In August, my husband and I went to Seattle, Vancouver, and Whistler for our delayed honeymoon. We enjoyed exploring Seattle’s Pike Place Market, but it was chaotic. The hallways were so packed with people shoving in every direction, so it was hard to see everything we wanted to.

When we moved on to Vancouver, some people had suggested we check out Granville Island. It’s a tiny 37-acre island in downtown Vancouver that you can get to from a short ferry ride on a tiny boat. In addition to having restaurants, bars, antique and art galleries, and entertainment venues, it has a very popular public market. It is similar to Pike Place Market, but smaller, more navigable, and far less crowded. Merchants sell a variety of seafood, fresh flowers, produce, cheese, desserts, homemade pasta, and more.

According to Tourism Vancouver, the island was an industrial workplace in the 1880s. In the 1970s, urban planners decided they could do some magical things with it. It’s now home to 300 businesses, and 10.5 million visitors go there each year.

Here are some of my favorite photos I took at Granville Island’s Public Market..

]]> http://maiden-voyage-travel.com/photo-essay-granville-island-public-market-in-vancouver-2/feed/ 14 http://maiden-voyage-travel.com/backpacker-recipe-easiest-spaghetti-and-broccoli-ever/ http://maiden-voyage-travel.com/backpacker-recipe-easiest-spaghetti-and-broccoli-ever/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:48:09 +0000 Emily http://maiden-voyage-travel.com/?p=3880

HostelBookers.com has put a call out for recipes that backpackers can easily cook at a hostel. The best will be published in a recipe guide for hostels.

Here is my entry. It’s a recipe I made all throughout college when I hardly had any space or time (and sometimes still do!). It’s the easiest spaghetti ever. Reynold’s (the company that makes the Zip-Lock bags) has steamer bags that allow you to add in raw veggies or meats, a splash of water, and steam them in the microwave. I only discovered them recently, but I steam broccoli in them all the time now. It literally takes 90 seconds to freshly steam half a bag of raw broccoli. Kind of amazing. I’m including that if you want to have something with your spaghetti. Salad also goes great with it!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pasta
• 1 can of tomato basil pasta sauce
• 1 pack (~lb.) of ground turkey or beef (I use turkey–much leaner and still tastes great)
• Raw broccoli

Steps:

1. Boil a pot of water and toss in the pasta.
2. Take a package of ground turkey and dump it all on a sauté pan on medium heat. Sauté until almost fully cooked. I don’t even use oil–the meat usually has enough juice–but feel free to add a dash of olive oil if it’s sticking.
3. Pour the entire can of tomato sauce into the sauté pan and mix thoroughly with the meat. Turn down heat and let simmer.
4. While the pasta is cooking and sauce is simmering, take a Reynold’s steamer bag and put in some fresh broccoli. Add a tablespoon of water and steam in the microwave (the time it takes to cook will be on the bag–it depends on whether you fill the bag up half-way or full).
5. Drain pasta and combine with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired. You can toss the broccoli in or have it on the side.

A message from our partners: Traveling to Italy for an event? Learn about sala riunioni (meeting rooms) and matrimoni sale (wedding halls).

Earlier this month, I went to Savannah, Georgia for the first time for a wedding. I live in Texas, and while people here definitely have Southern hospitality, we aren’t quite “the South.” New Orleans is the closest I’ve gotten to it, and both Savannah and New Orleans ended up really reminding me of each other. It had true Southern charm and made me wish we had more time to explore.

It was a pathetically quick two-night trip. We arrived late on a Friday night and flew out at the crack of dawn on a Sunday. But the wedding was on a Saturday night, giving us the afternoon to explore the city’s Historic District. We stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton at the edge of the Historic District; it was very affordable, very nice and clean, and a pretty short walk to great bars and restaurants. It wasn’t as central as some of the other hotels, but it was just fine.

I enjoyed Savannah’s ornate architecture and incredible American history. We kept stumbling upon plaques that told of the events that took place in the city. In certain areas, I felt like I was transported back in time. Many of the beautiful older homes are now B&Bs, and while I really wanted to stay at one, the group rate at the hotel was just too good. Next time, I definitely plan to stay in one of these historic inns.

I was told by several people before I went that Savannah was known for its wide streets shaded by large, mossy trees. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined:

I found out when I got there that the Historic District was filled with squares. Every few streets, there is a massive square that stretches several blocks. They all featured large, old trees and massive historic monuments.

I took this in Madison Square (named for the president), which has this beautiful monument to William Jasper, a man from Savannah who was a sergeant in the Revolutionary War:

The architecture of the homes in the Historic District was very regal and detailed, and reminded me a lot of New Orleans:

The couple we were there to see get married recommended checking out Forsyth Park, which has a famous fountain in the middle of it. If you keep going, you pass by acres of grassy lawns and more historical monuments. With its long walkways, shady trees, and massive fountain, the park looked like something from a love story. In fact, I took a photo for a couple who said they got engaged right there exactly five years ago! I couldn’t pass up getting a photo of me and my husband in front of the fountain:

I also saw some fun street art in the city:

And let’s not forget the Southern food. We were in Savannah so briefly that we hardly had any meals there, but we had a fabulous dinner at The Olde Pink House. It’s where the wedding reception was held, though several people on Twitter actually recommended it to me as a place to eat before they found out I was already going there for the wedding! It’s a gorgeous old mansion with a very elegant, stately feel, and massive amounts of history took place in it. The appetizers were mini crab cakes, beef tenderloin crostini, fried green tomatoes, and I think the last one was friend macaroni and cheese with jalepeno poppers. For my entree, I had a fabulously moist pork tenderloin with sweet potatoes and collard greens. My husband had one of the most famous Southern dishes around: shrimp and grits (pictured below). All of the staff there were so friendly and funny (we were at a table full of people from the Northeast, and they just couldn’t get over how hospitable people were in the South). They also served dessert to the guests instead of a wedding cake, and my chocolate torte with graham cracker crust was just sinful. We left blissfully stuffed.

