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Serengeti sweetness

September 26, 2023 by Kirsten Neil 1 Comment
A stunner of a sunset on the Serengeti, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa

"Tanzania is not a real place." I uttered this pretty much every day, to every person, on every post, when we visited there in fall 2022. And a year later I am finally [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Adventure, Africa, Photography, Photos, Safari, Serengeti, Tanzania, Travel

On the edge in Ngorongoro

September 14, 2023 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Safari in Ngorongoro, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

After an epic first two days on safari, we bid farewell to Steven, our ranger in Lake Manyara, and hello to our Ngorongoro ranger, Joseph. He drove us through Tanzania for [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Adventure, Africa, Ngorongoro Crater, Photography, Photos, Safari, Tanzania, Travel

The sweet aromas of Arusha

September 1, 2023 by Kirsten Neil 2 Comments
The lush peaberries that contain the coffee beans.

It's coming up on a year since Chuck and I went on safari in Tanzania... and I kinda forgot to write about it. Whoops. But if you've met up with me in the last year, I [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Adventure, Africa, Arusha, Culture, Photography, Photos, Safari, Tanzania, Travel

Rhythm & reflection: A journey to the deep south

August 31, 2023 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
A perfect magnolia in Savannah.

In spring 2022 most of the travel restrictions had been lifted and Chuck and I were itching to hit the road somewhere. We thought a U.S. road trip to the south would be fun. [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Adventure, DC, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Photography, Photos, Road Trip, Savannah, Tennessee, Travel, Washington

The beauty and the birds of Witless Bay

September 14, 2021 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
A puffin flies in Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada.

Way back in 2018 -- oh, remember those glory days before corona -- I meant to share a bit about our adventure along the Atlantic Coast while we were road tripping through [Read more]

Posted in: Artwork, Travel Tagged: Adventure, Artwork, Atlantic Canada, Birds, Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador, Photography, Photos, Puffins, Road Trip, Travel, Wildlife

I fell in love with the shinin’ ring of Éire

August 17, 2017 by Kirsten Neil 3 Comments
Ring of Kerry, Ireland

Not gonna lie, the weather on my summer trip to Scotland and Ireland was anything but summer-y. These places might scale lighter on the landmass size, but they have weather [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Ireland, Photos, Ring of Kerry, Sheep Herding, Travel

High tea at a castle high in the sky

July 6, 2017 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

I've just poured a cup of tea, Earl Grey of course, and, as I wait for my tiered tray of goodies to arrive, I'm lost in thought at what Edinburgh is like. What should I write [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Random thoughts, Travel Tagged: Edinburgh, Photos, Scotland, Travel, United Kingdom

10 wonderful places to look up

June 17, 2017 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
10 wonderful places to look up

Look up! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a gargoyle? Some travellers like to take photos of doors, some prefer the all-selfie route, but for me, my favourite perspective looks [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Alberta, DC, London, New York City, Paris, Photography, Photos, Rome, San Francisco, Travel, Tuscany, Vancouver, Venice

Confessions of a fashion victim

April 24, 2017 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Don't Steal This Look: Confessions of a fashion victim

Look, I'm going to finally admit it, I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to fashion. Home decor, yes, I get it, I have a sense of what I'm accomplishing, plus being [Read more]

Posted in: Random thoughts Tagged: Funny, Manitoba, Photos, Winnipeg

Oh Hana — Part II

March 16, 2015 by Kirsten Neil 4 Comments
Old village, Ke'anae Peninsula, Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii

The Road to Hana, a drive so nice, we did it twice! For this year's journey through the jungle, we decided to hit up different places than we did on our first go-around. Not a [Read more]

Posted in: Friends & Family, Photography, Travel Tagged: Amazing Drives, Bucket List, Hamoa Beach, Hawaii, Maui, Photos, Road to Hana, Road Trip, Travel

Swerving, swerving on that big wave

March 1, 2015 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Surfers at Honolua Bay, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

On a warm, windy day in Maui, we took a delightful drive along the west coast of the island. The highlight of the day was standing on the cliffs over Honolua Bay watching [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Hawaii, Honolua Bay, Maui, Ocean, Photos, Surfing, Tourism, Travel, United States

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, go on a beach crawl

February 26, 2015 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
ABC bag with my ABC beer koozie and my Costco towel.

