For a town that produced possibly the biggest name in the English language, Stratford-upon-Avon is rather quaint and unassuming. When I first traveled to Shakespeare’s hometown on a high school trip about eleven years ago, I was rather taken by its small charm and Tudor-style buildings; revisiting Stratford this past winter revealed that not much has changed there in the last decade. So what is there to do in the birthplace of the Bard?
Hathaway Cottage. Photo by deannanmc
Montevideo is starting to grow on me. Last week, my husband and I spent a day in the trendy, upscale Pocitos neighborhood. It was a bit like coming back to New York City. Depending where you walk, the area evokes images of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side or Brooklyn. Street vendors are everywhere, as well as every type of store, for anything you might need, or did not realize you need.
Playa Pocitos by Jose Porras
A cosmopolitan city steeped in history and culture with a Mediterranean climate and beach is little wonder that Barcelona is one of Europe’s most visited destinations. Barcelona has something for everyone from those with children, to those looking for a relaxing weekend away. Here are just a few things to do next time you are in the capital city of Cataluña.
Park Guell
Bicycles, tricycles, cargo bikes, tandem bikes, bikes with one or two built-in baby seats: you name the style, and you can find it on the streets of Amsterdam. Though the city has a fantastic public tram and bus system, I highly recommend renting a bike for your warmer-weather visit. It’s particularly handy if you choose to stay in a quieter neighborhood outside the medieval center like we did. Renting a bike made a slightly longer walk into a quick and breezy ride.
Rented bikes. Photo by deannanmc
On my first day after arriving in Malaga in Southern Spain, I was greeted with a bit of culture shock in the form of a cookie. It was mid-March, two weeks before Easter Sunday. Unbeknownst to me, I stumbled into the beginning of one of the most important weeks in Spanish culture: Semana Santa. This week, also known as Holy Week, celebrates the end of Lent with huge parades through the city streets. The main event is the procession of the brotherhoods who are dressed in their traditional uniforms (capirote). The capirote on the cookie looked a little too familiar…
Holy Week Cookies
I have spent months traveling with nothing more than a carry-on suitcase. While this sounds completely mad to many people, it’s really not that difficult, as long as you make sure to pack right. Here are a few tips.
Portland, Oregon is a great place to be a vegan. This mid-sized Northwestern city has a number of excellent restaurants and shops catered to those on a plant-based diet, many of which are popular with even the most die-hard meat eaters.
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One of the nice things about traveling through England is that it’s a history buff’s dream destination. You can hardly throw a pint of ale in the United Kingdom without hitting ruins, manor homes, a few former battle sites, and a bunch of old castles. Warwick Castle is a prime example of a castle that’s been well-maintained for visitors–and despite the presence of a torture exhibit, has actually been a little airbrushed.
Warwick Castle
When the bus from Montevideo pulls into Atlantida, Villa Argentina is the first community you’ll see. Mostly residential, it often escapes the tourist’s eye, which is exactly why you should visit. Unlike other parts of Atlantida, where summer visitors occupy many of the homes, most of Villa Argentina’s residents live here all year round. This is the real Uruguay. Separated, but only a short distance from the commercialism of downtown Atlantida, Villa Argentina entices you to explore its charming homes, and its equally charming residents. Perhaps that’s what drew Syd Blackwell and his wife Gundy to Uruguay.
Syd and Gundy’s new home in Villa Argentina
I live in a mid-sized city on the US west coast, and getting to England, where the bulk of my family live, is rarely easy. Usually I have to fly to LA or San Francisco to catch an 11+ hour-long flight that goes across the US. If BA is having a sale, I can occasionally nab a flight from Seattle, that goes over the North Pole, plopping me down in London eight hours later. But recently, Iceland Air, in what I imagine was an attempt to capture transatlantic travelers who want naught to do with US carriers, has started offering cheap flights from the US to the UK and Europe. The only catch? You have to pass a (sometimes long) layover in Iceland.
