Stroll and Speak | Your Guide to Mindful Travel
Wander further, connect deeper, and tell better stories
I once left for a month-long trek through the Andes, convinced my home would be fine with just a locked door and a prayer. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. I returned to a fridge that could’ve birthed a new species, a jungle of dust bunnies, and a mailbox overflowing with junk mail that could probably be […]
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I once found myself wedged between a snorer with the lung capacity of a foghorn and a toddler determined to audition for the next horror movie. Somewhere over the Atlantic, I realized that the $20 earbuds I snagged at the airport weren’t cutting it. My ears were at war, and I was losing. That’s when […]
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I once found myself in a bustling market in Marrakech, utterly convinced I was blending in with the locals. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t. My feeble attempts at haggling were met with eye rolls, and my misplaced confidence was as transparent as the plastic on a new couch. There I was, the quintessential tourist in disguise, […]
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The first time I decided to venture beyond the familiar embrace of my coastal town, I found myself face-to-face with reality’s cruel humor. My suitcase was a hodgepodge of impractical items: three novels I’d never open, a sweater too thick for the tropics, and a phone charger that didn’t match my phone. I was the […]
Continue ReadingI remember the first time I tried to navigate the minefield that is travel insurance. Picture this: a younger me, clutching a ticket to Rome and a naive belief that nothing could possibly go wrong. Cue the universe’s laughter. My trip was a masterclass in mishaps—lost luggage, a sprained ankle, and a wallet that vanished […]
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I once found myself halfway up a rocky face in the Alps, clinging to a crumbling ledge, cursing the day I thought it’d be a great idea to “live more adventurously.” The wind howled, mocking my bravado, and I realized I’d left my common sense back at base camp with my extra granola bars. It […]
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I once embarked on what I naively called a “cinematic journey” through Europe, armed with nothing but my trusty smartphone and the naive belief that my artistic vision alone would suffice. I was wrong. What I ended up with was a series of videos that looked like they were shot in the midst of a […]
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I remember the first time I tried to take a sunset photo with my smartphone. There I was, standing on the edge of the pier, balancing my phone on a precarious stack of driftwood, hoping to capture that perfect, Instagram-worthy shot. But reality hit hard when the phone toppled over, almost joining the fish in […]
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I used to be the kind of person who thought a suitcase needed to be packed like a Russian nesting doll—layers upon layers of “just in case” items. My travel prep was a comedy of errors, starring mismatched socks and an assortment of chargers for gadgets I never used. It took a grim airport experience, […]
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I once found myself at a Tuscan table, the air thick with the aroma of simmering sauces and the banter of animated Italians. My host, an old friend with a penchant for embellishment, regaled us with a tale of how Marco Polo supposedly brought pasta to Italy, a story so well-worn it could double as […]
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