How To Travel With Children In A Foreign Country

One thing that I really admire about my parents is that they didn't end their dreams of traveling after I was born. They just took me with them! Traveling overseas with a child does take some planning, though, since kids in general can be kind of unpredictable. In this article, I share my tips for traveling with children to a foreign country.

The Pros And Cons Of Traveling As A Child

Looking back, I realize how fortunate I was to have parents who took me traveling around the world with them. But I didn't always see it that way. There were days when I hated traveling and wished I could be a "normal" kid who spent her summers at home with her friends. In the end, the positive aspects of traveling outweighed the negative, but here are some things to keep in mind if you want to travel to exotic places with a child. PROS * It was exciting! How many kids get to go to China and Egypt? * I got to meet interesting people and try new foods. * Many of my friends complained that they were bored over the summer. I definitely wasn't. * I learned so much about different types of people and cultures. * I picked up phrases in various languages so it was educational. * I got plenty of fresh air. * I was exposed to arts, music, history and science from around the world. What better way to understand history than to actually see ancient ruins? * I was forced to grow up quickly, especially since most of the people we dealt with were adults. * I learned how to appreciate the fact that the world is made up of different kids of people so I became very open-minded. * My life became a lot more enriched because I was exposed to so many new things. CONS * For a kid, traveling was exhausting. We freqently took long haul flights or traveled for long distances on buses and trains. * It was lonely. Once in a while I found other kids to play with, but for the most part, I didn't have friends on the road. * I rarely got a break from my parents. This didn't bother me so much when I was 8 or 9, but by the time I was in my teens, I got sick of being with them every day, 24/7 for two months straight. * Some places were hot and uncomfortable - and yes, I whined. I was a kid after all! * I didn't have much time to simply play. I was always at the mercy of a schedule because we were always going to see something. Sometimes I wished I could have a break from all of that. Though there were some bad points, I still think that seeing the world was one of the best things I ever got to do. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Seeing Cats In Greece, 2011

My name is Naomi and I'm a crazy cat person. I proudly admit this. Jon is, too, though he probably wouldn't call himself "crazy." Because of this, we were very excited to travel to Greece. Sure, we were looking forward to seeing the ruins, eating the wonderful food and learning more about the culture, but we also wanted to see the cats. Because the Mediterranean is warm all year long and is by the water, it's a haven for feral cats. They probably traveled on the shipping boats long ago and are now plentiful in every Mediterranean country from Greece to Israel. In Greece, at least, many people treat them like pets so for the most part, the cats are semi-tame. Sure enough, we saw kitties everywhere! It was a cat lover's paradise. When we dined for lunch, they'd mill around the outdoor restaurants asking for food. One kept eating and eating the scraps we gave him and never seemed to get full. We named him Greedy Cat. Another cat and made herself at home in my lap. I called her Frisky. We hit the jackpot in Oia when we stopped at a cliffside cafe for dinner. The restaurant was located on a "cat highway" of sorts that led between the private homes and stores so about a dozen cats wandered through the eatery that night. One made friends with us so we named him Charlie. Some organizations are thankfully trying to do something about the cats and are having them spayed and neutered. Others feed the animals. Happily, all of the cats we saw -- 93 in all, yes we counted -- all looked healthy, especially the ones who hung out by the restaurants. We'll never forget the furry friends that we met while traveling around Greece. They made our trip even more purrfect.

Getting Stuck In A Massive Traffic Jam In Lagos, Nigeria, 2012

Prior to visiting Lagos, Nigeria, we received many warnings from our friend Kunbi, our friend whose wedding we attended over there. "Nigeria is a great place to visit, but I don't want you to have any surprises," she explained. One of the things which she warned us about were Lagos' massive traffic jams or go slows, as they call them over there. Because part of Lagos is on islands and there are no through roads, traffic can get bunched up pretty easily. She even told us how it had taken her now-husband six hours to get to the airport when it's only a few miles away. Yikes! During our first few days in Lagos, we were lucky. It was Easter weekend so fewer people were on the road than usual. That said, it didn't take us long to get anywhere. Kunbi's mother drove us all over town without incident and we made it to the wedding with plenty of time to spare. It was on our last day that we got the full Nigerian experience. We'd asked our driver to take us to a market that Kunbi had recommended, only we couldn't find the location. As we drove back in the opposite direction, we found that the road that went alongside our hotel was clogged with traffic. We tried to get through for about 30 minutes, then decided to go back around to the highway. There, it was even worse. We soon learned that the President's wife was in town -- and there was a broken down car near the bridge. So the blocked off roads and car caused a backup that went on for miles and miles. It ended up taking us over five hours to get to the airport. I've seen some bad traffic in New York City, especially during rush hour, but never anything like this. It was chaos. Happily, we had food and water in the car. We also had a great opportunity to people watch. Whenever there's a slow down, the Nigerians treat the stand still as if it's a mobile market. Men came by the cars selling EVERYTHING! We could purchase food, magazines, clocks, jewelry, lawn furniture, vases .... a man even came up to our car with a cage full of parrots! It was a slow-going but fascinating ride. Fortunately, we had more than enough time to say good-bye to Kunbi's family and to make it to the airport without missing our plane. But the experience made me very glad that we don't own a car -- and made me appreciate New York City's vast transportation system.

Naomi The Traveler Facebook Page

I have a new Facebook page for Naomi The Traveler! I'll be posting photos, videos and travel musings. Come on and check it out here.

