(amster)dam good time

I can't believe I've never been to Amsterdam. 

First of all, the entire city smells like warm waffles. (and another, more controlled substance that I've grown used to in California) Secondly, it's adorable. Almost every building I saw was tilted at a frightening angle, but everyone else seemed cool with it, so I think that's just what they're like. And last, but best of all, are the people. Everywhere you look, there are very tall, friendly, happy Dutch people celebrating living in an incredibly diverse and expensive city filled with sidewalks and efficient public transport.

Even though the entire city is filled with tourists, it never feels ~touristy~ in the way many other cities in Europe do. They museums are small, but excellently set up to control crowds, and are all centrally located so it's convenient to visit them all in one day. Which we definitely did. The Van Gogh museum was a stunning testament to just how important family can be, no matter how talented an individual. The MOCA had this wild Roy Lichtenstein/Banksy exhibit that takes over every corner of a gorgeous old house (bonus points for a student discount on tickets!!). The Rijksmuseum is definitely the largest and most overwhelming museum I've ever been in, but has an unrivaled Old Masters collection that I geeked out over. Basically, 10/10 for all.

A word (or several) must be said about the food. Unsurprisingly, there is a lot of the "munchie" variety, but there is also a massive variety of ethnic cuisines to choose from, especially as you get out of tourist areas. We ate a 17 course Indonesian rijsttafel at Aneka Rasa, and lived to tell a very delicious tale. I also ate, and dripped, a lot of waffles with Nutella all over the city, and it was worth it every time.

Last but definitely most important: DO NOT WALK IN FRONT OF THE BIKES. They will not stop, not even when they run you over in the street. A child might attempt to veer off, but the adults will not even lean on their brakes. If you insist on crossing in front of them, you do so at your own risk. Personally, I like the way I look without tire tracks across my face.

x Justina


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parked on a freeway | LA Photo Diary

You've never stood still until you've sat in your car on the 101 at rush hour in LA because a semi truck has flipped off an overpass onto the freeway in front of you. That may seem very specific, but if you've been to LA, you know it's not.

Every year I go to LA this time of year, and every year it pours rain for the first day. Then the sun comes out, the crowds resume at observatory, and the almond macademia milk lattes start flowing. (Let me spare you the $6.25. They're gross.) Sallie + I always try to find new things to squeeze inbetween our tried-and-true favorites, and this week was no different. 

We hit up The Last Bookstore for some literary enlightenment (and solid photo opportunities, if we're being honest). Let me disclaim that while this is most definitely a bookstore, it is primarily a hipster tourist trap, and is filled to the brim with vageuly 20-something year old people discussing ~philosophy~. There are also people everywhere with cameras who will probably take your picture without asking, and a couple of decent books. 

The Grand Central Market is a short walk from the bookstore, and is peak LA. Filled with every kind of food you could possibly want to try (and some you might not), each stand is topped with a massive neon sign. There's vegan japanese ramen, authentic german currywurst, and the aforementioned almond macademia latte's. There's also outdoor seating that's perfect for enjoying the food, petting dogs, and eaves dropping on people who work in ~the industry~. 

Right across the street is the Angels Flight funicular - for $1, you can ride the shortest possible railway in the US. Going 300-ish feet up the side of a hill, it's more of an experience than a necessity (you can just take the stairs) but it is fun, and you're rewarded with a great view of Downtown LA. Plus, you get to use the word "funicular", and when are you going to have that opportunity again?

The next day, we got in the car and drove 4 hours to a mountain in the desert by the Mexican Border,

but that's another story. 

x Justina




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where to next?

  my new traveling sweatshirt: mnkr

I love airports. Especially empty ones, with only one or two lone people waiting for their best friend to get off a plane from somewhere far away. I like the feeling of being in a rushed limbo. In an airport, you're not quite here or there. You're just in-between.

I was raised by two people who love to travel, and have, between the two of them, been around quite a bit of the world. As a kid, I was obsessed with travel and cooking shows, and took my Rosetta Stone much more seriously than I did math. Consequentially, I speak three different languages fluently, but still can't do algebra properly. It wasn't about fun beach trips with my family either. (No, I've never been to Hawaii.) I was never taught that travel was something one did "for vacation" or "when you're older". It was more of a "go when you can, wherever you want". And so I did. I realize that to many this sounds or looks really flippant and privileged, but that's because I'm skipping over the hundreds of hours of working minimum-wage retail I put in to pay for the whole thing. It's a fun life, not an easy one.

