Yesterday morning, I left my mom’s house in Rhode Island to begin The Great European Adventure! Ever the procrastinator, I left packing until the night before, but I think it turned out well. I arrived safely last night in my first stop: Reykjavik, Iceland! And, this morning, I’m ready to start exploring!
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Tea Tuesday: Also Tech Tuesday
Today’s Tea Tuesday is doubling as Tech Tuesday because this post is being written on my new iPad. I didn’t want to take my heavy Macbook with me on my trip so I decided to invest in an iPad and use it in lieu of a laptop for the duration of The Great European Adventure. So far, I’m enjoying it, although, it is an adjustment from my Mac, which has all my photos, music, and bookmarks from the last 4 years of my life. It feels a little strange to start over on a new device; but, then again, I often jokingly call myself a luddite because I adapt to…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: Skinny Dipping
I’m just going to come right out and say it; growing up in a seaside town with a goofy group of friends, I’ve done my fair share of skinny dipping. So I was amused while searching for things to do in Iceland when I came across Lonely Planet’s list of top 10 places around the world to go skinny dipping. Apparently, Viti Lake, which is located in a volcanic caldera in Iceland, made the cut. Check out where else Lonely Planet thinks it’s okay for you to forget your bathing suit: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/asia/travel-tips-and-articles/43817#
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Tea Tuesday: Teaism
For a long time I’ve identified myself as a tea drinker — built it into my personality. I bought a kettle before my freshman year of college because I wanted to be that quirky girl who was always in the dorm kitchen making tea. Because tea is so important to me, and to many other people around the world, I figure it can have a place on my travel blog. In DC, there is a local chain called Teaism that sells tea, tea accoutrements, and delicious, delicious food. It bills itself as an Asian style tea house, and as such serves tea and Asian food ranging from Bento boxes to…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: Road Trips
(Weekly Travel Inspiration is a feature on this blog where I share a link, book, or film that incites my wanderlust, and might incite yours too!) It’s time for some nostalgia, friends. Thus far on this blog, I’ve mostly written about international travel, but this time last year I was enjoying the most quintessential of US travel experiences: a road trip. My boyfriend and I drove from New Hampshire to Asheville, North Carolina (which is a city I adored, just fyi). During this road trip, I went farther south in the US than I had ever been before (discounting the times I’ve flown over the Southeast states to get to…
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Why Italy isn’t a part of the Great European Adventure
You may have noticed that Italy isn’t on my itinerary for the Great European Adventure, and that was a conscious decision. I’ve stressed to friends and family that I’m keeping my plans open; so, who knows, maybe I’ll end up spending weeks sunning myself on the Amalfi coast or gaining weight in Tuscany. However, there’s a reason that isn’t in the original plan. I have been to Italy once. When I was studying abroad in Barcelona, I challenged myself to stay in the city for the first month. I was giving myself time to adjust to my new home, and proving to myself that I could do this. I could…
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Outdoor Film Screenings
In DC, outdoor film screenings are a summer staple — the nights are warm, the bugs aren’t so bad, and the parks are plentiful. I know of three outdoor film series in the DC metro area, two of which I’ve been to this summer. For the most iconic experience, pack a picnic dinner, and a blanket or a few low chairs, and head out to the National Mall for Screen on the Green. On Monday nights in July, a movie screen appears on the Mall and shows classic films. While waiting for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to begin, I glanced behind me and was greeted by this view:…
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Full Disclosure
I’ve been reading travel blogs for over a year now. This became one of my hobbies not long after I returned home from my semester abroad in Barcelona. My father had just been diagnosed with cancer, and I needed an escape. Dreaming of a future WWOOFing in Australia or tour guiding in Spain was a welcome change from the drudgery of coursework and the disappointment of weekly trips home to see my father while I still could. I mention all this in the hopes of honestly explaining how a 22-year-old is privileged enough to become a world traveler. I’ve read many blogs whose authors recount how they saved money to…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: Nocturnal Festivals
(Weekly Travel Inspiration is a feature on this blog where I share a link, book, or film that incites my wanderlust, and might incite yours too!) A few weeks ago National Geographic Traveler tweeted their Top 10 Nocturnal Festivals. Their list included celebrations in Mexico, Japan, Vietnam, and Latvia among others. The Noche de Brujas (Night of Witches) festival in Catemaco, Mexico, which plays host to witches, wizards, and mystics sounds like a grownup Halloween. Another festival featured on this list sees “the residents of the Latvian town of Kuldiga mark the start of midsummer, or Jani, by running naked through the streets.” According to National Geographic, after they all…
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Artomatic
On Saturday, I went to the last day of Artomatic, which bills itself as “DC’s Biggest Creative Event,” and included ten stories worth of artwork by 1,300 artists and performers. I first read about it in Metro Weekly, which billed it as an “all-access arts clusterfuck,” and said that the event had returned after a three year hiatus. When my housemate asked me if I wanted to go with her, the answer was obvious. In case the inordinate number of museums that made it onto my otherwise open European itinerary didn’t tip you off — I really like art. And Artomatic did not disappoint. There were paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations, performance…
