To Travel is To Live

It’s that time of year again, when the days of December run out and turn into the first few hours of January, marking the end of one period and the beginning of another.   It also tends to mean celebration and parties, so much so that people feel obligated to ‘do something’ each and every New Year’s Eve.   Surmising this tendency, I decided to look into some of the New Year’s Eve celebrations that are common in the locations I’ve either traveled to or plan to visit in the near future.   Here in Calgary, the traditions are common with other Canadian cities – people drink and drink a lot.   Sometimes there is dinner, sometimes dancing, but there is always a lot of liquor.   Every pub and nightclub realizes this and offers the same type of party that occurs on a typical Friday or Saturday, only for a vastly inflated cover price and maybe higher priced drinks.   For people looking for something a bit more special and unique, though, Calgary offers some...

My favorite Christmas movie is the original A Christmas Carol, and I am always filled with warm, fuzziness watching or reading Christmas stories where big families get together in one house for a few days, lounging cozily around the fire, drinking wine, and exchanging a simple, single, thoughtful gift with one another.   I am completely turned off by what Christmas has become in this era – everyone expecting extravagant gifts, people spending so much money that the next 4 months are just depressing and stressful.   North American Christmas has become so commercialized, and focused on big box stores and high-end electronics.   When I dream about what would be the most ideal Christmas, I imagine traditional ornaments, friends and family gathering (and that simply being enough), big dinners, and lights, so many lights.    For people who know me well, I have in my heart a tie to the Victorian era, so it’s not surprising that something traditional such as th...

Source: http://www.audleytravel.com/us/destinations/asia/indonesia/places-to-go/sumba/pantai-nihiwatu.aspx Flipping through my Conde Nast Traveller magazine may not give me much advice for adventure or budget-friendly travel options, but it sure does oust some locations that I have never heard of before.   Most recently, the island of Sumba was brought to my attention.   Known as the ‘new-Bali’ (which means Bali is ‘out’, unfortunately, as a hip place to visit), Sumba is another, smaller island within Indonesia.   Sumba Island is located in the eastern array of Indonesian islands, and access can come from a 55-minute charter flight from Bali.   This untouched land mass is only 11,000 km 2 , with one major resort for which guests looking for an intimate, secluded adobe can languish in its luxury.   Owned by one of the Tory Burch founders, Nihiwatu Beach Resort provides ultimate relaxation, privacy and breathtaking views of the natural wonders surro...

Yesterday I came across an interesting gallery of photos on the Calgary Herald iPhone app that immediately caught my attention.  It seemed like Halloween all over again, but something even more sinister seemed to be happening in Austria.  Krampus is the evil partner of St. Nicholas, the European Santa Claus who brings gifts on December 5th.  Krampus has been around for centuries, since 2000 BCE, to punish naughty children with whips and chains.   The Night of Krampus occurs traditionally on the eve of St. Nicholas but often the celebrations occur earlier.  Donned in outright sinister, disturbing renditions of this classic beast, men, women and children traipse through city streets terrifying those around them.  One look a the pictures in the gallery, and you will see why!   This tradition is becoming more popular in other European countries as well as in North American cities.  People are dressing up and partying the weekend before Decem...

On this lovely day in Calgary, looking out my window at an apocalyptic winter scene, I am inclined to dream of some faraway place, wrought with feather-soft sand, aquamarine seawater, and glorious sunshine.  Writing a travel blog is tough if you aren't actually traveling, so I figured, why not ramble on about places too beautiful to imagine?  I'm great at daydreaming, after all!   The idea to explore a Polynesian island in the South Pacific came from one of my many solicitous emails that I receive daily.  Tikehau Island - never heard of it, have you?  Nicknamed " Pink Sand Island ", one can only believe that you won't see traditional yellowish sand on the beaches.   Tikehau Island is a member of the Islands of Tahiti.  Known for its friendly people, lush gardens, and fragrant ocean air, Tikehau is thought to have the largest fish population of all the Tahitan islands.  In fact, this abundance of fish makes fishing the largest industr...

Before I had a handle on this blogging thing, I created a blog specifically for Italy.  It still exists, but as I hope this blog takes off and becomes more widely read, I am posting a link to my Three Weeks In Italy blog to share. http://dainas3weeksinitaly.blogspot.ca/

Last year I returned to our cabin in August to attend my cousin’s wedding, and I spent 3 nights in the cabin, taking time each day to wander around and see what had changed.  I was instantly taken back to the age of 15, when life was easy and I was full of wonder and a sense of adventure.  The weather was beautiful and I was able to spend a couple of afternoons at the beach tanning and reading.             I realized just how much I have missed this place and went back to Calgary, telling Bryan how next summer I would like to spend a week here at the cabin.  Gambling with the odds of a great week of weather in the middle of August, we chose to spend a week here this summer and couldn’t be happier with the weather.  It’s halfway through our week, and we have had three days of above 30 (above 40 one day) weather, and today a nice break at about 24.        ...