Today we’re going to walk from Green Park to the BT Tower at sunset. I’d plot out the route of my walk for you on Google maps, but I have no idea what my route actually was. As is my custom, I was trying to get lost. What I can tell you is that this walk will take us through a little corner of Mayfair, and then through neighborhoods called Soho and Fitzrovia. Having only been here for 1.5 months, I still feel quite under-qualified to be making any sort of statements about London as a whole, but these areas really feel like the “heart of the city” to me.

Founded all the way back in 1636, Providence is one of the oldest cities in America. It was founded by puritan exiles from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and would ultimately become one of America’s original 13 colonies. So, Providence is one of the O.G.s.

What is Providence like today? Well, it turns out that being the “most populous city” in the smallest state in the US doesn’t mean much in terms of population. Boston, which is less than 2 hours away, absolutely dwarfs Providence, whose population is even less than that of Worcester (“wus-tah”), MA. So, Providence is a relatively small place. However, it still manages to play an active role as a regional hub, boasting 8 major universities, including Brown, RISD, and Johnson & Wales University.

I actually came to love Los Angeles during my last visit (right before COVID hit)—it is a very distinct place. And as Venice beach unfolded before me like some sort of surreal virtual reality, I realized that this might be the most “LA” place I’d yet seen. It is the stereotype of what this place is. It was Saturday night and everybody was out having fun. I hurriedly crossed the boardwalk and made a B-line for the beach so I could catch the sunset. It did not disappoint. I’ll postpone additional narrative in favor of just showing you the pictures I took.

Making the jump from plain ol’ Richmond/Vancouver suburbs to historic Steveston happens unceremoniously. One minute you’re speeding through cozy residential neighborhoods, the next you’re slowing down as you drive along the docks. Having never been this far north on the west coast, my only reference points for what this place feels like were all about 2,000 miles eastward. Maine. Massachusetts. Nova Scotia. That’s what Steveston feels like.

Boulder, Colorado. With a population of just 97,385, it’s definitely one of America’s most famous small towns. Sitting at an elevation of 5,430 feet above sea level, its reputation as a beautiful mountain town has made it a household name. But, to the un-indoctrinated among us, it may come as a surprise to learn that it’s actually not in the mountains per se… it’s a smaller moon in the orbital of the Denver metro area, and as such, it is merely mountain-adjacent. It’s pressed right up against the mountains, but it’s not actually in them. This was a surprise to me at least. The drive time from Denver to Boulder is like 40 minutes, and it’s not exactly an undeveloped stretch.

Today we’re going to start with a clerical note that was once confusing to me. The instant you start talking about Boston neighborhoods, you will hear the terms “South Boston,” “South End,” and “Southie” come up fairly often. When I first moved to Boston back in the day, this was confusing to me. I knew there was more than one neighborhood in the mix, but all of these terms sounded the same to me. Well let me break this down for you: South Boston and South End are different neighborhoods. And “Southie” is the common nickname for South Boston. Historically, these were very different places, and today we’re going to check out both of them…

Before I left for this trip, I asked my friend Melanie (hey girl!) if she had any dark-horse recommendations for off-the-beaten path things that I should do in Mexico City. She told me that when she visited, she had taken a lot of her cues from an Instagram account called @thecuriousmexican. The girl who runs this apparently speaks very highly of a large marketplace called Mercado Jamaica (Jamaica Market). It was supposed to be very authentic, and very off-the-beaten path, so when she (Melanie) was in Mexico City, she decided to try visiting it. Apparently when she told the cab driver where she was trying to go, the driver cautioned her that this was a very dangerous area, but she went anyway. Clearly she lived to tell the tale, so I’m following in her footsteps today.

We received no such words of caution when we stepped into our Uber, but we were also two large men. A single white female would need to be careful pretty much anywhere, whereas being male, 6-4, and ~230lb pretty much ends all of my fights before they even start. However, I will admit to a small amount of anxiety about the neighborhood. It was definitely sketchy, but once I threw myself into it, I felt totally fine. All of the interactions I had with people were extremely positive.

