From Sorrento, a visit to the island of Capri is a short boat ride away, making it an easy day trip. In high season, reservations may be important, but otherwise just head down to Marina Grande, figure out your timing, and buy a ticket. The ticket will depend on the time of boat service and the current Euro exchange rate, but figure about $15-17 and allow 20-30 minutes transport time. Before you go to the island, though, learn how to correctly. It’s pronounced CAH-pree. The often heard cuh-PREE is a pair of pants. Locals will know what you’re talking about if you say it incorrectly, but what not try for a little authenticity. Once on the island, visitors typically either head off for a tour of the famous Blue Grotto, or take the funicular up to Capri Town. The town […]
Read MoreMay Day: How Do You Celebrate?
Today is May 1st, and depending on where you are in the world, the significance of the day runs for substantial to relatively unimportant. When I was a kid, growing up in a small town, May day was a day of leaving flowers – anonymously – on neighbor’s doorsteps. We’d gather up brightly colored construction paper, draw and decorate it, then roll and tape it into a cone. As a final touch we’d attach a thin strip to make a long handle. Once complete, we’d fill the cone with flowers from my grandmother’s garden. I’m not exactly sure what flowers we’d put in it, but grandma’s garden always seemed to have an abundant supply of blooms to fill a dozen or so May baskets. As I got older, the May baskets went from that rudimentary cone to woven ones, and […]
Read MoreBrand USA: Land of Dreams by Rosanne Cash
Brand USA officially launched at this past week’s USTA PowWow in Los Angeles. Brand USA was created in 2010 to encourage travelers from all over the world to visit the United States. The public-private marketing entity works in close partnership with the travel industry to maximize the economic and social benefits of travel in communities around the country. Through its website, Discover America, Brand USA will inspire travellers to explore America’s boundless possibilities. As part of the new branding campaign, Brand USA commissioned Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash to create a song that could serve as a new anthem for America. An anthem that represented the diversity of this country and that would invite and welcome visitors from around the world to our country. Featuring guest artists that include Los Lobos, Bebel Gilberto and TREME, I think the video captures […]
Read MoreA Guide to Professional Sports in Toronto
You may not necessarily think of Toronto as a city with a rich sports culture, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth! Toronto has had a sports team of some sort since the 1800s with the Granite Club, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, the Argonaut Rowing Club, and the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club. The Toronto Argonauts football was established in 1873 and is still around today! Professional sports in Toronto continue to develop and change, depending on the popularity of the particular sport and the success of the franchise. Here’s a quick guide to professional sports in Toronto to bring you up to speed: Hockey – If Toronto is known for one thing, it is the Maple Leafs, the most financially successful sports franchise in the country. Toronto has hosted several international hockey […]
Read MoreTravel Product: Cool-it-Caddy
Travel product development is a big industry, with every product hoping to be the next HOT item. Cool-it-Caddy, however, isn’t interest in HOT, it’s interested in helping you keep your cool. How? With their Icepops line – an insulated cosmetic bag that you pop in the freezer till frozen. The coolant is self contained, so there’s no drippy mess, and then when you’re ready to head out to the pool, golf course, on the water, or any other sun activity, the bag will keep your lipstick, medication, sunscreen, and healthy snacks at a cool temperature for up to 7 hours. No more melted lipstick or other cosmetic products. A few things to know: You can store the empty Icepops in the freezer, keeping it ready for use. Putting a small towel or wash cloth inside the Icepop when in the […]
Read MoreOpportunity Knocks: TBEX 2012
I’ve been busy with a few travel-related projects, and I’m excited to fill you in on one of them. I’ve been named the Conference Director for TBEX. I’m going to take this minute to brag on this opportunity a bit, and to fill in many of you unfamiliar with TBEX, and so will just publish the press release announcement. I’m VERY excited about this opportunity, and hope that some of you will consider attending the awesome event at Keystone Resort in Colorado (in photo above). It will be a great opportunity to learn about travel blogging from some of the best in the business, as well a chance to network with travel industry representatives. SAN DIEGO, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Recently acquired by BlogWorld, TBEX ’12, the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers is taking place at the Keystone […]
Read MorePoverty Point State Historic Site on UNESCO Nominee List
The U.S. Department of the Interior is nominating Poverty Point State Historic Site in northeast Louisiana for the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013. The 3,500-year-old site is considered one of the most culturally significant American Indian sites in the U.S., and is already designated a National Historic Landmark, National Monument and Smithsonian Affiliate. Poverty Point is the largest, most complex U.S. archaeological site of its age. No other site in the country matched its size until 2,500 years later. In addition to its impressive size and design, the site is outstanding because of its widespread trade network. The site’s design is unlike any other site in the world, including a massive earthen complex, with five mounds (the largest in photo above), six concentric, C-shaped ridges and a large, flat plaza. Archaeologists believe Native Americans moved millions of basket-loads of […]
Read MoreRemembering Tuscany: Opening Wine Sent Home From Italy
You know how there are those moments when you get to re-live your travel experiences all over again? Well tonight is one of those nights for me. For the last few years that we’ve been in Italy, we’ve made a point to send a case (or two) of wine home. The process isn’t difficult, we head off to Montepulciano where we have a favorite wine shop, do a little tasting, select a nice combination of favorites and new discoveries, and let the shop take care of the packing, shipping, and customs part of things. We look for a combination of wines that we love, wines we cannot get at home, and choices that represent good value. It’s not a precise science or art, but I choose wines I like and that’s most important to me. Tonight I opened a bottle […]
Read MoreVisiting Malaga for August Fair
The Feria de Málaga, also known as the Feria de Agosto, is a long-standing tradition in the city of Malaga, located on Spain’s south coast. The name of the festival translates into Málaga Fair or August Fair, and is in honor of the incorporation of the city into the Crown of Castile by Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon on August 18, 1487. The first year the event was celebrated was 1491, starting with a simple procession and some bullfighting. It has since evolved into a 10 day party, still including the parade and the bullfighting, but now with fireworks, traditional music and dance, and of course, food and drinks. The Feria is distinctly divided into a day festival and night festival. La Feria de día runs in the city’s historic center from midday to about 7 […]
Read MoreDubai Mall Offers More Than Shopping
Sure there’s a lot of historical sites, intriguing architecture, refreshing beaches, and a panoply of culture in Dubai, but still, the primary tourism draw is centered around shopping. Dubai is the most populated of the United Arab Emirates (there are seven emirates) and is the emirate most focused on tourism. With over 70 shopping malls, as well as an impressive souk district, Dubai has rightly earned the moniker of the “Shopping Capital of the Middle East.” Your Dubai holidays will give you a chance to sample both modern and traditional types of shopping. For modern day shopping, the Dubai Mall has everything you could possibly want. It is the world’s largest shopping mall (based on total area) and attracts over a million visitors per week. That’s more people than visit any of the U.S. theme parks, Times Square, or Niagara […]
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