Visiting Abu Simbel And Getting Stranded In Aswan, Egypt, 1984

People often ask me to name my favorite travel destination. This is nearly impossible since each place I've visited is very different, not to mention the fact that many I traveled to a long time ago. Out of all of the places I've been to, though, I definitely have the most number of memorable stories from Egypt. The following tale counts among one of the most bizarre stories of my life, period. It's going to sound like I'm going off on tangents, but everything comes together. Because my parents always traveled in the summer (this is when we all had off since they were school teachers), we often saw places during the off season -- including Egypt, where it was about 90 billion degrees outside. However, one advantage to traveling during this time was that we were often upgraded to fancier hotel rooms. This happened when we stayed in Aswan, Egypt. The hotel itself was lovely to begin with; it was very modern (for the '80s, anyway) and had a gift shop and huge outdoor pool. We checked in and were told to walk down the hall to our suite. We figured that this was just an expression until we actually entered the room and discovered that it was a duplex. A duplex! Our room had two floors and I had my own private space. After settling in, we relaxed for a while and I went for a swim. On the way, I passed through the book shop and was pleased to see that they had some books in English. I've always loved horror movies and especially liked gory films at that time, so my attention was caught by a book that had a severed head floating on the cover. It was titled Truly Muderous and cost $5 USD. I asked if we could purchase it and my parents refused -- not because they thought that I was too young to read it, but because they wanted me to get souvenirs that were relevant to Egypt. Anyway, I soon forgot about the book and looked forward to the next day's activities. We were going to see Abu Simbel, one of the most impressive ruins in Egypt. Not only that, we'd be flying there so we'd get a really cool view of the structures. The next day we awoke around 3 a.m. to make our flight. The idea was to fly in before sunrise so we could be there as the sun rose over Abu Simbel. My dad, of course, planned to take a photo as we flew in over it. When we reached the airport we learned that our seats weren't assigned so we came up with a game plan to snag a window seat for my father. Meantime, we sat in the waiting room with a bunch of young adults from Europe. For whatever reason, they decided that they hated us. They kept making faces at our family and my mom overheard them calling us "American pigs." My dad managed to get his window seat and picture and the ruins were awesome -- but these 20somethings kept bugging us. Wherever we turned, they seemed to be and they always had a nasty comment. I couldn't understand them, but when someone sticks her tongue out at you, it's never nice. They eventually shut up when my dad flipped them the middle finger. Things got even weirder when one of the guys propositioned my mom -- in front of my dad. Though I guess that was sort of flattering, at least... After dealing with all of this craziness, my mom suggested that we do something relaxing once we were back on the mainland. We'd seen many horse and buggies being led around so she chose that as our afternoon activity. She wanted to a visit a nearby village and thought it would be nice to just walk around and chill out for a while. We climbed into a buggy that was led by two kids who were maybe 13 or 14, a few years older than I was at the time. They promised to get us to the village in a short while and my parents negotiated on a price. However, it soon became evident that these boys had no idea where they were going because we were in the middle of nowehere. It was hot, I was tired and we all wanted to go home. Things quickly went from bad to worse when the buggy broke down. My parents refused to pay them in full and they angrily dragged their cart away, leaving us stranded on this dirt road. Now we were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no known way of getting back. Plus, it was midday so the sun was beating down on us. I began to panic. I'd say that it was because I was a kid, but truth be told, I'd probably panic now, too. Happily, luck was on our side and a few minutes later, a car came by. The driver stopped to offer us a lift and it turned out that he was an American expat. He drove us back to our hotel and warned us to be careful when getting around by ourselves. But did my mom learn her lesson? No! After relaxing for a while, we went back out. This time, she suggested that we take a ride on a felucca boat. I thought that she was nuts but my dad agreed. I guess they were determined to try every type of Egyptian transportation available. Fortunately, the felucca ride was delightful. It was early evening so there was a breeze. Also, the driver, a Nubian man, took us to his village and showed us around his home. We met his family and got to see how some of the locals lived. Later, when we returned to the hotel, we went for a swim. I'm not a great swimmer but used to be able to stay underwater for long periods of time. I also like to make little bets with my dad, so I bet him $5 that I could swim across the entire length of the pool underwater without coming up for air. "Fine," he said, "but you'll never be able to do it." I jumped in began swimming. I guess the other people heard us discussing our bet because they all cleared out of the pool for me and I had an audience. Everyone was cheering me on as if I were an Olympian. I swam until I thought my lungs would burst, but I made it! Everyone applauded and my dad promised me my money. I then enjoyed the pool for real and commented, "This ended up being such a nice day, so much better than when those girls were bothering us this morning." I then turned around ... and they were sitting right there! One of them gave me a little smile and wave, and I sunk back under the water. But I think that my swimming feat earned me some of their respect. After, my parents gave me my money and I'll bet you can guess what I purchased: Truly Murderous by John Dunning. It turned out to be a great book about real-life crime stories, including one that involved a wannabe vampire. But that book -- which I still have -- symbolizes more to me than my victory. It always reminds me of this crazy day in Egypt and how you just never know what's going to happen when you travel.

The Right Time To Travel: Why Now? Why Not?

Whenever I'm preparing to go on a trip or talk about some place I've been, I encounter someone who regards me with envy. "Oh, I wish I could do that" or "Wow, you're so lucky." "Then do it," I tell them. "If you really want to, you'll find a way how." More often than not, that person will have some excuse ready for why now isn't a good time. He or she is waiting for retirement. He's busy at work. Doesn't have enough money. I had one co-worker at my last job who made a good salary, had been working at the office for years so she had plenty saved up, and didn't have children. Yet she never went anywhere. She was always interested in hearing about my travels and I frequently urged her to go on her own journey ... and it never happened. When I brought her back a little magnet from Santorini, she eyed it wistfully and said with a sigh, "This is the closest I'm ever going to get to Greece." There was really nothing holding her back, though, and I don't understand what she was/is waiting for. I really hope that she does plan that trip sometime soon. In our case, Jon and I are both busy with work, but have managed to find a balance between our jobs and travel. We like our jobs and like having roots in New York City so we only plan trips that are a few weeks long at most. But for now, at least, we figure that it's better than nothing. It's at least a taste of the world. A few years ago, we took an almost impromptu trip to Ireland. We were only there for a few days and my parents, who are retired, wondered why we were bothering if we couldn't spend more time. Why not? was my answer. We were getting to see Ireland which was better than not seeing it. What were we supposed to do, wait until our retirement? I'm 38 and Jon is 40 so we're both still fairly young. We don't want to wait that long. We want to see the world now! We also like our lives in New York, but hey, we want it all. So we've found a way to incorporate shorter trips into our schedule. Who knows what kind of shape we'll be in when we're older or even HOW long we'll live? I believe that with most things, you can find a way to make your dreams come true. For us, it's having jobs we like, being close to our families AND traveling. We do our best to make all of this happen for us. You can, too. There's no RIGHT way or time to travel. So if you want to do it now, there's no sense in putting it off. Find a way. Make it happen. You won't be sorry.

