Elmo chillin’

2) Kite Boarding is freaking fun. I realize that you can kiteboard just about anywhere that there’s an ocean but I honestly don’t think you can find instructors Me and Kim Mancelike the ones at Dare2Fly. They were so patient (and beautiful), they were informative (and ripped) and they were so kind (and beautiful).

3) The fresh seafood is amazeballs. I’m from the midwest, and by midwest, I mean the middle of the freaking country in Nebraska. Beef we got, but good seafood is a delicacy to us farm folk. The nearest ocean is about 1,000 miles away so when I get a chance to eat seafood, I turn into TLC’s 300lb. teen. Whether we were eating at the hotel bar or at the fabulous, locally owned Pincho’s, the food in Aruba was amazing.

4) The beaches in Aruba are so beautiful you don’t even need drugs. The water is Up up and away!bluer than the Bud Light can that becomes a permanent extention of your arm when you visit Aruba. The white sandy beaches are whiter than the…well they’re white. But seriously, these beaches are reason enough to visit the island. The temperature of the water is always perfect, whether you’re out at 1am or noon, diving in is simply delightful.

Kim and I killing at beach tennis5) Beach tennis is my new favorite sport. Any game that you can play with a beer in your hand is my kind of game. A paddle, a tennis ball, a net and a buzz are all you need to have fun on the beach. It is so easy to pick up that there is no boring or frustrating start. You just pick up the paddle and play! I heart this activity and our instructors.

Well, there ya go. Now check out Aruba!

Nope, I’m not wearing flip flops…

Our second day on the island started with…you guessed it, a spa treatment. The beautiful Mandara Spa was full of great smells and relaxing sounds. Now before you skip down to the next paragraph, I’ll spare you the details. I believe the proof is in the puddin’. I chose to do the Hand and Foot Ritual Treatment, that’s fancy talk for a mani/pedi. This poor girl had her work cut out for her. After schlepping everything from bagels to swag bags all over New York City, I think I made this sweet Aruban girl rethink her career path. Although I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t quite understand why I wanted to keep what I call my wolf pads, she complied and I still have feet that Moses would covet. Check out this before Pretty Aruba feet. Thanks Mandara Spa!and after. I thought my feet would never be the same after that trip but she buffed me like a brand new penny. She was the sweetest little thing even through the trauma. I left my number with her so she could contact me for the billing of the PTS. I couldn’t just run out on her. 

  The next activity was to stare at Tørsten, a very handsome, well built young German lad who happened to be giving us kite boarding lessons. Once I realized that he was actually speaking and giving us pertinant information on the activity we were about to partake in, I began to wish I hadn’t had so many drinks at the Waves Beach Bar back at the Marriott. The Dare2Fly Kiteboarding School instructors were patient and sobering. Aside from the constant salt water nose douching, kite boarding is a ton of fun, as is looking at Tørsten. The water in Aruba is simply amazing. It’s magically always just right, as is the temperature in general in Aruba. I can honestly say, I’ve never been to a more delightful place. 

Later that night we all went to dinner at a local gem of a restaurant, Pincho’s. Owned by an adorable couple that I likened to Ricky and Lucy, this delightful restaurant is located at the end of a pier. Complete with flowy curtains and swings, I fell in love with Kim Mance all over again. This beautiful setting and great food were the perfect ending to our trip in Aruba. A huge thank you to Keirsen from Aruba Marriott and Kara from Diamond PR.

“Apply for a permit to host a parade for your mom’s birthday and the police will escort you down the streets. Within a couple of years, it just might be a full-blown citywide festival” joked Ruby, who guided me and a fellow travel writer around Montréal.

We went on to learn about all of the amazing festivals that take place in Montréal each year. The Jazz Festival, the Grand Mascarade, the International Fireworks Competition, the Gay Pride & Diversity Festival, and the list goes on.

And without these dreamers and art-enablers, Cirque du Soliel might not exist as it is today. In fact, the founders were once street performers in Montréal, but won a sizeable grant from the province of Québec to form what’s now become an international sensation. 

And all this I learned in less than two days. That’s how much Montréal oozes its commitment to the arts and all things self-expression.

WATCH: Poutine being eaten, bagels being baked, tips on navigating Montreal’s public transport, and nighttime snowshoeing on Mount Royal.

THERE ON BUSINESS … AND PLEASURE

I went to speak at a conference this January, alongside Wendy Perrin from Perrin Post and Shannon Lane from Traveling Mamas, to help the Canadian tourism industry connect with bloggers.

Montréal PoutineAnd it was a great time seeing them. But I was also more than delighted that it wasn’t long before I was reunited with my old Canadian friend: Poutine.

This glorious compilation of potato fries, cheese curds and gravy, just can’t be topped. Or so I thought. At Au Pied de Cochon — a restaurant so popular it doesn’t need a sign to mark its presence — they take poutine one step further. Adding a delicate layer foie gras, they managed to make what might be the most delicious and the most sinful version of poutine in all Québec.

Who says one can’t mix business with pleasure?

A ONE-DAY MONTRÉAL BUFFET

Lineup in frigid weather for Schwartz’s world-famous smoked meat in MontréalThe tourism office kindly put us up at adorable Le Petit Hôtel, a family-owned boutique hotel in Old Montréal, which was both hip and quirky (my favorite combination).

Ruby and Tanya from the tourism office also took Shannon and me around for a day of highlights after our panel, to get a taste of the city. It was the dead of winter, but there were tons of things to do.

And we sure packed it in that day … a city tour, Schwartz’s world-famous smoked meat, Fairmount Bagel Bakery, and Les Bains Scandinave.

But we still had the energy to go snowshoeing to the top of Mount Royal, and see the nighttime lights of the cityscape. Hearing the trees crack from within due to being cold, learning about area history, and seeing the twinkling city below was a magical way to experience Montréal in winter. Our trail guide from Les amis de la Montagne was really sweet, and I loved her all the more for bringing up a thermos full of piping hot mulled wine.

A savory delight: juicy smoked meat at Schwartz’s

RE-ENTERING THE US FROM CANADA

After rumors of horror stories about travelers having difficulty coming back to the US from Canada, I expected it would be pretty painful.

Not so.

In fact, the only reason it took me three minutes or so to get through US customs before leaving Montréal’s airport (yes, you read that correctly, you go through customs before leaving Canada), was because the immigration officer and I couldn’t remember the name of the spinoff series hosted by Gomer Pile from the Andy Griffith Show. Don’t ask how we got to that point, because I couldn’t tell you, I’m just reporting the facts.

But really, it was among the smoothest re-entries back into the US I’ve had since 9/11.

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, Francehttp://www.gogalavanting.com/blog/2009/11/30/sunday-afternoon-tea-and-macarons-paris-france.htmlGalavanting2009-11-30T15:10:51Zfrance macaroons paris places to visit tea 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

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

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

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.

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

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,