One of my favorite things about Corsica is how diverse of an island it is. This isn't only a beach holiday destination (though you can definitely have an amazing beach holiday here). Corsica also has incredible hikes, a lively capital city, and stunning old villages and towns ...
My Local Guide to Visiting Reine, Norway – Lofoten’s Most Beautiful Village
During my years living in northern Norway I've visited Lofoten over a dozen times, and every time I made sure to stop in Reine, Lofoten's most scenic village. Ready my full Lofoten guide here. Recently my friends Catriona and Viv came to visit, and their last visit ...
7 Mistakes People Make When Trying to See the Northern Lights in Norway
After I moved to Tromsø in Northern Norway my inbox started flooding with messages from people wanting to plan northern lights trips to Norway and asking for local advice. And that's for good reason too - I can't think of many experiences I've had that have been more ...
Where to Stay in Tokyo for the Best First Time Experience
During the three years I lived in Japan I made a lot of visits to Tokyo, and I got to know the different neighborhoods quite well. I definitely have some favorite parts of Tokyo that I always go back to, and there are three areas I always recommend to any friends wondering where ...
10 Years of Heart My Backpack
Exactly a decade ago I opened my laptop, logged into my new Wordpress account, and began typing my first blog post on heartmybackpack.com. Could I have imagined that ten years later, I'd be typing yet another post on this travel blog of mine? I can't really remember what my ...




