Tag Archives: travel

Published on April 9, 2013

Getting Lost in MaHdia, Tunisia (Photos)

Tunisia is a fascinating place to experience off the beaten path and go exploring through small towns. And that is what I did during a recent trip. (Of course, accompanied by people in the know.)

I visited the country last summer in one of the more accessible ways to travel to Tunisia. I stayed in the tourist enclaves of Sousse and Monastir (Watch Video Here) filled with tourist beaches, resorts and restaurants.

Getting restless after a few days of sand and sun, I took a daytrip with my friends to a neighboring town. We drove for an hour along the coast and arrived in MaHdia — a small village on the water.

We took to the narrow streets, weaving our way through the town.

(Continue reading…)

Published on November 21, 2012

How-to: 7 Tips for Learning a Foreign Language

There are many different programs out there to learn a language on your own like Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Fluenz, Transparent, Living Language, Mango and others. These can be quite effective for some people – just not for me.

I have developed alternative ways to learn a language that I find more dynamic. First of all, I believe that to learn any skill the first step is to value the skill by finding relevancy for it in your life. The next step is owning your learning process, taking it into your own motivated and creative hands.

In this article, I’ll share with you the creative methods that served me well in becoming fluent in 3 languages – Spanish, French and Italian (Continue reading…)

Published on November 6, 2012

Imagine Waiting for your Flight in a Park

I was recently in Palm Springs for a family wedding. And due to the festivites, all I saw of the town was the airport and the hotel. Yet both proved to be quite unique and gave me reason to come back. Here’s my article about the hotel.

As for the airport, you might be thinking, an airport is an airport – but no, not at Palm Springs International. They have turned the airport experience into a real walk in the park.

No, really, the main terminal is an outdoor park! (Continue reading…)

Published on September 5, 2012

NYC Behind European Cities in Free-Wifi Race

Traveling over the summer, I visited a few of the major European capitals including Rome, London and Paris where I found they have abundantly adopted free wifi.

In these cities, I easily found coffee shops and restaurants where I could get online. And surprisingly, this contrasts my experience at home, in New York City, where I am often struggling to find new public spaces to work with an internet connection.

This is no scientific study. But… Hey, New York! You are behind the times. (Continue reading…)

Published on June 18, 2012

When Does Travel Begin?

Try to remember the last trip you went on.

At what point did it start? Was it when you checked into your hotel? Or was it before that, when you boarded the plane? Or was it still at home as you packed?

I think, in general, travel actually begins the moment you book your flights or hotels – the moment you commit.

(Continue reading…)

Published on June 15, 2012

Trip It, the Travel App

Yesterday I booked a flight to Rome. Roma here I come!

Actually that is not the only trip on my horizon. I have a really exciting lineup of travel this summer spanning over three continents. And as I book my flights and make my accommodations I need to get organized.

I usually create a Word document where I write all my itinerary details. I print it out along with my boarding pass and anything that has a bar code – like car rental confirmations.

But this time, I’m finally trying something new! And that is the app and online resource called, Trip It.

(Continue reading…)

Published on June 14, 2012

Tips for Choosing a Travel Companion

Choosing your travel companions is a form of commitment.

You are going to be in close quarters with this person or people for extended amounts of time. Your itineraries will be intertwined. You’ll have to make important decisions and trouble shoot obstacles together. And you are going to want it all to be enjoyable.

So here are some questions to ask yourself before you extend an invitation or as you anticipate an already planned trip: (Continue reading…)

Published on June 5, 2012

Are You Due for a Vacation?

It is known that Americans get less vacation time than citizens of other countries. For example, in Europe, on average, they get 30 days of paid vacation per year. Can you imagine?

And the majority of Americans don’t even take their full two weeks.

Is it that some of us fear our bosses won’t value us if we do? Is it a lack of savings? Or maybe we are concerned that if we get away and like it, we might not want to come back.

Whatever the reason, sometimes we just need an extra nudge to push us out of our daily routines and realize it is time to put fun first.

So here is a checklist to see if you are overdue for a vacation: (Continue reading…)

Published on May 30, 2012

What’s Stopping Your Travel Plans?

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!

Published on May 29, 2012

Land and Sea in the Hamptons

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.