RECENT ADVENTURES

Whenever I have any free time, my favorite thing to do is travel. I recently achieved my dream of visiting all seven continents! Below are notes from some of my most recent adventures:

Oahu, Hawaii

DO

1. Rent a car and drive to the North Shore. My favorite day involved getting shrimp at Giovanni’s Shrimp Trunk, watching surfers attempt the Banzai Pipeline and wandering around Kahuku Farms (don’t skip the banana bread at the cafe. It’s incredibly important.)

2. Hike mountains other than Diamond Head. Trails like the Lanikai Pillbox hike are easy to access and offer stunning, topographic views. This particular one requires good shoes but there are other mountains to climb that aren’t as strenuous. After the hike, go straight to Kailua beach for a dip.

DON’T

1. Get stuck in touristy areas like Waikiki. There are so many places in close proximity that are more charming and fun to explore.

Melbourne, Australia

DO

1. Stay in Fitzroy, Brunswick or Richmond. They’re all cool neighborhoods that are fun to explore but also convenient to the other parts of the city.

2. Prepare to eat a lot of good food and drink a lot of coffee and cocktails. Melbourne is the best city in Australia for cuisine and I always hit up Proud Mary for coffee, Lune Croissanterie for pastries and Eau De Vie for drinks. There are many more spots so reach out if you need my full Melbourne list!

DON’T

1. Forget to coordinate your visit with either the Australian Open (January) or Grand Prix (March.) Even if you aren’t a huge sports fan, the energy in the city is worth experiencing.

Sydney, Australia

DO

1. Walk the full Bondi to Coogee Beach Walk. It is the most beautiful coastal walk and allows you to explore the smaller beaches along the east coast of Sydney.

2. Take a day trip through the Northern Beaches to towns like Avalon and Palm Beach. They are where native Aussies go to relax and surf and allow you to enjoy Sydney’s beauty without being surrounded by tourists.

DON’T

1. Forget to explore the smaller areas within Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs like Paddington and Newtown. They have great little markets and cafes and the architecture is amazing.

Tulum, Mexico

DO

1. Rent a car - this allowed us to freely visit sites that were off the beaten path.

2. Visit as many cenotes as possible - they are naturally forming limestone caves with the clearest freshwater in them. I don’t dive but I had an amazing time snorkeling. Do not skip Suytun and Dos Ojos; they were the highlight of my trip.

DON’T

1. Get stung by a scorpion!!! But if you do, don’t worry. There are only a few venomous scorpions in Mexico and most just sting like a bee.

2. Eat anything that has been sitting out. Also, don’t drink anything with ice in it. Just don’t. I thought I was fine because I usually am but the last day was a different story. I will spare you the graphic details.

Ireland

DO

1. Drive along the west coast on the Wild Atlantic Way. The scenery was incredible and I loved stopping at the Cliffs of Moher.

2. Try to catch a rugby game. I went on New Year’s Eve and though I don’t follow Irish rugby, I enjoyed being surrounded by diehard local fans.

DON’T

1. Visit the Guinness Museum/Distillery/Experience. It’s not particularly educational or interesting. It’s more like a gimmicky experiential marketing campaign. To this day, I can’t recall anything special about the Guinness brewing process but I do recall being unimpressed by the waterfall which was to show that they use water to make Guinness… like, thanks.

2. Forget to bring rain/cold weather gear. Ireland is constantly overcast and chilly.

Turks and Caicos

DO

1. Try to stay on North or Middle Caicos. Most tourists stay on Providenciales because that’s where all of the resorts and stores are but we chose to stay in an Air Bnb on a separate island and it made all the difference. Middle Caicos has so many secluded beaches and caves to explore and we saw maybe 2 or 3 other tourists each day.

2. Eat at Aquatic Restaurant and Bar - the chef, Sascha, was so sweet and made the best minced lobster. She also ordered us fresh lobster tails and taught us how to cook them so that we could attempt to make them at home (they were good but hers are better.)

DON’T

1. Forget to bring cash (USD) with you, especially if you aren’t staying on Providenciales. There were very few ATMs and many places didn’t accept cards.

Colombia

DO

1. Spend at least a few days in Cartagena. The walled area in particular is so charming and polychromatic. We spent most of the day searching for paleterias and eating at La Cevicheria (you must get the lobster in coconut curry and the homemade coconut rice.)

2. Go to Medellin prepared with a plan (unlike Erin and I.) When we asked where the hotel staff recommended we visit, they suggested the subway (why), the indoor mall (WHY), and a neighborhood that was until 5 years ago, the most dangerous place in Medellin and controlled by the FARC (WHYYY). We ended up having a great time on a tour to Guatapé but mostly because our group was so chill.

DON’T

1. Not speak Spanish. I have never been to a place where so few people speak English. Even the hotel staff didn’t understand what we were saying when we said “food.”

2. Do most of what we did, which was jump in random taxis on the street, walk around at night using Google Maps to get home, book our flight out of Medellin the night before, etc. We probably could’ve avoided the undue stress by just having our act together.

Budapest, Hungary

DO

1. Go to the public bath houses (if you’re into that.) I went in winter and Szechenyi, the yellow outdoor medicinal bath was amazing. However, I bought tickets to a New Year’s Eve bath rave and turns out that it was the day before New Years Eve. I still don’t understand why but needless to say, I missed it.

2. I can’t really pick a second activity because I honestly loved everything so much. The food is delicious, the ruin pubs are cool, the history and buildings are fascinating.. It was probably the most underrated city I have every visited.

DON’T

1. Forget that Austria is really close and worth taking the the train to visit. Vienna is beautiful, especially around Christmas. I also enjoyed driving to the Slovakian border and visiting the largest cave system in Europe at Aggtelek National Park.

Bali, Indonesia

DO

1. Rent an Airbnb with a group of friends. Our villa in South Kuta was massive and super affordable. The local beach, Green Bowl, was stunning, especially at sunset, and mostly private. I think there was only one other group on the beach.

2. Motorbike around Ubud. Places like the Tegallalang rice terraces were nice but filled with tourists. The road that we took from Tegenungan waterfall to central Ubud meandered through rice fields that were way more scenic and beautiful. Don’t be afraid to get lost on a bike!

DON’T

1. Not wear a helmet on your motorbike. This should go without saying but I was ticketed for not wearing one and my friend got into an accident and was badly injured.