My heart races as the cab driver pulls up to the International Terminal at Madrid. I’ve been here before, but this time, it’s different. This time, I’m not hopping on a short flight to London, or heading to the States to procure my Spanish Visa. This time, I’m going back to Thailand. The longest placeContinue reading “Because Sometimes You Don’t Realize It’s Love Until It’s Gone”
Category Archives: Blog
Six Years Later: How Blogging Changed My Life
Six years ago, on a warm October night, I lay in my bed in a century-old house, tossing and turning. Work, my 30th birthday trip to Croatia and my cloudy future in Atlanta all jockeyed for space in my mind. Yet, the only thing which kept repeating were the words “fumbling, stumbling, mumbling …” asContinue reading “Six Years Later: How Blogging Changed My Life”
What is Home?
Home, by definition, is the “place where one lives.” As a former corporate-world-woman, long-term traveler, and now a serial expat, home has been many places and continues to morph into new and different places where I wake up. It was where I grew up, with my family, in the middle-class suburbs of Washington, DC. ItContinue reading “What is Home?”
Thailand: That Old, Familiar Smell
“There’s a smell,” the man seated next to me explains as we circle the airspace above Bangkok. “I can’t describe it … but … it’s this smell. It’s distinct. It’s Thailand.” I smile at him, weary from traveling for 24 hours and not looking forward to an overnight at the airport. “Ah,” I remark half-heartedly.Continue reading “Thailand: That Old, Familiar Smell”
Why I Hate Travel Quotes
Here’s the deal: I like pretty photos with inspirational photos as much as the next person. Hell, I’ve got a Pinterest board that focuses on nothing but those little gems. But — and this is a big but — those inspirational travel quotes that are circulating nonstop? Can they just stop? Before you roll yourContinue reading “Why I Hate Travel Quotes”
How I Got Fired by My Big Time New York City Book Agent
“Hi Diana,” the e-mail titled with the subject “book” read. “My name is Big Time New York City Book Agent [ed. note: obviously, this is not the person’s real name] and I am the Big Time Person at the Big Time Literary Agency [ed. note: again, obviously changing]. I love your site and believe it couldContinue reading “How I Got Fired by My Big Time New York City Book Agent”
The Truth About Riding Elephants
I watch, happy tears swelling in my eyes, as the first of two rescued ex-trekking elephants walks off of the truck, backing out slowly and cautiously placing her hind legs, one-at-a-time, on the ground. It’s pitch black, save for a few flashlights and one camera light. Around us, cicadas, frogs and crickets all compete toContinue reading “The Truth About Riding Elephants”
The Night of 10,000 Candles: Inside Pedraza’s La Noche de las Velas
The Spanish countryside unfolds before me, vibrant greens, golden hills and that blue twilight sky that forever sears itself into memory. Holding a glass of chilled white wine in my hand, I lean against the ancient stone wall of Pedraza, taking it all in. It’s July 4th, Independence Day. Only, I’m thousands of miles fromContinue reading “The Night of 10,000 Candles: Inside Pedraza’s La Noche de las Velas”
When Your Travel Plans Turn into Murphy’s Law
“If anything can go wrong — it will.” The best laid plans. Today, we’re time traveling to late January of this year. I’m in Madrid and I decide that it shall be my new home. “It’s really easy to get a student visa here,” my friend explains to me. Seeing as Spain was always topsContinue reading “When Your Travel Plans Turn into Murphy’s Law”
9 Things to Know About Expat Life
Today marks three years of life as an expat. If you asked me three years ago, when I arrived wide-eyed to Chiang Mai if I ever would have imagined being in Spain today, I would have likely looked at you and laughed … because really? That notion, then, seemed absurd. And yet … here IContinue reading “9 Things to Know About Expat Life”
D Travels 'Round 