Enter: the 24 hour dance party that is Havana. No matter the corner I turned or the hour of day, from street-level to the rooftops, I heard music playing that made me want to break out into a poor attempt at a cha-cha. The music alternated between the Rihanna and Despacito of today, to the Cuban jazz trills of yesterday. This soundtrack still lingers in the background of every scene from my trip to Havana last December. My brother and I eeked out booking just before our count

Everything that happened before and everything that would happen after paused so I could connect the dots and see how, collectively, they all made sense. Life slows down when you’re mindful. On the third night of our trip in Morocco, and our first in Chefchaouen, we procured our first bottle of Moroccan wine, popped it open on the rooftop of our riad, waited for the sun to set, and listened for the day’s penultimate call to prayer to sing out. As if through honey, the movemen

You don't go to Helsinki to see, you go to Helsinki to do. This was a liberating revelation. Instead of ticking the boxes on seeing *this* place or *that* attraction, you're free to step in stride with the Finnish lifestyle, and do, well, just about anything you please. By all means, peruse the stalls of Old Market Hall, brewpub-hop around downtown, and take the ferry to Suomenlinna's UNESCO World Heritage Site, but to "do" Helsinki like a local? Head to Paloheina to do some

Torched. A piece to fan the flames. Let your mind wander. Let curiosity settle in. That's when the ideas will come. My recent wanderings took me to West Coast, USA. My first stop: California. My first thought: it’s dry. Undeniably, worryingly, almost alarmingly so. During my first week in San Francisco, I headed out for a run along a reservoir; or at least along where I was told to expect one. As I plodded along my route, I found myself in the midst of tall, parched, swaying

Gray. A piece inspired by the Bay of Smoke. What we lost in crossing time zones, we gained in a graduating sunrise as we entered the city of Reykjavik. Colors stretched across the sky, shifting their hue and stroke as the minutes ticked towards daybreak. Little did I know then, this cascade of color would be just my first lesson in seeing past what’s black and white. According to the Old Norse calendar, we’d arrived on the first day of summer. The city celebrated its public h

Imagine. A piece inspired by a lesser town. "It is possible," said the busker, gingerly holding onto her cello. The little girl she was speaking to approached closer. "Sometimes we are told it's not possible, but it is always possible." It is always possible. That's the way travel makes me feel, that anything you dream of is possible. Each weightless moment of wheels up signifies an escape from the conventional, and permission to use your imagination. Oslo rendered such a fee

K(no)w. A piece inspired while worlds collided. “I don’t have any answers, but I’m not looking for any. I just… have more questions,” Liz said, pausing briefly to pull from her pint. 5 and a half months since the start of her journey across Southeast Asia, we’re sitting across from one another at a cozy back table in a restaurant in San Francisco. A happy alignment of our travels had brought her back to California for a temporary reprieve, while I was wrapping up 12 days on t

Lift. A piece inspired by comfortable uncertainty. The fog settled in and nested itself along the highest peaks in the Faroe Islands. There was a stubbornness about the way it lingered, the way a tuft of cotton catches on a thorn. Cyndi suggested we wait it out, carefully eyeing the pack of hikers above us that were slowly diminishing in distinguishability with each step of their upward trek. “Eighteen,” I counted. As far as we could tell, they weren’t following the cairns la

Cairn. A piece inspired by the limitless. The Faroe Islands were everything they promised to be: untouched, untamed, unaltered, and unwavering. The vast expanses of landscape, dramatic mountains and furrowed valleys, reminded me of the simple freedom nature grants us. The journey across these wild landscapes meant trekking without a clear path to follow. It's a place without signage stating "stop here", "wrong way" or "do not enter". So, at first, there's a feeling of aimless

