Napa Valley without wine? It sounds like a contradiction. Napa is one of the great wine regions of the world, and most guides assume a tasting-room crawl is the whole point of a visit. But I lived and worked in California for years before we began traveling full-time, and I have come back to the Napa Valley many times since, often as the travel companion of someone who does not drink, for both health and personal reasons. On those trips we always built in wine-free days, and after all of them the short version is this: there is far more to do here than swirl and sip, and a non-drinker can have a full, memorable trip. This guide is for anyone planning a Napa trip who will not be drinking. Maybe you are pregnant, sober or sober-curious, under 21, the designated driver, or skipping alcohol for health or faith reasons…. Read the rest
Archives for July 2013
Travel Research: How do Locals Feel about the Practice of Slum Tourism?
Have you ever heard of slum tourism? This is a tourist practice where travelers visit poor areas of the Global South to view and learn about the impoverished conditions of local inhabitants. Organized slum tours exist around the world in cities such as Mexico City, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Cape Town, Nairobi, Cairo, and Rio de Janeiro. While the practice of slum tourism is certainly not a new concept—for instance, 19th century wealthy Londoners would sometimes go “slumming” in the poorer neighborhoods of London—there has been an increase in the number of organized tours worldwide which has fueled discussion about this controversial practice. So is slum tourism or poverty tourism harmful or helpful? We’ll examine the arguments for and against slum tourism and then discuss a research study that examined this question by interviewing slum residents and stakeholders in Cairo, Egypt. A Brief Summary of the Arguments For and Against Slum Tourism… Read the rest
Visiting the Palais Garnier: Tickets, Tours, and Attending a Performance at the Paris Opera
We’ve visited the Palais Garnier several times, both for performances (two ballets and one opera) and for a daytime look around, so we’ve seen what each one gets you. It’s Paris’s opulent 19th-century opera house, and you can experience it either as a self-guided daytime visit (tickets from €15 for EEA residents and €25 for everyone else) or by attending an opera or ballet in the evening. The one thing that decides which is right for you: a daytime ticket does not guarantee you’ll get into the auditorium, the red-and-gold room with the Chagall ceiling that most people picture when they think of the Palais Garnier. A performance does. Which one you choose comes down to what you want out of the trip. If you love architecture and history, a daytime visit lets you wander the grand staircase and gilded foyers at your own pace without spending much. If seeing… Read the rest
French Laundry Reservations: Tips and Advice on Getting a Reservation at The French Laundry
It can be very difficult to get French Laundry reservations. In fact, The French Laundry is often named among the most difficult restaurant reservations to book in the world. This 3 Michelin-starred Thomas Keller restaurant in Yountville, California is one of the most exclusive in Napa Valley. However, this article will give you the facts on how to book a reservation at The French Laundry and tips on how to increase your odds of making a reservation based on our experience and from asking the staff at The French Laundry. So normally, making a restaurant reservation involves simply calling the restaurant or making a quick online reservation request. Generally, you can do this a week or less in advance and boom you have a table. Things are not so easy at The French Laundry. It takes a bit of planning to ensure you get a reservation on your preferred date… Read the rest
Our Discovery of French Macarons: A Review of Ladurée Macarons
Ladurée is a famous pâtisserie, or pasty shop, in Paris. It has been around for over 150 years, and is most known for its delicious and colorful macarons. Ethan and I first discovered Ladurée macarons last year while in Paris. We happened to walk by their flagship store and tea salon on the Champs-Elysées after a visit to the top of the Arc de Trimophe. We were in need of some nourishment after all those stairs, and the macarons looked way too good to pass up! This would be our first taste of French macarons (very different from the coconut macaroons sold in the United States). One of the most difficult parts was selecting from the over dozen different flavors. We chose 6 flavored macarons—Rose, Red Fruits, Licorice, Caramel with Salted Butter, Pistachio, and Violet– and then brought them home for our own private tasting. Unfortunately, our Ladurée macarons got… Read the rest
An Anniversary Surprise: Crossing The French Laundry off my Bucket List
I got a really wonderful surprise this weekend. Yesterday was Ethan and I’s fourth anniversary (and Bastille Day!), and we had planned to spend a night in Napa over the weekend to celebrate. But we’ve both been very busy at work lately and the details of what we would do were pretty tentative. At least that is what I had thought! Two or three years ago, after we had moved to California, I told Ethan that someday I would like to eat at The French Laundry in Yountville, CA. It was one of the thousand things on my unwritten bucket list. To my surprise, Ethan had a viscerally negative response to this comment and said that even if he was a millionaire, he would not eat there. He made it clear that apparently he believed that it would not only be financially irresponsible, but perhaps borderline unethical to eat there… Read the rest
Psychology of Travel: What’s Up with the Travel Research Posts?