Have you been to Savannah? What did you think?

My recent post about dining out in Seattle was a hit on Twitter, so I decided to follow up with my tales of dining in Vancouver on the same trip. I went on my delayed honeymoon to Seattle, Vancouver, and Whistler during the first week of August, and after all of the dining out we did, let’s just say it’s a very good thing we did miles of walking every day!

Cactus Club Cafe

Our concierge at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver recommended this to us as a casual lunch spot downtown. It was chic and had many sharply-dressed patrons, but we were wearing casual clothes and fit in just fine. We sat on the outdoor patio, which is a great spot for people-watching, especially of the well-dressed businessmen and women. I had the Raincoast Salad, with mixed greens, sugared pecans, strawberries, feta, and lemon-thyme vinegarette. It was supposed to come with grilled chicken, but I changed it to grilled salmon, which was moist and delicious. My husband got “The Burger”—their signature cheeseburger with fries–and said it was delish.

Pacifico Pizzeria & Ristorante

We were craving Italian but wanted something somewhat affordable and casual. I found Pacifico on Yelp, and I’m so glad we went! They have small plate and large plate options, which I loved–as a small woman, I can never normally finish restaurant entrees and hate overpaying for them. It was great being able to pay less for a smaller plate (though I still couldn’t finish it!). They had several types of foccacia available as a starter; I got the focaccia with goat cheese and arugula. I wasn’t sure if I would like it since arugula can be bitter, but it was great. For my entree, I ordered the pesto pasta and added shrimp. The waitress asked what type of pasta I wanted, and I wasn’t sure. She suggested the gnocchi and said it would complement the fresh pesto very nicely. I didn’t even consider gnocchi but went with it, and she was so right. The soft and puffy gnocchi, the flavorful pesto (not too basily), the perfectly-cooked shrimp, and grated Parmesan on top were the perfect combination. I squeezed the lemon wedge on the side with it, and it made it even better. My husband stole a few bites and agreed that it was fantastic.

He got the pasta with clams and shrimp, and he devoured it. We ended up spending more than we planned to (because of the appetizer and me adding shrimp), but the food was perfect, the ambiance was nice and quiet, and the waitress was so friendly and knowledgeable.

Kamei Royale

Another great find from Yelp! It was actually directly across the street from our hotel. I started with edamame, which was lukewarm—a little disappointing. But I followed up with miso soup, which was delicious, with just enough tofu and seaweed. We then ordered the salmon and cheese gyoza, which are deep-fried dumplings stuffed with baked B.C. salmon and yellow cheese (perhaps cheddar?). I had never heard of this before, and it was unusual but very flavorful. For his entrée, my husband got California rolls. For my entrée, I ordered the pork gyoza with sticky white rice (I have a dumpling obsession). I asked them to steam them instead of pan-fry them, and they were more than happy to. It took a bit longer, and they were very apologetic, but I didn’t mind. It was worth it. They were nice and sticky and moist, with great flavor.

Cupcakes!

We passed by this cute pink shop a few times. I checked it out on Yelp, and it had very mediocre reviews. People said they had made better cupcakes themselves at home. But one afternoon we were craving something sweet and decided to give it a shot anyway. We got a chocolate cupcake with mint icing, a vanilla cupcake with strawberry icing, a chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing, and a Nutella cupcake. They weren’t the best cupcakes we’d ever had, but they were pretty darn good and hit the spot.

Don Guacamole’s

This was a recommendation from my friend Natalie, the lovely Canadian behind the travel blog Near Afar. Everything was presented beautifully–even the free starter chips (second photo). We ordered the guacamole as an appetizer, which was cleverly served in a large martini glass. Being from Texas, we’re extraordinarily picky about our guac, and it had perfect chunky texture and flavor. I ordered the grilled steak quesadilla, which used only white cheese. It was different from what I was used to, but really gooey, tender, and delicious. My husband got alambre, which is a dish similar to fajitas, and was very happy with it. We were initially skeptical about Mexican food in Canada, and we were very pleasantly surprised how wonderful it was here.

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

The afternoon tea at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is quite the experience. I ordered the peppermint tea, which was piping hot and full of delicious mint flavor. The tiered trays of finger sandwiches and treats was just sinful. I couldn’t finish anywhere near the amount served, so I took some back to the room with me, which is where I took the picture below. The scone below is one of the best I’ve ever had–so flaky and sweet. The chef’s recipe is a secret. Also pictured below are lemon treats, blueberry cheesecake, and a mini eclair. You can read more about my experience at afternoon tea here.

Other meals

I spaced out and forgot to take pictures of a few of my meals. Here’s what we had:

The Keg
We ate lunch really late one day, so in the evening we only wanted a small meal. We stopped at this posh restaurant and bar. It was dimly lit with modern furniture. We ordered the baked goat cheese, which was coated in crushed almonds and served with a tomato basil salsa of sorts (had a balsamic taste). It was served with crunchy crostini and was oh so good. I ordered the spinach salad, which came with top-notch crumbled blue cheese, cranberries, mandarin oranges, pecans, and a wine-based vinaigrette. It hit the spot and was very flavorful. I only found out later that the restaurant was a chain–it didn’t feel like one at all!

Café Crepe
We wanted a late-night snack, and this creperie was right around the corner from our hotel. I ordered dark chocolate with whipped cream. It was really just a crepe with a little melted dark chocolate in the middle (would have preferred a little more chocolate—it was so bready). They gave me a separate cup of whipped cream to dip it in. It wasn’t amazing, but it was a good cheap treat. The husband got one with Nutella and bananas that he said was yummy.

