Exploring at Home: 5 New Finds in the Triangle (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 11)

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)

9 Tips To Have a Great Airbnb Experience (#12DaysofTravel, Day 6)

2015 was the first year I used Airbnb, and I learned a lot from the thirteen nights I spent in other people’s homes. Of eight reservations made through Airbnb this year, all but one were good, and some were amazing. I love Airbnb because its properties are frequently: Cheaper More centrally located More spacious and homey than a hotel room Equipped with more amenities Hosted by friendly … Continue reading 9 Tips To Have a Great Airbnb Experience (#12DaysofTravel, Day 6)

A blue sky peeks out above the Pavilion, a remnant of the World's Fair.

Why I Like Different (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 4)

My husband likes to joke that he can always predict what I’ll order at restaurants: the most bizarre thing on the menu. (And as such, it’s usually the most expensive one. Sorry, babe.) The first time he told me that, I laughed as if he was kidding. Then I realized it’s true. I have a few reasons why. One reason is pragmatism — we cook at home often, and I … Continue reading Why I Like Different (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 4)

A Year of Culmination and Rediscovery (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 1)

If I had to pick a theme for this year’s adventures, I’d say this year has been about culmination and rediscovery. It seems like all of my travels this year have fallen into one of two categories: either I’ve visited places I’ve wanted to go to for years or I’ve visited places that I’ve been to year after year and know well, and yet I still found new things. Continue reading A Year of Culmination and Rediscovery (#12DaysOfTravel, Day 1)

An Accidental Literary Adventure in Paris and London – Guest Post from Heather Croxon

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

3 Favorite Things about Asheville

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

The Globe Turner is Official!

For those of you who have been particularly observant, you might have noticed a few changes around the blog. Recently, the name changed to The Globe Turner, and the web address to www.theglobeturner.com. So this is the official announcement! This blog is now The Globe Turner.  What’s that about, you ask? A little history Years ago, when I was a senior in college, I started experimenting with blogging, posting mostly … Continue reading The Globe Turner is Official!

5 Tips on How to Travel Without a Data Plan

Or: how we survived 10 days in Italy on airplane mode. And how you can do it, too! For those of you who don’t rely on the internet being in your pocket at all times, especially when you travel, carry on; this post was meant for those of us (like me!) who struggle to recall what life was like before Google. In fact, much of my constant … Continue reading 5 Tips on How to Travel Without a Data Plan

3 Favorite Things About New York City

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

Keeping Durham Weird

One of my favorite “weird and wonderful” nearby locations is the city of Durham. We live in the Triangle of North Carolina, which is formed by the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, plus a lot of other surrounding cities and suburbs. Though we live in Cary and used to live in Raleigh, Durham remains our favorite city to eat, play, and spend time … Continue reading Keeping Durham Weird

Wanderlust Wednesday: Seattle’s Gum Wall & The Fremont Troll

In keeping with my theme of the weird and the wonderful in travel locations this month, I wanted to talk about two places that keep Seattle funky. Those of you who know me, or anything about where I love to travel, Seattle is high on the list. There are so many reasons why I like Seattle, but the fact that it has no shortage of … Continue reading Wanderlust Wednesday: Seattle’s Gum Wall & The Fremont Troll

Not Your Everyday History Lesson: New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

This month, I’m going to be focusing on weird and wonderful places. Though I missed last week (whoops), I hope you’ll enjoy this collection of random and eclectic places I’ve been.

Up first is a city I can’t wait to do a full post on, New Orleans. I recently visited there for the first time this summer and loved it more than I expected! Continue reading “Not Your Everyday History Lesson: New Orleans Pharmacy Museum”

Wanderlust Wednesday, Local Edition: Yates Mill

Welcome to Wanderlust Wednesday! This month, in the spirit of Parks and Recreation Month, I’ve been covering national parks, state parks, parks in other countries, and finally, a park that’s close to home. At the end of each month for Wanderlust Wednesday, I’ll be doing a local edition, focusing on a location close to where I live, which for now means in North Carolina in the United States. Continue reading “Wanderlust Wednesday, Local Edition: Yates Mill”

Venice, the Floating City

Oh, Venice: you were my favorite part of the trip. As close as Cinque Terre came to winning that title, the City of Canals won its way to my heart.

venice-near-train-station

I was worried it was over-hyped. That years and years of people telling me how much they loved Venice, of seeing stunning pictures of it, of hearing its praises sung by every travel guide, of reading novels set in its watery streets — that somehow the prestige would lessen the grandeur. How wrong I was. I actually considered leaving Venice off our itinerary, afraid we would be exhausted by navigating tiny streets packed with tourists. I’m so glad I didn’t. Continue reading “Venice, the Floating City”

Throwback to our Canadian Honeymoon: Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton

Continuing with the parks theme this month, I couldn’t resist a throwback to my honeymoon in Nova Scotia, Canada. A few shots of Cape Breton was all it took for my then-fiance to convince me that we should abandon the sunny beaches of traditional honeymoons for the cooler, craggier coast of Nova Scotia. Our week and a half there was remote, romantic, adventurous — and we couldn’t have asked for … Continue reading Throwback to our Canadian Honeymoon: Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton