Blogs

Being a native San Franciscan, I have been fortunate to view many amazing sporting events up close. The San Francisco Giants, just last October provided a miracle finish, culminating in a World Series victory and parade, on of all days, Halloween, practically San Francisco’s city holiday. The San Francisco 49ers football team narrowly missed winning their 6th Super Bowl last year. During the month of September, “The City by the Bay” played host to the world’s most prestigious sailing regatta, th

por Cristóbal Ramírez

Punkies con litronas de cerveza, una manifestación erótico-festiva de homosexuales, señoras con velo que se encuentran en el mercado y hablan en árabe, graffittis que intentan reventar conciencias, modernos que van en busca de cómics antiguos… Así es Kreuzberg, uno de los barrios más emergentes de Berlín. Se convirtió en zona capitalista después de la II Guerra Mundial, pero la parte con el distrito postal SO 36 lindaba con el Berlín del este, así que también acogió a nostál

Looking for a Costa Rica family adventure out in nature? Spend a fun-filled day splashing in the mild rollercoaster rapids of the Pejibaye River.

The beautiful, tropical Pejibaye River is a tributary of the mighty Reventazon River in the Turrialba Valley, just two hours from San Jose. Its low-key Class 2-3 rapids (in the lower section) make it a great introductory whitewater rafting trip for beginners and children (ages 8 and up). The three-hour river trip gives you spectacular scenery of coffee

One of Florida‘s — and for that matter, the United States’ — most unique towns/islands, Key West is known for lots of things: its whiff of tropical paradise; historic architecture; diving and boating; major-league gay-friendliness; the boozy tackiness of upper Duval Street; and, last but not least, for being the closest point in the United States to the island of Cuba — 90 miles, famously marked at the corner of South and Whitehead Streets (aka the end of U.S. 1), the “Southernmost Point.”

On my

Looking into the city

Although I grew up about 40 miles southwest of a world class travel destination - that great big wonderful windy city of Chicago, I tend to take it for granted. And like most people around here, I don’t get there often enough. A fact that hits home whenever I do get there. ‘Why don’t I come here more often?’ is what I ask myself every time! 

Iconic guardians of the Art Institute

Chicago is a city of contrasts – the old and the new, the North Shore with the South Side, Gra

Christopher Elliott, as usual, provides special insights into the "blending" of online travel agents and the impact on travelers. In the Seattle Times, he suggests that Travelocity's "strategic marketing agreement" with long time competitor Expedia could give consumers more travel choice. Or, he suggests, it could create some sort of travel agency monopoly, inevitably raising prices.

While the travel industry is not long on similar examples, Elliott refers to the $1.8-billion dollar purchase

I had a pair of friends visit me in Costa Rica not long ago who were vegetarian and vegan. My first reaction was, "Oh, no, what are they going to eat?" I know how much Costa Ricans love their chicken, beef, chicharrones (fried pork), fish, etc.

They said, not to worry. Rice and beans are the nation's main staples, and there is a wealth of fresh vegetables and tropical fruits. It's true!

Traveling in Costa Rica as a vegetarian or vegan, or even needing a gluten-free or dairy-free diet, is relativel

Accessible only by a 4-wheel drive required 14-mile dirt road 25 miles southeast of Big Sur, CA, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center offers an escape from everyday like no other.

Nestled in a mountain valley deep in the Ventana Wilderness Preserve, this retreat has served as a place for self-discovery and healing since 1967 when Buddhist author Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, opened Tassajara, the first Zen training monastery built outside of Japan.

Tassajara currently beckons everyo

LAVA LOVE 
Exploring America’s Most Impressive Volcanoes 
By Bret Love for GreenGlobalTravel.com

Volcanoes– openings or ruptures in a planet’s crust that allow hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface– have held mankind’s fascination for thousands of years.  From Mount Vesuvius’ destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD to Colombia’s Nevado del Ruiz, whose pyroclastic flow caused over 23,000 deaths in 1985, history is littered with tales of the fearsome power of volcanoes, and many cult

Los aficionados a la cerveza la conocen de sobra. Múnich, dejemos las cosas claras desde el principio, es un poco borracha. Ríos y ríos de auténtica espuma alemana corren cada año a finales de septiembre por la ciudad. ¿Por qué? Por el Oktoberfest, que homenajea a esta bebida convertida en símbolo nacional y al que acuden millones de personas de toda Europa y parte del mundo en peregrinación. Pero la capital de Baviera ofrece más encantos que el etílico: según un estudio de 2009, es la ciudad al

Founded in 1115 and situated in a narrow valley in the south of the Dordogne, the Abbey de Cadouin is classified as a 'monument historique'. For 800 years this Cistercian abbey drew in pilgrims making the journey to view a sacred piece of cloth believed to have been part of the shroud of Christ.

The piece of tissue discovered in a church in Antioche during the first crusade, was brought for safe keeping to the abbey. Then in 1934 a scientific examination of the tissue established that it was in

Spring 1990 brought us to the small island of Ithaca, Greece, in recent times known for little but its sheer beauty, but in literature famed for its king and hero Odysseus who, Homer tells us, was the brains behind the winning wooden-horse idea that ended the ancient war of Troy. Odysseus then spent 10 adventure-filled years roaming the Mediterranean before returning to Ithaca, and his ever-faithful Penelope.

Our odyssey to Ithaca was planned to take us from Australia to spend two years building

The many immigrants who’ve made Paris home over the years have left an exotic mark tasty enough to justify a visit by itself — especially if you’re curious about unusual cuisines that may be hard to find even in, say, New York, London, or Los Angeles. And oftentimes they’re some of the less pricey — even least pricey — dining options around. Here’s my top seven, discovered on my last visit:

Algeria: Le Taghit This romantic, candlelit spot in southern Paris run by Bashir and Malika Benamrane cla

Hanoi cuisine is one of the most special local aspects of Vietnam's capital which draws tourists from all over the world. In addition to pho - the most well-known dish, there are lots of others, from fancy to popular, which shouldn’t be missed. All of them help to build up a beloved image of Hanoi capital thousand years of civilization. This article will introduce the most famous dishes of Hanoi and best places for you to enjoy them.

1. Bun Oc (Shellfish Soup and Vermicelli)

Whoever has ever l

I love traveling in off-season. High season travelers and summer vacationers are gone. Back to school and back to work, which means better travel opportunities for me and you.

Off-season is when crowds disappear and prices drop, as hotels, tour operators and airlines look to attract travelers with deep discounts.

Granted, it’s not the low season for nothing. In Costa Rica, it is rainy season … but, after all, if you are going to visit a rainforest or a cloud forest, you should expect some rain and

by Tripatini staff 

Morocco’s one of those Arab countries where a lot of back-and-forth with Europe — particularly France and Spain — has helped foster a boom in pop music, both on Moroccan and European labels. One of its more prominent figures, Saïd Mouskir (usually spelled Mosker), is a 37-year-old of Berber origin from Casablanca’s Derb Sultan neighborhood, who packs more than ten albums under his belt since his first in 1988 — with a group he formed at the tender age of 15. Like many Morocca