Like the beginning of a bad joke or a clichéd saying, it happened. A bull charged into the china shop. The Topography of Terror is an incredible free museum that stands at the site of the old Gestapo and SS headquarters in Berlin. The museum traces and analyzes Hitler’s rise to power and details the […]
Vegan Guide to Madrid: Best Vegan Restaurants for a Menú del Día
Madrid’s vegan scene is positively exploding and it’s exciting to be here while it’s happening. This article has been literally months in the making as we’ve eaten our way around Madrid to put together a fully comprehensive vegan guide to Madrid. This is the first of many articles on the vegan scene in Madrid, so […]
5 Tips for Avoiding Potentially Bad House Sits
In case you haven’t heard, we love house sitting. After house sitting through Trusted Housesitters for a year, we’ve experienced a variety of homeowners and house sit situations. If you’re wondering what house sitting is or how to get started, head to our House Sitting 101 post first, then come back here to read about […]
Alternative Things to Do in Berlin: Subculture, Squats, and Street Art
In February we spent a week house sitting in Berlin and spent much of our time wandering around and eating all the delicious food. We love taking walking tours to learn about the unique history of each place we visit, because what is a place without its historical, cultural, and contemporary context? We’re insatiably curious to […]
Berlin Vegan Guide
When two super dulce Italianos asked us to housesit and take care of their equally amiable Italian shadow cat named Giulio in Berlin this February we jumped at the chance. We had been in touch with them previously because we applied to their listing on Trusted Housesitters for Christmas, but they were already booked. A couple […]
Carnival in Madrid: A Photo Essay
Last weekend we had a chill weekend planned of hanging out and writing. But when a friend of ours told us the Carnival parade happening on Sunday, we couldn’t pass up the chance to check out what Carnival in Madrid was like! Carnival, or Carnaval in Spanish, is a Catholic celebration that takes place every […]
How to Start House Sitting and Save Money Traveling
We’ve been house sitting a year already and since we started, we’ve been getting countless questions about it! house sitting is gradually gaining popularity but most people still don’t what it is, how it works or if they should do it. Whether you’re interested in exploring this option in the future or just curious about […]
New York City Glorifies Personhood but Does Not Prioritize People
Ask anyone, “what is the most important thing(s) in life” and they will all inevitably reply with something along the lines of “family and friends.” Yet if you were to measure the actual time they spend with them, it would be a drop in a bucket compared to the time spent away from friends and […]
A New Yorker’s Guide to Cheap Vegan Food in Brooklyn
Since moving to Spain, Brooklyn has been following me everywhere. I’ve seen the word Brooklyn more outside the borough than inside. Here in Madrid, it’s printed on t-shirts and hoodies, donned both by my students and city pedestrians. I’ve seen establishments named Brooklyn Pizza and Brooklyn Boxing. Lists of major cities like Paris and London […]
Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Madrid’s Chinatown
Last week was the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rooster, and what better way than to celebrate than in Madrid’s Chinatown, a neighborhood called Usera. I actually worked in Usera during my first year living in Madrid and teaching as a conversation assistant in public schools. Shamefully, I didn’t explore […]