Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n My travels in 2025 began with a six-week trip to Mexico and the US.<\/strong> Almost entirely to places I had visited before, with only Houston and Austin being new.<\/p>\n And while I\u2019m usually able to keep up the work when traveling, it all fell apart these last two months. In part because of the turmoil in the United States, as the government fully embraces fascism, as phones are searched at borders for political opinions, as ICE kidnaps people, as many frequent visitors refuse to return to the United States, as the economy crashes while the billionaires get richer.<\/p>\n I know what to do as a citizen. I donate. I call my reps. I boycott. I amplify. I protest when I can, and support protestors when I can\u2019t. I even make political travel videos on Instagram and TikTok.<\/p>\n But in terms of the work that actually earns me a living, I\u2019ve felt frozen. I\u2019ve been a professional travel blogger for 15 years. You don\u2019t do any job for 15 years without going through tough times. But what we\u2019re dealing with now is horrific and complicated on a level I haven\u2019t experienced.<\/p>\n I\u2019m in the middle of writing a much larger blog post about this issue, because it deserves to be fleshed out properly. You\u2019ll get that soon.<\/p>\n And now that I\u2019ve mustered up the energy to write about travel again, let\u2019s take a look at the past two months. Under this happy-little-monthly-recap, there\u2019s been more than a bit of screaming.<\/p>\n Three fabulous weeks in Mexico.<\/strong> If anything, I fell more in love with M\u00e9rida, appreciated that Bacalar hadn\u2019t changed one bit, enjoyed Mexico City as much as usual, and fell a bit out of love with Oaxaca.<\/p>\n Has Mexico changed in the last few years? Of course. Restaurants have opened and closed. M\u00e9rida now has electric buses. American tourists on tours find ways to subtly throw shade at Trump to weed out the group, then exhale in relief when everyone else joins in.<\/p>\n But the biggest change across the board in Mexico was that every time we ordered a coffee at a nice cafe, the server would ask, \u201cLeche normal?\u201d Nicer cafes did have plant-based milks a few years ago, but servers didn\u2019t automatically offer them to you! A subtle change that says a lot.<\/p>\n Some of the highlights? Swimming in wild cenotes near M\u00e9rida, returning to Los Rapidos in Bacalar, eating so much good food in Mexico City, and finally visiting the Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca.<\/p>\n Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans.<\/strong> I\u2019ve celebrated Mardi Gras once before<\/a>, back in 2014, and I\u2019ve always wanted to return and do it much better. Charlie, Nick, and I had an absolutely FABULOUS time, and I got to experience a lot of things I missed the first time around (like standing on a balcony!).<\/p>\n We also really loved our riverboat ride on the Creole Queen, where there were unlimited Bloody Mary\u2019s and mimosas for just $25. A rare deal at Mardi Gras time.<\/p>\n After Mardi Gras, we drove to Houston for one night, just to visit the Space Center \u2014 and even took a tour of Mission Control, which is preserved to look just like in the late 60s!<\/p>\n Attending my first SXSW in Austin.<\/strong> Charlie loved attending the South by Southwest conference years ago, so when it lined up with Mardi Gras this year, we decided to do it! This conference is SO expensive, especially when you factor in accommodation, but we booked accommodation weeks before the dates were announced.<\/p>\n Was it worth it? I enjoyed a lot of it, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth the investment if you\u2019re coming here specifically to grow your business as a content creator. <\/p>\n (Then again, if you make that ONE magical connection that changes your life\u2026of course it would be. But events designed around networking are rare here. If you want to network, you need to actively strike up conversations with strangers around you. Which is tough if you\u2019re an introvert like me.)<\/p>\n I did go to a few useful workshops (my favorite one was about crowdfunding), attended a few comedy shows, and got to see Pedro Pascal and the cast of The Last of Us<\/em>! The panels I most enjoyed were the political ones, and I got to see Elizabeth Warren, Ayanna Pressley, and Michelle Obama speak.<\/p>\n Also, Austin is all about the live music, which sounds good on paper\u2026but I found all the venues to be way too loud to be enjoyable. Maybe that\u2019s just part of getting older.<\/p>\n This was my first time visiting Austin, and to be honest, I waited too long. I really should have visited 10 or 15 years ago, when it was possible to earn a living as an artist and live decently. Austin\u2019s transformation into a tech hub took a lot of the city\u2019s character with it. (And I say this as someone who had LOTS of conversations with longtime Austin residents about how the city has changed.)<\/p>\n A nice quick trip back to Massachusetts.<\/strong> For lobstah, chowdah, family, and friends. My new home base has been in Beverly since my dad sold our home in 2023, and this time Charlie and I visited a lot of Beverly\u2019s downtown shops and the library. It\u2019s such a nice town!<\/p>\n My return to New York for the first time since 2020.<\/strong> Yes, seriously. It was weird staying away for five years after living there for four years!<\/p>\n The biggest highlight was seeing Tituss Burgess star in Oh, Mary!<\/em> The funniest and strangest show I\u2019ve ever seen. His engagement is over, but I highly recommend you go and see Cole Escola and the original cast!