From other Travel Blogs...

From the Campanile in Florence, Italy
Photo by Scott Raymond on Wikimedia Commons

TRAVEL NARRATIVE:
In one of my favorite posts on Euros Ate My Dollars, Brittany explores the other side of long-term travel.

TRAVEL TIPS:
Check out the new travel forums on Start Backpacking. Greg's main focus is on "helping people plan their exit from the Rat Race."

Mike at Vagabondish has put together a cheat sheet of Google shortcuts for travelers.

More good stuff from Less than a Shoestring: a list of where to get U.S. State Tourist Information and Highway Maps for all 50 states.

TRAVEL DESTINATIONS:
Thinking of planning a trip to Italy? Jack at Eyeflare has some ideas of what to do in Florence and Pisa during your visit.

You can also check out Noambit's Taking A Cheap Trip To Italy: how to start planning a trip on a budget.

Back in the states, Angie at Alaskan Explorer describes a visit to the popular town of Ketchikan, Alaska.

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From other Travel Blogs...

Photo by harryalverson on flickr

I've been reading about the torture Greg from Vagabonding Begins! is going through at his kung fu school in Henan, China. Yikes! From Everybody was kung fu HURTING to Another day in paradise, his stories make me question his sanity. I admire his perseverance because the temptation to quit must be very strong. He is halfway through his training sessions, so at least the end is in sight!

Part of Greg's day is spent studying the Chinese language. He admits the class is difficult, but he has a great attitude about it. If he gets frustrated, though, he could read Rob's 5 Tips to Learning a Language Abroad over at Go Budget Travel.

For a more pleasant experience, Gadling has an article about the Denali Road Lottery. Even though Catherine didn't win one of the 1600 passes for this weekend, we can still read about the experience because Angie at Alaskan Explorer not only won a pass, but she also received a second pass for another day from a friend.

Rolf Potts at Vagablogging shared a great quote about traveling.

"That's what I like about traveling -- you can sit down, maybe talk to someone interesting, see something beautiful, read a book, and that's enough to qualify as a good day. You do that at home and everyone thinks you're a bum."
--Richard Linklater and Kim Krazan, Before Sunrise screenplay (1995)

How did I miss this movie? Probably because I was dealing with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and we didn't go out to movies back then.

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From other Blogs...

Tile Soffit in La Antigua Guatemala

Some interesting articles I read this past week:

For my dad, who will be visiting Paris, Intelligent Travel has an article on Parisian Markets. There is something for everyone, and hopefully he will find that perfect something and tell me all about it!

Smarter Travel has two articles on cultural vacations, Ten Great Cultural Travel Bargains and The Best Websites for Planning Cultural Vacations.

Neil Woodburn at Gadling writes about the living paintings at the Pageant of the Masters, where performers in Laguna Beach replicate famous paintings through the month of August. I think this is a great idea, and I wish I could see it.

Rick Steves reflects on three decades of travel in an interview at World Hum.

Ian at Brave New Traveler is helping his friend, Sean Aiken, by filming episodes of Sean's experiences working one week jobs.

Read about visiting McCarthy and Kennicott on Angie's blog, Alaskan Explorer. They are definitely on my list of places to see.

For more articles, check out the section marked From Other Blogs in my sidebar.

From other Travel Blogs...

Photo by Lisa Pertile

Some of the interesting articles I read this week:

Going to Rome? Viator shares some great day trips you might want to consider. Or, if you aren't going to Rome, but you'll be in New York City, check out their article on hiring a private tour guide/personal photographer to help you get oriented to the city. I love this idea. Most of my travel pictures are of other people, and if someone offers to take a picture of me with the others, the results are usually less than satisfactory (blurry, odd composition, etc.) and I think it would be great to get some fun shots that look good.

Neil Woodburn from Gadling is writing a 17 part series on visiting Alaska without the cruise ship. I'm saving his articles in my Alaska planning file.

I've mentioned that Machu Picchu is at the top of my list of travel dreams, so I was intrigued by an article in the New York Times about The Other Machu Picchu, Choquequirao.

National Parks Traveler has another Off The Well-Worn Path report, this time on Great Basin National Park.

