PRIME DAY UPDATE NOW POSTED!
Amazon’s Prime Day (ok, really two days in 2019) is here! Each of the last five years, we’ve found great deals on items that have enhanced our travels. Here are the items we’re watching for this year (between midnight Sunday, July 14 (Pacific time) and midnight Tuesday, July 16). If we’ve overlooked something, let us know in the comments!
First, if you’re not already a Prime Member, sign up for a free 30 day trial here.
Read MoreTraveling around the world in one carry-on and a backpack takes some planning. (I often think of Rick Steves’ advice: “No one ever comes back from a trip and says ‘Next time, I’ll pack more.’”) Because we get questions about this so often, we’re starting a series of posts on packing. (If you missed it, check out our post on laundry – a key part of being able to pack light.)
Read MoreSummer is officially here, the time to load up the (metaphorical) station wagon and head for the hills. Whether you’re loading up a literal car or flying somewhere, packing can be stressful and unpleasant. And when you add camera equipment to the equation, packing can be painful as you worry about getting your camera bag on board.
Read MoreOne of our Photographers in Focus, Craig Semetko is big on serendipity, giving talks and workshops on finding and introducing serendipity in your photography and life. Other than hearing Craig speak, I’d never thought much about serendipity in travel, until our April, 2019 trip to Kauai left me realizing Craig might just be onto something.
Read MoreSince I started an Instagram account almost a year ago (follow Red Dot Blue Dot at @reddotbluedot1 and me at @amy.m.gardner), I’ve posted images from about 10 different countries and several states. Never have I had as many requests for travel tips, though, as when I posted an iPhone photo from Asheville, North Carolina.
Read MoreOne of the most frequent questions we get about travel is how we pack with one carry-on bag and one backpack each, whether for a trip that spans 10 weeks and 15 countries like last summer’s, or for shorter trips. People often say “I could never do that because I work out” or “I need dress clothes” or “I carry a camera with me.” I usually just nod and smile…
Read MoreFive hundred year old Panama City, Panama was never on my travel radar until last January when a friend emailed that he was planning a gathering there to celebrate his birthday. Within less than an hour, we had checked flight availability and booked miles tickets on Copa via United. Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day, when we were among the few intrepid travelers at O’Hare awaiting a very early morning direct flight to Panama City.
Read MoreIf your Panama trip is limited to Panama City, you may want to fit in a visit to a nearby beach. There are a few within a two hour drive, but we didn’t want to rent a car for a day or do a full day tour. Instead, while we were having breakfast one day during our stay, another person at the same event told us about Taboga Island. We decided to check it out later that day.
Read MoreI tried to cancel our honeymoon. We were in Chicago for 12 hours between our wedding and our very early morning flight to Kauai, and in that time, I told my new husband that I wanted to cancel our honeymoon. He vetoed that plan, and instead packed for me (which is why I still own a week’s worth of clothes from the Lihue, Kauai Walmart and Hilo Hattie’s) and we went anyway.
Read MoreIn 2018 we visited 19 countries — 16 of them for the first time. One or both of us visited US cities from San Francisco to Washington, DC, Carmel, Indiana to Miami, Florida.
All in all, Amy spent just shy of 5 months traveling and Keith wasn’t far behind. From stepping briefly into North Korea at the DMZ to nearly a month in different trips to Cuba we were fortunate to see more of the world in 2018 than any other year of our lives, and were even inducted into the Circumnavigators Club. We decided to look back on our 2018 travels as we look forward to 2019. As usual, we didn’t always agree. Check out our 2018 Year in Review He Said, She Said below.
Read MoreWhen you think of small towns in Germany, Bacharach is what you’re imagining, even if you don’t know it. The town of less than 2,000 year-round residents includes timber-frame houses surrounded by an old city wall originally constructed in the 1300 and 1400s with vineyards and a castle-turned-hostel peering down from the hills above the town.
Read MoreI think about that line every time I travel with friends. There’s nothing like being out of your comfort zone and in an unfamiliar environment, whether for a weekend or a week, to help you get to know the “real” person.
Read MoreWhile we were in Abu Dhabi, one of our favorite experiences was visiting the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center. Because it’s a little complicated to visit, and because we saw several people learn the hard way about photo restrictions there, we wanted to share some tips and offer some suggestions for future visitors.
Read MoreOnce we knew we wanted to go to Tokyo, Japan, we needed to book a plane ticket to our next destination. There was one tiny problem: we weren’t sure what our next destination would be. We were both interested in more off-the-beaten-path places, but had varying comfort levels with some of the options we were considering.
Read MoreOur flight to Baku, Azerbaijan would leave from Dubai, so rather than go straight from Abu Dhabi to the Dubai airport, we decided to spend a few nights in Dubai. We still had some work to do in Dubai, but spent an entire day on a dhow in Oman and were able to spend more time exploring than we were able to do in Abu Dhabi.
Read MoreI’ve read many books by people who’ve left North Korea, so I was really excited by the prospect of being able to visit the DMZ while we were in Seoul. It was one of the highlights of our time in Seoul, so we wanted to share a few tips for others who might be considering visiting. First, a little background.
Read MoreThat second title might seem melodramatic, but it’s not far from reality. Let me back up a second.
We knew our time in the United Arab Emirates would mostly be spent coaching clients and working on consulting projects, so we wanted to plan a true day off before we moved on to Azerbaijan.
Read MoreThe tiny country of Andorra sits about a three hour drive from Barcelona, landlocked between France in the north and Spain in the south. The “microstate” is one of the smallest countries in the world by both population (fewer than 80,000 people) and landmass (180 square miles). It is mainly known for its low tax shopping, skiing, and hiking that attract 10 million visitors each year. (Yes, you read that right – 10 million visitors each year in a tiny country with only 80,000 citizens.)
Frankly, not the kind of place where we’d normally want to hang out long-term, but as a day trip, why not? We had already booked several commitments in Barcelona (Sagrada Familia, the Picasso Museum, etc.) that required us to be in Barcelona all but one day of our time there, which happened to be the last full day of our trip.
Read MoreThis is the anniversary of our second month of full time travel. We have some work that requires us to be in the United States for our coaching and consulting business, Apochromatik, for the next couple of weeks. But don’t worry — RedDotBlueDot continues as we have several more international and domestic (USA) destinations on the docket before the end of the year. (And many, many posts to write for the Blue Blog and photos to share on the Red Blog!)
With that said, how was month two? Aren’t you just dying to know?
Read MoreIn his book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain confessed that for his very first meal on his first trip to Tokyo, in his jet-lagged and exhausted state, he was so intimidated by the soba restaurants and overwhelming nature of Tokyo that he went to Starbucks. After considering his options, though, he bought a latte, rallied, and dove in to Tokyo.
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