Little Teapot Short and Stout

If your country historically has rocks and water in close proximity to each other, I will probably end up writing a post about it. Let me explain. Anywhere in the world where there are rocks and water, there will usually be deposits of clay, created by the breakdown of igneous […]

The Mist, the Cloud, the Tea, and the Sunset: The Trails of Shizhuo

The hardest part of any itinerary is usually not where to visit or when, but for how long. There are always disagreements online over how much time each place deserves, with some people claiming to have fully explored everything in one day, while others take a week. And when it’s […]

Spilling the Tea about Alishan

Victor loves coffee, and this blog is a clear testament to that. There are so many posts about coffee tours, coffee shops, coffee destinations, conversations about coffee over coffee, and even hiking through coffee plantations. Yet if you were to go through our kitchen, you’d find at most two bags […]

In the Sea of Clouds

When we travel, we usually try to avoid pre-planning everything. By rigidly scripting every activity down to the minute, you can easily deprive yourself of genuine travel experiences, instead just following the “script”.  But that doesn’t work with sunrises and sunsets, especially if you want to catch them from a […]

Hugging Trees in Alishan

Alishan was giving me a headache. Trying to fit this mountainous forest into our itinerary was a challenging task. No direct trains from Taipei. No direct buses. Renting a car and driving up there? Maybe. But that wasn’t ideal. The most reasonable option was to get to the city of […]

The Miracle on the Beach

By Julia / June 22, 2023

We were on one of the most beautiful beaches in Grenada, sitting on a wooden picnic bench table, listening to the rhythmic sound of waves splashing against the shore.   We were not concerned with the breathtaking view of islands in the water or the empty stretch of beautiful white sand, […]

Liming in Grenada

By Julia / June 15, 2023

“Grenada, the island in the Caribbean, not Spain,” was how I kept answering inquiries about our next trip.  The whole thing reminded me a bit of the “Georgia, the country, not the state” fiasco from a few years ago.  And still, hardly anyone knew what I was talking about.  Somehow, […]

Cruising Down the Streets of Havana

By Victor / June 9, 2023

After writing nine posts about Cuba earlier this year, we thought we were done with our stories from the island.  But to be honest, it would be unfair not to describe the most touristy thing we did while there.  Learning about the U.S.-organized invasion at the Bay of Pigs or […]

In Search of Haggis – One Day in Scotland

By Julia / June 1, 2023

All the way back in 2009, we spent one day in Scotland, and I have wanted to go back ever since.  This was an impromptu trip to the U.K. brought about by a random airline price mistake – $250 for a nonstop roundtrip from Chicago to London in the spring.  […]

All You Can Eat: The Great China Buffet

By Julia / May 18, 2023

On our first day in Beijing, we woke up at 5 am in our hotel room, jet-lagged from the long flight and starving.  I tried to fall back asleep and wake up at a more reasonable hour, but the growling from my stomach was too loud to ignore. “Do you […]

The Eighth Wonder of The World

By Julia / May 11, 2023

I was surrounded by people on all sides, pressing and pushing against me, the momentum of the crowd carrying me forward whether I wanted to or not.  I could see Victor’s head bobbing up and down ahead of me, and I tried to keep an eye on him but couldn’t […]

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