When one thinks of downtown Los Angeles, the first thought to come to mind probably isn't one of America's oldest and diverse food markets, Grand Central Market. Besides offering some of the freshest produce, meats, fresh fish and more in Los Angeles, the market is a sumptuous walk through "tasty treat heaven." Living part of the year near downtown L.A., I'll take a bike ride to sample the various food eateries throughout the small market. Many people may not know that Los Angeles is one of th
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Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is the house of thousands of emerald basilisks, giant bear ants, jaguars, caimans, ocelots, green iguanas, river turtles, monkeys, pumas, bats and prehistoric fishes such as the Tropical Gar. This wildlife refuge is also the abode of rare birds like the northern jacanas, ibises, jabiru storks, anhingas, cormorants and roseate spoonbills. Set near the Nicaraguan border in a remote area, reaching this refuge is not an easy task for you to do on your own, an organized to
FROM ALICANTE TO MALAGA. The journey starts with a heavy walk. I am in Alicante, the south Spanish city along the Mediterranean, which has an old fortress looming on a hilltop, which I attempt to climb. The fortress is called Castillo Santa Bárbara. And the air is hot.
Being May, summer is already well under way in this part of Europe. But the wind is blowing nicely and the view up here on the hill over sea, city and the mountains beyond is incredible. Down below, narrow streets and alleys are wi
The minute I stepped into the lobby, I knew this was going to be a special vacation.
I took in the fresh scent of lemongrass as I eyed the beautiful surroundings – check in desks to the left, softly curtained sitting areas to the right and the bright blue water of an infinity pool in the back. On the beautiful white sand beaches of Cancun this 260 room Palace resort is 25 minutes from the airport in the hotel zone within walking distance to a Flea Market, Mall and restaurants. But you will ha
Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, a Canadian Maritime province, is not the kind of place where you'd expect a savory, colorful, high-energy outdoor farmers’ market.
But while it’s not Marrakesh or Istanbul, it does have a very cool, complete market with lots of exciting colors and smells.
You can watch the 1-minute Fredericton Travel Video PostCard here.
Outside the air is redolent with smoky barbeque mostly from Elke’s Truck ( Huge Sausages, “Bratwurst With Lots of Garlic $3.50”),
Sitting among the bluffs of the Missouri River is the quaint little city of Weston. Now the streets are always bustling with tourists and shoppers making their way to shops such as the Celtic Ranch and the Bella Company. What a lot of people do not know is that the town of Weston has ties to the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody and descendants of Daniel Boone, and was once a major river port that supplied Fort Leavenworth.
Although business is booming in Weston it was not always the case. The Missouri
If you are like a lot of travelers – me included – you generally tend to plan where you are going on any trip, as far as location is concerned, and probably also where you will stay. And unless you are going somewhere for a specific activity, or on a planned itinerary holiday, you tend to leave the “what will I do” part until you get there.
That’s all well and fine, but it also means that you’re often left wondering how to get the best information on the top attractions, sights and tours in your
Yes, Bhutan is a happy place. I mentioned before that the government actually does a yearly census to evaluate the level of happiness and look for ways to make people even happier, now THAT is a wonderment.
I also mentioned that there is a US$250 “tariff” you must pay to visit Bhutan. This is actually a good deal because it includes everything except beer and souvenirs. So, it cost us a bit more 
. That tariff is actually in place to keep Bhutan from becoming over run with back packers like what
The Mongol Run. Photo: The Adventurists
INTERVIEW: The Adventurists' press chief on adventures,
risks, attitudes – and how to make the world less boring
ADVENTURE TRAVELS. A 15,000 kilometer drive from Europe to Mongolia in a crappy, practically worthless car. Or what about the Rickshaw Run, a “3,500 km pan-Indian adventure in a 7 horsepower glorified lawnmower”. Or why not try out the rock-hard Ice Run: A journey across a “frozen Siberian wilderness on old school Ural motorbikes to the only town
What do you think the most immediate post vacation activity is?
It’s not paying the bills, but is, in fact, posting photos to a social network: 76% of us do that first thing after we unpack.
Does this matter? Yes, because the travel business has never been better, says Hotel Marketing.com. The savvy web site predicts $162 billion in revenues for 2012, up 74% since 2007.
And Social Media is playing a major role in upping these numbers.
