Globes

When I was a child, my dad bought me a map of the world. It was giant and I'd spread it open like a carpet to lay on it. I don't think I understood then how vast the world truly was as I'd search the U.S. states and tried to memorize their capitals. In fact, it wasn't until our road trip around the country last year and then standing in Black Rock Desert this summer that my mind finally started to grasp the immensity of this planet. How one person is to explore all she wants to see is still beyond me, but a girl can continue to search and dream as her slight obsession with maps and travel slowly grows.

It's in that same wanderlust spirit that my heart skipped a beat when 1Canoe2 Letterpress announced their super limited-edition handpainted globes featuring their custom artwork on five unique pieces. I'm so in love with these you don't even know. The ladies of 1Canoe2 will be auctioning off one globe a week starting November 11 and hosting a giveaway for a free globe until Nov. 8 at noon (that's tomorrow!). Visit their Facebook page for a chance to nab one for your own.

Image: 1canoe2.com

{Wanderlust} Time is Nothing

Stories like Kien Lam's make me happy. After quitting his job, he bought a one-way ticket to London and proceeded to photograph and record all the places and people he came across during his 343-day journey around the world. The result: Time is Nothing, a beautiful time lapse made from 6237 photographs taken through 17 different countries.

Usually back-to-back travels leave me feeling weary and it takes me a bit to recuperate from early morning flights and dragging around luggage through airport labyrinths, but during lunch after my arrival from Alabama on Sunday, I found myself asking A. if he'd move to Paris with me in the next year or so. (The answer is yes, but contingent on us being able to financially sustain our life out there and get our long stay visas approved. I could continue freelancing, but he'd need a job.) We'll see if this actually happens (fingers crossed!), but I've already checked the requirements and am working to save up for that goal.

I like to have all my duckies in a row and take my time mulling over every detail before pulling the trigger, which could very well have me shooting for Paris 2014. A., on the other hand, is very much the "F--k it, let's do it now!" type. I mean the man did visit NYC on an August and then wound up deciding to move, sell his car, pack his things, and move to the city (without a job or a place to live) in just four months. I'm not that crazy, but there's definitely an appeal to living life that boldly.

{Wanderlust} Practical Tips for Traveling the World

I'm lucky enough to have really increased my travels over the last couple of years. After countless childhood summers traveling to the same Dominican village my parents grew up in, I wanted to see new sights, taste other cultures' foods, and expand my view of the world. I wanted to be surprised, push past my comfort levels, and land right in the middle of someplace I never even knew existed. So what began with a trip to France in 2002 eventually grew into Mexico, Costa Rica, and St. Lucia, a backpacking dream trip through Europe, and most recently, Thailand.

This next month promises to also bring in new adventures as I'll be taking on off a series of trips that'll take me back to San Antonio before exploring the white sand beaches along Alabama's Gulf Coast. That'll be followed by a girls' road trip to Virginia Beach to visit a good friend and the day after I arrive from that, A. and I will fly off to Los Angeles to spend time with family and meet his second nephew. It'll be madness and I might forget what city I'm waking up in, but I cannot wait to set out.

I've yet to compile my own list of the things I've learned from my travel experiences, but in the meantime, Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads shares 21 practical tips that she's gathered from her years of traveling around the world. One of my favorites is tip number 11:

"My preferred way of connecting to people is via food but regardless of your passions or interests, travelling will also open your eyes to the fact that we are all more alike than we think," Jodi writes. "Yes, there are cultural differences and traditions that differ – vastly – but the basics of human emotions and the kindness in a smile are omnipresent, and a beautiful reminder of our shared humanity...Threads of common human queries – love, food, parenting, and many more – resurface again and again. Ask questions, encourage people to ask them of you. In the end, these knots of human connection are what makes the world go round."

I know I still have to continue writing about my adventures in Thailand, but hope to squeeze some posts in during my flights this week!

{Wanderlust} Obscura Day

Obscura Day, happening on Saturday, April 28th, is a "global celebration of curiosity and wonder" and a push to explore the world around you through walks, behind-the-scenes tours of unusual spots, and workshops. Check out what adventures will be available in your hometown, suggest or organize your own event, and keep popping in from now until then as new ones make the list. Three New York City expeditions that intrigued me: a street art photography workshop, a macabre scavenger hunt at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a rooftop camp-out in Brooklyn that would be perfect for us wilderness-wary urbanites! (via Neatorama)

Image: obscuraday.com

{Wanderlust} MiniLook Kiev + Cities in Tilt-Shift Stop-Motion

I'd never even considered traveling to the Ukraine before, but this tilt-shift stop-motion movie of Kiev makes the large capital city seem so beautifully quaint! Have you ever traveled to Eastern Europe? A. and I spent a day in Prague last fall, but I'd love to make it all the way to Moscow the next time around.

P.S. Here's one of Berlin and another of Rio de Janeiro during 2011's Carnaval party in all its festive glory.