I usually celebrate Mardi Gras with mass amounts of homemade crepes: Fat Tuesday is traditionally the last day to use up all your fat and sugar before Lent. The religious overtones of this day of feasting were cast aside at Sydney Mardi Gras 2011: it...
The Opera House seems to be the Eiffel Tower of Sydney: it’s the most recognized landmark in the city, the thing that you see upon arriving and think—Yes. I’m here. I got a little giddy as I spotted the trademark white, swooping arches as my plane...
The Sydney Harbour YHA is the perfect introduction to this sprawling city. I only stayed for a night, but I would have happily stayed for many more if I didn’t have a friend who offered up her room for free while she’s vacationing in Thailand for a...
Without a doubt, Tokyo is one of the most incredible cities I've ever visited--but oh man, it is overwhelming! It's a enormous, sprawling city with an eclectic mix of neighborhoods and a seemingly endless list of things to do and places to eat and...
Japan had been top of my (and my husband's) want-to-visit list for years, and I'm so glad that we were finally able to make it happen. We just got back from 10 days in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and we're already thinking about how we can finagle a trip...