About
Hello!
That’s me – at the bow of one of my favorite places to be, on the water; in one of my favorite cities in the world, Mumbai; and most importantly, on the move.
My name is Candace Rose Rardon, I’m 26, a writer, photographer, and sketch artist, and I’m really glad you’re here. The internet is a rather big place these days, so I’d like to welcome you to this little corner of the online world. Make yourself a cup of chai, pull up a chair, and let’s get to know one another, shall we?
The story of me and my wanderlust:
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
– Joseph Campbell
I’ve been on the road since 2008. Five years ago, I graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia, with an English degree I soon realized wasn’t the most practical of choices. But with only one month to go before graduation – when I still hadn’t the slightest idea what I wanted to do – two good friends (Kim and Emily, pictured to the left!) offered me a chance invitation: “Candace, come to London with us.” Little did I know how much those six words would change my life.
I’ve always loved to travel. See, there I am with my parents at Waimea Falls Park in Hawaii, a mere six-month old babe from Virginia. (Rumor has it, I was an angel on the plane.) Although most of our family vacations were spent on the East Coast of the U.S., something in me – that little twitch they call wanderlust - knew it wanted more. Although I went through university thinking I would pursue a career in songwriting, I finally decided I would regret not seeing the world more than I would regret not pursuing music.
After six months in London, I went to the antipodes of New Zealand, where I developed a serious addiction to L&P while working and writing my way around the country—doing office gigs in Christchurch, bartending in Queenstown, and waitressing in Wellington. In between shifts, I went snowboarding and sandboarding, bungee-jumped for the first time, hiked up glaciers and volcanoes, swam with dolphins, kayaked, and even rolled downhill in a giant plastic orb. New Zealand taught me life is meant to be an adventure.
After New Zealand, I earned my Masters in Travel Writing from London’s Kingston University (yes, such a degree does exist.) To celebrate finishing my course in September 2012, I went to India to take part in the Rickshaw Run, driving an auto-rickshaw 2,000 miles from Shillong to Jaisalmer. I loved India so much I decided to come back, and I’m now based in this fascinating country until May 2013, working on my first travel memoir called “The Only Courage.” I never quite know where the next year will take me…but I kind of like it that way.
Writing about the world is now my passion, and I love sharing it with you here. This is me in my element, as captured by my sister Brooke on our trip to Puerto Rico in May 2012.
What is The Great Affair?
Although I enjoy writing for other outlets, The Great Affair will always be a favorite project of mine. I’ve been writing this travel blog since 2008, and despite its many iterations over the years, the purpose has never changed: It’s all about inspiring you to fall in love with the world.
My vision for this blog is that you would leave here inspired – inspired to live boldly, inspired to make decisions for your dreams, and inspired to find beauty and magic in the everyday. But magic, like a great big birthday cake, soon turns stale if not shared.
So my equal desire is that you would be inspired to pass on the beauty and magic you found here to those around you – and that slowly, each of our small acts of inspiration would grow and gather and make the world a little more awesome each day.
The name of the blog itself comes from the following quote:
I first came across Stevenson’s words on a magnet in the Art Institute of Chicago’s bookshop. It was my senior year of university and most of the traveling I’d done up to that point had involved family vacations on the East Coast. Even still, the quote spoke to me like a yet-understood language on an ancient parchment.
The great affair is to move.
As I rolled the phrase across my tongue, it instantly conjured up images of a worn-down bus winding its way up a lush, jungled hillside; of a sturdy ferry plying the waters of a gray churning sea; of a bullet train barrelling across a country.
Anything, really, that takes you from here to there and back again.
But beyond the literal action of a journey, about where you travel or how you get there, the phrase seemed to speak of the spirit behind the movement. That insatiable desire for new places and different air. The great affair of opening yourself up to the world and the adventure it offers.
And that’s exactly what this blog is about:
5 other little-known facts about Candace:
- I get my middle name (Rose) from my paternal grandfather, Webb Rose Rardon. While I sadly never got the chance to meet him, I love sharing his name.
- My favorite director is Wes Anderson, and my favorite Wes Anderson film is a tie between The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom. Jiminy cricket, he flew the coop!
- No matter the many cuisines I’ve tasted around the world, my favorite food is and will always be Mexican. Give me a burrito, guacamole, and a frozen margarita and I will love you forever.
- There isn’t a lot in life I don’t like, but there are four things I hate: cats, dentists, musicals, and animated Disney films. I know, I know – I’m a terrible person.
- I wrote and recorded the song in the video up above – it’s called “Yours for the Taking” and you can hear the whole thing on my MySpace page. (Yes, apparently MySpace is still good for something.)
One last note about advertising:
I’m grateful to earn enough elsewhere that this blog does not accept advertising of any kind, be it paid links, banner ads, or sponsored posts. My vision for The Great Affair is that it will be a natural extension of my writing portfolio, so that means everything you read here will have only been written by yours truly. And that’s a promise. Occasionally I write hotel reviews and receive a complimentary stay – if I blog about it here, you’ll be sure to see a disclosure at the end of the post letting you know, i.e. opinions will always be my own, no matter how delectable the free continental breakfast was (or was not).
