Feed Editor 5 Oct 2006 19:56:09 GMT Alternative Travel, Around the World travel, Nude Beaches, Destination Guides, Travel Articles on GoNOMAD.com http://www.gonomad.com/index.html 60 en-us http://www.gonomad.com/images/gonomad-logo-travel-guide.gif A cruise through the icebergs and to see the incredible scenery of West Greenland and Iceland. 6 Feb 2012 15:12:18 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/cruises/1202/greenland-cruise.html E82412EB-9F75-40F6-BFA6-10EC83BDB586 It's billed as a challenge to anyone who knows how to ride. After riding in Kenya and Botswana, Dina Bennett decided to challenge Namibia's desert on a horseback safari. 6 Feb 2012 15:10:52 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1202/namibia-horse-safari.html 299CC235-6347-49AF-96AB-283515F36636 Kent St. John admires contemporary art and visits the charming seaside village of Sete in Languedoc-Rousillon, France. 3 Feb 2012 22:01:56 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1202/languedoc-roussillon-france.html 5CE56ED4-7E31-47C1-BEA0-C9F0BA93D1A3 Sonja Stark found the city of Berlin as exciting as many young Germans do...discovering a wide array of art and culture and a fascinating glimpse back into the dark days of WWII and Nazi history as well. 1 Jan 2012 17:41:21 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1201/berlin-germany-balm.html D8FD1F7A-26AF-4473-A289-627DFE28FCE4 Here are four hotels in the trees....tree house accommodations all over England. 30 Jan 2012 21:10:16 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/lodgings/1201/england-treehouse-lodgings.html 4B71C249-0F9E-439A-BD8D-F4326AB6EB65 Thomas Kohnstamm goes to Brazil and is assigned to review 100s of hotels and resorts. How does he possibly do this on his meager Lonely Planet wages? How does any travel writer do this? Find out in this really hilarious book. 30 Jan 2012 15:09:40 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1201/do-travel-writers-go-to-hell.html B48B65D9-09F8-41C5-82F6-9C612DA3ABC8 For adventures in history, destinations that really take the visitor back in time to another era, it's hard to beat Germany's Franfurt Rhine-Main Region. 24 Jan 2012 21:23:19 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1112/germany-rhine-main.html 6EE6EEA8-CD2D-4851-93B7-75107C4C1362 The classic winter sports town of Lake Placid New York, a great place for a winter break. 24 Jan 2012 21:22:14 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1201/lake-placid-new-york.html E94E3608-8E67-4614-8845-7FF081F9DB04 Molokai is not the place to find a lot of nightlife, fancy restaurants or much commerce at all. Instead, it's cherished by locals and by regular visitors who love its combination of out of the way nature and a strict adherance to the ways of life in old Hawaii. 20 Jan 2012 17:47:53 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1201/molokai-hawaii.html 68F65DAF-264C-42F0-9D8F-339EC5776BCE Northampton is a famous dining and arts town in Western Massachusetts. With more than 70 great places to eat, it's hard to decide. The readers of Trip Advisor and GoNOMAD's staff have written up this guide to the top ten choices to eating in a great eating town. 19 Jan 2012 14:42:06 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/0103/northampton-restaurant-reviews.html 851038AD-E4D5-45AD-83DE-CE9F43907467 Things to do, places to eat and activities for water fun in Aruba. 17 Jan 2012 21:57:31 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1201/aruba-what-to-do.html D1D4C6A5-3015-473E-BD00-12DC8D123558 What a lovely place to walk, stroll, putter and pick up weird stuff. Near Anaheim is Old town Orange, a pedestrian friendly neighborhood that offers great eclectic shopping, cafes and weirdness and fun. 14 Jan 2012 18:12:18 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1201/anaheim-california.html 61522D9F-27F4-443B-AFB5-9BDCAE722D3B Will McGough visits a private island off the Georgia Coast, where relaxing, fishing and a special quality of life, are the way things are. It's beautifully simple and sounds very refreshing. 13 Jan 2012 21:06:37 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/lodgings/1201/eagle-island-georgia.html 296A3856-B9EB-46EB-B5F4-E3F57763E98D Discover where to eat, shop, mingle and find the coolest stuff in SoHo New York City. 11 Jan 2012 21:43:34 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1201/soho-new-york-city.html 5D8DE629-B77E-4203-9472-15D9740231CD “The lions are out right now,” our guide told us, short of breath. “If you want to see them, now is the time.” “We haven’t even checked-in yet,” I said, standing in the open-air lobby of the Pendjari Hotel. 9 Jan 2012 22:36:09 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1201/benin-lion-safari.html 8D4A5D3D-C612-4FBD-9BCD-120B0F426EB3 Germany's faces are captured by GoNOMAD Associate editor Stephen Hartshorne when he visited Luther Country in November 2011. 9 Jan 2012 14:18:55 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1111/germany-gallery.html 28936F9D-D1F7-49FF-8F60-F5E39AE2F5B0 Only Muslims are allowed to visit these cities in Saudi Arabia...and they are commanded to see them at least once in their lives. A trip to Umrah a shorter version of the holy Hajj pilgrimage. 31 Dec 2011 17:32:03 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1112/mecca-saudi-arabia-hajj.html CF1EFD04-C93A-4022-9CF2-E0D30BBB4964 Lots of beautiful photos adorn this updated guide to Burma, written a long time ago but now we're able to call it Burma. 23 Dec 2011 18:27:28 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/0011/reisner_myanmarguide.html 83C2891A-ED4C-48AB-8BB4-6F81A7847392 The Editors of GoNOMAD.com select their top ten travel stories which best embody the travel philosophy of the website; their top choice is a story about having lunch with a Sudanese Chieftain, an Italian town in Kenya, and an account of fishing using cormorant birds in Japan. 22 Dec 2011 23:13:04 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/news/december2011/best-of-2011.html FF744A16-37A9-4CF9-894B-4ECE393CCAAC When taking a vacation, Ghana, Africa, isn’t often at the top of everyones’ lists. In reality, the country has a lot to offer in terms of history, culture, art, and, most of all, nature. Lush forests filled with fresh fruits ripe for picking, wild, playful monkeys that will plant themselves on your back for a bite of your banana, high waterfalls that require hours to reach the top, but are worth the hike--these exist all over Ghana. You’ve just got to know where to find them. 22 Dec 2011 23:12:16 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1112/ghana-nature-roadtrip.html 33082DCF-703A-43CC-B480-910C222421F7 From San Francisco I headed south up US 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, to explore the central coast. Pacific Grove, a coastal town on the Monterey Peninsula, would be my base for a month. It’s also called “Butterfly Town USA” because 25,000 Monarch butterflies migrate to the eucalyptus and pine sanctuary there every year. 22 Dec 2011 23:11:15 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1112/central-california-coast.html F380E0FE-7075-43C2-B240-E86ADD61EBB5 22 Dec 2011 23:10:40 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1112/central-california-coast.html 5D91B050-C897-404D-BFE1-76E0131AE981 We visit Norfolk, VA, the home of the world's largest navy base and full of arts, interesting restaurants and lots of water activities to enjoy. 