Category — PHOTOGRAPHY

Berlin is one of those cities that has something for everyone—it can be equally exhilarating whether you’re a sophisticated museum-goer, history buff, laid-back yuppie, family unit, or young partier.

I would have loved Berlin in my younger days, but the older, wiser me is happy that I got to experience and enjoy it without a single hangover. (Full disclosure: since I was 6 months pregnant during my visit, a hangover was not in the cards anyway. But I like to think that regardless, I would have behaved with more moderation than some of the 20-somethings I saw on the U-Bahn still drinking at 8 AM from the previous night.)

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See that cool Tastespotting badge over in my right sidebar? You can have one too!

I recently overhauled my website, and I wanted to take this opportunity to offer all of the food bloggers in this community a gift  - a group of Tastespotting badges for you to use on your website. I asked Arin Fishkin to design three badges and had them coded. There are 3 different styles, and they are free and open for anyone to use. Consider it my way of saying “thank you” to Tastespotting and to the entire food blogging community at large, for helping me get from this, about four years ago, to what you see here today. Feel free to share the badge link far and wide, so other bloggers can have access to free Tastespotting badges too.

You can get the badges at the link on the left which says “badges” or by clicking right here. Enjoy! 

I like to share crazy markets on this and other sites, because wherever I travel, the markets are always a big highlight for me. When we were on the island of Zanzibar, we hired a guide to take us around Stone Town so we could see all that the labyrinthine streets and alleys have to offer, including the incredible food markets.

This was really not just one market, but a group of different markets all adjacent to one another: fruit and vegetable, meat, fish, and chicken. It’s important to note that it was at least 100 degrees on the day we visited, and there is no glass on any of the windows.

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Shanghai might just be my all-time favorite Chinese city. This history-rich melting pot offers a little bit of everything you want—which shouldn’t be too surprising, considering its position as one of the world’s major global ports and the financial center of Asia, boasting a young, open-minded, and fast-growing population that currently tops off at close to 30 million. If you’re dreaming of visiting, here is a look at some of my favorite things. First, what to do, then, what to eat, and finally, where to sleep.

A tip for finding things: when possible, you should look up where you’re going on the excellent website SmartShanghai.com, which gives you a map to help you find the location, the nearest metro station, and the option of a taxi printout in Chinese that you can give to a cab driver. [Read more →]

{A note: This has taken me a long time to write–years, in fact–and I’m still not really satisfied with it. I have tried to put my thoughts and pictures together many times, but haven’t quite been able to get a handle on what I wanted to share. I find that with certain places I have traveled, what’s in my mind is very difficult to put on paper. So this is an imperfect attempt to do so, at best. I’m grateful not to be a writer on a deadline!}

Beirut is not on most Americans’ list of top travel destinations- but I would argue that it should be. With a picturesque seaside setting on the Mediterranean Sea, a location that’s been the epicenter of world change and growth for thousands of years, and a unique culture that’s a result of demographic diversity and strong national pride–what’s not to like?

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In the heart of unassuming Albuquerque, New Mexico, lies a street that’s neat for those who like mid-century masterpieces and sci-fi spectacles. Central Avenue, surrounding the University of New Mexico in a neighborhood known as Nob Hill, is a fun street to walk around and provides surprises and delights at every turn.

The first sighting was a rocket ship and a UFO within a few stores of one another, housing a used clothing store (rocket ship) and a cafe (UFO.)

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Most people only visit Dar es Salaam as a stop in a journey onwards to Zanzibar or a safari. There is something in Dar that’s totally worth a visit, though: the morning madness at Mzizima Fish Market.

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