Walking through London

Six Months of Travels

A few days ago marked six months of international travel for me and B! Travelers often write about all of the things they’ve learned about the world in that time. We might eventually do that – though the best such post has already been written. Instead, I’m writing about all the things we’ve learned about ourselves. Directions: If we’re…

Thanksgiving Dinner in Seoul

All the Americans in Seoul

There are quite a few Americans in Seoul – though nowhere near the number of them in the European cities we’ve visited. Two nights ago, we had dinner with a few dozen of them, at a craft brewery in the outskirts of Seoul. The brewery did a Thanksgiving buffet dinner, featuring 1 glass of mulled…

Italy vs. South Korea

Today, B and I were comparing South Korea and Italy, two countries rarely placed in the same sentence. And the comparison isn’t fair, since we spent three months in many cities in Italy, and we have only seen Seoul, and over the course of a week. However, here is what we came up with. Caveat: very…

Trajan's Column

What We Saw in Rome

We were in Rome for a week and a half. Church of Jesus [Church]: This church’s most amazing element was its frescoed ceiling. The way that it was executed, it really looks like figures are climbing into and out of it. This is hands down the coolest ceiling fresco I’ve ever seen, and I think it’s…

Maiori Hike

That Time We Tried To Go To Ravello

TL:DR: we took an epic hike and lived to tell the (very long) tale. Where We Decide to Take a Little Hike The Amalfi coast is known for its hiking. Usually, people trek to the Path of the Gods, reputed to have an excellent view. However, we are marginally lazy, and I am very motion sick, so…

Cars in Rome

Surprising Things About Rome

There is a lot of trust, even for tourists. For example, at a bodega, I picked up some tomato sauce from a shelf in the shop that was far from the owner and harder to get to. The owner asked me how much it was and trusted me to give the correct amount (and translate it…

Street Art in Southern Italy

Sexism in (Southern?) Italy

Throughout our travels, I have been sensitive to how each locale treats women. When I traveled alone, it was actually less noticeable, because I was the only traveler to address. Someone may have thought that men wear the pants, but in the absence of one, here they were, addressing me. But as we travel together, it…

Brioche Gelato Sandwich

What We Ate in Salerno

Dedicato a Mio Padre: We decided to try this place based on a rave Yelp review, and we were pretty happy with it. The service was good, and it seemed like a family-run spot that had only Italians inside (though that was true for most of Salerno overall). They gave us free croquettes as an…

Di Matteo Pizza Box

What We Ate in Naples

Ciao Pizza: We were hungry at the vastly inconvenient hour of 3:30 pm. After trying several places and finding them either completely full or closing up shop until dinner, we found this place on Yelp. It had four stars, so we decided to go for it. Turns out that it was a take-out stand, of…

Salerno's Shopping Street

Surprising Things About Salerno

This town has a lot of shopping. There is a big shopping street – a bit like Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade. It’s a lot of Forever 21 clones, Pac-Sun imitations, Sephora-type stores (plus the actual Sephora), and some versions of Claire’s. One type of store they also have a lot of is pajama stores.…