The Perfect Cross-Country Road Trip (Part 2)

In my last post, I talked about the West coast portion of my dream cross-country road trip, ending with Montana, and of course, no cross-country road trip would truly be cross-country if it were limited to the West coast, so this post, we continue the road trip on the East coast!

7) North Dakota
Jk lolz. Nobody likes North Dakota. It's just South Dakota without Mt. Rushmore. Moving on.

7, for reals now) Chicago
I have only been to Chicago like three or four times, and most of the times I went, it was winter and freezing cold out, so we didn't really get out much, but the times I have gone and not been a hermit have been pretty interesting. I would definitely want to hang out at Lake Michigan and get some good deep-dish pizza (I had this once and it was delicious) while visiting Chicago.

8) Cleveland
I know, I know, what the hell's in Cleveland, right? Well, my family, for one, and my grandma is a doll, so I would want to visit her. Plus, last time I visited my family out there, we visited some Amish country and it was actually really interesting; they had these kittens running around and really good food and you got to ride in a horse and buggy sort of thing. Maybe I'll hit up some Amish country with my Grandma!

Some lovely ducks I saw on my trip to Ohio Amish country.

9) Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine
I think it would be amazing to visit any of these states in the fall, just to see all of the leaves, even though it is probably a mosquito hell. I visited Dartmouth (which is in NH) with mi amiga Sage last year, and I loved the whole old colonial thing they had goin'. I would also want to stay in a B&B in some town on the coast of Maine, because I think that would be really cute.

10) Boston
I have been to Boston a couple of times, and I absolutely love it. I love the style of all their buildings, and all the cool colleges they have there, and their food is simply *kisses hand and mwahs like an Italian*. I once ate myself into a cannoli coma in Little Italy there.

Side note: If you ever go to Boston, go to Mike's Pastry. Their cannolis are heaven rolled up in a crunchy little waffle thing.

Cannolis are love, cannolis are life.
Image Courtesy of: Oderi's Italian Bakery

11) New York City
I love New York. I love the sirens, I love the lights, I love the skyscrapers and the food and the subway and the people with all their different stories and the fifty-five gajillion languages you can hear walking down the street. Needless to say, New York would most definitely be one of the stops on my East Coast road trip.

12) Washington, D.C.
Museums, monuments, and memorials, oh my! Actually, I kind of hate all of those things, and I just wanted to make that really nice play on words while I had the chance. Anyways, D.C. is a pretty cool place. There are a lot of really cute, old neighborhoods (I love Georgetown) and hipster restaurants and what not. And, my uncles live there, so that's a plus.

DuPont Circle is the adorable D.C. neighborhood where my uncles live.
Image Courtesy of: Wikipedia

So that pretty much concludes my cross-country road trip, as anywhere below the Missouri Compromise Line is not of much interest to me (and yes, I realize that includes D.C., but it is towards to the North-ish, so I'm not counting it). Hope everyone is having a great break! Let me know what you have done/are doing!

Netherlands: The Beautiful Country

I am currently in the middle of reading John Green's The Fault in Our Stars for my English class, and right now I'm at the part where Augustus and Hazel are visiting Amsterdam, and I have to say, it sounds like a pretty cool city. I have always wanted to visit the Netherlands, with its wooden shoes, and underground-ness, and weird language and all, so this week's blog post is featuring one of my top dream travel destinations of all times: the Netherlands.

One thing I would want to do when visiting the Netherlands is visit Keukenhof, which is the world's second largest flower garden (second only to some flower garden in Dubai, and we all know Dubai is a show-off). The Dutch are well-known for their flowers, especially their tulips, so a trip to the Netherlands without flowers is no trip to the Netherlands at all! Keukenhof is home to nearly eighty acres of flowers (that's seven million flowers total!) and a seventeenth century castle, as well. I would love to visit such a gorgeous place, but I might O.D. on Zyrtec, considering I have pretty bad pollen allergies. But YOLO (if it's still cool to say that).