22 Dec 2011 23:08:41 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1112/norfolk-virginia.html 5B4324A6-3725-491E-9281-5C4E85053C17 We began our tour in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, where Luther famously nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in 1517. In these theses, he denounced the church's sale of indulgences -- forgiveness for sins you hadn't even committed, or forgiveness for the sins of your deceased relatives in purgatory. 19 Dec 2011 15:29:29 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1111/germany-luther.html 2C4A3433-A270-422B-9349-DCCE1ECAF4DE Planning my trip to San Francisco from Southern California (Santa Barbara), I decided to drive instead of fly (I wanted to have a car in the city). Once I committed to the drive, I was presented with two options: Five hours of going straight on Highway 101 or eight hours of twists and turns on Highway 1 (coast). 15 Dec 2011 20:32:20 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/transports/1112/san-francisco-road-trip.html BA7ACC41-C9E8-40F5-A7D3-67112688C11A It is a place so romantic that many Iranian girls choose it for their honeymoons. Statistics show that the number of couples divorcing is surprisingly about 0 percent! Here you get the feeling you're traveling a thousand years back in time. This is the center of Zoroastrian religion, at the heart of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 15 Dec 2011 20:30:50 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1111/iran-yazd.html 6914848E-0180-4B8B-B380-D1D6B82C1E73 In the western coastal town of Stykkisholmur, Iceland, I had the opportunity to sample traditional foods that are typically served during the midwinter festival of Porramatur, but are increasingly being accepted as part of the Icelandic diet. 15 Dec 2011 20:29:16 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/food-and-wine/1112/iceland-shark-meat.html C44D2D3F-3972-4C06-BB86-31E0590E8506 Situated in idyllic Northern Thailand, about and hour and half north of Chiang Mai, the Panya Project is an up and coming eco-village that makes the perfect destination for those who are looking to get back to nature and learn about permaculture while traveling. 15 Dec 2011 20:28:24 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/helps/1111/thailand-panya-project.html 7EAF07C8-D9FE-4E3C-98DC-9D49C069F55A Microfinance lets people in rich countries help small business people in poorer countries give small loans; this non profit supports entrepreneurs by tour fees and lets donors meet some of their beneficiaries. 15 Dec 2011 20:26:25 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/helps/1111/investours.html C452558B-9AB4-42BC-BF17-FF1BA07B5DF5 Smart British couples and soon, Americans, rely on the website Mr and Mrs Smith.com to find unique hotels, romantic places to sneak off to, and other savvy travel tips. 13 Dec 2011 20:59:26 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/lodgings/1112/mr-and-mrs-smith.html E092A125-005A-4D23-A6B0-7B1CEDE2553C Jean Spoljaric, Paul Shoul, Sony Stark and Esha Sampajpati share their 2011 travels that they wrote about on the GoNOMAD travel website in 2011. 12 Dec 2011 17:44:49 GMT http:// 937DBBB6-41E8-4A87-804F-1FA9134E597C GoNOMAD Editors Max Hartshorne, Kent St. John and Stephen Hartshorne and travel writers Cindy Bigras and Will McGough recap their 2011 travels that they wrote about for the GoNOMAD website. 12 Dec 2011 17:43:25 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/1112/where-we-went-2011.html 2A0526D0-6215-4E7F-8749-2AE217E9BA43 When it comes to vacations, the “best” for each family is a subjective choice based on circumstance and timing. When my family is exhausted from work and school, a “flop and drop” beach vacation sounds ideal. In mid-winter, an active ski break is irresistible. But when it comes to those long, lazy weeks of summer, parents like to make sure there’s an educational element in every excursion. 21 Nov 2011 16:43:27 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/family/1111/top-ten-family-learning-vacations.html F777B252-10C9-493B-A35A-4674FFC91C90 Janice Davis fed her travel bug and educated her young children at the same time. Her new book is full of funny anecdotes and some good advice for those who want to bring their children out into the world and educate them with travel. 21 Nov 2011 16:41:17 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1111/kid-grownup-travel-bug.html 0A6D9C6A-140C-4C36-B709-4F13344CFB2F Hana is a small town far, far away at the eastern end of the magical island of Maui. The Road to Hana is famous, curvy and full of one-lane bridges and stunning vistas. Once you get to Hana, you'll see that it's one of the most Hawaiian towns in the state, unspoiled and full of people who despite its remoteness, would live no where else. 16 Nov 2011 18:01:25 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1111/hawaii-maui-hana.html A31DA01C-7530-46F5-96EF-1E9DB4EFDC7A Francis Topan wrote a book after three years of traveling in Eastern Europe. He posits that there are five personality traits that are common to nearly everyone who lives there. Does this ring true? Read on... 15 Nov 2011 20:14:30 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1111/hidden-europe.html 3BA907C9-803B-406A-9E83-A568425BD9C9 Luggage: Often we don't pay enough attention to this key part of our trip...and buy crappy discount luggage from Costco or Sears. Spend a little more, get something that will last a lot longer, you can even find brands like Briggs and Riley who offer a lifetime guarantee. It's worth it and here's a look at the top five luggage brands that you will truly appreciate. 12 Nov 2011 17:49:16 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/1111/luggage-top-five.html 221ECEF2-170A-4F46-8C40-5FB253804F52 We entered Croatia from the most northwestern border, where Italy, Slovenia and Croatia meet on the coastline by Trieste. With a roadtrip of less than ten hours through Europe, from Prague in Czech Republic towards the south and finally arriving in Novigrad, we had plenty of energy left to soak up the last evening hours of sunshine by the Adriatic sea and find some lodging. Finding lodging in Novigrad is a very simple affair. The city dwellers here are accustomed to tourists making their way along the Croatian coastline by car, so signs for private apartments, or “apartmans” in Croatian, are seen on many house gates and buildings. 10 Nov 2011 16:41:57 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1111/croatia-istria.html 7F43B95C-2B33-4165-8731-BBF39EE49B38 An Age-Old Meeting Place The Secwepemc people have called this area T’kumlups – “meeting place” – since long before European fur traders set up shop here in the early 1800s. The North Thompson and the South Thompson Rivers converge at this point and today, the city of Kamloops is an intersection both for Canada’s major railways, the CP and the CN, and for the major arteries passing through the British Columbia interior, the Trans-Canada Highway, the Yellowhead Highway, and Highway 97. People pass through Kamloops all the time; I’m one of them. As a kid, I knew it as a spots our family would pause at for Wendy’s burgers or to put some air in the motorhome tires while on summer road trips from Alberta during school holidays. 