I know I say this at the end of every year, but I can’t believe that 2011 has already come to a close.

Looking back: 2011

I didn’t travel much at all in the second half of 2010 or first few months of 2011 since I got married in March and was in crazy wedding-planning mode for a while. But after getting married, we went on a lovely two-night mini-moon at Inn Above Onion Creek in Kyle, Texas.

In August, my husband and I went on our full honeymoon for a week and a half. We spent half of the trip in Seattle and the other half in Vancouver. Both cities were verdant, waterfront, lively, and full of delicious food. We also went to Whistler for a night.

In October, I went to a wedding in Savannah, Georgia. It was my first time there, and I loved the city’s Southern history and ornate architecture. Later that month, I went to Costa Rica for a week. I had several rainy days in Tamarindo before heading to Peace Retreat in Playa Negra (click the link to read my article about it at BootsnAll).

I also drove to Houston several times this year to see my wonderful family. Whether you’ve been a long-time reader or this is your first time here, thanks for reading Maiden Voyage this year and going on these journeys with me.

Looking forward: 2012

I started this blog in September 2009, and I will continue to pour my heart into it in 2012. While I would love to make a resolution to post more often, I know that’s just not realistic since I’m kept so busy with my day job as a writer and a few freelance writing gigs. Instead, I’ll do my best to keep focusing on quality vs. quantity. Please let me know if there are any changes you would like to see here, or any content you would like to read about.

My travel plans for this coming year are still very tentative, so I don’t have anything to share just yet. I hope 2012 brings you and me wonderful trips and plentiful joy. Happy New Year!

One of the activities I enjoy most when traveling is exploring museums. I know that they bore some people to tears, but I love going to art museums, history museums, and any other type of museum that helps me learn about a place’s culture and past. Seeing historic artifacts often makes things feel more real for me.

FindtheBest.com, a site that allows you to compare nearly every product and service under the sun, contacted me to see if I would like to blog for one of their travel topics. I knew that being their museums blogger would be the perfect fit for me.

Around once a week, I will be writing in my blog there called Museums You Can’t Miss. I’ve only just started, so there isn’t a ton of content yet, but keep checking back to learn about some of the coolest museums around the world!

Me doing yoga at Peace Retreat in Costa Rica

I’m a fitness junkie. I can tell you from personal experience that if you drop your workout routine for too long, you backtrack. I was recently thumbing through a book (can’t remember which) that said after two weeks of no exercise, you start to lose your fitness level and your stamina declines. If you take a long trip and don’t exercise, you’ll start to get out of shape, and it will be harder to get back on board.

While travel can involve a lot of walking, it’s also common to take long rides on buses and trains, indulge in food and alcohol, and lounge around–a recipe for weight gain and loss of stamina.

But it’s completely doable to squeeze in a quick workout in the mornings to counteract that. Even Jillian Michaels swears that all you need each day is 20 minutes of high-intensity exercise. Plus, it gives you a powerful energy boost that’s way better than a cup of coffee! All you have to do is consider it a priority.

Here are five methods I use and that you can too to stay in shape while traveling:

1. Book accommodations with fitness rooms or free fitness passes
When it’s possible, I book a hotel that has a fitness room or complimentary passes to a nearby gym. If there are two hotels in my budget, in the same area, and with similar reviews, I will take the place with the gym. Some boutique hotels that don’t have gyms will offer free passes to nearby health clubs. I’ve also read about some hotels that don’t have either of those options, but have fitness equipment that guests can borrow and use in their rooms. If you can’t find a place that offers either, you can also go take a local fitness class–many studios (especially yoga) have drop-in rates.

