Agenda: Munich

5 Must-Dos in the German city.BY IGOR JOSIFOVIC OF HAPPY INTERIOR BLOG

FOR OUR SECOND POST in our travel series Agenda, I asked Igor Josifovic of Happy Interior Blog and Urban Jungle Bloggers for a quick Munich itinerary. Igor is an interior blogger, a seasoned traveller and a plant lover after my own heart, and he calls Munich home. There's so much more to this city besides Oktoberfest, and Igor shares some great ideas to enjoy the Bavarian capital. Cheers! - Ina

5 Must-Dos in Munich...

7 Timeless Travel Essentials

A writer/stylist on the wardrobe pieces she never travels without.BY BEVERLY DALTON

AS A TRAVELLER I pack light. Friends are always surprised when they see my luggage. “That’s all you’re bringing?!” As if it were the most absurd thing they've ever seen. Truth is, I’m not very comfortable with baggage. I don't like lugging things around, especially if they’re heavy. So each time I travel for business or go on vacation, I make sure to pack only the essentials—the exact amount of underwear, tops, or dresses. That way, I can make room for travel finds along the way. I’m the girl who finds it easy to unpack her suitcase upon arrival. And I’m also the girl who has no trouble choosing what to wear, because I’ve already sorted it out beforehand. Here are the 7 essential items on my packing list…

Agenda: Barcelona

5 Must-Dos in the Spanish City. BY BEN HOLBROOK OF DRIFTWOOD JOURNALS

HI GUYS! This is the first post in our new travel series "Agenda", where we beg some wonderful people for great suggestions and insider tips on what to do in some of our favorite cities. For Barcelona, we asked travel writer of note, Ben Holbrook, to do the honors for the city he’s called home since 2009. - Ina

5 Must-Dos in Barcelona...

Florence & Rome photo post

The David, tripa, and the Pope's digs in 27 snaps. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

THE FOLKS FROM OUR HOTELS from ten months ago have been emailing me incessantly about new room deals. Yes, I miss them too. And I can't believe it's been nearly a year since our whirlwind Euro trip. Some of it is a blur, but many things remain particularly clear. Actually, unforgettable.

After Paris and Geneva we took those crazy-fast Trenitalia trains to Italy. The moment we arrived in Florence I knew I had made the mistake of not booking more days. This small, magical city, bursting with art, where every local we met loved to say, "No problem!" And then glorious Rome with its contagious energy. I still smell the cigar smoke wafting in the cold air, I remember the sounds from the abbey outside our hotel, and the feeling of being staggered by the Vatican.

Some photos...

Two days in Geneva

Just enough time to linger in the old town and visit Bains des Paquis. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

SOMEONE ONCE TOLD ME, that if I were to visit several cities in Europe all at once, then Paris should be the last stop. Otherwise, everything after it would prove to be a disappointment. I consciously ignored that advice. Yes, Paris is unrivaled. But other European cities have their own unique character, their own something to love. Geneva has that something.

Paris in the Fall, Part 3

The city's 18th century passages and a food tour of St. Germain. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

WE  WERE IN PARIS almost five months ago, late in October. But it feels like we returned from our trip only yesterday. On our third and last day in Paris, we spent the morning wandering the city's les passage couverts (covered passages), and the afternoon eating our way through the St. Germain neighborhood---memories of which are particularly vivid. But someone forgot to tell us about this little detail about the time.

Paris in the Fall, Part 2

Marche d'Aligre, Carnavalet Museum, and a moment's longing for another life.
BY INA AMOR MEJIA

OUR SECOND DAY IN PARIS, a Sunday, began early, with a Facetime with the crazies from the other side of the world. We gave them a virtual tour of our tiny, cozy hotel room. Caroline and Jamon giggled at the painting of the naked angel that hung on the wall with the window. I was missing them so much, I tried to smell them through the iPAD. We said goodbye, I took photos of our room, and then it was time for a hotel breakfast of coffee, croissants, and soft-boiled eggs. Outside the weather was perfect. No rain in the forecast. We were heading to the market, and it was just about to open...

