Ayacucho, Peru

EXPERIENCE VIRTUAL AYACUCHO, PERU

READ ALEX BROUWER’S HORRIFIC HISTORY AND MODERN TOURISM IN PERU’S CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

Trulli, Alberobello, Italy

EXPERIENCE VIRTUAL TRULLI, ALBEROBELLO

READ STEPHEN BREWER’S TRULLI CHARMING

Willie Dixon

EXPERIENCE  A VIRTUAL WILLIE DIXON PERFORMANCE

READ T.E. MATTOX’S WILLIE DIXON: “THE PEN IS MIGHTIER…”

Moldova

EXPERIENCE  VIRTUAL MOLDOVA

READ JAMES BOITANO’S THE LAST PLACE YOU’D VISIT: A FEW DAYS IN EUROPE’S LEAST VISITED COUNTRY

Port Meirion, North Wales

EXPERIENCE  VIRTUAL PORT MEIRION, NORTH WALES

READ JOHN CLAYTON’S MAKE SURE YOU VISIT THIS “TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY” VILLAGE IN NORTH WALES

Monteverde Cloud Forest

EXPERIENCE  A VIRTUAL MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST

READ FYLLIS HOCKMAN’S MONTEVERDE CLOUD FOREST

Ibiza, Spain

EXPERIENCE  VIRTUAL IBIZA, SPAIN

READ RICHARD FRISBIE’S IBIZA’S HERITAGE AND HISTORY OUTSHINE ITS PARTY IMAGE

Athens

EXPERIENCE VIRTUAL ATHENS

READ GARY SINGH’S ATHENS IN THE SUMMER

Dubrovnik

EXPERIENCE VIRTUAL DUBROVNIK

READ GREG ARAGON’S A DAY IN DUBROVNIK – A STUNNING UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

The post Experience Even More BEST Virtual Vacations from T-Boy appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Virtual Sicily

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL SICILIAN SIGHTSEEING TOUR

Sicily, Italy by Fyllis Hockman: “It happens all the time with Overseas Adventure Travel. I start out expecting to write about the trip itself – in this case, Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions – and I end up writing about all the things that are not on the itinerary – what OAT refers to as Learning and Discovery.”

Virtual Antarctica Adventure

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL ANTARCTICA SIGHTSEEING TOUR

Journey to the Bottom of the Globe by Ed Boitano: “After setting foot aboard the deck of my vessel to Antarctica, I began asking guests why they chose to take an eight-day cruise to the coldest, windiest and driest continent in the world; a landscape which is 98 percent thick continental ice sheet and 2 percent barren rock; a continent so cruel and unforgiving that almost no life can survive on it. The overwhelming answer from my fellow cruisers was simple: ‘Because now I can.’ It was a good answer. The more I thought about it, I realized it was my reason too.”

ED BOITANO’S ARTICLE ON ANTARCTICA

Virtual Hemingway’s Paris

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL HEMINGWAY’S PARIS SIGHTSEEING TOUR

A Magical Walk Through Hemingway’s Paris by Richard Carroll: “Magically enchanting and much-loved Paris, the Urban Empress of Europe, remains eternally young and amorous. Occasionally vain, always passionate, and with a long and turbulent history, the legendary city has a special flair for life that has captivated many of the world’s most inspired artistic talent.”

RICHARD CARROLL’S ARTICLE ON HEMINGWAY’S PARIS

Virtual Churchill Museum

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL CHURCHILL MUSEUM SIGHTSEEING TOUR

2 Lumps of Sugar Make This Churchill Museum Unique by John Clayton: “Are several lumps of sugar worth putting in an historic museum? That may sound like a funny question, but the fact is that yes they are – especially if they’re part of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms (CWR) in London.”

JOHN CLAYTON’S ARTICLE ON THE CHURCHILL MUSEUM

Virtual Aran Islands

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL ARAN ISLANDS SIGHTSEEING TOUR

The Aran Islands: A Living History by Ed Boitano: “In Robert Flaherty’s brilliant 1934 documentary film, Man of Aran, we see an Irish man smashing limestone rocks to bits, while his wife gathers seaweed from the shore below the island’s steep windswept cliffs. Meanwhile, their young son scavenges for animal manure and precious particles of dirt that have collected between the rocks, blown from the mainland. These four ingredients will be used to create the soil in order to grow potatoes – the family’s main source of subsistence. This is the Aran Islands; a landscape made almost entirely of solid limestone rock.”

