summer diaries #2: travel diary — italy

16th May 202316th May 2023 maya rajesh16 Comments

This summer, we travelled to Italy. It was around 19 days of pure bliss: pizzas and gelatos, museums and sculptures and rich, rich culture. It’s unreal how many different people and places this world is home to; we seem to only know ours. Anyway, I write this the day after we landed back home (knowing life’s tendency to cascade into chaos) in the hopes that it’s coherent and does the trip justice.

Europe—with its lush green pastures, quaint towns and magnificent panoramic views—has always been one of those places you could spend ages in. Just taking it all in. Italy is the epitome of Europe’s fascinating beauty.

Italy just so happens to be one of those places where the place looks exactly like the pictures. No filter. It’s like someone copy-pasted their Pinterest board onto it. It is simply unbelievable—almost as though words aren’t quite enough to describe the place (but then again, they never quite suffice.) And that’s coming from someone who practically worships good literature.

We visited five gorgeous places + Vatican City and that’s how this post is divided. So before I digress: here’s Italy, through my eyes.

my 2021 bookshelf || the best books of the year || life & literature ep. 10

30th Dec 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh41 Comments

2021 can be marked as the year I fell in love with reading again – the year I realised how much impact books can have on your life. From setting myself a goal of reading 70 books earlier this year to actually finishing all those books ~~well I’m still reading the last one, but there’s~~ ~~time~~ I’ve enjoyed the entire process of reading them.

It actually started with my Cassandra Clare obsession in late 2020 – where I binge-read the entire Mortal Instruments series. I remember being in my grandmother’s house and just reading all. day. long. By early January, I’d finished the series and started on the other three trilogies and was done by the end of February.

It sort of marked the beginning of new reading ‘era’ for me – after my middle-grade fantasy phase and I have read so many good books this year. Obviously, credits to all the book bloggers out there who put out amazing recommendations, and thank you to Goodreads and StoryGraph for all the stats.

I won’t be able to mention all 70 books I read this year, but I will be mentioning the biggest surprises, some books that literally changed the way I look at things, and books I absolutely adore. Let’s get to it!

august slipped away || days past: a july & august ’21 recap || life & literature ep. 6

29th Aug 202127th Jan 2022 maya rajesh65 Comments

“But I can see us lost in the memory
August slipped away into a moment in time
‘Cause it was never mine“

Starting one of my longest wrap-ups starting with the beautiful august by Taylor Swift (go listen to it just once if you haven’t and you will fall in love with her voice – do it.)

But honestly, how is it that July and August just disappeared? (~~Ignoring the fact that I question time practically every. single. recap, of course.~~)

July & August were beautiful months, and I did pretty well all through – in terms of school, reading, mental health & my online presence so I’m hoping that the second half of the year – which we’re already partially through – will be one in which all of us shall fare well in.

I read, watched, and listened to a lot these past two months and now I have a number of new favourites. Let’s talk books, movies, songs & life!

days past: a june ’21 recap || playlists, books & movies || life & literature ep. 3

4th Jul 202127th Jan 2022 maya rajesh64 Comments

June disappeared, in all honesty. It’s almost as though this month was non-existent and we’re already in July. Halfway through the year. We’re still self-isolating a year later and I keep reminding myself that there is still hope. June was absolutely a blur. I know I say that so much, but I started out in a most terrible reading slump.

Nevertheless, I did have a lot of fun and I kept up with the blogosphere (for the most part, I suppose!) I had my whole family over and the summer weather is absolutely gorgeous here. All the flowers are in bloom, we had, like 3 birthdays (which meant 3 different cakes, haha!) and we’ve been out on long walks through the gardens. June and July have the best weather in the whole year (except for February and April).

Well, that’s enough rambling! Let’s talk books, movies, songs and life!

interviewing THE juliet wilson || blogger, poet, conservationist || life & literature ep. 2

27th Jun 202119th Jan 2022 maya rajesh36 Comments

This week, I got an amazing opportunity to interview Juliet Wilson: a poet, environmental conservation volunteer and a blogger this week. I first found out about her when we studied her poem for school and she is such an inspiration!

On occasion of World Environment Month, I thought it would be nice to spread a little more about the ecosystem and this year’s theme is #EcosystemRestoration. It is a growing issue in today’s society and we must start being more careful.