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Blog
Categories
- Travel
  - Asia
    - Japan
  - Europe
  - North America
    - Mexico
    - United States
      - Northeast
      - Southeast
      - Southwest
      - West
  - Oceania
    - New Zealand
  - South America
    - Colombia
    - Peru
- Nashville Local
- TN State Parks
- Books
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Month: April 2020

Asia

What’s So Special About Japan?

April 24, 2020

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Some colorful spots in Getsemaní to end this fina

Some colorful spots in Getsemaní to end this final week of my summer break. 🙃😬🫠
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#cartagena #colombiawithkids #colombiatravel #travelfamily #iwalkedthisstreet #afarmag #tlbestshot #streetscenes

👙🤿🏝️ > ☀️🌡️🥵 Though Cartag

👙🤿🏝️ > ☀️🌡️🥵

Though Cartagena is on the coast, you’ve kinda gotta venture out to reach the quieter vacation-vibe beaches.

The Rosario Islands are a popular day-trip excursion from the city. As a chain of islands about an hour off Cartagena’s coast, the area is actually a national park protecting a pretty significant coral reef! There are lots of tour operators that can take you there, as well as lots of resorts on the islands if you’re looking for a relaxing overnight beach vacay.

Our full-day private tour with @botegena took us snorkeling in the reef and to the most magical afternoon at @pauecartagena where we drank cocktails out of coconuts and swam in the rain. 🧡 10/10, no notes.
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#cartagena #colombiawithkids #colombiatravel #familytravels #rosarioislands #tlbestshot #suitcasetravels #afarmag #travelfamily #welivetoexplore

People at Work, Part 2! The streets and sidewalks

People at Work, Part 2!

The streets and sidewalks of Cartagena are thronged with just as many people on the clock as those on vacation—doormen, policemen, musicians, artists, dancers, vendors, grocers.

Cities have an energy and culture because of individual lives lived publicly—when people work, socialize, and commute communally. What better way to discover a place than by being among those who live in it?

I ran across this quote in a travel anthology I finished last week, and it articulates my love of cities precisely: “Walking late at night on Flatbush Avenue, I appreciated all the anonymous strangers I passed for the ways they suggested, even if I didn’t know their stories, how many different ways it was possible to craft a life.” (Leslie Jamison in 2020 for the @nytimes)
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#streetscenes #cartagena #colombiawithkids #streetphotography #tlbestshot #afarmag #pathport

People at Work, Part 1 The sidewalks are never em

People at Work, Part 1

The sidewalks are never empty in Cartagena. Food vendors, souvenir sellers, construction workers, entertainers. You walk: zig zag, step down, cross over, step up; the path is far from linear. There’s a thousand different people and a thousand different buildings, but the juxtaposition between the two—any of a million different combinations—always looks perfect through a lens.
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#streetscenes #cartagena #colombiawithkids #streetphotography #tlbestshot #afarmag #pathport

“I think food, culture, people and landscape are

“I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.” —Anthony Bourdain

It’s our ✨JULY✨ book club announcement, and we’re going thematic again this summer with…

Travel + FOOD Writing!

There’s a reason @marinerbooks is bringing back The Best American Travel Writing anthology (last published in 2021) this year as The Best American FOOD and Travel Writing.

When @padmalakshi spent six months of 2019 traveling the US for her series “Taste the Nation,” she did it to highlight immigrant communities, “getting to know people by exploring what they eat.” A meal is an entry into ritual, custom, and culture.

And when food writer Noah @galuten pondered the loss of restaurant community during pandemic shutdown, he reflected that it’s the context—place, atmosphere, people—that affects how something tastes. After all, “What is a bar without a bartender?”

Food and travel influence each other, so this month we want to travel to a new location—your pick!—through cuisine. Choose a book, share this month in your grid or stories with #iamawanderlustreader, and join our virtual discussion at the end of the month.

We’ll be sharing suggestions throughout the month; comment below with your ideas!

Bon appétit!
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#booktraveler #currentlyreading #readersofig #virtualbookclub #foodwriting #foodtravel #readtheworld

Where was our family trip this summer? 👇 Carta

Where was our family trip this summer? 👇

Cartagena, Colombia! 🇨🇴

This beautiful, historic city is actually VERY easy to visit with kids in tow. We picked Cartagena because…

✈️ It’s easy to reach! There are direct flights from Miami, Atlanta, New York, and Ft. Lauderdale. From Miami, it’s under a 3-hour flight, which means we didn’t have to spend a whole day of travel just getting there.

⌚️ The time zone is the same as ours (Central Time) so we had no jet lag. No trip time spent adjusting to a new body clock!

⚓️ History and culture is everywhere you look! Cartagena looks a lot different from home, and it has a lot of stories to tell. With our kids, we’d see lives and communities different from our own and learn history to build a better understanding of the world.

Plus, can you find a quicker way to reach a different continent??

I highly recommend adding Cartagena to your family travel list. 🧡 Comment below with ‘GUIDE’ and I’ll DM you a link to everything you need to know to start planning your own trip!

family travel, Cartagena, Colombia, South America

It’s a cliché of travel to say “the early bir

It’s a cliché of travel to say “the early bird gets the worm,” but more often than not, it’s absolutely true—and the advantage of traveling with kids is that you’re already up anyway!

The streets and sidewalks of Cartagena’s walled city are not unlike walking through midtown Manhattan, architectural differences aside. In both, you’ll hear a cacophony of sounds while zig-zagging through people, carts, broken concrete, sidewalk obstructions, and the occasional dog poo. Vendors solicit your attention and storefronts vie for your patronage.

But in the morning, all is calm. The city is waking up, preparing for another busy day, and, without the noise, it’s easier to imagine the streets as they once were, the lives of those whose footsteps you are following.
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#cartagenadeindias #tlpicks #suitcasetravels #afarmag #colombiawithkids

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