2. Bring workout videos
If you travel with your laptop, bring a workout DVD. Set your laptop on a counter and get your butt moving! Some hotels also have DVD players. Alternatively, burn the workouts onto your computer in advance. You can also find videos on YouTube and Netflix streaming. You’ll want to use something that doesn’t require weights and props, or can easily be modified and still give you a good workout. I love Billy Blanks’ Tae-Bo DVDs–they are crazy hard and major calorie burners. Jackie Warner (my fitness guru) also has great DVDs. Her Xtreme Timesaver Training DVD is only 30 minutes, and while one girl in the routine has weights, the other doesn’t, so you can follow her. It’s still a killer workout without them.

3. Travel to pedestrian-friendly cities
If you travel to somewhere very walkable like New York City, you may even be able to go without an official workout. Whenever I’m there, I do so much walking that my legs are very sore at the end of each day. This summer when we visited Seattle and Vancouver, we chose to explore the core parts of the city by foot rather than taking buses. It’s ideal to still get in some cardio since walking doesn’t raise your heart rate very much, but hours of walking every day (especially brisk) is a great way to get exercise.

4. Learn exercises you can do with your body weight
There are endless ways to exercise without equipment, so you ultimately can’t use excuses of there being no gym. When I was in Tamarindo, Costa Rica recently, I thought my hotel had a fitness room, but it didn’t. I turned on the TV to keep me entertained and did some circuits of jumping jacks, squat jumps, planks, push-ups, lunges, high knees, wall sits, skaters, etc. Working with just your body weight can be surprisingly hard! If you need ideas, sites like Health.com and Shape.com have hundreds of workout routines and moves without equipment.

5. Bring your own snacks
I always bring some healthy granola bars with me when I travel, because you never know when you’ll be stuck somewhere without access to healthy food. Perhaps you’re staying at a hotel without a nearby place to get snacks, or you get stuck at a bus station that only has a vending machine with junk food. Pack some low-sugar granola bars, rice cakes, nuts, or something like that so you always have healthy things to munch on. Then you can spend more calories enjoying your meals.

Your body is your temple, so make it a priority to take care of it when you’re traveling, especially if you know you’ll go a little wild eating local food. What do you do to stay fit when you travel?

I haven’t posted anything on my blog in a week, which is longer than I ever go. There’s a good reason for it. I normally don’t get into personal things other than travel on this blog, but I’ve been in a funk and need to write about it.

I was in Costa Rica for a week, and returned on a Saturday at midnight. I had to report for jury duty the following Monday. It was my first time to be called for jury duty, and I was hoping I wouldn’t get picked. Not only did I get picked (12 people out of 60 are chosen), but it was a double-manslaughter case that lasted from Monday through Friday. It was one of the most emotionally grueling experiences of my life, and every evening when I got home, I had no mental energy to do anything.

I don’t want to go into too many specifics, but the case was about a tragic car wreck that left two women sitting at a bus stop, both mothers, dead from a car crashing into them. The person who lost control of the car and crashed it was an incredibly remorseful young man, and witness after witness proved that he was a great person who was on the right path in life until this mistake.

I had to look at grisly pictures and videos from the crash scene. I had to hold horrific autopsy photos. I had to listen to a man cry and say what it was like to find out that his wife died in a freak accident and how he is trying to cope with raising three small children on his own. I had to watch a mother and father beg and cry that their son not be sent to prison. While prosecution and defense both had many police and expert witnesses, many who spoke were the friends and family of the victims and the defendant. They cried. We cried. I didn’t eat very much that week.

I was voted the jury foreperson. Based on the evidence and the definition of the charge, we had to convict him as guilty. I didn’t want to–none of us did–but we had an obligation to do so. Once we got back to the jury room after the conviction was read, many of us began to sob. I got physically sick that night. I felt such a huge burden knowing that someone’s fate was in my hands. This young person was now a convicted felon and could get anything from probation for two years to prison for 20 years. It was up to us.

