Between War News and Boarding Gates: Our Most Uncertain Trip to Germany via Qatar

aerial view of Doha, Qatar

I don’t think I have ever planned a trip with so many question marks hanging over it. Usually, even when travel is stressful, there is at least some kind of plan. You book the flights, pack the bags, check the passports, complain about the luggage weight, and somehow everything works out. But this time feels …

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Is Traveling Still Worth It?

a group of people taking pictures of themselves

After almost 35 years of being on the road—planes, trains, and the occasional tuk-tuk—I find myself asking a question I never thought I would: is traveling still worth it? It’s not that I’ve fallen out of love with discovering new places, far from it. Vietnam and Cambodia recently gave me some unforgettable adventures, the kind …

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What Comes Next? Europe First, Nepal Next (Hopefully!)

Erfurt Cathedral, Thuringia, Germany

If you’d asked me a few weeks ago what’s next on our travel calendar, I would have replied without hesitation: Nepal! After years—no, decades—of daydreaming, scrolling through photos of prayer flags and snow-capped mountains, and watching every documentary on Everest and Annapurna, we finally bit the bullet. Tickets booked, miles spent, itinerary mapped out for …

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When No One Reads Your Blog: Confessions of a Word-Lover in the Age of Scrolling

a photo of a computer screen showing the website lizzandi.com

Let’s be real for a second: writing a blog can be frustrating. There’s this romantic idea that you’ll pour your heart, soul, and many, many hours into a post—crafting sentences, tweaking metaphors, reliving stories you can’t wait to share—and then, miraculously, a crowd of readers will appear to devour every word. Maybe they’ll leave thoughtful …

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The Incredible Journey of Corazon Volador: Coincidence or Message from Hereafter?

Corazon Volador or Flying Heart, contempoary art by Virginia Patrone

I’m not a professional art collector—just an ordinary admirer of beautiful things. A bit of a treasure hunter. I wander through Japan Surplus shops here in the Philippines as often as I can, drawn not only by the possibility of finding something rare but by the strange, quiet magic these places seem to carry. Each …

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