Blogs

The Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania is in a class of its own.  It all came about at the request of Kitty, Milton Hershey’s wife, to start a school for orphan boys.  Unable to have children of their own they created the Hershey Industrial School for orphan boys in 1909.  The school has grown through the years and changed to meet the needs of today’s world.

On a hill above the town of Hershey is Founders Hall which is impressive inside and out. The marble rotunda has an interior hei

Did you know that booking a cruise with a cruise expert could save you time and money? I recently worked with Jamie Erdman and learned a lot about cruises from a real expert.

Jamie is the Brand Manager of DiscountCruises.com, a website dedicated to cruise travel. She shared her knowledge and tips and told me that there's a cruise line and a cruise ship to suit almost everyone’s taste and budget. She also said that many travelers miss out on the best deals because they don’t utilize the services

Saengerfest Park at 2302 Strand in downtown Galveston is a great meeting place for Galveston residents and visitors. George Mitchell and Mitchell Historic Properties developed the small urban park as the centerpiece of its downtown holdings and, while privately owned, the park is open to the public daily, year round. The park is known for its giant chess set, London-style phone booth and a large compass on one corner. With a central location in the heart of the Strand National Historic Landmark

The 60th San Sebastián International Film Festival will take place September 21 to 29 in Spain's northern Basque region. The primary focus of Spain’s A-list festival is to serve as a showcase for each year's most innovative films. The festival seeks to make a positive contribution to developing culture and the film industry. The festival is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), in the “competitive non-specialized film festivals” category.

Nicholas J

Or what every frequently-flying woman, and bride going on her honeymoon, needs to know about staying healthy and fit in the air.

If travel had a diva....someone who embodied the talent of looking great while facing the challenges, exhaustion, fun and frustration of Travel, it'd have to be Debbi Kickham.

Known to us in the travel world as Debbi Karpowicz, her most recent book The Globetrotters Get-Gorgeous Guide is pure Debbi: sassy, irreverent, helpful, fun to read and full of personality.

Th

Blue Angels over the Golden Gate Bridge brings Fleet Week to Life

Blue Angels over the Golden Gate Bridge brings Fleet Week to Life

As a native San Franciscan I just love the month of  October in the  "city by the bay."  As many a local and tourist can attest to, San Francisco can be a bit overcast, windy and even cold on the 4th of July. But not in October. Summer arrives in San Francisco later than the rest of California. Our Indian summer comes in September and October. You just can't beat San

Sometimes called the “Hawaii of Latin American surfing,” Costa Rica is positively one of the world’s top surfing destinations.Add up warm water, consistent surf year-round, over 700 miles of coastline between both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, literally thousands of beach breakswith easy access, and friendly people, and you get paradise! Costa Rica’s irresistible extra plus is all of the other travel perks like active volcanoes, lush rainforest and cloud forest, jungle wildlife, and a myriad

I was a longtime New Yorker and am now a Miamian, but on my most recent visit to Chicago this summer I rediscovered that despite its cold winters, there are some things that the Windy City does better than either of them. And now, since Halloween 2011, Chi-town’s  also the first city in North America to boast an outpost of the Radisson Blu brand (formerly Radisson SAS), which is run by a company called Rezidor and has taken Europe (and especially Scandinavia) by storm since it was introduced in

Frontier is making you an offer you can't refuse.

Today, the Denver-based airline announced a series of new "improvements" (to use the airline's language) that are only available to flyers who book directly on the carrier's website, the just-unveiled FlyFrontier.com. These include advanced seating assignments and unrestricted frequent-flyer mile credits. Frontier is marketing the changes as "more choice, more perks, and more value."