Forget pub crawls, I'm all about the beach crawl. And who wouldn't be? Less time to get ready, less creepers invading your space, more sun, more fun. After our Little Beach [Read more]

Posted in: Friends & Family, Photography, Travel Tagged: Beach, Big Beach, Hawaii, Kihei, Maui, Photos, Travel, Ukumehame Beach, Wailea Beach

Treasure hunting in New York

June 11, 2014 by Kirsten Neil 2 Comments
Scarab amulets, The Met.

Like all travel lists, some of the items you put on it start to fall off once you arrive at your destination. For New York, I had a list of museums to visit as long as my arm. [Read more]

Posted in: Artists, Photography, Travel Tagged: American Museum of Natural History, Art, Girls Trip, History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum, New York City, Photos, The Met, Van Gogh

A moveable feast

September 20, 2013 by Kirsten Neil 3 Comments
Eating dessert on Portage and Main, not too shabby.

Over the summer, Travel Manitoba invited the super-sweet and fun-loving blogger, BCRobyn, to spend 28 days exploring, tasting and enjoying all the great things a Manitoba [Read more]

Posted in: Food & Drink, Friends & Family, Photography, Work Tagged: Dining, Fairmont, Foodie, Manitoba, Photos, Travel Manitoba, Winnipeg

A day of history and horses

September 9, 2013 by Kirsten Neil Leave a Comment
Step to it!

"You need to see Old Quebec." is what I heard from a few people before our trip to Montreal this summer. So on a very early Tuesday morning, Chuck and I rode the rails to [Read more]

Posted in: Photography, Travel Tagged: Canada, Photography, Photos, Quebec, Quebec City, Summer, Travel
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Top Posts

A little taste of Athens
Something wicked's lurking in the dark

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Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dune Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dunes, gassy camels, desert camps, deep gorges, high mountain peaks, friendly Berbers, an even friendlier tour guide, all contained within a terrain that screams “STUNNING!” around every bend. What more can one ask for on a three-day journey? How can one fit all that in in just three days? 

Hands-down, the biggest highlight on our Moroccan adventure (besides AFCON, but that’s sports) was a journey from Fes to Marrakech via the Sahara Desert.

We found a highly-rated three-day trip from @moroccofabuloustravel via @tripadvisor. I didn’t know Morocco’s beauty could stun even more after our first few days in Fes, Chefchaouen and Tangier, but boy, did it ever. We were left enchanted…

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #morocco🇲🇦 #moroccofabuloustravel
🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦

Tangier was not originally on our agenda for Morocco. But once we saw how pretty Chefchaouen (see previous post) was, and that it was conveniently situated between Tangier and Fes, we altered our plans to visit the coastal city that’s situated on the Strait of Gibraltar. 

We actually didn’t do a heck of a lot in Tangier as we were already spinning from a hectic first few days in Fes. Instead, the city became a place where we could slow down, relax and breathe in the fresh sea air.

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #tangier #morocco🇲🇦 #afcon2025
Chefchaouen, a city painted in blue. One saturated Chefchaouen, a city painted in blue. One saturated in cobalt and azure and cerulean and indigo tones so much so that it’s both stunning and exhilarating at the same time. 🙌🏻💙

We didn’t need to add another place to visit on our already packed Morocco itinerary, but a friend said I needed to visit Chefchaouen. I then looked it up on Insta and I immediately knew we had to fit “The Blue City” into our travels. I think this photo gallery clearly show why.

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #chefchaouen #chefchaouen💙 #morocco🇲🇦
Here’s looking at you, Fes. ♥️🇲🇦 Fes was the firs Here’s looking at you, Fes. ♥️🇲🇦

Fes was the first place we visited in late December/early January on our AFCON adventure. Since the Nigerian football team was stationed mostly in Fes, so were we. 

We didn’t have a ton of time to explore all that Fes has to offer, but what we did do was lovely. We stayed in a couple riads, dined at some great spots, shopped for lots of goodies and, of course, got lost in the medina on a daily basis.

There were so many moments in Fes that reminded us we were exploring a very cool place. 