10 Nov 2011 16:39:58 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1111/canada-kamloops.html 090FF579-154D-47C1-9D90-0038332764D9 Mike Smith went in search of culture and spice in Central Java and found both. Central Java Central Java has a mystical landscape of active volcanoes, rice fields and sugar cane plantations as well as an abundance of enchanting, ancient temples. It boasts a rich culture with a long history of arts, music and theatre. Other attractions include local handicrafts, spicy food and shopping. Yogyakarta Yogyakarta, Central Java’s crown jewel, has much to offer and is easily reached from Singapore. The bustling city of 3.5 million people has old palaces, shopping, culture and culinary delights. The vast and beautiful Borobudur and Prambanan temples are world class man made monuments. 10 Nov 2011 16:39:05 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1111/indonesia-yogyakarta.html 581B321B-D251-4FE9-912F-DD009F3F5FB2 The city of Zagreb, Croatia, is full of trees, and smells better than any other city of its size I've ever visited. Pedaling through the neighborhoods and downtown, the scent of baking bread, and flowers predominates. This landlocked capital city is best explored from the seat of a bike, since you can get just about anywhere and the car traffic can be bad. 28 Oct 2011 20:04:58 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/bicycle-tours/1110/zagreb-croatia-by-bike.html 7E1E73F4-8266-4656-B779-511355DE5274 In these tough economic times, affordable certainly plays a part in picking a destination, especially in Europe. I found my trip to the one time East Germany to fit the bill quite well. Its part in modern history as a satellite of the Soviet Union gives it an intrigue. 28 Oct 2011 20:03:53 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/lodgings/1110/northern-germany-castle-stays.html AFC1872A-7753-4093-B69E-D644E96226AE Lonely Planet’s guidebook, 1000 Ultimate Sights, lives up to the promise in its name. Listing dozens of fantastic sights all around the world, this book has something for everyone. Herewith an excerpt of a chapter about staying in monasteries around the world. 26 Oct 2011 21:55:45 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1110/1000-ultimate-sights.html E29C8B04-A283-47F3-99FF-C06D3567FA1C By the time our bus arrives in Afloa, the border town between Ghana’s Volta Region and Lomé, the capital city of Togo, it is well after dark – exactly when I said I didn’t want to arrive. I’ve heard horror stories about crossing the border at night. 26 Oct 2011 21:54:24 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1109/lome-togo.html A7D55F54-B938-4C8E-8D76-F2EAD47F0E0E Suzanne Miller, an ER doctor, learns a lot about culture and the people of China when she gets into an accident along the Silk Road. 26 Oct 2011 21:52:59 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1110/bump-in-the-silk-road.html 14C35429-A50D-44C6-8A74-4386A966E905 Because of an overpopulation of the lionfish, other more valuable fish species are dying...but divers are learning to hunt and kill and fry up the lionfish to keep their population in check...it's helping the ecosystem on this island off of Honduras. 18 Oct 2011 15:33:45 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/alternatives/1110/utila-honduras-lionfish.html 168A165B-8269-485B-B0F9-EE4805F7A492 There are so many options for calling...here is a comprehensive guide to using phones while you are traveling and tips on the best ways to keep in touch using calling cards, the internet, hotel phones and satellite phones. 18 Oct 2011 15:32:05 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/1110/travel-telephone-tips.html 2D90227C-C2A0-4654-8C28-C0F815F41165 How do you ship your bike overseas? What do you need to do that, and how much does it cost? Here is a guide to answer all of these questions and more. 13 Oct 2011 22:21:17 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/bicycle-tours/1008/shipping-your-bike-abroad.html 87953963-207C-42F7-A86C-60447638D0B0 These cities, on the shores of Lake Geneva, are places where fashion, culture, fine watchmaking and fondue all come together. 12 Oct 2011 17:56:38 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1110/lake-geneva-switzerland.html A369BA4A-B9E1-4F1B-B39B-F5AD739E044B She was terrified of the ocean. He was determined to follow his dream and sail around the world. Somehow she ended up in the boat with the man she loved, and this book tells the true story of what happened on their epic ocean voyage. 12 Oct 2011 17:54:47 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1110/swept.html FFDD40FE-BC1C-4DD1-A624-478B370711FB Colombia is the only country in South America with coasts on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. However, if you say “I’m going to the coast” in Colombia, it invariably means the Atlantic coast. Whether it’s living it up in Cartagena, basking on the Caribbean sands of Santa Marta, or partying down in Barranquilla at the second-largest carnival in South America, the Atlantic coast is what’s on everyone’s mind. 3 Oct 2011 21:07:20 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1109/colombian-coast.html 40F4E98B-B3E7-48F5-938B-51E71B5C7920 On this island off the southern coast of Cuba, our adventurous and winter Weary writer discovers soft sand beaches, nude bathers, and a relaxing place that few have yet discovered. 3 Oct 2011 21:05:46 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1109/cuba-cayo-largo.html 6BA0983C-C4DE-4F30-8619-F53E18AA1ABD In this book, Mary McConahay tells the story of the people of the Central American rainforest over the last thirty years. She displays her extensive knowledge of the archaeology, the wildlife and the political life of the Mayans and captures the scenic splendor, the magnificent ancient ruins -- and the terrible violence 3 Oct 2011 21:04:43 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1109/maya-roads.html 4FFDEDC3-18CC-4CE9-A1AA-375900D2E88F For the price of meals and train tickets you can hire Goodwill Guides to take you through Japan and assist with the difficult language barriers..and you may even get tickets to see a sumo wrestling match! 3 Oct 2011 21:03:08 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/alternatives/1109/japanese-guides.html A974B39D-1164-411F-A080-CAC1AFD4C345 The author visits a sleepy town on the coast of Mozambique called Vilanculos, where she slides down dunes, meets local fishermen, and stays in a local village. 21 Sep 2011 20:29:32 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1109/mozambique-vilanculos.html 218CC8B8-2A11-46FC-A12E-2397337CF81C A gallery of photographs by Drew Knowle's who wrote the books about Route 66, in the Adventure Handbook. 21 Aug 2011 20:14:06 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1109/route-66-photo-gallery.html CB930667-F7D2-476D-BA0B-2C4A343C3ED4 A stay at Chateau La Thuiliere provides the author a chance to meet many of the local producers of fine foods who give the region its gastronomical charm. The Inn is an 1889 restored chateau with modern amenities and very high class dining, at common tables where you get to know new people every night. 31 Aug 2011 20:15:23 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/food-and-wine/1108/sw-france-gastronomy.html A8E5032E-1E68-43C6-BAD7-65E00866A5D1 We found ourselves walking on newly hardened lava that had blanketed the road and burned through the town of Kalapana, red still glowing in cracks underfoot, and the soles of our shoes softening. New flows of pahoehoe oozed just feet away, smooth and slow moving, like orange sap. Later, the bottoms of my feet felt as though they had been sunburned. 16 Aug 2011 14:54:25 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1108/montserrat-volcano.html 7C55F4BB-9B9F-45DA-8119-86F88A981ADF A round up of ten apps for the iPhone that would be great additions for any traveler's phone. 