Traveling Like The Locals: Using Public Transportation In Foreign Countries

Many people are surprised that we use public transportation when we're in foreign countries, and don't depend on tour buses and taxis. "Isn't that dangerous?" they'll ask or "Aren't you afraid of getting lost?" In almost all cases, the answer is no. Taking public transport is usually faster and less expensive than taking a private cab. Just get a good map and pay attention to your surroundings. When we were in Tokyo back in 1985, my dad got us around on the subway by comparing the Japanese characters on the map to the ones on the signs. It was difficult, but he managed to do it and get us around. There have been some exceptions. When we were in Nigeria, we were strongly advised against using public buses and mini vans and our friends hired a driver for us. He was great, but honestly, this was a little strange for us and we felt cut off from the world. For me, using public transportation is a great way to people watch and get a true sense of a city. Take an Athens subway during rush hour, for example, and you'll see every type of person imaginable on board -- not just other tourists. Take a local bus or train in the Netherlands and you'll hear a variety of languages being spoken around you -- not just English. Some of my best travel stories come from having taken public transportation. When we took the subways and buses in Mexico City, we were accosted by people selling things (not just to us; to everyone, as this is what they do in the subways there) and were entertained by impromptu concerts. Everywhere you go, someone is performing and some of the best musicians were right there in the subway! My friends and I are all New Yorkers, so we're somewhat accustomed to the chaos, but even they were impressed. "I can't wait to see who comes onto the subway next!" my friend Scott exclaimed. In Athens, the subways double as museums. Go underground and you'll see many ruins which are still in the process of being dug up. Not your average underground experience! Meanwhile, when we were in Dublin, we were staying about a half hour outside of the city, so we took the light rail. Hardly any Americans traveled this route so we were with the locals and drove through neighborhoods we wouldn't have otherwise seen. Of course, you want to be careful when taking public transport. Don't wear expensive jewelry. Keep track of your wallet. Watch out for gropers. But these are things to be aware of even in cities back home. Heck, I worry more about the weirdos on the NYC subways than I ever did in Mexico. So next time you travel, try traveling like a local. You'll probably find it to be a lot less scary than you thought.

Michael Jackson "Concert" In Jerusalem, Israel, 1984

The more that I travel the world, the more different types of people I encounter. Yet the more people I meet, the more I can acknowledge how much we have in common. I realized this at an early age when I spent part of my summer in Israel. I was 10 at the time and had already been to Europe, but Israel was much more exciting to me -- way more exotic. The people dressed differently, the food seemed unique, the music wasn't the same as it was at home -- even the buildings looked different. I'd never seen a mosque before until we visited The Dome Of The Rock in Jerusalem, and I was blown away by its beauty and intricate designs. My parents and I also walked the Old Walls Of Jerusalem, which were built in the 1530s. It was quite an experience to walk these walls which were so ancient and had so much history. As we made our way around the old city, I tried to imagine who'd walked the walls before me and what kinds of things those people had seen. What we saw were some incredible views of the city and glimpses of the different neighborhoods. What I remember the most, though, is when we passed by the Arab quarter. I'd been to extremely poor neighborhoods before; when I traveled cross country with my parents in 1982, we visited some of the Native American communities and their living conditions were pretty deplorable. But this poverty was at a new level. The people barely lived in what you could call a home; it was more like scraps of tin fastened together to form a hut-like dwelling. Out front, women wearing head-to-toe black fished through garbage cans searching for scraps of food. Yet as we passed this, we heard a sound from below. Music! And as we got closer, I realized that someone was blaring Michael Jackson's Thriller album. I couldn't believe it. This was 1984, the height of Thriller-mania. At home, my friends and I listened to this cassette tape almost every day, and knew the words to every song. Never did I expect to hear "Beat It" or "Billie Jean" in Israel, let alone in this neighborhood where the people barely seemed to have food. I never did learn how they managed to get a hold of a tape recorder and Thriller cassette -- I'm thinking that maybe there was one for the neighborhood and they all shared? -- but it blew my 10-year-old mind to think that I was listening to the same music as people who lived across the world in such a different environment from my own. I unfortunately ruined my own Thriller cassette when I attempted to play it backwards (rumor had it that if you did, you'd hear Michael whispering secret messages), but hearing his music in Jerusalem changed my perceptions of just how small our world really is.

