The Best Eats of the American South

To say I was looking forward to Southern food would be an understatement. I literally planned the whole #SouthUSA trip around what I would be eating! Southern food is rooted in so much tradition and has so many geographic influences, from Africa to France to the Caribbean to Ireland, and I was so excited to finally try it for myself.

Traditional Southern food also has the reputation of not being so healthy. While you can eat healthy-ish in the South if you’re committed and have iron willpower, traditional food here is very heavy. Lots of butter, lots of cream, lots of fried food. If you’re trying to eat healthy, I recommend that you indulge with one traditional meal per day, ideally at lunch, and make up for it with a salad at dinner.

This Summer: Quirky Festival-Hopping in Europe!

I’m finally able to reveal it to you all — my big summer plans involve festival-hopping all over Europe!

Must Love Festivals

Must Love Festivals is a campaign highlighting quirky, unusual, lesser-known festivals in Europe. You won’t see us running with bulls, throwing tomatoes, or hitting up the festivals that get all the attention. Instead, you’ll see a different side of Europe — a side where regions celebrate their music, their food, their arts, their culture, their sports, and much more. Festivals that are mysteriously absent from pop culture.

Must Love Festivals is the brainchild of my dear friend Kash Bhattacharya, the Budget Traveller.
Members of the team include myself, Frankie Thompson of As the Bird Flies, Michael Turtle of Time Travel Turtle, Victoria Watts and Steve of Bridges and Balloons, Bethany Salvon and Randy Kalp of Beers & Beans, Peter Parkorr of Travel Unmasked, Dylan Lowe of The Travelling Editor, Sophie Collard of Sophie on Track, Abigail King of Inside The Travel Lab, Sebastian Canaves-Börner of Off The Path, and Alex and Ben of Hejorama.

Monthly Recap: Most-of-May 2014

Now that I’m transitioning from SOTM Tour recaps to monthly recaps, this is the one monthly recap that will be a bit wonky — it’s just for three weeks, from May 10 to 31.

Destinations Visited

Daventry and London, England

Limerick, Ireland

The Miracle Church of Mosta, Malta

 
If anywhere on the planet is more Catholic than the Vatican, it’s Malta.

From giant paintings of the Virgin Mary hanging in Maltese bedrooms to religious festas with saints carried through the street each summer to incredibly ornate churches thanks to generous donations from parishioners each year, Malta is a place where life revolves around the Catholic faith.

Malta is home to more than 360 churches in total — an incredible feat when you consider that the island is 122 square miles.
There’s the Church of St. Paul’s Shipwreck in Valletta, which purportedly holds the wrist bone of St. Paul. There’s St. Mary Magdalene’s Chapel, a tiny, one-room church overlooking the Dingli Cliffs. The church of Xewkija in Gozo has the second-largest church dome in Europe after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Contest Alert: Brag Your Way To a Holiday

One of my continuous annoyances while traveling is trying to stay online. Some hotels still charge insane amounts for internet. Others make you sign in every time you pick up your phone. And more often than not, I somehow end up buying a SIM card that doesn’t even work indoors.

You know what would be easier? Just turning on your phone.

Well, now you can do that.
There is now an exciting solution from Three UK, the phone company I’ve been using since I moved to London in 2012. Three is introducing a new initiative called Feel at Home — in short, you can use your Three minutes AND data plan in several different countries at no extra charge.
Got unlimited data at home? You’ve got unlimited data on the road. This is a big deal.
There are currently 11 countries where you can use your data and minutes at no extra charge: Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Macau, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the USA.

Starting on July 1, you can add Finland, France, Israel, Norway, and Switzerland to the list.

Finland, you say? I just so happen to be heading there in July for Must Love Festivals. I’ll be trying it out there for sure.

Finding a hidden beach in Gozo? Definitely a holiday braggie.

