Central Park Chillin' | NYC Adventure

VICTORIA HERE to show you how to perfectly enjoy a solo day on your own in NYC. If you're anything like me, you get super anxious when you spend everyday indoors sulking over the fact you have no friends in the huge and busy city you've suddenly found yourself in... Well, maybe not that particular. BUT, I'm sure everyone gets the feeling sometimes that they have to get out every once in a while to feel sane! Over the summer, I only worked four days a week at my internship so I had Fridays completely to myself. I was determined to spend each and every one of those Fridays doing something new to familiarize myself with the city and to become more used to spending quality time alone. I spent my first adventure on a mission to find Central Park.

Interning Abroad in Cape Town, South Africa | Guest Post

walking with lions on the Garden Route

JANABETH HERE—are you surprised? As DuoDiaries’ (self-proclaimed) number one fan, it was only a matter of time before I got the chance to write a post of my own.

Between bugging Tia about when the next DuoDiaries will be out and listening to T. Swift, I have been spending my time interning in South Africa. When Tia asked me to write this post, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reflect on my experience as it comes to a close…

Review | New York City's Cat Café: The Meow Parlour

TIA HERE and oh my god, guess who just went to another cat café. Yep. Me.

In case you've forgotten somehow, I'm currently in New York City, where there is a wonderful little cat café called the Meow Parlour, among other things. My wonderful study abroad friend Alanna and I spent the day at the Natural History Museum and had brunch at Broadway Bites and had great fun. As night fell (around 7 p.m., although we were a bit late because subways never run when you want them to), we arrived at the Meow Parlour where we had made a reservation months prior with friends Thelonia, Lea, and Winnie. This is not the first cat café Alanna and I had visited together, and it certainly will not be the last!

Admiring NYC's First "Flying" Tiger | A Day With Janabeth

nothing is more Danish than candles, right?

TIA HERE and excited to announce that I've finally gone to the (first ever?!) American Tiger store with my DIS abroad friend, Janabeth! (Okay... I've actually already been there twice, but it's because I freaking love that store.) For those who don't know, Tiger is a Danish store that has been spreading across Europe — and now the U.S. — and is nothing short of totally awesome. It offers cheap, cute, unique home goods items, and has wonderful original designs. In Denmark it is known as Tiger, but here in the U.S. (NYC specifically), it is Flying Tiger Copenhagen. That said, I'm just going to be calling it Tiger, because there is no need for this already amazing store to have wings too.

Adventure in Seoul|Samcheongdong 삼청동

VICTORIA HERE to bring you along with me on a girls' day out in Samcheongdong. Nestled between mountains and palaces, Samcheongdong quickly became one of my favorite spots in Seoul because of its beautiful and relaxing surroundings. Within walking distance of the neighborhood lies  great traditional sites such as Gyeongbokgung Palace and Insadong, and Samcheongdong itself contains a village full of charming (aka expensive) traditional homes. Though the neighborhood is rooted in a historical gold mine, Samcheongdong also is a very artsy locale full of museums, cool galleries, and many small independent cafes and shops that make this place ideal for a chill day out. 

Seoul City Tour|Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namsan Tower, and more!

VICTORIA HERE with a little summation of the Seoul City Tour I went on that was provided by Hanyang International Summer School. This trip is apart of the few fieldtrips put on by HISS to encourage International students to explore and learn more about Seoul and Korean culture. The other trips they provide include a Nanta traditional Korean drum performance, the Boryeong Mud Festival, and other excursions which require additional payment.

So You Wanna See Celebs in Korea?

VICTORIA HERE with an epic compilation of all of the famous people I saw while I was in Korea (yup, past tense! I am sadly back in the States now). Korea's entertainment industry is pretty expansive these days considering the amount of new idol groups being debuted every week, the rising popularity of Korean dramas, and the overall rise in acknowledgment towards the little peninsula across the world partly because of that damned Psy video. In this post, I list all of the events and places I have gone to ranging from music shows to film sets where I saw some of Korea's stars. I hope my little adventures help navigate you on your own journey in celeb-spotting! Remember that Korea has a lot more to offer beyond what I have done. If you are on a serious hunt for idols--visit their entertainment companies or strut around the streets of Gangnam. Korea is so small, you are bound to see someone!

Optional Study Tour | Literary (Cultural) London

TIA HERE with one of my favorite travel videos I've done so far! This time I went to London, England, for a class trip that involved checking out all of the most interesting cultural spots and touristy areas in the city through an academic lens. Check out the video if you want to see the National Portrait Gallery, the London Eye, the Globe Theatre, the Churchill War Rooms, high tea at the Dorchester Hotel, the Victoria and Albert Museum, platform 9¾, Daunt Books, and the East End. There are also some other fun sights thrown in there, from Buckingham Palace to the London Millennium Footbridge and much, much more. Because you can see most of the trip in the video (happy viewing!), I'm going to use this post to talk more about the class for future DIS students interested in taking it.

Vienna, Bratislava, Budweis—Oh, My! | How I Traveled to the Wrong Country and Lost My Phone

TIA HERE with the longest title I think I've ever had for a blog post. To see the cities and get the deets, watch the video above! Below is the breakdown of what it covers.

