Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast

The Amateur Traveler talks to Italophile Ira Bernstein who returns to the show to talk about day trips in Tuscany that you can take from Florence. We talk about visiting the walled city of Siena and its famous bareback horse race the palio, viewing the many towers of San Gimignano, climbing the leaning tower of Pisa (after you take the obligatory picture of someone holding it up), and walking on the walls of Lucca. Each town has its own character and attractions. Arezzo has a jewelry museum and the home of the “Father of Humanism” Petrarch. Fiesole is a rich enclave, a suburb of Florence with views of the city and a roman theatre. Montepulciano and Montalcino are both known for their wines. Ira talks about some of the events that the locals enjoy like the palios, flea markets and flag throwing competitions. So even if you just get as far out of Florence as Piazzale Michelangelo there are many places to explore in Tuscany. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Dan Stromberg about his recent trip to Mali. Mali is a destination so remote that Dan says “I couldn’t imagine myself being here when I was there”. Dan started in the capital city of Bamako, before heading out to Bandiagara and Dogon country. The highlight of the visit was a trek along the Bandiagara Escarpment which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Dan and his girlfriend, along with a guide, walked and hiked along the cliffs and then stayed in the local villages of the Dogon people at the base of this 200 km long sandstone cliff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris, the Amateur Traveler himself, talks about a recent trip to New Zealand’s North Island where he went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and took a dolphin watching cruise up by the Bay of Islands. He visited the Coromandel Peninsula with Cathedral Cove and Hot Water beach, toured but can’t talk about Hobbiton near Matamata, climbed Mt Maunganui, saw (and smelled) the geysers and baths at Rotorua, journeyed south to the Capital at Wellington, visited a ski area on a volcano and rafted the caves of Waitaomo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Pamela Beck of the Department of Tourism for Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada. Pamela describes Prince Edward Island (or PEI) as a get away from it all location that is easy to get to. Surrounded by beaches this 140 mile long island features wonderful seafood and champion oyster shuckers. It has miles of bike trails and relaxed helpful locals. Pamela also describes it as a wonderful golf vacation or a place where you can try your hand at lobster fishing (be ready to get up very early), oyster raking or chocolate making through one of their experience tourism programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Melanie Waldman of TravelsWithTwo.com about a recent trip to the Cook Islands in the Pacific. Think of the Cook Islands as Tahiti without the French language and using the New Zealand dollar to make it more affordable. Melanie tells us about this corner of Polynesia with beautiful resorts that she and her husband visited for their 10th anniversary. They hiked the mountainous spine of Raratongo with Pa who knows all of the plants and their uses and cruised the small outer islands of Aitutaki with a guide named Captain Awesome. They also took an archeology tour, drove the ring roads, shopped in the farmer’s market and just hung out on the beach drinking the cocktails of the moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Sam Oppenheim who makes a rare 4th appearance on the show to talk about Bali in Indonesia. Sam started his exploration of Bali in Ubud which is the cultural capital of the area. He met two of the people mentioned in the popular book Eat, Pray, Love: Wayan and Ketut Liyer. In Ubud he attended some of the traditional Balinese dances (Legong, Barong and Kecak). Sam explored the Hindu temples and the resort area of Kuta Beach with its famous nightlife, dove a ship wreck and explored the island by motorcycle. Sam’s does regret was not getting down to Nusa Dua on the southern tip with its wonderful sunsets or out to Komodo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Erik Smith about his home state of Michigan. Erik has been on the show twice before talking about National Parks but this time he tells us about the beautiful state of Michigan. While Erik is from the Detroit area and describes some of its museums and other attractions what he really recommends is the west coast of Michigan with its sand dunes and sunsets, Traverse City with its boating, and the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula. He does manage to work some national parks (Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale) and state parks into the conversation. We also talk about the European-style of Ann Arbor, the quirks of John Harvey Kellogg and the unusual location of Edison’s New Jersey lab (moved by Henry Ford to Michigan).