Some of my friends think that I live the Life of Reilly when it comes to travel. They see my Instagram photos and read the highlights of my adventures and because I focus on my positive experiences, it might seem that everything goes according to plan. Nope. In fact, I probably have more travel setbacks than the average person because I am traveling all the time...
I first saw a picture of Antelope Canyon on a Windows screensaver. I wondered if it was even a real place since it looked more like a CGI image than something that could actually exist on our planet. As I looked up more information about this remarkable canyon, I realized that I had a growing list of beautiful places in Arizona that I never knew existed. Two weeks...
When I tell my friends about Bali, their eyes glaze over like I’m talking about visiting Mars or Timbuktu. Bali conjures up exotic images of crystal blue waters, dancers, temples and seems so far away. Well, yes it is far away, but it’s not that expensive to get to, and once you’re there, you’ll want to keep coming back. Bali has it all. Now is the perfect time to go...
After the September 11 attacks, airline travel was forever changed by new regulations and tightened security. To make things worse, in 2001 Richard Reid unsuccessfully tried to light a bomb hidden in his shoe on an American Airlines flight. The incident spurred a new rule requiring passengers to remove and screen their footwear. Then, in 2006, a plot was uncovered in...
The church looked awfully busy for a Wednesday afternoon. As I walked through the double doors, I immediately noticed there was something a little different about this house of worship. The pews had been replaced by tables and the altar was adorned with giant beer tanks. The stained glass windows and other church decor had been left intact when the building had been...
I hear this phrase a lot: “They don’t like Americans over there”. Usually the person saying it is an American and has never been “there” or anywhere else for that matter. The world is easier to understand if you make assumptions and base opinions on what you thought you saw or read somewhere. Just apply the principles from what you learned in cartoons: The bad...
I’ve been shopping today. It’s my final day in Ethiopia and I’ve been buying everything from refrigerator magnets to an Amharic Bible that looks like a prop from an Indiana Jones film. As I have been popping in and out of various shops, I’ve seen a handful of inexperienced tourists attempting to buy souvenirs. It’s sometimes painful for...
Huey Lewis once told us the heart of rock and roll is in Cleveland. However, if you want to go to where rock and roll was born, Memphis is it. It’s the city that created Elvis, and without Elvis there would be no rock and roll. Elvis was born in Tupelo,Mississippi and moved to Memphis as a young boy with his family. He was shy, unpopular in school and seemed an...
Florence or Firenze, as its known by the locals, is an amazing city full of art, great food and architecture. It is often credited with being the birthplace of the Renaissance, and for good reason- Donatello, Michaelangelo , Da Vinci, Galileo and Caravaggio all worked and created art here. It was this city where the world changed from the Medieval flat paintings of...
I get almost as much enjoyment out of booking travel as actually being on a trip. It’s exciting to look at a map of the world and imagine the places I want to go; Unfortunately, sometimes when you plug in those exotic destinations, the browser doesn’t always show you what you want to see. Such was the case last week when I started trying to book a...