The World Incorporated Travel Blog

Author: Amanda C.

  • The Unnecessarily Elaborate Story of How I’m Going to Australia

    Image Source: JohnnyJet.com
    Image Source: JohnnyJet.com

    I won a trip to Queensland, Australia.  Check the date; it isn’t April 1.  I still can barely believe it and it’s been a solid 7 months of processing this information.

    Back in June I made the decision to try to jump back into travel blogging.  It had been a year since I returned from my European backpacking adventure.  I perused through some old posts and reminisced about the joy of traveling & the fulfillment from writing about it.  The flame was rekindled when I published a couple posts.  During my lunch breaks I began collecting the blogs of career travel writers.  I ate their content like chocolate and felt sick with admiration & slightly jealous of their jetsetter lifestyle.  I’d return to my stable, stationary cubicle and continue with my 8 hour workday at my computer screen.

    On one particular lunch break, I escaped from the frigid air conditioned office and soaked up the sun on the office patio.  As I browsed through a series of travel sites, a “Top 10 Travel Blogs of 2013” article caught my attention.  An appealing site was “JohnnyJet.com” – what a clever name!  At first brush, I was turned off by this “blog” – it seemed more like a busy commerce website than the typical format of personal travel tales (I’m a novice, remember?).  Just as my finger extended to tap the back button, the line “Travel Blogger Contest” jumped off the page.

    Oh, blogger contest? Really!? I’m a travel blogger! Kinda… (more…)

  • A Mysterious Piece of Graffiti Alley

    "Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy."
    “Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy.”

    This was a piece of Graffiti Alley in Toronto that caught my attention.  It was neither the colorful paint nor underwater mural that stopped my tracks to ponder.

    Rather, it was a monochromatic parchment/paper seemingly glued to the building facade. Now I know this is a certain type of street art, I’ve seen it in Detroit, but I’m no street artist so if anyone wants to enlighten me with the true name of this medium, your teaching moment is welcome.

    This line, “Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy” has marinated in my mind for its mystery and thought provocation. What does it mean? Who left this note?

    At first this was going to be a one-paragraph post introducing the triggering line and photo and letting the thoughts simmer. However, because I prefer fact-checking prior to posting, I did a tiny Google search to see what I could uncover about this tiny piece of street art. Once again, I’m sitting here amazed at the little slices of travel, seemingly insignificant, but part of a larger pie that creates learning moments that I’ll carry to other corners of the world in our big interconnected humanity.

    Turns out, this is the work of Leonard Cohen.  I believe it to be a page pulled from his publication, “The Book of Longing.” Perhaps this is a household name in Canada, but there was no recognition when I saw this name (maybe I’m showing my ignorance, but at least I’m honest). He’s a renowned singer-songwriter/musician and novelist with various honors, awards and accolades over his career. Still not ringing a bell? Me neither. But as soon as I heard this song, which he composed, the lightbulb illuminated and I said, YES! HALLELUJAH – the cultural connection has been made!

    Back to the street art.  “Only one thing made him happy and now that it was gone everything made him happy.” Perhaps it was drugs, or ego, or a negative relationship that the character let go for everything to bring happiness. My thoughts are that it’s something potentially destructive that would bring false happiness. Like, binge eating an entire box of Girl Scout Cookies (ha).  But this is taken out of context; perhaps if I possessed the book, I’d have the answer.  Or maybe we don’t receive an answer and need to determine it for ourselves anyway.  And maybe there’s a reason this page is meant to be stumbled upon in an alley filled with swirling paint and colorful images.

    What do you think?

  • Toronto by Suggestion

    IMG_7627-edThe plan for Toronto was to have no plan.

    This was the case when Lara & I ventured north for a long weekend.  The purpose was for a dear friend’s wedding, but the time in between was left to the wind.  We decided to have a “Toronto by Suggestion” trip – we did a Facebook poll of our friends for suggestions, asked our hostel receptionists for suggestions, walked up to random people on the street for suggestions and from there, our trip was mapped and unfolded with each step we took.  This allowed for flexibility & discovery.  It’s like the scarecrow in Wizard of Oz…  “Pardon me… that way is a very nice way. It’s pleasant down that way too!”

    Random is fun and freeing.  If we didn’t take the random approach, we wouldn’t have contributed to Canada’s largest gum art installation or enjoyed free pizza & gelato. We wouldn’t have snagged secrets from locals that may not have been in the guidebooks.