The next day, it was time to deliberate on the sentence. I was hoping to god that the other jurors would agree with me that we had to go with probation. Thankfully we were able to all get on the same page and agreed to give him probation rather than prison. This person didn’t belong in a prison. The crime was reckless, but sober and massively unintentional. He wasn’t a danger to society. He has a bright future and a loving family. Probation will give him the opportunity to give back to society through community service and employment, in addition to keeping him accountable and law-abiding. I still felt awful for giving him the permanent stigma of a convicted felon, but my conscious felt so much cleaner giving him a punishment that felt right.

The trial ended on Friday, but I’m still digesting everything I heard, saw, and felt. My dad is a criminal defense attorney and my husband is in law school, so it was fascinating to see the full process of a felony case up-close and in real-life. We got to talk to the judge afterward, and it was great to hear her perspective. She told us she knew we saw many things that most people never see and thanked us for serving our civic duty.

It felt like a very fair trial; the judge was fantastic, the lawyers on both sides did everything they could to make their case, and my fellow jurors and I were all very compassionate and rational. Our criminal justice system in America is far from perfect, but after all of the things I have read about legal systems in other countries, even Italy, we have it so good. It made me appreciate that I live in a country where you have an undeniable right to a fair trial among your peers. I felt like the system worked exactly how it was supposed to in this case I was a part of.

It also gave me a startling reminder as to how quickly things can change. An accident can happen at any time to any of us. These two women sitting at a bus stop had no idea that seconds later they would be dead by a car losing control and crashing into them. That’s life, but it’s easy to forget how every day, there are all kinds of crazy things that can happen to us. Life is so temporary. It’s a good reminder to tell people you love them every chance you get and to do what makes you happy now.

Phew. Back to travel and fun things later this week. I just haven’t been able to focus after spending all of last week in a court room dealing with incredibly heavy stuff. And it’s been all over the news here. Believe me, a real case in a courtroom is different from what you see on TV.

It’s that time again! If you’re new to this, the Gen Y Travel Blog carnival celebrates the best content from travel blogs in the past month. Here are the best entries from the month of September!

How does it work? Travel bloggers submit their favorite post they wrote in that month. I go through and weed out spam, irrelevant, or poorly-written entries and then present this list of the best. Here are the guidelines. Travel bloggers, submit your post for October here by the end of the month.

Here we go!

• 

  From Neverending Voyage's post: Simmered tofu with amber sauce

  Jetsetting Lust explores Ellis Island for the first time, a New York landmark where both sides of her family arrived in America many generations ago.
  

• Trailer Hitched discusses why they chose to keep their plans to travel to the East Coast despite the devastation of Hurricane Irene.

• Time Travel Turtle recounts an interesting trip to North Korea, a mysterious country that restricts where tourists can go and how much authenticity they can see.

• Neverending Voyage learns how to cook Zen Buddhist cuisine in Japan, giving them the chance to learn how to make authentic vegetarian Japanese food.

• Back Roads & Backpacks offers excellent tips for traveling vegetarians. You don’t have to live off of French fries!

• I never knew you could get a massage by a prisoner in Thailand. Where’s My Toothbrush? tells readers about her unique experience visiting a prison in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where female inmates are taught skills that will help them once they are released.

• Wanderlust Wonder makes me hungry with a post about her culinary tour of local food in San Francisco.

• 

  From Cheryl Howard's post: The town of Riomaggiore

  Cheryl Howard shares her lovely time strolling along the romantic walkways that connect the cliff-top towns of Cinque Terre in Italy, with plenty of gorgeous photos to show it.

• Beth from The Vacation Gals is becoming a flight attendant again and discusses what it’s like to be back in the skies and how things have changed.

• Byteful Travel explains how using Yelp allowed him to travel efficiently on his first trip to Toronto. I can vouch for that–most of our meals in our recent trip to Seattle and Vancouver were Yelp finds!

• Correr Es Mi Destino feels the end of summer as she explores the coast of the Georgian Bay and its small townships, which are now eerily quiet.

• Abyssinia, Henry writes an interesting steam-of-conscious piece about leaving Leipzig.

