I’ve just discovered three excellent blogs offering insider travel tips: Brazil for Insiders, Montreal for Insiders and New York for Insiders. When you’ve been there and seen that–or even if you haven’t–you’ll find inspiration for off-the-beaten path adventures. Sao Paulo by night. Creative Commons photo by Andre Deak. Brazilian-born, Montreal-based food and travel writer Alexandra […]

Well, I’m not sure if it’s everything you wanted to know about home swaps, but I’ve done my best to include lots of useful information in my recent article on home exchanging for SlowEurope.com. You’ll find interviews with home exchangers, an annotated list of some of the leading sites with European listings, and more. And […]

Sorry I’ve been so incommunicado lately. I’ve been on holidays. I’m actually still out of the office for a few more days, but I came across some information on a travel writing workshop in New York’s Hudson Valley that I thought might interest some readers out there. The instructor is Bob Haru Fisher, a columnist […]

When you think of Swiss chocolate, you probably think of slabs of sweet, light milk chocolate. Or perhaps you think of the global reach of Nestlé, the iconic Swiss company headquartered in Vevey, a small city overlooking Lake Geneva. But do you think of dark chocolate combined with lemongrass, pepper or wasabi? Likely not. Chocolatier […]

Every time the economy hits a roadblock, a whole new generation of media and travelers seems to rediscover home swapping as though it had just been invented. The truth is, though, that this fun and frugal way of seeing the world has been around since the 1950s. Back in the day, swapping clubs published huge […]

A while ago, I wrote a blog post about the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where I spent a great vacation with my sisters and our husbands. I’ve just found out that our rental villa, Surf Sighed, has its own website. It’s a lovely, affordable tropical rental with a pretty pool deck and great views. If […]

Looking for travel tips and ideas from fellow vagabonds? Not surprisingly, travel-focused social networking sites are springing up all over the place. Traveldudes is aimed at the backpacker crowd and, along with general travel tips, has numerous reviews of hostels, B&Bs and other accommodations. Members can post travel diaries as well. Dodo is a similar […]

CNN first aired this video on home swapping in 2005, but the tips and insights on are pretty timeless. And even though the woman profiled has a flat in Manhattan, don’t think you have to have a home in a hot tourist area to swap! With a little work, you can probably find someone somewhere […]

OK, this is a first for this blog: a recipe! But when I recently stayed at Tara Farms, a bed and breakfast in Brenham, Texas, I fell in love with their pecan pie muffins (even though mine were made with walnuts, they still had a pecan pie vibe). I fell so in love, in fact, […]

Travel is a great way to meet people from other countries, but sometimes we don’t have to leave home to connect with someone on the other side of the planet. A charity called Heifer International helps people give the valuable gift of a farm animal to a family in a developing country. Today, as a […]