Get in touch and follow along:
I’d love your company elsewhere across the interweb:
- Facebook: The Great Affair Facebook Page
- Twitter: Candace on Twitter
- Pinterest: Candace on Pinterest
Also, please feel free to send me an email at candacerardon@gmail.com or message me through the contact page.
Thank you for visiting! I look forward to hearing from you.
Hi, nice to meet you !
Its crazy when you find out someone you know (or have meet once in a few fleeting days) is a blogger. And a good one at that. Your in my reader looking forward to your future posts!
Glad to see you are doing Masters in travel writing
such a diversified field. I am a travel photographer and might end up in studying travel writing too 
Hi,
I love your travel expierences, I just wanna know how do you manage your expenses.Travelling requires a lot of money.How do you arrange money for travelling.
I love travelling too and would like to explore the world on my own.But the only question that comes in my mind is how to manage travel expense and all.Kindly let me know as mush as you can share..
Hi NJ! Thanks very much for taking the time to visit my blog and leave a comment. I’m glad you stopped by! Yes–money is definitely an issue when it comes to traveling, and I’d love to help anyway I can. I’ve actually got some ideas/tips that I will put up in a post in the next week or two–keep an eye out for it!
Your article on travel sketching prompted a visit to your website, and I’ve really enjoyed reading more of your writing!
Glad to see you’re a fan of the Adventurists, too…I’ll be joining them in September for the Mototaxi Junket in Peru (if I can find teammates, that is).
Hey Zak! Great to see you here too, and thanks for taking the time to check out my blog
I’m pretty jealous you’ll be heading to Peru…the Mototaxi Junket and the Mongol Rally are both on my travel bucket list for the next couple of years. Hope you’re able to put a team together, it looks like an amazing adventure!
Again, I can’t help but show my support for your sketchbook post on Matador, which proved to be the foundation for this article: http://matadornetwork.com/goods/what-gear-do-i-need-to-start-graphic-design/
Hey Zak! Sorry to just reply to this, but I loved your piece on Matador — especially the final bit about knowing your worth as a designer. I think this is one of the greatest challenges any artist/writer/etc faces…sticking up for what our skills are worth. Thanks again for the kind words on my sketchbook piece, here’s to an epic year of creating.
oooh, i’m loving the new website updates miss candace rose…love the new front photo of you
i haven’t even read the email sitting in my inbox from you yet so better get to that. can’t wait to see you tomorrow!
Hello, my friend! So glad to hear you like the new look…I’ve spent the week working hard on it, still trying to figure out some kinks behind the scenes, but I decided the new year meant a new change and look
Can’t wait to see you tomorrow…and hopefully we’ll get to brainstorm about new ideas for I <3 Charm City too!
I really identify with your ideas on travel. I mean, why do we love to travel? It’s surely not just about seeing things, but about (like you say) moving, going, growing and changing. The excitement, the unknown and often the discomfort reminds us we’re alive, and at the moment I just can’t get enough of it. Look forward to reading more, already feeling very inspired by your blog.
Thank you so much, Sarah! It’s wonderful to “meet” you here, I love connecting with other writers and travelers online
And thank you for your thoughts on travel as well. I also believe the discomforts of travel, both physically and emotionally, have such a powerful effect on us, pushing us to new limits and places in both our minds and the world. I’m looking forward to following along your blog as well!
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Hi! I just tweeted to you about coming to Bangladesh. I’ve always been jealous of travelers who I think enjoy their life at its best. I’m sure can’t be one, but I’m more of a writer, blogger and aspiring photographer, both of which seem to have been mastered by you.
I’m glad to be on your blog. If you got some time, check out my blog also. Hope you’ll like it.
Thanks for saying hello, Aminul! It’s always great to hear from new readers
I so wish I could visit Bangladesh this year – unfortunately I didn’t realize the visa requirements, so it’s not in my budget just yet…one day! I really appreciate you stopping by my blog, though – while I’m definitely not a master of either writing or photography, they are my passion and I love sharing stories about the world with others. Your blog sounds quite interesting as well, I look forward to following it!
Hey Candace, Wow I love your blog. I recently deleted two of my blogs and started a new one, hopefully this one will be more like I imagined it. I’m still learning. I love to travel too. I am in South Korea at the moment.
But anyway the reason for this comment, I was wondering if you knew who that song was by that is in the video in your “about me” section. I am obsessed but I can’t find it anywhere.
Please help!
Much love and light dear girl.
Rona
Hey Rona! Thanks so much for your comment and for taking the time to check out The Great Affair – I always love hearing from new readers
Korea sounds like quite the adventure – I just checked out your blog and hope your new teaching endeavors go well there!
And about the song – it’s actually one of my own, so I’m really glad you like it. I used to be really into songwriting, and you can check it out here on my old MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/thecandacerose
Thanks again for saying hello, and I hope to see you here again soon!
