Wanderlust – The Culture Mom

Wanderlust – The Culture Mom http://www.theculturemom.com Adventures of a culture & travel enthusiast Tue, 03 May 2016 21:14:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.1 /wp-content/uploads/2015/10/icon.jpg Wanderlust – The Culture Mom http://www.theculturemom.com 32 32 A Luxury Solo Trip to Ireland /a-luxury-solo-trip-to-ireland/ /a-luxury-solo-trip-to-ireland/#respond Sat, 31 Oct 2015 15:20:51 +0000 /?p=7118 I recently spent eight days in Ireland…on my own. Yes, I left my kids and husband at home and trekked all the way there. On my way I slept intermittantly, read a book and drank a glass of wine. For six hours, I was able to focus on myself, not something that’s easy to do when we travel as […]

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Photo Credit: Insight Vacations

I recently spent eight days in Ireland…on my own. Yes, I left my kids and husband at home and trekked all the way there. On my way I slept intermittantly, read a book and drank a glass of wine. For six hours, I was able to focus on myself, not something that’s easy to do when we travel as a family.

To clarify, my kids are naturally born travelers, but our trips tend to revolve around them. Solo trips bring out the best of me and pushes me beyond my comfort zone.

Don’t think that I’m alone. Taking a solo holiday isn’t strictly for the single women —its also for women with partners and children. According to a report by Booking.com, 72% of American women will travel solo this year. A few years ago, a girlfriend and I took two weeks away from our families and went to Vietnam. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I needed it to be solo. You can call these trips “Eat, Pray, Love” trips if you wish, but they are so much more than that.

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Photo credit: Insight Vacations

Take my recent trip, for example. I joined up with Insight Vacations for an eight-day tour of Ireland. This luxury vacation provider takes groups of no more than 40 in coaches with ample leg room and free Wifi around countries, giving them access to some of the best hotels, restaurants and attractions. We were led by a native Irishman named Mike who told us continuous stories about the country’s rich history and heritage. I was with a group of other writers from around the world, most of whom I had never met, and my conversations mainly revolved around our shared love for travel, our work and our passions. My inner explorer truly came out during my week away – it was released and truly nurtured.

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Photo credit: Insight Vacations

The trip contained one unique experience after another. Ireland has so much to take in – from the views to the lively pub life to its Celtic traditions, to its majestic castles to its authentic cuisine and Insight took us to the best of the best.

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Photo credit: Insight Vacations

In Kilkenny, we learned the art of hurling; at the Rock of Cashel, we experienced a medieval castle and learned its history through a local guide; in Killarney, we went on a horse and buggy ride, passing by a castle dated 1693 and a medieval cathedral and hiked through the woods; in Dublin, we toured Trinity College and wandered through its famous library and took a private tour of the Guinness Storehouse; in the Ring of Kerry, we took in views of towering cliffs and strolled through remote villages; in Dingle, we took in even more majestic views and explored early Christian monuments.

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Photo credit: Insight Vacations

There were so many highlights but I’d have to say that our stay at the Ashford Castle is one experience I’ll lock up in my memory vault and will never forget. Insight gives you access to unique experiences like this one, and I appreciate that it was one I’d probably never have had on my own. We were literally led over the drawbridge upon arrival by a bag piper into a castle, once owned by Ireland’s famous Guinness family, that has been renovated and restored to its genuinuity. And the result is so priceless that the hotel was recently voted one of the best hotels in the world by Virtuoso. I truly felt like I was staying with the Royal family with a collection of antiques, tapestries and classical artwork spread throughout the castle.

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Photo credit: Insight Vacations

While at Ashford Castle, we were given a full day to explore. I was able to partake in its falconry school (see picture above – it was a bucketlist-worthy moment with hawks swooping down on my arm from the woodlands!), go on a lengthy bike ride around the property’s woodlands, take a lovely boat ride around the castle, explore the property’s gardens and enjoy a gorgeous dinner in the George V Dining Room with dishes from the kitchen of acclaimed Chef Philippe Farineau.

My tour of the Green Emerald was a once of a lifetime experience and Insight Vacations made it memorable. I’ve been quietly smiling every since my return, remembering the good times. Having emerged from this luxury travel experience, I certainly feel changed. Insight introduced me to the best of Ireland – from its undulating meadows and cliffs to its kind people and diverse culture and history.

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Photo credit: Insight Vacations

I’ve also returned a more thoughtful and focused parent, ready to take on what lies ahead. There is much more to say about this trip and this is only the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for links and news I am writing across the Internets.

If you’re interested in taking a similar tour, Insight is offering Irish Elegance (Country Road Vacation) starting April 18^th. Head here for more info.

Disclosure: I was invited as a guest of Insight Vacations, along with 20 other journalists from around the world, but as always, all opinions are my own.