Consider, says Hotel Marketing, that more than half of al
What Is It: An oblong inflatable travel pillow designed to help you achieve some peace in a cramped coach seat.
Price and Where to Buy: I bought mine on Amazon for $26.95; the product is eligible for free Super Saver Shipping. You can also order it directly from on the Travelrest website for the same price, but you'll have to pay extra for shipping.
Pros: I have the ability to sleep on planes. I'm often in dreamland accepting a Pulitzer before the plane's wheels have folded back into the undercarr
Pull on your bobby sox, step into your saddle shoes, roll up those jeans and dig out those poodle skirts! It's time for Hot August Nights in Reno, Nevada. 
Every year, Reno hosts one of the biggest and best car shows in the country. A 10 day extravaganza of cars, cruising and rock and roll! Stand on any street corner in Reno or Sparks during those 10 days in August and it seems that just about every third car on the road is a classic, as participants and car enthusiasts roll through town from al
Never have I traveled to a place so unprepared.
I barely touched any guidebooks. Nor did I look up information online. Few of my friends had ever been to South Africa, and none that I knew of had been to Botswana. I'd been traveling long enough to not trust the media, or unverified word of mouth.
What little I knew came indirectly. Last summer, in Indonesia, at the sparse, overpriced bookstores, I found several cheap copies of Nelson Mandela's biography, Long Walk to Freedom. I read it just a few
Everywhere we went in this expedition across Asia, we felt quite welcome!
Our five weeks in Asia started in Kathmandu
We are lucky enough to be able to refer to this as our return to Kathmandu. Dear readers, you really need to be able to look beyond the obvious and not be distracted by the oblivious to enjoy this city. I will not belabor my love for Kathmandu, I explained it all in this post. In a city this old, in a country without a functional national government, nothing much changes so my two
Today’s travel agent is more akin to an advisor or consultant than the booking agent of the past.
Makes sense.
If you wanted to travel say to the mountain village of Chefchaouen, Morocco, in the Riff Mountains (enjoy the blue houses and weavers), then wanted to spend a few nights in Tunisia’s Sidi Bou Saidbefore heading for some Sahara Desert camping, which online sites would you use?
Probably none.
The smart thing would be to visit a travel agent with in-depth North African experience.
Are there any
Road trips the perfect travel format as far as I'm concerned. They give you flexibility and a glorious sense of independence and freedom. Whether you're driving across America like someone out of a Kerouac novel or touring Europe, driving is the way to go. But no road trip is ever complete without a matching soundtrack. A mix CD is the heart and soul of any half decent road trip. Here are some songs that need to be in any mix cd.
1. 500 Miles, The Proclaimers - The ultimate road trip song. It's
Costa Rica wins top tourism honors again! Costa Rica nabbed 12 out of 25 spots for “Top 25 Destinations in Central America” in the 2012 Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Awards. The internationally renowned travel web site gave Costa Rican establishments 11 awards for “Top 25 Hotels in Central America.” And coming in at Number One for “Best Beach in Central America” is the country’s newly famous Santa Teresa Beach! This makes it the second year in a row that Santa Teresa has placed in the
Before the Olympics started, I wondered here on tripatini if Londoners knew how lucky they are right now. Well, it seems having the torch relay in London the week before, then the spectacular opening ceremony, and finally landing in third place in the medals tally have brought some positivity to the masses. That and a break from the near continuous rain we had endured for months.
Me dancing in the opening ceremony
Team GB fans cheered up when we got our first gold in women's rowing on 1 August,
Free is good and in Annapolis the free things are great. Check out eCruiser. Historic Annapolis is a walking city but when you don’t want to walk call the eCruiser. The fun, hip, and cool 100% Electric Low Speed Vehicles (LSV) are tourist and eco-friendly. Drivers work on “tips only.” There is also the free Annapolis Circulator that will take people to a variety of locations in the city.
And, there are more cool things to do for free. Visit the Annapolis Museum near the City Dock and see the
Afrikaners (including the Boer subgroup) are a Germanic ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from Dutch (including Flemish), French and German settlers whose native tongue isAfrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages. Mainly Christian, Afrikaners developed in much the same way as the New England colonies in North America. The original South African Boer republics were founded on the principles of the Dutch Reformed Church
