Riley Stefano, Author at Life is for Living

In All

Amalfi: The Dream Place

May 5, 2015 No Comments

John Steinbeck exposed the beauty of the Amalfi Coast in Italy to the tourist world when he wrote an article in 1952 in Harper’s Bazaar about the town of Positano. He most famously said, “It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” Positano and the Amalfi Coast are now beckoningly real to me. I spent my last abroad trip there this past weekend alongside my best friend from home whom is studying in Florence. It was a weekend of fun in the sun, but I never think Steinbeck would have predicted his article to cause as much of a boom in tourism as it has in the villages that sit on the hills of the coast. I decided that the best and easiest way to see everything that Amalfi has to offer (as well as travel there…

In All

Barcelona Beach Bum

April 25, 2015 No Comments

“Let’s go to the beach-each, let’s go get away!” I finally got to have my first proper beach trip of the semester! I say proper because the weather in Barcelona was “Sunny and 75” (Let’s see how many more songs I can reference in this post)! Barcelona was such a fun weekend getaway and a complete spur of the moment trip! I had nothing to do last weekend and the flights were so cheap that I couldn’t pass it up! I think the most amazing part of this mini vacation though was the view from my hostel. I walked out the front door and I was just inches from the sand. Yes, that is my view! I stayed right down the beach from the famous W Hotel where all the celebs stay and I paid about 1/20th of the price per night! My first morning in Barcelona I spent exploring.…

In All

Ciao Bella! Traveling Through Italy

April 12, 2015 No Comments

This past week has been a whirlwind as I explored the beautiful country of Italy for spring break. I visited two regions, three cities, and five villages all in the course of four days. Despite the time crunch, I saw more history than in any other country I have visited; I also ate more pasta, pizza, and gelato than I ever have in my life. The first stop of the trip was an overnight stay in the small city of Pisa. You can’t go to Italy without seeing the infamous leaning tower and taking the cliché picture of pushing it back in to place! The day we went was Easter Sunday and the streets were bustling with people shopping at the local flea market taking place in the city square. There was much more to the city than I had anticipated, and snapping that one picture was definitely worth the overnight…

In All

The Motherland: Visiting My Roots on the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland

March 24, 2015 No Comments

The month of March has been all about exploring the beautiful country I have been living in for the past two months. I’ve had visitors along the way to go on these adventures with, and this past week I was lucky enough to have my family along with me. I took them to a few places I had already been, the must sees of Ireland, Blarney Castle, the Cliffs of Moher, and Connemara and Kylemore Abbey. But I also was able to travel to new parts of the country I would not have seen otherwise (thanks to Dad’s need to have his own car despite having to drive on the other side of the road). My mom’s family is where my Irish roots are. My Nana is 100% Irish; her parents actually met on the boat coming over to America from Ireland when they were just 16 years old. Griffin…

In All

Edinburgh: You’re a Wizard, Harry

February 24, 2015 No Comments

I visited Hogwarts this week! I walked up and down the streets of Diagon Alley, I saw the cemetery where the graves of Tom Riddle, McGonagall and Moody can be found, I saw pictures of the Hogwarts Express, and I even saw the school sitting up on the hill! Okay, okay… I saw J.K. Rowling’s inspiration for it all, at least! Edinburgh was a magical city filled with so much history. Walking down The Royal Mile, the main street, you really did feel like you were taking a stroll down Diagon Alley, walking past all the magic wand shops, owl pet stores, and wizarding hat emporiums. I visited the Café where Harry Potter was first born. J.K. Rowling would sit in The Elephant House and write for hours upon hours inventing the story of Harry Potter. A plaque outside of the store marks it as the birthplace of Harry Potter, and…

In All

Belgium: The Land of Food and Fairytales

February 18, 2015 No Comments

My expectations of Belgium: chocolate, waffles, beer. The reality: chocolate, waffles, beer, mussels, beautiful buildings AND “French” fries. Brussels is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. It is full of importance and possesses an air of regality. You walk into the Grand Place and you feel as though you have stepped back through time. There are buildings towering above you in every direction of the square; but these building aren’t the steel skyscrapers of New York, they are ornate mason structures with gold details and statues of important figures throughout history decorating their outer walls. City hall reaches up towards the sky and 300 of these statues of mayors, politicians, painters and more look down on the square at the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to visit this majestic city each year. And the best part of all, my hostel was right down one…

