Impressions of Guadeloupe
My impressions of Guadeloupe: how “French” it is (and isn’t) and how I felt as I explored the island. In short, I fell in love with it!
Travel
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2 historic homes in New York City
If you’re on a budget in New York City and want to visit historic homes, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Museum is an obvious choice. After that visit, I ended up also checking out the Merchant’s House Museum. These two historic homes in New York City both lend some insight into the lives of the 19th…
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5 Reasons to Visit Lloret de Mar
(Nederlands versie beneden!) When I told people I was going to Lloret de Mar for the last week of my one-month solo trip (Guadeloupe, Martinique, New York, Lloret de Mar), the usual reaction was something along the line of “Lloret de Mar? But why?” Lloret de Mar has a reputation as a party city, along…
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Fort St. Louis and the Rum Battle
Approaching Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique, by ferry, the most prominent feature of the harbor is the imposing collection of walls and buildings that make up Fort St. Louis, a 17th century naval base. (Zie Nederlands versie beneden.) Fort St. Louis is still a French naval base today; Martinique is still an overseas territory of…
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An over-packing update
Before my recent solo trip, I posted about my plans to travel with just one small 35-liter suitcase. It was a convertible one: it had wheels, but could also be used as a backpack. I chose what I brought along very carefully, and it all fit into that 35-liter bag, except for a small daypack holding…
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5 Secrets of a Successful Marriage
As of today, my husband and I have been married for 25 years. When people hear how long we’ve been married, I get one of two possible responses: “Congratulations! We’re coming up on (fill in a number of years).” “Wow! How do you do it?” This post is directed at the second group, who wonder how…
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4 snorkeling trip surprises in Guadeloupe and Martinique
When an ordinary activity turns into something special: snorkeling trips in Guadeloupe and Martinique and why they surprised me.
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The Jane Hotel: Nautical Flair
When I entered the lobby and spotted the stuffed peacocks on the wall, mounted vertically with their faded tail feathers dangling, I knew the Jane Hotel wasn’t a run-of-the-mill hotel. I had suspected it already when I booked the room. First of all, it was suspiciously cheap for New York City—I paid $115 a night—yet…
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Carved Rocks Archeological Park, Guadeloupe
There’s not much left to show that the Arawaks ever lived on Guadeloupe. And it’s not completely clear what happened to them. One story is that they were all wiped out by the Caribs, who arrived in the 15th century. Another story is that they coexisted with the Caribs, but not for long, since Columbus…
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A Special Encounter on a Puddle-jumper
The puddle-jumper Traveling from Martinique to the US involved three separate flights for me, and the first of these was on a Liat Airlines “puddle-jumper.” First, a 15-minute jump from Martinique to St. Lucia, then a half-hour jump to Barbados. If you know me, you know that fear of flying is an ongoing issue for…
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Airbnb, thank you!
I had two experiences recently that made me all the happier that Airbnb exists. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. This will not affect your price. 1. A vision of paradise When my Airbnb host in Guadeloupe, Thierry, offered to…
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The Rum Museum in Guadeloupe
I posted before about Guadeloupe’s quirky banana museum. Well, that wasn’t the only quirky museum I found there. The Musée du Rhum, or Rum Museum, is another one of those small museums filled with odd, disconnected collections of objects. But first, a disclosure: I was given free admission (normally 6 euros) in exchange for writing this…
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La Soufrière Volcano hike in Guadeloupe
As you might have guessed from my description of walking to Le Carbet waterfall #2, I’m not much for walking or hiking. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a pretty view or like to catch sight of a colorful bird or picturesque waterfall. I do. It’s just that I’m terribly out of shape, and that’s…
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Two Coffee Plantations in Guadeloupe
First of all, a confession: I don’t drink coffee. It’s not that I’m some sort of puritan; it’s just that I don’t like the taste. People say I could develop a taste, but I just don’t see why I would want to. When others drink coffee, I drink tea. Nevertheless, I visited two different coffee plantations…
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Carbet Waterfall #2: A Rainforest Walk
Although it rains in Guadeloupe a bit much for my liking, the rain does have a few positive effects: a gorgeously lush, green environment, and gloriously full waterfalls. (Zie Nederlandse versie beneden.) Given many waterfalls to choose from, I chose Carbet Waterfall #2 because it would involve a walk, but not a serious hike. Carbet…
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A quirky Banana Museum in Guadeloupe
If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a fan of quirky, small museums. The Maison de la Banane (Banana House) in Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe, certainly falls into that category. I knew this was going to be one of those odd little museums as soon as I pulled into the little parking lot in…
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The night noises of Guadeloupe
It was four in the morning when I began writing this post. I just arrived in Guadeloupe last evening and, with the six-hour time difference, my internal clock told me it was well past time to get up. Seeing it was still dark out, I lay there listening to the sounds of the night and…
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Packing for a solo trip
My packing is done—except for a few toiletries—and I’m ready to go! I leave on Tuesday for a month-long solo trip to Guadeloupe, Martinique, then to visit family in Connecticut, then to a TBEX conference in Spain. In June I’ll leave on another solo trip, this time for two months. Packing is a challenge for…
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The most beautiful Starbucks?
