June 6th, 2020

My sister, some friends, and I decided to get out of New York City for a day and visit Catskill Mountain upstate. Here we hiked the Vernooy Falls trail, which was about 3.3 miles and an almost 650 foot elevation. At the end of the hike we were rewarded with a swim in the waterfall. That being said, the water was FREEZING. I'm talking, 5-minutes-in-my-lips-turned-blue-and-I-couldn't-feel-my-thighs freezing. Worth it!

April 26, 2020

Unfortunately, I did not complete my 6 month study abroad program in Spain. Because of COVID-19, it was safer for me to return home sooner rather than later. I left Madrid in late April, instead of July like originally planned, and am continuing my studies online.

There weren't many flights available from Madrid to New York City, so I ended up having to transfer in Paris, France. Although the entire trip took almost 20 hours, it was worth it getting to see Paris from the sky. The airports both in Madrid and in Paris were also great experiences (much fancier than JFK). So, even though I made sure to take dozens of pictures on my way back home, I think these few are my favorite.

April 2020

I'm writing this today, on March 25th, 2020, but really I took these pictures of U-TAD (my university abroad) last month. I've been stuck at home for two weeks now, quarantined due to COVID-19. We're not allowed outside unless it's to the supermarket or the pharmacy, and we're not allowed outside for any reason after 9pm or before 9am. Break these rules and we risk a 1000 euro fine... ouch.

Out of my 8 roommates, 7 have gone back to their home countries. There are a lot of travel bans going on, which is why they decided to leave before things got worse. Personally, I haven't felt the need to go home. I feel as if I have the tools and resources necessary to stay in Madrid for the remainder of the semester, however there is still a lot of uncertainty.

That being said, I do miss being on campus. Online classes definitely aren't the same. Enjoy these beautiful pictures I took of and around U-TAD before being confined to my apartment!

February 24 2020

Today I went out with a friend, we visited the temple of Debod (a temple that is originally from ancient Egypt, but currently resides in Madrid). Although we were not able to go inside the actual temple because it was closed, I was still able to capture these great pictures of the surrounding area and park with his help. We were there from the early afternoon until late evening, so there are daytime and nighttime photographs. They're a little blurry, but still good!

February 2020

Can you believe all of these places are a 5 - 10 minute walk from where I'm staying in Madrid? I have to make more time to actually walk around and take pictures, but for now enjoy these few :)

January 17th, 2020

Bored one day, I decided to go to my nearby mall and just take pictures. I definitely value my alone time, and this was just another great way to enjoy my own company.

On January 14th, 2020, my mom and I went to see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree (NYC) in the rain. Yep... somehow we were shocked to learn that the tree wasn't actually up half way through January. Amidst the disappointment, at least I got these nice pics.

I took my 10 year old dog on a very cold walk (Jan. 12, 2019). He was a a very well behaved model that day, s0 most of these came out great... others, not so much.

August 11, 2019: 54th street Dominican Day Parade in NYC. I debated whether or not to include this series because many are blurry, or heavily altered. I couldn't find the original photos, but ultimately decided to include them because they were my first attempt at "real photography" and lightroom. Growth!