I love New Orleans. It’s my favorite city in the U.S. There was some strong competition (looking at you Charleston, SC…) but in the end, nothing can beat the Big Easy for me. There’s simply no other place like it. I love the beautiful and interesting architecture, the delicious food, and the fact that there…
Author: Shannon
Just a humble empress traveling the world.
Surfing in Waikīkī
This post is dedicated to my dad. For as long as I can remember, my father filled my head with stories of Hawai’i. He spent several years stationed at Pearl Harbor as a young naval officer and, appropriately, had the time of his life. He’d talk about days spent running road races around the island,…
Experiencing the Tölt in Iceland
Despite the sweeping natural beauty, fascinating history, and cool music scene, Iceland made it onto my childhood “Places I Want to Visit as of 2007” list for one reason only: horses. My great and unashamed love for my equine friends has been well-documented on this blog, so it should come as no surprise that even as…
California Dreaming (on a Long Layover’s Day)
Blame it on being an East Coast girl, but California has always possessed a certain mythic quality to me. The soaring redwood trees, the rocky cliffs, the glitzy Hollywood, and the scorching deserts seem to belong in the pages of an adventure novel rather than a real place. I spent two weeks in southern California…
Paradise Found
Each morning here begins the same. I wake to sunlight streaming through my bedroom window and to roosters crowing in a yard down the road. After a quick trip to the kitchen to brew a pot of instant coffee, I settle into the hammock outside and watch the dhow boats sail across the shimmering Maputo…
DC Passport Program: Navy Yard
Navy Yard can be a welcome retreat from the bustle of downtown DC. Its industrial buildings, water views, and trendy restaurants exude a cool, laid back vibe that almost feels like a different city. Navy Yard is so cool, in fact, that it recently made it on the Forbes’ list of the “coolest neighborhoods around…
DC Passport Program: Columbia Heights
Ah, summertime in Washington, D.C. The season of staffers sweating their suits off up Capitol Hill, kids playing along the Waterfront, hippies slacklining in Meridian Hill Park, and tourists buzzing along the Mall. The summer brings a certain levity to life, which is impressive given DC’s humidity. One of my favorite parts about the summer…
Staycation, All I Ever Wanted
🎶 Staycation, couldn’t get away 🎶 While I wish I could jet off every other weekend to some exciting new locale, more often than not I find myself stuck right here at home. There are a million reasons why one wouldn’t be able to take a vacation – little money, no time off from work, a fear…
How to Teach when You’re Not a Teacher
Teaching English abroad? Let me guess – you’ve never taught a classroom full of rambunctious teenagers before. Scared yet? Don’t be! When I began my assignment as a Language and Culture Assistant in Córdoba, Spain, I had virtually no teaching experience. The first few months were tough, but with some patience, humor, and the endless online…
Dear Diary… A Case for Journaling
Whether you’re just starting off your jet-setting or you’re a veteran globetrotter, you’ve probably heard this advice before: You should keep a journal! The idea of a travel journal sounds rather nice, doesn’t it? It invokes a sort of Hemingway-ian feel and before you know it, you’re envisioning yourself sitting at a quaint café, furiously scribbling…
The Empress of the Universe 