Travelling Lore

As I mentioned in my last post, my husband and I enjoyed our honeymoon in northern California.  Since we wanted to spend most of our time north of San Francisco, we only had one day to explore the city so we made it a point to do and see the major tourist attractions. The biggest thing we had on the docket was to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge.  Though my husband is a bicycle enthusiast, I am not and only ride a bike about once a year.  So we biked across the bridge on a tandem bicycle, which requires teamwork and communication.  We are happily still married after this experience (though in all seriousness we actually worked quite well together on a tandem bicycle). Our first morning in San Francisco started off nice and sunny with blue skies.  Perfect for some Golden Gate Bridge viewing along the bike trail.  However, don't you worry, the infamous San Francisco fog rolled in. We biked across the bridge and up to Battery Spencer on Fort...

Wow, it sure has been a while since I last sat down to publish a travel blog post on Corking Around!  Time flies when you're busy planning your wedding, getting married, honeymooning, and meeting deadlines at work!  For those who don't know, my now husband and I got married at the end of June at a local winery with our closest family and friends.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, the food was delicious, the wine flowed all night, and we had lovely company!  A week after we got married we jetsetted off to Northern California for our honeymoon!  I finally have some time to share my Instagram photos with you from our trip.  Don't worry, there will be more substantial posts in the future! We started off in San Francisco.  One of my "must do" activities was to finally  try a real bowl of ramen for the first time--none of this instant noodle stuff from the grocery stores!  I loved it!  And spicy sure does mean spicy! We...

A big shout out to Flight of the Flibbertigibbet , who's a novice travel blogger like myself, for nominating me for this year's Liebster Award round!  For those who are unaware, as I was previously, the Liebster Award is an internet-only award given to new bloggers by other bloggers.  It's given to those who have 200 readers or less and is a great way to network with other bloggers in your blog genre of interest.   Here are the official rules for those nominated for this year's Liebster Award.  In short, I have to write a post about my favorite blog (coming soon--stay tuned!), list 10 facts about myself via the questions Flight of the Flibbertigibbet provided, and nominate several blogs for the Liebster Award. So, without further ado, here are the questions! 11 Questions About Me 1.Why did you decide to start blogging? I decided to start blogging because I wanted a creative outlet.  I work in the science field, so there's not too much ro...

You know the idiom that pictures say a thousands words?  That may hold true for those exact moments you happened to capture in a photograph, but what about all of those other moments that occurred in between?  Like many, I seem to be able to recall a lot of "useful" information, if you know what I mean.  To help myself remember the finer details, I've picked up a few tips. 1. Photography With that prelude I bet you didn't think you'd see photography here, did you?  Aside from the obvious fact that photos are a great way to visually recount all of the adventures and fun on your travels, don't forget to take pictures of the "boring" things, too.  By that I mean take photos of the welcome signs to museums or natural sites so that when you go through your photos you'll know which ones you'll be looking through next.  Take photos of informative plaques or signs so that you can re-read them if you need to remember a factoid after yo...

When it comes to traveling, especially when you're trying to conserve space, sacrifices are made when packing your bags.  My "sacrifices" usually come in the form of chopping skin care products off of the list.  I always regret it when I do, but it can be difficult to pack your favorite liquids and gels all into a one-gallon bag, particularly when it comes to carry-on luggage.  When I travel for personal vacations half the time I'll carry on and the other half I'll check my bags (usually for overseas trips).  When I travel for work about 90% of the time I carry on.  Luckily my preferred skincare products come in carry-on sizes...smart marketing if you ask me!  Here are some of my favorites. Andalou Naturals Ultra Sheer Daily Defense Facial Lotion with SPF 18 ($14.95) I spent a while looking for a facial lotion product that had sunscreen in it and  had natural ingredients.  This is my personal favorite and I've been using it for about ...

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...