Making Friends With A Monkey In Lagos, Nigeria, 2012

While we were in Nigeria, we visited the Lekki Conservation Centre. Though it's just outside of Lagos, our driver Rasheed had never heard of it before and ended up driving us about an hour outside of the city. We didn't mind, though, because it gave us the chance to see some of Nigeria's smaller towns and countryside. We finally made to the center in the late afternoon. It was hot as hell and humid to boot, but I didn't care -- we were off to see monkeys! If you've read any portion of this blog, you should know by now that I get a little crazy when it comes to animals. I find them fascinating, especially when I get to see wild animals that I would never see at home. The Lekki Conservation Centre is basically a patch of protected jungle. It's not a zoo and not even a sanctuary, really, as the animals have complete free reign. There's a small hut with some photos of animals inside, a little cafeteria and then a well-maintained trail that circles about a couple of miles through jungles and swamps. As we walked the trail, we didn't see too much. The swamps were pretty dried out as we were there at the very start of the rainy season, so the birds and crocodiles were nowhere to be seen. We then heard a rustling in the trees: Monkeys! I hurried over to the trees and caught some glimpses of their tails, but couldn't really see anything. I even tried to reason with them, calling, "Come here, babies," but they didn't acknowledge me. Later, though, I finally had my monkey encounter. As we were heading past the hut, toward the parking lot, we heard a noise above us ... and there were about a dozen monkeys climbing the trees. We stopped to watch them and take some photos and videos. The one who was sitting directly above me was a mama monkey who had an adorable baby clinging to her. I knew that what I was about to do was a little dangerous, but I grabbed my Flip video camera and slowly approached her. There was no way I was missing this! I held it up to film -- and the mama promptly pelted me with berries. Oof! I stepped back a bit and did get to film her for a minute before she hurried into another tree. Jon had better luck with his monkeys as none of them attacked him. Here are some of his shots:

I've seen plenty of monkeys in zoos, but it was very different seeing them in a more natural environment. I realize that in some countries monkeys are like squirrels to us -- they're all over the place so seeing them isn't that big of a deal -- but for us, it was one of the highlights of our trip.

Chasing Elves In Iceland, 2006

People in almost every culture have some kind of mystical creature that they believe in, and in Iceland it's elves. Drive around an Icelandic suburb and you'll see little houses on many properties. When we were there, we were told that these weren't dog houses, but places for elves to stay. Meanwhile, Iceland's government takes the elf situation seriously and won't allow people to build in areas where elves are said to live. The government has even hired official elf communicators to deal with the little guys when they become angry; there's a story of how machinery kept breaking during some project and a communicator spoke with the elves who lived there; she was able to negotiate with them and the project continued. Elves aren't a huge part of American culture (unless you count Santa Claus or the Keebler elves), but we were intrigued by Iceland's elf legends. Our interest was especially piqued when we learned that Iceland even had an official elf map created by a communicator named Erla Stefansdottir. Erla claims to have been speaking with elves since she was a child. According to her, they whisked her away to their special world and introduced her to elf customs and food. She also says that she has an elf who lives with her and among her other talents, can speak with the dead. It might sound out there, but I don't like to mock people's beliefs. I also like to keep an open mind. Plenty of people I know have seen ghosts and I even have a friend who says she can talk to the dead. Just because I haven't had these experiences personally doesn't mean they're not true. I like to give the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, it doesn't matter if Erla's stories are true or not. What IS true is that she's considered to be one of Iceland's top elf experts and the government takes her word seriously. She also led "Hidden Worlds" tours (though she's retired and another woman has takn her place) and her elf map has become a well-known piece of literature throughout the country. Most of the elves seem to live in the Reykjavik suburb of Hafnarfjordur. We didn't take an elf tour, but did want to see if we could see any for ourselves. So while we were there, we stopped by the Chamber Of Commerce and purchased Erla's official Hidden Worlds map. I forget the exact price, but it was something like 14 Euros. A little pricey, but it's a unique souvenir. Erla's creation is more than just a map, though. She does tell you where you can locate elves, hidden people and light fairies, among other types of creatures, but also has drawings and stories of her relationships with these elves. Check it out:

Once we had the map, we drove around to the places that Erla said were "hot spots." We drove to a little park in the neigborhood and tried to follow the meditation that she'd recommended. No elves. We drove past a field where a hermit was supposed to live. No hermit. We even drove down a quiet road called Elf Street. And ... we didn't see anything. I can't really say that I *expected* to see something, but part of me hoped we would because *that* would've been cool! Even though we came up empty-handed -- or would that be empty-elved? -- we still came home with Erla's awesome map as a souvenier. And when we brought home a kitten a couple of months later, we named her Maya Erla Stefansdottir since she's OUR little elf.

How To Pack Light For A Trip

After traveling so often, I've become something of an expert when it comes to packing. That said, we ONLY travel with carry on luggage and do not check bags. This saves time and money, and a lot of hassles at the airport. Here's an article that I wrote which details exactly HOW I can successfully travel with so little: How To Travel With Only A Carry On Bag Just for fun, here are more shots of Amsterdam:

Wild Camel Ride In Cairo, Egypt, 1984

Once I'd survived my summer in Europe, my parents decided to take me on a more adventurous journey. So when I was 10, we took a five-week trip to Israel and Egypt. When we arrived in Cairo, I wasn't doing so well. I'd spent a considerable amount of time at the pool while we were in staying in Tel Aviv -- and my parents hadn't made me use sunblock (to be fair, people were less concerned about using sunscreen in the '80s). I ended up getting sun sick and was so out of it that I fell asleep in the cab from the airport to the hotel. I mean, we were passing by ornate mosques and other buildings unlike anything I'd ever seen, but I couldn't keep my eyes open. Once we reached the very nice hotel, my parents put me to bed and I watched the 1984 Olympics in Arabic. Meanwhile, my dad went to take a walk so he could photograph the famous pyramids, which were nearby. He returned home a few hours later with this crazy story: on his way to the pyramids, he was stopped by a man who asked if he wanted to take a camel ride. My dad said, "Why not?" since he'd never ridden one before and got on the camel. The guy then offered to take his picture and my dad agreed, though he did have it in the back of his mind that the guy could just run off with his camera. Still, he reasoned that the camel was as valuable to the man as his camera was to him so he was willing to take the risk. Before my dad could protest, the man whacked the camel with a stick -- and then the camel took off, running down the streets of Cairo. My dad hung on for dear life and could hear the click, click, click as the man rapidly took photos from behind. As all of this was happening, my dad thought, "Oh, well, if I get killed, at least it will be an interesting death." Soon, the man shouted a command and the camel came to a halt. My dad was fine -- and ended up with some great shots of his wild ride. I don't know if it was the heat or if the camel ride had rattled my father's brain, but he and the man talked and my dad promised to introduce him to my mother and me when I was feeling better. The man said that he's always working in the same spot. The next day I was feeling loads better so we walked to the pyramids that evening. Along the way, we passed my dad's new "friend," and he was surprised that my dad had actually brought us to meet him. He offered to give my mom and me a camel ride. We agreed, but my dad made him promise that this would be a gentle ride with no running. The man promised and true to his word, held on to the camel's reigns so he could lead us on the trek without incident. A few minutes later, we were riding through the Sahara, past the pyramids, as the sun set. It was surreal and I could hardly believe that this was happening to me. I felt as if I were in an Indiana Jones movie! We soon went past that area, though, and kept going. And going. And GOING. By now, it was getting dark and the desert was getting pretty empty. And yet this man kept leading us. We were wondering what was going on, if he was kidnapping us or just completely insane. Finally, we pleaded with him to let us off of this thing. It took some begging -- and threatening from my dad -- but he eventually led us back past the pyramids and to that spot that was near our hotel. I'm still not sure what his motivation was, but I really don't think he was trying to scam us or hurt us or anything like that. I just think that he was enthusiastic about his work and wanted us to have a memorable experience in Egypt. He certainly did provide that for us!

