Laurie's light travel travel tips

August 21, 2018: I needed to get out of town. I know that sounds rich coming from someone living in London this year, but it's how I felt. I'd bought the ticket months ago for just one night in Stockholm, a birthday celebration designed to punctuate a thesis already written. Unfortunately, that didn't happen; nor did plans to make my student loan stretch til October. I'm not even done with chapter one, and I'm so broke I'm 'borrowing' a bit of honey from cafes in order to add zest to a piece of bread. This is real. And yet, yes, I was in Sweden just yesterday. 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪 January 16, 2024: I just found the above paragraph in draft form. I had forgotten I had written it because the next day, my mother died. While in Sweden, she had told me to be sure and look at the bright, beautiful flowers in "Europe", telling me "I remember how beautiful they were." She had said this August 19th, my birthday. And so the next day, I just wandere...

Hard to believe another year is upon us, but then, I am quite sure I said this Dec. 28, 2012 as well. This past year, the talk was full of Miley Cyrus, Edward Snowden, Obamacare, the Boston bombings, "BreakingBad" and a spate of states sanctioning gay marriage. Hopefully for you, it was also full of exciting and memorable travel; but if you are like many cash-strapped Americans, 2013 was a tight year. So let's look ahead to a more prosperous 2014. Grab your passport, suntan oil, GPS and favorite traveling companion and get your booking digits ready. Herewith, five of the top ten treks for 2014: For techies: While technology is being manufactured from Japan to Chicago, California's infamous Silicon Valley is still the gold standard when it comes to all things geeky. Whether you'd like to visit Google's headquarters in Mountain View or the Apple Campus in Cupertino, SV lives up to the hype. (Note: it's not really a valley.) For...

Although it's expensive to fly to Europe from the US, that doesn't mean you'll have to mortgage the condo just to enjoy a week abroad. Think 'traveler' and not 'tourist' and you're already on your way to enjoying your time in France, Spain or as Anthony Bourdain suggests, "parts unknown." Savings can be found on everything from dining to sports, entertainment to culture. In Paris , for example, forgo the usual expensive restaurants down by the Seine and eat Croque Monsieurs or baguettes, apples and some divine brie in the Jardin du Luxembourg instead. For fun in London, most museums are free, from the Victoria and Albert (V&A) to the Tate Modern , the British Museum to the Natural History Museum . Donations are appreciated at all of these locations, and of course, the cafés are pricy. So here are my five tips for how to travel throughout Europe for under $999: 1. Book early.  And by early I mean yesterday. If you ...