Sep|19|2009
Out Of The Books Into The World
Posted by Noemi as Around The World, Arts & Culture, Books, Destinations, Family, Trends
The Da Vinci Code. Harry Potter. Angels and Demons. These are some of the most famous books in the recent years, and more than inspiring people to bury their noses in their pages, the stories have urged people to get out of their homes to go discover the real world behind the books. You’ve probably heard of people actually going on a trip with the places in the Da Vinci Code as part of their itinerary.
I remember meeting a French woman who used her vacation time to visit every single place mentioned in the Da Vinci Code. The Louvre was, of course, easy for her to visit, but she also went out of her way to travel to Scotland and the United States, just to see for herself what the places were actually like. Statistics …
Jan|18|2009
Places To See Before It’s Too Late
Posted by Noemi as Arts & Culture, Asia, Destinations

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The only thing permanent in life is change. Many years down the road, things will be different and in terms of travel, there might be destinations that are accessible today and might be gone tomorrow. I guess that’s why MSN Travel featured 11 places that world travelers should go see NOW before they disappear. I picked some of the destinations that really interested me. Here they are.
Babylon
Babylon, a city of both history and legend, has been seriously damaged by war and development, and those remain the two major threats to the ancient city. The U.S. war in Iraq continues to endanger Babylon and other ancient sites in Iraq, and Iraqi officials’ own plans for post-war Babylon could be just as destructive.
It’s sad that the place which is known to be the cradle …
Dec|07|2008
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair
Posted by Noemi as Arts & Culture, Destinations, Events, Family, Festivals, United States
Are you looking for something new to do this Christmas? Perhaps your circumstances might call for a change. Perhaps you are looking at not spending the holidays at home. Whatever reason you may have for wanting to do something different this Christmas, here is one good idea – visit The Great Dickens Christmas Fair.
It is being held in San Francisco so if you are near the area, you are in luck. The Great Dickens Fair brings the past to life:
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair: A holiday adventure into Victorian London, partying with hundreds of costumed players in 90,000+ square feet of theatrically-lit music halls, pubs, dance parties and Christmas shops on winding lanes. It’s a twilight evening in Charles Dickens’ London Town – a city filled with lively and colorful characters from both literature …
Nov|23|2008
Thanksgiving Travel: The Pilgrim Monument
Posted by Noemi as Arts & Culture, Destinations, Family, Historical, United States
Are you planning on traveling this Thanksgiving? If you read my last post, you would know that it just might be a good idea to hit the road this week and one place that would be perfect for Thanksgiving travel is The Pilgrim Monument in New England, where it all started.
Contrary to the expected idea that this monument should be located in Plymouth, where all the other Pilgrim attractions can be found, The Pilgrim Monument is located in Cape Cod, Provincetown. The monument has the distinction of being the tallest structure totally made of granite in all of the United States. Standing at 252 feet tall, the monument commemorates the fact that the Pilgrims first spent 5 weeks in the area before moving on to Plymouth to eventually settle there. So if you want to personally …
Sep|24|2008
The Maryland Wine Festival
Posted by Noemi as Americas, Arts & Culture, Destinations, Festivals, Food and Drink, United States
I was really surprised to find out that Maryland has its own wine festival. My husband is from this state and he has never once mentioned the wine festival. I know about their crabs, Ocean City, the mountains, the railroad, etc., but I didn’t have the vaguest idea that there is actually a celebrated wine festival in the area. For someone who likes wine (though I don’t know all that much about it), this is good news indeed. And for those of you in the east coast, then here is another festival that you should not miss.
This year’s wine festival is already over but they are already planning next year’s celebrations. The Maryland Wine Festival is held at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster, Carroll County. Next year’s festival is slated for …
Aug|10|2008
Top Getaways For Girls
Posted by Noemi as Arts & Culture, Tips
I might get in trouble for using such a biased title but I couldn’t help it – an article I read at MSN really inspired me to write about it. You know how sometimes, you just need to get away from the mundane things in your life and the best thing to do would be to go out with your girl friends? Well how about taking it one step further and going away on vacation with them? Of course, mothers might find this a bit difficult to arrange but it is not impossible! Here are some ideas for you.
Go on a cooking class vacation.
The MSN article suggested taking cooking classes in Provence in France. While that would be a dream come true for many women, it might also be unrealistic for some. …
Jan|21|2008
Learning on Vacation (Part 2)
Posted by Noemi as Arts & Culture, Eco-Friendly, Family

Does the idea of learning while on vacation appeal to you? Maybe not – that is, if you are thinking in terms of traditional classroom education. Yet as I mentioned in my last post, most every vacation can be a learning experience for anyone, as long as you keep an open mind.
The second kind of learning on vacation that I mentioned in the last post is more for families with children. I am talking about homeschooling. Just because you have children does not mean that you cannot follow your dreams and travel for extended periods of time. This is when homeschooling comes in handy. You can take your kids with you for months on an end and still keep them up to date when it comes to their schooling. This would even be …
Jan|15|2008
Learning on Vacation
Posted by Noemi as Arts & Culture, Family

Yes, going on vacation usually means getting away from it all but who ever said that going on vacation means you cannot go on learning? As a matter of fact, going on a vacation can be an educational experience – both for the parents and the children. This idea is actually starting to become popular and more and more people are considering vacations as a way to enhance themselves and learn more about the world, life, and themselves as well!
Generally speaking, there are four types of learning while on vacation. They are as follow:
-Informal learning
-Homeschooling
-Escorted tours
-Classroom vacations.
This post is the first in a mini-series that will be tackling the concept of education vacations. Who knows? Your next family vacation could actually be a learning experience for everyone!
Informal learning
I would say that this is the most popular way of learning …
Jan|08|2008
Doing Good While On Vacation
Posted by Noemi as Announcements, Around The World, Arts & Culture, Eco-Friendly, Family

Why do we go on vacation? If you are anything like me, the primary reason is to enjoy myself and to have a change from my daily life. I suppose that this is the main reason for most people to go on trips, yet have you heard of family volunteer vacations?
This is an alternative type of vacation for families who want to do more on their break than merely enjoy themselves. What happens is that the trip is meant as a get away from the mundane daily life of the family and aims to help other people who are less fortunate at the same time. The way I see it, volunteer vacations targets a lot of things:
-the family gets to experience something new
-the children learn about other ways of living
-the children experience how it is to …
Dec|13|2007
The Bethlehem Christmas Town Festival
Posted by Noemi as Around The World, Arts & Culture, Destinations, Events, Family, Festivals, Getaways, Shopping, United States

What is the reason for Christmas? Any Christian would readily answer that it is because of the birth of Jesus Christ. Where was he born? In Bethlehem. We all know that this small town is located in Israel. Yet did you know that there is a Bethlehem right here in the United States?
It is actually located in Connecticut and is a picturesque town and boy, do they make the most out of their town’s name when Christmas time comes around! In fact, countless people have already made a visit to Bethlehem, CT a part of their Christmas celebrations.
What can you expect from a visit to this town during the Christmas season? Their Christmas Town Festival is the highlight of the period. Unfortunately, this year, they held it from December 7-8, so it’s …



