A month ago, I wrote about my time in New Orleans, talking about classic highlights like Bourbon Street and streetcars, along with some lesser-known finds like the Pharmacy Museum. But I had so much to share with you in that post that I promised a separate one on the food, and here it is. Food is such an important part of traveling for me, and one … Continue reading Eating My Way Through New Orleans
As much as I love getting out of town, state, and country to travel, my sense of exploration doesn’t turn off when I’m at home. I’m often surprised that I’m still discovering things where we live, but we do live just outside of North Carolina’s second most populous city, Raleigh. (It’s also the sixth fastest-growing city in the U.S.) New stuff is always popping up, and I’m … Continue reading Exploring at Home: 5 New Finds in the Triangle (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 11)
So far in this 12 Days of Travel series, I’ve talked about my top items of the year that I checked off my bucket list and I posted about my favorite fictional finds of the year. Now it’s time to talk about my real love: food. Most people who love travel also love food. A nearly inextricable part of traveling, eating is often one of the best parts of … Continue reading My Top Ten Meals of 2015 (#12DayOfTravel, Day 10)
Vibrant. At face value, it means energetic, enthusiastic. It suggests movement, and its secondary definition is “quivering, pulsating.” And vibrant has more particular meaning when applied to color and sound. For color, it implies brightness; for sound, resonation and strength. Lately, vibrant is a buzzword associated with growing cities. Vibrancy now encapsulates an exciting, diverse, progressive, cultured place to be. A place that’s full of … Continue reading Vibrant, Defined: Exploring New Orleans (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 7)
Though I’ve covered most of my trip to Italy this year on the blog, I kept forgetting to post about taking the Bernina Express, the path of which is mostly a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not because it wasn’t stunning, but because it was so different from the rest of the trip. And as winter approached, it seemed fitting to keep this snowy journey in reserve until … Continue reading A Snowy Journey: Riding the Bernina Express from Italy to Switzerland (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 3)
For quite a few years now, I’ve had an informal bucket list. Things like, “see the pyramids” and “go to Iceland.” But this year, partly because I’ve gotten more serious about travel and partly because of this blog, I finally created an official bucket list. A handful I’d already done, but the rest are for future travels. Since I was choosy about what went on the list — … Continue reading 3 Checks on the Bucket List (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 2)
My recent trip to Europe turned into an accidental literary adventure. While planning my holiday, I had selected one bookshop in each of the cities I was visiting – Paris and London – to make some unneeded book purchases, but in the end just about everywhere I visited had some sort of literary significance.
I share everything from world famous landmarks like the Louvre to hidden gems like The Hunterian Musuem that you might never have heard of. But every single one has something special to offer. Continue reading An Accidental Literary Adventure in Paris and London – Guest Post from Heather Croxon
It’s time for another favorite things post, and honestly, I can’t believe I haven’t featured Asheville yet. Whenever I talk about Asheville, I often tell people that when my husband (then-boyfriend) and I were first contemplating a move to this state, Asheville was my main experience of North Carolina. We’d made probably a half-dozen trips to the area when I was young, and I’d always … Continue reading 3 Favorite Things about Asheville
“Dad, how does football work?” I posed this question to my father in my late teens. I was a swimmer and a dancer, with little familiarity of team sports. But growing up in southern Georgia, I noticed that boys talked about little except football from August to February, and I didn’t want to be clueless. So my dad gave me the basics, and I shrugged, unsure of what made … Continue reading Fall and Football: Gameday at University of Georgia
For all my complaining over the heat and humidity around here, I start wondering if it’s all worth it when fall rolls around. Autumn in the Smokies will take your breath away. It’s not without good reason that the color changes along the East coast are so famous — and why songs, poems, books (and blog posts) about its scenery will never stop being written. I know I for once will … Continue reading Wanderlust Wednesday: Autumn Colors in the Smokies
It’s hard to believe that it’s coming up on ten years since I made a fleeting visit to Paris. Back in college, I spent a summer studying abroad in Spain, and just before I flew back to the States, I spent two nights in Paris. I know, I know — it wasn’t even close to enough time to see it. When I went in August, it … Continue reading Wanderlust Wednesday: Paris in the Fall
This September, I’ve covered Chicago, New York, and Seattle — focusing on major American cities for Wanderlust Wednesday this month. Though it wasn’t intentional, I picked one location from the east coast, west coast, and the midwest. And now we’re going south to the Empire City of the South: Atlanta. Atlanta has won its way into my heart over the past few years. Born and raised in … Continue reading 3 Favorite Things About Atlanta
Whenever I’m asked to pick a favorite American city, Seattle usually wins. I’ve never lived there permanently, and to be honest, I haven’t visited that many times. Not nearly as much as I’ve visited New York or Atlanta. And yet, ever since I visited it for the first time almost ten years ago, I’ve wanted to live there. (It helps that my husband is from … Continue reading Wanderlust Wednesday: Seattle
Today is Wanderlust Wednesday, and I’m continuing my series on major American cities (last week was Chicago) with the most quintessentiailly American city of them all: New York, New York. I can’t tell you how hard it was to narrow this list down to three. And I kind of cheated with the last one. But here goes, starting with my absolute favorite thing in New York … Continue reading 3 Favorite Things About New York City
For September, my Wanderlust Wednesday posts will be themed around major American cities — mostly inspired by this photo I took in Chicago about six years ago. I’ve always loved the red of the Navy Pier ferris wheel mixed with the blue of the water, and the colorful spirit of the wheel mixed in with the silver, businesslike skyline. Large cities are always a juxtaposition of fun … Continue reading Wanderlust Wednesday: Chicago
Booked & Ready 