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 […]
Philadelphia: Underwhelmed by American History
When my flight to Philadelphia was cancelled, I figured the benefit was that my schedule change allowed me to explore Philadelphia for a day. But now, every time I sit down to try to write this post I realize I have almost nothing to say: hence why the post that should have come before all […]
New York City at Christmas: A Whirlwind Layover
What are two of my favourite things in the entire world? Christmas and New York City. When my family had to change our flights to Antigua, I lobbied hard for one that gave us an overnight layover in NYC, and much to my delight I won over my parents. They were unconvinced that we’d have […]
Walking Across the Brooklyn Bridge
If I have a favourite thing to do in New York City other than wandering aimlessly, it’s walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. (Are you sensing a common theme here? I like walking when I travel). On my first trip to New York back in April, I walked from the Brooklyn side to the Manhattan side […]
The Number One Thing to Do in New York City
I returned to New York City twice after the first time I visited in April, which is a sign of how much I love the city. Sure, my obsession with New York isn’t exactly creative or unique: who doesn’t feel a special connection to the city? But I tend to explore new destinations rather than […]