Piktocharting

1500 words and a relatively productive thesis writing sesh later, I’m rewarding myself with some Piktochart fun. And of course, I chose a topic that’s very dear to my heart. Continue reading →

Unimpressive Brussels: 1st leg of a 10-day Europe Tour from West to East

25 January We left chilly Bilbao early morning, huffing and puffing our way to San Mames to catch the first airport bus. A 40L bag sitting snugly and heavily on my back, I tried to take bigger strides to catch up with Drew. Curse these platform shoes, I thought. Weather forecasts were pointing to unfriendly … Continue reading →

Amsterdamming

12-14 December, 2014 On a trip to Paris last November to watch the BNP Paribas Tennis Tour, my friend Weng, who was then living in the north of Holland, brought me a bag of Stroopwafels: those unassuming circular cutesies with gooey caramel in the centre. Since then, Stroopwafels for me will be the saving grace … Continue reading →

Pintxos Morunos and all that jazz

Yes, that’s spelled with an x. Welcome to the Basque Country. This region is notorious for a lively gastronomic scene that is sure not to disappoint. It is especially famous for its pintxos — those little pieces of culinary delight that combine aesthetics and taste. I have been to quite a few bars around town … Continue reading →

Tenerife: Island of Eternal Spring — and rightly so!

Before you go to Tenerife, you should… (1) Learn to say: “Ich kann kein Deutsch.” You’ll know why. (2) Know that guagua means bus… not that you’ll feel like using one for getting around. They are hard to come by and go along complicated routes. Lucky me for having the great Dani to show me … Continue reading →

Taking on the Scottish Highlands: The West Highland Way

Our days in Edinburgh and Glasgow were golden. The luxurious affordances of taking leisure walks in the city, taking a great night out to party, and going to the cinema while downing litres of Dr. Pepper were strategically pursued to fill our physical and mental banks of energy. We were well aware that the culmination of … Continue reading →

A wee bit of Edinburgh & Glasgow

The perks that come with this study programme overwhelms me to this day. For one, I have always just dreamed of setting foot in Europe… I knew I had to work my ass off and practically live the hermit life to afford a roundtrip ticket, not to mention that taking even two weeks off from … Continue reading →

Paris is a woman

“Cities have sexes: London is a man, Paris a woman, and New York a well-adjusted transsexual.” – Angela Carter I started this blog to document those shenanigans and relatively eventful days but totally skipped posting something about my first ever solo trip in Paris last November. That was supposedly a monumental event worthy of several … Continue reading →

Sleepless in Wales

January and February came awash with attempts to act like a responsible adult — like getting up when I don’t feel like it, passing up online movie nights for schoolwork, and pep talking my heart throughout the day to choose nonchalance over heartache. There were good and bad days, but every waking morning felt like … Continue reading →

Alice in Narnia: The Desolation of Smaug in Oxfordshire

Making travel itineraries brings me peace. While there is no greater adventure than wandering about on a beautiful city because you had nothing planned, it would be wise for people with nothing much to spare (both in temporal and financial terms) to plan ahead. I got this notebook as a send-off gift from a good … Continue reading →