This week's Wish You Were Here post comes from Cynthia of CynthiaOrd.com, Thoughts on Tourism, People and the Earth. Cynthia is fascinated with travel and tourism as an industry and its impacts. She likes to visit unlikely places and see how many people she can convince to go there. Be sure to check out her blog and follow her on twitter at @cynthiaord. In Tirana, Albania, the line between art and politics is a fine one. The current mayor, Edi Rama, began his career as a sculptor and painter. Although he is no longer a practicing artist, there are Continue Reading
Under Travel Pressure
A giant book bearing the title Italy sits on my coffee table. Truth always be told, I never really looked at the book until the other day. I had flipped through it when I received the Modern Language Award at my college, appropriately deemed "The Dante Award”. Two women, Costanza and Maria Grazia, my Italian professors who inspired much of my love for Italy, gave the book to me as a gift for winning the award. After spending three months in Italy this summer, a country I have spent years living in, I was somewhat sick of Italy. Reading other travel blogs and articles almost convinced me I Continue Reading
Hotel Club $100 Credit Winner
Last week, I announced a $100 giveaway to use on HotelClub.com. I received 32 entries. I am pleased to announce the winners today. After plugging in 1 to 32 to Random.org, I came up with lucky number 17. Comment 17 came from Kieron of Don’t Ever Look Back. He said the following of where he would use the $100 hotel credit, “We would use it to kick off our RTW next year in style! And perhaps Amy & I would try to recreate the HotelClub image while using the credit just to show our thanks!” Congratulations guys! Let me know how recreating this image goes and look out for an email in Continue Reading
Stockholm, Sweden Wishes You Were Here
Stockholm had just recovered from its royal wedding. It seemed as though most of the tourists had left town, deserting the city and leaving the streets empty. Well, that isn’t entirely true. Wandering around the city, random street art displays appear. A fox jumped out at me, but not in a menacing way. Meager, hopeful and understated, you have to watch where you walk in Stockholm. Head indoors in the city to its most popular museum and you will find all of those crowds missing in the streets. The Vasa Museum holds the Vasa Ship in remarkable condition. The ship sank in 1628 in the middle of Continue Reading
Remembering Places and Having Places Remember You
I walked into my favorite lazy day café in Sicily, part bookstore, part chocolate paradise. I was nervous to enter for it had been over a year since I came here every Sunday, especially when the weather turned bitingly cold. I thought I would glance at the Italian books, maybe get ambitious on my plane ride home and read an Italian novel. Then I heard the sweetest of sounds come from the hot chocolate bar. “Sei ritornata!” Those words translate as you might imagine, “you have returned”. Behind those words was the woman who ran the café, a glasses on the tip of her nose, frizzy haired Continue Reading
Tallinn, Estonia Wishes You Were Here
This week’s “Wish You Were Here” photos come from reader Matt McCall. When I decided to travel to Tallinn, Estonia with my brothers for a quick weekend trip, I was not quite sure what to expect. What I did find however, was an unexpectedly interesting city. Arriving on a rainy, cold August night, it felt as though I was transported not only to another season, but also to another time. Wandering through the lamp-lit medieval passages in the misty night, I explored the old city's streets, with its towering churches and numerous restaurants. The old city of Tallinn is surrounded by its Continue Reading
Giving Thanks For YOU With A $100 Hotel Credit Giveaway
Last year I wrote a post on giving thanks for travel on this American Thanksgiving Day. “Looking back on my travels throughout the year, I have countless photos and memories. I have visited new places like Belgium, Luxembourg, and Hawaii. I spent time in Austria, Germany, Italy, Massachusetts, and Arkansas. In other words, I am truly thankful for these places and the people that make travel so intriguing. Without them, I would be speechless, an adjective that never describes me.” This year, I am of the same mindset with travel, but it also goes a little deeper. Being able to write about my Continue Reading