I apologize that this is a month late! I went on my delayed honeymoon last month to Seattle and Vancouver, and while several bloggers have wanted to host in the past, I wasn’t able to find anyone to host while I was away. I decided to just combine the entries from the past two months and turn it into one whopper of a carnival so that all of those entries weren’t in vain.

For those of you who are new, the Gen Y Travel Blog carnival usually only includes posts published in the previous month (for example, the carnival that is posted at the beginning of July is a collection of posts written in June). Travel bloggers submit their favorite post they wrote in that month. I go through and weed out spam, irrelevant, or poorly-written entries and then present this list of the best. Here are the guidelines. Travel bloggers, submit your post for September here at the end of the month.

I usually only accept one entry per person, but since I missed the last one, I’m accepting one from each entry period. These are in no particular order. Without further ado, here’s a collection of some of the best travel blog posts published in July and August!

A message from our partners: Check out these Vietnam tours!

I’m currently on my delayed honeymoon in Seattle and Vancouver, so I’m running several guest posts while I’m away. Please enjoy this one from Mackenzie Daniels. I think these are wonderful goals to have, though I’m already 26 and have only done two of these (volunteer and seeing some of the wonders), so some might be better as lifetime goals for many of us!

Turning the big 3-0 is a milestone that some people dread, while for others it may signal the beginning of the end for their travel adventures for a few years as they look to settle down and possibly start a family. Time waits for no one, as the Rolling Stones once sang, so arm yourself with the best travel insurance you can afford and cross off as many of the following travel goals before you bid farewell to your 20s.

Travel down Route 66

Possibly the most famous strip of tarmac in the world, it spans nearly 2,500 miles across America and has inspired people of all ages to hit the open road for decades. There’s something distinctively American about a good old road trip, and it’s an experience to savor if you can travel along some of Route 66, preferably in a convertible with the roof down and the tunes pumping out of the stereo.

Image courtesy of JaviC

See the Northern Lights

The natural phenomenon is a result of a large number of electrically-charged particles colliding with the atoms at a high altitude. Head to countries like Alaska, Canada, Russia, and particularly northern Norway for the best chance of seeing the spectacular light shows, which tend to occur between September and March.

Image courtesy of Image Editor

Live in a major city in a different country

Time is precious when you’re roaming around on your travels, as we strive to cram as much as possible into just a few short days. That’s why it’s hugely advantageous to try and set up a temporary home in a major city, even if it’s just for a month or so. Only then can you really learn all about a different culture and way of life.

Image courtesy of Ghassat Tabet

Become fluent in a foreign language

Okay, being fluent in a foreign tongue may be asking too much, but you should at least make the effort to try and understand as much about a new language as possible. Not only is it immensely rewarding, it also makes traveling a lot more convenient.

Image courtesy of Ivan Walsh

Skydive in Taupo

The New Zealand town has been labeled the skydiving capital of the world. Whether that’s true or not is open to some debate, although what is not in any doubt is that the stunning surroundings, which include the country’s biggest lake, Lake Taupo, and a dormant volcano, make for an awesome backdrop when you’re thousands of feet in the air.

Image courtesy of Pat Scullion

Do volunteer work

From getting involved in a wildlife conservation project to teaching in a remote part of the world, there are endless opportunities to do volunteer work for all manner of worthy causes. It could just be a case of donating a few hours of your time to help others and it’s bound to leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.

Image courtesy of Chesapeak Bay Program

See the Seven Wonders

Ticking off all seven is a tall order, so you can give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back if you’ve visited at least a handful of them. Then there are all the attractions that are said to be the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World,’ like the Grand Canyon, Giant’s Causeway, Stonehenge, and the Statue of Liberty. All of these are a must.

Image courtesy of Waterpolo Sam

Swim with sharks off the Great Barrier Reef

Not for the faint-hearted, but you’ll be more than rewarded for your bravery should you venture into the vast underwater world off the coast of Australia. All sorts of weird and wonderful species live in the Great Barrier Reef, which is the biggest coral reef on the planet.