In All

I Amsterdam

February 3, 2015 No Comments

I took a huge step this past week; I made my first international excursion without the aid of my parents! Now, I didn’t say the trip went entirely without a hitch…. I accidentally left my passport at the hostel on the journey back to Ireland and didn’t realize it until an hour and a half later when I was at the airport. Needless to say, I missed my flight and had to pay a hefty price for a new one, but hey, lesson learned. I will now always check to make sure I have that little blue book before I leave. It could have been worse, I could have lost it! In just 3 days, the beautiful city of Amsterdam became my favorite place in the world (I’m sure I’ll say that about every place I go, but for now it’s Amsterdam). The city is shaped like a half moon or…

In All

Oh, Blarney!

January 25, 2015 No Comments

Do you remember your first kiss? The first kiss I got yesterday gave me more than just butterflies in my stomach; it bestowed on me the gift of eloquence, or as some call it, the gift of talking your way out of anything. Yes folks, I kissed the Blarney Stone! But, it isn’t as simple as leaning over and kissing a rock; you have to be lowered down the side of the very top of Blarney castle and held on to by someone as you cling for dear life onto the iron rails sticking out of the wall above your head. Terrifying, right? But I did it! I conquered one of the world’s 99 things to do before you die and joined the millions of visitors over the past hundred years who have kissed the stone. The term blarney actually means “clever or flattering” as in a way with one’s…

In All

County Clare

January 18, 2015 No Comments

Guess what; there’s a Boston, Ireland! We passed the sign for it when I went on my first excursion today with my study abroad program, API. The excursions included in my trip to Galway were actually a huge reason why I chose API as my abroad program provider, and I am so glad I did. Not only do I get to go on some incredible excursions around Ireland and even to Edinburgh, Scotland, I also had the chance of meeting Kevin and Finn, my program directors. They are the most wonderful couple and mentors I could have asked for on this trip. Finn refers to herself as our “Irish sister” and she truly lives up to that title. The pair of them are a fountain of information and resources as we plan our own trips around Europe and encounter the day to day challenges of living in a foreign country.…

In All

Here Comes the Sun

January 13, 2015 No Comments

Well, what do you know, the sun does shine in Ireland! It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you had better take advantage of it! Yesterday was one of these sunshine days; it started off drizzling per usual, but then a miracle happened! The clouds broke and there was sun! For an entire 6 hours it was sunny and beautiful in Galway! I started off exploring where NUIG all began. Pictured here is the Quadrangle and it is the original building on the campus. When the university first opened its doors for teaching in 1849, it was called Queens College, Galway with sister colleges in Cork and Belfast. There were only 37 professors and 91 students whom comprised the college’s 3 faculties, the Arts (including Science and Literature), Law, and Medicine as well as a school of Engineering and Architecture. The story goes that this architecture was nearly used as the building for…

Hi, I'm Riley!

I am a travel writer with an insatiable thirst for wanderlust. My motto is that life is for living and I want to share this message with the world - to encourage others to take a leap of faith, and to relate to them the importance of experiencing rather than existing, of finding the passions which make them happy.

I have traveled across Europe, road tripped through Iceland, and lived for short periods of time in Ireland and Scotland. Every time I cross one adventure off my bucket list, another is added. I am always eager to learn new cultures, concepts, and ideas. Life is for living, and my life is just beginning.

Read More

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn
Explore by Country
Latest Posts
Instagram

“Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale”

The hills are alive with the sound of music, with

A beer for every year 🍻🎉 Turning 30 in Ger

Today was a fairytale ✨🏰

September dump 🏡 aka goodbye to my 20s. It’s

Davis Square, thank you 🤍 The best memories wit

This is August in Boston 🌼

July photo dump 🌞 Cheers to one of the best sum

Happy 30th birthday to this beautiful ray of sunsh

Follow Me!
Got The Travel Bug?

Discover new destinations, travel contests, and wanderlust inspiration with my free Life is for Living newsletter. Sign up below to see the world with me!