Tag: travel advice

Organized Tours: Not just for our parents anymore

Editor’s note: In my humble opinion, traveling solo is truly the best way to travel, whether you are joining a tour or setting out on your own. But when the thought of traveling alone becomes too overwhelmingly intimidating,  turn to an organized tour.  They aren’t as bad as you think.

But I think you’ve heard enough from me lately, so I asked an expert on the subject – one of my favorite people and a great friend from high school – to explain how she’s used organized tours to satiate her traveling appetite as a young, single woman. Giovanna has gone from slight isolation in our small town in the southwest corner of the US,  to pursuing international adventures on her own through the help of a great tour agency.  And she even managed to meet me for dinner in Florence. 

Giovanna and Peggy
Here we are, recently reunited in Florence (I’m having a hard time concealing my excitement). The tour company was nice enough to offer me a ride to dinner with Giovanna on their tour bus.

I’m from a small town in southern California where most people only travel to another country because we live in a border town 20 minutes from Mexico. So when I took my first trip across the country to Syracuse, NY I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack (I’m joking because I’ve never had an anxiety attack, but I’m sure that what I felt might have been a borderline attack). That first trip was for a continued education course just for a few days, but it encouraged me to be adventurous and explore other countries – countries on different continents, not just the one 20 minutes from my house.

group travel_trevi fountain_rome
Giovanna with friends from the tour at the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

My friend found a trip to Italy with a tour company named Contiki, which specializes in tours for young adults, and I thought it was perfect! I would be traveling to another country with a group of people my age (safety in numbers), hotel and transportation would be taken care of, I didn’t have to learn a new language to get around (although leading up to the trip I did listen to an Italian CD over and over for months to learn common phrases), and I would get to see all the tourist attractions. That first trip was absolutely amazing and the only thing that was disappointing was how quickly we ran out of time in such a beautiful place. Since then I have traveled with the same company several times, including several other land tours and a cruise. I’ve felt so safe on those trips that last year I decided to take a tour of Europe and this time I went alone – eeek (I was nervous and excited at the same time)!  I made some wonderful friends while on the trip and learned a lot about myself and finally began to realize all that my traveling has taught me about culture, religion, art, music, FOOD, and respect for people.

Giovanna
Giovanna enjoying her food. 🙂

Although I have enjoyed traveling with tours, it certainly isn’t for everyone.  If your idea of traveling is to have freedom with sites you visit especially in respect to how long you will be there, or you prefer to travel without an itinerary, or to travel alone or with a few friends, then tours may not be for you.  The tours I have been on tend to be fast paced and you may not spend much time in any one city or town but you will find that you spend enough time to know if it is somewhere you would like to come back to and visit again.  The tour guide will also inform you of the tourist attractions and interesting facts and any relevant history related to the area along with tips and suggestions for meals and exploration.   You will be given some free time to roam and explore but the tour is on a time frame and will not wait for those who wander too far.  If you are unable to make it to the pick-up point at the appointed time you will get left behind and it is your responsibility to catch up with the tour group at your expense and I am a witness people DO get left behind!
Tours seem to come in all shapes and sizes, so it is never impossible to find one suited to your interests.  Here are a few resources for choosing a tour that’s right for you:

Stockholm: The Ultimate Winter Stroll

Most of my friends and family thought I was crazy when I told them I was going to Stockholm for Christmas and New Years.  Generally speaking, they are correct.  I am crazy.  But in terms of my decision to spend the holidays in Stockholm, I beg to differ.

Spending my days basked in moonlight surrounded by lakes and bridges, bay views and gorgeous people, I think Stockholm is seeping with charm and an excellent choice for the winter holidays.  An admittedly difficult place to meet new love interests (rumor has it the gals have to make the first move), I recommend bringing your own and you’ll be all set with a built-in cuddler to help fend off those winter winds.  Also make sure to bring some extra cash – the dollar is very weak here.