Image courtesy of Richard Ling

Mackenzie Daniels is a writer for moneysupermarket.com.

I’m currently on my delayed honeymoon in Seattle and Vancouver, so I’m featuring several guest posts while I’m away. Enjoy this very relevant guest post from Sarah Ellis! I love that she makes the point that not everyone can afford something extravagant, and that it’s OK. I had my heart set on Spain for my honeymoon and was so sad when it didn’t work out, but Seattle and Vancouver are what work for our budget, and I’ve come to realize that it’s OK and will be a blast anyway!

Getting married soon? Here are eight tips for planning a successful honeymoon.

1. Work with what you’ve got
Sure, every newlywed couple would love to spend two weeks laying on a beach somewhere in the tropics or exploring a romantic Italian city, but not every budget allows for that. And you know what? That’s okay! Money can be a touchy subject, and not all newlyweds have their budget figured out, so overdoing it during your first week of marriage can put you both in a foul mood when you return from a vacation that you can’t afford. Be smart and find a balance. It’s your honeymoon–you’ll enjoy each other at any price. You’ve got the rest of your life to take snazzy romantic vacations.

2.  Plan ahead
Delegate planning–to one of you, between each of you, or to a travel agent. And do the planning ahead of time. Wedding planning is a beast of its own, and waiting until the last minute (or making assumptions about who will take care of what) can result in unwanted stress. You’ll be busy enough checking in with your wedding vendors; making last minute flight and hotel reservations can add to your already high stress levels. Also, make sure you double and triple check travel requirements and documents needed. If you’re left without a passport or visa, you’re out of luck. No one wants a honeymoon that starts off like that!

3. Manage joint expectations
As soon as you get engaged, start talking about places you’d want to go. Maybe all you’ve dreamt about for your honeymoon involved laying on a beach and ordering cocktails. But what if all he wants to do is sight-see and explore? Better to have the arguing over what to do and how to do it BEFORE the honeymoon begins than on it. And compromise, compromise, compromise because it’s about BOTH of you now.

4. Be easy-going
Like Murphy’s Law, remember that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But what can you do about it? The airline may lose your luggage–you’re on your honeymoon, who cares about clothes? The hotel may be full of crazy tourists or not at all like advertised–have a laugh about it! Your life together will be full on unexpected events and often time things that are out of your control. Learn to roll with the punches now, and you’ll learn how to deal with bigger things later in life. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my parents, it’s that you have to learn to laugh at things you can’t control. Besides, it’s a lot better to just laugh then being sour during your entire honeymoon!

5. Relax
The craziness of all that leads up to your wedding can be pretty draining. Your honeymoon is all about recharging. Connect with each other in new ways and leave your phones and laptops out of the picture. Work can wait; your honeymoon can’t! It’s one of the few times in your life you can totally unplug from “real life” and just bask in the bliss of being a newlywed. You’ll never get that time back.

6. Be realistic
For some newlyweds, a honeymoon is the first week they’ve spent sharing every second together. For some couples that’s more than welcome, but it is certainly an adjustment. Hey, you might bicker a little bit, but don’t let it ruin your trip. Molding from “he and she” to “we” isn’t as smooth as we’d like it to be. You’re still adjusting to a new lifestyle, so be patient with each other! Just don’t have unrealistic expectations about everything being perfect, and give each other space if need be.

7. Learn more about each other
I heard an old man say, “Always study your partner; there’s something new to learn about them all the time.” Basically, we’re complex beings! We may think we know everything about each other, but we certainly don’t. Honeymoons are a great time for uninterrupted discussion, so pick your partner’s brain and enjoy learning more about them. A new place and a new experience can bring up new topics. Dream together! Laugh together! Enjoy learning about each other more and more–it’s delightful.

