travel that speaks to the heart
Growing up in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle, I am no stranger to hurricanes. These weather events have been sprinkled across my story over the years, always just a “fact of life” as a southern girl. With that said, there have been a few that have stood out over the years – such as…
To my daughter, Heidi Rose, on her second birthday, Happy, happy birthday, Little One! What a journey we’ve had these past two years! And what a joy it has been to watch you grow and become the remarkable human you are meant to be! From the moment of your arrival in Zurich, Switzerland to the…
If you follow me on Instagram, you may know that I have had the opportunity to return to Spain recently as a trip leader with Global Works Travel. You also may know that I absolutely love flamenco music and flamenco dancing. Case in point… Whenever our travel itinerary includes Granada, I always get to take…
Snowflakes rush past – an army of sugar-coated ants scurrying home in the wind. The scenery moves with them: Forests built on rocks; Rocks resting on sea – a sparkling body of cold energy, an ever-changing tapestry pulled across the loom of my horizon. Wooden cottages, painted deep red, trimmed with white appear in the…
Hey y’all! I need to share some exciting news with you… I’ve got a new travel companion, who is growing inside me! I’m pregnant! Justin and I are expecting to meet the littlest “Global Heartbeat” in September, and we are super excited about this next phase in our life. However, our precious pup, Basil the Kooiker,…
Two years ago this month, I set out from Central Florida with four other team members to Central Taiwan to take part in the Rotary International’s Group Study Exchange program. While I learned many things from our Taiwanese hosts, I gained an exceptionally unique perspective by traveling with one of my GSE teammates, Kyle Coon. Kyle Coon is an…
“Everything about Monaci was all love-driven,” he explained. Birdsong fluttered into the restored 19th century building, and the soft light from the spring sun bathed the room in a hazy glow. He sat with me at a round table under a dome of faded paint. His large glasses covered much of his kind face, and…
When you go grocery shopping, do you prefer one supermarket over another? Every time I move to a new city, I eventually find a favorite place to shop for my weekly essentials, and moving to Zurich was no exception. In Switzerland, two mega-companies vie for the support and loyalty of every Swiss household. They are Coop and Migros. Established as the Union Suisse…
Snow falls softly on the quiet hillside, the flakes small and light – but numerous and relentless. A sparkling blanket of white spreads out slowly over yesterday’s footprints, filling in the lumpy gaps to restore the seamless covering over the frozen earth. The trees stand tall through the dusting of power, their branches stretching out to catch…
Recently, I escaped the chill of Switzerland and jetted down south for the weekend. The destination: Catania, Sicily. Located just off the toe of the Italian boot, the island of Sicily – Sicilia in Italian – is a rugged nugget of historical significance, geographical dynamism, and cultural intrigue. For a weekend in this fabled land, I booked my…
When we are reintroduced some twelve years later, we are little more than acquaintances. Proud and distinguished, like an elderly woman born into luxury and predisposed to a particular standard of life, Milan greets me in her finest display of fashion prominence and financial power as I step off the train. Amidst the briskly moving…
On a blistering hot afternoon in the Cambodian countryside, we walked into a landmine. A landmine museum, that is. About 25 km outside of Siem Reap resides the Cambodia Landmine Museum. This little complex has a big heart for healing war-torn Cambodia and a mission to care for and educate children who have been directly affected…
On a new adventure I soon embark. My heart, full of joy and gratitude, looking forward to this foreign place: Where East and West collide to create a modern fabric of ancient traditions, A sweet potato surrounded by rolling waves, A land of old and new, whose rugged physicality mirrors a turbulent history. I am…
Amizade is Portuguese for friendship. Through the adventures we are having in our own home, my husband Justin and I have more reasons than ever to know and understand friendship in multiple languages. Why? Because we are Airbnb hosts. If you are unfamiliar with the company revolutionizing the travel industry, it’s time for an introduction: Founded in August of 2008…
It was a blustery autumn evening in 1970. The alpine winds whipped off Lake Geneva with unseasonal gusto. The leaves rustled in the trees and rained down in a lazy, haphazard manner, making their whirling descent toward the cobblestone streets below. Lamp posts offered stations of false warmth to pedestrians passing under their soft glow.…
“I’m going to shoot myself,” he said. What? Why would he say that? He shook his head slowly and then moved close to her face. She leaned towards him coquettishly in response. Vodka tonics. Red wine. They had already consumed an unknown number of drinks, and it was around the sixth hour of the transatlantic…
A three-week journey throughout Peru with my husband and another married couple last year was an incredible and unparalleled adventure. Our travels in this multicultural country awarded us exceptional glimpses into the lives of the marvelous people of Peru. Lima: The Capital City The Region of Cusco: The Inca Trail + Machu Picchu The Region of Cusco: Merchants + Markets The Region of Puno:…
Shortly after I passed under the Karlstor, the prosaic medieval gate that leads into Munich’s city center, my senses were bombarded by the trendy merchandise posing provocatively in the windows of retail empires. As much as my inner-diva wanted to reply to their beckoning call with a quick embrace and a credit card swipe, I…