Marrakech, Morocco Today's post is by Amanda of MarocMama. She's been answering many of my questions about Morocco both in the comments of TourAbsurd and by email. I am really grateful for all her help! This post will help you come along (in spirit) for my first visit to Marrakech. In fact, she's even included …
Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade
ps: Wrote a short article for Examiner.com – "St. Patrick's Day: Bigger, better, and greener than ever." pps: A friend of mine just hipped me to this hilarious website: Paddy, Not Patty.
Morocco Prep 2: The New ‘Do
Cork, Ireland I let my hair get longer than usual because I was using it for insulation. Despite the weather difference, more women in Ireland have short hair than women in Italy. I prefer short, low-maintenance hair, but it had simply been too cold for that. With longer days and warmer weather making itself apparent, …
The Best Arancini in Italy
Catania, Italy I had not really intended on going anywhere for the weekend, but Dario had other plans. After a short discussion on possible destinations, we decided on Sicily. It was time to find the best arancini in Italy, and Catania was the place to do it! First view of My Mountain (Etna) from …
Help me plan my trip to Morocco
4 March 2011 I am terribly excited about my upcoming trip to Morocco, and yet I am also nervous. I tend to over-plan things because I like to have info, know my options, make the best choices, not miss out on something extraordinary, and because I just like doing it. I enjoy the ride of …
Featured photo: Venetian scallops
Venice, Italy This is a photo taken in the fish market in Venice, Italy. I saw a lot of suprisingly pretty seafood, as well as some that seemed rather tragic (eels and snails that were still in various stages of being alive). The colors and texture of this photo surprised me when I looked at …
Morocco prep: camel sketch
23 Feb. 2011 Cork, Ireland Looking forward to my trip to Morocco in March. Fellow travel blogger, Phil (from www.philintheblank.net), has a thing for drawing camels — and for getting others to do likewise. I find this amusing and have been thinking about it since I found out. It's been a while since I sketched …
Featured photo: mud volcano!
Cartagena, Colombia I must admit that, as a child of the 70's and 80's, the very first thing I think of when I hear "Cartagena, Colombia," is Michael Douglas's voice speaking the city's name in Romancing The Stone. (Then I think of the scene with "…my little mule!" and try not to think of the …
Serenella’s Limoncello Recipe
Naples, Italy (Note: the recipe is at the end ↓ Only 5 short paragraphs between here and there, I promise!) I first tried limoncello while out with friends and fellow Couchsurfers at Trattoria da Nennella in Naples. There were 14 of us there and we had lots of food and red wine. I'm a …
Featured photo: Mt. Vesuvio
Naples, Italy As a big fan of nature, I dislike descriptions of volcanoes that include words like "fury" and "wrath." It's just nature, after all. I mean, if you watch a cooking show, you don't focus on the tragic destruction of all those little wheat seeds, do you? No, you just look forward to the …
Featured photo: Stromboli
Stromboli, Italy Photo of a ship anchored off the volcanic island of Stromboli, with the Strombolicchio in the background. The Strombolicchio is the "throat" of an ancient volcano, possibly the oldest in the region. As I understand it, all of the Aolian Islands in Sicily are volcanic, with two of them (Stromboli and Vulcano) remaining …
Featured photo: Black Rhino
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania This is one of my favorite photos of all time. It had just started to rain in the crater (caldera, really) which added a nice, diffuse quality to the light. Additionally, the moisture made the hide of the rhino slightly reflective and the texture more distinct. There are so few black rhinos …
What’s the deal with Egypt?
A quick rundown of some of the confusing emotion, conflicting information, and different takes on Egypt’s revolution.
Elephants, elephants, elephants!
1-4 Jan. 2009 Lake Manyara / Serengeti / Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania This post is ALL about the elephants. There's not a lot of narration here, but if you like elephants, you'll like the post! There are 3 slideshows and 1 video. Enjoy! A young, male elephant at Lake Manyara. It may not …
How to drive your Italian lover crazy!
Naples, Italy Out for a late night cioccolata with my handsome Italian companion, he suddenly leaned forward to kiss me. Finalmente! I had heard about how romantic Italian men are, and now I was being given a chance to test the theory. Fortunately, my charming companion was a talented kisser and did not disappoint. …
Our friend, Mena.
26 Nov. 2009 / 29 Jan. 2011 Aswan, Egypt / Cork, Ireland Tonight I sent a text message to our friend, Mena, whom we met in Egypt. Our trip to the land of the pharaohs was a whirlwind week spent seeing as many sights as we could, cram packed into a package deal with …
Serengeti: Day 2 (Part 2) – Hippos and Crocs!
3 Jan. 2009 Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Because the photo opportunities are so VAST in Tanzania, I still have not finished posting pictures from our trip. Not to mention that we have been rather busy for the last 2 years: visiting Egypt (egad, more pics!), moving from one place in Naples to another place in …
Travel Photography Roulette: Round 9
28 Jan. 2011 Cork, Ireland Johnny Vagabond is hosting the latest round of Travel Photography Roulette. The theme this time is water. There are so many fabulous photos entered that I feel like a bit of a hack. Still, I LOOOOVE this picture, so I entered. :) I daydream about this place every day… …