Hello everyone!
My name is Ashley, I live in Orange County, California, about an hour from downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood. I first came to the US in 1999 and have been living here since 2003. I am a journalist by education and before joining the world of travel blogging, I worked as a reporter and editor for magazines in Poland, France and Chicago. I am also a member of the Association of Polish Journalists in America. I currently own World of Adventures and I am a tour guide in Southern California.
That’s today, but at the beginning of my adventure in America, it was Chicago. A wonderful city with slightly less wonderful weather. After three years and three consecutive winters, I was sick and tired of freezing and took a few days trip to California. When I got back, I knew I had found the place I wanted to live permanently. I moved to California in May 2006. Since May 5th this year marks 19 years, on the anniversary of the move, I will take you on a journey to the area around my first apartment complex that I lived in.
But first, before I start my story about the Sunshine State, I have to explain what this freezing thing is all about. Well, Chicago winters are really tough. To quote a January 2019 news report: “A polar vortex made the Windy City colder than the South Pole, Mars and parts of Siberia on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. A temperature of minus 23 degrees F was recorded at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport this morning. The combination of very low temperatures and gusty winds made the temperature feel like minus 52 degrees F.” That’s -30 degrees C and -46 degrees C, respectively. On the Fahrenheit scale, water freezes at 32 degrees F, which is our 0 degrees C. So you can imagine how cold it was in Chicago in January 2019 and how glad I was to no longer live there after moving to California.
And now I invite you to my blog, which was born out of a passion for meeting new people and cultures, writing and traveling. It will be primarily about America: about my daily life in California, about America seen through my eyes, about America from a tourist perspective, about tourism in America, about hotels, the ocean, stores and shopping. There will also be fashion, beauty, fit and eco topics, lifestyle, art, culture, movies, books and also coffee and tea. In general, it will be a blog about everything that comes to my mind and what I think will be interesting for you.
My main goal is to introduce you to California (mainly southern California and two counties – Los Angeles and Orange). You will also find here posts from my travels and adventures around the United States, Mexico, Europe and other corners of our globe.
Everything I will write about here is my experience and opinions. You do not always have to agree with me and I will gladly engage in discussions with you. Any desire to express your opinion is welcome. I can understand every point of view and explanation. I can admit my mistakes and correct inaccuracies. I would appreciate honest opinions, no one is infallible.
I will not tolerate rudeness or insults to others. You will not find here details of my private life or my relationship.
I am here to show you America from my perspective, give you some advice from someone who has lived here for a while, and send you some Californian sun and relaxation to improve your mood. I will try to inspire you to satisfy your curiosity about adventures and help you find ways to fit more travel into every lifestyle. Posts on my blog, written in English and Polish, are filled with advice that will help you plan your own trips. You can find me on Facebook under the company name World of Adventures and on Instagram under the name worldofadventures_pl.
I invite you to read, comments are welcome.
