world travel

When I started this book, my intention was to skip around and read only about the places that jumped out at me. It turns out that everything jumped out at me, and I was held captive by this giant book for several months. With pictures galore, an astonishing amount of research, and hours of happy reading, Atlas Obscura is a one-of-a-kind travel book that invites you to explore all the hidden wonders of the globe.

I'm quite fearful of South America after reading Atlas Obscura. With places like The North Yungas Death Road, The Island of the Dolls, and The Cave of Swallows (which should really be

I suffered through this book! (I know what you're thinking, "Why? Life is too short to read books you don't like! Yada yada . . . .") Well I finished it because I had to lead the discussion at book club. (Spoiler! I'm the only one who finished it! Everyone else quit.)

Allan Karlson climbs out the widow because he doesn't want to go to his 100th birthday party. He then manages to steal 50 thousand dollars and forms a group of unlikely friends (which includes an elephant.) They precede to run and hide from both a police detective and the criminal gang he stole from. Through mostly good luck

The Travelers is a fast-paced, globe-trotting novel filled with CIA intrigue. What better cover for a spy than to be a travel writer? Travel writers go to far-flung, exotic locals, meet people, and there are no red flags on why they travel so much. Will Rhodes is a personable, intriguing character looking for perfection in all areas of his life; from drinking the perfect glass of wine to finding the perfect wall sconce. While on assignment in France, his life begins to turn upside down when he meets Elle Hardwick, a woman who may wreck his marriage, career and life. Caught in the middle of a

Published in 2014 this book is an updated version of Kathleen Peddicord’s How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well Abroad. The two authors have extensive experience living in Latin America, as they moved there to work for International Living magazine in 2001. This edition does a good job of going over all of the basics of moving abroad, including the factors you should seriously consider before making a move.  It is very detailed when it comes to the Central and South American countries that offer the best options for expats.  Each of these countries gets its own

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines vagabond as

1:  moving from place to place without a fixed home :  wandering

2a :  of, relating to, or characteristic of a wanderer

  b :  leading an unsettled, irresponsible, or disreputable life

But to Rolf Potts vagabonding is 1: the act of leaving behind the orderly world to travel independently for an extended period of time; 2: a privately meaningful manner of travel that emphasizes creativity, adventure, awareness, simplicity, discovery, independence, realism, self-reliance, and the growth of the spirit; 3: a deliberate way of living that makes

This film is the perfect antidote to the evening news. Rather than dwelling on the grim or sensational, it magnifies the beauty of the quotidian as it follows a single day in the life of people all over the world. Not only visually stunning, it is also emotionally impacting to see the human race in all its variety and realize how different, and how very much the same, people can be.

It was said in our Missouri backyard by Mark Twain that Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Rick Steves is knows to us from his PBS programs as the travel authority on Europe. His recent book Travel As a Political Act is taking a different look on sightseeing.   Steves presents himself in a new angle – as a social activist. Steves argues that one can't begin to understand the world without experiencing it.  He breaks the usual American taboos of discussing politics, money and religion under the premise that if one doesn’t share each other’s ideas, one doesn’t find out

This historical fiction takes us to Honolulu of the early 1900s, the era of early Chinese, Japanese and Korean settlers arriving in Oahu. The women arrive as "picture" brides, and the men come to work on the sugar plantations. The story spans through several generations, starting with the “old country” Korean parents and ending with the ethnic American melting pot of the 1950s. The book is a very enticing and engaging read, following the lives of a group of Korean women and is intertwined with local history. It includes trivia details behind the invention of aloha shirts, an introduction to