Read my full recap at
betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #fes #morocco🇲🇦
A Canadian sports-loving gal goes to the Africa Cu A Canadian sports-loving gal goes to the Africa Cup of Nations and insanity ensues. 😱⚽️

AFCON was the main reason we stopped in Morocco before heading to Lagos for winter. A month-long tournament where the best African football players duke it out (sometimes literally) to be crowned the best team on the continent.

Now, when I tell you this tournament is out of control, believe me. We watched it on TV while in Lagos a couple years ago and I was instantly hooked. No one brings drama like Africans. Mix all that drama with sports… Well, as the ladies say on tv here, “Blood of Jesus!” 😉

The players, the refs, the coaches, the fans, they all go freaking nuts at this tournament. So I assumed I knew what I was getting into. Nope. It was so much more. 

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #afcon #afcon2025 #totalenergiesafcon2025
Instagram post 18082803442950567 Instagram post 18082803442950567
This is it. Our last day in Morocco. We leave at 1 This is it. Our last day in Morocco. We leave at 1:00 am to Lagos and all the craziness that awaits us there. 

But Morocco, oh Morocco. We had the best time here. We met so many amazing people who constantly put smiles on our faces. And of course there was a scam or two thrown in. But they were small and didn’t even cause a blip in our journey. 

We both were excited to come here to watch the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). I had watched it for the first time a couple years ago on TV and I was a goner. The games are fun, the drama is completely over-dramatic African-style (iykyk), and the fans are a sight to behold. 

What we didn’t expect was to be completely blown away by Morocco’s medinas and landscapes. Breathtaking, chaotic, saturated, aromatic, kind, shouty, welcoming are just a few words to describe our experience here.

Also, being with an African while touring an African country… there’s nothing like it. People everywhere are constantly high-fiving Chuck and asking, “Nigeria?” And as soon as he says yes, my God, do the Moroccans go nuts. They truly love the Naija people. And the feeling is mutual. 🇳🇬🤝🇲🇦

I think my biggest highlights were our trip to the desert (camel rides, fancy tents and atvs!) and of course the main reason we came: to attend AFCON. Watching the @ng_supereagles kick-ass has been a delight. Go Osimhen! Go Lookman! Bring home the win! 🏆 

We attended four matches (one group, two knockouts, one quarter-final) and were lucky to see Nigeria play three of them. The last match we attended was a quarterfinal rout against Algeria. They dominated them to embarrassing levels. Not one shot on goal for the opponents. They are exciting to watch as a team. Algerians were so mad after the game they tried to fight the refs and Nigerian players. As Chuck said, “they got bad belly.” 😂 

Anyways, that was Morocco for me/us. If you are ever thinking about visiting, please reach out with questions. 😊

Now I’m off to pick up my luggage at the Casablanca airport that arrived 10 days late. 😂 

More to come when I get more of my thoughts about this place together. 

xoxo Morocco ♥️🇲🇦
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #morocco #morocco🇲🇦 #africatravel
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Instagram

Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dune Golden sunsets, golden sunrises, wind-whipped dunes, gassy camels, desert camps, deep gorges, high mountain peaks, friendly Berbers, an even friendlier tour guide, all contained within a terrain that screams “STUNNING!” around every bend. What more can one ask for on a three-day journey? How can one fit all that in in just three days? 

Hands-down, the biggest highlight on our Moroccan adventure (besides AFCON, but that’s sports) was a journey from Fes to Marrakech via the Sahara Desert.

We found a highly-rated three-day trip from @moroccofabuloustravel via @tripadvisor. I didn’t know Morocco’s beauty could stun even more after our first few days in Fes, Chefchaouen and Tangier, but boy, did it ever. We were left enchanted…

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #morocco🇲🇦 #moroccofabuloustravel
🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A petit taste of Tangier. 🇲🇦

Tangier was not originally on our agenda for Morocco. But once we saw how pretty Chefchaouen (see previous post) was, and that it was conveniently situated between Tangier and Fes, we altered our plans to visit the coastal city that’s situated on the Strait of Gibraltar. 

We actually didn’t do a heck of a lot in Tangier as we were already spinning from a hectic first few days in Fes. Instead, the city became a place where we could slow down, relax and breathe in the fresh sea air.

