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Month: January 2012

Barbie Cow: You found me how?

You found me how? Most of the time, new readers find this blog by searching for travel-related terms, such as “Cafe du Monde history,” “road trip to Paris, Texas,” or “how to make good coffee while traveling.” These phrases lead to popular articles on my site, so the search traffic makes sense. Even when the search terms are more cryptic, most of the time it’s fairly obvious which article readers are looking for. People often wind up here from odd-sounding searches such as, “cat poop coffee shops.” Strange as that sounds, I did include an article about civet poop coffee in…

My First ROW80 Check-in: How Twitter Prompted Me to Write a Memoir

I love reading memoirs and diaries (published ones!) I recently picked up three memoirs at Half Price Books: “Waiting – the true confessions of a waitress,” by Debra Ginsberg, “But enough about me,” by Jancee Dunn and “Growing up Psychic,” by Matthew Modine. I enjoyed all three, but the opening of Ginsberg’s memoir really spoke to me: “I’ve been a writer longer than I’ve been a waitress and, as such, a perpetual student of the human experience… I wanted my own stories and saw no better way to collect them… Truly, there has never been a dull moment at the…

Kalachandji’s Restaurant and Palace in Dallas, Texas: Good Food which just happens to be Vegetarian

Kalachandji’s Restaurant and Palace in Dallas, Texas is located in a Hare Krishna temple, but don’t let that scare you off. No one is out to push their religious beliefs on you. Every time I have eaten there, the wait staff is so pleasant and courteous that I’m tempted to find more places of worship to dine at! Plus, I love dining in their garden courtyard with its stained glass windows and a gorgeous tree in the center.

It’s Different in Naples, Italy: The Neapolitan Playing Card Deck

Differences Between the Neapolitan and American Card Deck Did you know that in Naples, Italy people play cards with a completely different deck than we do in the USA? Unlike the American 52 card deck, southern Italians use a 40 card deck. Also, Neapolitan cards are not numbered, so you need to count how many of that particular suit are on the card. The two of swords, for instance, has two swords drawn on it, but no numbers. This type of card goes up to seven. After that, for the eight, nine and ten, there are face cards. The entire…

Traveler’s Show & Tell: From Favelas to Faceburger

Welcome to the January 21, 2012 edition of Traveler’s Show and Tell. This week’s Traveler’s Show and Tell blog carnival features thirteen travelers. Read on to find out: … why folks in New Orleans drink coffee with chicory root added to it. … how to make the most of a trip to Jamaica. …why the Amalfi coast is worth visiting – again and again. … what life is really like in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. … and much, much more! This Week’s Travel Photo This burger joint’s blatant ripoff of the Facebook logo gave me a double take…

Transatlantic Cruise Sunsets and How I was Inspired by a Vacuum Cleaner Salesman

One of the first things people ask when I tell them I’m a writer is, “Where do you get your ideas?” I find this kinda funny, because to me, ideas are like spores; they are everywhere, but seem invisible until they suddenly pop up into your mind like tiny mushrooms. For instance, I recently wrote “Is Transatlantic Cruising Right for You?” for The Traveler’s Way. Where did I get that idea? From a conversation I had with a vacuum cleaner salesman.