And last, but never least, Our Man in Granada made me laugh with The top 10 yings and yangs of living overseas.

For even more articles, check out the section marked From Other Blogs in my sidebar.

From other Travel Blogs...

National Parks Traveler has some good articles this week, including The Essential Yellowstone and Off the Well-Worn Path: Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Have you been wanting to learn a new language, or brush up on your Spanish? Check out The Ecua Traveler's post on free Spanish Lesson podcasts.

Angie at Alaskan Explorer shares her favorite Alaskan travel resources.

Going to Italy? Viator shares the Top Five Florence Tours that are popular with their readers.

Nathan at Ubertramp has put together a backpacker's wish list with Shiny Stuff for Backpackers.

For more travel articles, check out the section marked From other blogs in my sidebar.

*the picture above is from Montmorency Falls, Quebec

Top 10 Travel Articles This Week

My favorite travel articles from other blogs since last Thursday:

1. 5 Cheap Ways to Safeguard Travel Gear by Ubertramping the Web
2. The Art of Selective Packing- 1 of 3 by Ubertramping the Web
3. Sequoia, Drugs and Rangers by National Parks Traveler
4. Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree to be Cut Down by Gadling
5. MadMaps: Maps For Back Roads by Gadling
6. Destination: Homer by Alaskan Explorer
   
7. Grain Silos as Ice Climbing Walls by Gadling
   
8. In the big muddy in Napa by 80 Days or Bust

Not from this week, but I just started reading these blogs:

9. Digital Photography School has some great tips for taking travel pictures with your digital camera.

10. Travel Monkey writes about planning an around the world trip.

For more travel articles, check out the section marked From other Blogs in my sidebar.

Top 10 Travel Articles This Week

Photo by Lisa Pertile

There was a lot going on this week in travel blogs. Starting from last Friday, here are 10 of my favorite travel articles:

1. Why We Need Micro Loans Instead Of Slum Tourism by Brave New Traveler
2. A Perfect Day by Alaskan Explorer
   
3. How We: Quit our Jobs to Travel by The Lost Girls
4. Arches National Park, Now's The Time To Visit by National Parks Traveler
5. The Cold Show in Fairbanks, Alaska by New York Times Travel
6. Colmar: France at its most charming by This non-American Life
   
7. Holi! (with photos) by Conor Grennan
   
8. Talking Travel with Lois Pryce by Justin Glow at Gadling
   
9. Name All 50 States in Ten Minutes or Less by Justin Glow at Gadling *
10. Cyclists Ride Through Grand Canyon, Booted from Parks by National Parks Traveler

* Yes, I did the States quiz. I got 49 states in under 4 minutes, then watched the clock painfully count down for over 6 minutes while desperately trying to remember that last state. Which one did I miss? New Jersey.

Alaskan Explorer

Yesterday I wrote about Heather Lende's book about living in Alaska. Today I would like to introduce Angie, who writes about her "day to day life and travels" in Northern Girl, one of the blogs I'm reading. She has some beautiful photographs and interesting stories about living in Alaska.

I would read her blog for those reasons alone, but I also like how she reflects on the choices she makes, and her desire to simplify her life and live deliberately. Both Heather and Angie make me wonder if I could live in Alaska... but first I need to visit there.

If you lived here, I'd know your name

Alaska is on my list of places to visit, so when I saw If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska by Heather Lende, I picked it up.

Heather writes the social column and the obituaries for a local paper in Haines, Alaska. Her stories about neighbors who have died and the things she learned about them are insightful and touching.

Haines is a fishing community, and working on the gillnetters, the boats used to catch salmon, can be dangerous. When you read about the loss of a young fisherman who drowns at sea, you grieve for his family. Heather's description of the events is chilling, and you can picture it so clearly; the boat going down, the family and friends gathered for news of the rescue. When you read about the community's reaction, you get a glimpse of what it would be like to live in Haines.

When Heather supported a workshop on homophobia at the local high school, she came face to face with another difficult part of living in a small town- confronting intolerance among your neighbors in a place where there is no anonymity.

Heather also talks about her day to day life. I enjoyed her stories about smoking fish in her backyard, and picking berries with friends. She has a practical outlook, and lives a simple, but rich, life with her family in a wild and beautiful place.