Boldly Go Solo

1,000 places to see...um...soonish

The second edition of "1,000 Places To See Before You Die" is out and I'm waiting to be assigned to do the "Solo Travel" edition. (Kidding! Sort of...)

Do the math and you realize that even if you travel three times a year, you'll have to live to be 334 years old to actually see all these places before, well, you die. And that's if you start the year you're born.

But, of course, this is beside the point.

"1,000 Places to See Before You Die" is one of those armchair travel books great for reading about where you've been, and for perusing where you might want to go. 

Want a copy of your own? I've got three to give away. Which gives you three chances to "win."

To be eligible* for the first copy, all you've got to do is "like" boldlygosolo on Facebook. I'll choose a winner for that one on May 15.

Ways to win one of the other copies coming up.

As for the book, I already "like" it. When I first flipped through, it just happened to open to places in Israel. Where I'd just visited in January. The two entries on facing pages were Caesarea and The Galilee.

The Titanic and the S.S Nomadic - White Star Line ships

Had enough Titanic stories yet? Can I sneak just one more itty bitty one past you?

I was in Belfast a few years ago where I learned about the city's ship-building prowess and the fact that the RMS Titanic, and its sister ship the RMS Olympic, were built there for the White Star Line.

The best part of the tour on a gray day was a visit to the S.S. Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Line ship. The Nomadic was a tender used to ferry passengers from Cherbourg, France, to the passenger ships that were too large to dock in the harbor.

And it brought the passengers at Cherbourg to the Titanic for its last, fateful trip. 

The haunting part of the visit to the Nomadic was the exhibit inside.

It contained dishes, place settings, bedding and other items that the company had provided to its ships, including the Titanic. 

Petra, the Pink City

I knew as soon as I booked a trip to Israel that I wanted to find a way to get to Petra, Jordan, too.

Years ago, I'd seen the city, carved into rocks, in a photo in a magazine. It immediately went on the travel to-do list. Since visiting, I think a fair amount about Petra, the "Pink City."

It feels mysterious and unknowable. But it was astounding, nevertheless, to walk down the main "street," in the place that was home to the nomadic Nabataeans, who began settling in the Petra Valley  in the 4th century, B.C.E. 

What remains for visitors now are tombs and mausoleums, remains of a colonnaded street and ruins of temples, altars and rocks and more rocks, variegated in color with reds, oranges, and browns striated with black. 

I like how the Jordan Tourism Board puts it: "The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a departed race have nothing in common with modern civilization, and ask nothing of it except to be appreciated at their true value - as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man."

Having never heard of the Nabataeans until shortly before my visit, I did just that: appreciated a great wonder for what it was. Beautiful, unique, special. Not simple to get to but worth it.

A few hours in Jerusalem's Old City

I've been home from Israel for several weeks now and still haven't figured out what to write about it. Facts and figures about history and religion rained down on me during my 10-day visit. I was awed by sights that millions have visited before me.

The religious and political aspects of life in Israel, and between Israel and other countries, have been written about time and again.  

So where do I take a story? Or a blog post? No point in me recounting the complicated history I learned (and maybe should have already known). That can be found in books.

Books retelling stories from the Israelites to the Babylonians to the Persians to the Greeks during the Hellenistic period to the Romans, the Byzantines, the early Muslims, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, the British...

Wandering solo in Richmond, Virginia, discovering black history

Green and white awnings and a small sign are all that distinguish the Richmond home of Maggie L. Walker from neighboring duplexes that have been carefully restored to their appearance circa 1925.

What distinguished Walker in her day was her skill at overcoming all the obstacles society could place before a black woman living under Jim Crow segregation laws.

But wait. Maggie who?

The answer to that is in the story I wrote on Walker for today's Washington Post travel section. I won't repeat a lot of what is in it, since you can read it for yourself. 

It was cool taking the walking tour in Richmond and learning some of the black history of the Southern city. Including about Bill "Bojangles" Robinson who was born in Richmond. 

