Kyoto, Japan
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Kyoto, Japan

Halfway through our Japan trip, we had such a lovely time in Kyoto. It’s quite the darling of Japanese cities, as we enjoyed plenty of its historical attractions, food, shopping, and even some nature. Anchoring it all was our stay at the Ace Hotel Kyoto. Something about this West Coast American (from Portland) property in…

Osaka, Japan
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Osaka, Japan

From the quiet, meditative spaces of the art islands, we traveled straight into the center of the chaos when we took a shinkansen into Osaka. The trains were all nearly full, as it seems like everyone else was also going back to the big city after their New Year’s breaks. We spent only two nights…

December in Taipei
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December in Taipei

We flew out on Christmas night, skipping over the 26th and arriving the morning of the 27th in Taipei. I hadn’t been to Taiwan since before the pandemic, and Alex hadn’t been in a decade. This would be our first Asia trip together! After dropping off our luggage at the hotel in Gongguan, we then…

40 Books in 2024
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40 Books in 2024

I read 40 books in 2024. It was a great year for thoughtful memoirs and eye-opening nonfiction, as well as some imaginative novels. Book covers in the graphic above are arranged from favorite (top left) to least favorite (bottom right). Below are some recaps for a couple of my favorites, which all happen to be…