I’m in love with adventure: I always have been and I always will be. And water is a big part of that adventure and of my life; this element has fascinated me ever since I was a little girl. It was hard at first, but somehow my wish overcame fear and I learnt how to swim. On my own, when I was 15. From then on, I couldn’t get enough of water: I sometimes joke that I could live my life in water if only I had food within easy reach, a water … [Read more...]
Greenland – The World’s Coolest Place
Leaving the comfort of blue skies at 37,000 feet, above a thick cloud layer, we started our slow descent down into Greenland. It was hard to believe that we were actually stopping in Greenland, a place that I had only flown over so many times between the USA and Europe. It isn't a place I ever thought I would actually stop in. I always thought it was a place where no one ever went, somewhere inhospitable to life. It was hard to believe we … [Read more...]
Pie-eyed for Pizza: A Love Story
“I could eat pizza seven days a week.” The sentence grabbed me, but I couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was on a site where few sentences grabbed me: Match.com. I jumped to two possible conclusions: a) NBlikesbikes is really boring, or b) NBlikesbikes is really quirky. I have a soft spot for the quirky, and while I was mentally kneading a) vs. b), NBlikesbikes e-mailed me. After a few messages, he asked me … [Read more...]
Street Angel
Sighing with tired relief, we plopped our suitcases into the dusty, grey earth – we had arrived! The journey to Florence took far longer than we had anticipated and weariness dragged through our bodies like a ball and chain around an ankle. Our train started to pull off, rattling and screeching away from the station as we soaked in the new surroundings in the cool night air. I squinted at some small colourful objects in the distance and … [Read more...]
Exploring Coimbra Portugal
Today we spent the day driving around Northern Portugal - with the highlight being a stop in Coimbra. This quaint hillside town is situtated above a large river - with the March chill clearly evident as stiff breezes blew us across the bridge into the old town. We raced our little mini Fiat up the narrow cobblestone streets, dodging pedestrians, parked as well as moving cars and soon found ourselves at Portugal's oldest university - the … [Read more...]
Coastal Fun in Portugal
We spent the day driving along the coastline from Lisbon up to just south of Coimbra. The first stop was at Obidos, a small ancient walled city of about 3,000 people. As luck would have it, this was one of the weekends for the Chocolate Festival and cars surrounded the outskirts of the city with thousands descending into the old town. We parked along with many others on the side of the road and some old guy started yelling at us and everyone else … [Read more...]
Destination: Buenos Aires, Argentina
I could see myself, watching myself. An “out of body experience,” they call it. I was naked, wallowing hysterically in the crisp, clean, white sheets of the king-sized bed in my Marriott hotel room. I hadn’t eaten for many hours, too tired, emotional, and downright fearful to leave the room to forage for even a candy bar, of which there were plenty. Abundant bodegas were filled to the brim with candy brands foreign and domestic; chocolate … [Read more...]
2013 Dave’s Travel Corner Travel Essay Contest
Of all the past travel writing contests, this was the most difficult year to narrow down the entries to the top three winners. We initially selected 11 from over 100 entries. One entry stood out from the others and was the unanimous choice for our top spot. After discussion among the three judges - the three top entries are: Bring Adventure Back to Europe, by Richard Bangs Without An Address, You Can’t Go Home, … [Read more...]
From the Outside In: My Reflections as a Non-Muslim Wearing the Burqa in Silicon Valley
My curiosity to try wearing the most conservative Muslim, black Burqa drapery in California overcame my dread that I would be found out by a Muslim who might eagerly approach me as any of us might do when we find "our kind" in a foreign land. I was fearful of offending, or appearing to make light of a serious cultural tradition. It took an immense amount of courage to overcome my trepidation. But at last I decided to just go for it. Logically … [Read more...]
Traveling in the North Country Fair… Part 1 Adirondacks & Catskills
Part 1 Even though few therapists would agree, sometimes neglect paths to the best possible outcome. Such is the case with the Adirondacks, whose fierce geography, unproductive soil, and hard weather diverted early American settlers to more benign plots. As a result, a state of raw wilderness maintained into the 19th century. Some credit the turning point to William H. H. Murray’s book, Adventures in the Wilderness, extolling the freshness … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- …
- 24
- Next Page »