Sandwich Plus
I searched on Yelp for a while for a cheap sandwich spot downtown other than Subway, and this one got rave reviews. It’s located in a strange little food court with mini-restaurants of Indian, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Greek cuisine and more. After walking in, I wondered if it was really a good idea to eat here, but we stuck with it. The line took forever since there was just one little old lady making sandwiches, though it was worth it. We got the roast turkey sandwiches, and rather than using deli meat, they use real roasted turkey, like the kind you would eat at Thanksgiving. You can choose from dark meat, white meat, or mixed. She literally piled it on by the handful. You can add cranberry sauce, too, in addition to many other fresh ingredients. Instead of cranberry sauce, I added avocado and cheese. Between the two of us, it cost less than $15. The sandwiches were fresh and filling (I couldn’t finish mine).

After several nights in Vancouver, we rented a car and went to Whistler, where we had a few other fabulous meals (that I also forgot to take pictures of). It’s a beautiful two-hour ride, but if you prefer not to drive there yourself, there are plenty of Canada tours that can take you by bus. Not everyone is into them, but sightseeing tours make it easy to get from point A to point B and teach you about the area.

My husband is in law school, so we don’t get to go out to nice dinners very often. On our delayed honeymoon in Seattle and Vancouver earlier this month, we decided that we deserved to enjoy some special meals and made a nice budget for doing so.

I’m a picky eater with a sensitive stomach, so finding suitable gourmet food can be a challenge. I got recommendations from friends and did research on Yelp, and we ended up having some amazing food that we both loved. Two unpleasant things that I discovered were that nearly all restaurants charged for bread (very rare in Texas), and that soda was so expensive at nearly every restaurant (I shouldn’t be drinking it anyway, but treated myself to a few on the trip). But getting to eat fresh seafood and high-quality ingredients was amazing!

Cutter’s Bayhouse

This restaurant was recommended by a coworker, and I’m glad I listened. It sits at the waterfront at the edge of the Pike Place Market. They seated us right by a window, and the view of the water and mountains was incredible. Plus, they serve free tasty homemade focaccia–it was exciting not having to pay for bread to snack on. I ordered the open-faced crab sandwich (second photo), which sounded nice and light. Unfortunately, it was incredibly rich and creamy and covered in mayo, so I flagged down the waitress and told her this isn’t at all what I was expecting. She said it was made with the crab and artichoke mixture that they use for an appetizer dip. Since that wasn’t noted on the menu, she kindly removed it from the bill and let me order something else. She even brought out free soup for me while I waited. I ordered the crab cake, which cost a little more, but was worth it—it was cooked perfectly and full of fresh chunks of crab. My husband got the seafood brochette, which had salmon and scallops—he loved it.

Local 360

This unique place was a treat. It has a country cottage feel, and it’s quite small. Some of the tables are shared tables, though we lucked out and got our own. They also have two stories of stacked booths on one side, which gives it a quirky look. Our friendly waiter explained to us that nearly all of their food comes within a 360-mile radius of the restaurant and that their goal is to serve sustainable food. We started with the cheese and crostini; there was a rich cow and goat cheese mix, and a baby blue, both served alongside Rainier cherry sauce. Very flavorful! I got the special, which was pan-roasted ling cod over Swiss chard and roasted corn, with a little bacon mixed in. I ordered it because the waiter told me it was pretty light—it was in a broth. The cod itself didn’t have a ton of flavor, but the roasted corn was sweet and delicious. It was a great healthy option. My husband got the fried chicken (a not-so-healthy option), which was served with an egg on top and grits below it. The waiter said it was one of their most popular dishes, and he really enjoyed it.

Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company

My husband and I are gluttons for cupcakes. One day we were walking back to the apartment and passed by Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company, and we couldn’t resist. We saw signs that it was featured on the Food Network. We got a six-pack so that we could try several different flavors. We got Mexican wedding cake (which tasted JUST like those cookies), strawberry cheesecake, pancakes and bacon, peanut butter, red velvet, and chocolate cake with vanilla icing. The strawberry cheesecake was my favorite. Good thing we were doing so much walking…

Belltown Pizza

We were staying near Belltown Pizza and walked past it many times, so when we wanted a casual and cheap dinner one night, we decided to go here (though I checked Yelp first, and it had fantastic reviews). We got the house pizza—spinach, garlic, tomatoes, cheese, and olive oil. We added meatballs. I am normally not much of a pizza eater for some reason, but this pizza was just fantastic. Simple but rich. The crust was nice and crunchy, and the middle was soft, gooey, and flavorful. It made me wonder why I don’t eat pizza more often!

The Crab Pot

The friend whose apartment we stayed in told us we couldn’t leave Seattle without having a meal here. They offer traditional seafood fare, but their specialty is their feasts. There are four to choose from, each with increasingly more ingredients (and more expensive). There is a minimum of two people for each one, and you order per person. They lay a strip of butcher paper on your table and give you bibs, in addition to wooden blocks and hammers. Our waiter came out with a massive metal bowl of food and dumped it on the butcher paper. Our feast contained corn, potatoes, sausage, shrimp, crab, oysters, mussels, clams, and some skewers with halibut and salmon. I was a little put off by the fact that the shrimp were still completely intact, eyes, antennae, and all. I was so grossed out that my husband had to peel them for me. I also had difficulty getting the meat out of the crab, even with the hammer. But the rest was delicious, and it was a very unique dining experience! The restaurant is right on the waterfront, too, so you get some nice views if you sit on the deck.