Paris in the Fall

Day One of our frenzied (and fantastic) Eurotrip. BY INA AMOR MEJIA

FOR MONTHS I PLANNED our trip to Europe, with nothing more than sometimes dismal wifi, Google street view, and the stories of other travelers I did not know. By some miracle, I found time to do this amidst the frenzy of my actual life, until this planning became, well, my sort of other life. Pouring over guides, and maps, and subway routes, I planned until I knew the places like the face of some beautiful stranger I had been staring at for a long time. 

Finally, after what seemed like a day of plane rides, Gabby and I arrived in Paris, our first stop in this two-week holiday. But the adventure began hours ago, late the previous night, somewhere above the Indian Ocean.

Hello again

IT  SEEMS LIKE FOREVER since my last writing here and I've missed it a lot. I mentioned my crazy schedule recently, and it's because so many things were going on at the same time the past few months, including planning for a trip to Europe that I just returned from last night, after what seemed like 25 hours, three plane rides, three airports, a long layover, and a very weary and dirty pair of Chuck Taylors. 

I am so glad to be home, and so excited to tell you the stories from Paris, Geneva, Florence and Rome. These are a few random shots from the trip. I took almost a thousand, no kidding.

Can't wait to show you more photos. Hope you're well, and thanks for reading!

How to read the world

I'M NOT THE ONE TO TELL YOU not to travel. And because she said, "We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls," I'm guessing Anais Nin isn't one to tell you either. But what if we can't travel, for whatever reason. Or what if we can't travel as far or as avidly as we'd like? British writer Ann Morgan presents the alternative: 'bookpacking'.

In her own words she told the BBC about a challenge she set for herself in 2012. It was to read a book from every country in the world in a single year. And this wasn't merely about heading to the bookstore to pick out books to read from "all 195 UN-recognised states plus former UN member Taiwan." Morgan first had to assemble a list of original works from every country, which was a massive challenge. As a remedy, she started a blog, to which the world responded, in the form of ideas and suggestions, offers to do research on Morgan's behalf, and through rare unpublished manuscripts translated in English. In one case, a writer from the young country of South Sudan, wrote a short story especially for Morgan to read. And how she read. One book 'every 1.87 days.'

I'm not sure 'bookpacking' will keep me, or you, from actual travel. But Morgan's effort is a revelation. She writes,

"In the hands of gifted writers, I discovered, bookpacking offered something a physical traveller could hope to experience only rarely: it took me inside the thoughts of individuals living far away and showed me the world through their eyes...I realised I was not an isolated person, but part of a network that stretched all over the planet...Lands that had once seemed exotic and remote became close and familiar to me --- places I could identify with. At its best, I learned, fiction makes the world real."

Here is The List by Ann Morgan, and her upcoming book. 

And thanks for reading.

Cure for the foggies

SORRY THIS IS A FEW DAYS late but we had a typhoon to contend with. I've been meaning to write about a recent, and very deliberate trip we took as a family. My uncle passed away a few weeks ago and we were all heartbroken, tired and searching for some kind of healing. We're still all of that and will be for a long time.      

We drove up to Baguio very early last weekend and I had been dreaming of this trip for weeks. I left my laptop and blackberry charger after half-heartedly charging my phone, hoping it would die midway and I could be truly off the grid.

Where is summer?

CHILDHOOD SUMMERS are the best, because they are carefree in a way like they will never be again. Growing up in Ormoc, a quiet city by the sea, summers meant endless play in my grandmother's spacious house, and in the family farm that was fifteen minutes away. It meant climbing old trees, lazy hot afternoon siestas, star gazing picnics, and swimming in the sea 'til we became like salt dolls.

Sometimes my parents would take us on the slow boat to nearby Cebu for short vacations. And then later to Manila or the foggy northern city of Baguio where city folk took refuge from the heat. Later in high school and college, summer might bring a boy, and sometimes some heartache. But it was always an adventure.
 

Whatever it brings, summer is not about when, but where or how and with whom. This year I feel blessed to be able to take the kids away from the city. Hoping they make good memories so that summer becomes eternal in their minds. And maybe I'll climb those trees again and take lots of siestas. Again. And I will swim in the sea, my old friend, if it will have me. I will swim in the sea, and the sea inside.

What are your plans this summer? I hope you have a good one, and thanks for reading.

Also, check it out. This beautiful secret (for now) beach, this perfect local summer snack, printed espadrilles, this breezy top, and the top ten free free things to do in New York.

*Photo by Ina Amor Mejia