The video is a great reminder of why I love to travel, and why I decided to make tourism my career. Enjoy!
Author Archives: AP
Starry, Starry Night
One of the most memorable experiences from my trip to Morocco was the night we spent in the Sahara Desert. From riding a camel into the deep orange desert, to singing and playing drums around the campfire while trying to stay warm in below freezing temperatures… it was all amazing.
But it was the experience of seeing the stars that night that is most memorable for me.
The sun was still setting when we arrived at our Sahara camp. We spent the last few moments of light setting up our sleeping tents and settling into our dining tent as we waited for dinner to arrive. After a while of playing word games while we waited for dinner, someone alerted us to the fact that it would be dark outside by now and we should go out to look at the stars. As soon as we stepped out of our warm tent and I looked up to the skies… I was floored. A vast sea of glittering stars were spread out above me. After the initial ooh’s and aah’s (think 4th of July fireworks reactions), most people headed back to the tent for warmth. I knew I was experiencing a rare nights sky, so I grabbed a blanket, spread it out on the sand and laid down for the best seat in the house. In a unpolluted night sky, one can literally see layers of stars as if you were wearing 3-D glasses. And the milky way! It looked like a kid spilled milk on the sky and his mom tried to unsuccessfully wipe it up. With a sky so clear I spotted a handful of shooting stars. It was a truly magical experience.
Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult these days to find yourself below a clear night sky as I did, devoid of light and air pollution. The good news is, there is a group of people trying to preserve said skies.
As I was taking in this magical ceiling above me, I remembered that one of my tourism professors, Dr. Edith Szivas, had told us a about a project she was involved in with UNESCO and the UNWTO called the Starlight Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to “promote the importance of clear skies for the humankind, emphasizing and introducing the value of this endangered heritage for science, education, culture, technological development, nature conservation, and tourism.” The Starlight Foundation has created a certification process, to help promote clear skies for the sake of science and tourism:
The Starlight Tourism Certification System was created with the aim of encouraging, at world-wide level, the improvement of the quality of tourist experiences and the protection of the night skies in Starlight Destinations.The Starlight Certification seeks to guarantee the capacity to enjoy the view of the stars and to discover the associated scientific, cultural, natural and scenic values.
The Starlight Certification makes it possible for the first time to bring science and tourism together, It aims to ensure the quality of tourism experiences involving the nightscapes, the view of stars and the cosmos and the related scientific, cultural and environmental knowledge. Recognition of science as a tourist product and, at the same time, as a working method in tourism, is the foundation of developing this standard. – Source
Looking to find an unpolluted piece of the sky to experience for yourself? Use this Starlight Finder to start your search!
Weather
One of my favorite parts about pre- travel anticipation is when the first day of your trip pops up on the week long weather forecast.
My Bucket List
A couple weeks ago, on a road trip to San Francisco, my friend and I started to talk about our bucket lists…
The conversation started when we were reminiscing about how we really need/want to apply to be a team on the next Amazing Race. (Something we have talked about for YEARS). The conversation reminded me about the time I auditioned for the Real World when I was in college because it was “one of those things on my bucket list”. That is when my friend jumped in and said, “we need to write out our buckets lists, see which items match, then go do them together!”
Normally, I am not one for writing down lists. I never write down new years resolutions, usually struggle at the grocery store because I can’t remember what I needed and forgot to write a list, etc. The only lists I am good at are letters to Santa with what I want for Christmas. But the idea of a bucket list intrigued me.
As defined by Urban Dictionary, a bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die, or more specifically, before you kick the bucket.
So, as I started to day dream about my bucket list, I realized that everything I want to do/accomplish before I die generally ties into travel.
So here it is. My Travel Bucket List. This list is by no means exhaustive. I plan to add to it as inspiration hits.
