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Hiroshima
Hiroshima - the city whose name is synonymous with the atomic bomb. It's so strange to think that it would be just another mid-sized industrial city had the events of August 6th, 1945, not taken place....
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Matsue
Our cousin Lara was our excuse for visiting Japan. She was wrapping up a contract with the JET program, so Monica and I knew if we wanted to visit, summer 2017 was the time. For the past two years,...
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Hi! I'm Polly and this is my travel blog.
I've been traveling since before I was born (literally), thanks to my parents. However, between work and money, my trips are usually limited to one or two new locations per year. I love adding new...
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Oki Islands
So, story time. Before going to Japan, I was reading up on Shimane and learned that despite being one of the least populated areas in Japan, and generally being considered a sleepy backwater, the...
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Tokyo Skytree
It was our final full day in Tokyo. We'd decided not to do Tokyo Disney - I was unsure of the weather and Lara had been 'meh' about her visit, so Monica wasn't keen to go. (Honestly, I'm still a little...
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Caribbean Cruise Sail Away
Jan 19, 2018Spring VacationHi Polly,(1)Â What are the dates for your spring break?(3)Â IF I could find compatible dates with your break, would you be interested on going on a cruise with me if I paid...
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Key West
Our first port of call was Key West, Florida. We started the morning with room service on the balcony - coffee, melon, bacon, and eggs. At 10:00, we disembarked for the first time, getting our...
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Hemingway House
Ernest Hemingway was a talented jerk who liked cats. To be honest, I've read all of one work by Hemingway - his short story 'Hills Like White Elephants' - so the cats were definitely the main draw for...
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Sloppy Joes and Key Lime Pie
After visiting the Hemingway House, we continued walking north, back toward the port. Along the way we stopped for a couple of Key West treats.I'd been hoping to get a picture by the Instagram-famous...
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Costa Maya
 When I first looked at the itinerary for our cruise, Costa Maya stood out as a port I'd never heard of. After a little bit of research, I learned why - it's a port created by cruise ship companies....
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Dzibanche with Native Choice
After visiting Mexico City, I wrote a little about the difference between Mexica (Aztec), Maya, and other pre-Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica. Today, we’re focusing on the Maya. "Maya" is a...
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Chichen Itza Picspam
Up next, a write-up of our full day Chichen Itza excursion through Celebrity. Of course, I took way too many pictures to fit in a single post - so first, enjoy a picspam!
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Celebrity Equinox's Chichen Itza Excursion
Our next port of call was Cozumel. While there’s so much to do on the island, Mom really wanted to see Chichen Itza, so after a few questions about the buses - (Like, do they have bathrooms. The answer...
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Grand Cayman
This post is completely ridiculous, with almost 40 pictures. But Grand Cayman was ridiculously pretty, so it evens out. Large swathes of this post will be pure picspam. We had a leisurely start to the...
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Celebrity Equinox Review
So far, I’ve written a lot about our ports of call, but not much about the ship or cruise line we were on. As stated in earlier posts, my mother and I went on the Western Caribbean Cruise on the...
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Packing for Spain
As I packed for Madrid, I discovered an issue I'd never encountered before on an international trip. I almost always pack carry-on only - no matter how long of a trip I'm taking - and I'm pretty good...
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Heavenly Bodies at the Met
When a cheap fare for Madrid popped up for the general dates I'd blocked in June, I jumped on it. Of course, cheap fares are cheap for a reason - this one included a 12-hour layover in NYC. Lucky for...
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Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol
In recent years, I’ve found myself taking two types of trips. There are trips like Japan or Brazil, where I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back, so I try to cram in all my absolute must-sees in one...
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Gran Via
Madrid’s Gran VÃa– the street famous for shopping, hotels, theaters, cinemas, and nightlife – cuts through city from Plaza de España in the west to Calle de Acalá in the east. Planning of the road and...
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El Greco's Spain
Travelers should be predisposed to like Doménikos Theotokópoulos. His popular name, El Greco (The Greek), came from the fact that he spent most of his life as an ex-pat. He left his homeland in his...
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