27 New World Heritage Sites Added

I don’t usually focus on news on this website. I try to keep things oriented about my trip. Occasionally, however, if there is something in the news that in some way related to what I’m doing, I have no problem chiming in on it. Yesterday, UNESCO released the names of 27 locations to be added …

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Using Twitter for Travel

If you recall, I have written about why you don’t need a guidebook to travel. They are heavy, expensive and out of date. Since I’ve wrote that article, I’ve encountered even more examples of how guidebooks have failed travelers and they had to end up getting information locally anyhow. But I’m not here to open …

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Baggage Autopsy: A review of the stuff I carry

I’m back in the US sitting in a makeshift office on a folding table in my parent’s basement amongst my boxed up former possessions. It makes a good opportunity to review the what, why and how’s of all the crap I carry with me. It normally isn’t something worth talking about, but the last few …

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My 11 Most Memorable Hotel Stays

I don’t usually write about hotels on this site, because I don’t want to get into the business of doing hotel reviews. I have been prodded by many people to at least give a list of my favorite places I’ve stayed in the last 4 years, so I figure I’d give it a go. I …

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The Futile Quest for the Authentic Experience

One reason people claim travel is to have an “authentic experience”. They envision traveling to a foreign country and living, eating and doing the things which locals do in their native culture. I have exchanged emails with people ready to set out on a long adventure who see themselves living with tribespeople in the African …

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Cruising Around The World on the Queen Elizabeth

Last January I was invited by Cunard Cruise Line to sail aboard the Queen Elizabeth from Acapulco, Mexico to Los Angeles. As it was the dead of winter and I was in Wisconsin, it sounded like a great deal. I’m not a big cruise guy. I had only taken one previous cruise and that had …

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Random Thoughts From A World Traveler On The Olympics

It is that time again. The two weeks every four years when we shift our attention from high paid athletes in team sports to lower paid athletes in lesser known sports. The time when television crews have to pretend they care about sports such as Equestrian, Synchronized Swimming and the Modern Pentathlon. The Olympics is …

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My 13 Most Wanted Destinations

I do not have a bucket list. If I did, I’m sure most of the things on that list would have been crossed off by now. That does not mean, however, that I do not have goals or a priority list of things I’d like to do. The following list is of the 13 places …

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Seven Tips For Visting An Art Museum

I am not an artist. In fact I am probably the farthest thing from an artist you can possibly be. I can’t draw, paint, sculpt or play a musical instrument. I’m also not a serious student of art history. I’ve never taken a course on the subject or studied it in a rigorous manner. I …

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