But for the most part, it's more choice, perks, and value on one

You got me there, actually. When a friend sent me the YouTube link for “Gangnam Style,” by a pudgy, 35-year-old South Korea hippity-hopper called Psy, I was bemused (no, not necessarily amused), to say the list. Whirling frantically from a kids’ playground to a horse barn to a sauna to a disco bus to a subway car to a toilet stall to a merry-go-round – actually, I’ll stop there, as the merry-go-round image is a pretty apt one, with the understanding that it’s kind of a carousel on crack. The mu

Sea Island is one of the few remaining destinations to experience Southern hospitality from a bygone-era. She was founded by automobile mogul, Howard Earl Coffin, who envisioned her to be the “Southern jewel for legendary ambiance.” The island has remained true to this vision since the Roaring Twenties. Among the clusters of cozy willows, tropical palms and lush green grass is an elegant, natural setting that is incomparable to other vacation destinations.

Sea Island is 85 miles south of Savannah

North Korea is like the urban legend of the Japanese soldier still fighting WWII out on some lonely island in the remote Pacific.  In his mind, it’s all still very real for him.  When he starts shooting at us, then it’s real for us, too.  At first I didn’t know if they were even going to let me in the country, something about journalists not allowed in on tourist visas.  That’s the first time I’ve ever been accused of journalism.  Them’s fightin’ words.  Obviously they’ve never read my work.  Fi

Philadelphia is home to America’s most historic square mile.  While that may seem like a small area, once you start walking from place to place it isn’t so save steps and stay at the Omni Hotel Independence Park.  It is just a few steps from Independence National Historic Park, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House, and all the must-see sight. Plus, the Four-Diamond luxury Omni Hotel is the perfect place to rejuvenate at the end of the day.

From the minute you are greeted by the doorman and en

Is there a better time to visit Italy than in the fall? The summer madness has died down, yet Italy remains warm and inviting. In the town of Alba, in the Piedmont region, in the northwestern corner of Italy, is a food-festival lover's delight. The region is much less touristed than its Tuscan neighbor.

From October 6 to November 18 in the town of Alba, each weekend it's all about truffles. Yes, truffles, the key ingredient of many a gourmet meal.  Food lovers from all over the world travel to Pi

It's that time of year again - Oktoberfest (aka Wiesn) is right around the corner (September 22-October 7; next year it's 9/21-10/6)!  But even if you don't make it for the world's biggest beer bash, Munich is still one of Europe's most attractive and fun cities, where autumn is lovely and even winter is a winner, especially during its world-famous Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) November 26 through December 24 - magical enough to get even a jaded Grinch like me grinning. And get this — Muc’

I'm almost a week back in Holland and no, not much has changed. It's still flat and crowded...;-)but I'm happy to be home to see my friends and family again after 4 days of flying.

It started all in Auckland and it will end in Auckland. The last 10 days I flew to Auckland and stayd in the Northland with Tonio. I did some wwoofing to save some money. I worked with a woman who normally was homeless and had big dreadlocks. So Tonio's texted of course:"Did you already smoke a joint with them?" "No, T

How hard can it be when just the two of you want to get away? No kids to pack for or consider…just stuff your essentials into a duffel bag and you’re off to reliving the passion of your first dates or honeymoon…right? Well maybe at first flush it seems that easy until you check into your hotel room and ultimately get down to deciding what to do. I’m assuming you were spontaneous enough not to bother with pre-trip research or formulating an itinerary. After all, it’s only the two of you with the

It’s big business, this ecotourism.

It drives entire economies of countries like Kenya, Botswana, Belize, South Africa, Laos, and especially here in Costa Rica.

Ecotourism is top of the list as to why millions of travelers from around the world come to Costa Rica’s tropical paradise each year to see its wondrous landscapes and exuberant biodiversity. Tourism is the number one industry in the country, and with good reason. Though a tiny Central American nation, Costa Rica is a “wonderland”of volcan

Since 9/11 it’s pretty clear that the trend toward the bonding, memory-building kinds of family travel experience  is still strong.

And the Caribbean, with its mix of the sensual and the accessible, is still a perfect place for those tying the knot, again, but who are committed to sharing the event with their children and extended family.

The Caribbean Wedding Association  has been seeing a new kind of love and marriage lately.  Apparently people who are finding love later in life, who’ve done