New York City

I spent fall break in New York City, and it was nothing short of incredible. Each time I visit the city (this trip marks my fifth experience in NYC), I try to discover something new, which means I don’t stick to midtown Manhattan. I’d rather spend two hours taking the subway to a different borough than simply…

How To: Be a Tourist In Europe

So you’ve decided you are going to travel to Europe this summer. Congrats! Maybe you’re not the 1%, but you’re at least part of the wealthiest 5% of Americans. You deserve to celebrate that. Here’s how. First, fly to one of Europe’s capital cities. It doesn’t really matter which one, everything in Europe is just old churches anyway.…

17 More Photos to Take While Traveling

So travel selfies aren’t your thing? Never fear, you can still take ridiculous pictures while traveling to mix up your camera roll’s neverending series of churches, museums, architecture, and food. Here’s how to get top-notch international silly photos.

Cats and La Catedral: Toledo, Spain

I’m a cat person. I’m now getting over vestiges of my childhood fear of dogs, but I’ll always be more comfortable around cats. Except for a two month stint between the death of our beloved Blackie and the adoption of playful Naomi, I’ve had cats continuously since I was four years old. The last place…

My Spanish Namesake

There I was, minding my own business (and by that I mean blatantly staring at every person walking by) while having a late lunch in Sevilla. The sun had finally descended behind the restaurant, and for the first time that day the plaza was comfortably warm instead of exhaustingly sweltering. I took a sip of…

Function + Beauty = Casa Batlló

The Sagrada Familia is Antoni Gaudí’s most famous work of architecture, but it definitely isn’t his only design that attracts tourists to Barcelona. Casa Batlló is sometimes called the “House of Bones” because of its facade, which has skeletal pillars and balconies. The green and blue tiles that cover the facade also give it an…

Picasso and Dalí

Art museums aren’t my thing. There, I said it. Both early and contemporary art make me feel unintelligent: historical art reminds me that I should know these biblical stories, and modern art seems to wave its abstract hand in front of my face and say “nananananana, you can’t get me!” European tourism is all about churches and art,…

Sagrada Familia

Barcelona’s most well-known church is the Sagrada Familia, designed by world-famous architect Antoni Gaudí. It’s still unfinished, but that doesn’t prevent it from being enormous or impressive. The facade is extraordinarily intricate; it depicts religious scenes on both the front and the back of the building with detailed carvings that fill in the space on all sides. With…