Category: travel
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This week I am…
…making my favorite guacamole recipe in honor of Cinco de Mayo. …impressed by Japan’s approach to low-cost architecture with an Olympics-inspired airport. …scrolling through Kentucky Derby photos and dreaming of champagne mint juleps. …fascinated by this study on prayer (apparently we all say “please.” Just good manners?). …applauding my home state for leading the U.S. in water conservation and…
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Celebrating King’s Day in Amsterdam
When we began researching a trip to Amsterdam, we came across several articles claiming that the best time to visit the city is April 27th–when The Netherlands celebrates their national holiday Konigsdag or King’s Day. Celebrated since 1890, the holiday is in honor of current King Willem-Alexander, who took the throne in 2013. Before that, the…
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48 hours in Amsterdam
Many “cutesy” stereotypes came to mind whenever I pictured Amsterdam…and after visiting this week, I found most of them were actually true. Tulips are everywhere. Gouda is in abundance. Bicycles are more common than cars. Minus residents wearing clogs, Amsterdam was in many ways what I had dreamt about. But before being written off as a complete fairytale land, Amsterdam…
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This week I am…
…in Amsterdam! I’m celebrating their national holiday today and wearing orange. …toasting my grandfather’s 91st birthday. More on what makes his generation the greatest. …reading about the White House correspondents’ dinner. I met this funny guy when I attended. …still dreaming of tacos. Apparently it is the official state food of California? …hanging onto my beloved watch, especially after…
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Wine tasting 101
Written while drinking a glass of 2012 Les Perrierés Chardonnay de Peissy. Having grown up in California, I considered myself pretty well-versed in wine…that is, until I moved to Europe. Walking around the wine section of my local grocery store there were a few names I recognized: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot. Everything else–I didn’t have a clue.…
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This week I am…
…learning about the new generation of deliberate “spinsters” via this author interview. …watching this video of the best supermarket movie scenes (and dreaming of Trader Joe’s!) …adding garlic to everything after reading this article, not that I needed much convincing. …following these “cool moms” on Instagram (remember this?!) …disagreeing with my 1982-born husband on who is…
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I want to go to there…
…Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Called the “Venice of the North” this canal-built city has always seemed utterly idyllic to me… …maybe it’s all the windmills? …or that tulips is one of their main industries? Doesn’t it seem like a fairy land? But after reading a bit on The Netherlands, I’ve come to realize that this city’s…
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Why we mourn the deaths of celebrities we never met
I wrote this story for Thrive Wire–check it out here. Robin Williams, Princess Diana, Whitney Houston…you likely never met them, but felt pain when you heard about their deaths. Maybe you tweeted about their deaths or joined the “R.I.P…” Facebook group. Maybe you sat with friends and discussed your favorite moment in their lives. Maybe…
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Florence: Art and Aperitivo
This is a follow-up on yesterday’s post “Three Days in Florence.” Having never been to Florence, visiting the Uffizi Gallery was at the top of my list for its amazing art collection. But like everything in Florence, I found much much more. I would have bought a ticket to walk through the building alone–even without its hundreds…
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Three days in Florence
Florence is a study in both the old and the new. I believe most travelers make their way to Florence for the old–to walk among the Renaissance era buildings, to view the ancient art, to taste the pasta recipe that has been handed down through generations–but when they arrive, they find the new. Florence is…
Paige Langton 