In Boston this weekend?
The Boston Globe Travel Show, Feb. 19-21
If you’re in Boston this weekend, check me out at the Boston Globe Travel Show! I will be speaking about two hot topics:
Travel Writing 101: where I offer a step-by-step guide on becoming a travel writer. In this interactive discussion, I’ll take you from proposal to pitch, providing tips and tricks that will help get your articles published. I’ll also offer social media secrets on how to promote your writing.
The Reality of Reality Travel TV: where I talk about the behind-the-scenes reality of filming a travel show across some 36 countries. I also offer advice to those looking to break into the TV travel industry for themselves.
Visit the Boston Globe Travel Show for more details: http://www.bostonglobetravelshow.com/
Hope to see you there!
From Mardi Gras to marshmallow-eating alligators: a swamp tour in Louisiana
El Whappo, a 13 foot long alligator in Louisiana’s West Pearl River
His name is El Whappo. He’s 70 years-old, 13 feet long and he’s one of the biggest alligators ever seen in Louisiana’s West Pearl River.
Our tour group found the monster reptile lounging along the sandy river bank, soaking up the afternoon sun. As our motor boat approached for a better look, the alligator turned its snout, slid from the shore and floated towards us.
This was Dr. Wagner’s Honey Island Swamp Tour, a two-hour guided boat ride through Louisiana’s wetlands. Open since 1984, the tour focuses on the natural environment and its indigenous wildlife: from tiny turtles to moss-covered cypress trees, slimy green duck weed (a staple in many swamp dwellers’ diets), to blue herons the size of pterodactyls.
Alligators are some of the most interesting animals to spot. Sure they’re less aggressive than crocodiles but alligators do have some of the (Keep reading.)
More than boobs, booze and beads
The family parades during Mardi Gras are a safe alternative to frat-boy fun
Boobs, booze and beads – three things that come to mind when you hear the words Mardi Gras. One of the world’s best parties, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, is home to more than just X-rated frat-boy fun.
This year Fat Tuesday falls on February 16th but when I was there, reveling in ten days of Carnival craziness leading up to the big day, I discovered that this free street festival has many faces. From the colorful and very PG-13 parades Uptown, to tacky tourist traps in the French Quarter, there isn’t just one Mardi Gras experience.
By day, in residential areas of New Orleans (Uptown, Algiers or Metairie) parade-goers were lined up along the route, staking out their spots before the floats rolled in. A great parade spot is determined by where you can park and where you can pee.
RealDolls, robots and rubbers – a strange way to spend Valentine’s Day
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year again: Valentine’s Day, cupid’s Hallmark holiday that has made singles feel lonely and couples feel pressured since back in the day. Rooted in a Roman, religious and pagan past, Valentine’s Day has grown into a retail cash cow, drawing some 14 billion dollars annually in chocolates, roses and edible panties.
In this spirit of romance and raunch, I decided to check out New York’s Museum of Sex (a.k.a MoSex)
While Manhattan is home to dozens of cultural museums dedicated to high-brow art, there’s only one where you can fondle a love doll, watch panda porn and witness the sexual habits of anime characters.
Open since 2002, the Museum of Sex claims to be the most “stimulating museum in New York.” While there are a handful of erotically-themed (Keep reading.)
Julia’s Top 5 Mardi Gras survival tips
Mardi Gras: How to Survive the Madness
With the Saints’ winning the Superbowl, and Mardi Gras quickly approaching, party town New Orleans is on fire. Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter, is stereotypical Mardi Gras at its best. It’s sleazy, it’s sloppy, it’s 24/7 alcohol with drunks, punks and flashes of nudity. That said, for the Mardi Gras first timer who likes that frat boy vibe, it’s a fun crazy trip!
It’s ok to drink openly on the streets as long as it’s in a can or cup (no bottles or glass allowed). Grab dollar beers or try a neon green ‘hand grenade’ a potent potion of rum, gin, vodka, grain alcohol, melon liquor and mint that’s guaranteed to give you a hangover.
It can be pretty wild out there, so here are your Top 5 Mardi Gras Survival Tips:
1) Don’t Mess with the Cops: They’re overworked during Carnival time and have a short fuse. These guys are hard-core, so it’s best to cooperate with their requests and tone down your ‘sass’ factor.