16 Aug 2011 14:53:19 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/1108/travel-apps.html 79E54150-16B1-4943-9163-1313D41A1B80 Cycling the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail I quivered with anticipation, hummingbird-eager to sip the dream. Right away this Cadillac of paths – the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail -- absorbed me with its stone pylons that introduce each next section, each also marked by car-blocking bollards. After service as a canal, the corridor had become a rail bed, its history summarized in plaques and boards that commemorate the “New Haven and Northampton Railroad, the Canal Line.” Trailsides flamed in forsythia, dogwood, and pink magnolia of luscious come-hither petals. Fresh beaver dams blocked streams. An historical museum sat closed beside the historic #12 canal lock. Mike told me that only snow stops trail cyclists, though I also learned from a Simsbury planner that snow plows in Stockholm Sweden re-open trails ahead of roads. 16 Aug 2011 14:52:30 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/bicycle-tours/1108/connecticut-simsbury-biking.html 0ECBCDE0-B95B-4591-8530-FB1DA4684052 Time: 4 am Location: Kochi, Kerala, India It is still dark in Kochi when the train arrives at the railway station in the wee hours of the morning. I open an eye warily, only to see fellow passengers walking around in a mindless stupor. Sleep still hangs over my eye lids as I stretch my lazy limbs and get up a bit groggily. My journey is not yet over. I have another hour of driving ahead of me to get to Thattekadu, an evergreen forest near Kochi, also known to be a birder’s paradise. As I get out of the train, the breeze brings in a whiff of hot tea, energizing me instantly. 11 Aug 2011 20:41:25 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1108/india-thattekadu.html 0812398C-671D-4DA2-A311-AD20DBF16BB6 From glowing Frisbees to the newest luggage GoNOMAD’s travel desk has tried and tested the latest things on the market to help make travel, and life, easier. For smartphones there is a host of new accessories from car chargers to battery-packing cases. There’s hip new street shoes for the fashion minded and toys for the kid in all of us. Whether you’re flying across the world or taking a weekend trip to see the family these will help you on your way. 11 Aug 2011 20:40:22 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/traveldesk/1107/new-travel-gadgets.html 650F61B4-EF59-46B9-ABB8-AEA83F08ABD6 Bordeaux, in the Southwestern corner of France, is a gleaming, gorgeous city filled with natural-born boosters, and beautiful neo-classical and Beaux Arts architecture. "The Bordelaise love their city, and they are proud of it, but they're not as open minded as people in Paris or Lyon....they're a bit provincial,"said Anne-Sophie, a pretty 20-something blond who has just moved back home to the city after a long stint in Rome. 11 Aug 2011 20:39:04 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1108/france-bordeaux.html 97C1A699-4D9E-42AE-9428-9B0599709BFB Start your journey like I did on the downtown Three Rivers Heritage Trail, an easy pedestrian/cyclist greenway system that runs along the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. Named after famous Indian tribes, the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River at the site of a famous battlefield called Point State Park. I picked up my bike rental from the Golden Triangle Bike Rental Downtown (660 First Avenue) and owners Tom and Britt Demagall. Their shop is perfect because you don’t need to know arcane stuff about gear ratios or air pressure. Britt will help set you up for a day of self-propulsion on a hybrid, road or mountain bike. 11 Aug 2011 20:38:02 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/bicycle-tours/1108/pittsburgh-biking.html E5E19C02-37AD-4651-B1A6-0A17A71DCA40 As a guest of an Asian tourism board on a 10-day jaunt through China, three other journalists and I were to be given a tour of several other cities before attending the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. So when they handed me a ticket at the airport, I simply followed the others to the gate and enjoyed the suspense. Once aboard, I was surprised to be seated in the first row of a smooth Air China flight. I sipped champagne and tried to sleep. As I drifted off in the woozy bliss of business class, I thought about the opening scenes of the old James Hilton novel/movie, Lost Horizon. 11 Aug 2011 20:36:25 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1108/huangshan-mountain-china.html AE332ADD-E398-4CF5-9F75-5BCDAC6D18F8 I quivered with anticipation, hummingbird-eager to sip the dream. Right away this Cadillac of paths – the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail -- absorbed me with its stone pylons that introduce each next section, each also marked by car-blocking bollards. After service as a canal, the corridor had become a rail bed, its history summarized in plaques and boards that commemorate the “New Haven and Northampton Railroad, the Canal Line.” 11 Aug 2011 20:33:59 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/bicycle-tours/1108/connecticut-simsbury-biking.html 9599284C-1234-4BDB-AD80-A8C2EA51DB14 Hitchhiker, adventurer, and CouchSurfer, Jamie Maslin, sets off to Venezuela for what can easily be described as a whirlwind of experiences, some good, others awful, in Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A CouchSurfer’s Memoir of Venezuela. Almost immediately, he is arrested by Venezuelan police, who are famous for their brutality and corruptness. After a frightful start in Caracas, Jamie shakes if off and heads off the beaten path to areas less explored by tourists, all the while staying on the couches of people he had met online. He bids farewell to his host before setting his sights on Angel Falls, the highest waterfall on earth. Measuring 3,211 feet in total with a continuous drop of 2,647 feet, Angel Falls is sixteen times higher than Niagara Falls. The waterfall is said to have been discovered by Jimmie Angel, a fighter pilot ace in World War I and flying scout for Laurence of Arabia. 29 Jul 2011 19:24:26 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1107/socialist-dreams-beauty-queens-venezuela.html 8E878B9D-9603-4A00-B0AB-3C118989D35B Grab the reigns of adventure and get ready for the time of your life! Imagine yourself riding through the countryside of Europe, or up the Rockies in the American West, across a Caribbean beach or through the deserts of Africa. This morning you shopped in an open market or visited a museum and at lunch you ate delicious local food. Now you are headed back to camp to stare up at the stars far from any electrical lights or perhaps to rest your head on a soft pillow in an old Irish castle. This is equitrekking and its way more than just dude ranches. Equitrekking is travel on horseback to exotic destinations around the world. It's also a TV show on PBS hosted by Darley Newman. 29 Jul 2011 19:22:50 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1107/equitrekking.html 24559A13-04DA-44A1-9D7A-3DC12A34DC6E When I first heard of Corsica, it was from a friend who had just returned from a "work" trip, which was assisting a high-profile fashion photographer with a shoot on the island. Cliff-side towns overlooking gorgeous Mediterranean beaches, cuisine inspired by Italy, France, and the sea, local wine and cheese, models, swimming pools, sun and sand mixed with lush mountains; his trip sounded incredibly exotic. I was green with envy and sure I would never be able to travel so extravagantly. Yet here I am, in Corsica, France, and the only thing I've paid for in two weeks is a crêpe that I bought while wandering around the cliff-side, haute village of Bonifacio just yesterday. No, I did not become a fashion photographer, and the only person around posing for pictures is the Corsican neighbor's adorable little 2 year old baby, Theo, but I found a way to make it happen. 