You know how sometimes you get so used to what you see every day that you stop noticing it? I’ve walked by the Starbucks in the Groningen central train station hundreds of times in the course of commuting to and from my job up in Leeuwarden. I just didn’t pay much attention to it until…
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How English is Guernsey?
The other day I tweeted “Guernsey is so very English.” Well, I stand corrected. It isn’t English. I learned this when I asked a completely unrelated question in a shop. There were candies in jars behind the counter marked “£1 a quarter.” I asked the shopkeeper “One pound a quarter what?” “A quarter pound,” she…
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The Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam: A review
The Rembrandt House Museum gives a realistic idea of what a new 17th century Amsterdam house looked like. It’s a bit too new: it lacks atmosphere.
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The dreaded shared shower
Note: This post was first published back in 2007. Strictly speaking, this post could apply to most of our summer vacations, not just to this trip to Australia. It’s about the shower in hostels and campgrounds, the sort that you share with lots of other people. I couldn’t find a plain hotel room for us: the…
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The pros and cons of solo travel
“What? You’re going all by yourself?” This is the usual response I get when I tell people about the solo trip I’m planning this April. In a tone of voice that says they think I’m crazy. Every solo trip up until this point has not really been solo. For example, many years ago I took…
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Van Loon Museum: A restored Golden Age house
The Van Loon Museum’s rooms give an impression of how wealthy residents of Amsterdam’s canal houses lived and, to a lesser extent, how their servants lived.
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Canal House Museum Amsterdam: A review
Grachtenhuis means “canal house,” so it’s not surprising that the Canal House Museum is housed in a charming Golden Age row house on a canal in Amsterdam.
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Ons Lieve Heer op Solder: A surprising little museum
Ons Lieve Heer op Solder museum is a great choice for a quick taste of the Golden Age of Amsterdam; it was a secret church built into a canal house attic!
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Yes, you CAN visit the Rijksmuseum in 2 hours!
Yes, it is possible to see the Rijksmuseum in just two hours. Read this article to find out how I saw the best of the Rijksmuseum in 2 hours.
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Sadness of the Hanging Monastery
The hanging monastery outside of Datong, China, a UNESCO world heritage site, is breathtakingly beautiful, yet also in a way, sad. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one and spend money, I will get a small cut of what you spend. It will not affect your price. The monastery was built…
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Is flying safe?
While I wrote this several years ago, I think this question is still something fearful flyers wonder: is it safe to fly? I read an article at Renegade Travels that looked at some statistics and declared that flying is indeed still safe, despite how it looks in the news. The author is right, of course, even…
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Two pearls of the California mission system: Carmel Mission and Mission Dolores
We often forget that California history goes further back than the “49-ers,” the gold prospectors who hurried to California once gold was discovered in 1848. Carmel Mission and Mission Delores in Northern California are two pearls of the California mission system that arrived long before the Gold Rush. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If…
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Haight-Ashbury walking tour: A nostalgic trip
Back in the 1990’s, I lived in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, the birthplace of the hippie movement and the epicenter of the Summer of Love. When my daughter was born in 1992, I decided not to go back to work right away. Paying for childcare would have cost much of my take-home pay, so it…
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A walk along the Embarcadero, San Francisco, being a tourist
Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz: these are typical tourist destinations in San Francisco. Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. This will not affect your price. Those of us who…