2) Don’t Urinate in Public: Seems like a fairly obvious one, but bathrooms are hard to find. With so much binge-drinking comes frequent answers
Where to pamper, play and party in Vancouver
Boutiques along Main St. showcase up-and-coming Canadian designers
In case you haven’t heard… the 21st Winter Olympics have come to Vancouver; curling, bobsledding and luging their way into our hearts, from Feb 12-28.
While the sports junkies are glued to the TV, rooting for the world’s best athletes, why not convince the girls who aren’t obsessed with Quatchi the sasquatch mascot to indulge in a little Vancouver inspired getaway?
For a quality time with your best girl friends, sisters and moms, visit Vancouver, a 2010 hot spot destination, for a good ol’ fashioned girl retreat.
Here are a few fun ways to explore Vancouver with the girls:
How to swim with great white sharks… (and live)
A cage diving tourist snaps a photo of a great white shark
The terrible story of the kiteboarder, Stephen Schafer, who was tragically killed by a shark on Wednesday off the north coast of Florida, does nothing in the way of calming my fish fears. It makes me never want to get in the water again.
I swear, I hear the Jaws “da na da na da na” theme song in all bodies of water, from oceans to bath tubs. That’s why it was particularly out of character for me to sign up for a great white shark cage-diving adventure off the coast of South Africa… and so can you.
This day activity (also offered in parts of California) allows swimmers to snorkel with sharks from the safety of a metal cage. A boat trip takes you out to the middle of the ocean, dragging a trail of chum (a delicious stew of fish guts and blood) behind it. The great whites catch the scent and are lured towards the curious swimmers bobbing inside a protective contraption.
Crazy? Yes, but if you’re looking for a deeper understanding of these deep-sea creatures, it’s an awe-inspiring way to spend an afternoon.
My 5 gotta-have travel gadgets
So what does the launch of the new (some say brutally-named) iPad mean to travelers? I’m eager to get my hands on one to official test it out, but according to Apple’s marketing madness machine, the tablet computer joins the list of helpful devices tourists can use when traveling abroad.
Light weight and small enough to fit in your carry-on bag, the iPad means portable wi-fi access for instant flight bookings, the ability to download restaurant reviews, guidebooks, ibooks and general country info.
It’s another step in the growing ‘electronification’ of travel, where gadget geeks, such as myself, take a backpack full of plug-in products to help them on the road.
When I travel, here are my top five gotta-have gadgets:
1) Laptop: Since travel writing is my main profession, I absolutely can’t live without my MacBook. I’ve put in some great mileage on that puppy. It’s seen some 23 countries, been X-rayed, scanned, swabbed and manhandled more times than the girls from Jersey Shore. It keeps on ticking, letting me watch DVD’s on the plane, chat to family members through Skype and maintain my ever-growing Twitter addiction.
2) iPod: Another “can’t live without” item. In addition to music, I’m a big fan of listening to NPR Podcasts while I travel. I also pack noise-canceling headphones and a set of mini speakers I can set up in my hotel room.
3) Camera: While the new iPod comes with built-in camera feature, there’s no substitution for a high quality digital camera. I take two with me when I travel. An SLR with extremely high resolution and a tiny cam that I can slip in my purse for impromptu shots.
4) Converters, plugs, cords, universal power adapters and surge protectors for all my gadgets, which I like to keep in a plastic bag (in case any of my cosmetics explode in my bag…which they typically do.)
5) Obviously I don’t use the following but they’re pretty hilarious gadgets from the site Vagabondish, so I thought I’d include them:
- The Beer Belly is a weird and likely effective way to sneak booze into events around the world. http://www.thebeerbelly.com/
- The Shower Shock is a vegetable-based glycerine travel soap that contains jolt-inducing amount of caffeine to be absorbed through the skin.
- BriefSafe is an unusual way to secure your valuables. Hide your junk in a faux pair of stained, dirty underwear. Burglars won’t dare touch that! http://www.vagabondish.com/12-killer-travel-gadgets-every-geek-needs/
What are your “must pack’ or most hilarious travel gadgets? What do you think of the new iPad and how it will change travel? Post a comment below!
