A Review of San Francisco's Hostelling International Fisherman's Wharf A huge sign asking "Where in the world are you sleeping tonight?" greets us when we enter San Francisco's Hostelling International Fisherman's Wharf at Fort Mason. It turns out this remarkable building has worn many hats over the years, including being an army barracks, a pharmacy, and part of a national park. If you like some history and character with your accommodations, this is the place to be!  Welcome to the hostel! This is your front door. A decent rain jacket is an essential piece of travel gear. A rainy day in Bruges didn't dampen Ryan's travel spirits. If I waited until the rain stopped to go traveling, chances are I would never leave the house! It seems like it's drizzling for at least half the year in Canada and some of my favourite travel destinations are notoriously wet - I'm talking about you, Ireland! While I HATE being damp, I'm not going to let the bad weather rain on my travel parade.
When Ryan and I had the chance to take Tilley Endurable's waterproof jacket with us on our round the world trip, we jumped at the chance to put this product through its paces and we were thrilled we found a raincoat that was compact enough to earn a place in our pack. There's More to PEI Than Potatoes! The humble potato is likely the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Prince Edward Island’s cuisine and you’re not wrong. Potatoes are grown and consumed in abundance here, which suits me just fine. Mashed potatoes are one of my favourite foods and you’d be surprised how often this sublime art form is abused by restaurants around the world! If you want to spend your PEI vacation eating nothing but potatoes, I promise I won’t judge you in the least but if you want to branch away from this comforting classic and discover more diverse regional cuisine, here are five experiences to tempt even the most fickle foodie.
Exploring the hidden history of Alcatraz Prison through a night tour.  San Francisco skyline From Alcatraz For most travelers, being in a maximum security prison with no chance of escape would be the ultimate nightmare; but for me it was the ultimate adventure! When the prison in question is the legendary Alcatraz and it's the 50th anniversary of its closure, the idea of spending a night in jail has tremendous appeal.  Arriving at Alcatraz. What to Wear on Long Haul Flights Guarding our gear in San Francisco airport. A real packing challengeCan there be anything less glamorous and more uncomfortable than spending 14 hours in an airline economy seat? Maybe 20 hours on the world's worst train! Long haul travel, especially overnight trips, can be a challenge to dress and pack for and readers have been asking what I wear on my most tiring flights.
With a dozen flights and an equal number of bus, boat, and train rides, our round the world trip meant packing clothing that was heavy on comfort and versatility and light on haute couture and accessories. Everything we wore and carried had to do double, if not triple, duty as we circled the globe, dashed through different climate zones, and tried to look reasonably pulled together. And I think nothing challenged my packing skills more than trying to figure out what to wear on all those extensive overnight flights. I have never stayed in a hostel like Sydney Harbour's YHA "The Rocks".As a solo female backpacker in my early 20s on my first trip through Europe, hostels were an invaluable component of my budget travel strategy. I was studying in England and I would use learning breaks before my trip to read and re-read Let’s Go Europe’s hostel reviews. This was back in the dark ages, before there were online booking sites or many travel blogs, so I accepted Let’s Go’s information as the gospel truth. They never once steered me wrong and, despite having a minuscule budget, I always had a clean, safe, friendly place to stay.  The double bed in our private hostel room. Free travel in Sydney? Why not!? Sydney CAN be a budget travel destination.  Free travel in Sydney - don't forget about the views! This is Sydney Harbour from the air as we departed. Walking across the harbour bridge is free, but climbing it will cost a pretty penny. Sydney is one of the most vibrant, beautiful, and cosmopolitan cities I've ever seen but, as I detailed in my last post, it is also the most expensive . This could have spelled disaster for my basic budget, but I was determined to soak up the city without breaking the bank. It took a bit of research but I discovered are plenty of deals down under. Here are five free Sydney experiences that I loved.
Are bath salts a liquid? Are body scrubs allowed in toiletry kits? And I've always traveled with St.Ives Apricot Scrub - but is it a liquid or not? Updated in 2023.
Is this travelers' staple TSA friendly? Read on! Photo courtesy of TheBinderLadies.com
On my first trip to Italy, I had booked myself a hostel bed in the village of Finale Ligure. Up, up, up I climbed, hundreds of steps, until I came to the hostel's door at the top of the hill. Of course, it was closed for a mid-day cleaning! So down, down, down I went to kill some time at the beach. A whipping wind coated my sunscreen-clad body in a thick layer of sand. After a few hours, it was time to haul myself back up the hill. That was one well deserved shower! The effort it took to scrub off all the sweat, sunscreen, and embedded sand left me with remarkably smooth skin. Talk about a backpacker's spa treatment!
There's no denying that traveling can leave you gritty, grimy, and in need of a good scrub but I prefer to use something other than sand these day! Alas, not all skin treatments are so cheap and so travel-friendly. And I know I'm not the only traveler carting along bath scrubs and bath salts and trying to fit everything into my toiletry bag and 3-1-1 kit. Now readers want to know if any of these products are carry-on friendly. That's a great question! So let's talk about exfoliating body scrubs and relaxing bath salts. Are they liquids? Can they have a spot in your toiletry kit? What is first time travel to Sydney like? It's exquisite... and expensive! Travel to Sydney means views like this: the opera house. Our amazing, around the world trip originally began with a dream of saving enough frequent flyer points to go to Australia. We were originally aiming for Hawaii but as our points collecting skills improved, we focused on an entirely new destination. Bit by bit our trip evolved but we never lost sight of our main goal - Australia! We wanted to travel to Sydney.  Another famous site: the harbor bridge. |
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