Travel

It wasn't until after I had eagerly hopped into the kayak, shoved my life jacket into the boat's cavity and grabbed my paddle that I realized what an odd moment this was.

Helloooo, royal wedding! Prince William has finally popped the question to long-time, on-again-off-again girlfriend Kate Middleton. No date has been set, but rumours are already circulating that the wedding will be “the biggest since William’s mother, Diana, married Prince Charles.” Kiss her, Willy, and make her a princess.

For Rachel Shukert, author of Everything is Going to Be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour, spending years traveling and working her way through Europe helped make her the happier, more self-assured woman she is today.

No one likes to be thought of as a complainer, but oh how I want to complain. Again. I just got back from a free three night’s stay at the Ritz Carlton in South Beach. Why did I get three free nights? Because I complained.

I'm finally - finally! - writing from a Paris hotel, my window overlooking a charming street scene of busy little cafes, boutiques selling beautiful leather goods and Mad Men-esque vintage clothing, and apartments with lovingly cultivated and colourful window boxes.