Witness. A piece inspired in real time. 18th September. A dreary and misty day of uncertainty in the city of Edinburgh. Looming in the unwavering fog is the duty of decision. Stickers of Yes. Placards for No. The future of Scotland rests in the hands of its registered voters - an astounding 97% of them. Would its citizens awake tomorrow to an independent Scotland? And if they did, what would this tiny, beloved (adopted) country of mine face -- economically, financially, divis

See. A piece inspired by the sea. The serenity of the morning sunrise. The listless composure of the receded bay. A lone raven takes flight and glides along the shore, while salt water thistles sway in the breeze. With the open bayside running path now ahead of me, I had finally made the time... to just be. [Oh how wild it is, to just be.] It took a cross-country flight to perceive it, but there it was, in the wee hours before the sun rose to illuminate the West Coast, waitin

Storybook. A piece inspired by Scotland. It's safe to say since my time in Scotland, I'm on a different path. Rather, I've always been on this path but now I see it differently, more clearly -- and for exactly what it is: my own. I've stumbled off of it more times than I can remember, but I've thankfully always found my way back. And I've finally discovered the tool to stay on this path, an inner compass to guide me along. One that I can use to sort out all decisions with, an

Spin. A piece inspired by it all. Do you remember when you played this game as a kid - you'd take a globe and spin it really fast, and then screech it to a halt with the tip of your finger? Ooh, where did you land this time? What storied city in Europe? What exotic country in Asia? What faraway land in Africa? Do you still play that game now? Maybe on your iPhone, or Google maps? What are we looking for when we spin the globe? An escape; a change? What happens when we land so

Stripped. A piece inspired by Stockholm. When you travel alone, you're stripped of everything familiar -- familiar faces, languages, currencies, and surroundings. In the solitude this sort of travel provides, you learn two important lessons -- who you are and if you like who you are. On my recent trip to Stockholm, I found myself standing at the threshold of a park, hesitant to enter. I knew there was no gate to open, so why not just walk in? I was struck by this hesitation b

Light. A piece inspired by Barcelona. During my recent visit to Barcelona, I was impressed by the magnitude of influence Antoni Gaudí had on the city. Gaudí was a Catalonian- born architect who lived, thrived, and died in the city of Barcelona. Love him or fear him, Gaudí's impact on Barcelona is undeniable. Parc Güell: a showcase of painstaking attention to detail, like none other. La Pedrera: a dwelling constructed by an architectural genius. Sagrada Família: a place of wor

Climb. A piece, mostly uninspired. Some of the best days are the days when we don't think about our lives at all. It's in those days that we leave ourselves open for inspiration. Clear minds ready for new thoughts and ideas, and perhaps most importantly, forgiving of expectations. I'll admit, the past couple of weeks have lacked inspiration. "But you took a totally impulsive 36 hour trip to Munich," you'll say. Meh. Munich left me... underwhelmed. Coming off absolutely fallin

Strangers. A piece inspired by the journey itself. Strangers are everywhere in a new city. The unknown faces and unknown stories of the passersby. Strangers here in Edinburgh come in all shapes and sizes. Children laughing and playing games. Couples, young and old, walking hand in hand. There's a lot of love in the city of Edinburgh, I've observed. And what more do I love, than being in the presence of love? In the brief moments we share -- the smiles exchanged or the helpful

Time. A piece inspired by London. Wandering through the streets of London, you can't help but notice the impressive presence of Time. Clocks are everywhere you turn; adorning Parliament, Westminster Abbey, countless cathedrals, and busy market squares. The chiming of Big Ben demands your attention and alerts you to the passing of the hours. The world clock paces its time from just outside this thriving city. "Stand here," the Greenwich Meridian Line suggests, "and you'll be a

A journal inspired by Europe. A piece inspired by Edinburgh. In getting to know new cities, like getting to know new people, I am intently interested to see the hidden layer beneath the surface. Don't show me your touristy shops with plastic goods; your fake facade hiding realness and depth. I want to get lost on the streets behind the fanfare. That's where the history is. Tell me the stories that happened behind the walls of these old buildings. Who lived here? Who died here