Tag

photography

Latin America, Travel

Experiencing Real Relaxation at Tabacon Springs in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

I was wrapped in a towel damp from my wet swimsuit.  It was raining, but I didn’t care.  The canopy above our outside bed kept us dry enough.  The rain actually accentuated the tropical environment that surrounded us – the lush green foliage, the rambling creeks, the birds cawing, the occasional volcanic rumble, the steam from the hot springs.  At Tabacon Springs, for the first time in a long time, I felt…

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Europe, Travel

Favorite Moments – Rialto Bridge

I’ve written about travel moments in the past.  Very rarely did they have to do with the actual place that I was in, but more with a culmination circumstances.  The Duff Brothers could have been performing in any city.  It was the bar, the people, and the music that captured the travel moment.  The same with the pop band in Chiang Mai.  That band could have been playing in any international city. …

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Europe, Travel

The Truth About Venice

My wife and I sat in our room at the Westin Europa and Regina trying to plot out dinner plans over a bottle of Prosecco.  She manned the TripAdvisor app on our tablet, and I managed a few blogs on my phone and a myriad of tour books.  We wanted to find the perfect restaurant for that authentic Venetian meal.  The kind of place where we were the only tourists in a…

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Europe, Travel

A Photomontage of a Gondola Ride through Venice

We were tired after almost two days of non-stop walking.  It was Venice so much of that time was spent lost looking at paper maps and pillaging enough free Wifi to pinpoint our location on Google Maps.  Surprisingly, we managed not to argue in these moments of frustration.  We had been warned about Venice and instead laughed as other tourists resolved that street signs do not exist in the maze that is…

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Travel, Travel Tips

Turning Vacation Photos into a Home Art Gallery

I by no means lay claim to being a professional (or amateur for that matter) photographer or an interior decorator.  However, I do have an eye for design with a bit of an artistic vein running through my body.  I’m also quite frugal.  Design and frugality don’t always work well together.  But creativity and frugality I think are an ideal match. We love to travel and spend most of our hard earned money visiting…

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Travel, United States

Washington, DC – A Trip Down Memory Lane

It was only a short walk, but a very meaningful one all the same.  One of the benefits of my job is there is a fair amount of travel.  Sometimes to cool places like Austin, other times to not so cool places like Norfolk, and occasionally to places that surprise me like Little Rock.  This last trip sent me on a clichéd journey down memory lane to Washington, DC – my home…

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Europe, Travel

Vienna, Austria – Maybe it was Me

I wanted to like Vienna, Austria.  I really did.  I even fought to place it on our itinerary.  I had heard such great stories about the city.  Mates we met in Thailand raved about it.  They dubbed it the best city to visit in all of Europe.  My Grandma recalled tales from her Grandfather and his childhood in Bratislava.  He went to Vienna whenever he had the chance and even lived there…

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Travel, United States

The Call of the Beach

I am drawn to the ocean.  Whenever I am in a city near the water, it calls me hither.  It’s a call I cannot ignore.  I have no will power to stay away.  Whether it’s a rocky bluff or pristine sands, I have to go.  I have to stand and watch the waves crash.  I have to feel my toesin the sand.  I have to touch the water, feel it on my…

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Asia, Travel

Things Done Thailand

Feasting on red chili shrimp on the beach at night – feet in the sand. Returning to the same “on the beach restaurant” the next day for lunch to sample their curry Getting bent, beat up, and contorted in a Thai massage, but it felt so good Seeing that the bar girl culture is unfortunately just as strong as what I read Riding on the back of a scooter Eating dinner with…

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