29 Jul 2011 19:22:02 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/alternatives/1107/corsica-france-volunteering.html 928C5413-CDD7-4638-BCC5-48FE7AF4C5EE London, Paris, Madrid, Rome you’ve seen them all, but you’ve barely begun to see Europe. GoNOMAD has the low-down on hot destinations off the radar, places where you can still be a traveler without being a cliché. From one end of Europe to the other here’s a list of the places where you can go to get the real feel for the Old Country. Here are ten places you might not have thought of for your next European vacation. 29 Jul 2011 19:20:59 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1107/top-ten-under-rated-european-destinations.html B262FFD1-931A-4E13-BA0E-36C3C652AFF1 For anyone who has never visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, the image they often associate it with most is actor George Clooney’s handsome face. Indeed, the actor helped make the small fishing town on the Bay State’s rocky coast famous for both its long time fishing tradition and tragedy. The Bass Rocks Ocean Inn has numerous copies of the Clooney movie, “The Perfect Storm,” available for its guests. “That’s always a popular one for our guests, so we keep plenty of those in the collection,” said Ellen, an innkeeper at the oceanfront hotel. But Gloucester is much more than just George Clooney’s pretty face. 29 Jul 2011 19:20:11 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1107/massachusetts-gloucester.html 079948DE-91B5-4245-B33C-7EB237281269 Reims , France Crack open a bottle of bubbly in this picturesque region of France. One’s head seems held a bit higher when visiting Reims. I am not sure if it is because it is where most of France’s kings were crowned or if it is just majestic in its position as home to a lot of the best champagne houses. As often happens in France, treasures are found everywhere even off the beaten path; indeed I hope to share a few. READ MORE 2.Santiago,Chile Chilean wine cultivation dates back to the 16th century with vines brought by the Spanish conquistadors. Over time French varieties and methods were introduced and heavily influenced wine production. The country is blessed with perfect conditions for growing grapes. Good soil, warm days and cool nights. plus eight more!! 29 Jul 2011 19:18:45 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1107/top-ten-wine-destinations.html A43DB268-2FD2-4CF1-8517-0FEFA6FB440D Go to Tasmania. Meet me there. You'll find it is the place you were dreaming about. You might have to refresh your memory with a glance--it's the island hanging off the corner of Australia. It has the wildness you've been longing for, with the landscapes and coastlines you were always looking for on the horizon. Tasmania has one of the world's last great wildernesses, and, truly, we need visitors like you to help save that wildness into the future. 29 Jul 2011 19:17:38 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1107/tasmania-the-emerald-isle.html BBA93685-E340-4250-8FF1-EE41E774D485 With its serene atmosphere, Auroville in South India is must see place for travelers who are interested in spirituality or sustainability. Situated almost on the tip of India in the state of Tamil Nadu about a 30-minute rickshaw ride from Puducherry, Auroville offers a one of a kind experience in alternative living for those who are interested in staying for a while. A truly international city, Auroville boasts residents from 140 countries and all the states of India creating a culture that is full of possibility, experimenting with creating a new society and finding ecologically friendly ways of living 29 Jul 2011 19:16:40 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1107/auroville.html 8F8DAD87-EB9F-4BEE-919C-203A8376BE90 Hello, my name is Sarah Hartshorne, and I used to be prejudiced. Against New Hampshire. I’m not sure why, since I was born there, have close friends from there and had lovely times there as a kid. But somehow I got this notion of New Hampshire being full of strip malls, littered campsites and the occasional scenic vista. I think it was around the time I started wearing heels all the time and saying things like, “Well, is there any cell reception?” There’s nothing like living in New York City to make a girl prejudiced against the rest of the world, especially New Hampshire. So when my dad asked me to come along on a trip to the Lakes Region, I was reluctant. And when I saw that the forecast called for rain all weekend I gave up any hope of a good time. Surely the only fun to be had in NH was outside, right? My hopes were further dashed when we arrived in Holderness, one of five towns that border the lake, late on a dark and stormy night. As we pulled up the long, arching driveway of The Manor on Golden Pond it felt like I was driving into a horror film. Thunder cracked as we dashed with our bags up the steps of the grand, old building on the hill looking out over a stormy lake. I half expected a Sweet Transvestite to answer the door. But instead it was a friendly face telling us they’d kept the kitchen open for us and would we mind making our way to what turned out to be a warm, cozy dining room for a delicious meal that included lobster and bacon (little did I know that this is a very popular combination in the many Holderness restaurants). Happy, satiated and surprised, I toddled up to my room, the Wellington, which turned out to be a suite. 22 Jul 2011 22:52:54 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/family/1107/sarah-squam-lake.html 14106CC2-3DF1-43DD-92E7-120D2EC84A5B My daughter Sarah and I drove up to Squam Lake last week for a father-daughter getaway. She's pretty busy down in New York with acting and modeling and writing, so when we get a chance to spend time together it's a big treat for me and I like to find a great destination, and Squam Lake was absolutely perfect. According to local historian Tink Taylor, people have been coming to Squam Lake for their summer holidays for more than ten thousand years to swim and fish and hunt and enjoy the haunting cry of the loons, which the Abenaki likened to the laughter of the gods. 22 Jul 2011 22:51:59 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/family/1107/new-hampshire-squam-lake.html 25D3213D-3186-417C-8DB2-2ED9D8BA81A1 Take a trip back to the old days of Colonial Mexico with a visit to Zacatecas. 18 Jul 2011 18:35:34 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1106/mexico-zacatecas.html 8D56254D-34D7-460B-9ADA-53C83856CC89 Kathleen Broadhursts visits Louisiana where recovery efforts from last year's BP oil spill have made people wary of the seafood and of vsiting. She enjoyed fishing, boating and eating the seafood, which everyone said is safe and no long endangered. 