Travel Is Sweet!

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Carmen Shirkey

gelato I have something of a sweet tooth. I have no problem finding a sweet treat no matter what city I’m in. I definitely have some favorites, though.

1. Gelato in Italy: I can’t find its equal in the U.S., and believe me, I’ve tried. And don’t go saying “it’s just ice cream.” Oh, no, it is so much more than ice cream. It’s much more flavorful and much creamier – due to the process from which it’s made. When I went to Italy with my BFF, we actually scheduled gelato breaks into our day. Thanks to our Rick Steeves guidebook, we knew where the best gelaterias were in each of the cities we visited. I had chocolate gelato in Venice, lemon gelato in Florence and – my favorite – one scoop of raspberry and one scoop of white chocolate in Rome.
Chocolate in Brussels: O.M.G! Fresh Belgian chocolate is some of the most melt-in-your-mouth chocolate I’ve ever eaten. The main square in Brussels, the Grand Place, is lined with the likes of Godiva, Neuhaus and more. Once again, Rick Steeves was right on with what to try, and I can assure you that the box of goodies didn’t last very long.
Belgian waffles in Brussels: If you leave Brussels without a stomach ache from eating too much, you didn’t see it properly. You can’t turn a corner without the smell of Belgian waffles wafting into your nostrils. It’s like a cartoon, where a smell picks up the character by the nose and floats him to the source. You can select your toppings, and I went with the standard chocolate and powdered sugar. It was like eating a warm sugar cookie and getting the best hug ever at the same time. Yes, it was that good.
New Orleans beignet: New Orleans has a delightful little donut-like treat called a beignet, which are usually served with powdered sugar. The best place to get one? Café Du Monde. Grab yourself a cup of chickory coffee (or in my case, milk) and a couple of beingets and grab a table – if you can find one. Oh, and get lots of napkins, and try not to wear black, due to the fact that you’re likely to be covered with more powdered sugar than actually made it into your mouth.
Vegas crepes: Anyone taking a trip to Vegas always gets the same advice from me: Head to the Paris breakfast buffet (called Le Village Buffet) and get yourself some crepes. They’re made as you wait, and you can choose the filling. I know what I like, and I like raspberry filling, drizzled with chocolate sauce on top. Mmmm, mmmm, good.

Hungry yet? What’s your favorite regional treat?

(If you’re planning a trip to Europe, I highly recommend that you arm yourself with the Rick Steeves guidebook for wherever it is you’re going. He really does have the insider tips on the best noms!)

Read Your Way Around The World

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Heather Dearly

I spent a lot of time when I was growing up with my travel-phobic grandparents. Most summer days consisted of lounging on a reupholstered Pullman brown couch while watching various syndicated reruns and eating from tin television trays adorned with cartoon couples eating Ritz Crackers.

Reasons for leaving the house had to have practical purpose.

My mother was the adventurous one, but her spontaneous attempts to broaden my travel repertoire were met with resistance and anxiety. I’d already spent too many hours witnessing borderline agoraphobic behavior, resigning myself to safe travel within the pages of books. It took marrying an American G.I. who traveled for love and necessity for me to step outside of my comfort zone and meet the world.

Today, I wouldn’t dare leave home without my Sony reader, but here’s the caveat; I’m not afraid to turn it off so I can experience my surroundings. I allow myself to enjoy real life adventures so I can appreciate the fictional ones even more.

How about you? Are you an armchair traveler, a frequent flyer, or both?

Regardless, I hope your summer is an adventure in every way.

Have Twitter, Will Travel

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Carmen Shirkey

By BEB Bookette Carmen Shirkey

I am currently planning my honeymoon (yay!) to Italy (double yay!). Usually, I have no trouble using my old standby travel sites – Fodors, Frommers, IgoUgo, etc. to get the inside scoop on the details of my destination. For some reason, however, this time around, I wasn’t getting the information I really needed.

What happened next is why I am an absolute nut about Twitter. All I did was respond to a post by @BootsNAll travel about the most romantic Italy locations for a honeymoon. (Our destination, Amalfi Coast, was on the list! Yay! Again.) Within a few minutes, @italylogue said I’d made a great choice. I asked her some of the questions I had, and she connected me to @ciaoamalfi. Another Tweeter, @IsabellesTravel saw that I was planning a day trip to Capri, and she had just returned from there, so BOOM! More information. In minutes, I had access to well-written posts that answered all of the questions I had. I had been unsuccessfully Google-ing those same questions for weeks.

These Twitter gals really put the “social” in social media. (As do my fellow Bookend Babes Bookettes – you should head to the BEB Bookettes tab to see all of our Twitter handles.)

The travel world is particularly active on Twitter, and for trip planning, there’s nothing like a little conversation to add details to your good research. Got a question about a cruise? Check out @PrincessCruises, @NCLFreestyle or other ship lines directly, or, just do a search for “cruise” on Twitter and see the myriad of options that appear.

Want to find out the skinny on what’s going down in Vegas this weekend? Almost every hotel has an individual Twitter account (like @CaesarsPalace) or, there are lots of Vegas locals that are happy to chat up their city.

Or, just do a Twitter search on “Girlfriend Getaways” and you’ll be presented more options than you ever imagined!

You can find me on Twitter, Tweeting about travel, books and more @CarmenShirkey

Travel Hallelujah!

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Carmen Shirkey

By BEB Bookette Carmen Shirkey

It’s my first post as a Bookette! I feel like I should do high leg kicks or something!

As the Travel Bookette, I’ll be writing about travel, books, books about travel, traveling with books – well, you get the idea.

For my first post, I thought I’d tell you about my most recent travel hallelujah moment.

I spend a lot of time on airplanes. Mostly, I hate flying, but the best part about being trapped on a plane is the uninterrupted book reading time. However, with luggage fees putting a premium on carry-on space, it’s hard to decide between a 600-page mystery and a cute pair of shoes. Which do I take?!

After being the only holdout among the Mac enthusiasts to get an iPhone, I recently decided to suck it up about the data fees and get one. Soon after, a download of the Kindle app followed. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. Could I really read a book on a screen this size?

The answer, I’m happy to report, is yes. On a recent trip to Las Vegas (a favorite city, and possibly my travel Mecca, which I’m sure you’ll tire of hearing about) I downloaded a Lilian Jackson Braun “The Cat Who” mystery. (It was “The Cat Who Played Post Office.”)

The book itself was mildly entertaining, but the format in which I was reading it was fascinating! I didn’t have to make room for a book! It was hand-held, it was small-screen and my thumb did a lot of page turning, but it was a really nice alternative to holding a book – at least on an airplane.

The Mac geek in me would now like to upgrade my e-reader to an iPad, but no matter your platform, I’m looking to create an army of e-reader travelers to go roam around the world!

(Though, I will admit for home reading, I still appreciate the tactile experience of the feel and smell of a book.)

Do you use an e-reader? What’s your e-reader of choice? What’s on your e-reader reading list?