Category Archives: Travel Articles

Quiz: State Fair Foods- Real or Fake?

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a close up of foodThe state fair is an event that I’ve been wanted to experience for quite some time. I’m trying to figure some things out so we can finally get to go to one next month.

When I think of a state fair, rides, bizarre competitions and local & strange foods come to mind.

Over the summer I wrote a post about 10 Best State Fairs in the US. My post (which is about an article from Fodor’s) prompted me to look into the idea of finally attending a state fair before 2014 comes to a close. Continue reading Quiz: State Fair Foods- Real or Fake? →

The Amazing Race Premieres Sept. 26

Off Topic, Travel Articles, ,

a group of people posing for a photo

The Amazing Race has long been one of my favorite shows on television. It’s hard not to be a fan if you love travel.

The Amazing Race, winner of 10 Emmy awards will be airing its 25th edition on a new night starting  Friday September 26. The show will feature 11 teams.

This season the race will introduce a new twist. Continue reading The Amazing Race Premieres Sept. 26 →

Nike Developing High-Tech Plane for Athletes?

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a seat in a planeNike and design firm Teague have come up with a design for an “Athlete’s Plane” so they can have “home-team advantage at 40,000 feet”.

Imagine how uncomfortable it must be for athletes (think 7 foot tall basketball players, 6’4 330 pound football players) to travel on the average airplane. OK, even if they are flying in business class or on a private jet with a little extra space would this still be optimal for performance? Continue reading Nike Developing High-Tech Plane for Athletes? →

America’s Quirkiest Towns

Travel Articles

a black text on a white background

I came across a slideshow by Travel + Leisure about what I think could be some very interesting places. Since I love visiting sites, museums and places that might offer something a bit strange and different, towns that are considered to have these kinds of qualities should be perfect for me as well.

So what do I consider strange and different sites? Check out posts about my visit to The Shit Fountain in Chicago and the Friets Museum in Belgium as a couple of examples.

T+L’s slideshow is about America’s Quirkiest Towns.

What does quirky mean? According to Urban Dictionary, quirky is “something that is strange/ not normal but cool”. Continue reading America’s Quirkiest Towns →

Worst Things Americans Say on Vacation

Travel Articles,
a man holding a camera
image from dailymail.co.uk

I’ll admit that there are times that I cringe when I see that a really bad caricature of an American tourist in real life while traveling around the world.

(Think Hawaiian shirt, socks with sandals, loud and a know-it all personality just to name a few things to look out for.)

Most would (generally speaking) stereotype American tourists as loud, obnoxious, self-absorbed and poorly dressed, usually standing out and easily identified while visiting a foreign country.

However, as a whole I resent those assumptions. Continue reading Worst Things Americans Say on Vacation →

Quiz: Can You Guess the Major City

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a cartoon of a planet

How good are you at identifying cities based on how they look?

While I wouldn’t consider myself any sort of geography expert, I do think that I could identify many cities due to famous landmarks. (I’d guess that many of you could too!)

When thinking of cities and their famous site/ landmark, here are some that come to mind: Continue reading Quiz: Can You Guess the Major City →

The Weekly Rehash

Travel Articles,

The Weekly Rehash

It’s time for another rehash of the previous week in the world of Michael W Travels.

We made it home from our trip Back to The Balkans last Sunday. Our flight home was with Finnair in Business Class. The flight went well but Finnair might just offer the worst in-flight entertainment selection that I can think of. Otherwise, our seats were comfortable, the food was OK and that’s about it.

I started writing about the Balkans trip this week and plan to write about another few days of the trip this week.  Continue reading The Weekly Rehash →

Is This The Worst Airbnb

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What's Up With the New Airbnb Logo?I’m sure that at one time or another we’ve all had a stay  at a place that would be best described as a dud.

Kim and I try to keep our lodging budget to a minimum but love to mix in stays in nicer places with our points. This can make for some interesting stays- one day a beautiful room with a great shower while two days later the room can be let’s just say not so great…

This brings me to Airbnb. When looking for a place to stay it might not be our first choice but makes for a good option when budget hotels don’t seem worth it.

During our limited times using Airbnb we’ve left (pretty much) satisfied after each stay.

Kim came across an article on Gawker about Airbnb which I find almost impossible to believe. Continue reading Is This The Worst Airbnb →

10 of the World’s Greatest Ruins

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2014 Friendliest & Unfriendliest Cities in the WorldThroughout our travels I’d say that if I had to pick favorite experiences, visiting ruins and adventures involving animals would rank at the top for us.

When visiting a country, a lot can be learned by visiting great ruins from past times. It can really explain a lot in relation to how a people lived and got by. Other ruins can also leave many question unanswered.

I think all of these elements create an excitement and leave it open for us to wonder & fill in the blanks on our own. I love imagining how the people built and crafted some of the amazing sites we’ve visited over the years. Continue reading 10 of the World’s Greatest Ruins →

How Many European Countries Have You Visited?

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a book and a spoon on a map

Last week I was inspired to look into how many U.S. states I’ve been to thanks to a short and simple post from Buzzfeed. (Check out the post here and use the checklist to see how many you’ve visited.)

The post brought a good amount of interest. A bunch of readers have made it to all 50 states and some others were close to completing this special feat.  Continue reading How Many European Countries Have You Visited? →