-
An Examination of Life’s Characters in Tahoe
The Setting: The liftie life in Tahoe: It’s 7:45 a.m. and the tenured lifties (people who work as lift operators at a ski resort) just lit their second bowl of the day. This time, it’s on the gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. Olympic Valley unfurls beneath the gondola, snow capped peaks and exposed boulders edging past, pristine, untouched slopes glinting in the morning light. The lifties climb on the seats, yanking open the plastic windows to let their smoke out, and pry the doors of the gondola open to dump the burnt flower into the wind. A lot of lifties don’t immediately engage with you. You…
-
Navigating Solo Dining and Solo Dates
There was nothing more peaceful than sitting down at a restaurant to finally eat after spending a day recovering from the loss of my phone and fanny pack at 6 a.m. in Barceloneta. I had used my only money (€20 under my insole) to get cash from a family friend just north of the city. And then I took a bus almost all the way back to Barceloneta for a solo date at a paella restaurant. 7 Portes graciously made space for me at a corner table, despite my missed reservation. The single portion paella I ordered was my breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the day. The silver lining of…
-
10 Things You Can’t Miss in Bologna, Italy
(From someone who lived there and went back almost solely to revisit the city’s gelaterias) 1. Outdoor movies in Piazza Maggiore in the summer It’s hot, like a nice breezy dress still sticking to your sweat drenched thigs, but by dark, the city falls into a nice dully warm night, rumbling with happy people and bikes chattering over cobblestones. That’s when you make your way to Piazza Maggiore from June through August (preferably not by car, like my parents did, resulting in a ticket) for Sotto le stelle del Cinema. I had the pleasure of seeing a silent film accompanied by an orchestra. 2. Cremeria Santo Stefano Every time I…
-
A Last Minute Drive to San Carpoforo
There are very few reasons to say no to the spontaneity of adventure. I like to think I could be ready for anything with a 15 minute notice— less if it’s just a hike, walk, run, sunset outing or something of that sort. And sometimes the best trips are the last minute ones, the “I have friends going skiing, camping, [insert outdoorsy, adventurous activity], do you want to join?” ones. When I was asked if I wanted to camp on the beach near Big Sur, I was in. My adventure buddy and I drove north, stopping through Solvang, an adult theme-park-esque town (drinks included), Morro Bay, and trusty Trader Joe’s…
