Among My Souvenirs

I don't really visit art museums when I travel. Hell, I rarely go to them when I'm at home. I guess I just have a short attention span when it comes to looking at paintings and sculptures. But when an artist finds a way to blend art and nature in a really cool way? Well, THEN I'm willing to reconsider. Before I went to Denver last weekend, a few people had told me to check out the city's Botanic Gardens. I filed that suggestion away, figuring maybe Elliot and I would go if the weather was nice and we didn't have anything else to do. When I got to Denver, though, I learned that there was a Dale Chihuly exhibit on at the gardens. And you can't say no to Dale Chihuly! In case you've never heard of this genius artist before, he works primarily in one medium: GLASS . A Washington native who looks kinda like a hippie-pirate with wild Einstein hair and an eye patch, Chihuly does incredible things with glass, blowing and bending it in ways you can't even

Posted : 5/12/16 | May 12th, 2016 I’ve been a New Yorker for the last three and a half years. At least, as one who travels as much as I do can be called a local anywhere. I love NYC — the hustle and bustle, the crowds, the variety of food, the cocktail bars, the culture, the theater, and the people! I loved everything about it and, as the center of the travel media world, it was a good place to be professionally. Yet, as my lease expired and my roommates moved to Boston, I knew I didn’t want to stay longer. I needed to get out of New York. I needed a change. Running around the world makes it hard to create positive routines and habits in your life. They do not go together. Over the last year or so, I’ve focused on being a better version of me: better sleep, healthier eating, more exercising, and a bunch of other things I won’t mention here. I realized living in NYC makes it hard for me to do that. Environment plays a big role in how we develop and change and my environment in NYC

When I returned from my first ever backpacking trip, I was flat broke. And, when I went through my bank statements from the 6 months I had spent in South America, I saw that I had racked up over £300 in banking fees simply for withdrawing cash and using my card. That £300 would have come in very handy to me but instead, it was inflating the billion-pound profit margin at HSBC. I learned a valuable lesson that day and vowed to never repeat that folly again. If you are traveling the world on $10 a day, the last thing you need is hefty ATM and conversion fees from your local bank. This is where clever travel banking comes into play. By properly organising your online travel banking you can save money, cut your spending and make sure you don’t get a nasty surprise like a blocked debit card! If ever there is a way to dampen the travel vibes, it’s a blocked bank card. To learn everything you need to know about travel banking, let’s dive straight in! In this post, we shall cover…   Top Tr

With over 700 islands that make up the Caribbeans, how do you choose which one to spend your vacation on? First, you should think about your needs. Are you going with your significant other, your best girlfriends, or your family? Planning to lay on the beach all week or ready for some adventure? With the all-inclusive vacations from Beaches.com, they help you take holiday dreams and make them a reality. With a few prime destinations ready to pull out the red carpet for you, all you really need to do is show up.    Turks & Caicos   Looking for a completely blissful getaway filled with quality time on some of the world’s most stunning beaches? Then look no further than Turks & Caicos. Located in the Lucayan Archipelago near the Bahamas, this little island of paradise contains 12 miles of soft, white sandy beaches. This Caribbean island is the perfect destination for a romantic holiday with your favorite person or a much-needed getaway with your BFF’s. Spend the week loungin

Last year I visited Barbados twice and *spoiler alert* – I absolutely LOVED IT. I saved a baby turtle, I drank a lot of rum and I snorkelled to my heart’s content. In this post I’ll take you through all the things I got up to on my perfect Barbados holiday. I’ve even included a Youtube video in case you’d rather watch than read. OK, let’s get into it. My Barbados Holiday Guide How to get to Barbados and Who to Fly With? Welcome to my Barbados Holiday Guide! Barbados is pretty easy to get to from the UK, there are direct flights from Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. From Dublin the easiest thing to do is book a Ryanair flight to Gatwick and then you’re ready to go. I booked a Ryanair flight, stayed in a Gatwick hotel overnight and then rolled out of bed and onto the flight direct to Bridgetown. Of course, Lord knows what airlines will be in business after this quarantine and what airport slots they’ll be left with . The above info was accurate befo

Updated : 04/12/20 | April 12th, 2020 Last week, Cameron, our new family budget travel guru, talked about his travels and gave us a preview of his upcoming columns. Continuing the family travel topic, I thought it would be great to share our next reader interview on family travel. We haven’t had an interview on the topic yet, so let me introduce Marcus and Paula, a young couple from New Zealand, who took their 10-month-old to Europe. They sat down virtually and talked about their trip, how they saved, and what it was like to travel with a baby. Nomadic Matt: Introduce yourself to everyone! Marcus: Paula and I are a young couple (24 and 25, respectively) lucky enough to call New Zealand home. We currently live in Auckland, where I work as a construction surveyor and Paula is a part-time occupational therapist. Our little man Cohen keeps us pretty busy, challenges us, and helps us appreciate the little things in life. We aim to live an adventurous life, make the most of the opportun

Hiking Guide to Kerlingarfjöll in Iceland Kerlingarfjöll, Iceland Deep within Iceland’s central highlands, Kerlingarfjöll is a group of small geothermically active and rust-colored mountains capped with snow. Here’s how to organize your own self-drive adventure. Kerlingarfjöll is a lesser-known day-hiking experience not too far away from Iceland’s famous Golden Circle route. It was one of my favorite stops in Iceland! If you want to get off the beaten path a bit and extend your Golden Circle trip with something more adventurous, this strange geothermal area is the perfect place to stop for a half-day hiking trip (and maybe spend the night). Surrounded by rocky green peaks and Iceland’s Tuya volcano system, Kerlingarfjoll itself stands out with red & orange hues. Hiking these colorful rhyolite hills will expose you to hot springs, geysers, steam vents, and boiling mud pots. In this travel guide you’ll learn tips for visiting this unique and photogenic spot. Kerlingarfj