While I tend to downplay Cinque Terre, known as the five towns in Italy strung out on the Liguria coastline, their beauty is undeniable. Sure, I might appreciate the area more without all of the crowds, but this view is something crowds can’t wreck or ruin. My grumpy nature for these five towns may have something to do with how I arrived to Riomaggiore. Traveling with a friend who just arrived from the US to visit, we ended up waiting 6 hours in the Florence airport for his lost bags. Just barely making the last train to Cinque Terre out of Florence, our train connections were hop-on, Continue Reading
Travel Book Review: Getting Lost Around the World with The Lost Girls
When I received The Lost Girls in the mail, I was excited to open the yellow squishy package for a few reasons. One, I had heard about these ladies’ adventures, read their website here and there, and wanted to dive into their travels. And two, a major book publisher actually addressed a label to yours truly. My life is now complete. The Lost Girls is a travel memoir by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner. Their tagline states, “Three friends. Four continents. One unconventional detour around the world”. That detour takes these three twenty-somethings from their fast Continue Reading
Coffee with Strangers: The Importance of Travel Conversations
I arrived to a train station outside of Graz, Austria, clueless if I would make my connection after a delayed overnight train from Florence. A sleepless night of listening to movies and music on my now dead I-Pod passed the 9 or so hours. Knowing that the delay had pushed back my itinerary, I quickly hopped off the train to view the monitor, scanning frantically to see “Graz” somewhere on the screen. As I gazed at the glowing box covered in funny German words (funny to me for their length and that I can’t pronounce a single one of them), I realized I had about 40 minutes until the next train Continue Reading
Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week Of May 3, 2010
At this point, most of you know the drill. Each week I ask you to leave a comment in the “Suzy Stumbles Over Travel” posts with a link to your favorite travel post, video, or website of the week. This can be a post of your own or from someone else. All I ask is that it be travel related. I read, comment, stumble, and tweet every submission. On Monday, I pick my five favorites from last week and ask you to start the stumbling cycle all over again. Well, it’s Monday. Take a break from your day with some of these travel reads. Once you are done, leave a comment here with your submission for Continue Reading
Costa Verde, Sardinia Wishes You Were Here
It is no secret that I love Sardinia. The island just below Corsica and to Italy’s west yields those corny, take-your-breath-away moments. While I have yet to get up north and see what northern Sardinia is all about, I did spend some time exploring southern Sardinia’s scenery, filled with secluded beaches and peachy-colored, rocky mountains. What did I conclude of these visions? Well, I know why Sardinians live so long. This is what they wake up to every morning. Continue Reading
My Case For A Three Month Vacation
Travel, like everything else in life, involves time. From the moment you must press purchase, you know your set travel dates. You know when you will be leaving for a destination and when you will be returning home. Everything is within a certain time frame. Some of us go for the standard two-week vacation for that is all our jobs, family commitments, or school will allow. Others decide to be daring, going around the world any where from 8 months to 2 years. Then, there are those that just never come home. Their travel time is indefinite. They have no home base. Their home is packed away in a Continue Reading
My Missed Connection with a Boy from Oz
We all have had those experiences. You talk to someone on an 8-hour plane ride, connecting in a certain way or enjoying the conversation on some level. Once the plane lands, there is that “well, enjoy your life” kind of undertone as you know the chances of seeing that stranger again are slim. Joya of Be A Travel Bee shares below her experience of connecting with a travel stranger. Be sure to check out Joya’s travel site as well. She features a weekly “Travel Bites of the Week” post, searching for the best in travel every Friday. I missed making a connection with David from Melbourne. I Continue Reading