Suzanne 
Where is my favorite destination? I often get asked this question and truthfully this is nearly impossible to answer! We travel to many extraordinary places, so I usually answer with whatever place I have just returned from! So today, my favorite place in the world is Japan. Seriously it is. My recent tour of Japan, Cultural Treasures of Japan by Collette Travel, allowed me to dive in to a culture and experience things I never knew existed!
An email arrived yesterday from a new friend from the trip to Japan with the photo above attached. Pascal and his wife Laure who are French, but who live in Wales (very interesting!) sent me this snapshot from a very special afternoon.
We had just arrived in Hakone, a quiet idyllic town in the mountains. I was reminded by this moment in time that I will never forget.
Hey Everyone! I have just arrived home from Japan and hopefully you have been following along on my Instagram and Facebook pages. The trip was more amazing than I ever thought possible. Each day was filled with history, beauty and delicious food. I will try to organize it all a bit and get it ready to share it with you. Look for my posts sometime next week!
I guess I am a little behind. Evidently I missed the memo about podcasts. My good friend Mark has been quite enthusiastic about this communication source and always willing to talk about podcasts. I listened, he shared and I did follow his suggestions…eventually. I thought, “How do I fit this in? Do I sit and just listen? How does this work? I can’t possibly just sit, I don’t commute anywhere so I can’t listen in the car.”
Mark asked me to be a guest on his podcast to talk about social media and I loved the experience. You can listen over on the right side of this page. My friend Keri then told me about this one =>What Should I Read Next and how much she enjoyed it. I am such a book geek that I listened and now I can’t wait for each new one that comes out.
Buckle up friends, I am taking you to Japan! Please join me on all of my social media channels starting Friday! I will be traveling with Collette Travel on their tour 14-day Cultural Treasures of Japan.
Yes, this is a pinch moment and I couldn’t be more excited. The best news is that I can take you with me (kind of). I will be sharing photos, details and video of my adventure all along the way. What better way to get to learn about another culture than to hear all about it from a friend. (That’s me).
Can you slow down a little to get more of the big picture?
In case you haven’t read or seen my recent post Ten Reasons to Visit Thailand, I have a little more to share(but go back and read the post too) Of the 1500 photos of Thailand that I snapped, it was impossible to narrow the best down to just the ones I published in the first post. So… I thought a photo essay with fewer words and more pretty photos was a great plan!
I receive a large number of emails asking about our “fixer upper” and questions regarding the entire adventure. Everyone loves HGTV these days don’t they? Every season there is a new city where couples are fixing up old homes and creating amazing living spaces. I can’t get enough. How about you?
Our “updated Spanish” designed kitchen and dining room are my happy place. They are bright and cheery, quaint and efficient. We don’t have a lot of extra room for “stuff”, therefore, we do not purchase multiple sets of dishes and glasses like we had prior to downsizing. Just the basics. Downsizing feels good. Everything has a place and if we want to buy something new, we need to get rid of something in order to make room.
Our recent trip to Oahu was a trip of firsts. We hiked in places I never dreamed of seeing, swam off the shore of Waikiki after jumping off a forty-seven foot yacht, ate the tastiest organic food at the local farmers market, viewed the largest waves we have ever seen and found the best place to shop on the North Shore.
Typically, I travel with Craig or by myself. What would it be like traveling with a group of friends? Would I get enough time alone? What do I do about the travel blogging part of the trip? Will they be annoyed by my taking photos of our food and drinks? They were not annoyed in the slightest, they even helped out!
One of my biggest dilemmas of travel blogging is finding a balance between being in the moment of a travel adventure and making sure I capture just the right details. I do take notes, but just pausing and writing down some of my immediate reactions and emotions is paramount to authenticity. I wrote the bulk of this post while on vacation, everyone else was relaxing or talking or playing games in between activities.
Although you may have read about some of these experiences here individually, seeing them gathered together in one large travel menu is a fun exercise. I have had the opportunity to reflect upon additional details and nuances of each experience or meal, plus you can compare and contrast!
Culinary travel is BIG and also a perfect way to get closer, to mingle with the locals and even learn something! I believe that this type of foodie discovery is here to stay and will only get more focused for future opportunities.
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