The Lucky Diner

We were staying directly across the street from this 1950s-style diner. One night we needed a late dinner, and nothing else was open, so we gave it a shot. I was craving an old-fashioned cheeseburger, and boy did I get one. I could only eat half of it, but it hit the spot, as did the mashed potatoes I got as my side. It was served with fresh homemade pickles.

Bisato

We found this tiny chic Italian restaurant on our first night in. Needing a pick-me-up, I ordered a Coke. We were starving and noticed that you could order a lamb chop as an appetizer for only a few bucks, so we started with that. It was nice and rare, with a small dollop of whipped potatoes on the side. It made me sad we didn’t order several more. For the main course, I ordered the strawberry risotto with balsamic vinegar, which they said was a dish from the Veneto region of Italy. It was phenomenal. Rich and tender, cooked to perfection. While it was a bright pink color and topped with a strawberry, it only had a hint of strawberry flavor. The portion was small, but perfect for me. My husband ordered the black olive pasta sheet with squid, raisins, and pine nuts. It was surprisingly small and not filling in the least (it looked like an appetizer), but nonetheless, he said it tasted excellent. At one point, the waiter asked me if I wanted a second Coke, and I said sure. When I got the bill, I was charged $5 for two Cokes—he never told me there was a charge for refills. That pissed me off. But overall, it was a great culinary experience. I apologize for the blurry pics; I took these with my iPhone.

Be sure to check out my photo essay of Pike Place Market to see some of the goodies we ate there, too!

We didn’t get out of the downtown or Belltown area very often–there was so much to do and see there. So I didn’t get much food outside of those two areas. We also heard from so many people that parking all over town is terrible, and we didn’t really get around to learning the bus system. There are actually a lot of affordable airport parking spots in Seattle (there are usually websites to help you find the best deal, like this one for Gatwick airport parking). But we passed by many pay-to-park lots around town, and they were very pricy. We were really glad that the area we were staying in was so walkable and with so many restaurants.

Vail Resorts kindly hosted me for three nights in Keystone, Colorado. While lodgings and some activities were covered, these opinions are my own. Check out my posts from day 2 and day 3!

We flew from Austin into Denver and arrived in the afternoon. While the shuttle ride from Denver’s airport to Keystone took a bit longer than expected due to traffic, the views driving from flat Denver into the mountains were stunning:

Driving from flat Denver to mountainous Keystone.

View from my window as we're finally getting up into the mountains!

I was a little grumpy after a long travel day, but as soon as we checked into Keystone Lodge & Spa, I was in heaven. The lobby had an incredible chocolate village display for Christmas, complete with chocolate fountains, a chocolate Christmas tree, and a train set. The staff were all helpful and courteous. Our beautiful and modern room with a comfy king-sized bed had a private deck that overlooked the snow-covered mountains. They had free WiFi–a major bonus for a blogger! There was a large dresser and armoire with tons of storage, perfect for those traveling with tons of cold weather gear. Plus, our room had a large flat-screen TV and DVD player.

After getting settled in, the generous PR folks took us to Keystone Ranch. This restaurant is only a few miles away from the lodge, though driving through the snowy country roads at night made me feel like we were in some beautiful winter wonderland. It was classic and elegant, but felt like a cozy country lodge at the same time. It had wood cabin-like walls, rustic wooden chairs, stone fireplaces, and warm-colored rugs.

One of the tables in Keystone Ranch

I was told by several people that the food here was to-die-for. They weren’t exaggerating; I honestly can’t remember the last time I had such mindblowingly delicious food. Each of the six courses was arranged like a piece of art and featured unusual combinations, such as pork belly with vanilla bean yogurt on the side.  The service was top-notch, as the attentive waiters knew every detail of each plate. The lobster bisque was so rich and flavorful (and served from a kettle at the table), the salad with crispy goat feta was so fresh, the medium rare lamb chop was the most tender and juicy I’d ever had, and the chocolate lava cake had me dying for more even though my stomach had reached capacity. The six-course meal costs $95 per person.

We dined on an appetizer, soup, salad, sorbet, and main course. Here is a sampling of those. We also had dessert–be sure to get to the bottom for pictures of those!

My app! Crispy kurobuta pork belly with buttered English muffin, huckleberry jelly, sunny side quail egg, vanilla bean yogurt, watercress & blood orange

Another app: grilled Maine lobster with toasted brioche, roma tomato confit, arugula and pancetta, winter truffles, cognac butter

Another app: seared day boat scallops with hand-rolled linguine, braised artichokes, picholine olive, lemon foam, parsley

Another app: grilled rabbit en croute with aged manchego mousse, baby golden beets, roasted hedgehog mushrooms, crystalized thyme, sherry naturel

Salad of baby red leaf lettuce, warm goat feta, black mission figs, toasted pumpkin seeds, honey sherry vinaigrette

Pineapple sorbet

My amazing entree: Colorado lamb chop with ragout of lamb cheek, creamed parsnip gratin, baby purple carrot, grilled frisee, cabernet lamb jus

Crispy striped bass entree with sweet potato galette, creme fraiche crepe, almond, haricot vert, maitake, meyer lemon marmalade, chervil

Grilled boar chop entree with bourbon glazed ribs, soft yellow corn grits, Wisconsin cheddar cheese, roasted tomato sauce, wilted baby spinach

After finishing the first five courses, we were led to a separate room that felt like a true rustic cabin, with a deer antler chandelier, comfy couches, and a roaring fire in a stone fireplace. We ate our dessert at this table in front of the fire. I found out that this part of the building actually was once a part of a real ranch, which explained why it felt like we were in a cozy ranch house.

