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.
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).
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!
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.
Is Muay Thai also known as Thai boxing on your adventure list? The martial art form of Muay Thai is HUGE in Thailand. It’s very popular in the U.S. as well. Part of the comprehensive travel experience created by our hosts at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was to visit Krudam Gym for a morning lesson of Muay Thai.
So I decided to do a quick year in review, not to boast about how many places I have been, but to unpack, pause and appreciate what can be accomplished through thoughtful planning, careful research, great relationships, accumulated miles and points and the best dog sitter in the world!
I started the year with knee surgery on Jan 6th, so the pace of the travel was slow in the beginning, but it quickly picked up in early March. I may not have been fully recovered but we had adventures to take, people to see and places to go. There was no sitting around.
Greetings!
We make every attempt to continue a Christmas tradition of traveling to New York in December to soak up the sights and lights of this beautiful city during the holidays. I just wanted to check in to say hello and let you know you can follow along over on our Instagram ===> Here! And on our Facebook Page ==> Here!
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