Flying High Above the Costa Brava – Aerial Photos

I recently had the unique opportunity to head up in a small airplane for a scenic flight over Costa Brava. Upon arriving at the Empuriabrava Aerodromo, Arantxa Ros, Andy Montgomery and I were introduced to our pilot for the day and were then lead over to the small hangar where the airplane was housed. The[…]

Sidrerias – Cider House Encounters in Asturias, Spain

One of the many surprises I encountered during my time in Asturias, Spain were the sidrerias, or the cider houses. Fresh off, er, straight off a trans-Atalntic, overnight flight, just after a quick stop at the hotel, my guide Hugo took me to my first ever sidreria, Tierra Astur in Oviedo. Upon our arrival, we[…]

A Traveler Exploring Genealogy and Technology at RootsTech

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the first ever RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City, Utah as one of a few hosted national bloggers. In planning our 2011 objectives for the Brilliant Tips Travel Blog, we aimed to get more involved in the lifestyle and cultural aspect of travel. The opportunity to[…]

Flying High Above Benicassim, Spain

As part of this past week’s #BlogTripFIB, I had the amazing opportunity to fly in a small plane over the city of Benicassim (one hour north of Valencia, Spain) and take some aerial photos with video blogger extraordinaire Diego Pons of Viajando con Diego. As a self-proclaimed airplane geek, I was thrilled when I received a call from @joantxo offering me the chance to snap some birds-eye-view shots of Benicassim and the FIB festival grounds.

The White Elephant’s Lobster Bloody Mary

Last night, while at the Barnacle in Marblehead with Gary Arndt of Everything Everywhere, a waitress walked by with a Bloody Mary and the couple at the table next to us asked if we’d ever had a Lobster Bloody Mary. Apparently, Nantucket’s Brant Point Grill (a.k.a. BPG) in the White Elephant Hotel serves up a[…]

Nova Scotia’s Celtic Traditions

While at the New York Times Travel Show last weekend, I stopped by the Nova Scotia Tourism booth to see what was new and had a great chat with their sales rep Michele. One of the things we talked about was Nova Scotia’s Celtic culture and history and its vibrant music scene. There are as[…]

Giraffe Manor – Go Eyeball to Eyeball with Giraffe

This past summer, my neighbors took a once in a lifetime family trip around the world, visiting 15 countries during a relatively short period of 35 days. The Rickards’ modes of transportation during their great adventure, according to rickardstravel.com, included “traveling via planes, cars, elephants, taxis, trains, metro systems, camels, boats and buses.” Accommodations included[…]