Category Archives: Travel
Travel Tuesday: Amantaní, Peru | Destination Wedding Photographer | Travel Photography
On the boat.
Travel Tuesday for 10.1.13 : Amantani, Peru on Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake.
Traveled: June 2010, with Alex
Alex and I made our way to Peru back in 2010 after I found a KILLER airfare deal on Travelzoo and convinced Alex we really had no choice. $220 roundtrip to Lima from JFK? It was cheaper for us to go to South America than home to MSP, we really were forced to buy the tickets. 
Which is also to note, for all those curious, I travel far and frequently this is true, but I do so on the cheap. I have learned the fine art of travel hacking and if you want to travel but think you can’t afford it, we should chat. Travel is for all my friends, not just the big bank accounts.
Anyhow, on our trip we made our way through Lima, Arequipa, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and Puno as a gateway to Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is incredible, not only for the beautiful mountain scenery, but for the altitude. Be sure to give yourself time to adjust. We knew we wanted to get out on the lake, and it turned out you can grab a local boat to one of the islands, and Amantaní seemed the most off the beaten path still offering a homestay. We ended up spending the night with the boat captain’s family and had the most wonderful experience in a beautiful place. You have not seen stars and galaxies until you gaze up at the night sky in a place like this, absolutely breathtaking.
Rocky beach shores of Amantaní.
Views from our homestay.
So much corn!
This island was FULL of sheep!
Ruins atop the island.
Two local women make their way uphill.
Travel Tuesday: Tokyo, Japan! | Destination Wedding Photographer
Toyko laterns.
Travel Tuesday 9.24.13: Tokyo, Japan!
Traveled: June 2008 & September 2013 with Alex
This is going to be a short post today as I’m struggling to keep my eyes open from jet lag, but I figured it would be appropriate to post a Travel Tuesday of Japan as I just returned from a quick trip! These photos are actually from our first trip in 2008, a quick day layover on our way back from South East Asia. Japan is a fascinating place and I had a wonderful time exploring the country, as much of a whirlwind as this tour was.
More photos to come once I unpack my suitcase!
Fortunes at a local shrine.
Travel Tuesday: Vientiane, Laos | Destination Wedding Photographer
Patuxai Arch, Vientiane
Travel Tuesday for September 10th, 2013: Vientiane, Laos
Traveled in: March 2013, Solo
Vientiane is the capital of Laos and was my first stop in the country after an overnight train up from Bangkok. I think this place gets fairly bad rap from travelers, it’s no Luang Prabang, and the country certainly has far more beautiful jungle destinations to the north. That said, I enjoyed my day here. It was low key as far as South East Asian capitals go, and I ate well and saw some beautiful old temples. I’m easy to please. Laos, I hope to back someday soon!
Tuk-tuks. Colorful tri wheel motocycles taxis for public transport all over this region of Asia.
Oldest temple in Laos, Wat Si Saket
Travel…Thursday? | Burlington, Vermont | Destination Wedding Photographer
So, I know my weekly travel post is a bit late. But I have good reason! The previous week was my last in the green mountains, a place I’ve grown to love so very much. I moved back to this crazy city of Manhattan on Saturday, and as such have been in total chaos the last few days. While I’m excited to be back in the action, Vermont will always hold a special place in my heart. A lot of this past year was about as close to a study abroad as I’ve gotten in some time. Lots of adventure, new sights and sounds and experiences. And, technically, since we lived in Montpelier, Burlington was actually traveling a bit.
So, as a bon voyage from Vermont back to New York, I’ll leave you with this image from a sailing trip we took one of our last evenings in town. If you have the chance, get yourself to this place, you won’t regret it! More exciting travel photos to return next week, but for now, soak up the view.
*As a reminder, I’m still taking 2014 Vermont weddings for a reduced travel fee!
Travel Tuesday: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Travel Photography | Destination Wedding Photography
Travel Tuesday Destination for August 27th: Ho Chi Ming City (aka Saigon), Vietnam
Traveled to: June 2008 with Alex
Alex and I had the opportunity to travel up the coast of the Vietnam for about 3 weeks as our honeymoon trip back in 2008. As you may have guessed, we’re not really traditional travelers in the sense that we’re against all inclusive resorts for hundreds of reasons, and I also get ancy sitting around for too long. I like to see new and different places. And mostly, if we had the time, why would we NOT go somewhere cool? While we had several places on our shortlist, and I’m happy to say I’ve made it to all but one of them since then, we ultimately decided on Vietnam as having the most to offer where our dollar would go the furthest. While we got loads of funny looks when saying we were headed to Vietnam on a honeymoon, it turned out wonderfully. The country was incredible, and the people were some of the kindest I’ve met in my travels.