- Audition for the Amazing Race
- Go on a hot air balloon ride
- Go on a safari in the Serengeti
- Go to Yellowstone National Park
- Walk on the Great Wall of China
- Go to the Galapagos Islands
- Attend a music festival in the UK
- Attend Coachella
- Hike to Machu Picchu
- Buy a summer home in the UK
- See the Northern Lights
- See penguins in their natural habitat
- Visit Luang Prabang, Laos
- Visit Meteora, Greece
- Visit all 7 continents (
Asia,Africa,North America, South America, Antarctica,Europe, and Australia) - Take a cruise to Alaska
- Go to Hawaii and hike to a volcano
- Learn a 2nd language
- Attend the Olympics
- Learn to tango… in Argentina
- Practice yoga in India
- Grow some cojones and go cliff diving
Does your bucket list look similar to mine? Should we go plan a vacation together and check some of these off the list?
Dancing Matt Does It Again
Remember Dancing Matt? The guy who taped himself dancing around in different countries from his travels, posted the video online, and then became an instant viral sensation?
Let me refresh your memory…
7 years later and he is still dancing, traveling, and living life to the fullest. He just posted his most recent “Where the hell is Matt” video.
I dare you not to smile/dance along/love the world you live in while watching this.
Books that make you go….
Ever read a book that was so good at drawing you into it’s magical world, about a boy who lived under the stairs, that you decided to plan your next vacation around it to experience the real thing?
The dining hall at Christ Church college at Oxford, aka what they replicated to creat the Great Hall at Hogwarts.
Ever finish a suspense novel and become convinced that La Pyramide (the inverted pyramid) at the Louvre isn’t just an art installation, but rather a pivotal religious site?
She must have read the Da Vinci Code too. I was a little less obvious about it.
Ever get the urge to Eat, Pray, and Love all over the world because it seemed to work out well for Elizabeth Gilbert?
Eating my way through Portland’s food trucks. Stop #1, the Grilled Cheese Grill.
Ya. Me too.
A good book transports you to another world, another life, a place you can create with your imagination. A great book does everything the good book can do plus it inspires you to get off your couch and travel.
What books have inspired you to travel? Books that made you go…
Beauty In Your Own Backyard
All too often I find myself daydreaming about my next travel adventure. I would say 95% of the time, my mind wanders to international lands where I can find food, culture, and environments vastly different from my regular life.
But, then the financial reality of paying for these exotic trips that I dream of hits and I realize that the only way I can experience them as soon as I would like to is if I a) win a trip or b) win a trip. Seeing as I likely tapped out my trip winning luck for life, it’s time to look for alternatives.
Thankfully, last week I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 International Pow Wow in Los Angeles where Brand USA launched its first official marketing campaign for Discover America. Their ads are based on the four senses and how you can experience America through them.
See it. Hear it. Taste it. Touch it.
I got goosebumps when I saw this ad. Almost immediately my traveling mind started to wander to lands in my own backyard. Exploring the stunning landscapes of Yellowstone National Park. Enjoying the food, music, and culture of New Orleans. Experiencing the autumn glow of Vermont maple trees. I was excited about traveling and exploring the beauty and wonder that my own country as to offer.
Have you been surprised by what travel adventures your own backyard has to offer?
The Colors of Morocco
As our plane left Paris en route to Casablanca, I closed my eyes and started to imagine what my next 2 weeks would be like in Morocco. Having never visited the country before, I let my imagination take flight. I pictured being surrounded by varying shades of desert orange. Sand in my toes, my hair, and probably my mouth. Men and women adorned in scarves that kept the wind and blowing sand at bay. So you might be amused at my surprise when as we were about to land and I asked my sister, who had the window seat, “What does Morocco look like?” She responded… “Like California…”
California? Yah, I guess we have a desert, but that is not the first visual association most people have with the state. So, in disbelief I leaned over my sister to get my own first look of Morocco. She was right. It looked liked we were flying over Central California. There were bright green agricultural plots of land, rolling hills, and snowy mountains. All I could think was, did we get on the right plane?
Over the next 2 weeks I was amazed and in awe each day as Morocco surprised me with a new landscape, a new set of colors, a new destination image to add to my travel memories of this magnificent land. Here is a taste of the kaleidoscopic backdrops of Morocco.
Ruins of Volubilis which are surrounded by olive fields
Evening walk in Midelt, a town known for it's apple production
The Sahara Desert
Palm grove oasis in Todra Gorge
Snow in the High Atlas Mountains
Sunset in Essaouira
Travel with Lizzie 
