travel

TRAVEL | New Orleans, LA

in

I started a new chapter in my life recently and I'm pretty happy about what's going on lately. Solo traveled (sort of) to New Orleans, LA for the first time and experienced that side of the south. Long story short, I had so much fun and I ate & drank a lot.

Here are some highlights of the trip and misc thoughts:

  1. New Orleans "open drinking policy" blew my mind away. It's completely normal to take your drink from the bar and walk down the street.
  2. Some of the best full bodied southern food I've ever eaten. 
  3. Ended up going to a Friendsgiving with 40 other random strangers having the best time together.
  4. Pass the Pigs is probably the best time killer/group game to do virtually anywhere. Going to start bringing it everywhere I go
  5. Weather was gorgeous when I was there (70F~) but got lit up by mosquito's. That was not fun. 
  6. Took more video footage than photo's (see video above!)
  7. The jazz was more dancey and poppier which I like a lot.
  8. Ate and drank more than I should've but that's pretty normal down there, right?
  9. Happy to catch up with an old childhood friend, hang out with her fiance, and making other new friends.
  10. Chambong'ed too many rounds of champagne and bought friends their first porron to self pour wine into your mouth (they never done it before).

I made a video montage of my trip. It's nothing too special. You'll notice there's more drinking footage and my face cringing after doing a few founds of Chambong's. 

WEST COAST | CALIFORNIA - PART 2

in

The other week I went back to the west coast to visit my friends in sunny California. I normally plan places to go eat, see, and do but since I've already been here, I didn't plan anything at all. I just wanted to spend time with everyone doing absolutely whatever we wanted. No itinerary. It worked out perfectly. Everyone had their things they had to do and schedules conflicted but when all of our schedules aligned in random spurts, it was the best. I caught up with friends, made new one's, and will be coming back again. 

Here are some highlights of the trip and misc thoughts:

  1. My friend Tara is pregnant! So happy for her.
  2. I really don't like Los Angeles that much at all. After being around the nice spots - Malibu, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Ojai, etc. LA is so superficial and not my scene. 
  3. Slept behind a room hidden behind a bookshelf. It felt like a secret hidden room like you see on TV or the movies. 
  4. Never seen an orange, lime, lemon tree in my life (only in green houses) and I picked my first orange, ever. It was so good.
  5. Ojai Rancho Inn was such cool spot. Reminded me of Ace Hotel Palm Springs.
  6. Drank so much kombucha and it's really good. We specifically used it to make mimosa's and then I eventually made a beer mimosa.
  7. Watched a ton of sports which I rarely do. Lot's of football. Give me a beer or five and I'll hang around while you watch. 
  8. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa is absolutely gorgeous. From the interiors, decor, operations, food, vibe, etc was amazing. I pretty much love Ojai.
  9. Forgot how "cold" it got there at night. So used to the humidity here that night there was freezing for them. To me, I felt perfectly fine in t-shirt while they were in sweaters.
  10. I'll be traveling again soon. Creating a new Off the Record city guide, video's, and new exciting stuff to share in the future.

TRAVEL | Nashville, TN

in

Imogene + Willie

Pinewood Social 

Pinewood Social

Mas Taco's Por Favor 

Mas Taco's Por Favor

Hattie B's 1/2 bird hot

Imogene + Willie exterior

Barista Parlor

Two Son's shopping

Two Son's exterior

Two Sons interiors

Two Sons interior

Barista Parlor 

Coffee

Barista Parlor interiors

Barista Parlor parking lot

Kristina Murray

Rosewell

I never really talk about personal things that much but just wanted to say thing's have been looking up lately. Thing's are just falling into place out of nowhere and I'm pretty happy about what's going on. 

Anyways, I had to change things up a bit. I went down south to Nashville, Tennessee!

Why? Well, Nashville is literally an hour away from Chicago flying (didn't even get served a beverage), food scene is small but they're all gems, drink scene is super nutty, and my friend Mixon (we used to work together many years ago) lives there. 

What enticed me to here was that my friend Mixon offered me her place to stay instead of spending money on an airbnb. I was like "hell yeah, I'll come to Nashville." Saved me a TON of money. Since I stayed at her and boyfriend's place, I didn't want to drag them around everywhere with me. I came into this trip with a loose itinerary all listed out on foursquare and had that mentality of "I (/ we) need to hit up this spot before the day ends." At the same time, they loosely planned the must go-to places a local would do on fly around my schedule. Pretty much just did things on the fly which is honestly the way it should be when traveling. 

I had a good time down there and currently planning my next trip. Maybe a few more domestic trips or get out of the country for a bit. Not sure yet. I'm pretty stoked about what's ahead of me. 

