One of the first things I did on my month-long trip through New Zealand was the Tongariro Crossing. Renowned as the best day hike in the country, it takes you on a 12-mile journey through volcanoes, lakes, and a very Mars-like terrain; past active volcano Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe, and – most gorgeous of all – the Emerald Lakes.
You wouldn’t think “Denmark” and “beach” would go together but, with 4000+ miles of coastline, the Danish peninsula and archipelago host numerous beaches fit for holiday-ing.
I visited the coastal town of Juelsminde in September, when the daily temperature had plummeted to the 50’s and the end of summer had ushered in the rain and wind.
Fresh off the plane in Vegas, we rented a car and drove straight to California. It was the start of our week-long whirlwind roadtrip through California, Utah, and Arizona in 2010.
In the 2.5 weeks I spent in London last summer, I managed to fit in a few day trips: to Greenwich, Brighton, and Cambridge.
I LOVED Cambridge. Loved! Straight off the train, I headed into town and into the courtyard of one of the colleges of Cambridge University and promptly lay down in the grass for a nap in the sun.
On one of my last days in Nepal last year, I took a day trip to Bhaktapur: a well-preserved medieval town not too far from Kathmandu. It marked my first time riding on a public bus in Asia as I was introduced to seats far too narrow to accommodate my average-sized American limbs, windows wide open and blowing all sorts of dirt and dust inside.
There aren’t enough fingers on my hands to count all of the beautiful places I saw when I did my 5-week solo backpacking trip through Italy in 2007.
But I have to reserve one for Capri, that mythical island just off the mainland from Sorrento and Naples.
A week from now I’ll be in UTAH, frolicking around the desert and doing all the things that life in the big city does not afford: hiking, star gazing, climbing real rock.
I can’t say that The Netherlands ranks as one of my favorite European countries I’ve visited, but… it has its charms.
Like the Cat Boat, De Poezenboot. It’s exactly as it sounds: a boat-turned-cat shelter, docked in a canal in Amsterdam.
What’s it like to have pride in where you’re from? I wouldn’t know – I’ve spent my whole life hating the state of Connecticut and the small town I grew up in.
Switzerland is most revered for its beautiful mountains, but you know what? I think I prefer its lakes.
I had one of my rare Perfect Days frolicking around Lake Geneva during my 2 week London/Switzerland trip in late summer of 2008.