Getting Egged On The Seine In Paris, France, 1983

My parents took me on my first trip overseas when I was 9 years old. They chose Europe because they felt that it was different enough to introduce me to other cultures, but enough like home that it wouldn't be too much of a shock for me. Our plans were to spend a month in France and then a month in Italy (though we ended up going to Germany and Austria, too, but more on that in a future post). We started out in Paris. I was immediately taken by this picturesque city -- the old, ornate buildings; the bridges, the Eiffel Tower hovering over it all. Nothing in the United States looked like Paris! Unfortunately, our first day there quickly turned into a disaster. I should start by explaining that my dad is a very talented amateur photographer. He's won several contests for his travel photos and could probably get a job as a professional if he really wanted, but he's never gone that route. Still, when he takes photos and slides, he doesn't just point and click like I do. He has to have the right camera, the right lens, the perfect light. He wanted to get a nice panoramic shot of Paris, so we climbed to the top of Notre Dame cathedral where there's a great lookout point. This was the most amazing church I'd ever seen and the view was spectuclar, as well. I stood out there enjoying myself as my parents pointed certain sights out to me and my dad set up his camera. But then the unthinkable happened; he *dropped* it and it broke! This was only the start of our trip; what were we going to do without pictures? I couldn't believe that out of all the places to broke it, it was at this famous church? There was some yelling and cursing, but we found a camera store and my dad picked up another. It wasn't as good a camera as the one he'd had with him, but it was better than nothing. Later, we decided to relax after that day's events and take a sunset boatride on the Seine. I've always loved boats so I got a kick out of floating down the river under what seemed like an endless number of bridges. Paris was even prettier from the water and I liked looking out at the city. As we rode, the captain pointed out sights to the passengers, but my dad noticed something else entirely; there was a man relaxing on the bank who had his pants down and you could see, well, everything. I never got a chance to look, though (which was probably a good thing in the longrun)because before we were suddenly pelted by something from above. Eggs! As we floated beneath a bridge, a bunch of kids targeted our boat. Many of the passengers were hit, but my mom and I were the most affected. I remember that there was egg in my hair, my outfit and even my shoes. My poor mom was wearing a white dress that was now streaked with yellow. She was crying, my dad was furious ... it was a pretty awful way to begin our vacation. These days, this is one of those memories that I laugh at. I mean, what were the odds, right? And since no one was hurt, really, what can you do but chuckle at such a bizarre incident? Still, whenever I've visited Paris or see a picture of the Seine I think of that weird day. And then I smile.

Free Stuff To Do In New York City

Though this blog is supposed to be about my around-the-world travel adventures, I just have to boast about my own city, which is a top travel destination in itself. I was born and raised on Long Island, but went to Manhattan almost every weekend. After I met Jon, we moved to Queens, where we still live. I love it here because it has a quiet neighborhood feel, but is still part of the city. We're also close to the action in Manhattan, only a bus, train or subway ride away. A big downside of living in New York, though, is the cost. If you come here from out of town or from another country, be warned: prices are high. Still, there are ways to sve in the city and even do some stuff for free! Here's an article I wrote on Free Things To Do In New York City. I haven't tried all, but all sound like they're worth checking out. If any of you have done these activities, feel free to weigh in on your experience in the comments.

