It seems like most people’s idea of a perfect vacation involves getting away from “it all”… and usually “it all” refers to the daily burdens of work, emails and the never ending barrage of phone calls, text messages and calendar alerts. The location for the “perfect get away” varies widely depending on who you ask; from… Read more
Hi Everyone!It’s a Thursday night and I’ve made it home after a 12-hour work day to enjoy a nice glass of wine (a surprisingly good Tempranillo – Merlot blend) and a bit of restful quiet. Most nights I head straight from work to a high energy capoeira class or two, then back home for a quick… Read more
Tomorrow I’m heading to Texas for a quick weekend visit with my mom. It may not be a long visit, but still it will be good to connect in person for a little while. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my mother does not live in the city where I grew up. In fact, I’ve only… Read more
I often find myself torn. I like the finer things in life: 1st class cabins, high end food and beverage, luxury hotels. I mean, who doesn’t like to be pampered from time to time? But I also want to get the most out of my travel and really get to see “real life” in a country… Read more
Do as many things that scare you and take you out of your comfort zone as possible. That’s one New Year’s resolution that I renew every year. While the actual “things that scare you” might change from one year to the next, the feeling of overcoming them never does. Its a surefire mental cocktail of excitement, relief… Read more
Just last week I ended up having a conversation about all of my travels that took a sharp turn when the person I was speaking with kindly, but unmistakably, implied that I was using my trips as a form of escape. That eventually it would be best to stop traveling and face issues at home. Um, what?!?This completely… Read more
The saying that the journey is often more important than the destination could not have been more true than it was today. I am just back from a long weekend (almost too long) in Las Vegas with a great group of friends for a little relaxation, a little partying and a little Capoeira. We stayed up… Read more
One question I continually get about my 5 month Round the World trip earlier this year is:“How much did it cost?”I have to confess, I am one of the worlds worst budgeters. When I really want something (like this trip) I just go for it. Of course I did take efforts to save a chunk of… Read more
There are a million and one things to like about travel, but one of the things I like best is that it forces me to break out of my routine on a daily…hell, hourly basis. I’m realizing that back here in L.A. it is very easy for me to slip into a comfortable routine and then rarely… Read more
I love to read and I especially love to read books based in far away places, so it goes without saying that my previous Top 10 book list just wouldn’t be enough. Here’s the second part of the list. Enjoy and please do leave suggestions for other books I should read in the comments section below.11… Read more