April 12, 2020 Buona Pasqua from lockdown in Naples, Italy! I've covered quite a bit of distance since my last post. After leaving Ireland at the beginning of last summer I traveled through France for a couple of months. Then I returned home for 3 weeks to see as many family and friends as I could before moving here to Naples, Italy (I feel like Buddy the Elf describing his journey to NYC). I moved here to study at the Apple Developer Academy, where I have been training to become a word-class developer. The program is all challenge-based learning so our challenges/projects are mainly completed in teams. I have been focusing on graphic design and project management and I have made some amazing new friends on this journey so far. Sadly, starting March 3rd Italy was put on lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic. We are set to exit our lockdown on May 3rd, so only a few more weeks to go before I can continue to get out and explore more of Italy. Until then, I have been catching up on some of my personal work and thought it would be a good time to update my site here. Anyway, these are some of my favorites since I arrived here at the end of September 2019. Enjoy!
Jul 8, 2019 A couple of weeks ago I left my home away from home in Strandhill, County Sligo in Ireland. Spending over 7 months in a small town, from the end of Autumn 2018 to the beginning of Summer 2019 I made some life-long friends and made countless memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Sure, I do have a bit of bias, but Strandhill might just be the overall best place I've ever visited during my travels in Europe. From the tranquility of The Secret Glen, to the beauty of floating on a surf board in the Atlantic, and the atmosphere and delicious pints in the Strand and Dunes pubs, Strandhill will always have a piece of my heart. I hope to finish up a blog post soon that will talk more about my experiences, but until then here are some of my favorite photos.
Dec 8, 2018 After spending my summer in Galway city I went north and spent 5 weeks in Bundoran, County Donegal, the "surf capital of Ireland," and 5 weeks in Strandhill, County Sligo. The biggest reason I sought out these towns was to surf, but Donegal and Sligo counties are also known for having some beautiful landscapes. In between surf days I was able to do a bit of traveling around each county, make friends with a few cows, and enjoy my fair share of sunsets (I can't get enough of the west coast sunset views).
Aug 28, 2018 For me one of the trickiest parts of traveling is being able to see the best a country or city has to offer while not getting mobbed by tourists and the little village of Doolin, is the perfect place to do just that. During my summer in Galway I made two different trips here, once with a couple of friends I had made in Connemara (another great spot to visit) and once when my family came to visit. So a quick rundown of what Doolin has to offer: close proximity and a cliff walk to the Cliffs of Moher, access by ferry to each of the three Aran Islands and along the base of the Cliffs, three traditional Irish pubs with traditional music just about every night, and Doonagore Castle overlooking the North Atlantic. Here are some of my favorite shots of all of those attractions, from my Doolin trips.
May 14, 2018 Well first of all... there are a lot of sheep in Ireland... it's one of the things Ireland is most famous for; behind Guinness, rain, and leprechauns probably. I had the opportunity to live and work on a mini-sheep farm for 3 weeks and could not help snapping loads of pictures of these quirky creatures. Almost every day I would go out at golden hour (for the higher contrast lighting and longer shadows that I wanted) and I developed quite a collection and I am naming it Sheeper by the Dozen. I hope ewe enjoy! ;)
May 2, 2018 For the past two and a half weeks I have been working and living on a farm in Castlegregory, County Kerry. Thanks to a website called workaway I was able to connect with a family who has a mini farm way out west on the Dingle Peninsula. In exchange for providing me with housing and food I work for them for about 5 hours or so each day. Most of the work I've done has been in the garden and around the house, but I've also helped with feeding the sheep (including bottle feeding a lamb), collecting eggs from their hens, and I even assisted in the birth of one of the lambs! It's been an incredible and educational experience plus the 5-hour workday has left me plenty of time to explore the beautiful area and even learn how to surf! These are some of the pictures I've taken on this little adventure.. enjoy! Also check out my blog posts on andy-ventures.com!
April 18, 2018 Last weekend I took a trip to Wexford County in an attempt to get out of Dublin city for a change. Boy did I get an experience! On my Wexford/Wicklow adventure, I hiked 9 miles through the Wicklow Mountains, went crab fishing and made friends with some locals (yes, that includes a flock of sheep). It was certainly a weekend I won't forget, here are some of the pics! To read the full story about my weekend you can read my blog post here on andy-ventures.com!
March 14, 2018 Hello friends and family! I am excited to share that I am moving to Ireland! I will be living there for a year and am looking forward to having more opportunities to travel and see more of the world. I am actually supposed to be there by now, my initial flight was booked for the night of the 13th, but due to a snow storm named Skylar, I am now flying out the night of the 16th to arrive just in time for St. Patrick's Day. However, the extra time I have now let's me catch up on things like this so silver linings right? Anyway, I know it's been far too long since I've updated my page here and I've finally gotten around to adding my photos from the trip that I took out west this Summer. I also added a new page with some of my work for classes throughout my undergrad, which are a bit more "artsyish"... I know there are a lot of new photos to check out and there will be many more to come, but enjoy and thank you for checking out my page!! Also! I am going to try and give the whole blogging shindig a go SO if you would like to follow the blog that I am going to try and keep updated during my year in Ireland you can find it at andy-ventures.com. These are some photos from my month in Dublin.
In the summer of 2017, after completing my undergrad degree, I took a trip out west with my roommate from college. We flew into Las Vegas on July 9th and all we had planned was a return flight on the 25th and a one-night stay at a hotel in Vegas. Now don't jump the gun here, our intentions weren't to "do Vegas," they were to try and see as many national parks and experience as much of what the Western US has to offer as we could. We ended up renting an SUV (thanks to an employee discount from one of Parker's friends and then an on-site upgrade from the rental company since they didn't have a vehicle in the class we'd reserved) and after over 4,400 miles driving, 40+ miles of hiking, 7 states, and 6 national parks later these are some of my favorite shots from the trip. To see a few more feel free to check out the pages for each park as well!
Prague, Czech Republic
Croagh Patrick, Westport, Ireland
Frydek-Mystek, Czech Republic
Edinburgh, Scotland
Nitra, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hamburg, Germany
London, England
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Ystad, Sweden
Copenhagen, Denmark and Flensburg, Germany
Brussels, Belgium (before it was unsafe no worries)
Paris, France
Nice, France
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Cliffs of Moher and Galway
Dublin
Howth Fishing Village
Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk
American Travels
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