In Mexico City, I knew that neighborhood we stayed in was going to be key. I had lots of recommendations given to me, and the areas that separated themselves as the clear choices were Condesa and Roma. Prior to my arrival, although the two areas are right next to each other, I understood these neighborhoods to be more distinct from one another than they turned out to be. Once I actually got there, I found that they were essentially just extensions of each other, with only minor differences. So I’m just going to treat it as one body. And oh my gosh you guys—I LOVE THIS AREA.

Stepping out the door of our Airbnb, just a couple blocks away from Forsyth Park, the air was thick with humidity. It was so humid that my camera lens was quickly covered in a dense fog that took a few blocks to wear off. Roots run deep here. Everybody knows everybody. Sure there are lots of visitors that pass through, but in every living room of every house on every quiet Savannah street, there is a thriving community of families living here that are constantly going to school together, growing up together, marrying into one another, and so on.

First off, what I’m defining as “Richmond” here is actually made up of 4 smaller districts: Inner, Central, and Outer Richmond… and a little area to the north called Lake Street. This neighborhood (or group of neighborhoods) is essentially a big grid system, which, despite occupying an extremely urban area of San Francisco, is surrounded on almost all sides by nature.

Prague is the historical capital of Bohemia. Through the last few hundred years, the boundaries in this part of Europe have been notoriously fluid. The map here has been redrawn quite a few times as Empires have risen and fallen, but Bohemia has always been a notable region with a strong cultural identity. Today, Bohemia is more or less synonymous with the Czech Republic (formerly part of Czechoslovakia, and recently renamed to simply “Czechia”). With 2.6 million people living in its metro area, it’s the 14th largest city in the European Union. However, what it lacks in size relative to other European capitals, it more than makes up for in clout. When it comes to history and culture, few cities pack a punch in quite the same way Prague does.

In July of 2012, a few friends and I were leaving Spain and embarking on what would be my first ever Euro-trip. In deciding where we wanted to go, I'd be lying if I told you that Amsterdam's famously progressive drug laws did not play a role in our decision to come to here. So our motives may not have been entirely academic, but once we arrived, I was enraptured. Amsterdam turned out to be one of the most beautiful cities that I had ever had the privilege of exploring. I’ve traveled a lot more today than I had back then, and Amsterdam is STILL one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever seen. We spent 5 days here, and in that time, I took more photographs than I had of any place I had visited prior. 

So have you ever considered coming to Geneva? I’m betting the answer is no. Geneva isn’t a common stop-over in European travel, because it has a reputation for being super expensive and (tbh) kind of boring. It’s mostly a hub for international organizations like the WHO, WTO, Doctors Without Borders, and quite a few different UN offices. It’s also got a reputation for being home to a lot of “old money.” So this is a city that really does matter in the world… but might not be quite as relevant for your average traveler.

However, that doesn’t mean the city isn’t still gorgeous! Geneva is surrounded the Alps on all sides, and sits on the southernmost shores of Lake Geneva. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from some of the most beautiful terrain in the world, and the city itself is also very pretty.

Barcelona is the last Spanish city that is going to be covered in the #ThrowBackThursday series. I came here during my study abroad in 2012, during which I lived in 313 miles inland, in Madrid. Why did I choose to study abroad in Madrid? The short answer is that I didn’t. Madrid was, incredibly, the only study abroad option in the entire world that would count towards both my major and my minor. So if I wanted to go abroad, the choice was already made for me. But, in my mind, Barcelona was “the place to be” in Spain. Ideally, I would have lived in Barcelona.

When I finally arrived in Barcelona, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting…

Situated on the eastern coast of Spain, Valencia is the country's 3rd largest city, behind Madrid and Barcelona. There are roughly 800,000 people who live in Valencia proper and about 1.6 million that live in Valencia's metro area. It is also worth noting that Valencia's harbor is the busiest container port in the Mediterranean and the 5th busiest in Europe. That means that this is a city of economic importance. Stuff happens here. 

Today, I’ll be telling you some of what happened to ME (and one very unlucky friend) while I was here.

