Cafe Chat: Festivals around the World
July is for celebrating and your assignment is to write about a festival you have traveled to, or one that you would like to attend in the future!
Discover Value Luxury Travel with Andy Hayes – that travel guy
Meet a Belle Boy (because Belle Man didn’t sound just right) The Travel Belle often has many men in her life with whom she loves to share her love of vacations and travel; and in this, the first of our interviews with our list of guys, we are thrilled to introduce you to one of our … Read more
Reclining Your Airplane Seat
Is it ever appropriate to recline one’s seat during air travel? Even though your average Travel Belle is generally smaller than her Travel Beau counterparts, physically speaking (I personally am 5’4″), when it comes to a The Great Seat Back Debate this small belle has a big opinion. The questions revolve around whether or not … Read more
Traveling with Paper Maps, Scraps and without Apps
Can the myriad travel apps available at our fingertips always compensate for what we might lose? Amber answers, “No,” and gives us all something to think about I stand at a pay phone and drop in a couple coins. I’m calling a hostel on the recommendation of a fellow traveler. I dial the number scribbled … Read more
Track Your Travel Belle Trips
“So why did you pick Morocco?” my friend Leo asked when I announced I was moving to Casablanca at the end of 2008. I pointed to the Peter’s projection map on the wall behind my desk. “Easy. There are two major blank spaces: North Africa and South America.” He shot me a knowing look as … Read more
6 Tips for Near Zen Travel in Stressful Situations
Because we love to travel, but sometimes travel doesn’t quite love us back… … and because air travel and zen travel don’t really go together at all It began at the train station. Before going home to West Virginia for the holidays, an international trip from Italy that includes three flights and the journeys to … Read more
Lessons from the Girl Scout Law for Today's Travelers
While I wasn’t the most motivated scout – I’m pretty sure my grandpa bought most of those cookies – some things did stick with me and are often applied to my life as an expat and traveler. And no, before you get ahead of yourself it’s not the well-known motto Be Prepared (although you have to admit, that is a pretty good motto,) it’s the Girl Scout Law
Incommunicado in Costa Rica
Letting go of the cellphone and the best laid plan As soon as I learned I’d be celebrating a milestone anniversary in Costa Rica, I jumped at the chance to solidify my status as Oldest and Sharpest Globetrotting Friend. The vacation was nearly two months away, but it was never too early to aim for … Read more
Visiting Rome’s Testaccio Market and Marcello Mastroianni’s Cousin
Grocery shopping in Rome, Italy at the covered Testaccio market means taking home a little piece of the Eternal City every time. And there are two very important figures in the Rome Testaccio market: the Sicilian tomato guy–who before selling you a vine-ripened heirloom or an ox heart will ask you exactly what recipe you’ll be … Read more
Packing Less can be Fashionably More when Preparing Your Suitcase
You there – you know who you are. You think you know everything there is to know about how to pack a suitcase? When you travel, do you bring a pile of luggage that would make Joan Collins blush? Perhaps you fret about surviving without a full closet, so you fit as much as possible into … Read more
