It sounds like a dream, swim in the famed Blue Grotto on the Isle of Capri, just off the coast of southern Italy. Images of my Little Mermaid heydays at my neighborhood pool came to mind as I set out for Capri’s waters on a sweaty day in June. The Blue Grotto bears a small opening, being only 2 meters wide and 2 meters high. You better like everyone in your boat for you will have to get cozy. All passengers, including the man row, row, rowing his boat into the cave must lie down as you head into the Blue Grotto. On days when the winds are not in the Blue Grotto’s favor, boats are not Continue Reading
Spring in the Boboli Gardens of Florence Through the Camera’s Eye
Barbie pink roses cover remarkably green bushes. It may be a fairytale, but the handful of tourists with fanny packs pull me out of this dream, but only for a moment. Spring has arrived in Florence, but you wouldn’t know it in the historic center with little patches of greenery to be found. The store windows may be the only indication that it is time to change that winter wardrobe of coats and scarves to floral dresses and sandals. One of my favorite moments with spring came in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. The Boboli Gardens sit perched above historic Florence, Italy. From Continue Reading
The Young Woman and The Sea
I should be a mountain loving, skier being from Colorado. Instead, I am deathly afraid of the sport and despise cold weather and sweaters. My last ski episode ended with me watching my whole family at the bottom of the mountain just looking up at me, waiting for this slow downhill skier. There may or may not have been tears streaming down my cheeks. I knew I was too old to have my Dad carry me down the mountain like he used to back when I was 8. Well, I might have been more like 13. My connection to my state is strong. I can appreciate the Rocky Mountains without the need for two narrow Continue Reading
Sitting on Suitcases and Speaking the Language of Your Destination
As I prepare for a trip of my own, I thought in the coming months I would share some travel preparation tips. So many of us head out to these countries all around the world without learning one word of the languages we will be hearing. Language is so much a part of understanding a place. While attractions and customs may give insight, it is the words pouring from locals' lips that ironically say the most about a place. As I head to Italy this summer, I am committing myself to start studying my Italian again. While I know it is rusty as next to no one in Colorado speaks the romance Continue Reading
To Travel or Not To Travel? That is the Question
I rented an apartment in Italy for the summer. I have no plane ticket at the moment and no definitive plans. I just know I will have a roof over my head. I really do sound like Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun except I have yet to go through a bad divorce or some sort of quarter life crisis. Perhaps that will ensue upon my arrival. Deciding to travel is not really something I see as a decision. It is intimating though once you look at your bank account. I hope to have a flight in the coming weeks and perhaps then I will start planning. Basically, the bottom line, I weighed my options. I Continue Reading
A Travel Tribute to the Paths of Least and Most Resistance
When we travel, we are usually trying to get to a destination, one we plan on reaching or one that is spontaneous. Regardless, we travel by way of plane, train, car, boat, or foot to get there. After that flight or train ride, you seek out the landmarks, the attractions. You fumble to find that piece of paper with the addresses of restaurants, bars, or shops friends have recommended. You are looking for streets, paths, avenues, boulevards, drives, or any road to give that direction to a place. Throughout my travels I have found those paths to be more of destinations. Those streets that lead Continue Reading
My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets
The travel chain letter has reached my virtual hands. In case you do not know about this project, Tripbase asked travel writers to reveal their three best-kept travel secrets. I was so graciously passed the torch by Top Backpacking Destinations to share with readers my 3 travel secrets. It seems like a great oxymoron to reveal those secrets in a public posting. The funny thing about almost every place around the world is that someone has looked upon it at some point. We are never the only ones, well maybe in parts of Antarctica or in South American jungles, but that is what is so appealing Continue Reading