All Booked Up: Stamps, Stays & Shenanigans

This is going to be a long one - so settle in with the popped corn and just let that imagination sore as I describe our incredible days in Iceland.

Viva Las Vegas: Freemont, Flamingos & Freefalling From the Sky

From Convenience Store Feasts to Sacred Peaks and Thousand Torii Dreams...

Let me just start by saying: this entire trip began with a fried chicken craving. A very specific fried chicken craving. I didn’t go to the Philippines to find myself or swim with majestic sea creatures or even chase waterfalls like TLC told me not to. No, friends. I flew across the planet because I needed to know if Jollibee—the beloved Filipino fast-food chain featuring a disturbingly joyful bee in red overalls—was worth the hype. Spoiler alert: IT WAS...shockingly, so was KFC!!!!!. But so was everything else. What started as a mission for crispy Chickenjoy spiraled into an epic journey through Cebu, El Nido, and Coron that I still daydream about—usually while eating sad, non-Jollibee chicken back home.

You know that moment when you realize your travel itinerary accidentally turned into a Grey’s Anatomy fan tour and a food crawl that left your wallet slightly offended but your taste buds eternally grateful? Yeah. That was me—jumping from Seattle’s drizzly drama to New York’s chaotic charm with nothing but a suitcase, a sense of direction courtesy of Google Maps, and an appetite big enough to rival the Empire State Building.

Surprising Su for his birthday is one of my favorite annual traditions—but this year, I decided to go big. And by big, I mean bigger-than-Cancun big. This year, we skipped the beaches and dove headfirst into the buzzing culture and adventure of Mexico City. He had no idea we were going, and pulling off this surprise was worth every second of the secret planning.

First of all, shout-out to Lima for greeting me with an airline snack that didn’t just taste like cardboard. My first meal in Lima was a celebratory ceviche at a local spot (because obviously, the first thing you do when you land in Peru is stuff your face with fish and citrus). Ceviche is essentially Peru’s national treasure, and if you don’t try it here, are you even a traveler? I was staring at the tender fish, thinking, “Wow, I’m about to enter a whole new world of food,” as if I had just stepped into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory… but with fish.

London in December is what happens when a Hallmark movie meets royalty, downs a pint, and then roams the city in a fuzzy jumper. It’s magical, chaotic, overpriced, and totally worth it. We touched down just in time for peak Christmas vibes, with twinkling lights everywhere, the scent of roasted chestnuts in the air, and the deep, spiritual calling of tea and scones echoing in the wind.

Ah, Paris. The City of Light, Love, and... Lost Wallets. Our Parisian adventure was everything you’d expect: romantic, magical, painfully chic—and slightly traumatic. But let’s rewind.

Rome isn’t just a city—it’s a drama, a romance, and a buffet rolled into one. From the second we stepped off the train, it felt like we were walking through a historical fever dream... except instead of sandals and togas, we were in sneakers and wildly underestimating how many carbs we were about to consume.