After a quick flight after dinner, Team La Distesa finally made it into Trapani, Sicily. The landing was the worst one I’ve ever experienced, but for 10 euros you can’t complain (yeah Ryanair!). We met Corrado and Valeria’s friend, Nino Barraco, a winemaker in Marsala, picked up our rental cars and off to Marsala we …
Today marks my one year abroad. Finally something that has been number one on my bucket list can be checked off. And look at me…still going strong. Would stay abroad if I really wanted to, but to be honest, some time at home will be good for my heart as well. I’m one of those …
For Easter, Giulia and Giacomo made a sign and gave Lisa and I a special present: An olive tree for us to plant at La Distesa! I felt like I would burst into tears from this. It was such a cute gesture! So the next day Valeria, Lisa, and I went out to plant the …
I’ve never really celebrated Easter aside from Easter egg hunting as a kid. My parents are buddhist so it wasn’t really a thing for us. Easter is however a big deal in Italy (big surprise). I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than lots of food (GIovanni tells me it’s the time of year when …
As I’m busy crafting new resumes and cover letters for the inevitable job search, an idea dawned on me. Many of you, my friends, acquaintances, or even strangers have told me in some form or another, “Wow you are so brave to quit your job.” For the sake of keeping a simple conversation flowing, I usually try to …
It wasn’t a big surprise when I failed to be granted an audience with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Since he didn’t have any public teachings while I was in town, I figured I wouldn’t even see him at all. Turns out the last few days I was in town, he had cancelled some events …
One of the highest items on my life list is to see the Himalayas. When I arrived to Dharamsala at 4:30 in the morning, the shaky uncomfortable 10 hour bus ride was quickly forgotten. I crammed into a cab with some new friends (there were 5 of us) and we made our way to McLeod …
Rishikesh is known as the Yoga Capital of the world, as many forms of yoga came from this area. It used to be filled with legitimate ashrams (the ones that don’t ask you to pay hundreds of dollars to get your om on) but these days, it’s heavily catered to the western yoga enthusiasts (and therefore use …
Almost needless to say, Tina and I did not enjoy our time in Delhi. It’s louder, dirtier, crazier, and sketchier than any of the other cities we visited. We tried our hardest to get in and out as fast as we could but because we couldn’t access wi-fi to arrange our next set of long-distance …
Tina and I have been fretting about what to wear to this Indian wedding of a friend of a friend of her’s. So we mostly spent our only free day in Jaipur shopping/bargaining/hunting in the markets. Tina got a whole new custom tailored outfit while I was still trying to piece together my sari. haha. …
Flew kites. Became mini-town stars. Too much time spent shopping the markets. Climbed a hillside to a temple. Found a shirtless hippie American who was about to smash a guitar. We became friends. That’s the end of my riveting time in Pushkar. No really it was a place I …
For some reason, Indians really like to take pictures with foreigners. However, they must not care about Asians because I never get asked for a photograph but mobs of people will pull Tina away from me and ask to take a photo with her. It’s really quite hilarious. It must just be a white person …
With only a month in India and anticipated Indian wedding on Jan. 19, Tina and I had a limited amount of time in Rajastan, unless we were ok with backtracking. Which, neither of us were. So we decided to start our trip in Jodhpur, a desert city southwest of Delhi and make our way east. Jodhpur is …
I love trains. I really do. Even when I end up in the wrong place. You’ve heard me talk about it before, and all I’ve ever heard about Indian trains was that no visit to India would be complete without a train experience. The image that comes to mind are the small trains with overcrowded …
You know that scene in Cinderella when goes to wake her stepsisters and they have the vaulted ceiling rooms and she has to go clear across to room to draw open the ginormous drapes covering the windows? Ok, the guys have no clue what I’m talking about but I know at Leslie knows what I’m talking about. Well …
I wasn’t really prepared for India. I don’t think you ever could be. I was told to surrender all personal space, to get used to stares, harassment, and to be more careful than ever. I was told no matter how well you plan your time in India, it never goes according to plan (but I …
Probably the best 400 baht I’ve ever spent. Also because I didn’t have to paddle most of the time. 🙂 Let me introduce Dan to you. Dan is a true blue native of Nottingham, which I found greatly entertaining when I learned this. He teaches English in Korea with Nathan and decided to make a …
Railey vs Railay, vs Rai Leh, however you spell it, just pronounce it Ray-Lay Beach. I’ve seen it spelled quite a few different ways with the phonetic translations of Thai so I’m just going to Railay. Railey and Phrang Nga Cove are only accessible by boat. The closest pier from Krabi that would take me …
Waiting around all week to help Mink at the local farmers market wasn’t so terrible considering how much I loved Pai. I was so excited I even got up before the sun came up. It was the first morning I wasn’t woken up by the quacking ducks underneath my bungalow. I later found out it …
Pai has been a magical place for me. Everyone says you have to go to Pai, and even though what was once a small dirt road mountainside town 20 years ago has now turned into a nicely paved tourist destination, there is something in the air that still gives this place a laid back feel …
It was just about as magical as it sounds. Quite possibly the best day of my life. I have definitely never experienced anything like this before but it’s an experience everyone needs to go through. To be completely honest, I’m actually shameful that I actually had to contemplate this idea. Before I came to Thailand …
I have always been a big fan of trains. There is something about riding the train that makes you feel like you are actually travelling. You can see everything that goes by you in between destinations and you feel like you’re covering more ground. When you fly you’re basically locked into an uncomfortable box with stale …
Once Nathan and I got our visas sorted, it was on to some sight seeing. We decided that Wat Pho looked interesting enough as well as Wat Aran. Probably my favorite part of this experience was catching the bus to get there. The buses sort just roll to a California stop after you wave them down. We …
It’s funny how you can build things up in your head sometime. It’s coming, it’s coming, this thing that you’ve been waiting for and as soon as it passes, whether it lasts a few hours or a few days, as soon as it’s over you either keep on truckin’ along as if nothing special has …
We stopped by this little town for some exploration, happy hour, and lunch before heading for an incredible hike to Mount Vettore. I’ve never had such a lazy morning/day before a big hike before, but there is a first time for everything. This little town was a bit strange, but cute in it’s own sunny …