ED BOITANO’S ARTICLE ON THE ARAN ISLANDS

Virtual Frank Lloyd Wright

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL TALIESIN WEST SIGHTSEEING TOUR

A Tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West by Susan Breslow: “Taliesin West should be an inspiration for everyone who faces another birthday and thinks: I’m too old to follow my dream. Frank Lloyd Wright, who had achieved public acclaim back east for his architectural designs (as well as public disdain for his scandalous affairs), was 70 years old when he arrived with a few apprentices in the foothills of Scottsdale Arizona’s McDowell Mountains in 1937.”

SUSAN BRESLOW’S ARTICLE ON TALIESIN WEST

Virtual Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway

EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL LYNTON AND LYNMOUTH CLIFF RAILWAY TOUR

2 Classic Trains in England by John Clayton: “Growing up in Great Britain, I loved the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. Situated in a setting of steep, ruggedly rolling green hillsides alive with unequalled beauty, below which lies a perfect picture postcard sea, and enriched by a town that looks as if it stepped out of a Beatrix Potter book.”

JOHN CLAYTON’S ARTICLE ON THE LYNTON AND LYNMOUTH CLIFF RAILWAY

Virtual Bluesman Phil Gates

EXPERIENCE A PHIL GATES CONCERT

Phil Gates – Following Tradition by T. E. Mattox: “Bluesmen have been lacing up their walking shoes and relocating to Europe for generations. So, when L.A.-based guitarist Phil Gates packed his bags in 2016 and moved to the Swiss countryside, he was just following in the footsteps of a long-standing blues tradition.”

T.E. MATTOX’S ARTICLE ON PHIL GATES

Virtual Skeleton Coast

EXPERIENCE A SKELETON COAST SIGHTSEEING TOUR

Exploring the Surreal Skeleton Coast by Skip Kaltenheuser: “The Skeleton Coast is one of the most appropriately named stretches of land in the world, a place where many hapless sailors of centuries past have mingled their bones with whale ribs and shipwrecks.”

SKIP KALTENHEUSER’S ARTICLE ON THE SKELETON COAST

Virtual Berlin

EXPERIENCE A BERLIN SIGHTSEEING TOUR

Berlin: Yesterday and Today by Ed Boitano: “I can still recall in detail my first arrival to Berlin. As the cab driver raced passed Tiergarten; the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe; the Reichstag; and Brandenburg Gate, I asked about the new Kennedy Museum, now located in the Mitte (middle) district). Without hesitation, he offered his own personal narrative about JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech of 1963: ‘Over 90% of the people in West Berlin were on the streets. None of us had ever seen anyone so charismatic.'”

ED BOITANO’S ARTICLE ON BERLIN

The post T-Boy’s BEST Virtual Vacations appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Spring Greetings from the Staff at Traveling Boy

Trust you are all well and dealing with this dread virus appropriately. Due to State of California mandate, T-Boy has been quarantined, but we’re all alive and well working in our home offices. We have designated this Spring to think of those who suffer from great sorry and misfortune. Here are some of our favorite charities.

5 Ways to Support Small Businesses from Home During the Pandemic

Courtesy Caroline Morse Teel, SmarterTravel

Small businesses are really hurting during this time of isolation. Here are five simple and safe ways you can help support them so that they’ll still be there for you when the pandemic is over. (And remember — the best way you can help small business is by staying home, so that we can end this isolation period faster.)

T-Boy’s BEST Virtual Vacations

You may not be traveling to far-away places in the immediate future, but we can bring them to you. Here’s a series of T-Boy’s virtual trips, and we hope you’ll be able to go there and to other distant destinations soon.

Virtual Sicily

It happens all the time with Overseas Adventure Travel. I start out expecting to write about the trip itself – in this case, Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions – and I end up writing about all the things that are not on the itinerary.

