All posts filed under: Diaries

Walking in Paris with La Vie Est Miracle sign

Being Black American in Paris

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Heading to Paris in 2017 was a pivotal moment in my life.  I originally wrote about the idea of being Black American in Paris in 2019. It’s still a piece that I get a lot of outreach about. So I decided to re-edit the piece and release it again on the blog in conjuction with a podcast episode I have coming out on Paris for Building Home. I’m interviewing floral designer Ryan Norville on her family’s recent move to Paris. Paris has been going viral, and it hasn’t been positive. A Tiktoker has made it a brand offering “hot takes” on why they think Paris is overated and the dregs. Malfoy sites the trash, grafitti and says that Paris smells like “piss, cheese and armpit.” The city’s food “looks grimy as hell.” Of course, like any city, this isn’t the first time Paris has been critiqued and Paris syndrome is a real. That fall, I underwent my own Paris syndrome. But my time in Paris was one of those catalysts for change in my life. …

Ciao, Sicilia! Sicily Travel Guides

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Ciao, Sicilia! I mean even that alone sounds sexy, no? Dolce & Gabbana built their brand around it. As an American living in Italy, it can be easy to fall into that La Dolce Vita myth. Everything is beautiful, everywhere is magical. Though, being primarily based in Northern Italy, I’ll let you in on something: Southern Italy has my heart. From my time in Puglia in my early 20s, to now, Sicily is decidely my happy place in Italy. Maybe it’s the island life, I know it’s the hospitality, food, people, ‘tude. The people are warmer, their accents more melodic, more swaggy. Tuscany is beautiful, but I truly believe, Sicily is what Americans want when they come to Italy. A lot of Italian-Americans are Southern or Sicilian… so maybe it’s the familiar? Did you know that in 1945 and 1946 a strong Sicilian separatist movement campaigned for Sicily to be admitted as a U.S. state? Black Americans, you might be drawn to Sicily too… from True Romance to Little White Lies, are they those mythic …

Girl and floating top, hot air balloons, teotihuacan pyramids in front

The Perfect Weekend in Mexico City

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Love exploring cities? Here’s a perfect travel guide to Mexico City. You guys know how much I love Mexico. My love of Sayulita actually started my travel writing career. This time around, I was able to explore a very different side of the country than the coasts. With just a 4.5 hour flight from NYC, less from LA, head to this amazing cosmopolitan city for some fun, fashion and fulfillment. Here’s my perfect long weekend travel guide to Mexico City to get you started. W Mexico City invited @skinnywashere, @troprouge, @lexiconofstyle, @catcherinthestyle, @neivy, @so.shauna, and me, @nneya to explore their city, bursting back to life after the pandemic. Seemingly unstoppable cities around the world went sleepy, but if this is Mexico City just waking up, wow! Vibrant, fun, cultured, sexy are just a few ways to describe this city, so naturally, we fit right in. I missed exploring countries around the world. We all did. And while Americans have been going to Mexico during the pandemic, travel has been more escapism. Nightlife, restaurants, theatre, the …

Starting A New Decade: Hope for the Future from South Africa’s Past

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Happy New Year! This past month has been a whirlwind. After leaving Italy, I came back to NYC and enjoyed a few days at home before heading to the west coast of Mexico, Zihuatanejo, for 3 days, hoping on a flight back to NYC for an event and an early AM flight to Detroit with Glam4Good. After a relaxing holiday break with my family, I’m so excited to head into this new decade. I’m jumped headfirst into work and have a strong feeling that this year will be a year of major change personally and professionally. I have so much content to share with you and am often torn (and exhausted!) keeping up with social media that I neglect NAPW. But I have such a deep satisfaction from writing that I’ll never give up blogging. My resolution is to be more consistent with it! Not just the consistency from microblogging on social media. When thinking about the new year and the future, I went back to an interview I did with South African ANC freedom …