Cross-country skiing on the beach, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

My tale of cross-country skiing on the beach in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, just south of Portland, is in The Washington Post today. A year later, that trip still feels magical. A beautiful inn. Fabulous skiing. Great food. 

It may be difficult to replicate the experience at the moment, due to the lack of snow this year. But it's something worth keeping on the "bucket list." 

I'm hoping that there will be snow somewhere in late February, when I plan to head North for another cross country ski weekend with my ski buddies. Somewhere.

We haven't picked a place yet. We're waiting for the white stuff to decide the best location. It seems it will have to be a last-minute decision.

Funny enough, I was just in Jordan - a desert country - where we drove by sandy ground dusted with snow! Our Jordanian tour guide cracked jokes about opening a resort, serving camel burgers for lunch, telling us to skip Switzerland and head to his country for the winter.

Uh, it wasn't THAT much snow. And Jordan's a tad tougher to get to. 

Although you may remember the solo traveler version of the cross-country skiing story posted here last year, today's Washington Post story has different photos and additional details on restaurants in Portland and Cape Elizabeth. And on the Inn by the Sea, where we stayed. Check it out. 

Israel for first-timers

Boker Tov, (good morning)

No time, no time.

I've been in Israel for almost four days, seeing and learning a zillion things, so there's no time to post here. I've been to the Western (Wailing) wall and to the Temple Mount. To old Jerusalem and, as of last night, "new" Tel Aviv.

Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust musesum, was a profound experience but too short a visit. There was one day in Jerusalem that I heard the Muslim call to prayer, followed by church bells. Here, in this Jewish nation. I'm finally, viscerally, understanding the intense mix of religions and why tensions can so easily arise.

Soon, I'm off to ancient Jaffa.

I'll tweet when I can. Post photos when I can. But if not, write in more detail when I return.

Meanwhile, check in every so often for the tweets on the top left of the blog. I'll shoot some 140-character thoughts if there's time and an Internet connection.

Shalom

The Christmas 11. Holiday hiking for those looking to get out of the house

The "11" refers to the number of miles.

While others were unwrapping presents or scarfing down turkey or perhaps banging forlornly on the doors of closed stores, 20 of us gathered for a Christmas Day hike.

A long one.

It was hosted by the Wanderbirds, a hiking club that more typically hires a bus to drive hikers from the Washington, D.C., area to the Shenandoah Mountains for day-long, scenic hikes.

The hike was one of at least three offered by area hiking clubs.

We started at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. Everything was closed but the gates to the parking lot.

After hiking out of the gardens, we ended up on trails in the Rachel Carson Conservation Park.

Just one pileated woodpecker made its presence known during the four hours we tromped through the woods. Often I hear lots of them on local hikes, "creating starter homes" as a fellow hiker joked.

The day was chilly. But you warm up nicely at a brisk pace and this pace was more than brisk. That leader had some long legs!

Top 20 "Lost in Translation" signs sent to Lonely Planet's photo contest

Somewhere along the line I traveled with someone who taught me the fun of photographing silly signs documenting the hilarious mangling of the English language by non-English speakers.

No, these photographs never get blown up, matted or framed. But they're good for a laugh and for showing other people. I'm sure many people would appreciate being amused by someone's vacation photos, more so than having to ooh and aah over some beautiful sunset that they didn't experience.

NOT that I'm saying I make others view dozens of sunset photos they don't really want to see...

Tokyo cafes where solo travelers can chat with Japanese residents

In my previous post, my friend Bob described the conversation café scene in Tokyo. The conversation continues.

Do guests always just sit down at the conversation cafes and chat?

No, the cafes also hold “international parties” on the weekend once or twice a month. At a Norton Place party, a pianist provided a mini-concert at the cozy café that looks like someone’s family room. 

(Except that family rooms don’t tend to host belly dance parties. But this cafe did. And it displays the photos to prove it, Bob says.)  

