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A cool, salty sea breeze was blowing in from across the bay. It brought with it the distinct sound of barking sea lions. We wandered along the pier searching for the source of the noise. And here we happened upon the perfect spot from which to watch the sunset.

From our vantage point on K dock, Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge glistened a fiery orange in the distance. The middle ground abounded with anchored watercraft, wooden docks and a picturesque lighthouse.

South Korea has come a long way, baby, in these past few decades, and may punch above its weight internationally (and even, these days, pop-culturally, thanks to its its government's strenuous promotion efforts), but as a travel destination it's still often gets relatively short shrift compared to many of its neighbors in Asia - unless maybe you're fascinated by Cold-War relics like the DMZ. 

But there are definitely gems sprinkled throughout this country, and for me the shiniest is the city o

Just one hundred and twenty miles north of Rio de Janeiro lies a small peninsula known as Armação dos Búzios. It is only eight kilometers long and adorned with over twenty magnificent beaches which are bathed in brilliant sunshine year-round. Some beaches are small and accessible only by short hikes or water taxis and others are expansive, sandy stretches of shoreline with restaurants, cafes, and bars. The diversity and options which these beaches offer creates the perfect setting for vacations

From NMT Images

Pour A Pint in Belfast

Please watch the Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1-minute Video PostCard at the end of this post.

Belfast, Northern Ireland,  is a restless place.  It struggles, like the rest of the country and the UK, of which it’s a part, with a failing economy and severe unemployment.

But we think it’ll be one of the next, best tourist destination when Ireland gets its economic house in order and resumes its growth.

Belfast’s rain drizzled streets are still dotted with classy r

Siempre van en bici. Para pasear, ir al trabajo o hacer la compra. Y siempre irán aunque llueva, nieve, relampaguee o el sol se desinfle. Los habitantes de Copenhague están muy concienciados con el medio ambiente y con la salud de su bolsillo (pedalear es gratis). Siendo turista, en cambio, merece la pena echar a caminar. Punto de partida: la Plaza del Ayuntamiento, un característico edificio rojo con una torre y un reloj. Si se atreve a subir los298 escalones podrá ver la ciudad ajetreada y el

It’s amazing how many national parks, conservation areas, wildlife refuges and private reserves there are in Costa Rica.

One little-known private reserve, not far from Nosara, is the Karen Mogensen Nature Reserve in the mountains of the Nicoya Peninsula.

This wildlife refuge and reforestation project serves as an important biological corridor between the Cabo Blanco Reserve and Barra Honda National Park on the Nicoya Peninsula. The reserve is named after passionate Danish environmentalist Karen

You haven’t truly eaten cake until you’ve taken in some of the beautiful Hungarian capital’s more than 200 bakeries, or café-cum-bakeries. Patisserie in Budapest is sheer perfection and a stop in at least one of its famous bakeries is a must during a tour of the city.

The often tragic ups and downs of recent history have made prestigious cakes such as the Viennese Sacher Torte and the German Schwarzwälder- kirschtorte (Black Forest gateau) internationally popular, as well as a host of equally

This year I have fallen, head over heels, for nuanced seducers and seductresses, earthily robust, sometimes slightly bubbly, always true to their origins, offering sensations of mountain and sea. Bracingly refreshing, sometimes rounded, feminine whites, powerful masculine reds:  I am speaking, of course, about today’s Greek wine, much of which is made by the men and women in the photo above.  Since the late 1970s Greek winemakers have reborn Greek wine.  I can still find retsina a truly acquired

By Bret Love for GreenGlobalTravel.com

Author Joseph Campbell once said, “Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation.” There are few places in the modern world in which this connection between mankind, mythology and nature is more obvious than Hawaii.

More than 150 years before Charles Darwin wrote The Origin of the Species, Hawaiian kahunas (or priests) recited an ancient creation chant– the epic Kumulipo– which trac

Exploring New Zealand's elegant, architecturally significant city with its staunch Scottish heritage


Dunedin, New Zealand’s fourth largest city (and the country’s oldest) in the South Island is a little overshadowed by the big guns up north. Almost in a time warp, all the development and economy went to the North Island after WWI and it’s turned out to be not such a bad thing. One of the most arresting aspects of Dunedin is its window to the past. Edwardian baroque monuments blend with the

The Festival of Whales & Dolphins is once again making a splash at Uvita Beach in Southern Costa Rica at the beginning of September.

You definitely don’t want to miss the 6^th annual festival marking the peak of the annual migration of Pacific Humpback Whales to the Ballena National Marine Park in Costa Rica. This year’s 2014 Festival of Whales & Dolphins will be held over the two weekends of Sept. 5-7 and Sept. 12-14.

Festival activities will include whale-watching tours, a beach run, mountain

The Failure of Travel

For those of us who are professionally in the travel space, why isn't the fact that American, British and European young men are brutally fighting for ISIS/ISIL part of our work?

Belgium has sent more fighters to ISIS than any other European country. ISIS' military expenditures exceed those of Ireland.

And yet as travel content providers we never write about the culture and conditions that make this possible.
We talk of the "charms" of a country," the wonderful food an

By Roy Heale

Like a Wild West wagon train forming a circle at night time, the snow-capped Andes Mountains form a natural circle around the city of Santiago, Chile. Nestled in these peaks the city has a metro population of just over 7 million people and is situated just a short one hour drive to the Pacific Ocean coastal towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. The Republic of Chile is a long, narrow strip of coastal land wedged between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean---rather like a large

Barcelona siempre levanta un cosquilleo en el estómago y con buen tiempo, más. Aprovechemos el sol para conocer el barrio de La Barceloneta más allá del mar. Porque esta zona, que hasta el siglo XVIII fue un lugar insalubre donde la ciudad moría, hoy puede presumir de ser uno de los pocos barrios de la capital catalana donde las esencias marineras se han conservado. Lo mejor es caminar hasta allí por Las Ramblas o bajarse en el metro Barceloneta. El Passeig Joan de Borbó nos da la bienvenida con

Goa is a great destination nestled between Maharashtra and Karnataka.The kind of beaches you have over there is simply awesome. The specialty of beaches in Goa is that they are very clean and the temperature is not as hot as other tropical destinations in India. You could sit by the beach side and enjoy a cool glass of watermelon juice or lime squash with pepper sprayed peanuts. You could invariably forget all your worries and tensions as you watch the gentle waves hitting the shore and then ret

Cannery Row on Monterey Bay is an easy 2-hour drive south of San Francisco. Two good reasons to add Monterey to your northern California holiday are that it is a breathtakingly beautiful part of the Golden State, and it is far less commercial than San Francisco. It’s a great place to enjoy some quality down-time during your vacation.

A brief history of Cannery Row

Oil made whales the Monterey prey of choice for fisherman until Kerosene was introduced in the late 1800s. At that time, the local fish

There is a hot chocolate sipper that is pure decadence, an ahhhhhhh moment, a pound the table scene from When Harry Met Sally moment, savor pure chocolate at its best from a bean-to-bar chocolate shop. This is what I’m looking for, what I can’t forget. How did I get here? When I lived here 20 years ago I could navigate—but never happily. Who, I ask you, likes to drive in Los Angeles? Certainly not me.

I took the "Chocolate Indulgence" tour with Tourific Escapes. After meeting up in an Industrial