Every once in a while, it’s wise to step back and assume a bird’s eye view of one’s own life. Over the past few months, I’ve struggled with a lot of big questions: What the hell am I going to do next? What the hell have I been doing? What the hell happened to my savings account? Etc. It’s easy to get mired in the devilish details of everyday life, and to compare your success to others’. I’m the queen […]
Categories: 2014, Travel • Tags: Memories, Photography, Travel
I had one mission in Belfast, aside from getting my little cousin Rosie tipsy. It was to find Jon Snow and get married and/or pregnant. If that failed, my next target was Joffrey Baratheon. This may sound strange to those who don’t follow Game of Thrones. First, I feel bad for you. Second, it wasn’t really my idea. I was threatened at proverbial gunpoint by a gaggle of bored female relatives to find a member of the Game of Thrones […]
Categories: 2014, Belfast, Cousins, Europe, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Playtime, Travel • Tags: Belfast, Cousins, Game of Thrones, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Photography, Travel
I remember the first time I saw a photo of the Giant’s Causeway (not long ago, embarrassingly), hypnotized by the black hexagons under sherbet sunsets. “This has got to go on my bucket list! Where on earth is this place?” Ireland? Really? Well, Northern Ireland. Yes, it’s a different country, even though I never knew much about the distinction growing up. Ireland was Ireland: one island shaped like a happy ghost floating toward England (seriously, look at it). Of course now I […]
Categories: 2014, Europe, Ireland, Northern Ireland • Tags: Coast, Giant's Causeway, Ireland, Nature, Northern Ireland, Photography, Travel
I’m no stranger to Ireland. This trip was not my first nor my last. But it was my first time in Ireland as an adult, which opens the doors to the magical world of… But that didn’t impede my playtime on the farm. There were lambs to cuddle and cow pies to dodge. Despite my very Anglo-Saxon surname, I’m more Irish than anything else. My mother’s parents grew up in rural Ireland and immigrated to the United States in their early twenties, where they met […]
Categories: 2014, Europe, Ireland, Playtime, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Childhood, County Kerry, Glenbeigh, Ireland, Nature, Photography, Travel
All photos taken by Lasha Merabishvili. In late September, I joined a friend and his family for a weekend in their village outside of Gori. We took a marshrutka (a small bus or large van, usually bright yellow, which is the most common form of public transportation in Georgia) from Tbilisi to Gori, and then something that looked like a Soviet-era school bus from Gori to Satemo. I’d estimate the top speed of this second bus to have been about […]
Categories: Eurasia, Georgia, History, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Eurasia, Georgia, Photography, Travel, Wine, winemaking
Upon landing in Paris, I was immediately whisked away to moonlit Avenue des Champs-Élysées by my Parisian host. Coming from Tbilisi rather than New York, I was shocked by the grandeur, the wealth, the diversity, and the sheer number of people packing the sidewalks. It was dazzling. We chose a random restaurant with outdoor seating and ordered an icy-cold bottle of rosé. Thus began a week of culinary indulgence. Sadly, I didn’t take any food photos, because I tend to consider […]
Categories: 2013, Europe, France, Friendship, History, Paris, Travel • Tags: France, Photography, Travel, Versailles
Paris withdrawal, day 2: Symptoms are manifesting in expected and unexpected ways. Currently drinking white wine, eating Camembert cheese, and watching episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1. I suspect this has something to do with the Captain. This was my first trip to the City of Light. I had tempered expectations of Paris, based on the advice of many friends and coworkers: “Parisians are awful to anyone who doesn’t speak perfect French.” “The Eiffel Tower is nothing […]
Categories: 2013, Europe, France, Friendship, Love, Paris, Playtime, Travel • Tags: France, Paris, Photography, Travel
