Over the past year I have traveled to London and Portugal. Soon I am even being graced with the chance to travel to Ireland. My cousin says that I have been graced with the travel bug as I have enjoyed taking in all of the different foods, living arrangements, art, and scenery upon my travels. However, the biggest motivation of travel is being able to experience the different people and learn about their experiences as natives of the land. When in Portugal we had a guide who showed us all different sites and told us about scenery along the way. This was of great interest to me as it was my first trip away from the east coast of the united states. He told us about his family, friends, the formation of land, and must be seen destinations. The towns that we stayed in were Lisbon and Porto. While there we were lucky enough to be able to experience several different festivals. One of the festivals of notice was the Feast of Saint Anthony while in Lisbon which is meant to celebrate unity and faith. The locals taught us dances and shared food with us making us feel engulfed within the experience. We were able to try traditional foods and drinks while hearing about the celebration. In porto we arrived to the festival Festa de Sao Joao.Here there is dancing, music, traditional foods, and thousands of people gathering. There are even fireworks which are meant to embody the Christian Spirit of the sun shining. The festival within Porto was extremely interesting as it is tradition to hit each other over the head with plastic hammers or flowers. However everyone is happy and spending time together. By being exposed to these individuals and festivals it allows one to see how integrated a culture can be especially due to the fact that the Feast of Saint Anthony lasts an entire month. Being included within the traditions by the locals was also very gratifying as it showed the unity of foreigners to show and embrace a culture of amazement to visitors. While in England it was interesting to experience a monarchy. The royal family is something that is of great interest to many as they live a lavish life and have an abundance of history that surrounds them. We went and saw Buckingham, Windsor Castle, The Tower of London, Westminster, and so much more. My travel to London was actually shortly after the Queens passing so we were able to walk by her resting place and pay our respects. However, it was even more interesting to hear about the value that nation has for famous scientists such as Isaac Newton who lie within famous buildings inside the city. Recently, my cousin has obtained his Italian citizenship making him a dual citizen. This is of great interest to me now after my recent travel. It will allow for me to explore other locations to an even greater extent and learn about my family history. Embracing other cultures is important to understand others perspectives, ways of living, government, and so much more. Travel is something that everyone needs to do to have a diversified background to embrace other cultures in the decisions they may make.