A View From A Broad Blog

Nice Jacket - Fashion at the Olympic Games

2010-02-28T19:35:33Z

Kiratiana rocking her Dutch jacket!As I walked into the unaccredited media center at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, people complimented me on my bright orange jacket that I had just bought at Heineken house. Even though I had seen Shani Davis win a gold medal, and actually curled after watching curling, nothing made me feel better than the compliments I received on the Netherlands Olympic Supporter Jacket.

While athletes are trying to win and do their best, National Olympic Committees are trying to make sure they look good while winning and receiving their medals.

My $200 USD Suit Supply Netherlands supporter jacket not only made me look good, but also managed to get me into a couple of exclusive parties because people thought I was a Dutch athlete.

This jacket inspired me to check the Olympic Gear of some other countries and do a little comparison.

Sunday Afternoon Tea and Macarons - Paris, France

2009-11-30T15:10:51Z

This summer I spent a lovely hour or so at the Hôtel Des Académies Et Des Arts in Paris.

The only reason for my short visit was due to the hotel being sold out.

But loving the fact that they had hired street artist Jérôme Mesnager, giving him carte blanche to use the hotel as his canvas — I couldn’t resist stopping in. He painted one of his famous white bodies in each of the 20 rooms, throughout the main floor, and even a 50-foot mural on the exterior of the building.

Luckily for me, the hotel’s bistro serves tea from 2:30 to 6:00 pm daily, so I didn’t

Voluntourism Opportunity in Roatan, Honduras

2009-11-06T16:34:32Z

Tomorrow two of the Galavanting gals and I will be departing on the #FollowMeAtSea Princess Cruises Twitter press trip. When first invited, I wasn’t really keen to go because I’m not an organized tour kind of girl. But then I thought it would be a fun challenge to find the most unique and unexpected things to do while on a cruise.

When we found out the ports of call a few months ago, we began the hunt for cool things to do. Since we’re only in Roatan, Honduras for one day (November 11th), and since cruise tourists have such a bad reputation for never truly seeing the local communities visited, we decided to make our day there about helping a local charity. Our contributing editor Shanna Quinn researched a reputable, effective charity for us to

The Galavanting Gals Take a Western Caribbean Cruise!

2009-10-27T18:03:25Z

photo by vlasta2 on flickrIn less than two weeks, three of the gals of Galavanting will be heading on a Princess Cruise to the Western Caribbean. We’re pretty excited about the various ports of call, which will be Grand Cayman Island, Honduras, Mexico and the Bahamas. Quite a way to get out of the Chicago winter cold!

Along with several other travel writers who have a penchant for tweeting while on the road, we were invited by Princess Cruises to take a trip on their dime and report our experiences as part of a first-ever “Twitter Press Trip”. Seriously … pretty sweet gig, no?

(Don’t worry — as always — we drive the content of everything published on Galavanting and do not accept sponsored/paid posts.)

So check back here on Galavanting’s worldwide travel blog for some fun little videos

Parador of Santo Estevo

2009-10-25T05:12:50Z

Don’t miss this place —The Parador of Santo Estevo in Spain’s northwestern region of Galicia is one of those places where you begin making plans for a return visit even before you enter the front door.

About 35 kilometers from Ourense, the parador is a former Benedictine monastery dating from the 6th Century. Yes, that’s hard to believe, but historians say the original foundation is that old. Indeed, inside the chapel that serves as the parish church for the surrounding area is an altarpiece that is that old. The “new” altarpiece” that is currently in use is from the Baroque period, only a few hundred years ago.

Historic Christmas Markets -- Colmar, France

2009-10-04T15:33:24Z

As the air chills once again here in Chicago, I’m reminded of last December when I was sipping hot spiced wine and catching whiffs of roasted chestnuts while walking around the enchanting city of Colmar, France with Mr. Galavanting. We were also shooting an episode of Galavanting TV on the Alsace Region of France, which will be out in November 2009. It was a magical time and I’m so glad we decided to spend some time in this area during the historic Christmas Markets.

This year the Colmar and surrounding village Christmas Markets will be open from 25 November to 31 December, 2009. Tons of details can be found on the city’s website dedicated to the holiday season.

