Remember the days when you carried around a bundle of paper and paid for things on your international trips with traveler’s checks? Yeah, me neither. In fact, I don’t think I’ve used such an old-school method since my family and I went to England in 1998. Why? Well, 1) Because I’m lazy and using traveler’s [...]
Paper or Plastic? Hyatt’s New Credit Card (and a Holiday Giveaway!)
November 29, 2010 By 278 Comments
Photo Friday: Antigua, Guatemala
November 26, 2010 By 16 Comments
It’s true that I didn’t love Guatemala like so many travelers I know—but that doesn’t mean there weren’t parts I didn’t find delightfully charming. The ancient colonial city of Antigua, for example, was lovely in its cobblestone ways and crumbling facades. Sadly, throughout the duration of our three weeks in Central America in 2008, we [...]
On Safari: Laughing Hyenas
November 24, 2010 By 18 Comments
I’ve never been much of a morning person. I consider 6:30am an ungodly hour to be awake, so when the designated lodge alarm clock—a burly guide who went door to door knocking in the dead of the night—came calling at 3:45am, there was nothing I wanted more than to burrow under the covers and never [...]
On Safari: Getting Our Metaphorical Feet Wet
November 23, 2010 By 18 Comments
Welcome to all of you who found your way over from my interview on Gala Darling’s website…as I halted my South Africa coverage in the spring with wedding planning and tales of our honeymoon in Borneo, I thought our safari in Kruger National Park would be a good place to pick up from here… When [...]
Talking Turkey in Holland
November 22, 2010 By 15 Comments
This column appeared in yesterday’s travel section of the San Francisco Chronicle. “What kind of turkey?” the butcher at the pouliere, the Dutch version of a poultry shop, inquired. “Uh, there are different kinds? Just a regular ol’ turkey,” I said, miffed that there existed an entire avian world of which I clearly knew nothing. “What [...]
Talking Turkey Can Be Done in Any Language
November 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Published November 2010; San Francisco Chronicle “What kind of turkey?” the butcher at the pouliere, the Dutch version of a poultry shop, inquired. “Uh, there are different kinds? Just a regular ol’ turkey,” I said, miffed that there existed an entire avian world of which I clearly knew nothing. “What size?” he fired back. “Size? I [...]
Photo Friday: South Shore, Bonaire
November 19, 2010 By 18 Comments
The most bizarre part about Bonaire is how deserted so much of it is; a narrow paved road that rings the perimeter seems to lead to nowhere across the flat, barren landscape. Vast regions on both the north and south side of the isle lay wide open spaces, uninhabited. Uninhabited, I should say, save the [...]
Macau: Beyond the Casinos
November 17, 2010 By 17 Comments
Twenty Formula 3 race cars vroom by, sending late afternoon sunbeams scattering across the track. The noise of tires skating against turns at speeds of 160 miles per hour is deafening to spectators, who don’t seem the least bit bothered by it. (Earplugs are a godsend.) The fall breeze off the sea keeps the heat [...]
City Dog, Vol. III
November 15, 2010 By 21 Comments
Hey homedawgs—see what I did there?—it’s Ella the Maltese, reporting for duty. I know you’ve all been desperately curious about my whereabouts and happenings, but Mom will only let me check in once in a blue moon as she says this is a travel blog and no one gives a puppy’s left paw about the [...]
Photo Friday: Ticino, Switzerland
November 12, 2010 By 32 Comments
I’ve had this deep intense burning for Europe lately that I can’t exactly explain. Although it’s only been 14 months since I’ve last been on the continent—on an adventure trek through Switzerland last fall—it feels lightyears away. And then I came across SVV doing some stealthy Google mapping in our office. I got closer, and [...]
