Italy is made up of 20 regions total. You're likely familiar with the popular ones like Sicily and Tuscany, and maybe not as familiar with foodie-forward Piedmont and the wildly underrated Le Marche region. But, out of all 20 Italian regions, the smallest and least populated title goes to Valle d'Aosta or "Aosta Valley." So,…
One of the coolest experiences you can partake in while in Italy is going truffle hunting with dogs in Alba. Yes, you read that correctly; Italian dogs lead the way for you to find precious truffles. There are many factors that go into enhancing your experience, including but not limited to what time of year…
Piedmont is a culinary mecca of a region in Italy. Known for many local delicacies like truffle, hazelnuts, and chocolate, this northwestern Italian region proves that Italian cuisine is far beyond just pizza and pasta. In my experience from having been all over the country, Piedmont has some of the most unique dishes in Italian…
I've been all over the country of Italy, from small beach towns in Liguria to the marble mountains of Tuscany, but one small city had remained at the top of my bucket list through it all: Alba. Aside from truffle hunting with pups, I was unsure of what else I wanted to do in the…
In July 2023, I agreed to go on a mystery trip with tour group, Competitours, with a group of strangers. Yes, that's right. I agreed to travel with people I had never met before, with no idea where I was going. On the night of July 19, aka the night before my birthday, we were…
If you're looking for the party of your lifetime, look no further than the annual Barbados Food & Rum Festival. I attended the fest down on the super fun Caribbean island in 2023, and it lives up to one of the most fun weeks of my life. I learned Bajans really know how to party,…
I had wanted to visit Barbados for the longest time. I even made my mom a slideshow for her 60th birthday to present the idea of us celebrating her 60th birthday in my 60th country, which would be Barbados (but long story short, my 60th country ended up being a solo trip to Dominican Republic).…
If you're looking for an underrated European city to explore, look no further than Riga. This Baltic capital is ideal for wellness junkies, nature lovers, and history buffs alike. Best of all, the city is fairly small (the population floats around 600,000 people), so it's easily explorable in just one day. If you're short on…
Has a place ever called you? Randomly spoken to you? While I could argue that everywhere in the world has called (or will call) me at some point, Seattle takes the cake. In 2022, I dropped out of law school to be a full-time travel writer (thanks for being here!) and I kept having dreams…
A little fun fact about me: I've been to 80 countries (by the time you're reading this, probably many more), but I had never ONCE stepped foot on a cruise. For the longest time, the desire simply hadn't been there, but when I had the opportunity to travel through Alaska via Holland America Line on…
