Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. ― Jack Kerouac
You might be asking yourself, “Why would anyone need survival tips for long bus trips?” Aren’t long distance bus trips inherently exciting for the solo traveler? Getting all the way from Point A to Point B at a fraction of the cost of flying. Being at eye level with the landscape. Kicking back and soaking […]
If you’re looking for breakfast in Santa Cruz California, you’ve got a lot of great options. The combination of a beachy, outdoor vibe, warm weather most of the year, and a young, very social population means people really get into breakfast here. And that’s great because you end up with menus filled with locally sourced, […]
Is it safe to travel to <insert placename>? It’s a common question for travelers and one that you can always find an answer to by referring to the websites listed at the end of this post. Note that each of these is a government-run, government-hosted site. As a result, you can and should make your […]
The Blue Lagoon on Comino Island, Malta. This photo is unretouched. The waters really are as vibrant and spectacular as they appear here. What’s not visible in the photo are the hundreds of tourists that decent on the lagoon each day. On the day this photo was taken, masses of stinging jellyfish kept everyone out […]
That’s a good (and popular) question. If you don’t know who Karl Bushby is, check out our review of his book Giant Steps: The Remarkable Story of the Goliath Expedition: From Punta Arenas to Russia. It’s the fascinating story of the first part of the epic walk he is undertaking from southern Chile back to […]
Mgarr Harbor on the southern side of Gozo island, Malta. The 25-minute ferry service from the island of Malta runs between this small harbor and the town of Cirwekka.
When one walks one can also talk, one can stop and have time for others, one can eat and touch people and interact with them. Walking allows us a particular life-pace. It makes possible a way of understanding and looking with open eyes. — Tony Doherty, The Attachment: Letters from a Most Unlikely Friendship
When traveling in non-English speaking countries and Australia the Google Translate app is my lifeline. In fact, it’s probably the most valuable travel app I’ve got on my smartphone. And the great thing about this free translation tool is that it’s being continually updated by some of the best developers in the business. Which means […]
Looking up at the hole in the Pantheon ceiling, Rome. Dating from around 126 BC, this former temple has been used as a Catholic church since the 7th century. One interesting bit of trivia: the height from the floor to the oculus (the hole) is the same as the diameter of the interior of the […]
Located in the heart of the French Riviera, Nice has a lot going for it. Warm, sunny summers; short, mild winters; two world-class art galleries; great food; and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Tens of thousands of tourists come each year, but most don’t even notice that some of the most impressive works of art are […]
Check out these links for San Francisco, the West Coast’s most charming and beautiful city. Find out about local events, tours, flights, weather conditions, medical facilities, transportation options, and much more. If there is any additional information you think we should add, let us know via the COMMENT form at the bottom of the page. […]
Fort St. Angelo on Malta’s Grand Harbour, as viewed from the town of Senglea. This fort takes up the northernmost tip of the town of Vittoriosa, also known as Birgu. Located next to one another, Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua make up the “Three Cities,” a largely residential area across the harbour from Valletta. Because access […]
If you need to find out which airlines fly into and out of Nice Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, do so before heading to the airport. That’s because the names of the airlines are not displayed anywhere on the approach roads to each terminal. As a result, if you don’t know which terminal you […]
Wifi in Europe compared to the US/Canada In 2017, Akamai Technologies, a US-based content delivery company, released a ranking of countries with the fastest mobile internet speeds. The U.K., Germany, and Finland led the pack. In fact, eight of the top 10 countries were in Europe. The United States came in 28th and Canada was […]
“In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.” ― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad
View of the south side of the Isle of Capri from a beachside cafe at the Marina Piccola (the Little Marina). Although less than 1 1/2 miles from the Marina Grande, where most tourists land on the island, the Marina Piccola is significantly quieter and less developed. Much of that has to do with the […]
Country lane, northwestern Malta. Much of the island of Malta and it’s sister islands to the north, Gozo and Comino, look like this. Rolling hills, crumbling seaside cliffs, and hardy trees and scrub brush. Malta is an island of huge contrasts, too. The western side looks much like it did seven centuries ago when people […]
What this post covers If you’re arriving by train to Ancona station and need to pick up your Ancona to Split ferry tickets, this blog post should make the process a lot less confusing. Because let me tell you, there’s nothing intuitive about any of it. I took the ferry on March 26, 2019 and […]
Before the huge eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD, the two peaks in this image formed part of a much larger cone shaped volcano. Falling ash and pyroclastic flows eventually buried Pompeii to a depth of as much as 17 feet in some areas. Nearly 2,000 residents of this town, alone, died during the […]
A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon and immediately got hooked on Ewan McGregor’s BBC reality television series Long Way Down. The program documents the three-month journey McGregor and his friend undertook in 2007 from northern Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa by motorcycle. I was fascinated and enthralled by their trip: the challenges […]
“Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.” John Muir, “Father of the National Parks” and co-founder of the Sierra Club
Bondi Beach is world renown for great surf and a vibrant social scene. It also has a wide range of excellent casual restaurants where you can get locally sourced, fresh, and delicious meals. So to help you narrow down the list of choices, here are what I consider the five best places to grab breakfast […]
View of Dubrovnik’s historic Old Town from the 16th century wall that completely encircles it. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979, the town suffered significant damage during the 1991-1992 Yugoslav War. Nowadays, though, there are few physical reminders of the war years. And the town has been reborn as a major Mediterranean tourist destination. […]
The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk is an easily accessible and not too strenuous way to get up close to some of the spectacular coastline in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The walk hugs the coast for 3 1/2 miles and consists of a gently rolling path with occasional stairs. On sunny days, it provides spectacular photo […]