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #tangier #morocco🇲🇦 #afcon2025
Chefchaouen, a city painted in blue. One saturated Chefchaouen, a city painted in blue. One saturated in cobalt and azure and cerulean and indigo tones so much so that it’s both stunning and exhilarating at the same time. 🙌🏻💙

We didn’t need to add another place to visit on our already packed Morocco itinerary, but a friend said I needed to visit Chefchaouen. I then looked it up on Insta and I immediately knew we had to fit “The Blue City” into our travels. I think this photo gallery clearly show why.

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #chefchaouen #chefchaouen💙 #morocco🇲🇦
Here’s looking at you, Fes. ♥️🇲🇦 Fes was the firs Here’s looking at you, Fes. ♥️🇲🇦

Fes was the first place we visited in late December/early January on our AFCON adventure. Since the Nigerian football team was stationed mostly in Fes, so were we. 

We didn’t have a ton of time to explore all that Fes has to offer, but what we did do was lovely. We stayed in a couple riads, dined at some great spots, shopped for lots of goodies and, of course, got lost in the medina on a daily basis.

There were so many moments in Fes that reminded us we were exploring a very cool place. 

Read my full recap at
betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #fes #morocco🇲🇦
A Canadian sports-loving gal goes to the Africa Cu A Canadian sports-loving gal goes to the Africa Cup of Nations and insanity ensues. 😱⚽️

AFCON was the main reason we stopped in Morocco before heading to Lagos for winter. A month-long tournament where the best African football players duke it out (sometimes literally) to be crowned the best team on the continent.

Now, when I tell you this tournament is out of control, believe me. We watched it on TV while in Lagos a couple years ago and I was instantly hooked. No one brings drama like Africans. Mix all that drama with sports… Well, as the ladies say on tv here, “Blood of Jesus!” 😉

The players, the refs, the coaches, the fans, they all go freaking nuts at this tournament. So I assumed I knew what I was getting into. Nope. It was so much more. 

Read my full recap at betweenbrushstrokes.com
(link in profile)
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #afcon #afcon2025 #totalenergiesafcon2025
Instagram post 18082803442950567 Instagram post 18082803442950567
This is it. Our last day in Morocco. We leave at 1 This is it. Our last day in Morocco. We leave at 1:00 am to Lagos and all the craziness that awaits us there. 

But Morocco, oh Morocco. We had the best time here. We met so many amazing people who constantly put smiles on our faces. And of course there was a scam or two thrown in. But they were small and didn’t even cause a blip in our journey. 

We both were excited to come here to watch the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). I had watched it for the first time a couple years ago on TV and I was a goner. The games are fun, the drama is completely over-dramatic African-style (iykyk), and the fans are a sight to behold. 

What we didn’t expect was to be completely blown away by Morocco’s medinas and landscapes. Breathtaking, chaotic, saturated, aromatic, kind, shouty, welcoming are just a few words to describe our experience here.

Also, being with an African while touring an African country… there’s nothing like it. People everywhere are constantly high-fiving Chuck and asking, “Nigeria?” And as soon as he says yes, my God, do the Moroccans go nuts. They truly love the Naija people. And the feeling is mutual. 🇳🇬🤝🇲🇦

I think my biggest highlights were our trip to the desert (camel rides, fancy tents and atvs!) and of course the main reason we came: to attend AFCON. Watching the @ng_supereagles kick-ass has been a delight. Go Osimhen! Go Lookman! Bring home the win! 🏆 

We attended four matches (one group, two knockouts, one quarter-final) and were lucky to see Nigeria play three of them. The last match we attended was a quarterfinal rout against Algeria. They dominated them to embarrassing levels. Not one shot on goal for the opponents. They are exciting to watch as a team. Algerians were so mad after the game they tried to fight the refs and Nigerian players. As Chuck said, “they got bad belly.” 😂 

Anyways, that was Morocco for me/us. If you are ever thinking about visiting, please reach out with questions. 😊

Now I’m off to pick up my luggage at the Casablanca airport that arrived 10 days late. 😂 

More to come when I get more of my thoughts about this place together. 

xoxo Morocco ♥️🇲🇦
—
#ckvacays #kirstentravels #morocco #morocco🇲🇦 #africatravel
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A little taste of Athens
Something wicked's lurking in the dark

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