• Menu
  • Menu

Valparaíso

2 articles
“You may think I’m small, but I have a universe inside my mind.” 🌈 ✨🙌🏼 . What do you think of this edit? [check out my #stories for the progression👉🏼] All feedback and suggestions welcome 😬 . I was feeling a bit tired of all the clouds and gray skies ☁ here in Madrid this week, and so I took things into my own hands. And you know what— the sun is starting to poke through today!! Madrileños, you're welcome ☀😜 . 📍Puerta de Alcalá 📷 @theculturalstreets
I'M BACK‼️ Back in Madrid that is— and I can't stop smiling.😊 . This city is where it all started— my love of traveling and living abroad, my blog and even my Instagram persona: "Lauren on Location." 😂 No matter what I do, my heart always leads me back here, to Madrid.❤ . This new year and new move is going to come with a lot of adjustment, change and hard work, but I'm feeling ready. AND I'm excited to share this new journey with all of you. Of course you can find me here— but you can now ALSO find me over at @mymadridguide 🤗My first post goes live today! . 📷: @theculturalstreets
The countdown is onnnn ‼️ .. Officially moving in with this goon tomorrow— and boy I hope he knows what he's in for. Let's take bets. How long will he last ⬇⬇😂
Finally time for the big news 🎉 𝐈'𝐌 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 [back] 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐃! 🇪🇸 . Some of you already knew this, but honestly I had a hard time putting it in writing. It seemed too good to be true. But now that' I'm one week out— I figured it was time. .. ... And to go along with big news #1, here's big news #2 ‼️ I'm starting a new Instagram account to document all my Madrid favs— @mymadridguide 🙃Go give it a follow to join me on this new journey! ❤ OH- & if you're planning to come to Madrid any time soon— be sure to reach out!! 😜 . 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 🤞🏼 📷 @theculturalstreets 📍 @hotelriuplazaespana
2⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣🥂- Hope your beginning to this new decade is off to a great start ✨😊 [𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘴- 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 🤦🏼‍♀- 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳!] . 2019 was a year of 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 for me. I left the place I came to call "home" for the past 3 years [pictured here], but wasn't quite ready to settle in to my next destination yet [cue the past few months of visa appointments, gov. offices & a 💩ton of paperwork]. So, while I waited, I decided to take advantage of this "transition time" and travel. I split my time between 4 continents, 12 countries, and spent the majority of the past year living directly out of a suitcase. It was a blast [and a whirlwind], but I'm definitely ready to slow down. I see 2020 as a whole new chapter for me, one I'd like to define by "𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬." This year I'm going to take some time to reflect on where I've been and re-evaluate where I want to go [both literally & figuratively]. Then I'd like to focus in on my goals and come up with a plan to crush them. I'm very ready to figure my sh*t out professionally, to feel confident in a career path, and to feel fully secure in supporting myself. I've got a lot of exciting news to share — 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 — and a lot of uncertainty on the horizon. I have no doubt 2020 is going to be one hell of crazy, terrifying, and exciting ride. . Bring it on 😜
As a travel blogger looking to inspire wanderlust amongst my community, I rarely talk about the hard times traveling here on this platform. But despite all the "candid" laughing photos with picture-perfect backdrops, it’s not always easy. Life doesn’t stop while you’re away, and it surely doesn’t wait for you. . . Last week while touring around Israel, my Grandmother passed away. Before leaving for my trip I knew the risk, and it was a very difficult decision whether or not to go. But, my grandmother made the decision for me. She wanted me to go, and all the tales from my travels always made her so happy. She even used them as bragging rights amongst her friends. My travels made her proud. . Even so, it wasn't easy to recieve that phone call while on a bus to the Israeli desert. To be so far away from her, and from my family when it happened. . My grandmother recently celebrated her 100th birthday- and she was truly 100 years young. She was an inspiration to so many, always radiating positivity and love and spreading joy. This holiday season won't be easy without her, but I'm finding comfort in the many happy memories we were able to create together this year. (Swipe left to get a little taste) . I hope I continue to make you proud Grandma ❤
Sharing some happy Hump Day vibes 🐫❤️ Best name for the camel wins- ready GO ⬇️⬇️ Also- swipe to the left to see some #instagramvsreality 😂 . After a nice (& needed) Instagram-hiatus, I’m back on the grid. I’ve been traveling around the beautiful country of Israel for the past week and have so much to share- so stay tuned! . Oh- and if you like my sweatshirt, head over to @bbxx.world and let us know! We’re starting presale soon 😜
Twenty-eight ✌🏼 . I CANNOT believe it's already December 4th.😱 Twenty-seven has been a year of a lot of movement and transition. [𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦] I visited 9 countries this year, even more cities and states, and while I had a blast, I'm definitely ready to keep my butt stationary for a bit. . I've been a bit quiet around here lately, because frankly there's been A LOT going on and it's been hard to keep up. I've also been taking a lot of time to think, plan and evaluate my next steps for 2020. And you know what, something tells me this 28th loop around the sun is going to be even more of a crazy ride. 🎉 . A BIG thank you to all of you out there following along on this wild journey of mine. Your support means EVERYTHING to me and I can’t wait to share some exciting news with all of you soon❤
Back in my beloved Mexico City 🇲🇽❤️ . Let’s quickly talk about the word “Mexican.” I feel like my whole life I’ve heard people around me using the word “Mexican” incorrectly [perhaps unknowingly], and so I’d like to address it. Simply put, the word Mexican means "from Mexico." . My boyfriend is a native Spanish speaker, but he’s not Mexican, he’s Venezuelan. I had Spanish speaking friends growing up, but they weren’t Mexican, they were Guatemalan. All my friends down in Chile-- they speak Spanish, and well, they’re from nowhere close to Mexico! . If you're looking for a word to describe "Spanish speakers" or someone that comes from Latin America, but you're not sure exactly where they come from, a generally safe word to use is "latino." [At least in my experience.] Not all Spanish speakers south of the US are "Mexican." . Anyway, I just wanted to share this little tidbit today and hopefully help spread some cultural awareness and sensitivity. I'm also on a continuing journey to learn, so please let me know if you are a Spanish speaker south of the US that identifies differently, I'd love to hear from you!