Welcome to Suitcases and Stories
Where every journey packs a memory, and every memory carries a tale.
A Little About This Place
This blog began the way most great adventures do — with a spark, a suitcase, and a longing for something more. Suitcases and Stories is where I gather the moments that moved me: the laughter echoing through night markets, the silence of sunrise on unfamiliar shores, the beauty in getting wonderfully lost.
Here, you won’t find polished perfection or influencer gloss — just real travels told from the heart. Family milestones, unexpected detours, lessons between the landmarks. I write for the wanderers, the planners, the dreamers… and anyone who knows that the best souvenirs are stories you carry home.
Thanks for being here — I hope my stories inspire your own.
Zo x
🌍 Ready to wander with me?
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Blog categories
Featured
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Fire in the Sky, Love in My Heart.
Ten years married. Twenty years together.One trip we thought would be fun..and it was .. but, it turned out to be something else, too.Healing. Reconnecting. Romantic in a way that went beyond candles and cocktails. We came to Dubai for a celebration, his 40th, our anniversary, a break from… Read More
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JBR.. Marina Strolls & That Mall You Could Live In 🌊🏙️🛍️
🌊 After the romance, the desert adventures, and the rooftop views, we decided to slow things down a bit. It wasn’t about spending big.. more about wandering, people-watching, and finding those little pockets of Dubai you can enjoy without touching the emergency savings. JBR The Beach We Couldn’t Quit… Read More
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Gold vs Old – A Tale of Two Souks
Dubai isn’t just skyscrapers and sky pools. Step off the glossy path and you’ll find a whole other side to the city.. loud, lively, and full of history. For us, that meant diving headfirst (literally sweating) into two very different souks… Starting the Day with Good Intentions… and… Read More
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Dubai Series: Part 3 – Fireworks, Mash, and Mad Views – The Day I Fell Even More in Love with Dubai.
You ever have one of those days that just makes you smile every time you think about it? This was one of them. It started in the sky, ended in the sky, and somewhere along the way there was Jill Scott, a fountain show, and the creamiest mash… Read More
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Desert Dunes & Dreamy Nights: The Wild Ride That Made My Husband Say ‘Best Trip Ever’
There’s something about Dubai that feels like walking into a movie set, shiny, sleek, a little surreal. But on this particular day, we ditched the city glitz for sand, sunsets and quad bikes in the middle of the desert. And let me tell you.. it was epic.In my… Read More
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10 Years Married, 20 Years Loving: Why Dubai Was the Reset We Needed
❤️ What I’ve Always Loved — And Still Do When I was a kid, I remember saying everything I loved was my favourite. It became a running joke with my mom, who’d always say, “Not everything can be your favourite. If it’s your favourite, it can only be one… Read More