Are you the type of traveler who loves to get off the beaten path? Who values experiences over things? Who believes travel goes deeper than a fantastic meal? Then the Postcard Academy travel podcast is for you.
Each week, I interview people who packed up everything to start a new adventure in another part of the world. You’ll get their insider travel recommendations on the best food and cultural experiences in the most interesting places around the globe. You’ll also discover travel hacks to find cheap flights and travel deals, and hear personal expat stories that offer guidance on how to live, work, volunteer, and travel abroad.
I’m your host, Sarah Mikutel, an American who’s been living, working, and traveling around Europe since 2010 (and visiting long before that). Enjoy the show!
Today is World Emoji Day. Why? Because the calendar emoji (📅) features the date July 17. Some hotheads get really worked up about emojis having their own day, but it’s all in good fun, like Pizza Day (February 9 in the U.S.). To celebrate, I’m sharing my podcast interview with Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia, and an Australian expat living in London.
Read MoreI’ve always been a little afraid of Australia because of all its slithery and sharp-toothed creatures, but British expat James Cridland has me wanting to sip coffee and cuddle with koalas Down Under. On the Postcard Academy’s Brisbane episode, James and I talk about the best things to see, eat, and experience in Brisbane, Australia. Also, I learn the proper way to eat Vegemite; Australia’s tipping situation; and the proper way to ride in a taxi in this super-laidback country.
Read MoreLet yourself be happy. Call a friend. Express your feelings. Stop working so hard. Be true to yourself, and don’t worry about what other people expect.
Read MoreTraveling through the Balkans can be tough for vegetarians and vegans (hope you like bread!). Thankfully, more restaurants are catering to veggie needs and offering more diverse menus. However, in Albania, a number of their local dishes have always been vegetarian. Here are some of the foods you need to try.
Read MoreAlbania roadtrip! Getting here from Croatia wasn’t easy and involved a bus detour in Montenegro. But exploring Albania is definitely worth it if you enjoy good food, cheap prices, and fewer tourists than Europe’s more popular destinations.
Read MoreRoadtrip! Croatia + Albania. In a two-part episode of the Postcard Academy, my travel friend Cristal Dyer and I reminisce about our recent trip down Croatia’s coast into Albania. Part one is all about what we saw along Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. Listen to the Postcard Academy podcast to come along for the ride :)
Read MoreFor centuries, Florence’s artists and artisans have been weaving magic into Florentine society. On the Postcard Academy podcast, I talk to Nardia Plumridge, author of Lost in Florence, about her favorite artisans and local shopping experiences in the heart of Tuscany.
Read MoreI used to think dying in a fire would be the worst way to go. I now believe selfie-related deaths top that. Our self-obsessed culture has weighed on my mind in recent days as the world recognized the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the largest air, sea, and land operation in the history of war. On D-Day alone, Nazis killed nearly 4,500 Allied troops and injured many more. In one day. And I keep asking myself: Are we living lives that honor that sacrifice?
Read MoreI’ve always been a little afraid of Australia because of all its slithery and sharp-toothed creatures, but British expat James Cridland has me wanting to sip coffee and cuddle with koalas Down Under. On the Postcard Academy’s Brisbane episode, James and I talk about the best things to see, eat, and experience in Brisbane, Australia. Also, I learn the proper way to eat Vegemite; Australia’s tipping situation; and the proper way to ride in a taxi in this super-laidback country.
Read MoreLily Girma is a lawyer turned travel writer who’s spent a significant amount of time in some of the most beautiful destinations in the world, including Belize and Jamaica. In the Santo Domingo episode of the Postcard Academy travel podcast, Lily explains why she now calls the Dominican Republic home.
Read MoreAmanda Kingsmith and Ryan Ferguson are a Canadian couple who travel full time, but they do it slowly, often staying in one place for weeks or months at a time. Over the last year, they fell in love with Mexico City and its incredible food and culture scene. Did you know that Mexico City has more than 40,000 restaurants and the second-highest number of museums after Paris?
British-born Mark Ellwood is a fellow expat and travel podcaster who I’ve been listening to for a few years, first on Conde Nast Traveler’s Travelogue and now on Travel Genius. Whenever I hear him, I think, “This guy sounds like so much fun.” I knew he’d be the perfect guest to talk about the local experiences we should have in New York City.
“Zagreb is where you’ll feel the life of Croatia,” says Ashley Colburn, an American expat living in Istria. She’s a TV producer who won an Emmy for her in-depth travel coverage of Croatia. On the Postcard Academy, Ashley shares her favorite things to see, do, and eat in Zagreb, the capital city.
Croatia is more than Dubrovnik, which Game of Thrones fans and cruise ships have been flocking to for years. On the Croatia’s Coast episode of the Postcard Academy, Ashley Colburn, an American now living in Istria, helps us explore more of Croatia’s coastline (plus also Dubrovnik because it is stunning).
Kathy McCabe, host of the travel TV series Dream of Italy, has been sharing her insider Italian tips for more than 16 years. She joined me on the Postcard Academy to share some of her all-time favorite experiences you should have across Italy.
A lot of the news stories about Brexit are wonky and confusing, so I invited my British friend, Mark Robson, to come on the Postcard Academy podcast to explain what Brexit means in language everyone can understand. In part one, Mark and I dive into some European history to explain how Brexit came to be. In part 2, we talk about how it feels to be living in England during this crazy time, which has been described as serious as WWII, and we share our predictions and dreams for the U.K.
Little Estonia, with less than 1.5 million people, has been running itself like a tech company for about two decades now, giving everyone a digital ID and letting them access almost all government services online. Now they’re letting foreigners become e-Residents of their digital nation. Here’s how.
Read MoreWired magazine has called Estonia “the most advanced digital society in the world.” The President of Estonia (a woman — yay!) just published an article about how “Estonia is running its country like a tech company” and that “governments must learn to provide public services as efficiently as Amazon sells books: no physical presence, no cost of application, no opening hours.” Despite all the tech, Estonians still cherish nature and traditions like jam making and baking black bread.
Read MoreMost travel stories bore people — including the storytellers themselves. Why do we struggle to convey the magic we experienced on our trip? According to Matthew Dicks, author of Storyworthy, TED speaker, and five-time Moth GrandSLAM champion, travel stories usually fail because they’re just a chronological recitation of your itinerary. Here’s the right way to tell a story.
Read MoreProfessional photographer Anna Mazurek travels the world for clients such as Travel + Leisure, Rolling Stone, and National Geographic. But don’t think they’re throwing money at her. These days, successful travel photographers earn around $30,000 a year. Despite this, Anna has figured out how to maximize this income to travel the world full time and still save for retirement. She writes about this in her new book Good With Money.
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