I grew up in the suburbs of Sacramento, a city that was named the most diverse city in the United States by Time Magazine in 2002. The cookie-cutter houses are painted mostly neutral colors, with closely cropped lawns, blooming roses, minivans in the...
Drinking "fresh beer" while sitting on child-sized furniture, dodging a constant stream of motorcycle traffic, group aerobics by the lake before the sun rises: this is Hanoi.
The city in Vietnam's north is remarkably cold: in temperature, in...
Eating a steaming plate of noodles while perched on a plastic chair built for a 5-year-old, I faced a dilemma. I had four days in Hanoi, a city that was a grey and chilly as Saigon was colorful and warm—in weather, in buildings, in people. Hanoi’s...
I've learned that when a city is proclaimed as a country's cultural capital, it usually means it's cold. True to form, Hue (pronounced h-way) features gray-hued skies, a chilly wind drafting over the river and squat buildings crowding the winding...
Hoi An is one of the prettiest cities in Vietnam: recognized by UNESCO as an exceptionally well-preserved Asian trading port, the riverfront buildings are colorful and diverse examples of 19th- and 20th-century French-influenced...
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About Me
Christine Amorose Merrill
C'est Christine is my little slice of the internet to talk travel, lifestyle and twenty- and thirty-something struggles. After stints living in France, Australia and NYC and lots of (often solo!) travel around the world, I currently live in San Diego with my husband, daughter and two pugs.