If you look at a menu in Italy, it seems like everything is carbs cooked in oil or heavy cream, then covered in cheese, with a side of cured meat. (Or at least those are the dishes that jump out at you.) Then you look around at the people in the restaurant, and you wonder: […]
Porto Layover: Advice from Locals, LOTS of Photos & My First Wine Review!
To call this a Porto layover itinerary is probably too grand. An itinerary is generally something you plan ahead of time and do on purpose. This is really just a list of things that I ended up seeing, eating and drinking thanks to the local people who I pestered for information. As many great trips […]
Two Days in Portugal & Re-Learning How to Couchsurf
This is Chapter 2 of a story I started last month about making use of a layover in Porto, Portugal, with a Couchsurfing adventure. Here’s a quick recap of that post: The idea for this little Portuguese side trip came to me when I was looking for a way home from Italy after the holidays. […]
It’s 2020… Is Couchsurfing still a thing?
When I was 19, I slept on a stranger’s slippery, faux-leather couch in a micro apartment in San Francisco’s notorious Tenderloin district. Thanks to my host, I ended up eating what I’m certain was the best Chinese food in the city, in a restaurant where the menus were all in handwritten in Chinese. And I […]
Honestly Though, Do I Need a VPN for Travel?
I’ll admit that for five years of travel blogging, I haven’t written a lot of useful stuff about travel. Like logistics. I’ve written a lot of stories and anecdotes with the aim of helping people understand other cultures (and my own culture). But I’ve done very little about the nitty-gritty stuff. I just always thought […]
16 Things I Learned in a Sustainability & Energy Masters
If you’re thinking about an MBA because you’re interested in MBA-stuff (economics, corporate finance, managing a business) but also interested in recycling, pollution, electricity and climate change, AND you’re looking to drive yourself crazy… well then I have an idea for you. There are ways to combine all of these. 2018, my third year as […]
Indianapolis: The Most “American” City in the USA
Back in May, I told a cab driver in Milan I was moving to the US and he said “oh really? You mean New York?” This is pretty common. People all over the world tell me they’ve experienced the US – usually New York City, Miami, San Francisco, or Las Vegas. While these cities are […]
Detroit, USA: Trains, Cars and the Motor City
“Do NOT get in line. I will LET YOU KNOW when the train is pulling into the station and I’m NOT gonna let anybody miss it.” She says this as if it were obvious. But it’s 10:24. Our train should leave in six minutes and still there’s no hint as to whether it’s here or […]
August in Chicago: Reflections on a Whirlwind Year
It’s almost Labor Day weekend, which in the US culturally marks the end of summer. But my mind is still on August 15, known as Ferragosto, which marks the middle of the Italian summer vacation season – not the end. Yet it was right around Ferragosto that Chicagoans started reminding me to enjoy the very […]
What is Italy’s “Ferragosto” and Why Am I Not On Vacation?
…And why does Europe shut down for a month in August? Two years ago, I wrote a post called August in Milan about the Italian holiday period of Ferragosto, and how the city heats up and empties out. I was half complaining at the time, but now – as a freshly repatriated expat in hard-working […]
What Pink French Toilet Paper Taught Me About Globalization
Being an expat lets you discover the little things about different cultures that don’t change with globalization. Being an expat in France, one of those things is pink toilet paper.
Starbucks Came to Milan… Is This a Problem?
The first Starbucks in Italy – a mega-coffee-shop and roastery – opened here in Milan last week. And I’m willing to admit that I stood in line – mostly with Italian families on the last weekend of summer holidays – for 45 minutes just to see what the fuss was about. There are so many […]
We Got Married! And Forgot to Tell You
I have news! Sort of old news, but most of you don’t know it, so it still counts I think. I got married! Yes, it’s true. I married the Italian man who I met in Shanghai, and traveled a dozen countries with, and moved to Milan for. Actually, Emanuele and I just had our seven-month […]
How To Eat In Italy – a Guide from Aperitivi to Dolci
If I’ve learned just one thing in the past year living in Milan, it’s how to eat in Italy. Food here is not just food, it’s a respected art backed by rules and tradition. There is a right way to eat a meal, and your friends (or server) will tell you if you’re doing it […]
August in Milan
I am writing this sitting on the floor of my apartment, where my clammy legs are sticking to the mercifully cool stone tiles. It’s nine in the morning. What’s that parable about the poor mouse (or maybe a frog?) swimming in the pot of cold water that doesn’t even notice when it starts to be […]
Ups & Downs of Travel Blogging and Expating
Getting back to writing and contemplating the blogging business, living abroad, and the elusiveness of ever feeling like I’ve got it all together. The more I learn about the industry, the more I believe the most important factor in blogging – and maybe in any writing or creative endeavor at all – is confidence. Just […]
Fresh Cup Magazine: Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s Café Culture Evolution The quality of coffee consumed in Costa Rica is catching up to the diverse, flavorful coffees it exports as brewing methods and café culture evolve. DECEMBER 26, 2016 KETTI WILHELM Costa Rica is famous for its eight distinct coffee-growing regions—each yielding beans with unique characteristics, brewed in kitchens and coffee […]
“Apocalypto:” the 2016 Election as Seen from Europe
It’s been a week since I woke up in Sofia, Bulgaria, to the news of a new president-elect back home. During this week back in Milan, I’ve had lots of dinners with Italians (not because of the election but because in Italy, there are always lots of dinners to be had). So I’ve heard a […]
Fresh Cup Magazine: China’s Growing Coffee Culture
My first thoughts of coffee when I moved to China were ones of longing.It was my first time in Asia, and I arrived with a job at a city university and a stubborn commitment to experiencing the culture in as pure a form as I could—forsaking a few of my favorite comforts from home that […]
The Awl: “Spring Fever”
Spring Fever Is “craft water” any dumber than all the other artisanal nonsense people spend money on? by Ketti Wilhelm May 13, 2016 On a recent Sunday afternoon, on the waterfront in Wellington, New Zealand, an unusually large crowd gathered before a repurposed shipping container with a neat, black-and-white sign that read, “The Water […]