Empire State Building at sunset
It’s been a year since I last picked up my computer to write. I apologize for the radio silence. I had all the intentions of writing, but each time it just didn’t feel right and the words were stuck somewhere in the back of my head and I’d sullenly promise myself that I would write again soon. Now a full year has passed – isn’t it scary how fast time flies? Continue reading
Edinburgh is a city filled with culture, heritage, and plenty of history. As a UNESCO world heritage site, history is an integral part of city’s status. Its inhabitants can be traced all the way back to the Bronze Age when the first settlement was established in the area. Continue reading
AirBnB is not new, in fact it’s been around since 2008. We know people who have used the service and had glowing reviews; and others who did not fare as well (there are some horror stories). In the past, we’ve always opted to stay at a Starwood hotel because our status gave us upgrades and other perks. This year, however, that status has expired which was the perfect opportunity for us to venture out of our bubble and try something new. Continue reading
I use this blog as a way to share my travel experiences – both good and bad, and this one is a doozy. It started with a lost passport and ended with our dead-in-the-night scramble to get out of Portugal. As you read through this article, you’ll think to yourself, these are all rookie mistakes that I would never make. Trust me, I thought so too – until we made them all. Given that we have been traveling extensively for the last 8 years, it’s downright embarrassing, but what can you do? Sometime shit happens.
I was a chubby little monster
Today I turned 36, that was almost my mother’s age when she left Vietnam. She traveled half-way across the world, and left everyone and everything she knew in order to give her family the opportunities she didn’t have. That level of self-sacrifice seems so adult and mature to me. I am half way through my 30s and I still feel like a little kid; not to say that I didn’t have my own challenges that I had to overcome. But I am going to take this opportunity on my birthday to reflect on the things I’ve learned in my 30s that I wish I knew earlier. I’ve condensed my ‘wisdom’ into a nice short list, one for each year:
[photo credit: Visit Norway]
I can’t believe it’s fall already, where did the summer go? I have learned to love the fall season in New York, with the brisk air and colorful leaves. But with the change of season, comes the colder weather – which I am definitely not a fan of. This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on our year so far. There are so many heartbreaking things going on in the world, and it makes me appreciate everything that I have and everyone in my life. Continue reading
[photo credit: www.skyscanner.com]
Two years ago on this day, I found out I had breast cancer. Yes, the dreaded ‘C’ word. This was a shock to me, because to be honest, no one in their early 30s is expected to deal with this, right? At that age, I still feel invincible, and there was no time to contemplate my mortality. I still remember getting the call from the OBGYN office asking me to come in for my results. It was then that I knew it was going to be bad news (why else would they call you in?). In that minute my world changed. At 33 years old, with no family history, I sat there in silence as the doctor told me I had ductal carcinoma-in-situ. That was the bad news; the good news I was told, is that the cancer was caught early and was non-invasive. Yay me?
I am sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been conspicuously quiet on the blog the last few weeks. There was a death in our family which prompted me to make a last minute flight back to Canada. I’ve been home ever since, spending time with the people I love the most. But even before that, I’ve been struggling with time management, especially the last few months when work had gotten increasingly busy. That’s one of the challenges of being a part time travel blogger while holding down a full time job. Juggling work, traveling, and writing can be tough at times, particularly when I continue to fall behind on my posts.
life after 9to5 