18 Jul 2011 18:33:43 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1107/Louisiana-cajun-coast.html 2591D799-8759-4C89-BDFB-2595D9B7465C In the next several years the FIFA World Cup will be played for the first time in the Middle East. In Doha, to be exact. Julian Worker visits the city and finds a mix of the ancient and very new. 18 Jul 2011 18:31:57 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1107/qatar-doha.html 15CDEB5F-8FF9-4762-9FF7-5CF2924282CC A couple in the lovely region of Champagne make their own version of small batch bubbly. Visitors to their caves can also enjoy sumptous gourmet treats while sampling their well respected fare. 18 Jul 2011 18:30:32 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/food-and-wine/1107/joie-de-vivre-in-champagne-france.html 66A8A8AB-B4D9-4BE4-8A2D-FF6F526DC8B9 Darley Newman's a pioneer in a growing travel genre...equitrekking. Meaning she takes people on exotic journeys where they ride horses. Sounds like a lot of fun. She's also the host of a PBS TV series called, Equitreks! 18 Jul 2011 18:29:01 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1107/equitrekking.html 94156180-DBBF-464D-80E3-3A465FF48F8C Deep in Europe's largest forest, the Foret de Landes, exists a tradition that goes back centuries. Hunting the elusive palombe using decoys and hunting blinds. But the best part are the meals in the cozy lodge and the lore that surrounds this ancient traditional way men bond in France. 18 Jul 2011 18:27:09 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1107/visiting-a-gascogne-palombiere.html 78A5B8FA-377B-4322-8461-D59EFA7401EF Think you know New York because you've "done" the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Central Park? Well, then you've only scratched the surface. With its five boroughs and countless neighborhoods, you can see a different New York each time you visit. It's refreshing to know that a girlfriends getaway doesn’t have to be all shopping and shows, and a weekend trip with the family doesn't have to break the bank. 1 Jul 2011 20:49:57 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/family/1106/new-york-new-angle.html D1BAE6AF-82FF-48DB-8CAE-20935B4D15D8 Before there was social networking, there was Jim Haynes. Haynes doesn’t have a shy bone in his body, though he has the greatest compassion for those of us who do. Everyone in the world wants to meet everyone else in the world, he believes, “as long as they are tenderly introduced.” Haynes has dedicated his life to making such tender introductions, first in his career as an international avant garde arts impresario and for the last three decades at the legendary Sunday night dinners he holds in his Paris atelier in the 14th arrondissement. Everyone is invited, including you, should you be one of the first 70 to 100 people who call or email to reserve a place. (There is no formal charge, but a donation of 25E is suggested to cover the cost of the three-course meal, including wine and beer.) A Louisiana-born American expatriate, Haynes fell into extreme hosting in 1978 when a houseguest offered to cook dinner for a group of Jim’s friends. The event grew, first by word of mouth and then following numerous media reports, including Haynes’s own description of the dinners on NPR’s “This I Believe” series. 28 Jun 2011 18:18:10 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1106/paris-dinner-parties.html 59D65818-CB0F-4BC2-812B-FD08434204DE I used to think that you needed water, waves and a wetsuit to surf. I was wrong. When I first arrived in Nicaragua, I’d never heard of volcano boarding and thought it would be enough of a feat to scale a volcano, let alone hurtle down one on a wooden plank minutes after having reached its peak. But no sooner had I arrived in the colonial city of León, my friends and I had booked ourselves on a Bigfoottrip for the following morning - seeing as all the ones for that day had already sold out (always a good sign). Discovered by an Australian just over five years ago, volcano boarding (or surfing) is one of Central America’s newest extreme sports and promises an exhilarating ride to all who are brave enough to try it. 27 Jun 2011 20:28:46 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1106/volcan-surfing-nicaragua.html 9F24DDF0-8215-41B4-BA79-513C88F1FC27 The ride to Block Island takes about an hour on the traditional ferry from Point Judith, Rhode Island. They also offer a high-speed ferry that gets you there in 30 minutes, but for me the benefits of the traditional outweighed the speed. The traditional ferry costs about $24 round trip per adult ($20 if you come back the same day), whereas the high-speed cost about $35. Kids under five are free on the traditional, but not on the high-speed. My wallet did my deciding for me, and I since we were to stay a few days I thought the extra half hour wouldn’t make much difference. There is a small charge for bikes, as many people choose to bike over for the day, and cars cost about $100 round trip. In retrospect, a car would have been very helpful for carting around two young ones, but this time we managed without one. Pulling up to the dock in Block Island, the first thing that struck me was the unique turquoise color of the water at the shore line, something I generally associate with Bermuda or the Caribbean, not chilly gray New England. The coast of the island was breathtaking, and the natural foliage that surrounds it made it even more so. 27 Jun 2011 19:07:19 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/family/1106/block-island-rhode-island.html 19928332-68DE-4CE0-989A-E6254BF01828 Formal gardens the world over are one of man's greatest attempts to combine the majesty of nature with the authority of man, turning gardeners into gods of their own little domain. The gardens of Kromeríž, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are a stunning example of how man can mesh the ordered precision of a baroque garden and the wild beauty of un-landscaped green. Hidden away in Moravia, the quieter, eastern part of the Czech Republic, Kromeríž offers not just two separate gardens and parklands, but a selection of historic buildings, the impressive Archbishop's Chateau, and a pleasant square. 21 Jun 2011 22:14:30 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1106/czech-republic-kromeriz.html 4961D15D-CFDF-42DC-B111-431098134C1D Beyond the Treasury of Petra which you saw in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Wadi Rum where you may recall Peter O’Toole charging across the desert in full Arabian garb, there are a number of fascinating and beautiful locales in Jordan that are rarely viewed by American visitors to the Kingdom. Little wonder given the fabulous Roman city of Jerash, the Desert Castles, fascinating Amman with its archeological treasures and beautiful mosques, the intriguing Biblical sites including Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Mount Nebo, as well as all the other points of interest in Jordan. But, if you’re looking for adventure, excitement and the pure joy of being in the open air and the pristine outdoors of this middle-east oasis there is much, much more to discover in Jordan. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and its Wild Jordan division are dedicated to the conservation of Jordan’s natural environment. RSCN is a non-governmental group created by the late King Hussein. 