The cozy area where we ate dessert

The desserts were inventive and delectable. I can be a bit of a chocolate snob, but my chocolate lava cake was so rich and delicious that I’m not sure if I’ve ever tasted better chocolate. Yeah, it was that good. I was a little bummed that the chocolate part itself was so small, but by this time, I was already stuffed silly.

Chocolate lava cake with strawberry ice cream, carmelized banana mousse, vanilla marshmallow, waffle cone, fruit, and nuts

Triple creme goat brie en croute with cinnamon short bread, calvados carmel sauce, brown sugar oat crisp, apple, pecan

Terrine of chocolate and raspberry with white chocolate creme anglaise, raspberries in vanilla sugar, expanded honey, lemon curd

The following is a guest post from Bethany Salvon, a professional photographer and travel junkie. She can be found at her personal site Beers and Beans, and her photography site. She has worked as a commercial photographer and has been photographing weddings for over nine years. She photographs under the studio name Nariko’s Nest and lives in San Diego, CA. You can follow Bethany on Twitter at @BeersandBeans.

Have fun as a 20something

This year I’m finally embarking on my first RTW. I’m 34. Why did I wait? I have wanted to travel long-term for at least the past 10 years, but why didn’t I do it earlier? If I think back, I can come up with a list of reasons:

1.    None of my friends wanted to travel and I had no one to go with (this was the big one.)
2.    I couldn’t imagine saving enough money that would allow me to travel long term.
3.    I had a serious, multi-year relationship with someone I loved deeply. He was in the military and instead of traveling on my own I followed him around for a few years until we broke up four months before our wedding. Good times.
4.    I was afraid to strike out into the unknown.
5.    I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life, so I was working incredibly hard for little money and miserable. I didn’t realize how horrible it was because I thought I was “paying my dues.”
6.    I couldn’t imagine spending that much time alone, without family or friends.

The list could go on and on, but it all boils down to one thing. I ignored my true calling and my real true desires. I put myself on hold for other people, and I was scared to brave the unknown waters on my own. I don’t regret anything I did in my 20s because I had a lot of fun living in different cities and hanging out with my friends. BUT, and it’s a big BUT, I do regret not traveling long-term. In fact, I consider it one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. Although my life is pretty awesome right now, I often wonder where I would be if I had just followed my heart and traveled when I graduated college.  In my defense, the Internet was not as available or valuable as it is now. People were still nervous to book flights online, no one was blogging and Skype hadn’t even been invented. I didn’t know anyone traveling long-term and it wasn’t as easy as it is now to log on, find some travel inspiration and ask questions. But still it doesn’t matter. People have been traveling for eons; they traveled 10 years ago too, when I sat at home wondering about it.

I’m writing this article to help inspire anyone in their 20s who is contemplating traveling but isn’t 100% sure. All the reasons and excuses you have laid out for yourself are just those–excuses. You can AND will overcome every single one of them.

Read my top nine reasons below for traveling in your 20s so you can stop over-analyzing your decision.  Just do it.

1.    Health concerns. I know some people deal with health concerns when they are children and young adults, but the majority of people in their 20s don’t have any health problems. They don’t worry about health insurance, prescriptions or a rising health care bill. The younger you are when you travel, the less you have to worry about when it comes to your health. When I was 31 I was diagnosed with cancer, just before we were supposed to set out on the RTW. I recovered but I now have to take medication every day, for the rest of my life. This means that I need to have months of medications and vitamins with me when I travel. One of my greatest fears is losing my prescriptions in a developing, foreign country. Worse than that though is the fact that my immune system now sucks and I pick up every little bug around me. When traveling this is a major pain in the butt. I have to work extra hard to stay healthy on the road and keep my immune system up.  I get tired easier and I hate that man sneezing on the airplane with a passion that you cannot imagine. On top of that, I can’t ditch my US health insurance when traveling long-term because no one will ever reinsure me, and with my past surgery costing over $28,000, that’s not a risk I can take. So now on top of travelers insurance I have to pay a $200/month (and constantly rising) bill for months when I am not even in the country. And I have to be back every six months for check ups. Mentally the “what if” factor of it recurring is always a huge mental drain. If I had traveled in my 20s, this whole issue wouldn’t even exist.

Drink more

2.    You can drink more and get away with it. You don’t know this yet, but when you turn 30, it will hit you like a brick wall. You just can’t party like you used to. At first it starts to sneak up on you with a hangover that leaves you feeling worse than normal but then–wham! Suddenly you end up spending a full day (or two) in bed after a big party. You will try to defy Mother Nature’s cruel joke for a while, but eventually you will give in. Pretty soon, you stop drinking as much because the recovery time is such a bitch. If you don’t believe me just ask my boyfriend; he is still trying to party like it’s 1999 and spent all morning throwing up and all day sleeping. The tally? Five beers. Yeah, you read correctly–just five. No hard alcohol, no cigarettes, just five boring beers. Just a few years ago he could put back eight and get up and go to work the next day, but not anymore. He’s 32 now.  This has happened to all of my friends as well. You may be lucky and this might not happen to you, but the odds are stacked against it. Drink up now with all your new travel buddies because in a few years you’ll spend all day puking in the hostel toilet and that’s going to get old mighty fast.

3.    You can eat more and get away with it. This is basically the same as No. 2, but it involves food. Yup,

Eat more

when you hit 30 that exercise routine you’ve been doing for the past few years just doesn’t cut it. It is at least 90% harder to lose weight and keep it off when you are in your 30s. You have to up the exercise an incredible amount to eat the same crap you are eating now.  How does this relate to travel? All that pizza in Italy, pad Thai in Thailand, danishes in Denmark, and all that amazing wine in Chile–after a few days, you and your clothes are going to feel it and you’re not going to be happy about it. You will have two choices and they both suck: eat a lot less or exercise a lot more. Who wants to do either when traveling? Alternately you can just travel in your early 20’s and munch away more freely.