San Blas Bay: A Hidden Beach in Malta

In a country as tiny as Malta, there aren’t many new places to discover. Every geographic nook and cranny is well-documented — and if any two Maltese meet, I guarantee they will have at least have a few friends in common!

But if there is such thing as a secret beach in Malta, it’s San Blas Bay on the island of Gozo. It’s hidden, tough to access, sparsely visited, and breathtakingly beautiful — everything that you want a secret beach to be.

“San Blas!” I yelped out while perusing Google Maps as Mario drove up a steep hill. “One of my readers said that’s a nice beach! Let’s go there!”

Famous Place In Dubai

Famous Place In Dubai

A travel information guide to Dubai attractions, beach resorts, city tours, spa resorts, ... on them to have everything that you need, including the famous big bus tour. ... makes Dubai an ideal place for beginners and professional anglers alike.

Famous Place in Dallas

Famous Place in Dallas

GUEST ARTICLE: We arrived at Dallas, Texas pretty late at night and got a bus transfer from the airport to our hotel (Hyatt Place) located in the suburb of North Irving. We were packed in with a few military personnel and some people sporting the famous Dallas Cowboys jersey.

Famous Place in Darjeeling

Famous Place in Darjeeling

 This city near Darjeeling is located at an altitude of about 1458 m and is famous for its scenic beauty with peace and tranquility all around.

Famous Place in Darjeeling

 Darjeeling, “the Land of the Celestial Thunderbolt”, is one amongst the most attractive hill resorts in India. The word ‘Darjeeling’ is originated from Tibetian word ‘Dorje’ which means ‘a precious stone or ecclesiastical scepter’ (which is emblematic of the thunderbolt of Indra), and ‘ling’ means ‘a place’. Therefore, Darjeeling literally means the land of the thunderbolt.The key attraction of the Darjeeling is the glory of nature at its best at its changing faces in different seasons. The most exciting way to visit Darjeeling from Siliguri on your holiday vacation to Darjeeling is by the “Toy Train”, officially well-known as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR). The narrow gauge train wheezes its way up from the railhead at New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to Darjeeling, 2134 m above the sea level. This train has gained UNESCO World Heritage Status and is very famous among the travelers who travel with family and want to add some adventure into it. The Darjeeling region offers a magnificent view of four mountain peaks – the Everest, Kanchendzonga, Makalu and Lhotse.
In the North West corner of the Darjeeling, you can experience the cable car during your holiday vacations in Darjeeling. This is also the first passenger rope way in India, connecting the town to Singla Bazaar. With your family or your beloved one inside the cable car on your holiday vacation in Darjeeling, you can fully enjoy those few hour long journey that offers an outstanding view of the tea gardens and the mountains of Darjeeling. The Himalayan Mountaineering Museum located at Birch Hill contains an interesting contour model of the Himalayan peaks. This model will definitely tempt you to go for a trek in the adventurous Himalayas. The Himalayan Zoo situated adjoining to it is renowned too for its high altitude animals like Siberian tigers, snow leopards and red pandas.
Some very important highways in Darjeeling are the Hill Cart Road, The Mall and Laden Road. Amongst those The Mall road is the hub of Darjeeling. On your holiday vacations in Darjeeling you can enjoy pony rides, round the chowrasta sightseeing, the colorful market of the city. The Yoga Choeling Monastery located in the city has got frescoes of Buddhist god and fine-looking murals in the prayer hall.