<\/p>\n Other first-time highlights were visiting the Museum of the Moving Image, finally visiting Roosevelt Island, and comparing the two burgers at Minetta Tavern. Of course we visited some of my favorite spots, from Harlem Public to Caveat, the Union Square Greenmarket, and Katz\u2019s Delicatessen.<\/p>\n And again, we spent time with family and friends. We also celebrated a big milestone birthday for Charlie!<\/p>\n Good times in Prague.<\/strong> Honestly, there\u2019s nothing like the first sip of a pilsner after a trip overseas because NO BEER IN THE WORLD EVEN COMES CLOSE.<\/p>\n I injured what I thought was my hip while we were in Mexico.<\/strong> Between the on-and-off pain, the fact that I could no longer do a figure-4 stretch on one side, and that at one point I jumped off the bed, landed weirdly on my foot, and screamed in pain for about 30 seconds straight \u2014 I was terrified that it was the arrival of arthritis.<\/p>\n Thankfully, I saw the doctor in Prague and learned that it\u2019s not arthritis or a bone issue \u2014 just a muscle issue that can be treated with a month of physiotherapy sessions. I\u2019m grateful that it\u2019s not anything worse than that.<\/p>\n That, and I had two separate colds, one at the beginning and one at the end of March. And because I\u2019m still upset that one of my colleagues got me so sick at a conference in 2024, I masked at the conference. I was one of very few people wearing a mask. Not fun, but I\u2019m glad I did it.<\/p>\n Also \u2014 you may remember from a few years ago that I had a gum infection while in Mexico City and struggled to find an emergency dentist who could take me.<\/strong> Well, this year the same painful symptoms arrived the morning that we were flying to New Orleans.<\/p>\n But three years older is three years wiser \u2014 so I bought some hydrogen peroxide and began rinsing my mouth with it. The pain went away within a few days! I\u2019m so glad, because I did not want to pay through the nose to see a dentist in the US.<\/p>\n However, this is making me think that I shouldn\u2019t brush my teeth with the water in Mexico, since this has happened twice. I never drink the water, but I brush my teeth with it. Maybe I should stick to purified water for that.<\/p>\n Oh, and finally, I got a nosebleed on the streets of Austin!<\/strong> My first nosebleed since I was a kid, and HOLY CRAP WAS THERE A LOT OF BLOOD. Two strangers offered me napkins and wet wipes, which was so kind of them.<\/p>\n 10 Fab Things to Do in San Teodoro, Italy<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 If you want a beach vacation in Italy, forget the Amalfi Coast \u2014 San Teodoro in Sardinia has exactly what you want.<\/p>\n\n I relaunched one of my most popular reels of all time \u2014 Where Italians Actually Go<\/a>.<\/strong> The first one got 7.5 million views. And yes \u2014 the second time was the charm. Despite not using a trending audio like I did the first time, this one got 1.9 million views, and quite a few sign-ups for my mailing list.<\/p>\n I need to do more of these.<\/p>\n For more updates from my travels, follow me on Instagram at @adventurouskate<\/a> \u2014 you can also follow me on TikTok at @adventurouskate<\/a>! <\/p>\n Last year I started transitioning my wardrobe to natural fibers \u2014 mostly wool, which I now wear a ton of.<\/strong> My time in Mexico, especially blisteringly hot M\u00e9rida, gave me a chance to test-drive which of my new items would work best in summer heat.<\/p>\n And my absolute favorite is this dress from Wool&<\/a>. Wool& uses several different kinds of wool in their clothes, but this material is their lightest and thinnest \u2014 the Signature 160 \u2014 and it\u2019s a nice, loose, comfortable swing dress. You can wear it loose, but it looks fancy enough for a night out when you belt it.<\/p>\n I am going to live<\/em> in this dress all summer. And Wool& just added a bunch of new colors<\/a> \u2014 so I had to grab it in teal as well!<\/p>\n![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kate-Hierve-el-Agua-Oaxaca-Mexico-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kate-Hierve-el-Agua-Oaxaca-Mexico-1024x768.jpeg\")
Destinations Visited<\/h2>\n
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Palacio-de-Bellas-Artes-Mexico-City-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Palacio-de-Bellas-Artes-Mexico-City-1024x768.jpeg\")
Highlights<\/h2>\n
![\"Kate,](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kate-Charlie-Nick-Mardi-Gras-Mexico-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"Kate,](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kate-Charlie-Nick-Mardi-Gras-Mexico-1024x768.jpeg\")
![\"Cyclists](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Austin-City-Skyline-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"Cyclists](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Austin-City-Skyline-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"9th](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-York-from-the-High-Line-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"9th](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-York-from-the-High-Line-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Bacalar-Lagoon-Los-Rapidos-1024x768.jpg\"\/)
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Bacalar-Lagoon-Los-Rapidos-1024x768.jpg\")
Challenges<\/h2>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Lewis-and-Murray-lookin-cute-like-always-1024x768.jpg\"\/)
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Lewis-and-Murray-lookin-cute-like-always-1024x768.jpg\")
Blog Posts of the Month<\/h2>\n
Most Popular Reel on Instagram<\/h2>\n
![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kate-in-Black-Dress-Oaxaca-768x1024.jpeg\"\/)
![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Kate-in-Black-Dress-Oaxaca-768x1024.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nWhat I Wore This Month<\/h2>\n