Awesome thank youuuu <3 I am on here all the time
That’s great to hear, Rona! I really appreciate you stopping by
Hello
You seem like a kindred spirit so I thought I would post to say so
I was really struck with your comment that ..”…and most importantly, on the move.” – Yes, I completely agree…to move, to go, to be heading somewhere, anywhere, to see what it may hold, to feel consciously alive in the world – is, to me, such an essential part of life.
Your blog is very nice – positive and hopeful. I really like the quotes – it reminds me of some – one of my favorites is by Rudyard Kipling “Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges – Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!” – and another by Emma Goldman – “If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of your revolution”.
Where do you still plan to go to? Everywhere? Is there anywhere you would love to see that you haven’t yet? I have known quite a few travel writers (for rough guide etc) over the years – although they had to write about certain areas. I love to travel as well (and am also North American
– I work in the aid/development field (am a Dr/PhD)- grew up in 6 countries, lived/worked in 11 and have travelled to over 50…and about to move overseas again so the adventure continues 
There’s nothing better than holding a ticket in your hand and standing in the airport ready to go (or the train station, or the bus station, etc!)
Your post on Leopald’s cafe is what brought me here..I used to work/live in Kerala and (re)reading Shantaram is filling me with an urge to be back in India again. Leopald’s sounds like a great place to get some Chai (and from the pics it looks like it’s benefited from being in the book – going by all the copies on the counter!) it reminds me of Vesuvio Cafe and Cafe Trieste in San Francisco. If you like Shantaram – and you don’t mind recommendations? – try “Holy Cow” by Sarah Macdonald, “Danzinger’s Travels” by Nick Danziger, “Misadventures in the Middle East” by Henry Hemming, “Full tilt” by Dervla Murphy or “Himalayan Odyssey” by Parker Antin..or non-travel books like “Red Earth and Poring Rain” by Vikram Chandra is great, as is “Mountains beyond Mountains” by Tracey Kidder.
Good luck with your travels and here are some more great pearls of wisdom and truth – if you don’t know them already
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
and one of my all time favorites –
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien
Hello Ines! I can’t thank you enough for saying hello here – it’s wonderful to hear from you. There’s a lot to love in your comment, so I’m not quite sure where to start! Thank you so much for your book recommendations, I am definitely adding them to my list – and a friend of mine gave me “Holy Cow” last year, so I will try to finally get to that one
It’s amazing to hear a bit of your background – that must’ve really been something to have grown up in six different countries. Which ones were they? In terms of where I’d love to go that I haven’t, let’s just say there aren’t a lot of places I don’t want to go
But most of all, I would love to go to Mongolia, Antarctica, and Easter Island – anywhere in South America, really. How about yourself?
Lastly, thanks so much for the quotes you shared – the one from Rudyard Kipling especially strikes a chord. As you might have noticed on the blog, I have quite a thing for quotes so I’m glad to have a few more to add to my list of favorites
Thanks again for writing, Ines, and I hope to see you again on The Great Affair soon!
Hi Candace,
Thanks for responding
Funny, Easter Island is on of my top places to see as well – have wanted to go ever since I read ‘Fatu Hiva’, ‘Aku Aku’ and ‘The Kontiki Expedition’ in my late teens (all by Thor Heyerdhal the famous Norwegian ethnographer) although only Aku Aku is specifically about Easter Island. They are great books – The Kontiki Expedition is the most famous although Fatu Hiva is my favorite – it’s a cross between an ethnography and an adventure/travel book – really worth reading.
I grew up mainly in the Middle East, and parts of Europe. I’ve never been to the South Pacific and it’s a region I’d love to visit! I have done some work in South America (micro credit work with amerindians near Amazon) but I would love to really explore the whole continent – especially Venezuela, Ecuador and Chile. I have some friends that work in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey, main info I hear is that it’s very cold!
I haven’t been to Mongolia but I would like to visit – have spent time in China, and tried to get into Tibet years ago from Nepal – but the borders were closed unfortunately.
You mention that you did the Rickshaw run – what was that like? I’ve always thought it would be amazing (if crazy) to the Dakar Rally!
Glad you liked the quotes
Happy travels!!
Hi again, Ines! Thanks for more great book recommendations…they are now on the list. I loved my time in the South Pacific, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy them. It’s great to hear a bit more about your background as well – very interesting! The Rickshaw Run was quite the adventure – what I really loved the most though was just getting to explore India on such a ground level. Here’s an article I recently wrote about the Run, in case you’re interested: http://selamtamagazine.com/stories/joy-ride-rickshaw I definitely recommend the trip! Thanks again for saying hello and I hope to see you here again
Wow. I thought you were just the hot photographer from the Rickshaw Run!? Why wasn’t I told you had all these extra talents?!? Hmm? Why??
I’m a girl of many talents, Ned
In all seriousness, though, thanks for stopping by here, and it was great to see you in Singapore last weekend!