We flew into Basel, Switzerland and drove up to Colmar, which was very convenient. Travelers can also easily reach Colmar via Strasbourg which also gets pretty decked out for the Christmas holiday. I have a deep love for the city of Strasbourg and its enormous cathedral is one that should not be missed. However, the charming village of Colmar is the epitome of quaint and was the perfect way to experience the seasonal markets.

Here’s a peek at my trip last year and more information on the Christmas Markets:

The best way to describe Colmar is this: GORGEOUS. It drips with charm and

Amnestitized! – Porto Alegre, Brazil

2009-08-11T22:43:10Z

…and the rest of my slightly unorthodox story.

As I’ve mentioned before, I made my first trip to Brazil in November, 2005 to visit my then-boyfriend. Shortly after my second visit (in March 2006) and first handful of Portuguese lessons, I knew I wanted to live here someday. But how? I started looking into visa options—and found…not many. Work visa? Difficult to come by with my background and Portuguese ability. Student visa? Actually, I didn’t research this one as much as I should have, and it’s the option I’d recommend now to similarly-minded adventurers. Tie the knot? I’ve already stated that I’m a romantic, but I am also enough of a realist to acknowledge that my relationship—which was deteriorating rapidly after my third visit in October of that year—was not sound enough to jump into anything so…significant.

One day, grasping at straws to satisfy my belief in the adage where there’s a will, there’s a way, I looked up the Portuguese word for “amnesty” in the dictionary. Controversial though it may be, my subsequent Googling revealed that Brazil had offered anistia to people in “irregular [visa] situations” (the Brazilian government is decorous enough to use that term rather than “illegal aliens”) in late 1988 and 1998. You see where I’m going with this…

I tucked that information into my back pocket and carried on working and saving, traveling on reconnaissance missions to cities in Brazil which I had laboriously ranked on criteria I deemed important; among them, crime, economics, transportation, green space, etc. I learned more about the law, which in early 2007 had been drafted and was floating around Congress, and the penalty for overstaying a tourist visa.

The guy and I split at the end of that year, but I hadn’t changed my dream. Among the items I packed in March, 2008 was a refrigerator magnet that reads,

Hello, City Slicker! – Canela, Brazil

2009-05-09T16:57:47Z

I recently took a bus to Canela, situated in the mountains a couple hours north of Porto Alegre. I checked in to Pousada do Viajante, which was conveniently located next to the rodoviária (bus terminal), and offered comfortable, en-suite, private rooms for quite modest prices.

The weather was perfect for my excursion—sunny skies and a lovely breeze. I set out in the afternoon for a long ramble around. Heading past the charming stone cathedral, I aimed for one of

San Lorenzo Market & Tuscan Cooking - Florence, Italy

2009-04-17T19:01:49Z

On a recent trip to Italy, I had a brief stopover in the lovely city of Florence.

The highlight was having a lovely lunch with Judy Witts-Francini (a.k.a. Divina Cucina) who teaches about Tuscan culinary arts. Yum. In fact, she just came out with a brand-new book called, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen. I love the stamp on the bottom that says "Tuscan Husband Seal of Approval."

On Judy's recommendation, I went to the San Lorenzo Markets the next morning. Not only was it a great respite from the throngs of angsty teenagers from the ENTIRE European continent who were in town on school trips that day, it was absolutely beautiful.

Away from the hustle and bustle, the indoor market is full of proud market stall owners. Their artful

Architecture Lover's Dream - Barcelona, Spain

2009-02-02T13:34:48Z

Having lived in London since late September, one weekend--in desperate need of sunshine and vitamin D -- I went to Barcelona, Spain for a quick 3 day trip. I didn't find the UV exposure I was hoping for, but I had a fantastic time frolicking about the city in the rain taking in as much Gaudi architecture as I could handle. This visit was my second one to Spain, first one to Barcelona, and I became quickly obsessed with the colors, the forms, and the contrasts of this architecture-lover's wet dream.

My first stop was La Pedrera, which is known most for its decadent rooftop and innovative, organic archways. This photograph shows a small portion of the terrace with a shot of the Sagrada Familia in the background.

Another of Gaudi's houses, the Casa Batlló, was one of my favorites. A bit older than La Pedrera, it used similar organic shapes but had many more distinctive elements. The facade undulated like the surface of