TTT: Take a break!

As you can tell by my infrequent posting this month, December has been super busy for me. What does that mean? It means I’m going to take my own advice. My travel tip this Tuesday is to take a break, whether you’re going on a special trip or staying at home, whether you’re celebrating Christmas or just grateful for a couple of days off of work. Take some time to relax!

TTT: Skip Venice October-December

As I’m working on my Venice post for y’all, I’m thinking about the terrible flooding that happened this year.  For Travel Tip Tuesday this week, my recommendation is to go see Venice ASAP – but not in October, November, or December if you can help it.

TTT: Celebrating the season

Check out the National Geographic blog for tips about how to celebrate in cities around the world – London, Chicago, Rome, and Paris.  I bet more are coming soon.  Keep an eye out for their holiday posts.

Images from National Geographic.

TTT: Travel Tip Tuesday

Destination: Amsterdam

I’m ashamed.  I’ve been back for nearly 6 months now and haven’t completed my “destination” posts from our Europe trip this past summer.  I swear I won’t take so long in the future.  Anyway, here goes.  First up – Amsterdam.  I’ve wanted to go to Amsterdam since whatever age I read The Diary of Anne Frank (probably 3rd or 4th grade I imagine).  On our way from Raleigh to Venice, we had to have at least one or two layovers.  Most of the cheapest flights connected twice – once in the US and then once in Europe.  I noticed several going through Amsterdam, so I chose a flight that gave us about 11 hours in Amsterdam. 

TTT: Review pictures in advance

If you’re like me, your favorite souvenirs from your trips are your photos.  You may also be like me in that you are not an especially creative photographer and have trouble coming up with unique perspectives while taking pics.  For this Travel Tip Tuesday, I’m advising that you do some browsing of pictures of the places you plan to visit on your next trip.  You might see an amazing picture taken from Notre Dame with a gargoyle helping to frame it.  Then you can try your hand at re-creating that pictures instead of just snapping the usual Paris cityscape after your climb.  Trust me – this is something that’s absolutely worth the time.

TTT: Be patient, gracious, and forgiving

Thanksgiving is in just two days, so a lot of you are probably preparing to hit the road or the air on the way to see family for Thanksgiving.  My travel tip this Tuesday is to be patient, gracious, and forgiving while traveling.  Remember that Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for the blessings in your life.  Road rage isn’t part of that.    Best of luck!

Image from Truthdig.

TTT: Travel Tip Tuesday

TTT: Create a bucket list

It’s a little bit morbid, but people ought to think about these things – what do you want to do before you die?  That’s my travel tip this Tuesday.  Make your own bucket list.  Really think about what you might possibly be sad about missing out on if you didn’t do it. 

What to do in Paris

I’ve just watched Samantha Brown‘s weekend program on Paris, and she mentioned a few cool ideas I thought I’d share with you.

1. Go rollerblading.   Every Friday night at 10pm (barring bad weather), thousands of people gather and rollerblade an 18.6 mile route through the city.  The meeting point changes each week, so you’d need to plan this a bit in advance.

2. Rent a bike.  There are locations for pick-up and drop-off all over the city, and it costs less than $2/day.  It sounds pretty cool.

3. Shop for designer clothing and accesories – at a discount.  Check out Anna Lowe for big discounts on designers such as Chanel, Valentino, Versace, etc.

TTT: Check out EAD Living

My loyal readers know that one of my BFFs, Ami, is the Elizabeth half of the awesome wedding blog, Elizabeth Anne Designs that got started just a bit after I started my blog.  EAD just started a new chapter – Elizabeth Anne Designs Living.  EAD Living will be your source for their favorite recipes, DIY crafts, organizing tips, design, fashion, pets, children, eco living, outdoor life, travel, and much more.  Bonus: I’m a columnist for them.  You can catch EVEN MORE travel stuff from me via EADL and I’ll be sharing decorating ideas and recipes too.  Yeah, I don’t cook, but I like food.  And I’m really into interior design even if I’m certainly no expert.  So check it out!  Add it to your Google Reader.

While you’re at it, check out some of the awesome stuff they’re already posting like the pics above.

Travel etiquette

I found this article on Tripso about etiquette for air travel.  My favorite tip is to avoid grabbing the seat back in front of you when crawling out of your aisle.  I been on the receiving end of that too many times.