Visiting Venice…Take Galoshes

When my sister and I visited Venice last summer, we ran into some unexpected weather. Only spending 2 days in this lovely city, we were not met with much sunshine. However, we were certainly not going to let that ruin our time there, so we pulled out the umbrellas, unfolded the map, and prepared to make our way through the charming areas of Venice.

Spending much of our day touring Doge’s Palace, visiting Rialto Bridge, and scouring our way through the narrow streets, we eventually decided that it was time to partake in the delicacies that Venice had to offer. Coming to St. Mark’s Square, we were halted by the sight before us. Now, I’ve heard for years that Venice is a place that everyone must visit at least one in their life because the city is literally sinking. Completely surrounded by water, I found it to be quite unique that only one car seemed to rest in the city. However, as much as I loved taking the water taxis from place to place, I didn’t think I would need to take one through the middle of St. Mark’s Square.

There, in the middle of the square, were people wading nearly knee deep in water. The rain that had fallen most of the day had practically flooded the square. Looking at my sister, we wondered if we might be exiled to one side, but luckily there was a narrow strip of ground that was dry. Deciding that I’d rather not walk around in wet, squishy tennis shoes and wet jeans, we opted to make our way to the dry pathway. As we passed through, I noticed there were many people who smiled, rolled up their pants, and walked on through.

By the time we made it back to the hotel, we learned that we could have rented galoshes…who knew? I guess when you live in Venice though; it’s not such a bad thing to invest in a pair. Either that, or just hike up your jeans and trudge on through.

Greece or New Zealand???

I need your help...or maybe really some advice. I'm trying to decide between two unbelieveably beautiful destinations to visit next year, around May. A good friend of mine is moving to Wellington, New Zealand and I would love more than anything to go visit her and to see a place I've dreamed of seeing for years and years. To see the waterfalls, the beaches, and all the beautiful scenery, it just seems like an amazing place to see.

However, I have been doing some research and looking into various places in Greece, and let's just say, I am completely in love with Greece and I haven't even been yet! If I go to Greece, I'm thinking I'll only be able to go for a week, maybe a little bit longer. I've already decided that part of mine time would be spent in Athens and the other part of my time in Santorini.

So, this is where you guys come in...what advice do you have for me in choosing between these two places? Is May a good time to visit either of them? What do I absolutely, without a doubt, HAVE to do in these places?

For All You Travel Readers Out There

Sorry I've been away for a few weeks now. I've been a bit preoccupied, but I am back and have some more reading recommendations for you guys!

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman: Rachel Friedman certainly has an interesting and exciting story to tell in “The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost.” Traveling to Ireland, Australia, and South America, Friedman and a girl she meets in Ireland, both try out new and exciting adventures. To get the perspective of someone who’s followed the rules most of her life, done was is expected of her, and finds accomplishment in even the smallest of things, I found that I could really relate to Rachel Friedman. The way she talks about arriving at the airport in Ireland and her attempts to get to her hostel unscathed…I could definitely see myself in her shoes. This book is a fabulous read and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to stop with the excuses and just get out there and see the world. Friedman brings to light many of the excuses we Americans make for not traveling and sadly…I’ve heard myself making those very same excuses.

Whose Panties Are These? By Jennifer Leo: If you want a book filled with hilarious tales of women’s travels, then I highly suggest you pick up this book. Not only will you read about a woman having hemorrhoid problems in Holland while she hopes to have a romantic getaway with her fiancé, but you will also read about a woman who experiences what it is like to have a bug crawl into her ear and the nonchalant attitude of her husband, as well as a woman who wonders if eating Lebanese chicken will make her breasts bigger. I never turn down a book that deals with humorous travel experiences. For those of us who have yet to set out on our own major adventures, it helps to relieve the tension when reading about other mishaps along the way.

Italian for Beginners by Kristin Harmel: A good friend of mine sent me this book and included a very heartfelt note inside telling me that from one Roman Holiday lover to another, this would be a great book for me to read. Normally, I am not a travel fiction kind of ready; however, this one was so incredibly good that it was hard for me to put down. I literally found myself turning the pages and getting lost in the story. I love books like that, ones that keep you so engrossed that the thought of having to put it up makes you mad. This is a book that details the life of a 34-year-old woman, Cat Connelly, who is quite unlucky in love. She also has mommy issues. She goes to Rome to see a long lost love and finds out he’s a dud. However, along the way, she meets Marco, Nico, and Karina, as well as a few other fun characters, and soon finds herself dealing with old “ghosts,” all while finding her true self.