20 Jun 2011 22:10:27 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1106/jordan-adventure.html 82B78F7A-068E-42B6-994A-D00927D7CDFE It was a trip that almost didn’t happen. I substituted someone in a large group at the last moment on a rafting trip to Kaudiyala with Rimo Expeditions. We boarded the night train to Dehradoon from Old Delhi Railway station and got down at Haridwar at 6.30 am. Two buses were waiting for us to take us to Kaudiyala which is 60km ahead. I kept watching out of the window for a while but the motion of the bus was soothing. When I opened my eyes again we were pulling next to the Rimo Expeditions camp. A Camp by the Riverside There were two rafts waiting for us so that we could cross the river Ganges and go to our camps. As I took of my slippers off the water felt icy cold against my feet even in April. Thus I entered a raft for the first time in my life. 17 Jun 2011 22:00:12 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1106/india-rafting.html C39B26EC-CC54-447C-B4EE-2302002E571D No Ka ’Oi – meaning the best or unparalleled - is what the residents say, when you ask them why they prefer Maui to the other seven Hawaiian Islands. And between you and me, I agree. Maui has the perfect mix of white sandy beaches, palm trees, clear blue and turquoise water, rough volcanic landscape and rainforest as well as seaside towns with all the dining, drinking and shopping that complete your visit. After a stop in metropolitan Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, we head to Maui. So what is the story about this small Pacific island that everybody talks so fondly of? For a start, if you come to Hawaii to “Hang loose,” this is a good place to do it. Here, there is no rush. Everybody is on “island time” meaning time is not an issue. 14 Jun 2011 21:57:28 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1106/hawaii-maui.html 5D6DEDDB-47C7-433A-9CAC-2D14C6FEEE46 10 Jun 2011 22:55:58 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1106/wild-asparagus-in-umbria.html 089F4507-95F8-4571-987F-78265260EC59 There’s no better way to visit the essential landmarks of Dijon, France than aboard the safe, solid and sexy Segway. Yes, sexy! Where there are scooters in Paris and ferry service in the French Riviera, there are Segways in Dijon. Just 186 miles southeast of Paris or 90 minutes via the super-accelerated railway system, Rail Europe, sits a wine town in the heart of the Burgundy region. Originally called Divio, Dijon is better known today for its famous yellow spread and expensive reds rather than the powerful Dukes who used to govern here. 10 Jun 2011 22:54:50 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/transports/1106/dijon-france-by-segway.html D9F0AB18-07B3-451E-A608-CF267718B5A7 You can rent a cabana on the beach here for $8 a night. Drink microbrew beer, surf great waves, meet expats...and if you're inspired, teach local kids how to speak English to make you feel a little better. 10 Jun 2011 22:53:22 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1106/ecuador-canoa.html 890AEFD5-384D-46D4-8BC3-98F563AE3AE7 This is “The Year of Alabama Music,” and over 200 music festivals are taking place throughout the state. Help Alabamans recover from the devastating tornados and get a blues history and culture fix you won't find anywhere else in the world. 8 Jun 2011 19:23:12 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1105/alabama-blues.html 526FED28-A84E-4244-9AF2-85051D37C224 From the sun soaked beaches in the south to the Hill Tribe villages in the north, the country has an unlimited number of beautiful locations. My April trip to Thailand was during the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year) and I visited Bangkok and the northern province of Chiang Mai. It proved to be a real blast! 8 Jun 2011 19:21:56 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1105/heart-of-thailand.html 27E0602D-84EC-4FAA-BAF2-C5720FEF92AD What can I say about Cancun that hasn’t already been said? It’s known for spring break when throngs of American college students hit the beaches for the sort of partying that Mom and Dad don’t ever hear about. But once they go back to campus, this tropical Paradise returns to being a fantastic destination for travelers of all types. You want romance, family fun, ecotourism, historical tours - Cancun has it all! It’s a terrific destination any time of year. 8 Jun 2011 19:20:46 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/womens/1105/two-women-in-cancun-mexico.html 9E3C1354-AC1D-4955-BB74-13EADADC1232 The woman was on a bed, half sitting, half laying, moaning. She was naked. Her skin was dark for a Balinese, sun-darkened by outdoor work. She had huge globe-like breasts that hung pendulously across her great moon belly. A pregnancy band, a band of darker pigment, stretched across her belly. Her hair was long, matted to her neck with sweat in the hot, still air of the birth room. A lone fan turning lazily high up on the ceiling did little to dispel the tropical heat. 8 Jun 2011 19:19:27 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1106/bali-birth.html 533E4658-D39A-4C9D-BDB6-E037F8B54CD5 If travel has become nothing more than sight-see, shop, eat, repeat as necessary, then you might be in the market for change. Many people travel but few people really get to understand a culture, a place, or even themselves. For many what is missing from their travels is purpose. 8 Jun 2011 19:18:16 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/helps/1106/nicaragua-entiende-volunteer.html 28DBE975-B705-4F6D-B9E7-9DE6A60D8202 A party of schoolchildren shrieked with excitement, clambering up the grassy slope to Corfe Castle, whereupon they were led towards a darkened doorway in the old gatehouse and into a tower shrouded from light. “Imagine you are a seven year old archer five hundred years ago,” yelled the teacher, “What would it have been like?” The very essence of storytelling, mystery and intrigue is in the walls and ramparts of this ruined hilltop fortress and is what brings history to life and lets the imagination run riot. Corfe Castle today is as it has been for centuries, ruined and brooding on a hilltop, dating from the Norman Conquest in 1066, marking the way for smugglers working their way across the Purbeck Hills in the eighteenth century and later for thousands of holiday makers on their way to the seaside just a few miles away. 25 May 2011 22:00:31 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1105/england-dorset.html 755F30F1-A365-4301-A523-EDE1C5D733C0 Mama Mia! What is a person to do? My Italian wife needed a pick-me-up after our Kilimanjaro adventure and Rome was out of the question and beyond our budget. 'Va Bene.' San Francisco has its North Beach, Kenya has its own 'Little Italy.' After all, doesn't every country and region in the world have one? Malindi is on the Kenyan coast about two hours north of Mombassa. It is the 'little Italy' of Africa. Billboards advertise in Italian, grocery stores stock shelves of olive oil, delis slice salami and prosciutto, and tanned Alberto Tombos wander the beaches in skimpy bikini trunks. Did I mention pizza joints and fine wine? 24 May 2011 21:59:11 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1105/kenya-malindi.html 5D0E2BC3-C7BC-4939-B010-B79557429BCA When I arrived at the Intercontinental on the Magnificent Mile and opened my suitcase and realized I had forgotten my winter hat – my tuque – the only satisfaction I received was the knowledge that I would not be the object of any jokes that night. The locals thought I was crazy, given the temperature was over forty degrees. I did, too, for being absent-minded enough to forget something so important to my comfort. But I would have gratefully accepted a little wind in the hair over the rain and misty weather that hung around for a majority of my trip to the Windy City. Rain canceled our scheduled architecture boat cruise down the Chicago River. Chilly nights made my west-coast bones shiver. While frustrating, any traveler knows that this is something you deal with, something you must make the best of when you’ve already booked the hotel and the flight and bragged to all your friends that you’re going on vacation. Fine Chicago, bring on the rain, I thought as I paid the driver. I shall take shelter within. 