Corona Virus Travel Updates – Live Blog

Courtesy Big 7 Travel Team

As the coronavirus situation is ongoing, we will be updating this live blog with current travel advice, quarantines, flight cancellations and travel industry news. Check back daily for new updates and send any coronavirus travel news tips to 

sa***@bi***********.com

Some Airlines Approve Face Masks for Flight Attendants

American and Southwest airlines will allow flight attendants to wear face masks during flights. Flight attendant unions are also requesting temperature checks of crew and passengers before flights, increased cleanings, and blocking off some seats to avoid congestion around restrooms.

Survey: 4 in 10 Say Business Travel Will Return in 3 Months

According to a poll by the Global Business Travel Association, 40% of respondents believe business travel will come back within three months, while 17% think it will take six months before normal plans resume. The survey reported that 89% of business trips scheduled for March have been canceled.

7 Common Myths About Traveling Africa Dispelled

Courtesy Nomadic Mike, Sand in My Suitcase

When I told my friends about my first solo trip to Africa, they thought I was crazy. “What about Ebola?” “You can’t travel to Africa alone! It’s too dangerous!” “You’re going to get eaten by a lion or something!”

This is a common reaction from those who have not been to the continent and are used to seeing it portrayed in a very negative light in the news and popular culture.

Walls Made of Ancient Human Leg Bones Found Beneath Belgian Church

The macabre creations are likely the product of an overcrowded cemetery cleared out hundreds of years ago

By Katherine J. Wu, smithsonianmag.com

More than 100 billion people have died since the Homo sapiens lineage first appeared roughly 50,000 years ago. And with so many bodies to bury, civilizations have repeatedly run out of convenient places to put them.

But humans are a resourceful bunch. To make room for new graves, the residents of Ghent, Belgium, apparently dug up some old burial grounds and assembled the bones interred within into nine walls. As Alan Hope reports for the Brussels Times, archaeologists conducting excavations ahead of construction of a cathedral’s new visitor’s center have now unearthed the remnants of these ghastly architectural feats.

Airports Warn of Chaos with Looming Real ID License Deadline

WASHINGTON — The nation’s airports are warning of chaos for passengers if the White House doesn’t postpone the looming Real ID deadline.

Without a special Real ID driver’s license or card, airline passengers will be required to present a passport, military ID or Global Entry card to pass through security, even for domestic flights, starting in October.

Gender, Age Reveal Travel Safety Concern Differences

By Bill McIntyre, Global Rescue

Gender and age drive the biggest distinction among travelers, according to results of the 2020 Annual Global Rescue Travel Safety Survey. The survey reveals unexpected travel safety concerns between the sexes and among the generations.

Men are about 50% more concerned about family travel than women. Travelers are very concerned about travel to the Middle East, but respondents between the ages of 40-59 are a third more concerned than their younger counterparts.

7 Hidden Benefits of Cruising That Might Surprise You

Courtesy Albom Adventures

Are you wondering if a cruise holiday is right for you? While there are all the obvious benefits that come from a nearly all-inclusive vacation with a pre-planned destination itinerary, there are also many hidden benefits of cruising that might surprise you.

How to Take Your Own Passport Photo

Courtesy, Caroline Morse Teel, SmarterTravel

After paying $15 to have an awkward photoshoot in the aisle of a CVS, only to have my passport photos rejected twice (once for being too dark and once for being too bright), I decided there had to be a better way to take your own passport photo. Turns out, snapping your own passport photo is easier, cheaper, and much more convenient than going to a “professional” (a.k.a., the cashier at your local drugstore). Here’s a few tips:

Together in Spirit – The Best Friends Animal Society

At the core of Best Friends Animal Society’s work is the dream that one day animals will no longer be killed in America’s shelters.

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Coronavirus & the Generational Divide

The pandemic is revealing an unexpected, dangerous attitude among older Americans and their behavior during the outbreak. “Coronavirus & the Generational Divide” by Anna Christensen is now available.

Ms. Christensen is a wilderness first aid expert and author, explains that the demographic at the greatest statistical risk for death by the virus are precisely the people who are the least concerned, most apt to break voluntary quarantine, and unlikely to use telemedecine. See Ms.Christensen’s bio and books.