Famous Place in Darjeeling

During your holiday vacations in Darjeeling, The Tiger Hill will offer you an impressive view of the mighty Everest and other peaks of the Eastern Himalayan Range as they grab the first rays of the Sun. If you are a nature enthusiast, then you can take a pre dawn drive to Tiger Hill to get the view of the finest sunrise of your life. It takes 45 minutes drive in a jeep from Darjeeling.
To the west of the Tiger Hill, a beautiful mountain lake called “Senchal Lake” is located which attracts a large number of tourists for its scenic beauty of water and azure sky. If you make your holiday vacation in Darjeeling during plucking seasons (from April to November), the Happy Valley Tea Estate, situated just beyond the town can be a pleasant tea garden to spend your holiday vacations in Darjeeling, sipping those world class tea.
War Memorial
built in the memory of brave, heroic soldiers who sacrificed their life in wars, War Memorial is worth a visit. It also provides striking views of snowy peaks in the backdrop.
Lloyds Botanical Garden
famous as a family picnic place, this colourful garden is situated below the Market Motor Stand. A variety of Himalayan plants, flowers, orchids etc. can be seen here.
The Shrubbery
Situated on the Jawahar Parbat just behind Raj Bhawan, the Shrubbery is also an attractive garden which offers superb views of Kanchenjunga Range and Singla Valley.

Famous Place in Darjeeling

Famous Place in Darjeeling

Famous Place in Denmark

Famous Place in Denmark

 Tivoli is always evolving without abandoning its original charm or traditions. As Georg Carstensen said in 1844, "Tivoli will never, so to speak, be finished," a sentiment echoed just over a century later when Walt Disney said of his own Tivoli-inspired theme park, "Disneyland will never be finished as long as there is imagination left in the world." Walt Disney during a trip overseas with his wife Lilly visited Tivoli
Gardens. Walt was so impressed with the Danish amusement park, he immediately decided Disneyland should try to emulate its "happy and unbuttoned air of relaxed fun."

Famous Place in Dehradun

Famous Place in Dehradun

Dehradun is the capital city of the dream valley of Uttaranchal state of India. Dehradun is the purest among all the states in India and is situated amidst of the mighty Himalayas, the holy Ganges and Yamuna and the pure Shivaliks. Dehradun is one of the major pilgrim destinations of India and attracts not only
holy Indian tourists but a lot of international crowd too. Dehradun is basically the hill resort which is the entry to the hilly regions of Garhwal. Dehradun is also famous for its prefect climate and spectacular natural beauty which makes it a major tourist hub of India.

Famous Place In Dominican Republic

Famous Place In Dominican Republic

 Punta Cana is part of the newly Punta Cana-Bavaro-Veron-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. Until recently it was one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth. The area is best known for its beaches, which face both the Caribbean and Atlantic, and it has been a popular tourist destination since the 1970s. The Punta Cana area has an estimated population of 100,000 with a growth rate of 6%.¹ To the north, it borders the village and beach of Cabeza de Toro, and then the Bávaro and El Cortecito beaches. The nearest city, the 500-year-old capital of the Province Higüey, is 45 kilometres (28 mi) away, and it takes about an hour to drive there. Europeans, particularly Spanish hotel chains, own all but two of the 50+ megaresorts of the Punta Cana tourism destination.

Famous Place in Delhi

Famous Place in Delhi

 Delhi has seen a number of dynasties rise and die in its soil for many centuries. Delhi attractions including monuments, cenotaphs and mausoleums of kings and queens fringed in the city still narrate the bloody heritage of the city. You will also be amazed to see the sky high forts and palaces depicting the grandeur of yore as you take tour of Delhi attractions. There are number of places to visit in Delhi which
steal visitor's heart for their grandeur and stunning architecture. Some of the famous Delhi tourist attractions which you should visit are -

Famous Place In Dubai

Famous Place In Dubai

 I’ve noticed that it’s really hot in Dubai (when I was there the summer of 1990, it was about 117°F, 47°C), and what they crave is cold. So, in addition to the Ice Lounge (see previous post), Dubai now also has Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort complex–the third largest indoor snow park in the world. The snow is real, although artificially produced.

Famous Abandoned Places

Famous Abandoned Places

 Much of America’s little-remembered history can be found in largely unknown structures scattered across the United States, some of which are silently falling apart. Many of these have amazing claims to fame and set records in their time – the world’s first auto assembly line or the largest brewery in the US – while others represent outdated building types that recall decades past or even generations