Travel stories
Our trip to Peru coincided with Inti Raymi or Sun Festival, a weeklong celebration during the Winter Solstice that dates back to the Inca. Because of this, crowds in Cusco were at their peak and many streets were shut down for the near-constant parades. The city was alive— full of noise and color and the…
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may get a small commission if you use them, at no cost to you! This tour is advertised as Mount Cook, Lake Tekapo, and Tasman Glacier on Viator. TLDR: If you can’t drive yourself or don’t want to, this tour is a nice way to see some of…
Remember the time I almost got arrested hitchhiking in Egypt? 😬😬 I feel like it’s so hard to get friends to commit to plans. So many grand ideas never make it out of the chat. One of my favorite parts of travel is how many people are up for absolutely anything! A group of 5…
How do you break up with a town? I had ached to return to Gainesville– the swamp– my home for the last 12 years. I had missed my favorite haunts, meals I had dreamt of for months, pub quiz glory I had longed to relive, and yet… I felt my heart break a little when…
My Experience Housesitting Pets for 3 Weeks One of the most expensive parts of travel, and living in general, is how much we spend on accommodation. Housesitting can be a great way to deflect some of those costs and get to visit beautiful locations at the same time. I was lucky enough to score a…
Hi, I’m Mandy! Last summer I packed up my classroom and headed out on my one year sabbatical to travel the world. I’ve started referring to it as my Grown Up Gap Year. I had been saving and planning this trip for 3 years, and it has been every bit as wonderful as I always…
“Aren’t you scared?” The number one question I get as a solo female traveler. First of all, yes. So scared. But I know I can do it because I’ve done it before. And like many people, it wasn’t my first choice. In 2019, after months and years of waiting for someone to have enough PTO,…
If money is no issue or fear is a big one, then stick with the red tag taxis in Jamaica. But if you’re a bit more adventurous, interested in a more authentic experience, and want to save a bunch of money, then flag down a local taxi! Would you ever ride the public bus in…
My partner and I are going camping tonight. I keep anxiously checking the weather forecast and it keeps giving the same grim results: 50% chance of rain and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s quite cold for Florida tonight. I’m a little stressed. But, it got me thinking about the first camping trip I ever planned. I…
I had an absolute blast sandboarding on my last day in Peru with my partner and a friend we made on the Inca trail! It was the last excursion we had before eating dinner and heading back to the airport, and one of the highlights of the trip. Most people take the tour out to…