Spring in Sarajevo is dreary and unbearably cold (at least when we visited in May). The city greeted us with billowing clouds ascending the surrounding mountains, and a layer of consistent drizzle pattering to the ground. It felt as if the city was in mourning. With a weather forecast with a high of 6 degrees C (42 F) confining us inside, it was the perfect day to delve deep into Bosnia's troubled past. We trudged through the street puddles to the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide. The museum depicts crimes during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Bosnian Serbs started an uprising with support from the Serbian government to secure the ethnic Serb territory within the region. The war is most known for the mass genocide and ethnic cleansing that took place during the time. Images and artefacts from victims were on display with anecdotes recounting their experiences of capture, abuse, rape, to...
What I planned to be a relaxing reintroduction into the travel life bopping around a couple of Australian cities turned into a jam-packed Australian adventure (much to my delight!). Here are a few highlights of my two weeks between Melbourne, Warrnambool and Sydney. Long drives through the Australian countryside. Imagine the eastern United States 50 years ago. The ranch style brick houses and crops stretching to the horizon bring me back to a period well before my existence but somehow eternally romanticized in my mind. I feel like I should be wearing overalls or country dresses and running through the eternal rows of corn and grabbing milkshakes at the soda fountain on Friday nights. Towns are simply sparse and people are few and far between. The funkily grungy side of Melbourne. It's full of artists, hipsters and culture. One of my favorite places was a gourmet style soup kitchen called Lentils Anything where you take your fill and pay what you feel like at the end. The experienc...
I can't believe I went 19 years of my life without tasting a single drop of coffee. "Disgusting!" was my sentiment. Then, I suddenly went from coffeephobe to coffee snob in what seemed like overnight. This is a chronicle of my dramatic turnaround and time spent in two of the most respected coffee cities in the world. I LOVE coffee, and Seattle is my favorite city in the United States. See a connection? I know, it's obvious, but we are talking pre-coffee snob era Ember. My love for the Emerald City extends far deeper than the mere jumble of coffee joints on every street corner and caffeine-loaded locals. The gorgeous scenery, colonial houses, better-than-Photoshop green grass and quaint neighborhoods are what did me in. But I'm not here to gaze on Seattle's beauty, I want to talk about coffee! During my ten months as a Seattleite, I became hooked on white mochas...that is with half a shot of espresso. Call me weaksauce, but you could spot me every morning wor...