    Gum-art

    (more…)

  • Hostel Review: Planet Traveler in Toronto, Ontario

    It was like seeing an old friend again, for the first time in 14 months. First there was the excitement (“I can’t wait to do this!”), then the worry (“Is this the right choice? Going through with this?”), then the anticipation (“This better go well… what if this doesn’t go well?”), then the reassurance (“Of COURSE things will be fine!”). And finally when you meet again, all those feelings get mixed together like a pool of hot bubbling paint and you just gotta dive right in and hope you emerge feeling warm & colorful rather than burned & sewage-brown (because let’s face it, all those paint colors mixed together don’t always produce Majestic Mountain Purple).

    Okay, maybe this isn’t a very good analogy because I’ve never encountered any pools of bubbling paint in my lifetime. Really I’m talking about booking & staying at a hostel.  (more…)

  • Road Trips & Birthday Cake

    Today is my dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday, DAD!).

    I feel that it is only suiting for me to write a post that both appreciates him for my love of travel as well as appreciates all the travel opportunities he has given me.  In doing so, I’m going to return to March 2009.  (more…)

  • An Architecture Tour of Palmer Park’s Historic Apartment District, Detroit

    300 Whitmore. Notice the door, how it widens at the bottom. This is due to the "Egypt craze" that occurred after King Tut's tomb was discovered. On second look, it does appear similar to the entryway of the tombs of Egypt, no?
    300 Whitmore. Notice the door, how it widens at the bottom. This is due to the “Egypt craze” that occurred after King Tut’s tomb was discovered. On second look, it does appear similar to the entryway of the tombs of Egypt, no?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Travel back in time to the 1920s.  The place to be?  Detroit.  This was the era  that the automotive industry got its wheels turning.  The Detroit skyline began to take shape as the iconic Cadillac Place (General Motors Building), Guardian, Penobscot, and Fisher buildings were erected.  People flooded the city for work… and they needed a place to live.

    Just north up Woodward is Palmer Park – an apartment district that was created for the slew of workers in the city.  Just a block from this district was the streetcar stop that delivered residents to and from their automotive jobs.  As the decades went on, Palmer Park evolved into a gay friendly neighborhood with lots of restaurants and clubs.  Even Madonna got her dance on at the clubs around Palmer Park.  The original Menjo’s & Cliff Bells were in this area.  But violence drove out the gay population to adjacent cities (Ferndale, Royal Oak) and much of Palmer Park and the apartment district fell to blight, crime, and drugs.  (more…)

  • A Weekend Escape to Northern Michigan

    This weekend I am escaping to northern Michigan – and there’s no better timing.  Right now, Mother Nature should be at the peak of flaunting all she’s got, setting the trees ablaze in brilliant crimson, auburn, gold, and chartreuse.

    So here’s a video I had created after a Michigan fall color tour I went on last year.  Most of the footage was taken at or near the Tunnel of Trees. Enjoy!

    The song is “Time Is All Around” by my favorite singer, Regina Spektor.  I thought this song was appropriate due to the line:

    Leaves become most beautiful when they’re about to die.
    When they’re about to fall from trees when they’re about to dry up.

  • Fine Dining at Brizola in Detroit’s Greektown Casino

    Brizola-Greektown-view

    Detroit Restaurant Week (DRW) brings the finest of Detroit dining to us who carry a budget-conscious wallet.

    Now I’m no chef nor food critic, but I do have taste buds, a love for excellent food, and an over-exuberant excitement to share my dining experiences with anyone.  So don’t expect a technical French-accented, cultivated-palate description straight from culinary school.

    Brizola is located in the thriving Greektown Casino.  I chose Brizola because it was the first time I’d seen this name on the DRW restaurant list. I knew I’d be getting a great value for the DRW prices as the least expensive entrée is just shy of the $30 DRW pricetag.  Ironically, as we drove into downtown Detroit, a “Brizola: Voted Best Casino Restaurant in Detroit” billboard boasted that we had clearly made a smart decision (although I’m wondering where this ‘vote’ happened – I couldn’t find anything online… and ya know… if it ain’t on the internet…).  (more…)

  • Bears & Beers: The Detroit Zoo Brew

    Detroit-Zoo-Sign Typically when I think of the zoo, I imagine wild little children running around with their sippy cups eager to see the giraffes.  But the Zoo Brew?  Imagine equally as wild “big” kids running around with craft beers equally as eager to see the giraffes.  Because we’re all big kids at heart, the zoo never really loses its charm.  And this event captures adult allure with the promise of local craft breweries to keep things buzzing.  (more…)

  • What I Didn’t Know About West, Texas

    Welcome to West, Texas
    Welcome to West, Texas

    The road trip from Dallas to Austin was longer than expected and laden with sporadic traffic jams.  The checkpoint of hope beamed at Exit 353 along I-35.  There were notices along the roadway that teased about the gluttonous glory awaiting at this exit… the Czech Stop and Little Czech Bakery… an edifice that housed hunger-satisfying happiness in the form of all things baked and delicious.  (more…)