But never fear – you don’t need to spend a lot of money.  Without my own built-in cuddler, I was content to spend my afternoons wandering the streets alone, enjoying the stupendous views and the diverse neighborhoods in easy walking distance from each other, and fending off the winter winds with my very large camera.  My favorite neighborhood is the vibrant Södermalm, which boasts an amazing bar/restaurant called Himlen, situated at the top of a skyscraper with nearly 360 degree views.

Whenever I started to get too cold as I was exploring the city, I would just duck into a café for some delicious hot tea (which they were often happy to refill for free with more hot water) and great ambience.  My favorite was Melqvist Kaffebar, very near Södermalm.  Or I would relax a bit and grab a beer from one of Stockholm’s many bars with excellent beer choices (they love Brooklyn Brewery here – you’ll find it everywhere!).

For some serious de-thawing I would spend the afternoon in one of Stockholm’s world-class museums.  My favorite, of course, was the insanely popular Fotografiska photo museum complete with a bay-view café on their top floor.  But as much as I loved Fotografiska, I will never forget the wonderfully curated collection in the beautiful Moderna Museet, which taught me so much about Swedish history.

I’ve put together a collection of my favorite snaps on one of my afternoon strolls in a special google map, which you can access by clicking below.  Or, if you prefer, you can enjoy a slide-show.  After just a few photos I think you’ll understand…there’s a lot more to Stockholm than Vikings and cold.  Happy cuddling.

Stockholm walking photo tour
Click on this map for an interactive walking tour of Stockholm

The sound of vacation.

What is it about the sound of the beach…the breeze, the drone of the ocean and the occasional squawk of a seagull that is powerful enough to make (almost) all of your worries melt away?  And certainly powerful enough to motivate you to look slightly absurd holding a seashell to your ear once in a while, searching for that sound that can teleport you back to that beach where you can relax worry-less once again…at least for a few seconds.

Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy (photo by me)

I mean, certainly we don’t choose our vacations based on sound.  But these sounds  are rather powerful.  Or a least more powerful than I had ever given them credit for.

Cinque Terre. Italy
Cinque Terre, Italy (photo by me)


It was an on an afternoon stroll on a quiet winter day in Venice’s Dorsoduro district on the last day of the Biennale, with not a soul in sight, that the unmistakable sound of small waves lapping against the sides of the canal and the repetitive thud of the boats shifting with the water that it finally hit me: I’m in Venice.


You would think this obvious fact would have hit me when I was walking through Piazza San Marco, watching the pigeons and the tourists (or more precisely, the pigeons playfully attacking the tourists), and perhaps some pretty notable architecture.  Or at the very least when I was schlepping across the Grand Canal with motorboats whizzing by and gondolas drifting peacefully along.


Instead, it was on this nondescript canal, alone, that the reality of my environment hit me.  And as I was walking along this canal in Venice, listening to these sounds of the boats and the waves, I thought of my second most unmistakable city sound.  Waking up in Brooklyn, New York, to the echo of a car driving down narrow 4th St. and the familiar bump of the manhole lid as the tire rolled over it, voices shouting in the distance, and an inevitable car alarm sounding.

New York, NY
New York, NY (photo by me)

And then I thought of Bologna, Italy, and the sound of the rolling suitcases of the students bumping along the cobblestone streets on their way to and from their family homes in villages outside Bologna every weekend.

Bologna, Italy
Bologna, Italy (photo by me)

And then Florence, and the overwhelming sound of American English speakers.

Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy (photo by me)

The indescribable and almost soundless sound of fresh snow falling in mass in the Italian Dolomites…

The echoing rolling wheels and clattering fall of a skateboard in San Diego…

San Diego, CA
San Diego, CA (photo by me)

And last but not least, in my hometown of El Centro, California, the peaceful receptive chirp of crickets follows you for months during the never-ending summers.

El Centro, CA
El Centro, CA (photo by me)

The more I think of these sounds, the more I am transported to these places.  More than my usual memories of people or moments on vacations.  The memories of these sounds have a way of attaching themselves to all the nuances of these places that you only really observe when you are alone.  What are your favorite sounds?  I’m curious…