Global Bloggers Network

Searching for Paradise in Montana

Editor — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:36:50 +0000

Have you searched for paradise on your baby boomer travels? Did you find it? Alan and I went looking for paradise a couple of weeks ago on a boomer trip to Montana, because of a photo in a new car brochure. That’s right, a photo.

It all started in 2005 with the purchase of a Jeep Rubicon. As Alan poured over the Jeep Wrangler brochure with photos of snazzy 4-wheel drive vehicles displayed in outdoor settings that would make any nature-lover drool, he turned to a two-page spread and said, “Wow.”

“What’s so great about a car brochure?” I asked.

Alan rushed to show me a moody scene of two Jeeps perched on a hillside surrounded by sloping green fields and mountains covered with mist. “I’ve got to go there,” he said. At the bottom of the page, tiny white writing described the scene—Stillwater River Valley, Montana.

For a time, we daydreamed about exploring that beautiful section of Montana, maybe even owning our own piece of paradise; but travel to exotic locations filled up the schedule instead. The fjords of Norway, South Africa’s wild animals and the jeep trails in Ouray, Colorado, are just some of the adventures that diverted our attention.

To continue reading, please visit My Itchy Travel Feet blog.

Announcing BreatheDreamGo Tours

Editor — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:17:04 +0000

The best way to see India

I am very excited to share my passion for India by taking people to see the places I love. Together with award-winning tour operator Indus Travels, I am presenting two tours this winter in India.

Dream in India (starts Jan. 8, 2011) is for people who want to experience inspirational India and learn travel writing and blogging. Click here to learn more about Dream in India.

Breathe in India (starts Feb 5, 2011) is for people who want to experience the magic of spiritual India and do yoga. Click here to learn more about Breathe in India. And read Golden mornings on the Ganges, my Toronto Star article about what life is like in an ashram in India. We will be visiting both of these ashrams on the Breathe in India tour!

BreatheDreamGo Tours give you the best of both worlds: you get to experience the India most tourists never see, in a small group, led by someone who knows and loves the country, and you will have the comfort and safety of an organized group and quality accommodation options.

“India is one of those places where you’d have to travel with someone whose heart belongs there…. like Mariellen….” Deborah Carr, travel writer and author

To continue reading, please visit BreatheDreamGo blog

Boston’s Freedom Trail

Editor — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:48:52 +0000

Boston is a vibrant city that has delightfully combined her venerable history with today’s contemporary lifestyle. The Freedom Trail is a collection of 16 historic sites that tell of Boston’s role in the Revolutionary War. Bostonian preservationists have worked hard to save the collection of churches, burying grounds, meeting houses, homes, businesses, and even a ship. The 18th century sites are nestled in between soaring modern-day buildings, but the juxtaposition only serves to highlight the historic value of the preservation efforts. The Freedom Trail Foundation provides preservation funding and educational material so that over three million people each year can learn about the ideals of freedom of speech, religion, and government that was the foundation of our great country.

The Freedom Trail is a three-mile walking route that runs right through the heart of the modern city. It begins at Boston Common, the oldest public park in America. A red brick line guides the way from site to site, so it is very easy to stroll along with a guidebook. For an escorted walking tour, costumed interpreters guide groups for $6 – 12 per person. Tickets and guidebooks are available at the information center at the beginning of the trail.

To continue reading, please visit TravelMaestro blog.

Packing for Europe: 10 Rules of Thumb

Editor — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:33:35 +0000

Once again, I am preparing for my next trip to Europe and I am determined to do a better packing job than in the past. And as I think about this trip, I remember all the trips in the past where I took clothes I never wore and lugged an over-packed bag across Europe. Not this time; I am packing light! Check out my earlier post about what to wear in Europe.

Packing for Europe: Rule 1

Plan ahead. Start a list of what you want to bring and what you need to buy. Pack at least a few days in advance. Packing at the last minute will ensure that you forget something important and pack a bunch of stuff you will never need. Actually I start collecting things about a week in advance, adding and eliminating items as I go.

To continue reading.. please visit Europe up close.

