Day #11,662(Guatemala): Step One: Beware the Bandidos I didn’t, and I blame the corn chips. Immediately after reading the phrase “beware violent bandidos” in our Guatemala guidebook, any thoughts of concern were immediately replaced by that catchy jingle from the 1960’s commercial (when advertising went out of its way to be politically incorrect): Ay ay ay […]
Prior to visiting Barcelona, I identified the city with (1) childhood memories of the 1992 Summer Olympics, (2) the brief section of my monolithic high school art history book dedicated to the architect Antoni Gaudí, and (3) tapas. [And in all honesty, (4) that scene in the movie “The Internship” where Vince Vaughn fights with […]
Day #10,356: Dear Rome, I really wanted to like you. You’re Rome, for goodness sake. The Eternal City! The seat of the Roman Empire! And you know how I have a soft spot for historical splendor. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to make of you at first. You came on a little strong. The honking, […]
With all the hype surrounding Machu Picchu, it could easily be one of those overrated places that’s frustratingly uber-disappointing in real life. Even the journey to get to Machu Picchu is slightly epic. Whether by train (as Mr. M & I did) or by 4-day hardcore trek, you have a whole lotta time to imagine and re-imagine “Machu […]
Okay. My Machu Picchu Fantasy circa 2008 played out something like this: I trudge the famous 4-day Inka Trail armed only with grizzled walking stick and roll of TP, and summit the Intipunku Sun Gate just in time to watch the sun rise as a majestic crown atop Machu Picchu. [Please note: in this fantasy […]
Day #11,187: Having thoroughly wandered the city of Lisbon (I’m making the bold assumption that “thoroughly wandering” isn’t too egregious an oxymoron for you to stomach), our merry gang decided to take a day trip to the neighboring town of Belém. The standard means of getting oneself to Belém involves taking one of Lisbon’s classic […]
Days #11,399-11,400: By some turn of witchcraft, it takes less time to get to Iceland from NYC than it takes to make my usual pilgrimages home to LA. Four and a half hours after leaving JFK, Mr. M & I touched down near the barren, moonscaped town of Keflavik. Mood: Stellar. While Icelandair has the […]
Whilst weekend tripping in Montreal, Mr. M & I decided to take advantage of our proximity to yet another Place We’d Never Been Before: Quebec City. Quebec City came highly recommended from Mr. M’s aunt & uncle, who claimed it was more than worth the 3hr drive from Montreal- although honestly, convincing us to visit […]
Day #9,467-69: After 40 hours of traveling from LA to DC to Senegal to Johannesburg, the newly married Mr. M & I touched down in the city of Durban on South Africa’s eastern seaboard. It was midnight and the first time my feet had ever stood on foreign soil. My first night abroad was not […]
Although my decision-making process regarding what days to write about is generally pretty haphazard (read: non-existent… it’s a blindfold, spin, & point situation), Pope Benedict’s recent abdication had me thinking of our own visit to the Vatican City a few years ago. (It also has me wondering whether he can still insist on being addressed […]