Royal Nigerian Wedding, Lagos, Nigeria, 2012

A few years ago, my husband hired a lovely young law student to work at his law firm. We soon learned that Kunbi is a Nigerian princess. This April 9, Kunbi finally wed her prince (not literally in this case, as he's not royal), Olamide in a lavish traditional ceremony. We had the honor of attending the nuptials in Lagos, Nigeria. April 9 is also our wedding anniversary, so we celebrated our 12th year of marriage in unique style! Prior to the big day, Kunbi's mother arranged for us to meet with tailors so they could make our traditional Nigerian outfits. Kunbi's color was yellow so Jon was given a gold tunic-style shirt with embroidery, matching cotton pants and a gold cap. My dress was light yellow with a bold geometric print in pink and brown. I also had a matching head piece called a gele (pronounced gaylay, according to Kunbi). I didn't like wearing the gele so much, as I'm not a big fan of wearing hats in general, but I appreciated them making the outfit for me. Once we reached the event center, we came upon table after table after table. We couldn't believe how many chairs there were. Kunbi had expected about 1000 guests, but actually seeing the set up for that many people was amazing. Soon, guests began filling in, all dressed in traditional Nigerian formal wear. Kunbi's guests donned some variation of yellow, while Olamide's all wore some shade of blue. Every woman completed her look with a colorful gele. From the back, the headpieces resembled blooming flowers so I felt a bit as if I were in a garden. And then it was time for the wedding! A few people warned us that a Nigerian wedding is an endurance test as it goes on for a long time. They weren't exaggerating! The ceremony lasted about six hours and the bride and groom didn't appear until halfway during the proceedings. It certainly wasn't boring, though. For one thing, the event was much more casual than Western-style weddings. Most weddings in the United States, at least, are pretty formal during the ceremony portion. Guests don't eat, dance or mingle until after the couple has exchanged vows. But because this ceremony took so long, guests chatted with friends, danced and ate as everything was happening. Though they served typical Nigerian dishes, such as goat with melon seed and moin moin (bean cake), we unfortunately didn't get to taste too many dishes. They served us the "contintental" meal of fish and rice and well, I HATE fish. Jon managed to get some fried chicken for me, but we never did get a chance to sample anything else. Apparently, many more guests arrived than expected -- 2000! So they ran out of food at one point and had to order more. Still, we had a great time and didn't go hungry. The energetic woman in charge served as a preacher, performer, dj, emcee and wedding planner. Every family member was introduced and then a hymn and prayer was sung in his or her honor. Half were in English and half in Yoruba. Whenever she sang, another woman would join her and two men would enthusiastically beat African drums. It was quite a spectacle! When it was time for the bride and groom to enter, a crowd of about 50 clustered around each and danced them down the aisle. Meanwhile, the singers sang and drummers played, giving them a grand entrance. Kunbi told me afterward that her family had discussed having her arrive on a horse, but she nixed that idea. The woman in charge then had them say some funny vows. She instructed Olimade to bow down to his mother and tell her that he loves her, but then added, "But tell her that now you're going to love Kunbi more." To Kunbi, she had her tell Olamide to, "Make [Kunbi] a woman tonight." Everyone was laughing and having a blast, and not taking themselves seriously at all. Though there were 2000 people there and only three of us were Americans, we still had a sense of belonging. Everyone was warm and friendly and didn't treat us like outsiders. They were so glad to have us in their country and wanted our experience to be as joyful as possible. I love going to weddings in general, but this one was an experience -- and this was definitely one of our most memorable anniversaries.

Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway, 2007

I love art and enjoy going to museums -- and as a New Yorker, have plenty of opportunites to see interesting exhibits. One of my favorite "museums," though was Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway. When Jon first suggested that we walk to Vigeland Park because there were sculptures there, I wasn't really in the mood to go. It was late, we'd just finished dinner and it was about a three mile trek to the park. He insisted, though, and I tagged along, grumbling the whole time about how it would be better if we went to this park during the daytime. By the time we got there, the sun was setting and the park was virtually empty. Again, I wasn't thrilled, thinking that this was rather creepy. But we then entered and I was blown away. The park is filled with hundreds of sculptures by Gustav Vigeland and is an outdoor museum of his work. All of the statues are naked (I feel the need to stress this because I recommended the park to a conservative friend and she was shocked when she arrived) and are in lifelike poses that reflect movement. There are people embracing, babies crying, a man flipping a woman over his shoulders, kids playing, and my favorite -- a man turning as kids hang off of his arms and legs as if they're in mid-flight. I nicknamed it "Man Flinging Babies." Anyway, the statues are organized so that they tell the story of life from birth to death and Vigeland managed to capture every emotion that one would experience during a lifetime from joy to pain to sorrow. His sculptures look so *real* it's as if the figures were frozen in time. I half expected them to come out of their poses and jump out at me. Here are some of the statues, including "Man Flinging Babies":

Being there at night by ourselves *was* a little unsettling, but it gave us the chance to carefully examine each statue. I walked around, liking one figure more than the next and truly appreciated how Vigeland was telling a story with his pieces. We returned the next day during the afternoon, but it just wasn't quite the same. The place was filled with tourists so every statue had people posing in front for pictures. It was still incredible, but the park didn't have that intimate feel that it had the night before. I'm glad that Jon persuaded me to go to Vigeland Park at night because it's an experience that has stayed with me.

Hotel Review: Mill Houses, Santorini, Greece, 2011

A big part of traveling is, of course, finding a decent place to sleep. That said, I'll post hotel reviews from time to time if a hotel really stands out to me in either a good or bad way. I have nothing but positive things to say about Mill Houses Hotel in Firostefani, Santorini, Greece. Let me preface this by explaining that I broke my leg and tore ligaments in April, 2010. I needed surgery and now have a steel plate in my limb. At the time of this trip, my walking was not yet 100 percent, but I managed to push myself and make it around Athens, Delphi and Crete. I even hiked up to the Parthenon, albeit very slowly. Santorini, however, was a real bitch! It's absolutely gorgeous; Santorini's towns sit on top of volcanic mountains, which surround a caldera. Everywhere you look are beautiful views of white and blue buildings and the deep blue water. It's amazing, it's like being inside of a painting... but in order to get around, you have to navigate flights and flights and flights of steps. If you want to reach the top of Firostefani, you can take a bus, taxi, mule or cable car, but if you actually want to walk down any of the side streets, you need to do it on foot -- and then navigate the steps. Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been that big of a deal to me, but when we arrived it was raining and our hotel was down about 70 steps. They were steep, slippery and there were no railings. Jon asked if I wanted to change hotels, but I refused. This one is right at the water's edge and got great reviews. It was a bit pricey, being over $200 a night, but I felt that the splurge would be worth it. I was determined to make it to the lobby, so I slowly climbed down, doing my best to keep my balance and not reinjure my ankle. Along the way, a very buff hotel staffer noticed me and told me to stop where I was. He then grabbed our luggage and said, "We'll get you a high room" and ran up the steps (with our luggage). We followed and found that our room was almost at street level, only about three steps down. It had a balcony and the most magnificent view of the caldera and neighboring town:

The good service didn't stop there. Mr. Muscles disappeared for a few moments as we unpacked, then returned with glasses of champagnge. He told us that if we needed anything -- toiletries, food, a laptop -- that we should just call and someone would bring it. This way, I wouldn't have to walk down those stairs. He was just so warm and welcoming, and didn't make me feel embarrassed about my (temporary) disability at all. As for the room itself, it was fantastic! It was made of some kind of stone or stucco so it looked as if we were inside of a white cave. We had a full working kitchen that came with plates and utensils, a big, comfy bed and a bathroom with a waterfall shower. The decorations were minimal, but very tasteful; some candles, a couple of paintings of Greece, some flowers. It was very inviting and homey, and looked more like an apartment than a typical hotel room. True to their word, they brought us whatever we needed without question, and were always friendly and accomodating. But the best part was that view! Mill Houses is right next to several good restaurants so we tried most out. We loved eating terrific food as we watched the sun set over the caldera; we then walked the 50 feet back to our place and continued to stare out at the water. You'd think that after four days of this, we would've gotten sick of the vista, but we wanted to stare and stare at it forever. Santorini has many decent hotels, both upscale and budget, but Mill Houses was the perfect choice for us. I'd definitely stay there again. Five stars!

Swimming With Manatees In Homosassa Springs, Florida, 2008

Much as we love traveling the world, we sometimes like to take quieter trips at home. We did this a few years ago when we drove down to Florida from New York during the fall. Whenever we visited Florida, it was either to go to Disney World in Orlando or to stop by the Boca Raton/Miami area. Jon's late grandmother lived in southern Florida, as do several friends, so we always like to see them. However, Jon was determined to actually get out of the South Florida area. We did begin our trip in Miami and made some obligatory visits. After, we drove up the west coast through Tampa. Along the way, we decided to see some manatees. I LOVE manatees. I think that they're such beautiful, peaceful creatures. I'd seen plenty in zoos and wildlife conservation centers, but never any in the actual wild. Apparently, late October is the perfect time to see them so we booked a reservation with a boat captain in Homosassa Springs. We awoke at the crack of dawn (around 4:30 a.m., if I recall) and groggily made our way to the dock, where the captain greeted us on his small boat. Turns out we were the only ones going out that morning on his particular vehicle and he explained that they try to limit the number of people going out to the spring at one time. Still, we were permitted to swim with the manatees -- and even rub their bellies! You just couldn't grab them or ride them or do anything else that could potentially harm them. I opted out of swimming because a) it was about 40 degrees and I didn't want to freeze, even if we were going to a hot spring and b) I didn't think my fat butt would fit into the wet suit. Jon eagerly changed into a wet suit, though, and looked forward to jumping in the water with these guys. We set out into the spring and all was quiet for a while. I sat on the egde of the boat and dangled my feet in the water and Jon swam around. Meanwhile, another boat with about 10 people entered the area. One of the passengers called out, "Manatee" and sure enough, there he was! He swam by our boat and was absolutely stunning. While Jon was swimming, he made friends with a few of the creatures. One swam right up to Jon and rubbed noses; another rolled onto his side, asking Jon for a belly rub (the algae sticks and makes them itchy so they like to be scratched). Jon says that it was a little weird getting so close to them, but he never felt unsafe. Later, the larger boat cleared out and the three of us had the springs to ourselves. That's when the manatees decided to have a little party. First, we saw two circling the boat, then four ... and before we knew it, there were about 40 of them hanging out in our area! It was breathtaking. I guess they were hiding out from the bigger crowd, but now they were claiming their spring and we were a part of it. Part of me regrets that I didn't go in the water with them, but I'm not sure how much I would've enjoyed the experience had I been cold and nervous. But I'll never forget seeing those lovely creatures on that chilly fall morning.

Katten Kabinet Cat Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2012

Amsterdam is full of great museums, but we didn't visit many of them. Oh, we will eventually, but during this trip, we spent most of our time outside. I loved walking around the city and taking in the beautiful views of the canals and old buildings. I'm sure that the museums are wonderful and some of the best in the world, but time time around, it was Amsterdam itself that was our "museum." We did stop by one actual museum, though: Katten Kabinet. I'm not ashamed to admit that Jon and I are both crazy cat people. We have a cat named Maya and we're always on the lookout for feline friends on our journeys. We got to know a friendly neighborhood cat called Ebby in Wellington, New Zealand and befriended dozens of kitties in Greece. We said hello to a market cat named Marianna in Mexico City. We stopped to "chat" with a meowie baby by a church in Iceland. That said, we were, of course, going to see a whole museum dedicated to works of art featuring cats! Katten Kabinet's location is an interesting as its exhibits. It's in an old house on the edge of the canal and is still filled with what looks like original furnishings. So amidst the cat statues and cat drawings and cat sculptures, you have many Victorian antiques and ornate light fixtures. It feels a bit like Grandma's House -- only the knickknacks all have to do with cats. Here are some photos:

Upon entering, we were greeted by the bemused looking young man who worked the ticket booth. I guess he was a little tired of seeing crazy cat people, and really, who else would go to this place? We then ventured to the exhibit upstairs and spent the next hour admiring cat paintings, statues, cartoons... any cat thing you can think of. They even had a cat mummy, a cat made out of cat fur (kinda gross) and a cat made out of fabric printed with cats. It was amazing! At the end of our time there, we went to the small gift shop and there was a live cat! The ticket guy informed me that her name is Lily and I proceeded to make friends with her. Apparently there are at least two other kitties living there, but we only got to see one, unfortunately. Still, we had a wonderful time at Katten Kabinet and I encourage you to check it out, even if you're not that into cats. The art really is beautiful and the house is really cool. Next time we're in Amsterdam, I'd like to check out many more museusm -- but we'll definitely make another trip to Katten Kabinet.