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]]> /a-luxury-solo-trip-to-ireland/feed/ 0 Where I’ve Been /where-ive-been-3/ /where-ive-been-3/#respond Fri, 05 Jun 2015 00:15:52 +0000 /?p=6920 Since I last wrote a piece on where I’ve been, I’ve certainly fed into my strong, evergrowing wanderlust. I’ve circled the globe and have visited ah-mazing, breathtaking places like Hawaii, Mexico and Iceland. And I’ve managed to hold down a job, raise a family and write A LOT: Huffington Post 10 Places You Must Visit […]

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Where I’ve Been

Since I last wrote a piece on where I’ve been, I’ve certainly fed into my strong, evergrowing wanderlust. I’ve circled the globe and have visited ah-mazing, breathtaking places like Hawaii, Mexico and Iceland. And I’ve managed to hold down a job, raise a family and write A LOT:

Huffington Post

10 Places You Must Visit with Kids

Skip the Crowds: Peak Days to Avoid Disney World (and When to Go!)

Today’s Mama

A Family-Friendly Film and TV Bus Tour of NYC

Five NYC Hotels That Are a Favorite Among Celebrities

Four Affordable Hotels in NYC

MiniTime

Hotel Review: Grand Residences Riviera Cancun

Why You Should Spend Your Summer Vacation in Kauai

Booking Mistakes That Travelers Never Make

Four Affordable Family-Friendly Hotels in NYC

Parade

Unusual Family-Friendly Attractions in Kissimmee, Florida

America’s Best Family-Friendly Resorts

This Girl Travels

Eating Out in South Iceland

A Budget Trip to Kauai

Ciao Bambino

72 Hours in New York City with Kids

Families are VIPs at Westin NY at Times Square

Go Girlfriend

A Rejuvenating Trip to Kauai

Family Vacation Critic

A Weekend in Iceland with the Kids

5 Kid-Friendly Activities in Kauai

10 Family-Friendly Festivals for Memorial Day Weekend

Next week you’ll see me in some new places. Stay tuned for something COOL.

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]]> /where-ive-been-3/feed/ 0 Wanderlust is My Drug /one-moms-take-on-wanderlust-mine/ /one-moms-take-on-wanderlust-mine/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:51:57 +0000 /?p=4737 Wanderlust. It’s like a drug. I encountered my first dose while living abroad at age 18 when I was introduced to a completely different culture, language, cuisine and fell in love. That was a crazy year and it opened me up to everything and made me realize how much the world had to offer me. I […]

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Wanderlust. It’s like a drug. I encountered my first dose while living abroad at age 18 when I was introduced to a completely different culture, language, cuisine and fell in love. That was a crazy year and it opened me up to everything and made me realize how much the world had to offer me. I would spend the next 10 years exploring as much of the world as I could, spending a year in London, traveling around Europe, living in Israel and ending up in NYC.

And then I had kids. And believe me, having kids has not deterred my love of travel. We’ve taken our kids to Europe, traveled through Israel, toured the ruins in Mexico, explored the French country side and Riviera, driven through volcanic lava in Iceland and so much more. My kids have passports filled with interesting stamps and memories that will take them through life.

But now nine years into parenthood, I’m ready for an adventure. And I want to have one on my own. As much as I love traveling with my kids, I need some time to myself. To be able to roam through alley ways, nip into cafes and stay for hours if I choose to, go to concerts or old movies at night, take long boat rides, hike up mountains, see everything and follow a guide book if I so choose to. Or just hang out with the locals and wander through markets. Take photos, speak to the natives, find out how they live and see if there is anything I can do to help them live better upon returning to America. That’s what I want to do. That’s what I need to do.

So, I am. Tomorrow I’m heading to Hong Kong for a few nights and then to Vietnam for a week. It’s not the ideal amount of time I’d like to spend in another country, especially one as vast and interesting, but I have a lot to come back to. A family to take care of, a business to run, a life that requires my presence.

My family is very supportive. We’ve got our plans in control. We all know things may slide while I’m away, but we’ve got our bases covered and what will be will be. We’ve been planning my departure for several months and everyone is ready. I’ll leave lists which will ease the process as much as possible, but I’ve learned over the last few years that it’s okay for things to slip while I’m away. My kids may not make it to Hebrew School one day. They might wear mis-matched socks. As long as they are safe, warm (it’s freezing in NY) and happy, that’s all that matters.

But every time I tell someone I’m headed on a solo adventure, they immediately assume I’m traveling on business and how the heck am I leaving my kids? How can I not be traveling with my husband, and instead, a good girl friend who live across the country? Why is it so shocking, I ask myself, and why is it so unusual? My kids are now old enough that I know they will be fine. More than fine. Nothing will change and when I return, we’ll reunite and believe me, it will be a wonderful reunion. But then life will go on and my trip will become a distant memory.

But it will be my memory of a time where I ventured into the orbit to explore another culture far, far away and traveled the way I wanted to.

And it will be mine.

How have you managed to maintain your passions since having kids? I’d love to know – please comment below.

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]]> /one-moms-take-on-wanderlust-mine/feed/ 8 The Quest for Passport Stamps /the-quest-for-passport-stamps/ /the-quest-for-passport-stamps/#respond Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:07:00 +0000 http://wordpress.theculturemom.com/new-york-city-moms-the-quest-for-passport-stamps/ (This was an original New York City Moms blog posted on March 9, 2010). Tonight we took my husband to JFK International Airport so he could catch a flight. The topic of why we travel came up into our conversation. In this case, my husband is going home to see his family, but usually we […]

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]]> (This was an original New York City Moms blog posted on March 9, 2010).

