Giving Amsterdam a Second Chance
I first visited Amsterdam in the summer of 2013. I spent about three days in the city, in between beautiful Bruges and funky Berlin....
Things No One Tells You About Iceland in Winter
People tend to confuse Greenland and Iceland. And, to be fair, that was kind of the point. The story goes that when the Vikings...
Snorkeling Silfra: Swimming Between Tectonic Plates in Iceland
What do you remember about the geology section of your middle-school science classes? Do you remember learning about fault lines and subduction zones and...
23 Photos That Will Make You Want to Go to a European Christmas Market Right Now
Christkindlmarkt. Weihnachtsmarkt. Marché de Noël. Whatever name they go by, Christmas markets are a holiday staple with a long history in Europe. The tradition of the...
The Cotswolds are Just Stupid Pretty
I'd seen the photos. Photos of charming stone buildings with overflowing flower boxes. Of adorable city squares with old wells at the center. Of crumbly...
Riding the Harry Potter Train in Scotland
I remember when I was first introduced to Harry Potter. I was about 13 years old, in Miss Barkett's 7th-grade English class, and we...
Liverpool for the Beatles Fan
For as long as I can remember, The Beatles have been in my life. Growing up, my sister and I used to frequently sift...
24 Hours in York: A First-Timers Guide
In the past handful of years, I've managed to visit the United Kingdom a grand total of 5 times. It's officially the country (outside...
Sagrada Familia: You’ve Never Seen a Church Like This Before
Once upon a time, a man named Antoni Gaudi decided he wanted to build a church. But this wouldn't be just any church. No,...
The Most Famous Fjord in Norway
It was drizzling slightly as I pulled my rental car into the car ferry line at Hellesylt and popped into the gift shop for a...
The Scottish Highlands with Highland Explorer Tours
It doesn't really matter how many times I've been to moody Glencoe or seen the shores of Loch Ness or taken photos of Eilean Donan...
When I’m 64 Tour Highlights
I shared my very first passport stamp with my mom 10 years ago. First passports. First trip outside of North America. First passport stamps. For...
All You Need to Know About Visiting Alesund
Here's the thing you need to know about Norway: no matter where you go in the country, you are pretty much guaranteed to find something awesome....
The Shortest Yet Most Epic Road Trip Ever
The tunes were blasting from my iPhone (because no radio station would come in). The windows were wound down (though I was bundled up...
Adventures in the Pyrenees
In some ways, I'm actually a pretty terrible traveler. Traveling on and off for years, I've become complacent about certain things. Sure, I've learned...
Going Back in Time in Grip
I'll be perfectly honest with you: I had never heard of Grip before seeing it on the itinerary for my trip to Norway. I...
Visiting the Alhambra in Spain: What It’s Really Like!
As soon as I started telling people I was going to Spain for the first time, I began getting an outpouring of suggestions about...
