All posts tagged: soccer

Confessions of a Jetsetter w/ Yasmine Ferdjani

“Listening to and singing my national anthem then watching my OWN country play live at the WORLD CUP in Brazil! As a football fan from a third world country, I grew up just hoping that my country would qualify for the World Cup. Then, when it happened and I was actually able to combine my obsession for traveling with my love for football, that was just priceless! A trip I will never forget even more so as the Fennecs made us proud! Walking around Rio de Janeiro streets and beaches with my flag, people recognizing it and telling me how amazing our team played and how it’s the first time they met someone from Algeria was pure joy!” – Yasmine Ferdjani // @layasmeen   038/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project

Jetsetter Problem #1: Where To Go Next! (Finale)

Unlike Rihanna who hung out with the entire German locker room after the World Cup finals, I can’t exactly say I was hot & bothered by the results. In fact, when Mario Goetze made that crucial last minute goal, I flew into a tizzy! It would have been AMAZING to see Argentina win, not only because I’ve never been before, but also to breakup Europe’s dominance over the championship. To cope, my foodie brain immediately lunged into overdrive. My tongue watered and whined about wanting more vacío over schnitzel all the while settling for swallowed pride and muttered congrats to German fans on ending a 24 year drought. Eventually, my thoughts shifted from soccer stats to travel memories. My first adventure in Deutschland took me to the capital city of Berlin. If you’ve never visited, Berlin is a great intro to modern German history due to its balanced diet of old East and West remnants seamlessly blending in with the new. It’s also a cool city to check out: Great art in all forms (beer included!)…Outside of classics like …

Jetsetter Problem #1: Where To Go Next! (Part II)

Fresh off the heels of an exciting 4th of July holiday weekend coupled with migraines gained from watching some pretty riveting soccer matches (namely the Netherlands vs. Costa Rica heart attack special!), I’m ready to dive back into using the World Cup as a means of narrowing down my next international destination! Unfortunately my desired pick from last week, Colombia, was eliminated by Brazil, which means it’s time to draw a new card for the semi-final rounds… The remaining countries left in the pool for World Cup domination are Brazil, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina.  These choices pose a 2:2 dead heat ratio of places I’ve visited in the past and places yet to be discovered. My new desired pick would be Argentina. Buenos Aires has been a city high on my list for quite some time now. Who can honestly go wrong with the solid combination of fine wine, sizzling steaks, sexy tangos, fascinating architecture, a fantastic arts scene and a chance to recreate an even cheesier rendition of Madonna’s “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” at …

Jetsetter Problem #1: Where To Go Next! (Part I)

One of the toughest decisions for a travel addict like myself is narrowing down my endless wish list of places to roam. In true Liz Lemon fashion, I WANT TO GO TO THERE…EVERYWHERE…ALL THE TIME! This of course isn’t the easiest feat… So finding fun ways to be decisive about where to visit next are always welcome. Rather than tossing a coin to decide my next trip – one of my tried and true methods for resolving cliffhangers – I’ve chosen instead to toss my fate up to the hands of the world’s game…that’s right, FIFA 2014 baby! This year, FIFA Fever has been at an all-time high as unexpected brilliant performances have come to pass (hello Costa Rica!) and rekindled my interest in revisiting my bucket list. As a result, I plan to translate my rousing cheers at my TV screen into camera-shuttered glimpses of astonishment by visiting the country of the winning World Cup soccer team by the end of this year. Anybody else with me?! Currently, the countries still in the running …