Doesn't it look like it could be the set
for Sleeping Beauty or something?
Image Courtesy of: World For Travel

Another thing I would want to do in the Netherlands is take a canal cruise in Amsterdam. I know this is probably on the list the most touristy, cliché things you could possibly do in the Netherlands, but I don't care; boats are cool. Taking a canal cruise would be a great way to take in all of Amsterdam's gorgeous architecture and the night lights of the city once the sun goes down. Plus, some of the cruises supposedly have really nice food, and you can't really ever go wrong with that!

A cruise boat in one of Amsterdam's canals.
Image Courtesy of: Carnival

While visiting the Netherlands, I would love to go to De Efteling, a theme park in Kaatsheuvel. Anyone who knows me really well knows that I love theme parks (minus all of the germy, whiny kids and the unbelievable number of Big Gulp cups scattered throughout the park, of course). De Efteling is kind of like Disney with a Dutch twist; it's fantasy-themed and looks like it just came out of Grimm's Fairy Tales. It has a lot of really neat-looking rides, including a water coaster, a bobsled ride (!!!), and a tow boat ride that I would definitely want to try.

The Flying Dutchman water coaster at De Efteling
Image Courtesy of: Theme Park Review

Finally, I would want to visit Oude Kerk, the oldest building in Amsterdam. Oude Kerk was (and still is) a Calvinist church in the Red Light District. Interestingly enough, its patron saint was St. Nicholas, as in Santa! But I think the most astonishing thing about this building is simply its age and history. It's crazy to think about all of the people who walked in and out of this building over the past eight hundred years, and think about who they were and what their life was like.

Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.
Image Courtesy of: Netherlands Tourism

Copenhagen: My Dream City

If you dropped me in the middle of the ocean, gave me a boat, and told me to pick a country to go live in (without regards for a language barrier or anything), I would pick Denmark. In fact, if it weren't for these things called school, parents, and money, I would be makin' my way over to Copenhagen right now.

One of the biggest reasons I want to go to Copenhagen is because it is straight up adorable. Most of the time, when I go to a city, my favorite thing to do isn't a big tourist attraction, but just to walk and look (and eat) around the city, and Copenhagen would be a great place to do so. It is home to the cutest colorful houses lined up on the Nyhavn canal and tiny little coffee shops with the weirdest names you ever did hear. Plus, Copenhagen has those really narrow European streets, which just make me really happy for some reason.

The cute buildings on the Nyhavn.
Image courtesy of: Condé Nast Traveller

Copenhagen streets
Image Courtesy of: Kevin McGrath

Another thing I would want to in Copenhagen is visit Tivoli Gardens, which is the world's second oldest amusement park and looks amazing. It has roller coasters and spinny rides and all that jazz you usually find at amusement parks, but minus the rednecks and incessant urge to bathe in hand sanitizer and add a classy old-school feel and some cool gardens.

Rides at Tivoli (I want to try those boat things!)
Image courtesy of: Wikipedia

*If you really hate politics, you might want to scroll past this next paragraph, because I am going to major rant (in a good way) on politics.*

Denmark knows what's up when it comes to politics. And so does all of Scandinavia, for that matter. They have free education (including college and graduate school), great welfare systems, and the lowest gender inequality indices in the world. In addition, Denmark also has 52-week paternal and maternal leave, more paid vacation days than any other country in the world, free health care, and free care for the elderly. They also have this thing where you get paid money just for having kids, so Danish kids don't have to end up like the 1 in 5 American kids that face hunger. As much as crap as Americans like to give the Scandinavian model, all of the Scandinavian countries rank in the top 5 happiest countries in the world (with Denmark as #1).

