…Is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.
PHOTO WENDY HUNGFebruary is universally known as the month of love. Last week, we published two articles on Valentine’s Day, bridging the theme of amour with our contributors’ love for traveling. In Fall in Love This Valentine’s Day: Why the City of Oxford Will Make You Swoon, Amanda reveals her city of dreams – Oxford. We come to understand why she wholeheartedly fell in love with the city and how she never truly recovered from that feeling of zsa zsa zu.
In Lauren Goerz’s Verona for Valentine’s Day: The Ultimate Lovers’ Getaway at the House of Juliet, we’re introduced to Il Sogno di Giulietta, a boutique hotel in the heart of Verona, Italy. Lauren hit the mark by presenting a hotel specifically targeting today’s modern jetsetters, emphasizing “its fabulous five-star accommodations and its location.” As savvy travelers, we are no longer impressed with commercialized hotel chains, nor do we always want to rest our feet in casual hostels. Boutique hotels, such as Il Sogno di Giulietta, are ideal options due to affordability and hidden stories to unravel.
PHOTO WENDY HUNGOn Valentine’s Day, I was in St. Petersburg on a family vacation. It was a profound holiday filled with infinite support, surrounded by three people I love most in life: my parents and my sister. Life seems to move fast and unpredictably by the second. Our annual family vacation, however, remains just as important, fun and authentic every year. In Russia, we visited Moscow, Suzdal and St. Petersburg. Starting this week, you will join me on my ten-day journey, in a land incredibly foreign yet exceedingly fascinating. From how I fashionably prepared for -14 celsius snowy weather, tech apps downloaded on my iPhone, to details of every monastery, art museum and landmark visited throughout my trip; I hope every article will inspire you – our readers – to book a flight to Russia in the near future.
PHOTO WENDY HUNGKeeping with the theme of love, all I can say for now is: St. Petersburg had me at hello. The first few minutes in Russia’s vibrant and majestic metropolitan reverted thoughts to my fourteen-year-old self, my first time in Paris – love at first sight. Dostoevsky, the famous Russian novelist, once wrote, “love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.” Perhaps that’s what all travelers experience in our worldwide journeys. There are always more places to see, endless cities we dream to discover. Harsh, dreadful but full of passion. As travelers, we love in dreams.
With love,
xxx
PHOTO WENDY HUNG