Category: Europe

Catching Feels in Cambridge: In which I finally get to live out my Hogwarts fantasy, pretended to be a perfect Asian tiger cub for a hot minute, and waltzed with the Rick Blaine to my Ilsa Lund* under the moonlight on the grounds of Trinity College. Romance isn’t dead - it’s just moved to Cambridge.

- 20 - 22 July 2019 -

*That is, if Ilsa were a bratty brunette of Malaysian-Chinese descent and if Rick - although still American and still jaded - is not nearly as bitter. The setting is Cambridgeshire in peacetime rather than Casablanca on the brink of war, but baby, between “Rick” and I, there always has been and there always will be a battle - of wits.

July 30, 2019

Rome, Italy by Posh, Broke, & Bored - Palatine Hill


A Rome-ing Eye: My Photo Diary from the Eternal City, Rome 

30 May - 4 June 2019 


There are some places that I would revisit time and again. One such destination is the appropriately-nicknamed ‘Eternal City’ - Rome. You’d only have to ask, and for this recent trip Luxy asked me to buddy up with her. Curiously enough, the last time we were both in Rome was 5 years ago at around the same time. Having already been there, seen it, and ran the appropriately well-informed commentary; we were unburdened by the savant’s guilt of having to experience all the city’s cultural and historical offerings. The nature of this trip would be less intellectual and more indulgent - purely devoted to enjoying the Eternal City at its best, soaked in sunshine and sorbet. Well, when in Rome...

Photos of me taken by LUXLIFEBLOGnaturally.

July 12, 2019

Spain: San Sebastian, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, & 3 Michelin Star Restaurant ABaC Barcelona

Spanish Fly: The Journey Home from Morocco, by way of Spain 

SAN SEBASTIAN - BILBAO - BARCELONA 

This past summer I made my virgin voyage to Africa, with a tour of Morocco that took me through the Atlas Mountains, the Saharan desert, and coast to coast. It was an extensive road trip that covered at least a dozen cities and towns, 9 of which I blogged about. But sometimes, you can have too much of a good thing. As they say in France (and Morocco) - c’est l'embarras des richesses. After 10 days of being on the road, spending each night in a different town or city; and eating enough tagine, cous cous, and lamb to last a lifetime; I couldn’t quite head straight back to the grey skies and gravy of England, could I? I needed a transition destination - a holiday to recover from a holiday, if you will - in a country that was different enough to be interesting yet familiar enough to ease me back into reality. So I spent 5 much-needed days in Spain: decompressing and recalibrating in San Sebastian, Bilbao, and Barcelona. As one does...


November 30, 2018

A Lazy Day in Porto, Portugal

A Lazy Day in Porto, Portugal


Much Ado About Doing Nothing: A Blissful Lazy Day in Porto, Portugal

Porto was the perfect antidote to my short but frenetic tour of Portugal. I had shown my mother (who was visiting Portugal for the first time) Lisbon in 24 hours, trekked across the hills of Sintra in search of castles in the sky, and made a day trip to Fatima to witness the largest gathering of Catholic pilgrims in the country. A highlights reel of 3 cities in as many days; travelling by train, coach, trams had made for a hectic pace, and it came as a relief to spend a lazy day in Porto before flying back to London.

That’s not to say that Porto had little to offer. Quite the contrary. From the moment the train emerged from the pitch-black tunnel to reveal a bird’s eye view of Rio Douro and her graceful arched bridges; Porto wowed me with the faded opulence of her medieval walls covered in hand-painted azulejo, the rustic charm of her hole-in-the-wall taverns, the prettiness of her pastel houses carved into hills that stopped short of the promenade, and the joie de vivre that one gets from sipping Port Wine by the riverbank from dusk till dawn. Porto, in short, was like a pop-up book of life’s greatest pleasures, laid out for the languid perusal at the tip of this lazy reader’s fingers. This is my photo diary from Porto I hope that it captures the sultry, sun-drenched, soirée I enjoyed during my last day in Portugal.

June 20, 2018

When in Lisbon you must make a day trip to see the famous castles of Sintra. Here are the best palaces & castles to visit in Sintra, Portugal.

The Castle Circuit: The Palaces of Sintra You Must Visit in a Day Trip from Lisbon 
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Castles rising from rippling mountains. Palaces peeking out from peaked pine hills. Mansions encircled by exotic gardens brimming with luscious flora. Ruins coated in lichen and moss. It’s no exaggeration to say that the picturesque town of Sintra, the Moon Hill, is like a jewel box, especially when you realise that this tiny town is full of gems: a glittering collection of national monuments ranging from colourful castles, gothic mansions, Moorish fortresses, and imposing palaces.

Back in the day, Sintra was the playground of the nobility and elite for the fresher air, cooler climate (thanks to the town’s elevated position in the hills of Serra de Sintra) and evocative landscape. These enticed the 1% to build the exquisite homes and gardens which form the famous “palace circuit” that have established Sintra as the must-do side trip from Lisbon. You’ve seen my pictures from when I visited Pena Palace (left), here are the other palaces and mansions I saw, as well as how to make Sintra a day trip from Lisbon and how to get around this beautiful town.


June 15, 2018

No need to adjust your sets: the famously colourful Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal; is indeed a technicolour dream castle. Read more on Posh, Broke, & Bored.


No Need to Adjust Your Set: This Technicolour Trip is All Real. #NOFILTERNEEDED. 😳😱😍

Pena Palace is a sight that seems all too familiar even to those who have never been to Sintra, Portugal. The utter wackiness of this castle - a hedonistic hodge-podge of architectural styles and colours that resembles a box of oversized crayons - has more than made the rounds on postcards (and its modern day equivalent: the holiday snaps on social media) to the point where many who cross the threshold of this famous palace for the first time are struck by deja vu. But unlike a dream, the reality of Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal; is more fantastical, more lurid, and more unbelievable than the imagination can conjure...

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June 11, 2018

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