Saigon was our first stop, and holy moly, what an introduction to this country it was. The capital is one hell of a crazy place. If you are looking for peaceful relaxation, I can most definitely say you have come to the wrong spot. HCMC is a assault on the senses with colors and sounds and everything all at once. While I’m told India is worse, this city is kind of the most glorious complete and utter chaos that actually functions in a way that I will never understand. I could sit at a cafe and just watch the circus of motorbikes at an intersection all day. Crossing the street is a death defying act in that there aren’t really traffic rules (aside from honking, everyone honks always), you just kind of slowly but surely make your way across like a game of frogger. You have to trust that the motorbikes will make their way around you, so long as you don’t make any sudden movements. This daily adventure is a big part of why I loved it so much.
While exploring the city we made sure to hop on a xe om (motorbike taxi) and zoom out to Cholon, the chinatown part of Saigon and saw loads of interesting temples, markets, and shops. While the temples in places like Bangkok are a tourist mecca, HCMC isn’t quite as developed in the same way (at least not then) and we found we often had the places to ourselves. It’s here we found everything from colorful fruits to crazy dried herbs, to snakes in jars featured in the photos below.
Enjoy!
Racing past on the streets of Saigon.
Temple in Cholon.
Pink prayer ribbons at a local temple in Cholon.
Incense prayer coils at a local temple. The coil burns slowly until it reaches the prayers contained in the red ribbon at the top.
Colorful dragon fruit for sale at the market.
Why yes, those are snakes in a jars in Saigon’s Chinatown.
Motorbikes on the streets of Saigon.
Happy Travels.
Travel Tuesday: Dakar, Senegal | Travel Photography
In coming up with this week’s destination, I was having a hard time deciding where to go. I asked Alex what he thought, and he suggested Senegal. I had a hard time tracking down the photos, but was happy I did, as they’re now all backed up where I can find them! Added bonus, it was fun going through all these old travel photos. Being that as it is, please note, cameras have come a LONG way. (Along with my photography skills. ) These were taken with my very first point and shoot digital camera, WAY back in 2006.
Travel Tuesday Destination for August 20th: Dakar, Senegal
Traveled: March 2006 with Emily!
When my roommate Emily and I graduated from college way back when, we both decided that we wanted to get out and see the real world, rather then get into the “real world” that is the adult workplace. We schemed and planned and worked and made things happen in the spring of 2006. Emily had studied abroad in Senegal our junior year, so she decided to head back there first. She left first and stayed a few months, and then I headed over to meet up with her in Dakar to start our journey! In total we traveled about 4.5 months or so until July finishing our adventure in New Zealand.
This was my first time in Africa and it was a great experience, thanks to Emily’s awesome tour guide abilities and connections. While I might have been able to manage, or so I like to tell myself, having her French and Wolof skills, along with being able to meet her host family and friends made the experience all that much better. Senegal was a fascinating place, and I hope to be able to get back to this part of the world again sometime in the future. Perhaps this time with a better camera in tow.
Western most point in Dakar, and the African continent.
Boats in the harbor at Gorée Island, off the coast of Dakar.
Travel Tuesday! | Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay | Destination Wedding Photographer
Time to switch up the continents!
This week’s destination: Colonia Del Sacramento, Uruguay. Traveled: January 2012, as day trip from Buenos Aires with Alex
I hope you all have been enjoying these Tuesday posts. If you have any places you’d like to see, let me know! Alex and I visited the little town of Colonia as a day trip from Buenos Aires during our winter trip last year. We’d heard good things, and it seemed easy enough to hop on the ferry and hit up a new country for the afternoon. Colonia was lovely, though it was hot, as was everywhere in this region of the world at that time of year. It made for a great day trip, lots of little shops and cafes and pleasant little streets to walk around. It’s certainly touristy, but nice to escape the big city of Buenos Aires for a bit!
As it’s right on the water, there’s loads of sailing going on!
I have a thing for taking photos of decrepit doorways. I have no idea why.
Loved the little cobblestone streets.
Someday, I would like a bright blue door.
Travel Tuesday! Thimphu, Bhutan | Travel Photography
Prayer flags, which are seen everywhere all over the country, fly in the wind on a local bridge.
This week’s Travel Tuesday destination, as requested: Thimphu, Bhutan. Traveled in April 2013: visiting friends Emily and Matt!
While a more in depth post on Bhutan is certainly in the works, Matt put in a facebook request for a Bhutan feature on Travel Tuesday. (As a side note, if you have a place you’d like to see, let me know!)