Leaf Cup’s international party was a standing happy hour type event.  Because people are eager to practice English, finding someone to talk to at the parties is easy. They want to hear about where you're from and what your experiences have been in Japan.

Tokyo's conversation cafes welcome native English speakers

Clearly, Japan is a café culture. The last time my friend Bob returned from a solo trip to Japan, I asked him about his travels and he contributed his observations about Japanese cat cafes to my blog.

This time, he stopped in at several English-conversation cafes in Tokyo, where he was a top attraction, I'm guessing, being so good in English and all. 

What did you like about going to English-conversation cafes in Tokyo?

Tokyo’s English-conversation cafes give you a chance to interact with Japanese people in ways you might not otherwise.  

Real ghosts for Halloween...scary!!!

They say that if you walk late at night, up Hog Alley, a short, steep street in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., you might see a tall black man, dressed like a gentleman from the 1800s, pacing up and down. If you get close enough, he slowly lifts his head to show piercing blue eyes. But when he lifts his head a little farther, you see blood dripping from a scar that goes from ear to ear. . . .

Agghhhhhhh!

This story is continued in Friday's Weekend section of The Washington Post. The headline is, "An eerie twist on 'living history.' "

I went on the O' Be Joyfull ghost tour in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and visited The Haunted Cottage there as well.

The Harpers Ferry Ghost Tour

Rick Garland, the guide of the ghost tour in the historic area of Harpers Ferry related stories about the ghosts of people who actually died in the area, many during the Civil War era. Some Confederate soldiers, some abolitionists, some young boys sent to help the soldiers.

Back to (language) school

This is the second year that fall has come around and my thoughts have turned to...Guadalajara. 

The foods, the family I lived with there for a few days and the Guadalajara sights.

The San Juan de Dios Market. (I just recently finished the vanilla I brought home from there, which reminded me of my trip every time I baked with it.) The Corona Market in Guadalajara's city center. And much more. My nice teacher at the IMAC Spanish language school in downtown Guadalajara. 

I was in a class with about five others, who ranged in age from teens to probably 60's. I loved the fact that la maestra couldn't revert to English to explain things (she didn't speak it well) and that I was able to follow along in Spanish pretty well.

Harpers Ferry lodging, ghosts and pancakes. West Virginia is indeed wild and wonderful.

A guy I hardly knew cooked me breakfast yesterday. Pancakes. An Israeli guy from New York. 

Actually, "hardly knew" overstates things. I didn't know him at all. But Raz from Queens not only cooked me a batch of pancakes, he also gave me a rundown of all the places I should go and see in Israel - which I'm planning on visiting in January.

This is what I love about hosteling. Particularly when traveling solo.

You are unlikely to feel lonely at most hostels.

In the short time between when I checked in at the Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, hostel (actually located in Knoxville, WV) and left to visit the historic town of Harpers Ferry, I ended up talking to two bicyclists and one weaver, all staying there.

Travel tips and iPad apps

Travelers debating whether to buy an iPad to take on the road should take a peek at the apps and functions described by Jim Karlovsky on The Globe Less Traveled. He lists 21 useful functions the iPad provides travelers.

The wifi and Internet connections didn't impress. I don't travel to stay in touch. In fact, it's the opposite. In any case, there are Internet cafes and I can always pay to activate my smartphone overseas.

But then I kept reading and got to part about language translators and offline maps. This got my attention.

He writes about Jibbigo, a language translator. You type in or speak a phrase and the translation is spoken aloud for the person you're trying to communicate with. It's also written on the screen. Within seconds. That's kind of cool.

Then there are the offline maps and transit schedules. "Offline" is a magic word when traveling with electronics. Who knows where or when you will find a connection?

London chocolates to travel for. Indulge!

Oh no! I missed Chocolate Day. It was July 7. No wait. U.S. Chocolate Day is October 28. Whew. I never knew such a day existed but now that I do, I sure don't want to miss it. 

This news comes to me via a fellow travel writer's site, Travel Diversions with Doreen. I write a blog on solo travel. Doreen writes one on traveling for chocolate.

