• Highlights of San Antonio feature photo - River Walk
    Travel

    Highlights of San Antonio, TX | USA

    After my time in Houston and Austin, there was one more city on my Texas itinerary. Just an hour on the train from Austin, I headed to San Antonio, where the Mexican-influence on the Lone Star State was more apparent…

  • Weekend in Austin - feature photo - bat colony flying above boats and kayaks in the river at pink dusk with glass tower buildings in the background
    Travel

    Weekend in Austin, TX | USA

    The State Capitol of Texas, Austin’s tagline of sorts is “Keep Austin Weird” – same as Portland, actually? I’m not sure how this weird reputation began, but my weekend in Austin was certainly eclectic. From history museums to urban bats…

  • Highlight of Houston, TX - featured photo - downtown skyscraper skyline from Buffalo Bayou Park
    Travel

    Highlights of Houston, TX | USA

    After an early morning and a very long bus ride from New Orleans, I crossed into Texas for the next leg of my USA trip. Texas is so unfathomably huge to my British brain – it’s almost 3 times the…

  • Four Days in New Orleans feature photo - LaBranche House in French Quarter
    Travel

    Four Days in New Orleans | USA

    After a long train journey south from Memphis, following the Mississippi, I finally arrived at the mouth of the river to spend four days in New Orleans. This is a city I’d been really looking forward to on my cross-country…

  • 2 Days in Memphis - feature photo - Beale Street
    Travel

    2 Days in Memphis, TN | USA

    Continuing on my musical journey through the American South, I left the country and bluegrass refrains of Nashville behind and travelled west by bus to Memphis, home of soul, blues and rock & roll. I really did just have 2…

  • A Week in Nashville - feature photo - Broadway / Honky Tonk Highway
    Travel

    A Week in Nashville | USA

    The next few stops of my USA trip were all about exploring the legacy of American music in cities that birthed or nurtured new genres. Although I don’t listen to that much country music (but I don’t mind it), there’s…

  • Weekend in Savannah feature photo - Forsyth Park fountain
    Travel

    Weekend in Savannah, GA | USA

    In all my research of where I wanted to go on my USA trip, Charleston and Savannah seemed to go hand-in-hand. I struggled to choose just one to visit, but since they are only two hours apart by train, I…

  • Highlights of Charleston, SC - feature photo - colourful buildings, food trucks and palm trees in the sun on King Street
    Travel

    Highlights of Charleston, SC | USA

    The next couple of weeks of my USA trip would be spent exploring the American South, including taking on its brutal summer humidity. There are a lot of iconic cities in this part of the country, with some deep history…

  • The Ballantyne Hotel, Charlotte - blog feature photo
    Travel

    The Ballantyne Hotel, Charlotte | USA

    When I was younger, I played that game where you Google your own name and see what comes up. In my case, the answer was The Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Yes, a whole hotel that shares my name!…

  • 3 Day Trip to Philadelphia - feature photo - Independence Hall
    Travel

    3 Day Trip to Philadelphia | USA

    Look, I’m going to be honest. The bulk of my knowledge about the American Revolution comes from Hamilton. Although, I definitely learned a bit more in Boston since a lot of the revolution took place there! But Philadelphia is famous…