Day 1 It’s 10am and I’m standing on a bustling street looking at the sky, trying to work out if the sun looks discernibly different from usual. It doesn’t, but the fact that the sun is actually in the sky is more than enough change for me. There is a tropical atlantic breeze gently wafting hints of Cachaça and lime in my direction, and into my line of sight flies … Continue reading And She Dances on the Sand
I am currently on a Boeing 767 en route to Sao Paulo. We’re flying over Suriname or some other such paradise, and it’s night, and I can see the flashes of about 27 thunderstorms raging on underneath us. Occasionally we fly right through one and shit gets really exciting, which is just as well because, since they put all the prehistoric planes on the South American … Continue reading My Shit Storm Shitstorm
Apparently I have been nominated for a Liebster Award! The Liebster Award, for those who aren’t familiar with it, is basically an accolade that is passed from one travel blogger to another in recognition of their work, and is a way to build networks, show support, and gain exposure within the blogging community. I would like to thank Kyle and Brianna at Married with Maps for this recognition! They have a truly … Continue reading Liebster Award
Every now and then a person finds themselves roaming through southern Spain on a cloudless December day, doing nothing other than casually searching for their next Rioja and tapas fix, when they accidentally make eye contact with the horizon, which means they have to go to Africa. Accordingly, we boarded the boat in Tarifa, the small historic town in which we were doing our tapas-hunting, and a bumpy 57 minutes … Continue reading The Spontaneous Voyager’s Guide to Tangier
I’m in South Carolina, the sun is shining, and I have absolutely no commitments or plans of any kind. After a spot of musing over a nice hotel breakfast, I have come to the conclusion that today I quite fancy going to the beach. The interwebs tell me that there is a very pleasant beach at Sullivan’s Island not too far from my hotel, and this sounds to … Continue reading Road to Sullivan’s Island
I’m not a massive history buff. Ok, I’m not even a moderate history buff, but there is one particular historical period (and specific geographic location) that I’m pretty obsessed with: the first quarter of the 18th Century in the North Atlantic – The Golden Age of Piracy. I won’t lie… I’m pretty sure the fascination was sparked as a 5-year old on the Pirates of … Continue reading Plundering Charleston
New Orleans Day 3: I am never drinking again. I spent the morning reading Faulkner on my balcony and chugging coffee, because it was noon before my hangover finally dissipated sufficiently (fyi, here’s what I got up to last night) that I was able to venture out into the 30 degree heat and do some more exploring. I couldn’t start the day’s adventuring without some more classic … Continue reading NoLa SoLo
I didn’t cry at O’Hare. This airport can drive people to tears at the best of times, so you’d forgive a girl for shedding one or two as she says a final farewell to the city she’s called home for the last 55 weeks. But, as the two main men in my life dropped me at departures, I somehow managed to maintain some sort of facial … Continue reading Banter in the Big Easy
I’m nearing the end of my 54 weeks in Chicago and there’s somewhere on my Midwest Hotspots list I haven’t yet been. If i’m honest, I think I’ve been pretty good at scouting out the surrounding area. I’ve checked out multiple locations in Wisconsin, explored the tantalising Gary, Indiana not once, but twice, and been to more Chicago suburbs than you can shake a stick at. But one place managed to elude … Continue reading A Hot Second in St. Louis
If you just want to read about my recent trip to Gary, Indiana, please scroll down to Part 2. If you want to know about the origins of my pseudo-obsession with the city, please start with Part 1. If you do nothing else, please check out the galleries towards the end for some great scenes of general abandonment and dereliction. Part One: Genesis Everybody knows … Continue reading Indiana Dreaming
the lost scot 