Here are some highlights of the trip and misc thoughts:

  1. Nashville is a very small city with a lot of character. East Nashville is definitely up my alley in scene - restaurants, drinking, shops, cafe's, etc.
  2. Totally avoided Broadway entirely during my trip. It's just a nutty drinking party scene that reminded me of Wrigleyville but with bachelorette parties galore and more drunk people. I have to be in the mood to be in this kind of scene and drinking pace (which is rare). 
  3. It was HOT & HUMID. Ridiculously humid. Just constantly sweating...standing, doing nothing, even while under the shade. I don't get it. 
  4. Coffee shops in Nashville are hella cool. They're bigger, more open space, less cluttered than what I typically see here in Chicago. People are there to meet, drink coffee, converse, and then leave. No laptop squatter's. 
  5. Hattie B's Nashville Hot Chicken is seriously AMAZING. All of the ab workouts I've been working on for the past 6 months disappeared in like 15 minutes. It was hot but not making me sweaty hot like other local's said. I look at fired chicken on a whole new level now. 
  6. Mixon has this adorable kitty named Roswell who I cuddled with whenever I got a chance. Everytime I see her coming out to the living room or sun bathe on her spot, I would just pick her up and hold onto her for awhile. Not sure if the kitty hates me but I don't care, I love her. 
  7. Introduced "Mr Robot" (USA) and "Stranger Things" (Netflix) TV series to Mixon and her boyfriend. Hope they keep up with it because they're really good shows.
  8. Learned there's a huge difference from "bro country" and "real country". I don't listen to country at all but got exposed to it my entire trip. Even went to a show to see country music. Got to admit, it's pretty cool.
  9. Drank everything local and brewed in Nashville. Definitely drank a ton of IPA's and whiskey. 
  10. Nashville is a city I would definitely visit again. You can do a lot in a couple days. The vibe is relaxing during the day and a night it's entirely a different city. 

OFF THE RECORD: Portland, OR

in

Over Memorial Day I traveled to Pacific Northwest of Portland, OR. I never been there, so I got on a plane and left for a long weekend getaway for some solo travel. During my time there, I got to experience such fine foods from so many amazing restaurants, drank some incredible coffee and beer, hiked and saw what the Gorge was all about, and see what Portland was all about.

As a solo traveler, I've been diving into the unknown and getting out of my comfort zone. It's been hella daunting and exhilarating at the same time. I've been holding tight to my personal inspiration/motto to travel -  

"One new domestic, one new international"

every year and I got to go to some sweet places I've never been to. It then dawned on me that I could be doing something good about this than just sharing photos that I took.

My side project is to use my photography to make city/insider guides to the places I visit. Since every destination is always new, it naturally forces me to research and gather notes mentally and physically what to expect. On top of that, I love to eat, drink, explore the unknown, mingle with strangers, go on random excursions, make new friends, and everything else. It just made sense for me to develop my own take of city guides. Not just lists and short one liners, I'm talking about the places I've been too, why I went there, and what I thought about it, etc. Then listing out recommendations to other places in that domain (food, coffee, drink, etc). 

I had trouble thinking about the name for it but it popped in my head while I was out at an event zoning out. 

Off the Record

Off the Record: (insert city name) series would deliver more of my raw unfiltered voice of every domain - food, drink, coffee, touristy, pub trans, and misc things that stood out. Like talking in chat apps or on email, going off the record means things are said 100% undocumented. Well, I'm going to keep it documented. This could stand out from other guides because, when a reader (like you) know's nothing about that destination, this will put them you on the driver seat soaking in the authenticity of the city of how I absorbed it along with the photos I took because I've literally been there, done all of that.

Just a fun thing I wanted to do complementing my photography. This is my first guide of the series and I hope you guys enjoy it.

Click above on the photo for the guide or here.

TRAVEL | San Francisco

in

One new international, one new domestic. My travel for 2015 is done.

Every year from now, I will be going to a new city/place within the states and then one internationally by myself. As for 2016, haven't even thought about where to go yet since I always travel at the end of the year at the weirdest times. So far it's worked in my favor since it's always off season travel. 

Anyways, solo travel is the best. What I mean is that there's nothing holding you back from doing what you want to do. You can absolutely do whatever you want at your own speed and be selfish in the best way possible because there's there's no one else with you holding you back. Every trip I got lost, I spent too much money, ate more food than usual, met random strangers who are now my friends, and then coming back home with memories of the good and bad times of it all.

San Francisco was my new domestic and for the days I was there, I had such a good time. Even though I didn't get to do my major culinary experience, I ran around with my good friend Alyse who I met many years ago back at school. The funny thing is that when we met up again, we connected so seamlessly. It felt really good to be around her in a city I had  minimal knowledge about. I basically ran around with her every night getting lost and enjoying ourselves at bars, dinners with friends. This honestly explains why I didn't take so many photos. Simply just enjoying the time out with her and everyone else. Thank you Alyse (+ James).