HubPages Article: 10 Great Restaurants In Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2012

This April, Jon and I traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, but stopped in Amsterdam for a few days on the way there and back. My serious recommendation? If you have a long flight and the layover is in an interesting place, spend at least a night there and break up the trip. Instead of doing 15 hour flights with breaks in the airport, we took four shorter flights with short stays in Amsterdam -- and it was so worth it. When we traveled to Australia (20 hours) and from Greece to JFK (12 hours after a 5 hour boat ride), I wanted to kill everyone who was in my way because I was so grubby and tired. But this time, I left the plane feeling refreshed and ready to go! Anyway, I loved Amsterdam. Adored it. I wanted to marry this city and have its babies. Friends have asked why I loved it so much and it's a little difficult to put into words. It's beautiful, sure, but we've visited many beautiful places. I think I just liked the laid back, tolerant feel and the sense that I was at... home. Sometimes a place will hit you like that and Amsterdam did that for me. I'll go into more Amsterdam details later on in this blog, but one of the things I enjoyed was the food. Dutch food gets a bad rap, but I like hearty comfort-type food. I also love Indonesian, of which there is a lot there. I felt almost overwhelmed by the restaurant choices in the city, but this article on HubPages highlights 10 really good ones. So get thee to Amsterdam -- and bring a healthy appetite!

To read about more of my adventures, check out my jewelry blog at Naomi's Designs.

Eating Worms In Mexico City, 2008

One of the things that I love the most about traveling is getting to try interesting cuisines. I first sampled hummus in Jerusalem's Arab quarter back in 1984 and that's now one of my favorite foods. I tried lotus root in China, rabbit and pigeon in France, and kangaroo in Australia. So when we went to Mexico City, I suggested that we try some pre-Hispanic cuisine. There are several restaurants that serve this style of food, but we chose to eat at Fonda Don Chon, which is a Mexico City institution. Their dishes include armadillo, ostrich, wild boar, but they're really known for their deep fried cactus worms. That's right: WORMS. I knew that my husband Jon would be game, but wasn't sure that our travel companions, Lani and Scott (a vegetarian) would be up for such a unique dining experience. They were in, though, and we stopped by for lunch during our last day in the city. I'm not sure what I expected Don Chon to look like exactly -- maybe a market stall? -- but to my surprise, it's a very nicely decorated cantina-style restaurant with tiled walls and a fountain. The hosts were extremely friendly and eagerly led us to a table in the corner. They then handed us menus that offered all sorts of goodies. Ostrich? Check. Armadillo? Yep, there it is. Mosquito eggs? Um, no thanks, but they're there if you desire. Cactus worms. Ahh, yes. We wanted to sample some of the other interesting sounding dishes, but they unfortunately didn't have armadillo or ostrich. I opted for wild boar meatballs with huitlacoche (corn fungus) sauce. Happily, they did have the worms.

Mmmm.... worms! I knew that we were getting worms, but didn't expect them to look so uh, wormy. I freaked a little. I have a fear of bugs and worms and squirmy critters, anyway, and here they were on our plate. Gulp. Scott dug in first, spearing a worm with his fork and dipping it into the guacamole. He chewed for a minute before declaring, "It tastes like meat. I don't like it." Still, he won the right to brag that he'd eaten worms. Jon went next, grabbing a few for himself. "They're so deep fried, they don't taste like anything. They're like chips," was his description. Still, he enjoyed them. Lani loved them. She piled a whole bunch onto a tortilla and slathered them with guacamole before gobbling down her "wormwich." "I think I've found a new favorite food," was her critique. I gulped down a shot of mezcal and tentatively picked up a worm. I put it in my mouth, barely licking it and ... I'm ashamed to admit this, spit it out. I just couldn't. I know that different types of foods are eaten around the world and I respect that some people find worms and insects tasty. I wanted to try. I was all psyched to do so. But it was a WORM. I just couldn't separate myself from my perceptions of worms as being the gross creatures that you see squiggling on the ground fter a hard rain. To my credit, I polished off the meatballs and corn fungus, and truly enjoyed both, so I'm not averse to trying new things. I just think that worms pushed my limits. For more of my adventures, check out my jewelry blog: Naomi's Designs.

Welcome To Naomi The Traveler!

The title for this blog is pretty simple -- my name is Naomi and I'm an avid traveler. I guess you can say that I come from a family full of wanderlust. My childhood wasn't like most kids'; since both of my parents were teachers, they had summers off and would take me all over the place. So by the time I was 15, I'd been to China, Japan, Israel, Egypt, Russia, Mexico, and all over Europe and the United States. The other kids thought I was a little weird ... but I always had interesting slide shows for projects. Now that my parents are retired, they travel more than ever. They've been pretty much everywhere you can think of: India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea... okay, they haven't yet been to Australia or New Zealand, or most of the Pacific, actually, but still, they've so far been to an impressive 90-something countries. Meantime, I've gotten my husband into traveling. In the 12 years we've been married, we've visited Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, England, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Greece, Hawaii, Puerto Rico -- and just returned from a trip to the Netherlands/Nigeria. So we're doing pretty well! My goal is to set foot on every continent before my parents. They're missing Australia and Antarctica. I'm still missing South America and Antarctica. So it's anybody's game at this point, though we could fly from the tip of Chile to Antarctica. You go via a military plane and stay there for about three hours, but hey -- it's Antarctica! There are ice caps! Penguins! What more can you want? I kid, but in all seriousness, I think it's important to see the world and learn about the people and places with whom your share your Earth. We're fortunate because we live in New York City, which is a very international place, but while I love eating Chinese food, there's nothing quite like actually going to the real country. So welcome aboard my blog as we take a trip around the world! I'll be sharing travel stories from when I was a child and an adult, as well as travel tips and recommendations. And if you have any stories or tips of your own, feel free to add to the comments. To whet your appetite, here are some photos from last year's trip to Greece:

Safe journeys, Naomi