29 02, 2016

Travel Missteps: “It’s a Gift” Scam at Pompeii

By |February 29th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

The view of Vesuvius. Pompeii is an incredible site. Covered over by Vesuvius' explosion in 79 AD, it wasn't rediscovered until 1748 and has had ongoing digs since then. I had spent a semester studying ancient Roman architecture and this frozen city is a perfect place to relive the past. But like most amazing tourist sights, the entry/exit is swarmed with souvenir and chotskies sellers. After heading out of the bathroom an old local woman slipped a shell bracelet onto my wrist. She said it was a gift. Immediately I knew this was not the case, and tried to hand it back

8 10, 2015

Making a Dream Trip to Egypt a Reality

By |October 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Planning, Upcoming Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I have always dreamt of Egypt ever since I was a little girl. I loved ancient history (and Indiana Jones) and wanted to see the temples and monuments in person. It was fascinated how they complex and old they were. And they were so beautiful from the photos! I would watch the history channel and just eat up anything related to ancient Egypt. Source But it was always this far off exotic place that I hadn't really thought of actually going to. Not until I heard a character in Anne of Green Gables shout this: "I want to travel.

3 08, 2015

Travel Missteps: Negotiating a Discount

By |August 3rd, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Follow my blog with Bloglovin The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a gauntlet of gaudy souvenir hawkers and littered with people taking that same vacation snapshot. Neither of which is necessarily a bad thing. As long as you are aware of that going in, you’ll be fine. So after enjoying the lesser known Pisa Church and Baptistry my sister and I made our way out of the area when one of the many souvenir sellers called out to us, and his wares caught our eye. The Leaning Tower of Pisa He had fashion watches, jewelry, and knock off

8 03, 2015

The Sounds that Travel with Us

By |March 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

BuzzFeed recently had an article about the sounds from Italy that will fill you with Wanderlust. And it reminded me of all the sounds I associate with certain trips. Here are some of my top highlights that will instantly take me back in time: Toronto: Theme from House of Cards Google Play and Amazon had the first episode of House of Cars for free. I figured, sure why not, lets see what the hype is all about. I watched the first episode on my flights out...and got hooked. At night I'd watch House of Card before falling asleep. San Diego:

10 01, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: La Befana

By |January 10th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

On Monday we discussed the story behind La Befana, the Italian gift giver around the Epiphany. I wanted to share with you the little La Befana that I got in a roadside shop on the way from Rome to Venice. The witch has wide eyes, warts, and a fur hood. She carries some straw on one side, a broom on the other, and a bag that held candies on her back. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

5 01, 2015

Travel Missteps: La Befana

By |January 5th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Walking through Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy I hear the unmistakable cackling laugh of a witch! I turned towards a nearby stall and spy hundreds of flying witches hanging from the roof. Big ones, small ones. Some like an old woman, while others looked like a creepy old hag warts and all! Some even were animatronic whose eyes glowed red (and made the cackling laughter that caught my ear.) But surely this must be a mistake? For its not Halloween time, but after so soon after Christmas!  I was confused but had no one to ask about this strange sight,

8 02, 2014

Souvenir Saturday: My First Snow Globe

By |February 8th, 2014|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

As I often travel during the colder, wetter, and snowier months, snow globes make a great souvenir for me to capture the memory of my travel experiences. It was New Year’s Day 2006 and I was standing under the awning of a small little shop right on the edge of Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. I was with my mother and we were waiting for my father and little sister to return so we could board the vaporetto back to our hotel. It was alternating between rain and snow that day, and so we ducked into the shop to