A Theatre (Re)Grows in Brooklyn

Keith — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:06:24 +0000

Abandoned for over 30 years, the Loew’s Kings Theatre in Brooklyn prepares for a Second Act. In 1929, the theatre on Flatbush Avenue opened as Loew’s flagship theatre. Architecturally influenced by the Palace of Versailles and the Paris Opera House, the theatre boasts high curved ceilings, pink marble, and ornate plaster walls. Originally a home for films and vaudeville acts, the 3,195-seat theatre closed in 1978, becoming a refuge for pigeons, vandals and squatters.

But intermission is over. Last month, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz announced that the Houston-based theatrical management and development company, ACE Theatrical Group, had been contracted to restore the theatre’s French Renaissance architecture and expand the stagehouse to accommodate the production needs of modern shows.

To continue reading, please visit the TravelingIQ blog.

Film Review: Eat, Pray, Love

Keith — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:31:12 +0000

Eat, Pray, Love is a Julia Roberts movie. Her elegantly chiseled features, distinctive curled upper lip and large, limpid brown eyes dominate the movie. It’s a travelogue all right – a travelogue of Julia’s face and her familiar, and limited, emotional range.

First, the positive

There are two things I like about Eat, Pray, Love. One, the male cast members. The filmmakers very wisely decided to surround the leading lady with excellent actors. James Franco, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem are all excellent as the men in her life. The love story in Bali with Bardem is the best part of the movie. If they had simply made it a love story, set in the lush tropics of Bali, it would have been much more satisfying.

To continue reading, please visit the Breathe Dream Go blog.

Tucson Celebrates 235 Years

Keith — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:22:54 +0000

Did you know that Tucson is celebrating a birthday? That’s right, the Old Pueblo turns 235 years old on August 20, 2010, but the celebration lasts the entire month of August. Baby boomer visitors will find special historic, artistic and entertainment events. Check out tucsonsbirthday.org for the full schedule. And, if you want to celebrate but stay within your boomer budget, be sure to visit Tucson on the Cheap, where Kate Reynolds posts several times a day with all sorts of inexpensive things to do.

I’m kicking off the birthday celebration at My Itchy Travel Feet, by sharing some of my favorite Tucson articles from the blogging world.

To continue reading, please visit the My Itchy Travel Feet blog.

Butterflies are Free – Volunteering in India

Keith — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:04:15 +0000

It was the love that got me. Ironically, I wasn’t prepared for it. I landed my volunteer job as an Assistant Art Therapist with Art Refuge more than a year before I actually arrived in Dharamsala, India to begin. To get the coveted position, I had to fill out an extensive application form, write copious answers to numerous essay questions, supply several references and have a long-distance telephone interview with the volunteer coordinator, located in the U.K. It was a long process!

Then, on my birthday in March I got the news – I was accepted, and scheduled to start the following April. I felt elated, both because I had a wonderful adventure to look forward to and because I felt honoured: I would be working alongside program manager Ama Adhe to help newly arrived Tibetan refugee children acclimatize to their home in India.

To read more, please visit the Breathe Dream Go blog.

My Favorite Part of New York City

Keith — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:18:55 +0000

For views, we went to the breath-stealing Top of the Rock and the next day, settled in for the Circle Line Cruise which took us under the Statue of Liberty. For culture, we took in a Broadway musical and the planetarium. For exercise, we meandered through the gorgeous, green Central Park. For the awe factor, we stood on a corner and stared at the corona-exploding electronic billboards of Times Square.

But my favorite part of our NYC trip was the subway.

Far better than an airport or even a street corner for people watching, the train is truly a microcosm of this great, diverse city.

To read more, please visit The World Calls blog.

Dance Around the World With Me

Keith — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:02:16 +0000

There are as many reasons to travel as there are travelers and the world is full of interesting places to visit. So how should one go about choosing destinations? Places that have something you like to do or see are always a good choice. I’m a romantic at heart and love the exotic intensity of all kinds of dance, so here are my favorite places that have a distinct dance or music culture.

1) Boot Scootin’ in Texas – A country-western dance bar is the ideal place to experience true cowboy culture. At any honkey-tonk worth its name, you’ll find pointed toed boots on both guys and gals. Gallant men tip their Stetsons to the cute fillies in a show of true southern charm as they dance the Cotton Eyed Joe, the two-step or line dance. Country-western dance is popular throughout Texas, from Austin to Amarillo.

To read more, please visit the Covington Travel blog.