When I made the move to Madrid in 2012, I hadn't done much research. Upon my arrival, I remember being very surprised at how green and lush the city was. This was not what I expected Spain to look like. I was expecting something a bit more arid, a bit more dry, a bit more brown-ish in color. I'm not sure where these preconceptions originally came from, but now I know that TOLEDO is what I expected Spain to look like. This was the image of Spain that I had in my head. 

If you've been a reader for any amount of time, you probably know that I started this website when I moved to Hanoi, Vietnam to work as an English teacher. However, you might NOT know that Hanoi was actually the 2nd time I had lived internationally. The first time was my study abroad, during which I spent a semester living in Madrid, Spain.

This is the first installment of what is going to be a #ThrowBackThursday series. I'll be digging up some choice photos from my time in Europe, re-editing them, and sharing some thoughts and/or stories about each of the places I visited. So let's get to the good stuff!

Dude, I smell like shit." 

"Thats okay... It's Milwaukee!" 

I think that interaction was what I remembered most about Milwaukee prior coming back here in 2018. I don’t remember a lot of specifics from that trip, save for the realization that Milwaukee is actually a pretty cool place. So when I returned in the summer of 2018 for a wedding, I made a point to break off a bite-sized piece of the city and take a long walk with my camera.

Today, we're going focus in on a couple of my favorite pieces of Boston. The first is the famous Boston Public Library, and the second is the unusual measuring system that is painted onto the Mass Ave bridge. These have both been the source of some intrigue for me, and are academia-adjacent, so I’m combining them into the same article.

Today, Boston's North End is known as the Italian neighborhood. When people tell you that they're headed to the North End, it's a good bet that they're going to dinner, because this neighborhood is absolutely packed with incredible Italian restaurants and bakeries. However, the North End is famous for more than just its food. The history here is legendary. 

In this article I’ll run through some old and some new from Boston’s North End, and then show you lots of beautiful pictures.

In the last article, we covered a lot of ground. I was a little out of breath by the time I finished writing it! But Palermo deserves to have some serious time spent, just taking it in, exploring. So now that you've been brought fully up to speed on the many historic layers of this city, I want to take a deep dive with you and just get out on the streets of Palermo. 

Are you ready for a big dose of Sicily’s capital city?

If you want to come here, it's very important that you know that this happens exactly at sunrise. If you really want to catch this place in action, it's best to get there before 7:00am. The first time I attempted to come here, I slept in and showed up at 7:45-ish, and it was mostly over. I got some decent pictures, but it was clear that things were winding down. It was frustrating. The next day I set my alarm for the TRUE butt-crack of dawn, and got here before the sun rose.

Tunisia was going to be my second country in Africa, so I was excited to at least get a taste for it. We didn't have much time here, but we would still be able to see a decent chunk of Tunis. The flight here from Algiers was short but green and scenic as we made our way horizontally across the top of Africa. And as our plane made its final decent over northern Tunisia, I was excited. Here are a few pictures I snapped out the window. Drink 'em in, because everything went to shit from here.

It was a long and unfortunate series of circumstances that delayed our flight from New York to Algiers for 2 full days, but they say that when God closes a door, he opens a window. And for us, this window came in the form of a extremely long layover in Rome. This would give us just enough time to sneak out of the airport to go into the city, so that's exactly what we did. 

Even if you know Rome only by reputation, you can probably guess that it's far too big a city to see in a single day, so we decided to break off a single bite-sized piece: a neighborhood called Trastevere. 

In Boston, things move fast. The city is lively, dynamic, and ever-changing. However, there are some pieces of the Bostonian puzzle that are quintessential, and eternal. No matter what's going on around them, somehow, they never seem to change. 

Today I'm going to single out a couple of those places: Bay Bay and Beacon Hill. 

Of all the amazing pieces of civilization subsisting out here in the Westfjords, none sparked my interest like these tiny Icelandic churches. These little structures were often the only sign of human life for miles in any direction. Each time we caught a glimpse of the small pointy steeple from our place on the road, we would come to a screeching halt and dive off down the nearest dirt road to explore. No two of these churches were the same. Each was completely unique, and a few of them had even been left unlocked!