8. Live it up!
So many wonderful experiences happen on your honeymoon, so enjoy every second! Try things you wouldn’t necessarily try on any other vacation. You may pick up a new hobby! And at the very least, you’ll make a great memory. Step out of your comfort zone and try out a zipline, or snorkeling, or dune-buggies! Experiencing new things together is what your honeymoon is all about. Enjoy it and enjoy each other!

Sarah Ellis is a bride-to-be and says that wedding planning has been the best time of her life! She has been looking forward to taking her fiance overseas for the first time. They’re going to Jamaica for their honeymoon – Ya Mon! As a writer for TravelProducts.com, she enjoys sharing travel tips with other travel enthusiasts. She’s also a fashion blogger, dog lover, girlie-girl, and lover of her soon-to-be hubby!

photo credit: groomsadvice.com

The following guest post is by Adam Costa.

Ten years ago–shortly after my 20th birthday–I began my first round-the-world adventure. Before the trip was over, I was deported from Vietnam, strip-searched in New Zealand, had tremendous fun in Amsterdam, and wandered in and out of London pubs.

At 30, I’m much calmer. Late-night parties and 18-bed hostel rooms don’t hold the same appeal. I tend to plan more, sleep comfortably, and pay attention to how much I drink (usually).

Things have changed. Travel has changed. Hell, I’ve changed. The term “digital nomad” didn’t exist ten years ago; now it’s a tidy little way to summarize my lifestyle.

I don’t know how this happened. But it did. Somewhere over this ten-year span, the world opened up in ways borders cannot segregate, or walls keep divided. It’s a historic time, but also an uncertain one.

Yet as a traveler/writer, I can’t deny one simple fact: anyone who loves to travel and write is living in the best possible time in history. Never before has travel been so accessible; never before have writers been in such demand.

Consider this: Ten years ago, there was no YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or StumbleUpon. Heck, Google was less than a year old at the time. And this sudden migration to the online world meant two things: location became irrelevant for many jobs, and the need for content exploded. Suddenly, anyone with a laptop (or mobile phone) could become a publisher.

By the end of 2009, there were over 126 million blogs. Admittedly, most weren’t worth the bandwidth, but many, many people discovered creating online real estate was both personally and financially rewarding.

And it’s not just blogs. E-commerce sites, eBooks, mobile apps, freelance gigs are just a few ways smart travelers fund their lifestyle.

At 20, none of this seemed possible. Back then, backpackers primarily saved up for trips, and/or worked odd jobs abroad (WWOOF anyone?). Nowadays, I hear a lot of terms like “social nomad,” “freelance ______,” and “Internet marketer.”

People gladly trade offices for remote locations, but did travel suffer as a result? Instead of spending each day abroad immersed in my surroundings, I spend a good (bad?) amount of time searching for Internet connections, building websites, and networking online.

Is that what travel should be? It depends. If your online presence enriches offline living, then yes. But if you’re dragging baggage (literally and figuratively) around the world, it’s time to close the laptop and hit the road for real.

Looking back these past ten years, I’ve had some amazing experiences. Wreck-diving, Himalayan trekking, Indian meditation courses, Vietnamese cooking classes, and more cultural faux-paus than I care to admit.

But there’s been a noticeable difference between travel in my early twenties and now. The strange thing is: I’m not sure if it’s me or the world that’s changing faster.

So, as this 20-something turns 30, I’m forever grateful for this decade’s advancements, as they’ve provided a seemingly impossible lifestyle. But with those advancements comes a challenge: travelers must remain travelers, and not just create a bigger cubicle for themselves.

Because travel is not about location, it’s about experience. Looking back, I spend more time replaying those experiences in my mind, savoring the flavors of yesteryear. And all the while, my backpack sits comfortably in a corner. Waiting.

About the Author: Adam Costa is a former travel agent turned travel writer. He is the author of Business In A Backpack, a book on how to travel the world while building a business. You can find him on Twitter at @MrAdamCosta.