What is easy is living in Germany for three months (I'm sure many of you remember that chapter), eating pretzels every day. Or driving to Joshua Tree in the middle of the night, and seeing the sun set over the desert. Or climbing up 10 million year old basalt rocks and nearly falling into the Irish Sea. I've run through the halls of the Met, the Albert and Victoria, and the Smithsonian's. I've been on Ferris Wheels in London, Vienna, and in two months, Las Vegas. I've gone on adventures that scared me to the bone (hello, Carrick-a-Rede) and taken the people I love to places that felt like home (high tea in a castle, anyone?). The world has so many cool things, and even though my bank account despises it, I feel obliged to see them all.

So no,
 I don't get air-sick.

x Justina

ps. ALL AIRPORTS IN THE WORLD HAVE THESE CHAIRS, RIGHT? I got really curious about where they come from. If you're interested in weird design things like I am, click here. 


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TRAVEL | it's how far up

This was maybe one of the scariest things I've ever done for a blog post, and I never saw it coming. I'm not scared of heights, so the 8k foot ascension above the Sonoran Desert on the Palm Springs Aerial Tram sounded like a great idea when they invited Sallie and I aboard. Then suddenly, I was in a glass bubble that was slowly rotating up a cable into the San Jacinto mountains, and....it was incredible. 

Somewhere along the way up, the terrain changes from dusty desert to a heavily wooded forest, closely resembling those where I live, far in the north of the state. It was an oasis unlike what you'd typically expect in a place where average temperatures can, and regularly do, reach 116 degrees fahrenheit. An alpine forest, the state park is significantly cooler than the land below it. Walking into the ground lobby, where you board your tram, and then the lodge at the top of the mountains, I almost forgot where I was. It reminded me of lodges in Europe, with their rickety wood paneling and dark restaurants. Outside, you feel like you're in a National Park ad, with the few tourists who found this gem, and the regulars who know where to locate a good hike meandering among the meticulously maintained paths. 

According to the guide, you pass through five different biomes on the way up, and it's easy to believe. The landscapes change drastically. Or maybe it just looks like that because they're getting smaller and smaller.

10/10 would recommend taking a bit of a hike up to the Tramway if you're looking for something different to do - or even just the slightest bit of a cool breeze in Southern California.

x J

ps. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway runs year round, minus holidays, and tickets can be purchased online up to 24 hours in advance. 



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into the fog | san francisco

all photos taken with Fujifilm X30

Here is the great thing about California: you are never very far from the ocean, and the cities that sit along it. I live in the North, where the Pacific gets a little dark, a little wild. If this were Game Of Thrones, it'd be wilding country. There's no place where that is better displayed than in San Francisco and the beaches surrounding it. Even when it's sunny, the fog is juuuust there on the edge waiting to literally roll over you and settle in your bones. When you get to the beaches, there's small pebbles instead of sand and the ocean is not a friendly thing to go play in, but rather a smashing reminder of exactly how small you are. It's my favorite kind of nature.

On Sunday, my family decided to take a day off, pack up, and hit the road to SF. We wandered around Chinatown, picking up lotus cakes from the Eastern Bakery, lucky cats in one of the countless tourist trap stores, and thai tea because I'm an addict. My brother got a mango-fusion-someting, and it was gross, so he wanted it noted that he does not recommend it. Then we went down to Fishermans Wharf where we got absolutely skinned for parking. Honestly, it's a car, not a small country. But the best fish and chips in the bay are down there, so ya gotta do what ya gotta do. We also stopped at the Musée Mécanique, which is basically a massive warehouse crammed full of all the old arcade and carnival machines of your dreams (and nightmares). A 113-year-old fortune telling machine told me I am great but also awful, and so to not be like that, which I appreciated. My dad got to see a warship and was really excited. Once we had been sufficiently abused by the throngs of British tourists (looking at you, dude who caught his GoPro in my hair), we went to the Marin headlands to sit in the freezing wind and wonder why on earth there were dolphins. That's right. I have no photos of this, but there were dolphins. Everyone saw them, so it wasn't something in my boba. I also climbed to the top of a massive rock edge but in every photo I look absolutely terrified in a "this is awesome but I might die" way, so I'm just gonna spare you I think.

In other exciting news: I forgot to take a jacket so I am now the proud owner of a neon pink "SAN FRANCISCO" fleece. I'm not mad about it.

x J


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