4.   You’ll look better in your travel photos. Of course some people are going to disagree and say they look better in their 30s. Good for them. I can tell you this much; all my girlfriends (and myself) have to dye our hair, watch what we eat, workout continually, use sunblock religiously, and moisturize ALL the time. It’s insane. I know I have to blame some of this on our culture as well, but the truth is this that in your 30s you start getting wrinkles, your hair starts seriously going gray and your skin gets a lot dryer. You’ll still look like yourself, just older. All the pictures of yourself will still be great; you’ll just be a little older, heavier, wrinklier, etc. You might think you feel like that now but trust me, you don’t. Wait 10 years you’ll be shocked.

5.   You can get your fix of hooking up with hot foreigners. The sad true, statistical fact: The person you are dating in your early 20s is most likely not the person you will spend your life with. For some of you this isn’t the case–some of you (roughly 10%) will get married, have tons of babies and have amazing lives together. But for 90% of you, you’re going to break up. This is true; you just don’t want to hear it and I completely understand because I felt the same way. If I count up over 30 of my girlfriends, only three of them are married to/or dating people they met in their early 20s. Three. The odds here are not in your favor and it’s OK. Trust me, you’ll meet someone better. But think about it this way–wouldn’t it be awesome if that someone better had a great accent? Breaking up and hitting the road will allow you to hook up with hot foreigners. Of course you can do this at any point in your life, but it is easier when you are younger because it’s easier to meet people thanks to your easily erased nightly inebriation and as we’ve noted above, you’re better looking, which always helps.

Hit the open road

6.    You don’t wonder (at least not as deeply) if you are screwing up your life in a big way. Most people in their 30s are getting married, buying houses, and having kids. Except you. You’ll be taking the most money you’ve ever been able to put your hands on and your spending it around the world instead of putting into a retirement account or buying a house.  No one else I know at my age is doing this. All of my friends are taking the marriage, mortgage, baby route, and there is definitely a certain appeal to it. A lot of people are going to find your decision to do something different very dumb and eventually it will eat at you. You will start to wonder if this is indeed an extremely stupid move. You will have to fight this feeling and any oncoming questions with a series of well-rehearsed lines that are based on nothing more than the gut feeling that this is what you should be doing. It will be hard. People expect you to travel in your 20s, not your 30s. So do it.

7.    You don’t need to worry about the million dollar question: Are you going to have kids? In your 20s, you feel like you have tons of time to have kids, and you do. Truthfully, I’ve never been baby crazy, but I did always imagine myself with a family. The reality is that I’m 34. Taking off now for a couple years is going to make getting pregnant that much harder when I’m ready to settle down and move forward with that phase of life. Sometimes I feel stuck because I feel like I have to travel now so I can get on with it and move forward with my life. I have to hope I’m not making a mistake that I could regret forever and I need to start looking into adoption, just in case.  My situation is also a bit more complicated because of reason No. 1, but in any case, in my 20s I wouldn’t have thought about either of these things.

8.    You aren’t completely jaded–yet. You walk into a buzzing hostel and get excited; I get annoyed. I will probably end up yelling at the unfortunate soul that inevitably wakes me up at 4 a.m. I know it’s lame and I hate being that way, but it is what it is. In your 30s you start to value boring things, like sleep, more than staying up, drinking and having deep conversations about a local government that in actuality you really know very little about.

9.    Your frontal lobe is not fully developed. The frontal lobe part of your brain develops fully after age 25. The frontal lobe is the part of your brain responsible for most major decisions and it greatly affects the risks you are willing to take in life. This directly parlays into fears of pushing yourself too far in certain activities. When I was younger I was always doing a lot of crazy things and pushing my limits. Now I have that little voice in my head that says, “Don’t be stupid, you could actually die doing this.” Shutting up the frontal lobe is possible but it takes a lot of work and/or alcohol. Most recently when hiking Angels Landing in Zion National Park, I could not shut it up. The last .25-mile of hike is all cliff and chains. You have to pull yourself up with chains, and while it’s not that physically demanding, it is mentally insane. A slip or a mistake could literally mean death, as your body would plummet down the mountain with nothing to break your fall. It’s awesome, incredible, and the type of thing that you travel for because it makes you feel alive. But I just couldn’t finish the hike. I got to the very end and did maybe 50 yards of the chain bit before I had to turn back. I was so terrified that I actually slithered down the mountain on my stomach until some kind soul decided to help me. I was in tears. Then a group of about seven girls who looked to be about 21 bounded right by me without skipping a beat. They talked about how scary it was but the danger just didn’t really sink in thanks to the frontal lobe not being fully developed. Go travel now before you become fully aware that half the things you want to do could lead to your imminent death. The frontal lobe is a serious buzz kill.

Disclaimer: To all you badass 30+ travelers: Yes, I know there are plenty of people 30 years+ that still do crazy things, have never been seriously ill, eat like there’s no tomorrow, and drink like a fish. I think that’s awesome, I’m just not one of them and I don’t know any of them personally either. This list surmises my personal experiences about the reasons why it’s easier to travel when you are in your 20s as opposed to your 30s, so please don’t get mad, OK?

In February, I spent three lovely nights in Boston with my boyfriend. Besides exploring the museums, historical sites, schools, and shops, we really enjoyed dining out in Bean Town. Here are some of the highlights of our culinary adventures.

