These reefs are living, breathing snapshots of a watery world that you can peek into: refreshing oases where the noise of the land falls away; in its place, an intricate and utterly at-ease slice of life that you're lucky enough to witness.
Chicago is the only city in the world that dyes its river green for St. Patrick's Day, and the party Chicago throws to mark the holiday is well worth traveling for. The highlight of Chicago's festivities takes place on the Saturday before the holiday, when the local plumber's union pours a vegetable-based dye into the Chicago River, turning it a brilliant shade of green just in time for one of the largest St. Patrick's Day parades in the country.
Our ride was down Venice's Grand Canal, the most famous one in the city, and I knew that was a mistake almost right away. Pulling away from the dock alongside several other boats reminded me of rush hour. Our gondola was sandwiched between two other boats, and I was worried about getting bumped the entire time.
I'm most at peace at our place in Kangaroo Valley, a couple of hours south of Sydney - we have 12 acres of native Australian semi-rainforest. If I'm five hours into a day of trying to get rid of the weeds from a copse of trees, I'm pretty fucking happy, especially if my kids and my wife are helping me.
Many people plan their entire vacations based on viral TikToks and Instagram photo ops, often without realizing what those places are actually like behind the lens.
At first glance, beer bike Amsterdam might not seem like something out of the ordinary, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
During my time in Verona, I stumbled upon Club di Giulietta, a volunteer group that calls themselves the secretaries of Juliet. They receive thousands of letters from around the world, and volunteers sort letters by language before handwriting a response. I got to spend a few hours reading and writing replies myself, which became the highlight of my trip to Verona.