Go Your Own Way by Christina Henry de Tassen: I read this while I was on vacation and honestly, I’d probably give it a 3 out 5 stars when rating it. It is a book that is much similar to Whose Panties Are These? But it is much more serious. These women tell their stories about traveling the world and only at times are some of these stories humorous. Mostly, you learn about the experiences of women traveling solo and the challenges they can sometimes face. It is a good book and I would recommend it, but just be aware that if you are looking for something more light-hearted, you might try Jennifer Leo’s books.

What are you guys reading and what travel books do you recommend?

Swimming with Stingrays in Grand Cayman

For anyone who has ever been to the Cayman Islands, you know that swimming with stingrays is one of the highlight tourist attractions. Several years ago, my family and I visited the islands and did the whole tour of the island, visited a turtle farm, took a nice trip through Hell (there really is a city there called ‘Hell’) and finally, swam with stingrays.


That experience made quite an impression on me as this last time, we opted to swim with them again. It’s funny because when a lot of people think of these creatures, their first expressions are ones of fear; however, these are some of the gentle and amazing creatures of the sea.

The last time we went out to a sandbar in the middle of the ocean and were standing in water waist deep, just watching and touching them as they swam by us. This time, we were literally in the ocean and unfortunately, we had to wait for the divers to bring them up to the surface for us to see them.

Swimming in clear blue water, it was fairly easy to see where they were, but the current was so strong that we kept being pushed back into the rope that helped to hold the boat in place. I didn’t do much exercising on the cruise, but spending 45 minutes treading water and working to swim against a strong current and I promise you, you will feel it later.



That's me holding Romeo



One of the divers went down to bring up Romeo, a male stingray. Opting to provide us with a bit of stingray knowledge, he asked if any of us would like to hold him. Being the one closest to Romeo, I decided (after a bit of encouragement from my mom) to hold him. Now, there is a specific way to hold a stingray so that they one, won’t swim away from you, and two, they won’t take on a defensive “attitude.”

Being instructed by the diver, I placed my hands on the front area of his fins, with his face pointing towards me, and kept his eyes just below the water. I’m telling you, it was one of the neatest experiences being able to hold this stingray. He felt so smooth, yet a bit slimy. It’s not the kind of feel that makes you want to jerk your hand away though.



The instructor told me to just let him go whenever I was ready and so I did. He swam away and I immediately looked to my parents and asked if they’d gotten that on video. With a thumbs up from them, I was grateful that I’d though to bring my video camera on this trip; to capture moments just like that one.



My sister and me on the boat

Isla Roatan, Honduras

(Just a heads up, I will post pictures of this amazing place as soon as they are developed and scanned onto my computer. They're from a water camera.)

For the past week, I’ve been recounting the wonderful vacation I just got back from, which was an amazing Carnival cruise. My family and I are no strangers to living on a ship for 7-8 days, and actually find it to be a great way to see various parts of the Caribbean. This most recent trip, one of our destinations included Roatan, Honduras. Having never visited this port before, I was anxious to see what it held for its visitors, and to be completely honest, although what we did there was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, what I saw was heartbreaking.


I have visited poverish countries before; however, the sights that I saw in Roatan affected me on a whole other level. We were on our way to our shore excursion, which we had decided would be something called snuba; I’ll get to that later. Several of us were piled into a large bus that took us on a 40 minute trip up the side of a mountain. Little did I know that what I would see during these 40 minutes would nearly bring me to tears.

Dirt and debris made up the yards in which children played. “Homes” that should more appropriately be called dilapidated shacks, sat on display for tourists to point and look as they drove past. Dogs and cats roamed the streets in search of food; their bodies thin and hungered. I sat there on the bus, wishing I could scream “Stop” so that I could jump out and run to the nearest make-shift store to buy the children and animals food. Here I was, on vacation, enjoying an amazing week off from work and here were these people who looked as if they wouldn’t even understand what a person meant by taking a vacation.

By the time we reached our destination for snuba, a part of me felt guilty for the enjoyment I was about to possess. Trying to push those images to the back of my mind for the time being, I took in my surroundings at Gumbalinda Park. The greenery that surrounded us and the beach that stretched for miles, it was a far cry from what I had seen during our 40 minute bus trip.

Angel, our snuba guide, fit us with our apparatus, a weight belt, goggles, and fins. Practicing in the shallow water, I was a bit nervous dunking my head into the water. Having snorkeled numerous times, this was different. I was relying on a tank full of air to keep me breathing. Quickly, my sister and I went down and I immediately wanted to hold my breath, however, after a few big breaths, I managed to breathe normally and I was ready to go.

