This time last year, I was traveling throughout Myanmar on my first trip of my gap year. This year, I was home with no upcoming travel plans, feeling a little bummed about that but also feeling wonderful about many other things. I had lots of visitors, my longest stint back in the NYC area in a year, and started a few new exciting projects.
Everyone in New York City knows that Hamilton tickets trump everything except for weddings. “I can’t go to your charity event – I have Hamilton tickets.” “I can’t travel to DC for that important meeting – I have Hamilton tickets.” “I can’t go into labor right now – I have Hamilton tickets.”
But what if you don’t have Hamilton tickets? {I’m speaking hypothetically of course, because I *do* have a ticket thanks to one of my cousins, though we have to wait a whole eight months until it’s our turn – for all we know, Carrot Top will be starring in it at that point.}
I went to my TEN-YEAR college reunion this summer. While I definitely don’t feel as old as someone who graduated ten years ago, I don’t necessarily feel as young as I was then either, especially after having an intense allergic reaction to Miller Lite, of all things. A few weeks before I traveled back to the University of Delaware for alumni weekend, my friend Kristyn and I relived our college days in Madison, Wisconsin. In some ways, the University of Wisconsin – Madison reminded me of our alma mater, but in other ways, I was envious of the current Badger population. Here’s how to relive your own college days in Madison:
I’ve found myself hearing “do more of this” over and over again at certain moments in my life over this past year, as if a group of people in my brain is all meditating at the same time with a joint mantra. One of those moments came as I was paddling a bright green kayak in the sunshine down the gorgeous Chemung River last month.
Airbnb is all the rage and I love it, don’t get me wrong. If everyone in my life thought about me as highly as my Airbnb hosts did (my reviews are off the charts), I would have zero problems. But, friends, there are a few core issues with Airbnb that you may not realize: the main one is that there’s only a requirement for one of those Bs, a bed. There is no requirement for the other B, breakfast. A real-life bed & breakfast has both those Bs and more and Ireland’s B&Bs are as off-the-charts as my own Airbnb ratings. Below are a few reasons why real-life B&Bs can be better than hotels, Airbnbs, and hostels.
The summer always flew by when I was working full-time because I never got as much sun as I needed while stewing away in my cubicle. I didn’t think the summer would pass so quickly when I was just working part-time, but, man. I mean, I’ve done a lot this summer, that’s for sure, but I initially expected to be back in the city by the fall and, well, it’s basically here.
The fire was glowing bright orange, burning at a temperature above 2000 degrees. We pulled our safety goggles on, slid on our gloves, and got down to business.
The business was glass-making and the results were beautiful glass flowers, shipped to our homes the next week. I was in Corning, New York with One Carry-On and Stories My Suitcase Could Tell for a Finger Lakes adventure. We had heard we couldn’t visit Corning without spending time at the Corning Museum of Glass, but I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it much. I was completely wrong.
I’d always heard there was something special about an African sunset. I wanted to catch as many as possible when I finally set foot on the continent in February. To be fair, I feel that there’s something special about all sunsets, but the ones in Cape Town were top shelf. While you aren’t required to see all five of the below during your own visit, if you don’t make an effort to see at least one, please reevaluate your travel priorities.
If you’re as obsessed with traveling as I am, you’ve probably heard a lot about Northern Ireland lately, which likely has something to do with the hit HBO show Game of Thrones. 80% of the scenes in GOT are filmed in Northern Ireland – though many of them are filmed in Paint Hall Studio in Belfast, and are therefore not open to visitors. I wouldn’t normally advise traveling somewhere just because it’s on television, but the scenery in Game of Thrones is truly stunning. Since returning home from my latest trip and catching up on what I missed on GOT, I’ve found myself paying even more attention to the scenery and wondering if I’ve been to more of these backdrops myself. Even if you haven’t seen the show (which, like, WHY), you’ll get a lot out of these dramatic sights and even more along the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland. Read on.
After Bloghouse in Indianapolis in late June, my motivation for this blog skyrocketed, but as my latest adventure kept creeping up on me, I had too much else to do. In addition to “life”, a week before I left for St. Louis and three weeks in Europe, I still had no idea where I was going for my final week. I changed my plans multiple times, initially planning on visiting Scotland, then Wales, then Norway, and then ended up somewhere else entirely. (Yes, I’m fully aware that an extra week in Europe is the best problem in the world to have.)
I had so much fun when I was in Indianapolis that I didn’t want to leave. Luckily, before I went back to NJ, I had one more day full of fun and food. I went on one last tour of the Indiana Foodways trails in the towns of Lafayette and West Lafayette, home of Purdue University. We had a super-packed schedule but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss any of the places we visited or any of the dishes we’d tried. Though I feel like I ate 1,000 things that day, there were a few dishes and treats that stuck out:
No, this isn’t a post about where the best graffiti in Paris is or where you should get a tattoo of a macaron (but if you do have a tattoo of a macaron on your body, please send me a picture). This a post about how to enjoy Paris without necessarily following in the footsteps of everyone else, and there will be many others.
Over the last few months, I’ve spent time in a few of the great cities of the midwest – Chicago, Madison, and Indianapolis. As I work on adding more states to my list, it’s easier to visit the cities – especially if I’m flying solo – than it would be if I were traveling with others or taking a road trip. But the truth is, Illinois is not Chicago, Wisconsin is not Madison, and Indiana is not Indianapolis.
He waved a gun at the entire bus while yelling, “Shut up, everybody!” Then he grinned and said, “That’s how you say ‘hello’ in Chicago.” The gun was fake, as was his “gangster” accent, but he stayed in character for the whole bus ride. He was “Baby Face Bambino,” the bus driver was “Shoulders”, and I was there for “Chicago’s Original Gangster Tour” with Untouchable Tours.
I’ve become sad leaving certain places in my life, most notably Myanmar and India, both countries meaning more to me than I could ever begin to explain. Of all places, I never expected to become emotional while leaving Indiana, but I had all of the feels. I had such a transformative week out there, which included spending time with my godparents, attending Bloghouse with 14 other incredible travel bloggers and 5 expert mentors, and exploring the underrated city of Indianapolis, adorable Hendricks County, and energetic Lafayette and West Lafayette.
Now that I’ve had my first experience as an adult in the awesome city of Indy (after three times as a kid/super-awkward teen), here’s who I think should visit Indianapolis.
10 miles behind me 