Wanderlust

It seems that nowadays everyone has been bitten by the travel bug, myself included. Granted, I was never one to travel much. The only place that I’ve ever traveled to was Lima, Peru since I have family there. I’ve been there three times and it was great, but that was it. I hadn’t traveled anywhere after that and my last trip there was over 10 years ago. When I say I haven’t traveled much, I mean it. And it’s sad to say because living in Los Angeles you’re not too far from great cities and it's close to the Mexican border. I have been to Tijuana once with my family and we just stayed for the day, but that doesn’t count. You can’t fully experience Mexican culture in TJ because they want to appeal and cater to their American clientele.  A plethora of cantinas where college kids can go party for Spring Break doesn’t sound like the true embodiment of Mexican culture. 

When I was 19, I went to San Francisco for the first time. I enjoyed my visit there but I stayed in South San Francisco – which I now know is not the same thing – and I didn’t get to learn much about the city. 21 marks the age of when you have to go to Vegas, although this trip I didn’t make for a few years. Vegas wasn't a big deal for me because you don't sightsee much - just casinos, shows and the indulgence of fine dining. Needless to say, I was still a travel novice well into my early adulthood. 

Thanks to my friend Jordana, at Secret Garden Social, and her family, I was able to experience road tripping through Arizona: driving down Route 66 and camping in the woods, which was also my first time camping. We got to see all the little towns along the road and stopped by the big ones: Flagstaff, Sedona, Jerome, Phoenix, Tempe. I can definitely say with certainty that I am familiar with the Grand Canyon state - although, ironically, we have yet to visit that landmark!

It wasn’t until a few years ago, about 3 years to be precise, that I made my way back to San Francisco and I fell in love with the city. I was able to experience it in a way that I couldn’t those many years before. It was just for a weekend but I vowed to return and it would be before more years elapsed. That same year, I visited twice more and it was then that I was mindset on moving there. San Francisco is a culinary capital and I pretty much ate my way through the many districts. The Bay is such a melting pot and you can find all kinds of restaurants situated next to each other. For example, Chinatown is nestled beside North Beach (which is like Little Italy) and that's just the beginning. Sightseeing and eating goes hand in hand for me. That's the best way to get to know a city - a country, even - and being a foodie, I guess that's a proper philosophy. I now visit  San Francisco at least three times a year while I plan my escape. At least that was until my recent trips...

Last December, my early Christmas gift to myself was a trip to the east coast. I had yet to visit and I've always wanted to have a white Christmas, but because I spend the holiday with my family, I traveled during the first week of the month. Living in LA we don't get to experience much in the form of cold weather and snow is non-existent, so upon my arrival in Boston I was in love. The winter chill was perfect - something I longed for! During my week stay, there was no snow but only flurries - yet I was okay with that. Boston's food scene was right up my alley: lots of fresh seafood, good brews on tap everywhere, North End offering all kinds of Italian delights - I couldn't stop eating. I would be eating and planning my next meal; that's how good it was. One of my favorite spots was a pub that was near our hotel: M.J. O'Connor's. Probably the best fish n chips that I've had anywhere! I also ventured out of Boston and into Cambridge and Salem. The history of these cities is just incredible. Old architecture among new facades and random cemeteries dotting little grassy patches that date back to the 19th century. Very awesome. I fell in love with the east coast, that when I returned from Boston, I planned my trip back, but this time to the Big Apple.

I must admit that I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and a lot of them take place in New York with films' opening credits showing those amazing aerial shots of Central Park. This passed July during the Independence Day holiday, I went with some friends to New York for a week. It was the first time for everyone there and seeing as how I'm always planning every trip I'm involved in, this was no exception. I booked us a cute boutique hotel on the Upper East Side that was overlooking the east river. Settling in our room, we were already in awe over the view. I had to do everything that was quintessentially "New York" while I was there, which included: get bagels for breakfast almost daily, eat at the Shake Shack and now I'm addicted and awaiting their 2016 grand opening in LA, eat at Gray's Papaya at 1 in the morning, getting some Big Gay Ice Cream in the East Village and the list continues. A lot of places that I visited were inspired by movies I'd seen or books I had read mentioning the "hot spots". I feel like I managed to see a lot of Manhattan but not nearly enough and saw even less of Brooklyn. I plan on visiting New York again early next year and venturing out into the other Burroughs. And as much as I love San Francisco, New York is rivaling my love for relocating to another big city.