Sea bass and risotto at VOX populi

VOX populi
755 Boylston Street
We stumbled upon this modern take on an Italian restaurant near our hotel after a full day of exploring. It had dim lighting, chic furniture, and attractive young professionals. We loved the sound of the menu, and it seemed reasonably priced, so we gave it a shot. They served us puffy, warm bread with olive oil, which always wins me over. I ordered a flatbread (their version of a pizza) with spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese. It was absolutely massive, served in a large square with a thin crust. The warm, crumbled goat cheese combined with the hot, mushy tomatoes was delicious. We enjoyed our meal so much that we came back the next night. I ordered their special — seared sea bass with blood orange sauce and artichoke risotto. The sea bass was cooked just right, and the orange sauce complemented it perfectly.

Pazzo
269 Newbury Street
I found out about this hip Italian restaurant on the popular Newbury Street through a LivingSocial deal. Always looking to save money, I purchased the deal — $15 for $30 of food. It was a bit noisy, and we were seated in a booth next to a large family with a kid who kept picking the seat, but I had them move us to a quieter, more romantic spot. They served us bread, and rather than giving us the traditional olive oil, they served a bead curd dip instead. I wasn’t wild about it, but it was an interesting twist on things. I started with the Bibb lettuce salad, which was served with gorgonzola, candied walnuts, and sliced apple. It was fresh, crisp, and couldn’t stop eating it. My boyfriend ordered the calamari, which was artfully served in a tall bowl that almost looked like a vase. For my entree, I had the gnocchi with tomato-basil sauce. It was on the mushy side and a little plain, but still very good and filling. My boyfriend enjoyed his spicy clam pasta.

Gourmet Dumpling House
52 Beach Street
I can’t tell you how excited I was when I found out that Boston had a Chinatown. I’m a glutton for dumplings, and I insisted we go to this part of town for lunch. When we exited the Chinatown T-stop, most of the surrounding restaurants looked dirty and sketchy. We saw one dim sum restaurant and almost went in, but the menu was a little too strange. We walked around for a while, and when we were finally almost ready to settle for a Vietnamese sandwich, we stumbled upon Gourmet Dumpling House and found our winner. The tiny, authentic-feeling hole-in-the-wall only has about 10 tables in it, but it was packed, and some strangers were sharing tables. The encyclopedic menu blew my mind — I had never once been to a restaurant with that many things on the menu (at least 100), especially somewhere that small. The service was awful, but it was quite an experience. Rather than serving ice water, they served the traditional hot tea. While we were tempted to order dishes like the roasted pig ears, lamb tongue, oyster pancakes, or fried intestines, we went with the basic pork and cabbage dumplings. Heaven! I ordered a steamed bun, which was disappointing, but the dumplings were fantastic and the overall experience was worth it.

Shaw’s Supermarket
We were staying down the street from a nice and modern grocery store, Shaw’s Supermarket. This New England chain of grocery stores was new to us, and we drooled when we walked in and saw their vast prepared foods section (they had me at sweet potato mash). They even had a nice upstairs area overlooking the store where you could sit down and eat. It was the perfect place to pop in for a quick and cheap meal. They have several locations throughout town.

Fairmont Hotel’s Oak Room
138 Saint James Avenue
Meghan from Travel Eat Love and I wanted to hang out in person, so she had me meet her at the Oak Room. It is a gorgeous, stately, old-school bar inside the ornate Fairmont Hotel. The Oak Room felt like the kind of place that used to be occupied by rich older men smoking cigars and playing cards, but was now more modern with many young professionals. We didn’t order food (they had a small appetizer menu), but we both ordered the martini flight. One was some form of an apple martini, which was sweet and delicious. Another was a mint chocolate martini, and the third was a milky martini, I think with white chocolate liqueur. Most of them were too sweet for me to finish, but they were all tasty, and it was fun to try several things at once!

Have you ever been to Boston? What are some of your favorite places to eat (or drink) there?

In November, Meghan over at the blog Travel Eat Love wrote a guest post for me about her visit to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley.

This month, I wrote a guest post for her about my global adventures in food, which just went up. It includes some of the highlights and lowlights of my eating experiences while traveling in France, Scotland, Greece, and Italy. From bun-less burgers in France to haggis pies in Scotland, things are just different overseas! I hope you will take the time to read the post and check out her site.

The following is a guest post from Meghan Malloy, a Marketing Communications Manager in the publishing industry by day and an aspiring travel, food, and wine writer by night. She runs a blog called Travel Eat Love. She resides in Boston, MA with her husband and two cats but is always on the lookout for her next adventure.

First of all, I want to thank Emily for allowing me to guest post on her amazing site! Since I discovered her on Travel Blog Exchange, I have been glued to Maiden Voyage.

Travel is one of the things that makes my world go round, and the travel I do often focuses on three things: food, wine, and the outdoors. Our most recent trip was to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Festival, a gathering of food bloggers where eating, drinking, and blogging talk filled the days. Following the festival, my husband and I took our second trip in two months to California’s wine country.

Wine country in November offers a sharp contrast to the East coast. Autumn was alive and well, but the temperatures were near 70 making it easy to wander around vineyards and to take hikes along the Sonoma coast. All of the outdoors activity made for extra large appetites, and I was more than willing to take part in wine country cuisine.

On the last day of our trip, we had lunch reservations at the Wine Spectator restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. The history and architecture of the CIA building is interesting and impressive.(The following information was provided on a handout at the CIA Greystone building.) Completed in 1889, Greystone Cellars was once the largest stone winery in the world. After a phyloxera epidemic and prohibition kept the winery dormant until after the Great Depression when the winery was passed amongst several owners before gravity-flow winery was back in production. In 1950, the Catholic teaching order, the Christian Brothers, purchased the

Culinary Institute of America: Greystone

winery to increase the production of their well known wines, brandies, and ports. In 1990, just after an earthquake that made a portion of the building unusable, the Christian Brothers brand was acquired by Heublein, Inc. Through the generosity of Hublein, the CIA was able to acquire the building, surrounding grounds, and the 15 acre Merlot vineyard for roughly 10% of its $14 million dollar valuation in 1993. The 90-foot high entrance atrium displays flags that represent the major wine producing regions of the world.

