Too often when we travel, we frantically fill our schedules with seeing all the major sights, checking things off our bucket lists, and always go-go-going until we’re too exhausted to do much else. Even having a meal is often underappreciated because we rush through it in order to not miss the next thing on our…
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As we finished our mini-bus tour of the island of St. Kitts, our local guide informed us that it was the final day of the Carnival celebration– it started at Christmas, and that there would be a huge parade through the center of town, Basseterre. While confused about the timing (this was January 2nd after…
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After Tarzan-ing through Puerto Rico’s tropical forest, we freshened up on the ship and headed back out into the city of San Juan. We opted out of a ship excursion because we craved an authentic feel for the place. But we’d already discovered that the guidebooks we bought were lacking in any real content, context,…
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My eyes felt like shriveled raisins, abandoned on the vine under the harsh glare of a seething sun. After having stared at my computer screen for so long, I couldn’t tell if my vision was going or if my haggard brain had simply stopped sending messages to my eyes about how to function. It was…
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Have you ever met someone who’s repulsed by just the thought of going to Disneyland? “How can you stand it? The lines are ridiculous! It’s so fake! It’s too expensive! It’s so commercial! It’s so lame! Have you seen the kind of people that go there? They’re total Disney freaks!” As much as I love…
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Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Anaheim, I went to Disneyland five days a week for two years– I’m not saying that I worked there, but one might say that I was a “good friend” of Pocahontas…and an original one at that. ‘Twas a magical place, and even after a full day…
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Centuries-old former palaces crackle and peel away in the thick, briny air. Bottom floors of old merchants’ warehouses sit empty and still cling half-heartedly to their romantic patina of a time long past, slowly but beautifully decaying under the Venetian heat, humidity, and rising waters. As I glide down the canal on a slow vaporetto,…
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“Please don’t rain yet. Please don’t rain yet. Please don’t rain yet.” My mind looped this mantra, and I plastered an everything’s-alright smile, hoping my face wouldn’t betray my anxiety. Twenty-eight people were following me through the cobblestone streets of Paris, and I didn’t want their only two days with me in my favorite European…
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Many travelers pride themselves on “discovering” up-and-coming, locals-only, or unsung places. Finding these gems, you feel like you’re in a secret club: the I Know Something You Don’t Know Club. But the pride is short-lived. What good’s a secret if you can’t tell anyone? So I share these places with fellow travelers, hoping they’ll have…
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For 21 days, Rick and I are tour members on one of his own tours: the Best of Europe. We’re trying to combine vacation with quality control and research. And it’s going great! Join us as we traipse from the Netherlands to Germany, Austria to Italy, and Switzerland to France with a terrific tour guide and…
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