Salty Arms & Other Tales of Abel Tasman National Park
::Nelson, New Zealand:: OK, let’s be honest – who doesn’t love pirates? I saw that doggone Johnny Depp movie like 8 times in the theater, I say “ARRRR” a lot on September 19 and I think pretty much the entire generation of kids born in the ’80′s wanted to be a Goonie. Pirates have adventures, make discoveries, sit around drinking rum and talking about ancient legends and their pets always talk cryptically like some sort of obnoxious, feathered sphinx. I, like, any good pirate/Goonie, fancy myself...
read moreClimbing Fox Glacier: The Coolest Thing I Did on Vacation (Literally)
::Fox Glacier, New Zealand:: I’m not what you’d call the most graceful person in the world. Fact: I trip a lot. I also walk into things (walls, lampposts, et al). It’s a miracle I have walked the lengths of Rome, Paris, London and other such cities with moderate success, considering the plethora of obstacles just waiting to hold hands with gravity and put a not-so-awesome spring in my otherwise steady step. I thought I was on pretty solid ground in New Zealand – so few motor scooters! No post boxes in the...
read moreArt Smart Roundtable: Fresco Rescue and the Problem of Venice
This article is part of the monthly ArtSmart Roundtable, a group of art-history-loving travel bloggers who post a related article the last Monday of each month. January’s topic is wall art, murals and frescoes – a favorite! For more related posts, check out the links at the end, or find us on Facebook here! If you know anything about frescoes (or even if you don’t, come to that)…you know a fresco is, essentially, a wall. When the plaster is still wet, an artist paints into it so that when dry, the painting is...
read moreTravel Reflections: 2011 Year in Review
Where do I start? 2011 was not a year for travel – but it was a year for change. Relationships started and ended all over the place – and that includes with my job. After 6 years in hotel-land I leapt into the world of PR…and for someone with the mind of a blogger it is a trip to keep a journalistic mentality AND an account rep mentality evenly balanced. Learning curve ahead. But I digress. 2011 was probably the year I traveled least in the past decade. I only got on a plane TWICE all year. And that was to mingle with...
read moreNow Open: The Shore Hotel Brings The Green to Santa Monica
Allow me to remind you of some common, anger-inducing California tourism experiences, for those who may have vacationed here: Brick wall/sketchy alley/apartment parking lot/freeway out your hotel room window Driving everywhere. Valeting everywhere. Spending cocktail money on gasoline. Key card slots you have to time just right otherwise you’re locked out forever. Traffic noise when you’re trying to sleep. Convention attendees swarming the lobby, the fitness center and the pool, and causing backups at the front desk Sound...
read moreArtSmart Roundtable: The Not-so-Hidden Marble Tetrarchs in Piazza San Marco, Venice
I’m pleased and honored to post my first article for the ArtSmart Roundtable, a group of art-history-loving travel bloggers who post a related article the last Monday of each month. This month’s topic is Outdoor Sculpture; for more related posts, check out the links at the end, or find us on Facebook here! So you may notice I write about Venice a lot. (Understatement?) I’ve explained why countless times, but I’ve never told one of my favorite art-related Venetian stories. Now finally with this month’s...
read moreSilent Boundaries: The Belfast Peace Walls
Blech. Gloomy weather. I pushed back the sagging curtains of our Belfast hotel room to reveal gray skies and drizzle – a not uncommon sight in Northern Ireland but a not-so-cheery vision for someone who has a short 2 days to effectively see the city, and hoped to do so under more upbeat circumstances (meteorologically-speaking, of course). Truth be told I knew very little about Belfast. Other than that it is the birthplace of Van Morrison (whom I loooooooove) and the city where the Titanic was built, my historic knowledge of the...
read moreLessons From Abroad: Study Abroad Returnee Conference, Recap ‘n’ Resources
Talk about feeling old. I had the honor today of speaking to over 150 college seniors from around southern California, all of whom have returned from semesters, summers or years abroad all over the world, and all of whom have been impacted so much by that experience they are seeking ways to get back out there. It was a room full of people who love to travel, a room full of TBEX-ers waiting to happen. It was the LA-area Lessons From Abroad Conference, held at Chapman University in Orange, CA. I was also honored to be on a panel alongside...
read moreLearning to Breathe: A Yoga Staycation
Ever have a tough time relaxing? Two weeks in Europe spent on museum scavenger hunts and pastry binges not doing it for you? Is the most R&R you can find sandwiched between your meager Friday happy hour and Saturday nap? Me too. I can’t disconnect when I travel – I’m always tweeting, taking pictures or checking People.com. And the idea of a staycation – a lazy term for a weekend getaway not far from home – was the last way I thought I would ever get my shoulders lower than my chin (in other words, chill...
read moreSouthern California on Horseback: Desert vs. Mountain
In my wanderings I’ve made many a friend…there was tall, skinny Mohammed the ceramics salesman in Fes, the overly-friendly waiter Francesco at my favorite restaurant in Venice, and Greg the jolly hotel doorman who whistled for my cabs on chilly Manhattan mornings. Now, I add Pedro, stocky, muscular and brown, and Bandit, wild-eyed pinto/mischief-maker to that list. I guess it’s my destiny to befriend a stallion wherever I go *wink wink* No but seriously, out here in California in those rare, beautiful instances where...
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