Category: Special Interest Trips
El Camino Real, Maggie’s 800-Mile Mission Walk
El Camino Real, the Royal Road, is a route that links California’s 21 iconic missions and provides an authentic view of the state’s colonial history. I’ve visited many of these landmarks and enjoyed the serenity they offer – and that was enough for me. In contrast, my friend and fellow travel journalist Maggie Espinosa felt compelled […]
California Road Trips With Kids – LA to San Fran
California road trips are the best – especially ones along our long, beautiful coast. I’ve lived here most of my life, and I’m still amazed at the sights I see when I travel along Highway 101 and Highway 1. Because I love coastal California road trips, I was alarmed when I heard a mother of […]
Learn French, Travel With Your Tutor
Learn French while traveling with your teacher in Eastern France. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Our Parisian friend Pascale Heuzé previously shared her ideas about souvenir shopping and provided suggestions for living like a local in Paris. Now she wants to help you learn French. Read on… I’m a real French tutor living in Paris and […]
Quinoa Pancakes – Direct From Peru!
Quinoa wasn’t even on my list of must-have adventures for our recent trip to Peru. Machu Picchu? Yep. Riding Paso horses? You bet! Shopping for colorful woven handicrafts? Of course. But dining on quinoa, taking pictures of quinoa, collecting quinoa recipes? Not so much. The first encounter To be quite honest, I had tried quinoa […]
Paris Shopping -Finding the Best “Souvenirs”
Paris shopping is a subject near and dear to the heart of Pascale Heuzé, who lives in Vincennes – a community in the eastern suburbs of the city. I first introduced you to this lovely lady when I wrote about learning vacations a while back. More recently, she wrote about Vincennes and why you might want […]
June Magic in St Louis
I love the way the Internet brings people together. St Louis resident Ann Mandelstamm will be visiting my home town, La Jolla, California in a couple of weeks and pinged me a quick message with a few questions. I was happy to answer and, in the course of the exchange, she mentioned her city’s summer cultural festivals. She’s a […]
Cozumel Mexico – Warm Beaches & Cool Diving
Cozumel is a magnet for lovers of warm weather, sunny beaches, and great diving. This includes my immediate family – all three generations of us. The youngest likes nothing more than building sand castles; we all love swimming; and the adults get really excited about snorkeling around exotic marine life. I’d heard of Cozumel, but […]
Ancestry Travel – Fixing Your Family Tree
Ancestry travel – think of it as authentic travel on steroids. You wander off the beaten path looking for “missing” family members and, in the process, you make connections with local people and learn about your cultural DNA. It doesn’t get more authentic than that. My trip to Italy to research my roots took me […]
Love this Romantic Los Angeles Hotel
Most Romantic Los Angeles Hotel? How about one that’s secluded on 12 lush acres in Beverly Hills and is positively steeped in Hollywood love affair history? You just couldn’t ask for a better backstory. The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows The “pink” palace was built in 1912 and offers 185 rooms and suites – plus […]
Manu National Park – Wildly Amazing Peru
Nina Fogelman has a long history with Peru. In 1983 she moved to Cusco to fulfill a one year contract as Director of Alternative Healing Arts Institute. She fell completely in love with the people and their culture. For more than 30 years, she has been immersed in all aspects of this diverse and amazing […]
2 Alaska Hiking Trails Locals Love
Alaska hiking trails stretch out across the state. These offer authentic travelers what they came for: gorgeous scenery and a chance to experience nature unrefined. Anchorage-based photographer Victoria Lynn Pennick generously contributed her images and insider comments for this guest post. Both of us hope they will inspire you to explore beyond the beaten path of Alaska’s “must-see” sights and will lead to […]
Thanksgiving Travel With Airbnb
Thanksgiving travel plans still up in the air? The winter holidays can be challenging for authentic travelers. On one hand, we want to share the time with family and close friends. On the other, we’d like to have a great travel experience. If “over the river and through the woods” is sounding less than melodic […]
Christmas in Santa Fe – New Mexico
Guest blogger Judith Moir is irrevocably in love with all things Santa Fe. Her romance with the written word currently finds her writing a weekly blog for Tourism Santa Fe, and she paints the story of New Mexico in living color for a variety of additional clients. Judith never misses an opportunity to share her […]
Pavlova – Best Down Under Dessert
Pavlova may not be a household “name” in the Northern Hemisphere, but it’s perennially popular in Australia and New Zealand. The iconic gooey meringue, topped with colorful fruit, is often served at birthday parties, holiday meals, and other special occasions. Because pavlova is considered the national dessert of both Australia and New Zealand, authentic travelers […]