One thing I do have to say about Denmark is that it has a pretty weird language. According to my geography textbook, English is more closely related to Danish than to Spanish, but I'm not buying it. "Independent" in Spanish is "independiente"; in Danish, it's "uafhægig." What the hell type of word is that? I had to spend five minutes just figuring out how to type "æ"! If I am ever going to live in Denmark, I'm probably going to have to learn their language, but honestly, who even came up with this stuff?! Here is a list of more weird Danish words, for your enjoyment:

• breakfast - morgenmad
• pool - svømmevassin
• medicine - lægemiddel
• production facility of storage shelves of boxes for notebooks for the calculations of multiplication tables - multiplikationsudregningstabelshæfteopbevaringreolsproduktionsfacilitet

Copenhagen is a great city in a great country with great politics and a super weird language. I would love nothing more than to get to live in such a place one day!

Away to Taipei!

This summer, as I mentioned in my about page, I went to a nerd camp in Baltimore and made a bunch of friends from all over the world, and one of the really good friends that I made lived in Taipei. Taipei is one of the biggest cities in the world, bigger than L.A. even, but when Kavya (my friend) first told me she lived in Taipei, I thought she was referring to some little Czechoslovakian village or something. To be clear, Taipei is not a little Czechoslovakian village. It is on the island of Taiwan, which is kind of its own and country and kind of not, and also, at the same time, kind of part of China and kind of not (I'm still a little fuzzy on that part). Anyways, Kavya started telling me about Taipei, and I thought it sounded really cool, so ever since then, it's been on my "Dream Vacations" list.

For any other people out there who maybe are little bit confuzzed about
the location of Taipei.
Image Courtesy of: Hackpad

Taipei 101 is the third tallest building in the world, and (get this!) it is in Taipei and has 101 stories. So far, the tallest building I have ever been in is the Empire State Building, which is 417 feet shorter than Taipei 101. The Empire State Building was pretty dang cool; it had an awesome view and gave me that tingly-kind-of-nauseous-but-not-really feeling in my stomach just looking down from on top of it. I can only imagine what standing on Taipei 101 would be like! To make it all even better, Taipei 101 is home to a six-story mall and two observation decks with 360º panoramic views!

No... It doesn't stand out at all!
Image Courtesy of: ArchiTravel

Inside Taipei 101 Mall
Image Courtesy of: Distro Home

One thing Taipei is pretty well-known for is their night markets. Night markets are common fixtures in Taiwan where you can go to buy food, clothes, and cool but totally useless crap you don't really need (e.g. a solar-powered dancing cat toy). To be honest, just looking at pictures of the night markets, they look a little bit tacky and touristy and crowded, but I might as well go for a little while I'm there, just to see what the hype's all about. (Did I say that right?) Plus, I'll never turn down a chance to buy food! Taipei is also famous for having awesome street food (a whole separate thing from the night markets), so I'd want to try a taste of that while I'm there, as well.

Shilin Night Market, the biggest night market in Taipei.
Hopefully some of those signs say "horse," "well," "child," or "woman,"
because those are the only words I can read in Chinese!
Image Courtesy of: Taipei Hostel

Finally, every year, Taipei holds an amazing festival called the Lantern Festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Gorgeous lanterns are hung up around the Taipei Expo Park, and there are usually fireworks, too. (And who doesn't love fireworks?!) In the last few years, the Lantern Festival has added some high tech touches; they have made some really elaborate and colorful dragon lanterns and a pretty dope Snoopy one, too. I would LOVE to go to Taipei during the Chinese New Year (usually around late January/February) to be able to go to the Lantern Festival.

Sky lanterns being released at the Taiwan Lantern Festival.
I'm not too sure how safe it is to send a bunch of firey candles
into the sky, but YOGTTTLFO (You Only Go To The Taiwan
Lantern Festival Once).
Image Courtesy of: Taiwan.net

London: Just My Cup of Tea

Number four on my list of places to go before I die is possibly the most cliché travel destination of all time. London is one of the most popular international travel destinations, and I'm pretty sure that every white teenage girl ever had London on her "Places to See" list. However, cliché though it is, London is home to some awesome accents, fascinating history, adorable parks and neighborhoods, interesting attractions, and guys wearing fluffy hats.

