How do you drink red wine in the summer in the middle of the day or on a balmy summer night? For me, the answer is: you drink a dry, frizzante (semi-sparkling) wine called Lambrusco, from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Yes, I know — we’re so used to red wine being still that the concept of red wine with a little fizz might leave you apprehensive. To that, I say — just try it!
Gosh, this was a hard loss and a hard win. Even in the matches where Venus and Serena played against each other and one emerged victorious, a win has never felt this bitter for me. The only sweet is that Naomi Osaka, the HAITIAN-JAPANESE (let’s respect that she is both) 20-year old, has her name in the history books and a $3.8M purse.
I doubt there’s a mixed person alive that has escaped the “what are you?” question. I used to answer this flatly with — I’m Jamaican and I’m mixed. If I had to elaborate, I’d say I was born there, my parents and grandparents were born there too. People would still look at me puzzled, like their brains couldn’t compute a light-skinned Jamaican person. Where they though Sean Paul is from, only God knows. But I digress, the question of what my mix is has always been complicated.
I love traveling alone. It’s wonderfully terrifying in that it forces me to conquer a lot of my fears. It offers a unique solace; every solo trip I take is an endeavor of self-love and self-discovery. A friend of mine recently told me that my solo travels have inspired hers. I don’t know that I’d ever considered what my trips do for others, but it was a reminder that we have no idea how the things we do affect other people. When I started solo traveling, I dipped my toe in by starting the journey by myself and having someone join me later in the trip. Now, I’ll gladly hop on a plane and get out of dodge solo. Along the way, I’ve picked up a few things I like to do:
I love a mango, not only is it one of my absolute favorite fruits, some of my favorite childhood memories are of me climbing and hanging from mango trees in my grandparents backyard. I remember my first trip home to Jamaica after moving to Canada, it happened to be mango season and my grandmother let me gorge myself on them. She had even given me an East Indian mango (my favorite) to take with me on my flight. Unable to contain my excitement, I bit straight into it on the plane, hearing the delightful pop of the skin, as my teeth sunk into the soft and sweet flesh.
For my birthday, I ventured to Santiago, Chile. It was, as my birthday trips tend to be, on a whim. I’d half-heartedly meant for it to be a solo trip, so when my mom offered to come with me for at least half of the trip, I jumped at the chance. I used my miles to book a flight, scanned through Airbnb and booked my getaway.
I just booked my Airbnb Parisian ‘appartement’ for my trip in March! I’m so excited, and this may finally be my first full-on solo trip! I can’t imagine a better place for me, a bonafide francophile, to explore solo than the city of light. I really need to work on my French, but hey – I’m happy to wander aimlessly through the streets of Paris, meander through the markets, and eat as much bread and cheese as humanly possible. And of course, drink lots of wine! I did a lot of searching for the perfect space for my next week in Paris, and I’ve been trying to Airbnb for a while there, but my plan keeps getting messed up! Sign up for Airbnb here. These are my favorite Parisian Airbnb’s at the moment, all for less than $120 a night.
Let me start by saying, I love Paris, all of France really. Amongst the beautiful architecture and the glamorous fashion houses, Paris is a mecca of culinary delights. Young chefs go to the city of lights from all over the world to hone their craft. Jaded masters of cuisine come to Paris to rediscover why they fell in love with food in the first place.
I go to Paris to feed my soul. Nothing makes me happier than traveling and eating, put the two things together and that’s basically my nirvana. After visiting a country, the best way to transport yourself back there (since none of us have a tele-porter) short of a plane ticket is through their food. Paris is simply one of my favorite places to visit – when I’m home, I rarely get a chance to simply and aimlessly wander around, one my greatest delights in Paris. I have a love affair with Paris, one that makes my heart skip a beat, but more importantly makes me terribly hungry. For this reason, and many more, I’m sure there will be more than one edition of this particular post. Perhaps I’ll break them up by arrondissements or my favorite market eats. So be forewarned, these are just my first three must-eat bites of Parisian fare:
[So Autumn Crêpe – savory, vegetarian, light-bite – from So Crêpe, Philadelphia]
No – I’m not talking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes!
The cozy, nourishing goodness of fall bites can be pretty enchanting. I LOVE summer, but it gets so hot in NY that the idea of using my oven in August is a 😳 non-starter 🔥. So, the best thing about fall for me is that I get to turn on my oven and roast anything and everything from whole chickens to squash. It is on that note I say, welcome fall!