I am incredibly fortunate to have amazing friends who happen to love travel just as much as I do. As undergrads in college, I give Emily full credit for making me realize studying abroad for a whole year was even an option to be considered. While I went to the land of sangria and tapas in Spain, Emily headed more off the beaten path to Senegal. That’s just the kind of awesome girl she is. When she and her new husband, Matt, announced they’d be moving to the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan for the year so Matt could complete his dissertation research, I wasn’t the least surprised.
Now, as you may or may not realize, Bhutan is not the easiest country to visit or to get to. It only very recently opened to tourism, and you have to pay a tax of $250 a day to visit with a hired guide. However, as Em and Matt were residents for the year, they were allotted a certain number of guest visas that allowed people to bypass the tax. As I have a tendency to visit people in far flung places, I immediately called dibs on one of these fancy visas, and they were gracious enough to let me come!
I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to visit this fascinating country, most definitely a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity.
More photos to come, but here’s a glimpse into the city of Thimphu, where I spent the majority of my time while I stayed with Emily and Matt who were working at the local university.
The town chorten. You must walk around an auspicious number of times clockwise to earn merit.
Chiles dry in the sun. The traditional Bhutanese dish Ema Datse (chiles with cheese) is incredibly spicy!
Local street, complete with a monk.
The largest Buddha in the world is being constructed high above the city.
More on the way from Bhutan in the weeks to come!
Travel Tuesday: Oregon Coast | Travel Photographer | Destination Wedding Photographer
As promised in last week’s post, every Tuesday henceforth is going to be Travel Tuesday!
Lest you all get anxious thinking I’m some sort of international travel snob, I wanted to be sure to post some domestic travel photos too. Don’t get me wrong, my passport is one of my favorite things, but the US also has some amazing destinations. My only issue is that I find it way more expensive to travel within the US then abroad.
Anyway, on to the photos!
This weeks destination: Manzanita, Oregon. Traveled in July 2013, solo.
Dunes at sunset, Manzanita, Oregon.
This past 4th of July I made a trek out to the Pacific Northwest to attend a conference in Portland, and promptly fell in love with the state of Oregon. While I was out there, I figured I might as well see some other fun places as well. While I had originally planned on wine tasting, I later decided the beach would be a better option and grabbed a rental car to drive out to the coast. I’m a girl who likes things less touristy, so decided against the popular Cannon Beach and went down the road a bit further to the teeny tiny hamlet of Manzanita. It was amazing. Exactly what the doctor ordered. A word to the wise for those who’ve never been. The beach in Oregon is decidedly NOT the beach in Thailand. While beautiful, it’s COLD. Bring warm layers, even in summer. For those curious, I stayed at the Sunset Surf, right on the water, and it was great!
An afternoon walk on the VERY windy beach.
Mountains, everywhere. Beautiful.
The clouds roll in. Atop Neakahnie Mountain.
Manzanita at sunset.
Oregon, I will be back to visit you soon!
Travel Tuesday! | Destination Wedding Photographer | Travel Photography
One of my goals has been to get more of my personal work out there, specifically my travel work. If you know me in real life, you know if you even THINK about something travel related, my face will light up and I will probably talk your ear off. I may have a problem. But it’s a good problem as far as I’m concerned, and one that’s led me to more awesomeness then I can even begin to recount.
SO. I have decided that every Tuesday around here, because coming up with creative titles wasn’t in the works this week (Sorry 12th grade AP English teacher), we’re going to have Travel Tuesday. Nothing fancy for now, but a few featured photos from a fun destination. At the very least you can count it as a distraction from weddings and elopements for a moment, at the very most, perhaps I can inspire you to just maybe click purchase on that ticket. Because, seriously, GO! You won’t ever regret it, I promise.
This week’s destination: Luang Prabang, Laos. Traveled in March 2013, solo.
I only got to spend a little over a week in Laos, and I’m already craving to return. This South East Asian country is beyond amazing. If you’re looking for a place to relax, without a timeline, where things truly do move at a slower pace, come to Laos. It’s beautiful, and as yet, still pretty undiscovered on the tourist trail, especially if you head north. Completely the opposite of the craziness you’ll find in Bangkok or Saigon.
Boats on the mighty Mekong River. I was here in March, which is especially hazy, so I didn’t get the spectacular mountain views, but I still thought it was beautiful.
Wat Xieng Thong. My favorite part of Laos was how relaxed it was. The wats in other places in Asia are a tourist circus, in Laos, I often had the whole place to almost to myself.
Rice cakes for the monks dry in the sun. Each morning before dawn, the monks walk through town to gather alms. People give these rice cakes as an offering.
Hope you enjoyed the trip! As a reminder, I’m slowly but surely building my etsy shop of travel work. Check it out here if you like!