Let’s go beyond the obvious – talking with your hands, kissing cheeks in greeting and, yes, eating lots of pasta. These are some deeper Italian habits, cultural values, and personality traits that I picked up (and learned to love) as an expat in Italy. I’ve lived in a lot of places in my adult life, and […]
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How to Use Ferries for Greek Island Hopping (And the Best Way to Book Your Tickets)
This is a guide to traveling by ferry in Greece (and between Greece and Italy), including how to buy Greek ferry tickets with FerryHopper, how far in advance to buy them, the truth about potentially saving money buying ferry ticket “passes,” and many more tips! At the beginning of a recent trip exploring two Greek […]
Paros Travel Guide: the Best Sustainable Hotels, Restaurants & Packing Tips
After a two-week trip to Paros and Naxos, I was amazed by how hard I fell for Greece’s Cycladic islands. Food is usually the first consideration in my travel plans, and the cuisine in the Cyclades does not disappoint! (The restaurants on Paros particularly impressed me.) But you’ll also find striking scenery – from the […]
Activist Skincare [& How to Spot Genuinely Sustainable Skincare Brands]
In this review, I’m sharing my experience with the entire Activist Skincare line, including a comparison of all seven refillable(!) products, and a few of the best alternatives I’ve found while building my zero-waste skincare routine. After a lot of research and comparison shopping, I think Activist Skincare is easily one of the most sustainable […]
A Chef’s Recipe from the Island of Ischia: Pasta with Beans & Mussels
Pasta with beans and mussels? I’d never heard of this Southern Italian combination until I took a beautiful, early summer trip to Ischia – one of the picturesque little islands in front of Naples. Capri is its more famous neighbor but, as I learned, Ischia is more laid-back. I took the trip with my husband, […]
Visiting Clean Blue Paros: The Reality of Greece’s Plastic-Free Island
The island of Paros is small, rocky, and just slightly under-the-radar, as Greek islands go. And it’s just starting to develop a reputation as a plastic-free travel destination. My husband and I arrived on a blustery day in October, picked up our delightfully toy-sized rental car, and headed for our first hotel, which I’d chosen […]
The Leaf Razor: A Painfully Honest Review from my Adventures in Sustainable Shaving
Thinking of upgrading your shave to a sustainable, plastic-free safety razor? After testing lots of (much less painful) plastic-free toiletry swaps, I decided to do the same. So I’ve thoroughly tested three plastic-free razor brands for this review. (TL;DR: The Leaf is the only one that didn’t hurt me.) These are the razors I tested […]
This Travel Blog Declares a Climate Emergency [Part 1: Wait, What?]
This is the first article in what will be a multi-part series about understanding, calculating and reducing the carbon emissions of travel. (I’ll add links here in the coming months as I learn and write more in the series.) I have some big news from this little travel and sustainability blog: Tilted Map is declaring […]
The Lazy Guide to More Sustainable Travel [Simple Tips & Resources]
In this sustainable travel guide, you’ll find practical tips for making any kind of travel (not just “eco-travel”) more eco-friendly – mostly through small mindset changes and knowing what to look for. Let’s play a game: What do you picture in your mind when you read the words “eco-travel,” or “sustainable travel”? Does it involve gorillas, […]
What is TerraCycle? [& Why Going Low-Waste Matters More Than Recycling]
I’ve briefly mentioned TerraCycle before in some of my sustainable product reviews, but there is so much more that needs to be said about them. So I wanted to explain here what TerraCycle is (including its legitimate criticisms and limitations), how to use their recycling programs, and some long-term solutions that are even better. I […]
The Earthling Co. vs HiBAR Review: the Winner of My 1-Year Shampoo Bar Quest
This is my detailed review of The Earthling Co. shampoo and conditioner bars, and a comparison with another well-known, plastic-free shampoo option – HiBAR. It’s been exactly one year since I published my first shampoo bar review. (Which was actually the first of all my sustainable product reviews!) While I’ve added a few brands to my […]
Thinx Period Underwear (& More Sustainable Alternatives)
This is a detailed review of several kinds of period underwear. The most famous brand is Thinx, but I’m also comparing several Thinx alternatives (with better sustainability credentials), including Wuka, Saalt, Knix, ModiBodi, and other top brands. If you’ve seen the product reviews I’ve been writing, you know I’ve been gradually ridding my routine of […]