Trip Base has put together a fun project, My 7 Links, which is sort of like a chain letter for travel bloggers. We are nominated by another blogger to participate, and we answer the seven questions below. Then we nominate five more people, each of whom write a post like this with their seven links. I was nominated by Amanda at Dangerous Business. Here are my answers!

1. Your most beautiful post

Exploring the Misty Fjords of Alaska’s Inside Passage

Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, with towering mountains, massive glaciers, majestic bald eagles, and much more. I encountered incredible natural beauty on this trip in the Inside Passage.

2.  Your most popular post

Should You Take Ambien When Flying?

It’s funny–this was one of my first blog posts on Maiden Voyage, and it continues to send me the most search traffic out of any article on my site. You wouldn’t believe how many searches people do on Ambien and travel!

3. Your most controversial post

Q&A: Why Gen X & Y Should Consider Using Travel Agents

I know that most people in my age group would rather use Orbitz online than a travel agent on the phone or in person, so I decided to interview a travel agent to see how it could benefit us. The responses were very interesting!

4. Your most helpful post

Experts Speak: How to Prevent and Treat Travelers’ Diarrhea

Nearly every traveler (including myself) experiences this dreaded malady at least once. I did a large amount of research and interviews, and put together this long article full of great tips on how to avoid and treat travelers’ diarrhea. The comments had lots of great anecdotes and tips!

5. A post whose success surprised you

A Downside of Istanbul: Those Pesky Hustlers

When I went to Istanbul, I was so frustrated with the in-your-face men who shouted at me, followed me, and even meowed at me. I didn’t realize so many people had experienced a similar situation, or at least had strong opinions about the subject. It started a great conversation, some who agreed with me and some who didn’t. Other comments provided great tips.

 6. A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved:

Adventure Philosophy: Q&A with Roadmonkey CEO Paul von Zielbauer

I did a long phone interview with Paul, who is such a fascinating person with such interesting experiences and philosophies. His new adventure company is like nothing else I’d ever heard of.  I know it was a long post, but I was surprised more people weren’t interested!

7. The post that you are most proud of

What I Learned in the Slums of Mexico

Volunteering in Mexico was one of the most pivotal experiences in my life. I was exposed to severe poverty for the first time, and it taught me to forever be grateful for even the smallest things, such as a toothbrush. The lessons I learned there will always remain with me, and I wrote this heartfelt post about it.

I have good news and bad news.

Bad: BlogCarnival.com, the site I use to collect submissions, is having issues and neglected to send me any of the entries from June. They always arrive one-by-one via email, and since none came, I was worried that all of the entries were lost and that the carnival would be a bust.
Good: A few days later, I decided to check my account on BlogCarnival.com to see if they at least saved the entries online somewhere. Voila! It neglected to email them to me, but saved them in their clunky back-end.

So here is the carnival, better late than never. Enjoy these great blog posts about travel! (If you’re a blogger, submit your favorite post you write in the month of July in the carnival submission form).

Skyler Reep’s Blog presents 60 Hours in Singapore, which reveals his interpretation of Singaporean culture after a visit to the country.

From Camels & Chocolate's post

Camels & Chocolate documents a stay at a lovely ranch in Utah on her first anniversary in her post Home on the Range.

A Fork in the Road reveals the picture the Ghana Tourist Board doesn’t want you to see.

Correr Es Mi Destino recounts a pleasant trip to Alexandria Bay in NY State, which she visited when she discovered the U.S. border was only a 45-minute drive from Ottawa.

The Travel Expert(a) writes about a private romantic dinner for two she was lucky enough to have in Antigua, Guatemala.

AirTreks Travel Blog discusses the lessons he learned from spending a weekend with travel bloggers, which includes thoughts about travel, goodwill and “super-friending.”

Byteful Travel shows how to post-process your travel photos in three steps–a skill every traveler should master if they want their pictures to look beautiful.

