Uncategorized Archives - Battered Suitcases

September 30, 2015

Oh, hello…

On life support.

An afternoon walk to the “Field of Joy” in our town.

Every so often I think to myself, “I should really pay more attention to my blog.” And then at other times, I think “My blog’s pretty much dead. Maybe I should just let it die.” Yet, neither of those scenarios seem right. I definitely pulled back from blogging when I moved to Morocco. I can’t believe that was over two years ago! At that time, I was just so busy and so emotionally drained that blogging didn’t hold much of an appeal.

Unfortunately, even though my life now is much less stressful, the appeal of blogging never really returned. I’m not in love with my site layout and I’ve never enjoyed posting via WordPress. I read other blogs less frequently than before and roll my eyes at some of the travel writing that’s being published lately.

However, I do still view my blog as a place to set aside travel photos and memories for safe-keeping. My goal is to every so often catalogue a new trip or experience. Hopefully, I’ll feel motivated enough in the next few weeks to post more about my life here in Korea as well as a trip to Japan I took this past July.

So if you’ve wondered at all if this little blog is dead, the answer is “sorta kinda.”

xo, jill

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Filed Under: chatter, Uncategorized

March 30, 2015

San Juan del Sur and the Great Divide

The beach spot.

Our journey down to San Juan del Sur took a little longer than expected. We hopped on a chicken bus (old American school bus) and felt grateful to get a seat. After about 20 minutes, the bus pulled out of the parking lot. Just outside of town the bus rolled to a stop. No matter how many times he tried, the driver couldn’t get it started again. The young French couple seated behind us convinced us to ditch the bus and share a taxi with them instead. That taxi took us to Rivas where we found another taxi to take us the rest of the way. Of course, once we arrived we didn’t have a place to stay. It took a few tries to find a guesthouse that was available and also met our standards. If was a relief when we were finally able to drop our suitcases.

San Juan del Sur is probably the most popular beach spot on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. People either seem to love it, or hate it. One man we spoke to nearly spit with disgust when he shared his opinion of the beach town. He was clearly not a fan. Other people speak of San Juan del Sur as if it’s paradise. My opinion is somewhere in the middle between the those two. It wasn’t my favorite place and I think some of the criticism is warranted, but there were also really good tacos.

Basically, San Juan del Sur is a built up tourist town with an unimpressive beach and plenty of drunk backpackers. If you want to swim or surf, you need to visit a beach 30 minutes away in either direction. Fortunately, the hostels arrange convenient shuttle buses to the most popular destinations. So, if you want to party and like tacos, it’s a pretty good place to be. If you want a scenic and relaxing beach, treat it like a jumping off point.

We were only there for the evening. Just long enough to enjoy the sunset, have a few tacos, and get our selves situated for our next destination.

xo, jill

posted by Jill 1 Comment
Filed Under: Nicaragua, Uncategorized

May 11, 2014

Granada & Alhambra part 2

So good.

Here are a few more photos from the Alhambra. I could have explored that place all day.

Couldn’t get enough of this view.

A little tip if you visit: Get the audio guide. It’s not the best audio guide to ever be produced, but you have little chance of learning anything without it. There is little to no signage in the complex.

And, mom? Happy Mother’s Day!

xo, jill

P.S. It has become quite clear to me that a four day window to share these photos was way too short. My new goal is to continue to post everyday until I’ve shared the entirety of the trip.

posted by Jill 2 Comments
Filed Under: Spain, Uncategorized

February 28, 2014

Pancake Party

Greeting 29 with a smile.

In honor of my 29th birthday, Mike and I invited our friends and my colleagues over for a pancake party. I wanted to do something inclusive that everyone would enjoy, even my new 3 year old friends! I knew I wanted to have a breakfast party but couldn’t quite decide on the food. Then, Mike piped up with a suggestion: Why not serve pancakes?

A few days later I became a co-owner of a pancake maker with my friend Katie. We weren’t sure how well it would work…seeing as it was actually labeled “Crap(e) Maker.” Luckily, it performed perfectly!

I tried to cover all the topping bases: butter, syrup, powdered sugar, strawberries, bananas, Nutella, whipped cream, sprinkles, honey, peanut butter, and the list continues. I wanted there to be something for everyone! There was also fresh orange, strawberry, and banana juice.

I feel like it’s safe to say the party was a success! There was even talk of more pancake parties in the future.

Unfortunately, the photos of the day did not turn out well so I’m not posting most of them. Plus, my favorite photos were starring the youngest guests, and I’d rather keep the kiddos off the blog. Just trust me, little ones posing with sprinkled covered pancakes are adorable.