Walking through what seemed like a mile of sea grass, we finally made it to the reef where I dove down and saw some of the most beautiful coral and fish. Trying to remember to “equalize” (holding your nose and blowing out the air to let your ears pop) on my way down, I was in awe of the sights around me. Breathing underwater became second nature and I realized what it must be like to be a fish.

Our snuba adventure lasted about 30-40 minutes and by the time we surfaced, I was convinced that snuba was a great introduction to scuba diving; an activity that is definitely on my to-do list.

One thing you need to realize though, if you ever decide to go to Gumbalinda Park in Roatan, is be prepared to be covered in red splotchy dots. These, my friends, are the remnants of sea flies. The backs of my legs, my arms, and all along my back, were covered in these red marks. Although they tell you that they don’t itch, they do, but the nice thing is, they fade after a day or so.

So, all in all, our day in Roatan was one I’ll always remember. The drive to beach brought heartache, but the experience of being able to snuba allowed me to experience something I’ll never forget…even if I did look like I had chicken pox by the time we left.

It's Summertime!!!!

Hello All! Well, I first want to apologize for not having updated this little blog of mine for a few weeks now. However, I am not too sorry as I spent last week on a luxurious and wonderful cruise through the western Caribbean. Yes my friends, I was on vacation! Visiting Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel, it was a well needed vacation, and a fabulous one at that!

I will be more than happy to fill all of you in on the amazing things we did and the exciting excursions we took, but that will have to wait until next week. Right now, I would like to know what your plans are for summer vacation.

Whether it is spending time on the lake, beach, in the moutains, or visiting an exotic part of the world, I want to know about it! I love hearing about your new adventures and the things you get to see and do. As a lover of the art of traveling, I'm always anxious to pick up tips and advice for various places.

So tell me everyone, where are you going this summer????

A Pep Rally for the Pope

If you’ve ever traveled through Rome, you know that it is a necessity to hit the highlights like the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and of course, Vatican City; however, how many of you would consider seeing the Pope to be one of the “necessary” elements of a Roman vacation?

Seeing as it is Holy Week and Easter is just a few days away, I thought it would be fitting to share with all of you the amazing opportunity my sister and I received while visiting Rome. The day my sister and I visited Vatican City, we were surrounded by tourists; all there to see either St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, or the Pope.

Before leaving on our trip, we realized that we would be in Rome on a Wednesday, which meant that if we could get the okay, we could have a chance to see and hear the Pope speak. Now, we are not Catholic; however, the opportunity to see Pope Benedict, well, that was something we were most definitely not going to pass up.

Due to the intense heat, the Pope opted to hold his weekly blessing indoors, which was quite nice considering the sweat that was already dripping off of me at that point. The line was long but surprisingly, security was quick; thus, our ability to get inside and get a seat quite fast. I felt like I was in a pep rally in high school. Crowds of people filed into this building, all ready and waiting to see the leader of the Catholic Church come and greet his followers and “fans.”

With my video camera in hand, I ordered my sister to snap pictures whenever I told her to. She is not one to take photos but I am. People began chanting, “Benedict Pope” over and over and it honestly began to feel like a concert, that the roof of the place might come off the second he stepped onto the stage area.



Swiss Guard



I looked around and saw the Swiss Guard standing by and couldn’t help but snicker at their jester-like appearances. Soon enough, Pope Benedict entered and the place went crazy! People were cheering and shouting his name…it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. As the various cardinals recognized specific groups that were present, the Pope showed his gratitude by raising his hands and bowing his head in thanks.

Providing a blessing in various languages, he finally presented his blessing in English. In complete awe, I aimed my video camera and sat back thinking, “I am actually here, in the presence of the Pope himself and I have him speaking on camera!” It was unreal. This man, who holds so much power in the Catholic Church, was speaking and I was lucky enough to be in his presence. There are so many people who are Catholic that would give their right arm to hear this man speak in person. It all became quite real right then that the reality of this entire trip was something that most people will never get to experience in their lifetimes.

I look at my parents and wonder if they will ever get the opportunity to travel abroad like that. Yes, we’ve been the Caribbean a plethora of times, but to go to Europe or Asia or Australia, will they ever get that chance. I hope so, because it is experiences like this one, seeing the Pope that is forever etched in my mind.

Have any of you ever seen or heard the Pope speak? What did you think?