almost Raw Nori Rolls

I have always loved sushi! Since going veg, I have obviously been sticking with the only vegetable sushi (not sure if that still qualifies as sushi, but it's still DELICIOUS!) I made it once, but the rice was pretty time consuming to make, and if you don't plan it out in advance (which of course I never do) you need to wait very patiently for it to cool. And I am  not patient!! Especially when it comes to eating =\

SO  I figured, why not make it without the extra carbs and sugar and just wrap up a bunch of veggies in the dried seaweed? I have to say, getting the rolls to stick without the rice was a challenge, but if you eat it right away, it's not a big deal. 

For these I sliced up orange peppers, red peppers, spinach, and cucumbers. Some other things that you could use are cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, tofu, mango, and really anything that sounds good to you! The sauce on here is spicy "mayo" that I made with one part Vegenaise and one part Sriracha. 

Unfortunately, I did not photograph any of the steps for my "recipe". You will probably need one of those bamboo sushi roller mats that you should be able to find at most grocery stores in the Asian food aisle. Do a quick search for how to roll sushi rolls and that should help you out. Any favorite veggie combos for sushi rolls?

Raw Vegan Taco Salad

This past summer I went on a kick where I tried to eat as raw as possible. Thought I was going to stick with it for a long time, but it got a little time consuming once my new job went into full swing. (Currently on the hunt for delicious, fast, raw/really healthy lunch recipes)

Anyways, below is a sort of recipe for a taco salad that I made. You'll notice that there's some white creamy stuff in the picture.. that was supposed to be cashew sour cream. Didn't turn out that great though and I don't really remember what I put in it. Also, I'm really not accurate when it comes to recipes, and the below measurements are estimates. Feel free to adjust to your preferences!

Taco "meat"
About one cup of walnuts, soaked in water overnight
2 tablespoons of chili powder (I like it spicy)
Few dashes of cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of oregano
Some garlic/onion powder to taste

Put ingredients for the taco meat into a food processor or blender and blend until the walnuts are broken into tiny pieces. Be careful not to blend for too long!

Salsa
I have used a few different recipes, here I just chopped up tomato with some red onion, cilantro, and a jalapeno. Some lime adds a nice touch.

Guacamole
Again, you can use any recipe. I usually just mash an avocado and mix in some salsa/Pico de Gallo.

Once you have all of these elements prepared, simply put desired amount of each over lettuce (I used romaine). This recipe lasted me about two meals. Let me know if you have any adaptions of this that you have tried! Or a better raw sour cream recipe..

DIY Clothes Rack

This was a project that probably will not be able to be replicated by many people out there. But I am hoping that at the very least it will inspire you to try and salvage anything you come across for free, or a piece of "junk" you see on the side of the road. I was working at a convenience store in college, and we had been given a new metal rack for our beef jerky, and were told we could dispose of the old one. My inspirational boss was trying to convince one of us that the rack could be used for something, and I eventually decided to take it home and see what magic I could work.

Ironic that a vegan is in possession of a rack previously used for beef?

I really wanted to be able to use this to store clothes, since I was going to be moving into an unfurnished house for a year, but was planning on moving 400 miles away at the end of the lease. So it seemed foolish to spend $100 or more on a dresser that I would probably be getting rid of in less than a year. 

The solution ended up being simple! I peeled off the Jack Links stickers and spray painted it a more bedroom friendly color. I purchased some closet storage units that are designed to velcro into a closet. I was able to velcro these onto the rack to fold sweaters and pants. I got a smaller one with drawers to store socks and tanks. 

There is even storage on top for jewelry boxes, and other miscellaneous items

I will admit, it is not the most attractive thing around. But it served its purpose for less than a year and I was able to dispose of it without guilt, since it would have been thrown away anyways! 

Howth

For my last day in Ireland, we took a short train ride to the port town of Howth. We had yet another rainy day, which was a bummer because we were hoping to go hiking. Little did I know that I would be back in Howth less than a year later on a very sunny day and get to go on my hike! Stay tuned for that adventure, as well as see the other four countries I got to visit on that trip.

This was also the day before Saint Patrick's day! Much to my regret, I left on my flight the morning of March 17 to return to the U.S. so I could get back to school on time. If I could go back, I think I would have stayed for Saint Paddy's day and missed a day or two of classes. But I did get a preview on the night of the 16th, and it was very fun!

Boats on the shore

Suspicious staircase?

Adorable hot chocolate

All green for Saint Paddy's Day

A rainy Saint Patrick's Day carnival

Galway and the Cliffs of Moher

After returning to Dublin from London, we woke up early the next day to get on a bus for a day trip to Galway where we would also see the Cliffs of Moher. It was about a two hour bus ride to Galway from Dublin, and we were on a tour bus most of the day to see the cliffs, so it was a lot of traveling in one day. But it was very much so worth it, because I think Galway is my favorite city I have visited in Europe so far (out of three cities so not that big of a deal I guess..) It was small, but still very lively. Not to mention that the Cliffs of Moher were amazing. We had bad weather, which was unfortunate because the pictures did not turn out the best. My camera battery also unfortunately died so I do not have many pictures from Galway itself.

Cliffs of Moher

Add caption

Galway

London

After spending my first day ever in Europe, we woke up early and got on the short flight to London to spend about a day and a half there. Which was not nearly enough time! There is so much to see, and I will definitely be back. We did see many of the big attractions via a double decker bus tour. Everything was also quite expensive, so I would prefer to return once I have money to tour the city properly.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge

The London Eye

Big Ben

The London Eye at night

The Harry Potter nerd in me needed to see this at King's Cross

Piccadilly Circus

Buckingham Palace

Dublin

My best friend spent a semester in Dublin while in college, and I took this as an opportunity to travel abroad for the first time. Since I would not have to pay for a hotel or hostel, it ended up being pretty affordable. Especially since flights to Dublin tend to be less expensive from the U.S. compared to other European countries.

This is written on the street so the tourists remember that the Irish drive on the opposite side of the road...

 The first day was very busy, and I was tired as is due to the flight and the time difference. I got to see the main area of Dublin, as well as the Guinness Brewery and the Jameson Distillery. The first day was a lot, but I am excited to explore the rest of the city, as well as a night we have planned in London!

The beautiful, colorful buildings. 

Trinity College

Street vendors selling flowers

View from the top of Saint James's Gate, the Guinness Brewery