Tonight we took my husband to JFK International Airport so he could catch a flight. The topic of why we travel came up into our conversation. In this case, my husband is going home to see his family, but usually we travel for a variety of reasons and we started talking about them. We talked about experiencing different food, languages, architecture, art, meeting new people and more. I felt such a sense of pride when my 5 year-old son turned to my nearly 7 year-old daughter and stated very matter-of-factly, “You learn a lot of really cool things when you travel. You see things you’ve never seen before.” He gets it, he really gets it!

The power of travel is something that I get excited about. I’m definitely a victim of chronic wanderlust. I’m also a big proponent that the world has so much to offer and we need to get out and see it. From day trips to long weekends to longer trips cross-country or abroad, I believe that travel can cause big changes in a child’s life. Now that our kids are both in elementary school, we have to work around the academic calendar…..or not. Since we believe that our kids learn more on the road, we generally have no hesitation taking them out for a meaningful vacation. By opening up the world to them beyond U.S. borders, or within, they become more aware that there is a whole other world out there to explore.

Just because we have kids has not stopped us from traveling. I think that it does stop some parents. I know people who would not dare venture into the unknown with children who have unpredictable behavior. I disagree; you have to take a chance. My husband has always stated that there is not much difference between being home with young kids than being away. It’s a change of scenery. Besides, you can always make a side-trip to a playground when the kids get antsy.

I happen to have two kids who love school. On Saturday, they actually start counting down the time until they go back. My son gets homework once a week. As soon as he walks in the door, he pulls it out of his backpack and sits down at the table to get to work. It does make life easier, I must say. But they know as well as I do, that given the opportunity to take ourselves away to a destination far away, new experiences await that can teach just as much, maybe even more. Besides, we take their homework with us. The last time we went on a trip in January, the kids’ teachers sent home assignments to do while we were away. If I told you, our kids were doing homework in the airport, on the hotel floor, in restaurants, would you believe me? I kid you not.

Whenever we go on a trip, we, as parents, notice visible positive changes in our children. Whether it is a higher maturity level, significant language development or even the reaching of new milestones, we can’t help but notice when we get back that our children have benefitted from the experience even more than we, ourselves, do.

You should see our kid’s passports. It is completely enviable. I didn’t leave the country until I was 16. My kids have a book full of stamps to destinations all over Europe at ages 5 and 6. By the time my daughter was 3, she had already been to England, Scotland, Germany, Czech and Jamaica. She was a global baby.

When she was 2 and my son was not even 1, we had a wedding in England. We decided to take a side-trip to Europe and venture to Prague and Berlin via the train. It was incredibly adventurous to stay in hotel rooms with two babies, but we did. We took the train from Berlin to Prague which wasn’t as hard as it sounds. Our kids loved the novelty of doing something other than driving. I can’t truly say that they learned as much as we did at the Jewish Museum in Berlin or walking across the stunning Charles Bridge in Prague, but I’d like to think that some of that trip is tucked into the right side of their brains and that they will remember pieces of that trip and other big trips later in life.

While we were in England on that trip, we stayed in a big house with loads of my husband’s friends who went in and out of the house on a rotating basis over the course of a week. The kids made lots of friends, ran around naked in the yard under the sprinkler (yes, even in English weather!), tried new foods and experienced the country side and coast line of England. I so vividly remember coming back with children who had better socialization skills, new knowledge and a lot of excitement generated from their new experiences and friendships formed in that house.

We go to England once a year as a family; each child goes a second trip every other year alone with my husband as well. Even England is an English-speaking country; life is different in every way. We drive on the other side of the road, dine on fish & chips, listen to different types of English accents and stay with family members in various parts of the country. Everything about our visit is different to the life we lead back home. Taking them out of their element, placing them in new cultures, introducing them to new experiences is something that is very special.

While we’re away, we let the kids see the world through a different set of eyes. They bring their own cameras, record video footage of interesting experiences and we come home and watch them to relive the moments. While we were in Iceland this past August, we went on a tour that included seeing geysers. They were so enraptured by the experience that we still watch the video that captured their delight at this hydrogel
ogic phenomenon. They also write postcards to family and friends and bring back interesting souvenirs to remember our experiences. The trips really seem to resonate as great adventures.

To make the trips more educational, we read signs while driving along, listen to the radio, dine on as much authentic cuisine as we are able to (this is not always easy with picky eaters) and encourage them to keep a journal or scrapbook. We collect museum tickets, transportation tickets and any information on the places we visit and insert them into photo albums. We use guidebooks to teach them about the history of what we are seeing and we even take them on tours so we can all experience all there is to experience about a new place.

Do I sound like I possess a bit of wanderlust? Of course, I do. The wanderlust is contagious and my kids seem to have the bug. And the quest for more passport stamps.

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