​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com  about UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage List includes 890 sites from around the world which are part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having “outstanding universal value”. We talk about various sites as well as how to use this list as a resource in your travels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lillie Marshall of AroundTheWorldL.com about the 3 months she volunteered in Ghana in sub-Saharan West Africa on her round the world trip. She worked for the program Youth Creating Change. Lillie talks about some of the tourist spots in Ghana like the the slavery castle at Cape Coast and Mole National Park. Then she talks about what it is like to live and volunteer in a 3rd world country where the people are wonderful and some of the cultural differences can be striking (don’t ask why she didn’t like the beaches). She extols the wonders of food like fufu and how to buy a $10 hand made dress. She also talks briefly about the capital of Accra that Lonely Planet thinks is their second least favorite city on the planet.NewsGun Taken From Suicidal JetBlue Pilot in Crew LoungePushy fliers may show up on TSA’s radarShow NotesAround the World L – Lilly Marshall’s blogGhana@WorldLillie – Lilly on twitterCouchsurfing.comYouth Creating ChangeCape Coast Slave CastleHostels in GhanaAhh!!! A W

The Amateur Traveler talks to Melody who has been living as an exchange student in Hong Kong. Melody tells us what to see in Hong Kong from the very western feeling Central neighborhood of Hong Kong island, the peak and the mid-level escalators to the more Chinese neighborhoods in Kowloon and the less populated New Territories. She also takes us out to some of the outlying islands like Lantau island with the Big Buddha & Po Lin Monastery, Cheung Chau Island with its famous bun festival, and the nearly uninhabited Po Toi island.We talk about the 10,000 Buddha Monastery and eat dinner on plastic stools in the middle of the Temple street night market. We explore the fish, flower, bird and jade markets. Melody recommends the Star Ferry for a great view of Hong Kong island, especially at night.For nightlife Melody recommends Wednesday and Thursday nights when ladies often get free drinks. Her favorite night spot is the Cavern and a famous one is the Fringe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch

The Amateur Traveler talks to photographer Ralph Velasco about a trip to the very new country of Montenegro. When Ralph visited the country it was the newest country on the planet after it split off of Serbia. This mountainous country boasts the southern most fjords in Europe, old walled Venetian towns, fortresses, island churches, hikes, rafting, and some wonderful photography. Ralph stayed on the coast and visited the coastal cities of Kotor, Budva and Perast among others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Matt Anderson about a recent trip to Taiwan during the Chinese new year celebration. Matt, who is an English teacher in South Korea, started his trip in Taiwan’s capital of Taipei before exploring the eastern coast and the rich heritage of Taiwan’s aboriginal people in the south.In Taipei Matt recommends eating at the Shilin night market where the fried chicken and the sausage are particularly good. Matt and his girlfriend also went to Taipei 101 (which is now the world’s 2nd tallest building), the Chiang Kai-shek memorial, and an assortment of temples including the Confucius temple, the Bo-an temple and the Longshan temple.Matt explored the rugged and less populated east coast on a bike trip that started in Hualien. He visited the Taroko Gorge near to Hualien and nearly spent a night in jail… but it’s not what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Sean Keaner of the BootsNAll travel network about the city of Portland Oregon. Sean describes the independent character of the city that is expressed in its brew pubs, food carts and hip culture. It is also evident in the famous Powell’s bookstore. Portland has a reputation for being rainy but Sean tells us when to come to Portland, where to ride a bike and where to find some good Vegan food. If Vegan is not your style find out where to find a pork chop over 4 inches thick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Matthew Stone about his home in Northern Virginia. Matthew describes things to do in Northern Virginia either as a side trip from Washington D.C. or a trip in its own right. We start at the famous monuments and Arlington National Cemetary just south of the District of Columbia and proceed to George Washington’s home of Mount Vernon. Matthew then describes some parks