What. Could. Be. Bad???? In fact, why didn't I think of that?

Doreen has written not one, but two separate posts about chocolate masters in the United Kingdom. This is hugely important information. I'd be remiss if I didn't relay this fact. Particularly if any readers are heading to England any time soon.

She says that Britain is leading the Chocolate Revolution. I have not fact checked this. But I sure wouldn't mind hopping over and indulging for the purposes of accuracy.

AND...be still my heart...when I went to the Rococo Chocolates site, which Doreen writes about, what should be at the very top photo on the home page? (At least as of today?) Torrone! (I can't be positive, but it sure looks like it.)

Singles tours to Ecuador, Ireland, Italy and Peru

I now throw out the idea of "singles" travel for those who might be interested in joining a tour composed solely of people traveling alone, who are presumably not married.

I have not gone with the group Singles Travel Service, but I'm on the email list and they recently sent me a newsletter on some of their future trips.

Such as: Ecuador, a multisport and multicultural adventure; the Inca Trail in Peru,including Machu Picchu, of course; Ireland's Cities - including Dublin and Galway; and an Italy Cultural tour, that includes Rome, Florence and Venice.

50 gorgeous bridge photographs to set solo travelers daydreaming

Take a look at these 50 utterly fantastic photos of bridges around the world. 

At first, I didn't think of this as something to write about on a solo travel blog. But scanning (or should I say "spanning") the photos stirred up so many memories of my travels.

I thought maybe it would do the same for you, even if you haven't been across or in view of any of these particular bridges. For instance, seeing the bridge in Venice - one of so many you cross as you walk the quiet, carless streets - reminds me how special a place that city is.

If you've never gone because you haven't had someone to travel with...not a good excuse. You could wander for hours on your own marveling at the uniqueness of the place and stopping for pizza, gelato, cappuccino (what's not to like about eating in Italy?!) Bring a camera and a book and take your sweet time exploring any which way you'd like. 

I didn't see too many other bridges I'd actually visited represented on the 50 Fantastic Bridge Photographs post. But as my mind wandered, I remembered Chain Bridge in Budapest. I got to visit that one because I had gone to Club Med alone, met someone I became friendly with and a couple of years later she moved to the city for work and invited me to visit.

Play the harmonica on the road, so you can make friends...and lasting memories

Time for me to start harmonica lessons. Right quick.

A travel writer acquaintance of mine wrote this lovely story about how playing the harmonica during her travels in China, Turkey and elsewhere, quickly broke the ice with children she met along the way. Brilliant! Why haven't I ever thought of this?

People often advise travelers to bring gum, coins, pens, pencils and other small items to give to children. But sharing music seems like such a better idea. You hand over a pencil, there's not much of a bond.  

But sharing music and bringing a smile to someone's face? Priceless! 

Read Margie Goldsmith's story on traveling with her harmonica for some fun harmonica facts.

Meanwhile, I gotta go. There's gotta be a music store open somewhere!

Top spas in the U.S. and Canada, on cruise ships and in hotels

In a third-hand account of spa-going, I offer you the results from this year's list of best spas, based on a reader poll done by Conde Nast. I tried going directly to the Conde Nast site, but they offered their results with that annoying web trick of forcing you to click here, there and everywhere to see all the results.

Instead, you can go to A Luxury Travel Blog and see all on one page, the top spas in the U.S., Canada, Hawaii (yes, I understand that Hawaii is part of the U.S., but I didn't make up the categories), cruise ship spas, spas in Mexico and Central America, spas in the Atlantic and Caribbean and top hotel spas.

Take the recommendations with a grain of salt...or with a sugar scrub. Theses spas are not being reviewed by us skilled and trained professional journalists, you know, those of us who majored in spa going and can write about it objectively.

But the list of top spas  at least gives you some names of places to research if a solo spa vacation is in your cards. While you're researching, of course, investigate what the solo scene is to see if you'd enjoy going alone.