Travelling Lore

One of my favorite types of establishments to visit while traveling are breweries and Boston is no exception.  Having toured the Samuel Adams Brewery , we decided to make the walk through the Seaport District to Harpoon Brewery's Beer Hall .  Coming from Northern Virginia where all of the breweries around me are small and locally owned (and make great beer!), stepping into Harpoon's Beer Hall was nothing short of awesome. I absolutely loved the decor of the place: wooden furnishings; modern but medieval-inspired chandeliers; long beer tables that reminded me of a German Oktoberfest (bucket list item!).  To say it was crowded was an understatement, but we managed to squeeze our way into a small section of table and enjoy a few flights.  I'm not a big fan of their UFO White that a lot of bars carry.  However, I was quite pleased to see that there was so much more to choose from once inside Harpoon's mothership.  Oddly enough, I found myself enjoy...

When it comes to South America one of the first countries that tends to pop up in conversation is Peru and its breathtaking 15th century Inca site, Machu Picchu. Though I have yet to visit it (hopefully one day!), I trust it’s as amazing in person as I read about. However, I feel its majesty tends to overshadow the existence of many other pre-Hispanic sites spread over the continent. One such site is Tiwanaku , a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is pre-Inca and nearly a millennium older than Machu Picchu. Located near Lake Titicaca on Bolivia’s Altiplano at an altitude of 3850 m (12,631 ft), Tiwanaku flourished into a city between 400 A.D. and 900 A.D. in what is now the Province of Ingavi, Department of La Paz. Much of the ancient city, which was built from adobe, is overlain by the modern town. Fortunately, the stone buildings from the ceremonial center have been preserved in archaeological zones. What remains of the city still spans over a great deal of land an...

A couple of years ago I visited Northern Ireland after a fun-filled road trip of Ireland's gorgeous emerald landscapes.  We only had one day to see as much of Northern Ireland as we could before we flew north to Norway.  Since my fiance and I are both science nerds, we prioritized our sightseeing and chose to skip Belfast in lieu of some iconic geologic sites.  I would have loved to see the Titantic Museum in Belfast as I hear it's absolutely wonderful, but unfortunately we just didn't have enough time to squeeze it into our day trip.  So for those of you in a similar time crunch situation--or for those of you looking for some travel planning inspiration--I've put together the itinerary we followed in Northern Ireland. Stop #1: The Dark Hedges We left from Dublin bright and early to make our way to the infamous Dark Hedges .  We stayed in Gogarty's Hostel , situated right in the middle of Temple Bar.  Our private room was small, but clean, albe...