So everything is very simple - I come from the Orthodox part of Ukraine, and we celebrate Christmas according to the old calendar, so on January 7. But since this year December 25 is also considered a national holiday all over Ukraine, not only in its Western parts (where the population is mostly Catholic).
But ever since I moved to Italy, I have a great chance to celebrate two Christmases each year and I have to say, I really enjoy it)
Want to know more? Watch my video and remember to like, share and subscribe :)
On my last weekend in Brussels I finally managed to go to Luxembourg, and now, after moving back to Palermo, I want to share some thoughts on what really impressed me about this amazing country :)
So click to watch (and please remember to like, share and subscribe, as it really helps me to move the channel forward!)
Today I'm moving back to Palermo. Actually, I'm writing these words in the airport, enjoying my last Leffe Blond and waiting for boarding.
Am I sad? No.
Am I ready to go back to my beautiful Sicily? Yes.
Am I going to miss Brussels? Oh, hell, yes!
It was a great time - I managed to accomplish many amazing things, travelled a lot and was very productive. And even though I'm pretty sure I will come back to Brussels many more times, I want to remember and honour this page in my life.
So by clicking on the video below you can watch my room tour. I moved to Brussels with 2 suitcases and brought things for two different seasons and a smart casual dress code. And I was very happy with how my room turned out - I didn't invest in any decorations and opted for functionality and simplicity, and it really worked for me. So without further ado - please, watch, like, share and subscribe!
My gate was just announced. What is waiting for me on the other side of the plane flight? A wonderful new chapter of life, a new flat, new projects, my loved ones and a beautiful Sicilian winter.
Stay tuned and thank you for your attention and kind thoughts! See you!
I spent this weekend in Amsterdam and it was the second part of my this year's birthday gift - to me from me.
I've been travelling quite a lot in these past 4,5 years (raise your hand if you remember me writing that crazy post "Hey, guys! I have a big news - I kinda moved to Thailand!") and have been to many cool places, had many amazing experiences and met an impressive number of great people.
And I cannot believe that I'm saying it, but I think this trip to Amsterdam was in the top 3 of those trips. I wasn't actually expecting much - I was going by myself, only for a few days and my only plan was titled "museums, walking, going to bed early".
*Sidenote - I rented an AirBnb in Almere, which is 30 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal. I stayed in a place called Home by Anita - I recommend it to everyone as it was great value for the price. The owners are very friendly and welcoming, the place is very pretty and tidy, they provide a lovely breakfast and the atmosphere is really great.
Also if you are about to travel with AirBnB for the first time, you can get 25 euro of credit by registering with my link. I will also receive a small credit when you are going to complete your first trip, so everyone wins! :)
And in the retrospect, it was the best thing to do. Because in the end, my experience with Amsterdam was not touristic, but eye-opening and almost spiritual. Sometimes you are searching for a moment to reflect upon things and sometimes a moment is searching for you. So a quiet weekend in a beautiful city is what you actually need.
Today I'm cheating a bit - instead of travel or minimalism/volunteering/mindfulness videos I have a tag. I know it's not the same, but I really wanted to film a sit-down video before I go back to Palermo for a bit, so this was the number one tag in my idea bank.
Please forgive me for the weirdest camera angle, I'm working on it.
And click on to see me rambling about some of the funny travel experiences I had in Europe and Asia over the last 4.5 years.
I know, it's been a very long time, but extreme temperatures are my strongest creative kryptonites, and we've been experiencing some pretty hot days here lately. If you also add a lot of stress from organising something very cool (I will have a life update very soon) and Sicily's general tendency to play dead every August... It was very difficult to get concentrated on anything other than ice water.
Last year I had a post about Castelammare del Golfo, but as I like to go there as much as possible, this summer I decided to reinforce my recommendations also by making a short video about it.
Please, remember to like, share and subscribe, and you will never miss a new video!
Editing this video was a real struggle - I've made it, it disappeared, I started making it again, then noticed that some footage disappeared... But! In the heart of any problem lies an opportunity, so I decided to use all this situation to teach myself some lessons.
I hope you will like the video! Enjoy and see you around!
Last year I wrote a blog post about 9 wardrobe staples, that survived 3 years of travelling between countries and continents, and still were in a great condition. That post you can find here.
This year I thought that it would be fun to revisit those old "friends" of mine and see, how they are doing now. So click to read more. Also check my corresponding YouTube video and remember to thumb it up and subscribe, if you like my content.
Welcome to the new series - Palermo Sunday. It's more of a youtube series, because I'm really enjoying making Sunday vlogs, but I'm in the mood to extend this habit also to my blog.
So keep reading to see my first Sunday vlog, some photos and my ode to Steve McCurry - a genius photographer I've been admiring for years.
As I already wrote on numerous occasions, photography is one of my biggest passions in life.
I've got the "photography bug" from my dad, and one of my first memories in life is of him developing his black and white photos in the red light. So every time I have an opportunity to take one more photography class or see one more photography exhibition, I'm there in no time.
During all the time I've spent in Southeast Asia I kept dreaming about two destinations - Cambodia and Vietnam. And if I was lucky enought to spend the most wonderful time in Siem Reap and to touch (may I add - quiet literally) my childhood dream - Angkor Wat -, I still didn't manage to fulfill the other one.
I'm hoping to do it this autumn, because I'm sure - Vietnam in waiting for me.
Just look at all this beauty!
Having so much work right now - three events just this week! And also freelance translations of Murdoch Mysteries and Mamma Mia! So happy about the last one - have never translated musicals before) But also really tired. I've just came back from church festival (we were organizing a playground for kids there) and I have a sports event in the city park tomorrow. So for last couple of days I haven't any spare minute to check up on blogs or leave any comments. So sorry, I'll definitely try and make some time in a day or too. So, as I'm a bit MIA now, I want to show you this great video. Fell in love with it immediately. It has two of my favorite things - fashion and dancing)))
- my neighborhood suffered two major blackouts, and my building lost power both times (I've lost a lot of time and a big piece of translation which was due today);
- that's why I had to miss tonight's class at radio school (second time so far, and I hope it's gonna be the last) - I had to finish the translation and sent it to the studio and I was kinda scared to get stuck in the elevator (if the powers dissapears again);
- later I've been helping my mom with putting together the exercise machine she's bought for herself as a christmas present and it turned out that she'd bought the wrong one;
- because of the power thing and my work I had no time to do stuff I was planning for today, so it makes plans for tomorrow pretty much insane.
But I'm an optimist, that's why I going to do some yoga, finish reading "The Ebony Tower" by J.Fowles and then go to bed in a nice relaxed mood)))
And here's the video that made my day so much better - Suzanne Cleary and Peter Harding, beautiful Irish dancers and the stars of Riverdance, are dancing with hands))
By the way, Suzanne is a doll. I love her dress + lipstick + her hair, beautiful.
