Category: Travel Writing
This is it—I’ve reached MONTH 11, yes eleven—rounding out a full year of around the world travel, working as a freelance travel writer. (Check out some of the adventures here.)
It’s been one year, 4 continents, 27 countries, and over 200 cities—and what a year it’s been! 65,000 photos later, I’m headed off again to the final destination in this around the world journey, and a place I’ve always dreamed of going—Fiji!
I’ll be taking a short hiatus to soak up some sun and sand, but stay tuned for more adventures coming soon!
The Icebar in Stockholm is a super cool way to spend a frosty evening in the city. This fancy bar is cooled to -5 degrees Celsius, and you can order nordic themed drinks in ice glasses. My personal favorites were “Husky Sledge” (Absolut vanilla with cinnamon and apple) and “Northern Light” (Absolut Raspberry, creme de cassis lime and raspberry puree).
Read more about it at CultureVixen.com.
We finished our tour of Norway in Bergen, the gateway to Norway’s fjord country, and also the second largest city in Norway. Unlike cosmopolitan Oslo with its glittering skyscrapers, Bergen manages to maintain a small-town vibe with its colorful old-style buildings and bustling seafront harbor.
I climbed a glacier!
Norway’s Nigardsbreen glacier in Jostedalen National Park to be exact. Yep, I actually strapped crampons to my hiking boots, grabbed a ice axe and harnessed myself to a team of fellow climbers before setting out to trek on the glacier, in rain none-the-less. It was a little more hard-core than I was prepared for, but was definitely an exhilarating experience! (Later on when I was thinking about the waiver I had to sign, it dawned on me that my travel insurance specifically excludes extreme sports. Their definition of extreme is pretty tame and includes kayaking and horseback riding, so this was definitely not covered. Good thing I didn’t think about that before the climb!)
Isn’t this the most beautiful dish? It’s “Ice-cold strawberry soup with solidified sour milk pudding” from Lom, Norway. Read more about the full Norwegian feast at CultureVixen.com.
The third part of my article in Culture Vixen magazine published today, packed with Florence’s greatest attractions. Check it out here:
Culture Vixen: Andiamo! Unforgettable Sights in Florence Italy (Part 3 of 3)
Check out my guide to eating in Florence and discover the city’s best gelaterie too!
Culture Vixen: Mangiamo! Great Places to Eat in Florence Italy (Part 2 of 3)
Florence, known in Italian as Firenze, is in my opinion absolutely the most beautiful city in the world. I fell in love with the city during a blissful year abroad studying art, art history and the Italian language. I hadn’t been back to Florence for over a decade and with such great expectations to live up to, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Got to spend last week out in Denver, visiting friends and family and working on a couple features for Culture Vixen magazine. It was a blast! Here are some favorite photos snapped from the trip:
(Also be sure to check out my latest article about epic Denver sculptures, including the wild horse that tragically killed its creator.)
I have always admired the work of Sandy Skoglund and finally got to see one of her installations in person! It was very red, and very cool to walk through a room of jumping foxes!
Tonight I’m doing a live tweet tasting at Panzano restaurant in downtown Denver for Culture Vixen magazine. Follow along and check out all the fancy dishes at #Panzano and @CultureVixen. See you there!
I am getting giddy with excitement for my upcoming trip to Italy and France! I’m uncharacteristically down to the wire here, still working out all the travel kinks at the very last minute. I ordered two books to get into the mood before the trip and they both arrived today! The first is “The Sweet Life in Paris” by David Lebovitz, a pastry chef and blogger who moved to Paris. The first couple chapters I read this morning were hilarious and completely entertaining. I also ordered “The Art of Renaissance Florence (1400-1600)”. I’m a total art history geek—when I flipped thorough this beautiful book I’m ashamed to admit I was totally salivating. Michelangelo, Raphael, Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Donatello, oh my!
I wanted to share this feature article I wrote for CultureVixen.com, about my experience learning the art of Moroccan cooking abroad.
I love Moroccan cuisine. Pastilla, or meat pies encased in puff pastry and covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon, savory lamb tajines, and hot mint tea don’t even begin to scratch the surface of this complex culinary culture. My food obsession led me all the way to Morocco where I followed my taste buds right into the Moroccan kitchen.
