Best Reads: March 2014

Spring has officially started, but you see no sign of it at all in Vancouver. Aside from a couple perfect days, it has been raining. Yesterday, I got hailed on while walking around downtown. I had an umbrella, but that doesn’t help when things are coming down sideways and are the size of your pinky fingernail.

No rain? It’s a rarity in Vancouver!

March was relatively uneventful. I’m making plans for future trips so hopefully I’ll have something in the works soon. I’ve been home a month and a half and I’m already getting itchy feet!

Around Here & Elsewhere

This month I celebrated my one year blogiversary! I wrote about what it was like to visit the thermal baths in Budapest and wrote a guide to the baths so you don’t have to be as lost as I was. I also put together a guide of what to drink while in Hungary – essentially skip the beer and drink lots of wine. I’ve also updated my Destinations page so now it looks all fancy. There are still a couple more images to be put up there and then I have to get started on all that content!

The end of winter and beginning of spring is a great time to go skiing. Check out this great round up by Traveluster of ski resorts from around the world. Have you ever celebrated a birthday while traveling or living abroad? Travel bloggers share their birthday stories over at Lady of the Zoos – a hilarious read and see if you can spot my random birthday story (and photo!). Do you like eating bizarre foods from around the world? Check out what bloggers had to say over at The Southern Gypsy.

Destination

Believing the Hype of Bled
I love Slovenia and I especially adored my time in Bled. I would love to go back to both. Caitlyn over at Olympic Wanderings wrote a beautiful post about what makes Bled so special.

The Quiet Corners of Venice, Italy
I’ve never been to Venice. All I hear is how expensive it is and how many people there are. But this version of Venice sounds right up my alley. Full of gorgeous photos, see what Venice is like without all the crowds.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter (and Part II)
I adore Harry Potter and I’m a massive fan. I missed out on the studio tour when I was in London and really really wish I went. Check out this two part series and all the fabulous photos. I want a butterbeer.

20 Must-See Landmarks Around the World
One of the themes for #FriFotos this month was Landmarks. This is a great round up of the landmarks around the world complete with gorgeous photography.

Journey

Where would you like to go? Photo: Aleksandra Boguslawska

What is Your Responsibility As a Traveler?
A great essay pointing out the things to think about and consider when traveling the world so that you leave minimal impact. Minimal impact means beyond just the environment, its the people, the culture and their lifestyle that you can affect. Read this post!

The Problem with Voluntourism
This writer brings up a lot of good points. I went to Cambodia in my final year of high school to building a school and fix up another. Reflecting on it almost 10 years later, makes me wonder how much good we actually did.

12 Things Travel Bloggers Can Do To Achieve Success In an Insanely Crowded Space
Do you run a travel blog or want to one day? Read this great write up on how to be successful. Essentially it boils down to good content and hard work. I try to put quality content first here on my blog and hopefully you agree.

How to Find Work Overseas and Network Like a Champ
Turner over at Around the World in 80 Jobs breaks down the process of finding overseas work. He should know – he did it 80 times!

What is the Cheapest Airfare Search Engine? The Data Doesn’t Lie
Where do you book your flights from? Do you use a flight search engine? You gotta read this then. An interesting study.

Eat

Burmese street food – Photo: Jason Eppink

Yelp Data Reveals Top 100 Places to Eat: Bookmark These Babies Now!
Let’s go eating!

How to Eat Yourself Full in Milwaukee
Who knew Milwaukee had so much cheese? Certainly not me. Those deep fried cheese curds sure look delicious.

21 Things You Should Know About Japanese Food
Did you know Japanese food is on the UNESCO heritage site list? Me neither. That and many more facts about Japanese food in this post. I’m hungry.