mexico city

October 31, 2018

La Roma is pure magic.

My memories of our four days in Roma Norte of Mexico City are a blur of warm light, overflowing greenery, show-stopping architecture and old facades, and soul-satisfying tacos. The less expected part of the experience was the altitude sickness. At 7,000 feet, it didn't take long to diagnose the nausea and sleepiness. Dropping into a Crossfit class on day one probably didn't help our cause (getting our asses kicked is an understatement...)! Only by day four — once it was time to leave, of course — did we feel fully acclimated.

The most charming breakfast spot (albeit Italian…) in the neighborhood was Panedería Rosetta. It's a tiny hole in the wall and sister to the acclaimed Rosetta. It’s also the perfect place to fuel up for a day in La Roma. We dipped in and out of nearby shops and cafes all morning, tried on the vintage shoe collection at Goodbye Folk, and filled up on el pastor tacos at El Tizoncito.

Pro tip: Before you book plane tickets, reserve a table for Pujol, Quintonil, Lardo, Contramar, or Rosetta. We were too last minute for reservations, but managed to snag seats at the bar at Lardo, located on a romantic corner of La Condesa.

Centro Historico

We had the terrible idea of trying to hit every major attraction around Zocalo square in the peak of altitude exhaustion & afternoon sun... Fueled by mole from Azul Historico, we took the Calle Madero walkway from Zocalo square to Palacio de Bellas Artes, and I'd like to say we made it to Barrio Alameda and Banco Nacional de Mexico… but at this point in the afternoon, rains rolled in and gave us an excuse to run home and collapse for a few hours.

Chapultepec CastlE

The magnificent, neoclassical Castillo de Chapultepec sits atop a hill in the middle of Mexico City. It has served as a military academy and a home for Mexico's rulers, and today houses a collection of art and history. It's a beautiful city escape.

la Condesa

Avenida Ámsterdam wraps around central Condesa, and leads you through a tree-lined walkway packed with cafes and boutiques in colorfully restored art deco buildings. I stumbled upon the El Pendulo cafe and bookstore (with a live band!) before landing in the Parque México in the middle of the district.

Coyoacán

We couldn't leave Mexico City without walking the narrow cobbled streets of Coyoacán and paying a visit to the Frida Kahlo museum. The "Blue House" where Frida and Diego Rivera resided was an absolute highlight of our trip. The striking cobalt blue walls, the stories of Frida, and the collections of art are endlessly inspiring. After our visit, we filled up on chilaquiles at the cozy Cafe Ruta de la Seda and explored the Bazar Artesanal Mexicano full of traditional crafts.

Greece, Corsica & Paris

October 28, 2018

Athens

When my dear friends and Greek-American couple Z & I decided to get married in Athens, I might have been the first person to buy a plane ticket. We planned an 11 day late summer vacation around it: 3 days in Athens, 2 days on the island of Paros, 4 days in Corsica, and 2 in Paris for good measure.

The six of us flew in on a Friday and congregated at our peaceful, sun-soaked Airbnb on the outskirts of Athens in the sleepy beachside town of Vouliagmeni, where souvlaki and the Aegean sea are a stone's throw away. We devoted day one to lounging by the riviera, but on day two we were feeling ambitious. We trekked to the Acropolis early to beat the crowds, and spent a few hours marveling at the ruins. (Pro tip: Download Rick Steves' Acropolis Audio Tour on your phone in advance. Might look silly, but there's no other thorough, inexpensive way to access the history behind what you’re looking at.)

We toured the Acropolis museum then found our way to the tiny village of Anafiotika nestled on the slope of the Acropolis hill. It's one of the oldest and most peaceful, picturesque parts of Athens, full of winding narrow alleyways, sprawling cafes, bright shutters and flowery vines wrapping around white terraces and rooftop patios. I love the history behind Anafiotika. 200 years ago, the first modern king of Greece drew carpenters and masons from the island of Anafi to help renovate Athens and his palace. They quickly built this little village next to the Acropolis and named it Anafiotika after their island, recreating their white-washed island homes in this new place. We shared plates of feta, souvlaki, kebabs, olives, and baba ganoush...

The dreamy wedding celebration kicked off at sunset on the water, and ended at sunrise (in the water). Photos will never do the night justice. These are the only ones I took all night!

Wandering up to Lykavittos for sunset our last evening in Athens — Wandering up to **Lykavittos** for sunset our last evening in Athens

Paros

After the wedding, a group of us took a 4 hour ferry ride over to the island of Paros for a "mini-moon" with Z & I. Paros has it all: petit fishing harbors, friendly white-washed villages speckled with churches, and an abundance of quiet, sandy beaches. It's idyllic. We stayed at a lovely Airbnb in Naussa for two nights. Day one, three of us spent our day munching on fresh calamari and grape leaves and exploring Golden Beach and Kolimbithres beach.

On Day two, we rented a fishing boat and captain and spent the afternoon at sea — soaking up sunshine, snorkeling and cliff-jumping off the nearby islands.

My farewell to Greece was absolutely not a forever goodbye. We ferried our sunburned, salty selves back to Athens, devouring a bowl of greek yogurt, and one last souvlaki... Until next time!

Corsica

A quick flight through Marseilles, and we found ourselves in another beachside paradise, this one more uniquely ruggedly beautiful than the last. The mountainous French island of Corsica lies in between Tuscany and Côte d'Azur (at one point we could see Sardinia from the boat). The locals are fiercely independent, and notoriously unwelcoming to visitors. I felt lucky to be with 5 of the loveliest Frenchies, staying at a friend's home nestled in the mountains (complete with a magical outdoor shower, geckos galore, and seaside vistas!).

The 4 days we spent in this undeveloped little paradise felt like the ultimate European vacation. The kind I was not so familiar with. The days started leisurely with French baguettes, biscuits, and jam. We'd eventually make our way to the boat for a snorkeling adventure, followed by an apero on the patio (i.e. an abundance of charcuterie, cheeses, rosé, and cigarettes), late dinner, and card games into the wee hours. By then, the 70% of French that I normally understood would have plummeted to something closer to 10%... Then I knew it was time for bed.

Zipping around the island by boat:

We spent our last evening in the harbour of Bonifacio, at the southern tip of the island. This was might have been the only time we actually came into contact with other people during our time in Corsica!

And reluctantly, on Sunday we all flew back to rainy Paris for a slow transition back to reality.

palm springs

April 12, 2018

korakia pensione

Palm Springs is just 2 hours from Los Angeles, but on arrival feels like an other-worldly dreamscape of palms and sunshine. We spent our visit at Korakia Pensione, in their Limnos room. The property is divided into Moroccan and Mediterranean-style restored villas. It was love at first sight, only reinforced by the afternoon mint tea service. The courtyard overflows with citrus blossoms, olive trees, oleander bushes, date palms, and bougainvillea…

The adobe-style Limnos room is the kind of space that gives you a good feeling. The earthy stone shower, white stucco walls, carved wooden mirror, Otis Redding on the record player, french doors that open to the terrace...

I could have spent the entirety of our weekend at Korakia, but we did manage to explore the rest of Palm Springs — favorites were Bootlegger Tiki for craft cocktails and Workshop Kitchen + Bar for dinner in its minimalist cement dining room.