There’s a reason that a lot of backpackers (including myself) start to dream about opening a hostel of their own. The magic of a good hostel transcends the destination, creating family and community. It can be a particularly beautiful setting, or a serendipitous group of people coming together. It can be the staff, or it […]
Best of 2019
Every year, I write these massive recap posts with my favorite highlights of the year, even when I have been terrible about blogging for the rest of the year. I’ve done 2016, 2017, and 2018, and now it is time to recap the best of 2019 – one of the craziest years of my life. […]
A Weekend in Waikiki
Waikiki was where I regained confidence in my ability to travel alone. I had honestly expected to dislike Waikiki, thinking it would be like Cancun or Miami, just another touristy beach with highrises lining the ocean. It WAS always packed and the highrises were present, but despite my doubts I found myself falling in love […]
Four Days on the North Shore of Oahu
I just spent four nights at a beautiful beach side hostel on the North Shore of Oahu, hiking in the mornings and relaxing on the beach in the afternoon. It sounds picture perfect, but I also cried at least once every day I was there. I forgot how HARD solo travel was. And I don’t […]
Best of 2017
Last year, I wrote a massively long Best of 2016 post and I still reread it constantly, every time I want to reminisce on how awesome that year was. I don’t know if anyone else found it as interesting as I do, but either way I really enjoyed writing it. This year, I was thinking […]
My 9 Favourite Hostels Outside Europe
I recently extended another Boston work trip to include a weekend, and this time the Hostelling International Hostel had a bed available! I was excited to try my first real North American hostel, which I assumed would be a totally different breed from the ones I’ve stayed in on almost every other continent. When I […]
The Best of 2016
In my mind, 2016 is kind of broken into three completely separate parts. From January to April I was at university for the last semester, working at a cafe and hanging out with friends constantly. In May and June I went on an incredible whirlwind trip to eleven countries. In July I moved to Toronto […]
The Ten Places I Most Want to Live
Sometimes I visit a city and absolutely adore it, but would never want to live there. Examples that come to mind are Goreme in Cappadocia (too small and remote), Dar es Salaam (too bustling, although I’d probably give it a shot), and Florence (too touristy for its size). On the other hand, there are the places that […]
Toronto Bucket List
As you might remember from this post, in December I signed a contract for a real adult job, and in July I moved to Toronto. I still have VERY conflicted feelings about being ‘settled down’, but considering I’ve already been to Muskoka, New York City, Boston and Pennsylvania and I’m off to Quebec City tomorrow, […]
Niagara Falls in the Dead of Winter
Despite the fact that I’ve been to every Canadian province, I had somehow never been to what is arguably Canada’s biggest and best attraction: the famous Niagara Falls. The falls are about an hour and a half from Toronto, a city I’ve now visited 4 or 5 times. In February, I redeemed some frequent flyer […]