Tag Archives: budget travel
A taste of Palermo: street food, a curly tail cat, and Jesus Christ Superstar
Palermo is a delicious mix of Norman, Arabic, Byzantine, Baroque and Renaissance–and the street food reflects the multicultural heritage of the city. Our day was full of Byzantine mosaics with interludes of studiously eating as many types of street food as possible. I look forward to lovingly describing the outstanding art and architecture of Palermo when I […]
See Naples and die
You know how when someone goes to Las Vegas, people nudge each other and say knowingly “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”? Well in Italy, if you’re going to Naples people say “Vedi Napoli e poi muori!”—See Naples and die! Well I’m sure this is meant as a compliment, as in “OMG I’ve seen […]
Pack light, don’t forget the emergency lipstick
I’m on the way to the airport tonight with an 18 pound backpack. Packing light is a non-negotiable necessity for a budget traveler. If you want to be independent and highly-mobile traveler, pack light. If you want to be tied down by your luggage, be dependent on elevators and porters, and have your airline lose […]
In which we visit the caves of Matera
We got on the bus in Naples and departed six hours later in another millennium. Matera, in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy, has been continually occupied by humans since Paleolithic times. We were there to see the Sassi di Matera, cave dwellings and churches that people have been living in for over 9000 years.When […]
How to get the best customer service from tourist information and visitor services employees: an insider view
One of your most valuable resources as a budget traveler are tourist information centers and the visitor services staff at museums and cultural centers. The employees of these organizations are passionate about where they live and work and they are experts on what tourists need to know. They can reliably provide you with brochures and […]
Picnic at the cathedral: how to picnic in Europe
If you’ve traveled across the ocean to see a great work of architecture, a wonderful way to enhance your visit is to picnic in front of it. Beautiful view? Check. Chance to observe and interact with locals? Check. Cheap? Check, check check. While picnicking is fun for it’s own sake, it’s also practical. You have […]
In which your budget traveler reveals her expenses: the price of a 10 day trip to France
I’ve heard the muttering : “It must be nice to afford Europe travel” and the insinuations about my entitlement, or even snide asides to my assumed elitism. Let’s get this straight –I am incredibly grateful to be able to travel, and I know it’s out of reach for a lot of people for financial, family […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 