Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh is a popular place year-round for travelers of all kinds, but especially families. From the very atmospheric city streets to the many tours and festivals that the kids will love, Scotland will leave the parents charmed and your children ready for their return trip. With so many attractions and venues, it’s really hard to decide where to spend your time. So fuel up with a big Scotland breakfast, and then head out for a busy day – these suggestions are sure to keep everyone smiling Edinburgh Castle Of course, the famed icon that brings travelers here from afar has to top the list. But why? Because the castle can be a fun way to learn about Scotland’s troubled history. There is so much to see here, from the city’s oldest building (a small chapel) to […]
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Five Major Moments in the History of Flight
If you’re a fan of the history of air travel, I think you’ll enjoy today’s guest post reminding us of some of the outstanding moments in the history of flight. The next time you step on a plane, think about just how far we’ve come. —– Humanity has long been fascinated with the idea of flying. Early humans created cave paintings depicting flight and told myths such as the tale of Prometheus. Kites were invented thousands of years before that fateful day at Kitty Hawk. It was not until the beginning of the Industrial Age, however, that the dream of flight started inching closer to reality. Of all the major moments in the history of flight, five stand out. Hang Gliders Most people consider the Wright brothers’ flight to be the beginning of aviation history but it started decades previously, […]
Read MoreDisney Terms to Know Before You Go
Anytime is a great time to visit Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. Trips in the fall offer foodies not only fabulous weather, but a feeding frenzy at Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival. Winter visits provide even more excitement with the park beautifully decorated for the holidays and a chance to maneuver the theme parks with reduced crowds. Would-be gardeners and spring vacationers can view the magnificent floral displays of the annual Flower & Garden Festival. But with children out of school, summer visits are by far the busiest time of year at Disney World. As the crowds increase, so does the need for a little extra planning. So if you’re a first time guests, or perhaps haven’t visited recently, all those oft used Disney terms can be a bit overwhelming. With a bit of a review, however, words […]
Read MoreI’m Going to Tokyo #ANASEA
Yes, I’m going to Tokyo and I’m very excited about it. But I jumped to the end of the story before telling you about how this came to be, why it’s important to me, and how you can help make sure my trip is everything I want it to be. So let’s rewind just a little bit. . . . All Nippon Airways (ANA) is launching a new service between Seattle and Tokyo on July 25th, 2012. The daily flight departs Seattle at 1:15 pm and ten and a half hours later arrive at Narita at 3:45 pm (the next day). For visitors interested in traveling on to other cities within Japan, or making connections to other destinations in Asia, this arrival neatly coincides with outbound flights. The outbound flight leaves Tokyo at 5:25 pm and arrives in Seattle at […]
Read MorePhoto Op: TBEX Collage
I’ve spent the past few days in Denver and then in Keystone, Colorado, for TBEX – the world’s largest gathering travel bloggers, writers, and new media content creators. As the TBEX Conference Director, I attended all the events but often found myself so busy that I didn’t have a chance to connect with all the travel bloggers that I wanted to. For those new friends and old who I had the opportunity to chat with, please know that it’s your energy, enthusiasm, and love for travel that makes the conference so great – and that keeps me so enthused. And for those I was unable to connect with, I know that our paths will cross one day soon. Maybe in Girona for TBEX Europe or maybe just as our travels take us. Photo credit: From the TBEX flickr pool
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 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 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 MoreOn Safari with a Toddler
Taking a two year old on holiday is always a little daunting, even for the experienced traveler. No matter whether you are staying close to home or going long haul, successful holidays with pre-schoolers take precision planning. For our first holiday as a family, we decided to push the limits and go long haul, opting for South Africa for a family safari, more specifically, Cape Town, the Garden Route, followed by a few days at a family safari lodge. During the build-up to our safari holiday, we primed our son with the Lion King, Madagascar and all Disney characters that pertained to an African safari, making sure he knew the names of the different animals he might be fortunate enough to see. We bought all our travel essentials, including perhaps the most useful (in hindsight) a pair of toddler […]
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