Throughout my entire academic career I was always "too busy" for vacations. Every break I got I volunteered in community service projects, participated in extra curricular activities, signed up for oral surgery externships or took summer classes to graduate earlier (even though I double majored and did a minor). I never did the high school euro trip or spent the summer in Thailand or had a wild spring break somewhere tropical.
After matching into residency in January of 2017, it suddenly hit me: I am going to graduate from dental school in a few months and enter a 6 year surgical residency and I haven't seen any part of the world!!! I quickly packed my bags and traveled throughout Europe on THREE separate trips in 4 months. It was insane but I had a lot of catching up to do and I am SO grateful I did.
Here is a list of the places I visited:
[Trip 1] February 2017
London, United Kingdom
[Trip 2] April 2017
Copenhagen, Denmark
Paris, France
Madrid, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Porto, Portugal
[Trip 3] June 2017
Milan, Italy
Venice, Italy
Florence, Italy
(Tuscany), Italy
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Roma, Italy
Santorini, Greece
Athens, Greece
San Diego, California, USA
I now have a completely different outlook on vacations. Traveling is the most incredible opportunity to learn about yourself and others. It's also a great way to ease stress by planning ahead so you can have something to look forward to. Even if you don't have time for a two week trip, weekend getaways are a perfect solution. Don't wait for a good time, MAKE TIME. This is a gallery of some of my favorite moments from my second trip. I plan to do a special post with recommendations and must see in Italy and London.