Fluffy hat guys in London.
Image Courtesy of: London Pictures

One super touristy thing I want to do while visiting London is ride the London Eye. The London Eye is a HUGE ferris wheel in London (you've probably seen it on TV before). The ride on the ferris wheel lasts thirty minutes, which is pretty long compared to most other ferris wheels, but you won't spend the ride burning up in the sun, sitting on a seat with chewed gum stuck under it, and staring at a parking lot, like you would on many ferris wheel rides. The capsules (people carriers) of the London Eye are enclosed in glass, air-conditioned, and very The Jetsons-esque. The ferris wheel is said to offer riders the best view of London, and I believe it after seeing this beautiful panoramic shot taken on the Eye:

View from a capsule on the London Eye.
Image Courtesy of: Collection Panorama Art

Another thing I want to do in London is visit Kew Gardens. Kew Gardens is basically the mother botanical garden of all botanical gardens. It is the biggest collection of living plants in the world and is home to over 30,000 different species of plants. Kew also has one of the world's oldest greenhouses, a four-story high treetop walkway, and a handful of gorgeous, historical structures scattered throughout the 326 acre lawn. I'm not usually much of an outdoors and naturey sort of person, so to speak, but what's not to love?

Part of the treetop walkway. In the background is the Temperate House.
That thing is massive and pretty much the Taj Mahal of greenhouses.
Image Courtesy of: The Telegraph

Kew Gardens Waterlily House.
Image Courtesy of: Wikipedia

I love public transportation. It's great, not just for the means of transportation, but also for entertainment. Some of the best people watching in the world is found on public transportation, and taking a city's public transit system, though often a long and inconvenient process, is one of the best ways to really get a sense of the culture and the people of a place. My friends, Sage and Audrey, can attest to this after our adventures on CalTrain and the New York Subway. London's main public rapid transit system, like the New York City Subway or the D.C. Metro, is called the London Underground (very creative, right?) or the Tube. The Tube is the oldest underground railway in the world and was pretty much the inspiration for all other major public transportation systems today. While in London, I would definitely want to experience a trip or two on the Tube.

A train approaches a London Underground station.
Image Courtesy of: 3 Days in London

One last thing I would love to do in London is visit Notting Hill, and not just because of its role in the Julia Roberts rom-com, but also because it has to be the single most adorable neighborhood in the history of all adorable neighborhoods. The streets are lined with markets and colorful nineteenth century townhouses, and gorgeous green parks are found spread throughout the neighborhood. To me, it looks a little bit San Francisco-y. I would move in to a Notting Hill townhouse right now, if it weren't for the fact that even the smallest cost upwards of two million pounds, which is roughly 3.2 million U.S. dollars!

Don't you just want to pinch its little cheeks?
Image Courtesy of: Travel Bites Deep

The city of London might be a pretty cliché travel destination, but it certainly has a lot to offer.  London seems like a beautiful, fascinating, and enjoyable city,  and I hope that I will be able to experience the city myself.

Mumbai: Gateway of India

Last night, my mom made some really great korma for dinner, and it got me thinking about how much I love Indian food and India in general, so I decided to make the focus of this week’s blog post an Indian city. I chose Mumbai specifically because it is much safer for women to travel to than any other really big Indian cities (*cough cough* Delhi).

Like I mentioned earlier, I love Indian food. I mean, I really love Indian food. I love Indian food so much that I cannot even begin to convey my love for it through the available font sizes. “Why do I love Indian food so much?” you ask. Well, for starters, it’s delicious. Nothing makes my taste buds happier than a hot plate of coconut curry with a side of naan. Secondly, because the majority of India is Hindu, and because many Hindus are vegetarian or do not eat beef products, a lot of Indian food is vegetarian. This makes life a lot easier for me, as a vegetarian.

If I ever go to Mumbai, I really want to get a taste of their mango kulfi (an Indian frozen dessert made with mango), vada pav (fried potato burger with garlic and chiles), and poha jalebi (a type of flattened rice). I don’t think I’d be unwilling to pay a food tour either, considering my deep love for Indian food.

Mango kulfi (mangoes are really popular in India)
Image courtesy of Cakes and More!