Here are some thoughts and highlights of the trip:

  1. San Fran is one hell of a pretty city. It's filled with beautiful people and they're all SO NICE, almost too nice. It's just stupid expensive on all areas from food, drink, and LIVING.
  2. My list was filled with trendy bars and restaurants. They all didn't open till 4:30/5/or 6PM! Alyse told me everyone likes to be outside on the west coast (which makes sense) and that's why things don't open earlier. 
  3. Zeitgeist was the best beer garden in the city. The guys looked like they were from 'Sons of Anarchy' but they were so nice to me giving me free beer and talking about whatever life story they wanted with the other bar people.
  4. Hot Toddy's were abundant when I was roaming my culinary list. It was kind of chilly but it was warm for me. Mmm Hot Toddy's.
  5. The most I spent on a brunch by myself was $72 including tip. Was it worth it? Yes. Does my wallet hate me? HELL YES. Thank you Foreign Cinema. 
  6. I swear, everyone uses Uber more than Lyft in SF. I'm a Lyft fan to be honest but everyone took those methods of transportation everywhere.
  7. Met up with my old coworker Tina and her husband at Brass Tacks - also met the bartender and a few others around me before I headed off to Oakland. This is one of those spots that is cozy enough which a cool social vibe. 
  8. SantaCon happened the same weekend I was there and it was a complete shit show. 
  9. My friend Tracy was there the same weekend I was there doing a photo shoot and it was good to meet up with her. I met her back in June when I went to Los Angeles/Malibu/Ventura/Santa Barbara.
  10. Alyse made my SF weekend perfect. From the east coast, now living in the west coast. I'm glad she hasn't changed a single bit. Thank you for everything and I'll be coming back soon. 

FAVORITES LIST

  1. BRUNCH: Foreign Cinema
  2. BRUNCH (runner up): Bar Tartine
  3. DINNER: The Progress
  4. DINNER (running up): Tacolicious
  5. BAR: Zeigeist 
  6. BAR (runner up): Brass Tacks
  7. CAFÉ: Ritual Coffee Roasters
  8. CAFÉ (runner up): Four Barrel Coffee

TRAVEL | Montréal

in

I want to write so much about my trip but I hope the pictures can show you everything (at least a good chunk of it) that I've done in Montréal. Ever since I got back, everyone has been asking "why did you choose Montréal?" like as if I was crazy. Honestly, it was a risk deciding my vacation on "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" but between Portland, Oregon OR Austin, Texas OR Montréal, Québec I'm so glad it landed on the city I wanted to go to the most. Life is precious, do things you never think you would be doing and it could be the best thing you've done.

Now that I'm back on the grind of things, looking back at my trip I really had such a good time. I came in knowing absolutely zero people and came home with a lot of new friends from various industries and personalities. I loved the city so much I've decided I'll be coming back next year.

Here some thoughts and highlights of the trip:

  1. Every day was a new adventure. No one with me. By myself. Being super selfish about everything in the the most enjoyable way possible doing absolutely whatever I wanted.
  2. I barely did any touristy things but had an extensive list of nitty gritty things locals would do. Some locals saw my list and were amazed by how much I've done in 5 days which some haven't even done in a years time. 
  3. Montréal people are just as nice as Chicagoans. All friendly and welcoming. So attractive too.
  4. Food and drinks are way more exotic, fresh, and so unique compared to Chicago. The cuisine all over was so different. Didn't even see a single burger or fries anywhere. It's safe to say in Chicago we've mastered the gastropub cuisine and I'm in love with more fresh foods and seafood.
  5. My Airbnb host was so great, they came up to say hello and see how my trip was and even put me on a guest list to a DJ to see during my stay. Would definitely stay there again. 
  6. (imo) Fashion is way ahead of Chicago. More personal preference but every woman I've met and saw had an unique sense of style. Just a different look & feel of what I'm used to. All were simple and comfortable. 
  7. Kept a log of thoughts in my notepad to recall my entire vacation like food I ate, drinks I've drank, and names of people I've met. This struck some bar conversations which lead me to these side adventures. No idea what was ahead of me and just taking it as it came.
  8. Transportation is just as efficient as Chicago but I won't lie, they one up metro and bus times at much more of a consistent rate. Something always came within minutes. All the time.
  9. Met so many people, exchanged business cards and contacts, and some nights just spontaneously went on another side adventure within my own adventure. It always ended up with a lot of eating/drinking and waking up with a terrible bloated belly and a massive hangover.
  10. Montréal is absolutely a beautiful city inside and out. Canada is our neighbor and it's a mere 2 hours flight from Chicago. It's the closest European look & feel you'll get within the states.

FAVORITES LIST

Thank you all (everyone in Montréal) for making my first solo trip a good memorable one. 

TRAVEL | Montréal (preview)

in

Last Thursday I went to Montréal for the first time, ever. This was my first solo trip out of the country knowing absolutely no one, barely anything about the city, and what the hell I was doing. I did have one thing in mind and it was to take everything as it came and go along with it. That single piece of advice to myself lead me into the wildest adventures.

I rarely did anything touristy but really dove deep into the rich food & drink scene and culture of the people here. Over my time in the city, I've met some of the most interesting, welcoming, and genuine people at restaurants/bars I happened to be at. From there, every local lead me to another local spot.

I'm still in the process of picking/choosing my edited photos. Once I'm done, I'll work a gallery to share with you all.