The food and beverages were outstanding and local, as you might expect from the most well known culinary school in the country.

I started my meal with a Lost Coast tangerine wheat beer which was light, fruity, and refreshing, a perfect contrast to all of the wine that we had tasted earlier in the day. We also ordered “Today’s Temptations,” a selection of the chef’s choice of starters which included smoked salmon lollipops, dates with blue cheese, polenta with a beautiful roast tomato sauce, and shots of cauliflower soup.

For my entree I ordered two appetizers, pumpkin empanadas with pumpkin seed salsa, cumin-lime crème fraiche, and cilantro salad and an apple salad with spiced walnuts, endive, shaved celery, and walnut-Dijon vinaigrette.

My husband had the pan roasted day boat scallops.

Everything was delicious, and it was a fun experience to watch chefs in the open kitchen as they moved briskly about preparing food.

After lunch, we took some time to wander around the building. A chef’s dream-come-true culinary store with every tool and gadget imaginable resides on the first floor of the main building. I stayed away as we had limited ourselves to carry-on luggage! You can also view the Vintner’s Hall of fame and the grand entrance. While we were visiting, all of the students were gearing up for a big event with chefs from around the country. I wanted to stay!

Even if you don’t consider yourself a huge foodie, I would definitely recommend a visit to the CIA Greystone and the surrounding area. In addition to food and wine tastings, you can take a walk through a petrified forest, visit a geyser, and spend a lot of time in the great outdoors taking in beautiful scenery and fresh air.

If you are interested in more wine country and other travel and food posts, please visit traveleatlove.wordpress.com. Happy travels!

Guest author Jeremy at Skógafoss, a waterfall along the Ring Road

The following is a guest post from Jeremy Simon, an Austin, TX-based reporter for CreditCards.com, where he writes about personal finance topics for consumers. He hopes his next trip will be free from fermented shark meat.

Iceland has occupied my imagination for approximately half my life. My interest in the country began when I checked out a well-worn VHS travel video from my local public library back in high school. It remained at my list of top global destinations. So this year, when a friend who was working abroad in Paris suggested we meet somewhere for a trip, Iceland was my first suggestion.

Here a little of what I learned during week-long August adventure.

People in Reykjavik party hard. On Friday and Saturday nights, many locals don’t hit the bars till after midnight. Once they do, they get to drinking and dancing pretty quickly – and continue well into the following day. I heard the Baywatch theme song twice in one night at the same bar, suggesting the frequently blonde Icelanders cannot help but identify with the trials and tribulations of Scandinavian-looking lifeguards.

Enjoy the hot dogs. As an island with lots of grazing land but surrounded by ocean, it’s not surprising that Iceland has delicious lamb and fish. But it also had great hot dogs. Bæjarins Beztu offers harbor side hot dogs loaded with ketchup, mustard, onions and remoulade — delicious. No less a fast food authority than Bill Clinton has eaten there.

Photo of Iceland by guest author Jeremy Simon

Beware the cheese shark. On the less appetizing end of the culinary spectrum, cheese shark – or hakarl — is a Icelandic dish created by fermenting the meat from a Greenland shark. The tiny white cube of hakarl I sampled came on the end of a toothpick at the Reykjavik flea market. While it initially tasted bland as I chewed, as soon as took a breath, the foul smell of ammonia hit the back of my nostrils and throat. I was soon spitting the questionable delicacy into the nearest napkin.

Learn some new letters. Although the signs you see around the country can mostly be sounded out by English speakers, the Icelandic language has a few symbols that are unfamiliar. As a result, I pronounced the location of our guesthouse wrong for the bulk of the time in Reykjavik. After confusing several locals with my attempts, I eventually learned Þverholt was actually pronounced Thverholt.

Take a bus tour. While Reykjavik is a tidy and trendy little city, the most amazing things to be seen in Iceland are found once you leave the capital. There are bus tours departing frequently from Reykjavik to key locations, including the Blue Lagoon. A combined “Golden Circle” bus trip offers a chance to take in the impressive Gullfoss waterfall, UNESCO heritage site Thingvellir and the somewhat disappointing Geysir, which doesn’t seem to spout much these days. Since approximately 60 percent of the country’s population lives in and around Reykjavik, the traffic is light in the city, non-existent once you leave. (During our “Golden Circle” bus tour, the driver remarked that we were experiencing rush hour traffic. This slowdown lasted about 5 minutes.)

Photo of Reykjavik by guest author Jeremy Simon

Rent a car. We rented a car for a three-day excursion along the southern coast of Iceland. Following the Ring Road — also known simply as “Highway 1” – took us east and provided some of the most amazing views of the trip. From the highway, you can see snow-covered mountains rising up from behind green hills closer to the shore, black sand beaches (Vik), and eventually Skatafell National Park and the otherworldly Jokulsarlon lake full of floating pieces of broken off glacier. To make our time there even more surreal, a Bollywood film crew was playing music as they set up cameras for a location scout next to the glacial lake. Then, on the other side of the road, blocks of ice from the lake wash up on beach.

While a week was enough time for the important lessons listed above, I didn’t get a chance to see the northern part of the country. And the fact that we visited in the waning Icelandic summer meant that the Northern Lights were still at least a season away. In other words, there is plenty left to see on my next Icelandic excursion.

Octopi in Mykonos, Greece

I took this photo in Mykonos, a small island in the Cyclades in Greece. With so much coastline, it is known for its fresh seafood. Octopus is a local specialty and you can often find it drying in the sun.