Contact Bill McIntyre for a copy of “Coronavirus & the Generational Divide” a 500-word column.  There is no fee to publish the column.

US Passenger Flights Reportedly Might Shut Down

US airlines are working on plans for a voluntary shutdown of nearly all domestic passenger flights, sources say. The government reportedly is considering mandating a shutdown because the coronavirus pandemic makes operating the air traffic control system difficult.

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8 Things to Disinfect Every Time You Fly

Courtesy Sherri Gardner

It’s an open secret that airplanes, and airports, are some of the germiest places you visit. From the bins you put your carry-ons in to the seatback pocket, flying exposes you to more germs and pathogens than you might expect.

Website TravelMath conducted a study in 2011 that found most high touch surfaces in airports and on airplanes are dirtier than your home. While Canadian Broadcasting Company show “Marketplace” did a 2018 examination of the dirtiest surfaces on an airplane after taking samples from 18 planes from three major Canadian airlines.

The results from each study vary but they picked up enough bacteria (including E. coli) to convince you to wipe down these germy surfaces.

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Just Two Fifths of Americans Use Their Time Off Work to Go on Vacation

Courtesy Calum McCloskey, 10 Yetis

51% of Americans did not use up their allotted vacation last year, and even less intend to this year

• Having too much work to complete was the main reason for not using all vacation time
• Just two fifths of Americans used their time off work to go on vacation
• 16% of Americans take time off work to do work

The study was undertaken by the team behind flight-comparison site www.us.jetcost.com, who surveyed more than 4,000 Americans over the age of 18 on how they use their vacation time. All respondents were in full-time employment at the time of the survey.

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Safari Pioneer Geoffrey Kent Talks About Old and New Adventures in Africa

Courtesy Christine Ajudua

Twenty-five years ago, The Lion King introduced the African savanna to many a Westerner; it also inspired real-world travel to the continent. Ditto on this past summer’s reboot: The Kenya Tourism Board has since reported a rise in safari bookings to locations that inspired the film, from the Aberdare National Park waterfalls (see romantic backdrop for Nala and Simba’s reunion) to Hell’s Gate National Park (its formations served as a model for Pride Rock). In fact, the original idea for the film was developed in the bush, specifically on a trip that DreamWorks cofounder Jeffrey Katzenberg — then chairman of Walt Disney Studios — took with Geoffrey Kent.

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Three U.S. Planes Lost During World War II Found in Pacific Lagoon

Project Recover, a nonprofit dedicated to locating MIA service members, identified the planes’ location

By Theresa Machemer, smithsonianmag.com

Researchers from Project Recover, a joint endeavor of the University of Delaware and the University of California, San Diego, that aims to “find and repatriate Americans missing in action since World War II,” recently located the wreckage of three U.S. military aircraft lost during a February 1944 battle in the conflict’s Pacific theater.

The team discovered the two SBD-5 Dauntless dive bombers and one TBM/F-1 Avenger while searching Truk Lagoon in the Chuuk State of Micronesia, per a statement. Seventy-six years ago, the body of water was the site of Operation Hailstone, a two-day Allied air assault on a Japanese naval base. More than 50 Japanese ships and 230 total aircraft, 30 of which were American, were lost in the depths of the lagoon during the skirmish.

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How to Avoid the Worst Seat on the Plane

Courtesy Sarah Schlichter, SmarterTravel

We’ve all been there. Make sure it never happens again with these simple tips.

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I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

Courtesy Allie Conti

While searching for the person who grifted me in Chicago, I discovered just how easy it is for users of the short-term rental platform to get exploited.

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11 Endangered Bucket List Destinations (And How to Visit Them Responsibly)

Courtesy of Mariana Zapata, SmarterTravel

Climate change and overtourism make daily headlines now and are stark reminders that some of the most beautiful places in the world are at risk of disappearing. For many travelers, the natural response to this is “last chance tourism,” or a rush to see endangered places while they’re still here. But before writing obituaries for these endangered destinations, consider instead taking actionable steps before and during your trip to keep them from disappearing. Here are 11 at-risk destinations and what you can do to help preserve them.

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