This morning I saw a link on Twitter – Lonely Planet had retweeted this article about how to travel the world for free. And while I don’t think it’s as easy as the author makes it sound, it did get me thinking. I love to travel. My family was fairly nomadic when I was growing up, and although most of our journeys were confined to the United States (with one brief foray to Mexico) I caught the travel bug at a young age. By the time I was 20 I had lived in five states (Louisiana, Washington, Texas, Kansas and Florida), and had visited many of the others.

After I got married, the travel trend continued. My husband also loves to explore new places, and because we have a lot of far-flung family and friends, we have had ample opportunities to see new places, even if it’s just for a weekend (among the places we’ve stopped, however briefly: Pittsburgh, Boston, Washington D.C., San Antonio, Austin, St. Augustine, San Diego and Los Angeles).

In 2007, my parents moved overseas for job purposes. The expat lifestyle afforded them the opportunity to experience many new places and cultures, and they extended the opportunity to us. Since 2008, I have been to Singapore (twice); Bali, Indonesia (twice); Phuket, Thailand; Oahu, Hawaii; and Paris, France.

Among the places I still want to visit? Argentina, Costa Rica, Belize, Spain (particularly Barcelona), Vancouver and Toronto, NYC and more! Where would you like to go on your next vacation (domestic or international)? Any recommendations for places I need to see?

Here are some of my favorite shots from around the world (the hovertext contains caption info; click for full size image):

I love this Sunshine suitcase from Radley. The cure floral print makes it easily recognizable, and the design helps keep your stuff organized. It comes with a padded laptop compartment; a zippered area for cables and electronic equipment; several mesh compartment for unmentionables, sunglasses, and accessories; two shoe storage bags; and a laundry bag. It also has wheels and a collapsible, soft-grip handle. It’s on the pricey side ($315), but I think the extra cost it worth it for good luggage.

Like pretty much everyone, I love to travel. I want to see the world, especially since my husband’s grandma lives in France and my dad works in Singapore. These opportunities are too good to pass up. But one vacation I’ve been dreaming about for years is a trip up the Pacific Northwest Coast. Ideally, I’d like to visit Napa, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle (I used to live there!) and Vancouver. But if I only had the chance to see one of these cities, I’d choose Portland.

I’ve never been there, but I just get a certain vibe about it. It seems like a big city with a small town mentality. Very green, with lots of buses and biking, fabulous gardens, a great arts scene, tons of outdoor activities…it just seems cool.

Travel Portland has a lot of great information about the town, including lodging info, the shopping scoop, and details about the arts scene. Portland is also home to four amazing gardens: the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, The Oregon Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden, and the International Rose Test Garden.

The site also breaks down the various arts neighborhoods, has dining suggestions, and even offers multicultural and gay/lesbian information. I know that I’m going to love living in Austin, but I hope that once I’m all done with school I get to live in Portland for awhile. In the meantime, I’ll be saving up for a vacation!

Photos courtesy of Flickr:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/pleeker/126738485/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericappel/289854997/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/cassidy/8583635

Tra-la-la-la-la!

Some of you (if, in fact, there’s anyone out there reading this) might have noticed the rather weird pattern of my blogging. I got going, disappeared for awhile, and then resurfaced with a vengeance. The reason for this is that I was off traveling.

My first trip was an unexpected emergency. I had to go to Louisiana (which entailed driving through Alabama twice in one day, ugh) to visit my grandfather, who was extremely ill and in the hospital. He seems to be improving, which is fantastic, but one of my cousins is now very sick, so I’m just hoping my family will get well, already.

My other trip was a vacation back home to Florida (check Flickr for the pics). Hubbers and I went to visit my parents for a few days and had a great time. There were pedicures, shopping, jet skiing, putt-putt, two(!) meals at Peg Leg’s… I also had the chance to attend Nancy LaNasa’s jivamukti yoga class at the Avery Center. It was the first time in 4 years that I had the opportunity to go, and it was amazing! Even though I’m still feeling it 3 days later, it was totally worth it, and I wholeheartedly recommend going if you get the chance.

I think I even returned home a little invigorated, which is good, since I have a lot of projects going on. We are redoing our office, which has thrown the entire house into chaos, plus I have a heavy workload right now (summer is busy at the library!). Things will only be getting busier-in July, my in-laws are coming to visit! (No sweat, we’ll have a great time.)