I really want to stay in the Taj Mahal Palace (which is actually a hotel) in Mumbai, if I ever go. The Taj Mahal Palace is gorgeous, and it has a awesome location, too. It’s right up on the shore of the Arabian Sea and right next to the Gateway to India. Plus, it reminds me a little of the hotel in The Grand Budapest Hotel. However, some of the rooms at the hotel are almost $1,700 a night, so I need to start saving!

Ooooh, look how pretty! The Taj Mahal Palace is the one
on the left, by the way.
Image Courtesy of: The Leading Hotels of the World

Finally, India, not necessarily Mumbai, but India in general has a really big problem with leprosy. About 54% of all leprosy cases are in India. Leprosy is basically a condition where a bacterial infection eats away at your skin and nerves. It’s treatable, but the problem is that most people with leprosy live in leper colonies, or leprosariums, where they are socially isolated and live in poor conditions. I have a friend who volunteered in a leper colony in India, teaching and helping treat people with leprosy. She loved it, and I think it is definitely something I would be interested in doing in the future, if I ever go to India.

Residents of a leper colony in Mahabubnagar, India. 
Image Courtesy of: Global Hope India

Istanbul: Belle of the Bosphorous

Sitting in one of the drawers of my desk is a 63-item list of cities I am dying to go to. And this list is one of many. Needless to say, it was nearly impossible to pick just one city to write this post about. However, I was able to find the perfect city: one with fascinating culture, rich history, gorgeous architecture, great food and more!

*cue drumroll*

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul on map of Europe. Image courtesy of: Google Maps

Istanbul is a really neat city, because half of it technically lies in Europe, and the other half lies in Asia. This gives the city a really interesting culture, kind of a blend of European and Middle Eastern. You can shop at very chic little European boutiques or at traditional Turkish stores in the Grand Bazaar. You can visit some of the most famous mosques in the world, while just down the street is another world famous Greek Orthodox church. I love watching and learning about different customs and lifestyles, so Istanbul's unique culture is the biggest reason I want to visit.

Colored parts are districts of Istanbul. All districts of the city on the west side of the Bosphorus Strait are in Europe; all districts on the East are in Asia. Image courtesy: mapsof

I have a weird (almost) obsession with visiting churches. I don't know why; I'm not even religious, but I could spend hours in a church just looking around. Istanbul has a ton of famous churches, most of them much older than any building you'll find in the U.S. If I ever go to Istanbul, I would definitely visit the Hagia Sophia (previously an Orthodox church and mosque) and the Blue Mosque.

Interior of the Blue Mosque
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia

Exterior of the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia)
Image Courtesy of the Tesla Society

Earlier this year, I went to visit my grandparents in Cleveland, and we went to a covered market called the West Side Market. It was so cool; there were vendors selling all different types of foods and desserts. I ended up going home with 12 different flavors of cannolis, 2 bags of perogies, and a ton of kiwis.

Istanbul has something kind of like the West Side Market on steroids, called the Grand Bazaar. It is huge. It has more than 4,000 shops, and up to 400,000 people visit every day. Although I am super cheap and probably wouldn't end up buying anything, I would love to spend a day walking around the Grand Bazaar and looking at all of the cool little Turkish plates and rugs and lanterns and whatnot. Plus, with so many visitors, there would have to be some pretty great people-watching.

The Grand Bazaar
Image Courtesy of BoomsBeat

My all-time favorite thing to do on vacation is eat, and no vacation is complete without gaining a pound or two, so I will be sure to indulge in Istanbul's delicious cuisine if/when I go. Some foods I really want to try are simit (a sesame-covered ring-shaped bread somewhat like a slightly crunchy bagel), gozleme (Turkish crepes), pide (similiar to a Turkish version of pizza), and sour cherry tea (popular tea in Turkey, but not found much elsewhere).

Simit on display in Istanbul.
Image courtesy of Witt Istanbul

Istanbul is a city unlike any other, and I hope that one day I will get the opportunity to take it all in.