First of all, let's lay down the basics: My housemate Alanna and I went to Vienna, Austria, for four days. In that time, we visited Bratislava, Slovakia, on the first day and Budweis, Czech Republic, on the second day, while remaining in Vienna for the third and final day. On the last day we left pretty early, so there's nothing much to report from then.

Optional Study Tour | Culinary France

TIA HERE with a long video in which I attempted to include all of the pictures I took in the area known as Southern France (Nice, Fayence, Cannes, Monaco). It may not be the most professional video on the planet, but I thought it would be more important to showcase all of the photos, since below I'll only be including a few from the trip! For those potential DIS students looking at optional study tours for their many travel breaks, I highly recommend "Culinary Southern France." Not only were the people who led the group fantastic, but the experience was amazing and has completely altered my opinion of wine (from meh to YES). You spend the five days eating amazing food, wine tasting, olive oil tasting, exploring markets, and traveling freely. It's both a structured and casual program, with plenty of free time in addition to really neat activities (and meals). I'll try to break down the trip with some pictures!

Amager Strandpark | Trip to the Beach

TIA HERE sporting photos and video from my trip to Amager Strand (name of the metro stop), where you can find the nearest beach around Copenhagen. Per usual, I feel as if the video and photos speak more to the experience than I ever could, simply because beaches are much the same everywhere and the only difference between a Copenhagen beach and a Florida beach is the holistic feeling you get from being there. Nonetheless, I'll try my best to capture it.

Gay Pride Celebration in Copenhagen | A Story in Pictures

rainbow pixelated heart

TIA HERE with photos from the end of August (wow talk about a late post!). During this time, it was Copenhagen's Pride Week, complete with a parade, musical performances, and more. While I ultimately missed the parade—make sure you go at the right time of day if you want to be a part of it—I still managed to get some pictures of neat and relevant things around the main square in the inner city. Enjoy!

Tivoli | A Rainy Copenhagen Adventure

one of the entrances/exits to Tivoli

TIA HERE with some sweet pics of Copenhagen's famous theme park "Tivoli Gardens," which, believe it or not, is the second oldest amusement park in the world (and Denmark). What's study abroad in Copenhagen without a little visit?

Adventure in Seoul|Getting Lost in Hongdae 홍대!

VICTORIA HERE with a story I originally posted on my Tumblr, hotmilkblacktea. Getting lost in a foreign country is an experience I shouldn't keep from you guys and this is certainly a memory I never want to forget. As travelers, we should expect this to happen at least once! After getting lost, ironically, I felt like I knew how to navigate myself around Seoul comfortably.

DIS Orientation and My First Impressions of Copenhagen

tia near the famous nyhavn for the amazing race

TIA HERE and I can't believe it. This is only my fourth day in Denmark and I already feel completely at home. You think things moved fast freshman year? Try studying abroad and you'll feel as if a century has passed in the span of an hour--that you've known the people around you for weeks and that you're ready to move in to the city you're now afraid to leave. But it's only been four days--and I'm four months from leaving.

A Day of Food with Mom

some vegetables at madangsui

TIA HERE with a post all about my day with my mom, who came by to visit. Her hotel was in K-town (Koreatown) so we stopped by a Korean barbecue restaurant called Madangsui. Although everything was well-made, I discovered that I'm not really a huge fan of the style of eating. I think part of it may have to do with the fact that I'm not that into eating meat in general (except for salami and fish/shellfish) so I don't get as excited about it as I think I'm expected to.

How to Do Karaoke in NYC

entrance to karaoke duet 35

TIA HERE and all I can say is KARAOKE. As someone who finds singing a huuuuge stress relief and super fun, karaoke is the perfect type of weekend activity. I've gone maybe five times throughout the span of the summer with friends and family, and it's remained just as enjoyable each time.

Exploring Coney Island

TIA HERE with seven posts left until the Copenhagen posts start, even though by the time you’re reading this I’ll already be there. The countdown has begun! Currently, I’m sitting in JFK (where I will be for HOURS) waiting for my flight to Copenhagen. What better way to spend this time than to write the rest of the NYC posts I have piled up?

A Foodie Day with Grandma

TIA HERE with the dish on some of the dishes and restaurants I visited in NYC while my grandma was in town. While we did not eat at all of these places, we explored them with passion. First, we went to see Eataly, which is like an enormous, Italian-inspired market-meets-restaurant. It's incredible! Like a maze of food, it takes you from gelato to bread to meat to seafood with swirling aisles of shelves and tables--it's overwhelming, tightly-packed, and a delicious must see. We didn't get anything because we weren't hungry at the time, just visiting to see Eataly in all its glory. However, we did ogle other people's meals as we wandered by, and I filmed a lot of the store to give you guys a visual (see video above!).

Exploring Williamsburg [Brooklyn]

TIA HERE with a little taste of Brooklyn. On a sunny summer weekend, my dear friend Winnie and I trekked off to Brooklyn—one of the boroughs of NYC, just across the bridge from Manhattan. We decided on Williamsburg (well, Winnie decided because she did all the research!) to seek out some of the amazing graffiti that the area is well known for. Along the way, we made some cafe stops to fight off the heat, passed an art exhibit with an incredible line, and stumbled across Smorgasburg, a weekly Brooklyn food and flea market. Ever heard of a ramen burger? That's where you go to get one—if you're willing to brave the three hour long line (alas, we were not).