Cultural stereotypes are one of the most persistent facts of life. No matter where you’ve been, and no matter how true or untrue they may be, the beliefs that Italy has the best pizza, Switzerland the best chocolate, Japan the best sushi, and America the best burgers will continue to follow you wherever you are and niggle at your brain. Well, today I’m here to tell you that one stereotype is true: France has the best honeymoons.
After a spectacular wedding in our home state of New Hampshire, my- gasp!- husband …

I had heard stories, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect Bilbao.  We arrived on a tour bus with fellow students crossing tall bridges into the city.  I remember thinking that Bilbao felt like a fortress with the Guggenheim Museum nestled into the river bank.  Except the Guggenheim Museum is no ordinary structure found in any sort of fairy tale conceivable by quiet imaginations; more like a dreamland building in curvy titanium built by the one and only Frank Gehry (the same Canadian architect responsible for buildings such …

At the hotel, Kevin sits alone at the dinner table for six. He’s from Scotland and he’s never been to São Tomé before. We don’t know this, though, when we first sit down with him- four of us to fill the table up better. He is quiet, he eats quickly but at the same time he eats slowly and spreads his food around and studies it. He doesn’t look up.
The three Portuguese guys and I are talking about something, anything, I don’t remember what we’re talking about. One of the …

…Continued from…
Day 4:
We are up by 5:30, out of the tent by 6, and still are some of the latest sleepers in tent city.  Breakfast is warm muesli with extra raisins.  Tea gets me where I need to be.  We pack up and out and are rewarded with another beautiful day, climbing up and down peaks; I think we stood on top of five total mountains that day.   At 1pm, we reach a junction where we have three choices: stop for the day (X), continue …

Lately I’ve been reading up on some of the latest news regarding Cuba. I was very elated to find out what may happen in just a few short months or years (who really knows), that has the potential to impact travelers immensely. Mainly, the American travelers have been restricted from touring the island for years, but things may change. The restriction may become “loosened.”  Meaning, they may be able to travel there again. For most travelers, they will be very much excited about venturing back into Cuba.
One thing’s for sure, that if you …

On the bus ride with the study abroad cohort to San Sebastian, I saw snow.  Let’s be honest, part of the reason I came to Spain to study abroad was for the culture and language, and the other big reason was to escape the snow and cold of Boston (where I attended college).  Needless to say, I was glad for my hat and coat sitting close by me in my weekend trip bag, but I wasn’t thrilled to have to use them.  After checking into the hotel and a brief …

There’s a lot to hate about road trips: hours and hours seated in the same position,  the possibility of flat tires and overheated engines, the threat of being squished by a careless trucker, the constant quaffing of caffeinated beverages and the subsequent frequent need to pull over and pee. And from the perspective of plane travel, road trips are slow; automobiles take days to accomplish what hours can in a 747.
But I love road trips, and I have ever since I was old enough to drive a car myself, when …

Zion National Park was only a few hours drive from our last camp at Cathedral Gorge State Park.  We were concerned we wouldn’t find a camp site, even though it was Sunday.  It’s summer, and all the reservation campgrounds were spoken for.  It was early afternoon already, but luckily we drove right in to South Campground and got a site.

We set up camp and decided to drive the park.  Unfortunately, the long road that gives access to many of the points of interest was open to the shuttle buses only.  …

So it’s been a couple months. You’d think I would have already gotten over the inevitable feeling of reverse culture shock, and we’d be on with life, right? Well, apparently not.  Even after two months of being at home, with friends, and being busy, Morocco seemed to invade my brain once more.  I was shopping in TJMaxx (one of my favorite shopping haunts) and out of the blue I was reminded of my host sister, and how much she would have loved some of the shirts and bags I had …

by Lisa
Once upon a time (six years ago) I embarked upon a six week hiking and camping road trip.  Since I was going solo — and since I had never done such a thing before — I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what equipment I needed and where to get it.  Before long, I had my shiny new equipment in piles in my bedroom.  The tent, sleeping bag, cooking equipment, backpack, lanterns, first aid kits, clothing, shoes, reading material, non-perishable food…the pile grew and grew and …