Bill Wiatrak is a travel author, entertainer and video producer of travel content. He is visiting every country in the world.
Iceland might seem like an exotic faraway destination to many of us, but it’s actually closer to Boston than Las Vegas. Plus, if you’re planning a trip to Europe, you can usually get a free stopover to this Nordic country. Whether you’re staying for a day or a week, Iceland is full of fun things to see and do. Iceland can be an expensive stop however, with food...
The French Alps rise in the distance over the placid azure blue lake. Grapes hang lazily in the sunlight on vines in manicured rows that zigzag from the stone cottages to the shore. Every photo looks like a postcard. You can’t take a bad one. Generations .of rockstars and jazz artists have come here to record, relax and live in one of the most beautiful...
I arrived in Reno after two broiling days in Las Vegas and couldn’t help but notice the temperature had dropped 20 degrees from the 115 I’d endured on the strip. Vegas is miserable in the summer. Reno isn’t. If you’re traveling in Nevada you can’t help but compare the two. I’ve been to Vegas so many times, it was a thrill to try someplace different, but with all the...
Meow Wolf Might Be The Coolest Museum in the Universe It looks like a grocery store at first glance. There’s poster sized ads for the latest products and customers are wandering around with shopping baskets. The employees are wearing their Omega Mart shirts as they restock the merchandise, but something just doesn’t feel right. Avocados with Zippers, Meow...
Get Petra-fied in Jordan “The Treasury” Photo: Bill Wiatrak It’s one of the most impressive archaeological sites I’ve ever seen. After being featured in “Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade” and then being named one of the seven wonders of the world, the ancient Jordanian city of Petra was catapulted into international fame. Mobs of tourists started...
I felt like I was in a scene from the film “National Treasure”. I was looking for a map, but not one printed on paper. I walked down the narrow street past the souvenir shops and asked a local for directions. He didn’t speak English so I mimed what I was looking for to the best of my ability until he suddenly grinned and pointed down the road. A century...
If I was given a choice of staying at any hotel room in the USA, there’s one that’s always intrigued me: the Rockstar suite at the Hotel ZaZa. Ever since I saw a photo of its cheetah print carpet, zebra chairs and guitars on the wall, I’ve been a fan of the brand and hoped to sneak a peek someday at this iconic room. The Rockstar Suite at The Museum District ZaZa...
I’d been waiting for immigration to wave me through, but the police seemed much more interested in praying or looking at their phones for it even to register that I’d been waiting on them for nearly an hour. I was the last one in the airport and my bag was lying 50 feet away on the other side of the stanchions. They joked with each other in Arabic, I tried...
Senegal might not be the first country you think of when planning a trip to Africa. However, if you’ve visited the continent before and are looking for something different, it might be the perfect destination. You won’t find safari packages here or Masai warriors in traditional garb. What you will find is very nice people, great food, unique experiences and develop a...
We’ve all seen the picture on Instagram. A pretty girl posing in turquoise water surrounded by hot pink flamingos. No clouds, a sugary white beach, and a frozen tropical drink. Ahhhhhhh…… It’s hard to believe that such a place exists in the real world, but it’s just a 2 1/2 hour flight away from Miami to reach perpetually warm Aruba...