You might have a window of time during which you can get away, you may want to celebrate a special occasion or maybe you just have a yearning for a change of scenery – but you can’t quite pinpoint a destination for a trip.
I don’t blame you. It’s a big world out there with so much to experience. Let me see if I can be of assistance.
Here is a list of questions I created to help you decide on a destination… Continue reading
Filed under 1
I’ve found that often times the number one reason people do not go on a trip is because they are sweating the details.
These days there is an overwhelming wealth of knowledge to be had about any given destination. Whether you are a Lonely-Planet-lover, TripAdvisor afficionado, or an Afar.com social-travel-network-er (or all of the above) the 
research alone could render a trip quite cumbersome.
Just the thought of parsing through the information, making itinerary decisions and musing “what will I really feel like doing while on the trip?”, can be repellant.
Oh, and then there is the worry about making the wrong decisions that may cause us to subsequently be inconvenienced or not have as good of a time as we could have if we had just made different choices.
Depending on your personality, you could really work yourself up!
I’ve seen these decisions overwhelm people into staying home. And I’m not ashamed to admit, I’ve spiraled into this web of discouragement myself.
But in my experience there is one tactic that always solves my problem. If I just take the first steps, booking the flights and a hotel, that pretty much seals the deal. And it seems that afterward everything else falls easily into place – proving that I was really my own biggest obstacle.
So my advice to you is, if you have let this kind of worry hijack your plans or stop you from living life as you really want to – it is time my friend. Put your apprehensions behind, make the initial bookings and soon you’ll find yourself smiling from ear to ear as you board a flight!
Ever been to the Hamptons? I hadn’t until this weekend. And let me just stay, “wow”. I finally get what all the hype is about.
Enjoy this mini-escape into life in Wainscott, East Hampton.
Filed under Video
Recently, someone asked me why I like to focus on local travel, as opposed to any old kind of travel.
It is true, I do. And I’m not alone. It seems “local” has become quite the buzzword. I’m seeing it
increasingly on the cover of major travel magazines and online publications. And there are growing numbers of apps and tour guide companies popping up to capitalize on the movement.
For me, local travel is real travel. When away from home, I crave a more complete picture of my destinations rather than reinforcing antiquated stereotypes already floating around in my head.
Let’s take Rome for example.
If you think of Rome, you think of the Coliseum, Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, gelato, pasta, pizza, and aggressively flirty men. And yes, it is amusing to go see those things.
But ask yourself, how long have those images been the perception of Rome? Continue reading
Filed under Print
I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about getting outside our comfort zones as a positive way to challenge ourselves. They say, “you’ll be surprised what happens when you do it.”
But there is something about that phrase, when applied to travel in particular, that makes it feel undesirable to me.
Frankly, that phrase doesn’t make me want to travel. It makes me wonder, what kind of discomfort am I in for? And why would I want to be uncomfortable on my vacation?
At the root of it, the phrase is telling us to try something new, do something different, and go somewhere we’ve never gone before. Now, that sounds exhilarating and wonderfully escapist – not uncomfortable.
When you are in a new place, you have to be more aware of your surroundings. Like a meditation practice, you have to be hyper present. Everything is new. You come alive. And you turn into a child again – if only for a short time – observing and relishing the most mundane details of life.
And inevitably, travel lets stress and discomfort experienced in daily life melt away into the background.
So I’d prefer using a different phrase when talking about the benefits of travel. How about “exploring the unknown,” “feeling like a kid again,” “coming alive”, “escaping”, or “feeling freedom”?
What about you? What phrase or perspective inspires you to travel?
That’s me swinging on a Tarzan swing in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica. 
When you go to Paris you have to go to the Louvre, it’s almost mandatory. Right? But I have to be honest, a favorite part of the museum for me is not even inside it at all.
Filed under Video
In this episode, it’s all about finding ways to break the Parisian code and making local friends. And sometimes that means finding the right venue…
I’ll be posting a video from this series every Tuesday.