The Vacation Gals shares an interesting experience and funny photos at a Star Wars in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

From Jack and Jill's post

The Travel Chica describes an afternoon at Feria de Mataderos in Buenos Aires, where she encountered plenty of horses, cowboys, and grilled meat.

Jack and Jill Travel The World discuss how they came to appreciate the Galapagos and share some pretty incredible photos of their trip.

Tourist 2 Townie provides a first-hand account of what it was like to be in Vancouver during the recent riots, including a video he took of the mayhem.

Plus Ultra shows shows how the Spanish city of Cádiz could double as Havana’s location in a movie and makes for a special weekend destination.

April’s Archives presents the highlights of a trip to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, when she got to enjoy an Indian Taco, eat at Paula Deen’s Kitchen, and more.

Cheap Hotel Chains Travel Blog lists some of the top secret and secluded beaches that you should be sure to visit this summer.

I was going through some photos from my trip to Italy a few summers ago, and it reminded me of one of my most awkward travel moments. Sometimes when abroad, you already feel as though you’re sticking out like a sore thumb. This was worse–I found myself as the center of attention in a busy square in Italy.

I took this of Piazza de Signoria before it got really crowded

Let me preface this story by saying that my Nikon digital SLR is my baby. I guard it preciously when traveling, not just because I don’t want to lose the expensive camera, but because I also don’t want to lose the memory card in case I haven’t had the chance to back it up yet.

My sister and I were in Florence, on our way to the famed Uffizi Gallery. We entered Piazza de Signoria, an enormous square with a replica statue of David and plenty of tourists. I had heard many stories about sneaky thieves, so my camera strap was hanging on my left shoulder, and I was gripping it with my left hand on the front (sort of like a purse).

We were getting close to the Uffizi when all of the sudden, I felt the camera strap being yanked violently away from me. Oh HELL no! I hadn’t been a victim of theft in Italy yet, and I was not going to let it happen now.

I held onto that camera strap for dear life, resolved to prevent a thief from taking my beloved camera. All of the sudden, I felt myself falling, and I found myself on the ground tangled up in a bicycle that was now horizontal on the ground. The Italian man who had been riding the bike was cursing, and his baby, strapped to the bike in a little chair, was crying. What just happened?

I quickly realized that it wasn’t a thief grabbing my camera from behind. An Italian man was riding his bike with his baby on the back, and because the square was crowded, he biked really closely to pedestrians. He started to pass by me so closely that his right bicycle handle caught on my camera strap from behind me. I held onto the strap with such an iron grip that the bike toppled over and took me down with it.

Scratches from the accident

My leg burned in pain. People gathered around, trying to see what the commotion was all about. I was dazed. A nice British tourist came over and picked me up. He got me to my feet and made sure I was OK. The Italian man cursed and yelled at me as he unstrapped his wailing baby (she was fine, just freaked out). I didn’t remember any of my Italian from college, so I couldn’t communicate to tell him that it was not I who viciously took his bike down, but he who rode too close to me and knocked me over.

It was so embarrassing. People gave dirty looks. Here I was, an American tourist who couldn’t remember her Italian, making a scene in the middle of a busy square, in a situation that looked like I was a horrible person who knocked over a baby. Finally, the crowd started to dissipate. I realized that nobody was really injured, and it was doing no good to stand there as the Italian man ranted at me, so we walked away.

As we got closer to the Uffizi, my leg still hurt. I lifted up my jeans and saw that I had two bad scratches, one huge. It was hardly even bleeding–just badly scraped and tender. The pic to the left of them is a few days later, once they started to heal. I had a scar from that big one for months.

Looking back, had I let go of the camera, it would have flown off my shoulder and landed on the stone ground, undoubtedly damaging or ruining it. I feel bad that I knocked over a baby, but I’m happy I saved my camera.

It’s so awkward being the center of attention in a situation like that, especially when you are abroad and can’t communicate with the locals. Have you ever had an incident while traveling that caused a commotion?