Catching the Travel Bug (MToaS 33)

I love the options for Travel 2.0! The blogs are fun, and interesting. I love My Kugelhopf! I was thrilled to see that the writer, Kerrin Rousett, is writing from Zurich. And showcasing chocolate. Very yummy.

We're planning to go to Europe next summer. We'd love to go this year, but we're not sure that will happen, what with paying off our fantastic new energy efficient windows. We are saving a lot on heat this horrid winter, but not two plane-tickets-worth.

I've been a big fan of the travel site reviews for a while. We used a few different sites when planning our trip to Lake Tahoe last year, and it was so helpful. I can't now remember which site we used, but because of the online reviews posted by real guests we were able to find a great little cabin, clean but cheap, right on the lake and near where we wanted to be. I went back and wrote my own review after we got back from our trip, figuring I should give kudos where they were due.

My one problem with these sites is that I suspect that for every 500 to a thousand happy guests, perhaps one will write a review. That means that small towns typically don't have any reviews. Even small cities like St. Cloud will only have a few reviews. However, if a person is traveling to a new big city or tourist destination, these sites are brilliant!

Pic Info: Hey, I took this one! Lake Tahoe, from the Nevada side looking toward Sugar Pine Point State Park.

A Quick Trip Around the World

When I was a kid, I loved the story my parents told me of their early dates where they would go for a ride in the country. At each intersection, one would toss a coin. Heads turn left; tails go right. The joy was in shared company and that sense of exploration and discovery.

My sweetie and I do things like that, too. We go out in the farming areas of Central Minnesota, with large fields of corn or other crops, dairy farms, and little towns with a church (great steeples), a bar, and usually a cafe. We go in search of the perfect pie. We've found some really good ones, too.

I get a kick out of Blogger for the way I can explore here too. I know that Time Magazine recently had a story about the ten best blogs, and yes, I was thrilled that one of my favorites, PostSecret, was on their list. But I have a real soft spot for layperson blogs. I love getting these intimate little glimpses of the lives of ordinary people from all over the world. You can try it too. Up above my blog header you will see a little icon that says "next blog." Click on that. Or try some of the cool links below.

Yummy handdyed, handwoven yarn (scroll down for the spinning wheels) from someplace Scandinavian, methinks.

Family fun in another "Scando-hoovian" setting. Seriously. At least scroll down far enough to see the kid and grandfather with their tongues out.

Beauty queens from around the world... I include this as an example of "silly things people blog about..."

Ever been to Portugal? Here's some interesting pictures.

A traveling Australian put up cool pics from the Caribean and Central America

A French artist (gorgeous drawings of everything imaginable)

So, there. You get the idea. Try it!