This makes me miss Paris a whole hell of a lot.
Category Archives: Travel
Travel: Backpacks
So I recently traveled to Italy.
I went at the beginning of August.
The absolute worst time to go weather-wise, and if you want things to actually be open.
But I had a great time regardless.
Before I left I bought two backpacks that were amazing and I thought I’d write a post about them.
1) North Face – Women’s Surge II
in black and turquoise
Features that I like:
– comfortable straps that fit my frame
– laptop compartment (separate from the main compartment)
– nice zippers that don’t stick
– tons of pockets and internal compartments (I actually use almost all of them)
– hipbelt that I can stow if I don’t want to use it (helps distribute the weight when it was really heavy carrying a ton of stuff)
– side water bottle pocket
– holds a lot of stuff
Overall I love this backpack, and once it wears out I will probably replace it with another North Face. Highly recommended.
2) Pacsafe – Camsafe Venture V16 Slingpack
in black
Features that I like:
– sits comfortably on my body
– I can sling it around to get to my camera without having to take it off
– there is a stabilizer strap to secure it from the other side
– multiple internal compartments and pockets
– side waterbottle pocket (or tripod)
– can hold a tablet / small computer (separate compartment)
– remove-able padded camera compartment
– “Tamper-proof zippers/compartments that lock or latch on to a spring-loaded metal clip thwarts pickpockets.”
Traveling to Italy I wanted a backpack that would be a bit harder for pick pockets to get into. Obviously if they were going to steal my stuff they were going to steal it regardless, but I wanted to make it a little harder. And you can choose to not secure the zippers if you want. Overall if you ignore the theft deterrent features this is still a really great camera backpack. I’m really pleased with it. I have a really nice DSLR and this is a much easier way to take it with me while I am out and about. Also highly recommended.
Travel: Abandoned Places
Another great Buzzfeed List: The 33 Most Beautiful Abandoned Places In The World
Abandoned places are so gorgeous and evoke so many emotions as well as stir a sense of mystery.
Some of my favorites:

Kolmanskop in the Namib Desert
Travel: Paris in the Snow
Filed under Travel
Travel: Shakespeare and Co
Shakespeare and Company is an amazing bookstore in Paris.
I found the above video, via Bookshelf Porn, here.
While in Paris I bought a couple beautiful editions of books there.
I just love being in that bookstore, it feels like home.
Everything here encourages creativity. A tiny enclosed bureau, lined with rugs and a blue painted chair, bears the sign: “Feel free to use the typewriter for your lovely writing/creative ventures.” Notes from customers are scrawled in all languages. “A friend told me if I ever felt lonely to come to Shakespeare & Company,” one says. Visitors are so effusive that a few years ago George installed what he calls a “mirror of love”, where hundreds more scribblings are pinned, from the surreal to the touching: “Dear Granny, I would like you to come to Paris with me”, reads one. “Books insulate this nest of wandering dreams”, reads another, “there should always be a place where stories reign over commercial enterprise.”
Opened in 1951 by George Whitman, it was originally named “Le Mistral” but renamed to “Shakespeare and Company” in 1964 in tribute to Sylvia Beach’s bookstore [the original Shakespeare and Co.].[3] Today, it serves both as a regular bookstore and as a reading library, specializing in English-language literature. The shop was featured in the Richard Linklater filmBefore Sunset and in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris.[4]
…
Its premises, the site of a 16th-century monastery,[10] are at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, near Place Saint-Michel, just steps from the Seine, Notre Dame and the Île de la Cité.[10]
– Wikipedia
If you’re ever in Paris and get the chance, swing by this Parisian institution. Shakespeare and Co. is home to beautiful books that cover it from floor to ceiling. A true gift to the ex-pat community in Paris.
Misc.: Tumblr
I created a Tumblr!
Filed under Art, Books, Culture, Design, Fashion, Feminism, Film and TV, Misc., Politics, Psychology, Travel, Uncategorized