The only thing I love more than travel is readingIf I could only describe myself with one word, it would be “reader”. I am a reader. I've been reading since I was 4 years old and, as much as I love being a writer and feel that writing is at the core of who I am, I would never have written a word if I didn't love reading so much. When people say that they haven’t had the time to read anything lately, that they don’t have a favourite book, that they find reading dull, or that there’s never been anything interesting to read, I immediately recoil. Who are these mutants? I feel it would be easier to connect with some of the case studies on Criminal Minds before I could trust, love, confide in a non-reader. Books save lives, they help people fall in love, they spark revolutions and they guide the way to peace. But there’s nothing interesting enough for you to read? I’ll be in the other room, thanks. Coffee and travel have always been intertwined for me.I’m not a girl that caffeine does any favors for. Give me a large latte and you’ll be peeling me off the walls, only to see me crash in a deep slumber 30 minutes later. Sometimes I don’t think I even like the taste that much. So if I don’t really like coffee, and it doesn’t really like me, then how can I say that I love it?
Oh, but I do! I really do love it! I shouldn’t be trusted with the stuff but, oh, when it’s good, it’s very, very good. I am fascinated by coffee, the history, the agriculture, the politics, the commodification, and the culture of coffee. And whenever I travel, I can't help but seek it out. Second only to oil for international trading, to know coffee is to know the world. No treat, no drug, no product seems to be as universally loved. I've only started drinking coffee – in limited doses, for everyone’s safety – in the past few years. Despite this later in life revelation, the coffee and café scene have been a mainstay of my travel experiences. Travel and bakeries go hand in hand.Food for the soul, Cape Breton style.I’m a bakery girl. Always have been. It’s in my blood. Growing up on Cape Breton Island, I was surrounded by some of the best bakers in the world. What the community may have lacked in material resources it made up for in terms of creativity, generosity, and hospitality. I’ve never not known that the best way to show happiness, pride, congratulations, welcome, contrition, support, grief, or sympathy is to roll, knead, whisk, and bake. My childhood was dominated by homemade bread, giant soft molasses drop cookies known as “Fat Archies”, chocolate-coconut-oatmeal no bake ”Spider Cookies”, cinnamon buns, gingerbread cake, oatcakes, date squares, brown sugar fudge, banana bread, apple crisp, shortbread snowball cookies, and fuarag – an olden Scottish Gaelic dish of stiff whipped cream and toasted fine oats, with good luck tokens of rings and coins hidden inside. And there were biscuits. Halifax was the perfect place for a solo escape.I’ve written before about 5 travel splurges that were worth every penny. Sometimes having a splurge is the best possible value – it creates a memory or an experience that becomes the highlight of a trip.
Recently, I heard people on Twitter chatting about #ChardonnayDay and I had an instant flashback to one of my favourite travel splurges that was a chardonnay soaked experience! There's value in free museums far beyond their price.I'm a huge fan of visiting free museums and attractions - gee, that's no surprise! Sure, it's great that you don't have to pay, but there's more to it than that. Often associated with non-profit, charitable, educational, preservation, or historic associations, these places would be amazing even if there was an admission charge - you can really appreciate the passion, knowledge, and dedication of the staff and volunteers. And to me that's more than just a great deal -it adds tremendous value to your trip. Do you have any travel regrets? Any decisions you'd like to do-over?It’s not very often I think of travel in terms of regret – in fact, it’s one of the things that I associate the least with regret! While there’s always things I try to learn from on each trip, even when things go badly I still think of the trip with fondness. But there are a few lingering, lasting regrets from past trips that, if I could change with the flip a switch, I would be a happier girl!
The pitfalls of travel with ample assetsI wonder if anyone else has this problem. As one of the first girls in my class to develop breasts – you know, the noticeable kind – I have always been so self-conscious about the size of my chest, which insists on being huge no matter what I do to it. I’m sure there’s something to be said for the fact that women always want that which they don’t have. Other girls wish they had ample curves – girls like me dream of willowy limbs, wispy summer dresses, and playing sports without having your shoulders bleed from tight sports bras. I understand I’m stuck with what I've got, but my “containment” issues seem even more problematic when I’m looking at travel clothing and planning for long distance trips. Homesick? Here's how to meet locals and get your travel grove back and feel cozy in your new destination.Here are few tips to find the heart of a village within the huge city. I love to travel – any way, any style. Tiny villages, huge cities, everything in between. But some cities can be so huge and overwhelming, it feels like you can spend your entire visit just trying to figure things out.
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