and places to escape the city a short drive away. Sure you know that the National Cemetery is in Virginia but did you know you can find a Black History museum, an Apothecary museum and a Tony award winning regional theater all within walking distance of the Metro? Add in some National Parks, Civil War Battlefields, and the SR 71 Blackbird and you may just have to rearrange your plans for your next vacation to the nation’s capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Chris Rosenkrans from Pennsylvania about his trip to the country of Yemen. Chris started in the capital city of Sana’a which he thinks is one of the beautiful cities he has ever seen. Chris then recommends a trip to the Haraz mountains to see Shibam Hadhramaut (a shibam is a city built into the cliffs) and north to Kawkaban. In addition wander around Sana’a to some of the community gardens in the area. Chris did not make it to Socotra island where many of the scents like Frankincense come from. Yemen also does sport gun markets and khat markets to this has to qualify as adventure travel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lee from Atlanta about side trips that you can take when you travel to Shanghai this year for Expo 2010. Lee is currently living in China and talks about 3 different weekend trips to destinations that are located near Shanghai. Lee starts us the in history-rich city of Nanjing the site of “China’s Holocaust” in WW 2. Nanjing has been the capital for 6 different Chinese governments and still retains its ancient walls in addition to modern shopping and the tomb of Sun Yat-sen. It was also the location of the world’s worst civil war, the Taiping Rebellion. After Nanjing we explore the many gardens and the canals of Suzhou. Finally Lee takes us to Hangzhou with its beautiful West Lake which the Chinese compare to heaven.NewsSpirit Air to experiment with carry-on bag feesAirlines losing 3000 bags – every hour of every dayWomen try to smuggle dead relative onto flightPaying to use the plane potty?Ky. Judge Rules in Favor of Online Travel SitesShow NotesExpo 2010 Shanghai ChinaTravel to

The Amateur Traveler talks about a recent trip to Maui as the guest of the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau. In this second half of a two part episode Chris talks about some of the local culture, food and festivals. He had a chance to explore his rancher roots at one of Maui’s cattle ranches, dine on local produce at some high end restaurants, mix with the locals at the Maui Ag Festival and learn more of Maui’s culture at the Celebration of the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks about a recent trip to Maui as the guest of the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau. In this first half of a two part episode Chris gives an overview of the island and talks about the Hawai’i Nature Center, the beaches and the road to Hana. Learn about swimming or hiking in lava tubes, hidden beaches and some of the naive plants of Maui.Show NotesVisit Maui BlogRainfall map of MauiWailea Beach Marriott Resort & SpaThe Ritz-Carlton, KapaluaKamehameha IHawaiian LanguageBeaches:    * Makena (big beach)    * Chang’s Beach    * ‘Ahihi Bay    * Maluaka Beach    * Wai’ anapanapa State Park    * Ka’eleku Caverns Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to John Clayton about a recent trip to Wales. John was the host of a radio travel show called “Travel with a Difference” for 16 years in the Los Angeles area and was invited to Wales by the Wales Tourism board. John is a train buff and was invited to ride on the restored narrow guage railroads of Wales which were built originally to carry slate from the Wales slate mines. He road the Mount Snowdon, West Highlands and Ffestiniog railways. John also recommends touring the slate mine at Llanberis. We also visit Port Meirion which will look familiar to fans of the TV show The Prisoner. Also find out what Bed and Breakfast you can stay at where some of the Royals used to live. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to Mike from Toronto who is living in Japan as part of an exchange program Mike talks to use about the Chugoku or middle region of Japan. Mike starts us out in Hiroshima with its world famous peace park and atomic bomb museum and its lesser known shopping and izakaya eateries. After we sample the okonomiyaki at okonomiyaki mura Mike sends us off to see the red Torii gate on Miyajima island. Mike recommends getting the Japanese railway pass because of the expensive local transportation. Mike then directs us to Yamaguchi which is known for its onsens (hot baths), 5 story temple and the church of Francis Xavier. Hagi which is a preserved walled town is our next stop. Hagi is Mike’s favorite spot in Japan. Hagi is also where many of the modernization movement came from. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices