life's adventures after graduation
72 Hours in Toronto is both enough and not enough.
It’s enough if you want a break from reality.
It’s not enough if you want to explore Toronto’s incredible culture
It’s enough for a layover to reduce the effects of jet lag
It’s not enough to experience Canada.
But it was perfect for me.
Toronto was a last minute decision (as much of a last minute decision as you can make 8 months in advance) but it was already the clear winner even before I decided on my third city.
I don’t really know what I expected with Boulder, I just know that I wanted to go. You’ve probably heard of it. It’s become famous through television shows, songs and if you know your true crime history, JonBenet Ramsey.
But Boulder is famous in its own right. It’s home to the gorgeous Boulder Flatirons (that you really get a good glimpse of if you’re travelling from Denver) and the University of Colorado, Boulder. It sits just northwest between Denver and the Rocky Mountains. And it is very, very wealthy.
I got to Boulder at 9am on a Tuesday morning, the day before I flew to Toronto. Getting there was easy, RTD run two kinds of buses – an express bus and a regular and as it is run by RTD, you can get your return ticket for only $9. The trip was about 90 minutes from Union Station to Pearl Street Mall.
If you’ve seen my Instagram, you’ll see I went on a mega trip by myself (that’s another one off the 101 in 1001 days list!). I had the pleasure of exploring some familiar cities and some new ones with friends and by myself. To say I learned a good bit would be underestimating my experience greatly. I got so much more from it than I imagined.
My first stop was, of course, San Francisco.
San Francisco has always been a deeply personal place for me. It was the backdrop of many films and books that I grew up with, it was the first stop on my first ever American tour, it’s where I lived and worked for three months, it’s where I laughed, cried, grieved, stressed and made many fantastic friends.
I think Herb Caen put it best:
“If I do go to heaven, I’m going to do what every San Franciscan does who goes to heaven. He looks around and says, ‘It ain’t bad, but it ain’t San Francisco.‘”
– (USA Today, February 16, 2001)
I’ll be doing a few posts on different parts of not just San Francisco but my full two week trip across the U.S. and Canada. Disclaimer (!!): these posts will be photo heavy but worth it.
SO, let’s get started.
It’s been a mental three weeks and I’m nowhere near done yet. I’m finding myself over tired a lot, meaning my emotions are jumping to extremes, I’m a little lightheaded and I’m struggling to fall asleep at night. It’s nothing I haven’t come across before but it seems that when I need time off the most, the stuff keeps piling on.
I’m excited though. I have another few big weeks ahead of me which I’m so looking forward to sharing.
Vienna
It was the little things in Vienna that made this trip so worthwhile. The cruising down the Danube in an electric boat, dog sitting the quietest and most placid but lovely puppy I have ever met, sitting in the garden til late with new friends, a cacophony of languages rising above our heads, sitting in Rathausplatz watching people dance, watching the world from the coffeehouses, even just watching old movies and quoting word for word all we knew by heart. It was just what I needed right then and I’m so fortunate to have had the chance.
Today’s post is more of a photo diary (with photos in no particular order to reflect my life). I spent the last five days visiting friends in Austria, taking a much needed break.
Vienna was ten times better this time around – probably because I had a friend to show me around rather than just scrambling about for myself. We had a lot of good coffee, good Aperol and plenty of indescribably great experiences (such as one time on The Danube, struggling to steer our electric boat whilst treating to the shores of the river to Beyonce). It was good. I feel rejuvinated. And most importantly, it was soul-healing.
(thank you so much, Fi and Hannes for a really incredible trip and letting me invade your home, you guys are truly the most welcoming hosts)
Ps, Fi took some of the photos on this post – I think someone should get her a camera stat. Also, a puppy.
Mackenzie Horan’s Design Darling has come back onto my radar lately. If any of you saw my tweets about wanting to raise a labrador in Nantucket, this is the site where I got the idea (except she has a Cockapoo!).
I had heard of Mackenzie a few times before from other blogs. Lots of big names tend to crop up on what I call ‘The Big Three’ (carlytheprepster.com, thelondoner.me and nursefancypants.blogspot.com – ie, the blogs that I religiously refresh). But Mackenzie’s is like looking into a portal of what perfection would be. Not necessarily all clean and colourful Nantucket vibes with the beautiful furniture and needlepoints (which are incredible ngl) but the idea of doing your own thing with someone you love and having fun whilst doing it.
I’m going to keep the text brief as the photos speak for themselves.
Myself and two of my very close friends took a trip down to Glendalough on Saturday to catch the last of the snow. Usually this place is BUZZING with tourists, buses, families, etc but the weather over the last week and a half had made the place pretty inaccessible. But no less beautiful.
It was the perfect opportunity to try out the new iPhone X’s camera (you can decide what you think from the photos).
The snow and mist made this usually familiar trail completely unrecognisable – like an Icelandic fjord or something out of Middle Earth. There was no wind but the rain got so heavy at one point that the lake burst its banks and the river became a genuine threat. But we trudged through snow, ice and rivers to see what this usually busy and lusciously green valley had to offer – and we were not disappointed!