20 May 2011 21:53:14 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1105/chicago-rainy-weekend.html 37A3D72E-CC42-4DA8-9461-3547E7FF9008 Goodness reaches out. She extends her slim hand in welcome, her handshake soft, tentative — her skin, as lovely, raw and wind-scraped as the land around her. We stand in the sun. It’s fall in South Africa: spring where I live. I like her already. Goodness is her name. She is part of the housekeeping staff at the handsome Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge that tugs at the sleeve of the restless wild edges of Kruger National Park at the Sabi Sands Game Reserve. I am here for the adventure of safari expeditions; here to see the animals and take photographs, here to see the stars and whisper secrets to the Southern Cross like a lover late at night in a dark room. I have longed for an Africa like that. 19 May 2011 19:42:30 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/lodgings/1105/south-africa-sabi-sabi.html AFC00D8D-A117-42CD-9859-3A14C06BC2C8 Even if you’ve never read the book or seen the movie starring Julia Roberts, everyone has heard of Elizabeth Gilbert’s soul-searching journey in Eat, Pray, Love. The story of her life, literally, became a sensation in many countries nearly overnight, captivating millions of readers (and later viewers) with the tangled, heart-breaking, but often comical adventures that took her through three countries and a wide range of emotional well-being. All of the “characters” in her book are actually real people and many of them remained good friends with her even after her life-altering year abroad came to an end. She made one such friend on the first leg of her adventure in Rome, an Italian man named Luca Spaghetti. And yes, that is his real name and he has years of teasing to prove it. 12 May 2011 17:14:21 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1104/luca-spaghetti-excerpt.html EC02A87F-66EE-4FF7-890E-9996C192024F Watch Hill is best known as a seasonal ocean resort village. Its pristine beaches and idyllic harbor is set on Napatree Point, a peninsula jutting into Block Island Sound--the most westerly tip of the tiny state of Rhode Island. To the north the Pawcatuck River flows into Little Narragansett Bay, creating an estuary and haven for wildlife, which in turn flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The threatening gray clouds seemed to be on the way out as the sun kept trying to make an appearance, occasionally casting lines of light on the tumultuous waves and huge ocean expanse. Pre-season this time of year would probably mean spending as much time inside as outside. My hope was to see how this balance played out not only physically, but spiritually too. 12 May 2011 17:12:44 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/lodgings/1104/watch-hill-rhode-island.html F0C4118D-2E79-4761-B9AF-A0F42ED7E4CA It is a place often misunderstood by Western cultures, but Iran was always on Roger Housden’s mind. From the moment he saw the image of an Iranian mosque in a British museum and fell in love with the incredible poetry of ancient Sufis, he knew he had to go. Every traveler, at one point or another, has been totally consumed by that one special place. For Housden, Iran is that place. His book, Saved By Beauty, takes us on his ultimate adventure through this controversial and yet magnificent country that was an even greater cradle of life than that of ancient Rome. Though the Persian civilizations have evolved significantly, some of the most ancient cities in the world remain in Iran, contrasting sharply with what travelers experience there now. One such city is Persepolis, which Housden calls “the greatest surviving masterpiece of all ancient Near Eastern civilizations.” 12 May 2011 16:56:55 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/market/1104/saved-by-beauty.html 38EE383A-3177-4A83-8F8C-4322772864B7 “A world map to most eight year olds is merely lines and colors. To me, at eight years old, the world map cured my intense curiosity of the unknown world and what was beyond my own border,” said airline captain and avid traveler Henry Biernacki. When Henry Biernacki was 17 years old, he hopped a Greyhound bus from Colorado to Mexico with nothing but a small backpack, the clothes on his back and a few bucks in his pocket. He hasn’t stopped moving since. In 1997 he traveld to 40 different countries in 11 months. Today, Biernacki is an airline captain with Virgin America and he has traveled to more than 120 countries, but his travel habits haven’t evolved much since his teen years. No five-star hotels or limousines for him. Most of the time, he’ll get on a plane the same way he boarded that bus – backpack, clothes on his back, a few bucks in his pocket. 12 May 2011 16:52:50 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/features/1104/traveling-one-hundred-countries.html 93E5DA5F-438D-4FB0-B65A-D86CF59FCB1E It's always a thrill for a Boston boy to visit Ireland, but to visit Dublin on St. Patrick's Day, and to ride with the other international reporters in a bus at the head of the parade... to hear Seamus Heaney and 30 other great Irish writers read their work at the new convention center... and to attend The Commitments' 20-year anniversary concert in their hometown... this was truly the trip of a lifetime. I saw the President twice and the Lord Mayor twice, dined at splendid restaurants and walked the cobblestone streets of this eminently walkable city where pilgrims come from all over the world. 12 May 2011 16:51:47 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1104/ireland-dublin.html C8FEF9AC-741D-4D42-87E8-4CD0308EECB0 As an avid history buff I jumped at the chance at going to Vicksburg when they held a conference commemorating the beginning of the Civil War 150 years ago. Vicksburg, located on the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers, was a crucial port for goods and a railroad station during the Civil War. The town's massive bluffs were why a 47-day siege took place there in 1863, and why to many Civil War buffs, it’s an integral part of knowing the events of the most bloody conflict in US history. 12 May 2011 16:43:53 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/historic-travel/1104/vicksburg-mississippi-civil-war.html 3992624E-12D3-40D2-B0B6-5B251AA2CB34 This article is about an organization in Luxor Egypt that helps working animals in crisis, and how people can volunteer to help. The first time that Kim Taylor saw Caraboosh, he had been standing outside a police station in Luxor for days without food or water. The horse was emaciated and near death. It turned out that his owner has been arrested and the police had just abandoned his cart and horse outside in the punishing Egyptian sun, where temperatures routinely reach well above 100 degrees. She began bringing him food and water several times a day and was eventually able to convince the authorities to release Caraboosh into her care until the owner could claim him. 12 May 2011 16:41:46 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/helps/1104/egypt-animal-care.html FA79A573-E864-4083-AE23-77CEAF9B0C3C Strolling among the vendors at the Pattaya floating market and visiting spas and cooking schools in Thailand. 29 Apr 2011 22:45:37 GMT http://www.gonomad.com/destinations/1104/bangkok-thailand.html EB504EFB-4E1F-48E9-B766-089B3AFD3CCF