Lucky Day #10,000 (confetti & balloons!): In the town of Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos archipelago lives the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Station is dedicated to conserving the unique marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Galapagos, and it’s open for the public to learn more about their work. […]
Learning to Love Art
I wish I liked art museums. Art-Loving Me would sip martinis and engage in witty banter about Jackson Pollock. Art-Loving Me would skip into the MOMA in ballet flats with a sketchbook under my arm (“for inspiration, darling!”). Marc Jacobs would likely make Art-Loving Me his muse. But- like pickles and Mad Men and pilates- […]
High on Amsterdam, Part Een: Nightlife
Day #11,220: I always pictured nighttime in Amsterdam to be the breeding grounds of some very bad behavior. Evenings bathed in harsh red light, neon “XXX” signs flickering above, the air reeking of seediness (read: stale weed). But somehow in my Hangover-Part-Four-style imaginings of Amsterdam, I had forgotten that Mr. M & I are not […]
An Ode to Mr. M: Valentinesversary 15.0
Day #11,260: As of today, Mr. M and I have been partners-in-crime for 15 years and exactly half of our lives. Well, technically as of yesterday… but a day-before-Valentine’s-Day anniversary is both redundant and expensive, so we long ago decided to create the franken-holiday known as “Valentinesversary.” Our first date was almost our last. I […]
Bali by Bike
The bike is a grievously underrated mode of transportation. For four years during veterinary school, I used my trusty bike Samson (normal folk name their bikes, right?) as my primary means of getting about town. While biking everywhere limited my fashion choices (let’s be honest- rectally palpating cows doesn’t necessarily lend itself to super-cute miniskirts […]
Birds and Beer in New Zealand
Day #10,290: After a chilly night in Hastings, we were up before sunset to drive across the North Island of New Zealand. Mr. M & I had a flight to the South Island to catch and wanted to leave plenty of time to make it to the airport. Our morning wasn’t slated for mere transportation. […]
It’s Pronounced Chaaahleston
East Coast weather has been… inhumane, as of late. It’s a Well-Known Fact that single-digit temperatures are obscene, and negative temps are like trying to divide a number by zero: it makes everyone upset & confused and causes The Universe to collapse in on itself. Obsessive airfare-deal-hunting (I have my Black Belt) yielded a weekend […]
Viva Brasil, The Pantanal Part 2: A Caiman Tail… Tale
The Pantanal is home to what is thought to be the largest concentration of crocodilians in the world. Day#11,062: Paul determined that our morning held in store a boat ride down the Rio Negro. Drifting lazily in the summer heat taking in the beauty of the Pantanal sounded pretty darn good. Mr. M, our guide […]
Viva Brasil, The Pantanal Part 1: Appreciating the Unappreciated
Some places on this majestically overwhelming planet are grossly under-appreciated. It’s hard not to include the Usual Suspects in a Bucket List: The Amazon… seeing the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle… going on an African safari… Of course they’re incredible. But what about the lesser-known, equally impressive natural wonders that are ordained to exist in the […]
A Winter Weekend in Montreal
Day #11,160: Montreal has been on My List for years… and rather than the 6-hr flight it would’ve cost me from the west coast, it’s only a quick one hour trip from New York. BOOM! Weekend trip, sucka. Mr. M & I landed in Montreal, picked up our rental car, and were in the city by […]