Yesterday we posted our first travel research article that can be found in the Psychology of Research section of the website. But what the heck are these posts about, why are we writing them, and how do readers know if this information is even accurate? A reader –Jackie H.—just posted a question on our previous travel research article Travel Research: Nontravelers Live More Sedentary Lifestyles Compared to Travelers asking us “What is up with the travel research articles and where do you find this info? Will these become regular features?” We appreciate this feedback and hopefully this post will better explain the purpose of these posts! What’s up with the Travel Research Articles? Good question, let me explain. I (Jessica) am a researcher and psychologist during the day, and part of my job involves staying up-to-date on research in the area of psychology. This provides me with free access to… Read the rest
Travel Research: Nontravelers Live More Sedentary Lifestyles Compared to Travelers
Did you know that travelers exercise more and engage in more activities even when they are not traveling than nontravelers? Recent research suggests that nontravelers live more sedentary lifestyles than travelers even when they are “at home”. Let’s take a closer look at a research article in the Journal of Travel Research. Research Study We’ll explore a recently published article on the behavior of travelers versus nontravelers: Litvin, S., Smith, W., & Pitts, R. (2013). Sedentary behavior of the nontravel segment: A research note. Journal of Travel Research, 52, 1131-1136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0047287512457265 How the Research was Conducted The researchers compared activities of a random sample of 60,000 Americans who completed a mailed survey. Of these, 79% were classified as travelers (reported having traveled for pleasure or vacation in past 2 years) and 21% were classified as nontravelers (reported not having vacationed in the past 2 years). They were all asked how frequently… Read the rest
When you Still Want to Hold a Real Book: Tips for Traveling with Books
Do you like to travel with books? Ever thought that if you packed every book you wanted to take along, your books would need their own suitcase? Welcome, you are not alone my fellow bibliophiles. I love traveling with books and this article provides tips on how to travel with books (yes, actual physical books!) while still packing light. In the 1700’s, young men and women embarking on a Grand Tour throughout Europe may have traveled with a trunk full of books to aid in their search for enlightenment and culture. Times have changed and traveling light is key to reducing hassles while traveling. Not to mention avoiding pricey airline baggage fees. Books are deadweight in your bag, they aren’t collapsible, foldable, and don’t serve a million purposes. So what do you do? Friends have suggested Kindles, Nooks, and other e-book readers. I could read books on my IPad, laptop,… Read the rest
Attending a Performance at the Palais Garnier: How to Book Tickets to the Paris Opera Garnier
Interested in attending an opera or ballet at the historic Palais Garnier in Paris? This article explains in detail how to book tickets online for the Paris Opera. It will provide step-by-step guidance on using the Paris Opera website along with a number of tips based on our own experiences on booking tickets and attending performances at the Opera Garnier. It also gives you resources if you are trying to book a performance that has been sold out or if you need to resell your Paris Opera tickets. Now if you have already booked tickets, go to our article that provides Paris Opera tips on what to wear and what to expect during the actual performance. While most people’s visits to Paris may not be complete without a visit to the Lourve or the Eiffel Tower, all three of my trips to Paris thus far have included attending a performance… Read the rest