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the world outside / outside the world My life outside America: teaching, learning, living, loving.

Touristing in Toledo and Segovia, Spain

SPAIN | Wednesday, 21 Sep 2016 | Views [544]

Spain has been a fascinating city to explore – which is good because my flight to Madrid from the US was so late that I missed my separately ticketed flight to London, much to my dismay and my wallet! This led me to have more days in and around ... Read more >

Tags: culture, madrid, segovia, spain, toledo


Tokyo's newest animal cafe - hedgehogs!

JAPAN | Saturday, 16 Apr 2016 | Views [550]

There has been a lot of interest in the newly opened hedgehog café in Tokyo. I figured while I was in the area I should see what all the fuss was about. Harry is on the second floor of Ms.Bunny, the rabbit café, in Roppongi. It is incredibly ... Read more >

Tags: animal cafe, hedgehog cafe, hedgehogs, japan, tokyo


A Raw Vegan Foodie Experience in DC!

USA | Thursday, 13 Aug 2015 | Views [460]

We all need somewhere nice to go for our birthday dinner and after hearing about a lovely 5-course prix fixe dinner that was not only vegan but raw… well, I had to check it out! Enter Elizabeth’s Gone Raw, a raw vegan foodie experience that ... Read more >

Tags: foodie, restaurant, vegan, vegetarian, washington d.c.


Let’s go to “The Beach” – at DC’s National Building Museum

USA | Friday, 24 Jul 2015 | Views [543]

This exhibit has been making the rounds on newspapers and social media. It is a completely white indoor ball pit with beach chairs and against the wall tables to buy booze and food. My inner 5-year-old was thrilled at the idea and looking at pictures ... Read more >

Tags: ball pit, beach, fun, museum, washington d.c.


Wave Gotik Treffen: Thoughts from a First Timer –

GERMANY | Thursday, 9 Jul 2015 | Views [1023]

Wave Gotik Treffen is known as the biggest gothic music festival in the world. It takes place in late May (the weekend of Pentecost, also Memorial weekend for those of us hailing from America) in Leipzig, Germany. It has an incredibly huge lineup of ... Read more >

Tags: clubbing, fashion, germany, gothic, leipzig, music festival, wave gotik treffen


Schloss Sanssouci: A Prussian Palace of Rococo Extravagance

GERMANY | Thursday, 18 Jun 2015 | Views [733]

Sanssouci Palace is a UNESCO heritage site located in Potsdam, Germany – a quick hop, skip, and jump down from Berlin. It is a sprawling park complex than one can easily find themselves lost in and spend the whole day trying to run around to see ... Read more >

Tags: berlin, germany, palace, potsdam, prussia, sanssouci


Photos: Germany

GERMANY | Thursday, 18 Jun 2015 | Photo Gallery

Photos from either Leipzig, Berlin, or Potsdam
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All the chocolate in Brussels!

BELGIUM | Saturday, 7 Feb 2015 | Views [783]

We all need some time off and after the winter I’ve had I was definitely looking for a change of scenery. I booked a trip to Paris to visit a friend of mine and thought a day stop to Brussels for some chocolate would definitely lift up my sagging ... Read more >

Tags: belgium, brussels, chocolate, tours


Photos: Paris/Brussels

FRANCE | Saturday, 7 Feb 2015 | Photo Gallery


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What I Learned From a Week's Travel in Sri Lanka –

SRI LANKA | Friday, 8 Aug 2014 | Views [4357] | Comments [2]

Let’s start with the fun location-based travel first:   Pinawalla Elephant Orphanage: There were many places that touted elephants and elephant rides. Our organizers picked the orphanage for one very specific reason –... Read more >

Tags: ancient ruins, beaches, colombo, elephants, kandy, koneswaram, polonnaruwa, sri lanka, tea, temples


Photos: Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA | Friday, 8 Aug 2014 | Photo Gallery

Sri Lanka
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D.C.'s Grand Sake Tasting Event: A Night of Fancy Booze and Great Conversations

USA | Sunday, 20 Apr 2014 | Views [1234]

April hit me like a brick of rocks and started off quite shaky. Because of that I haven’t been in the best of moods so when I was offered a spot to volunteer at the annual Taste of Japan Grand Sake Tasting event (part of the National Cherry Blossom ... Read more >

Tags: alcohol, culture, japan, sake, shochu, washington d.c.


Blue Lagoon: the Geothermal Tourist Trap

ICELAND | Friday, 18 Apr 2014 | Views [2896]

Blue Lagoon is justly famous in Iceland. It is also probably the most touristy place you will visit on your journey. Not to say it is a bad thing but just be ready for waves of people coming in on large tour buses going either to or from the airport.... Read more >

Tags: blue lagoon, geothermal, hot springs, iceland, keflavik airport, reykjavik


Jökulsárlón, the famous Glacial Lagoon

ICELAND | Thursday, 17 Apr 2014 | Views [596]

Jökulsárlón is almost at the other end of Iceland when you travel from Reykjavík. Situated at the edge of the Vatnajökull National Park on the lower east side of Iceland, it is an amazing lagoon full of powder blue glacial ... Read more >

Tags: glacial lagoon, glacier, ice, iceland, jökulsárlón


Dyrhólaey, or A Good Place to Stop on a Long Car Journey.

ICELAND | Tuesday, 25 Mar 2014 | Views [2756]

Dyrhólaey (aka black sands beach) is a remote beach near Vik, on the very bottom of Iceland about where east meets west; halfway between Reykjavik and Vatnajoekull National Park. It is quite picturesque and full of what, at first glance, seems ... Read more >

Tags: beach, black sands, dyrhólaey, iceland, on the road, vik


Beyond the Wall: An Icelandic Game of Thrones Tour

ICELAND | Saturday, 15 Mar 2014 | Views [3111]

I admit I’m not the biggest Game of Thrones fan out there. Blasphemy? Well, maybe. I read the first four of the A Song of Ice and Fire books back in the early to mid-2000’s and sort of gave up; too many characters, too many subplots, ... Read more >

Tags: akureyri, game of thrones, got, hot springs, iceland, jeep tour, mud pits, waterfall


Photos: Iceland

ICELAND | Saturday, 15 Mar 2014 | Photo Gallery

Iceland winter 2014: Akureyri, Reykjavik, Skaftafell,Vik, Dyrhólaey, Jökulsárlón, etc.
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Taking time out for theatre at the Shakespeare Theatre Company

USA | Wednesday, 26 Feb 2014 | Views [711]

Shakespeare Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest & NT Live’s Coriolanus I love theatre (when I can afford it) and recently I was lucky enough to catch two amazing shows: The Importance of Being Earnest at the Shakespeare ... Read more >

Tags: coriolanus, oscar wilde, shakespeare, shakespeare theatre company, the importance of being earnest, tom hiddleston


Traversing through Joshua Tree National Park

USA | Thursday, 2 Jan 2014 | Views [1201]

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Today I bring you a mini day-trip to California’s Joshua Tree National Park situated in the Mojave desert near Twentynine Palms. First off, as this is the high desert it will be a bit cooler than what ... Read more >

Tags: california, desert, hiking, joshua tree, national park


There and back again: a visit to Hobbiton

NEW ZEALAND | Friday, 1 Mar 2013 | Views [1157]

This journey starts with a car ride down to Matamata, where the Hobbiton movie set is located. Passing through lovely rolling hills made tan by drought and summer, spotted with sheep and cows grazing lazily in the sun, we found ourselves in a parking ... Read more >

Tags: hobbiton, matamata, new zealand, the hobbit


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