Last Saturday, on International Women’s Day, I took part in a wonderful event empowering women to travel. It was the first annual, Women’s Travel Festival held in New York City. And it was clear that from the seasoned, career-travelers on stage to the festival attendees – the room was full of friends. Wait. Not just friends, but sisters. A love for travel, solo or otherwise, means you embrace new friendships and new adventures. And the festival was packed with open-hearted and brave women coming together over their common passions. For that and many other reasons, I was so honored to be one of the speakers.…
Stay Eat Do
In a recent article for Expedia Viewfinder, I write about how I might travel using a time machine if given the opportunity. The post was inspired by Expedia’s campaign in support of the new Dreamworks film, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. And in writing my piece, I was really surprised to find how personal the topic of time travel turned out to be for me. Most people might choose to go back to some profound moment in world history. And in the film, the main characters do exactly that from Troy to Versailles to Ancient Egypt, accidentally wreaking havoc on the space-time continuum. But me!? I’d go back to the toe-tapping era of the 1950’s in Vegas. Why? Well, first of…
It is a core mission of my website and video series to help my viewers travel locally. Either here or on other travel publications, I’m sure you’ve seen articles referencing local travel, getting an authentic experience, or experiential travel. And you might be wondering, what do these buzz words mean exactly? I think there are two main components to local travel. One is the ability to experience a destination for what it is today. The other is to make personal connections with people from a different part of the world. Both opportunities can enhance your trip and impact your life. Every destination has a living, breathing society that is evolving all the time. Think about your hometown or New York…
Vegas. At every turn there is something that will awe you, overwhelm you or at least cause you to shake your head in disbelief. It is the ultimate saturation of the senses. But however grand Las Vegas is – the Grand Canyon will impress you more. Last week, I went to Vegas with a friend from out of town – from France to be exact. And he made a request. He said, we must also visit the Grand Canyon. He could not possibly go back to Europe and explain that when traveling to Las Vegas he hadn’t also visited the Grand Canyon. As an American, or rather as a Los Angeles native, I reasoned with him saying, nobody from here…
I recently came across an article about why it is a bad idea to date girls who travel. Ouch! Apparently, it has gone viral and been translated into six languages because it resonates with so many. And as I read it, I find myself simultaneously offended and utterly flattered. The essay reads as a cautionary tale for young bachelors. It says, “Don’t date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures.†Check out the piece itself – but also read this one I wrote in response, or rather in defense, for girls who travel. When I was…
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 develop 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 processing 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…