Shereen Rayle's Blog, page 148

Travel to New England for a Spooktacular Halloween

Halloween is possibly my favorite day of the year. I love to decorate and dress up and it’s exciting when other people share my love of the day. This year, we’ll be spending Halloween at Disneyland Paris. Unlike the Disney parks in the U.S., Paris only has one celebratory night for the season. I’m happy to say I got tickets to that party on the 31st and will be trick-or-treating along with everyone else. I’m a little sad to be missing things happening here at home, but it also means I’...

Review: Pacsafe Metrosafe 200 Anti-Theft Shoulder Bag

With so many cautionary tales about vacationers getting ripped off on their travels, it's hard not to think about how to protect yourself in large metropolitan areas. I've been looking at a lot of bags for my trip to Paris, as it's notorious for having gangs of thieves who target tourists at major attractions. I don't want to be another statistic, but I also need a bag that will carry everything I need and be comfortable to carry all day. A cross-body bag seems the obvious choice, especia...

TOMS: A Travel Shoe That Does Good #OneforOne

When you start making your packing list for your trips (you are making a list, right?) do you often consider which shoes are best for where you're going? Once I know my destination, I start planning what to put in my carry-on and I almost always buy a new pair of shoes, since my old ones have been worn out to the point of not being comfortable to walk in for 6+ hours each day. I suppose I could buy inserts for them, but I enjoy the hunt for a good pair of shoes and if I choose TOM...

Meeting Your Favorite Celebs, in Wax

One of the places I have thought about visiting for many years is Madame Tussauds. The problem is I am freaked out by the idea of fake people. I get a little uncomfortable around mannequins even. I would blame it on the movie House of Wax, but I already thought those people were real people before I watched that. Yes, I'm a wimp. Well, I decided to get over it when we visited Hollywood and passed Madame Tussauds several times and it was included in our CityPASS. At first I was a bit terrifi...

Review: GoLite DayLite Large Tote

One of my favorite
places to go is the farmers' market. I love discovering new local foods and
also picking up fresh fruits and veggies for meals at home. It gives me the
chance to cook healthier and support farmers and businesses from my area
instead of big brands. I usually hit up the market once or twice a month to
pick up the things I need to make vegetarian dishes or sides for a bunch of
meals that I make double and triple batches of and then freeze, so I don't have
to come home from w...

Review and Giveaway: Travelon Anti-Theft Signature Messenger Bag

Do you have a great day bag for when you travel, or even something to carry your necessities in when you fly? The problem with a lot of bags is that they are either too big or too small for what you need. Many aren’t secure and those that are aren’t attractive and scream “tourist”. The Signature Messenger Bag from Travelon can solve those problems for you. If you hate regular messenger bags that are bulky and hurt your shoulder, take a look at this stylish bag that won’t get in the way, is...

Infographic: Put Away Your Phone - You're on Vacation

On vacation I cut down a lot on my technological distractions. I like to unplug while I'm out sightseeing and tend to only take photos. We watch a lot less TV when we travel and spend more quality time with each other. Of course, when we have been together 24/7 it can get a little stressful and that's when we will chill out separately at our accommodation. I use my mornings for quiet time and decompress by checking and answering emails while eating sipping my coffee and eating a bit of bre...

Super Useful Travel Links

Happy Friday! I've been poking around this week and decided to run a bonus edition of Super Useful Travel Links. A lot of sadness is coming out of Syria and Egypt (again), making it impossible for anyone to travel near those places. I mean, not like most normal people have Syria on their travel list, but a bet a bunch of you have had Egypt on your list for a long time and every time you hear that there are riots and uprising think "Whyyyyyy?????" Yep. Me, too. So, this week I found a bunch...

Fixes for Common Travel Problems Part 2

There are many things that can go wrong when you travel. In this series of posts, I help you to find solutions to common travel problems, because it's less stressful to travel when you can eliminate some of the things that have easy fixes. One of the most irritating issues when traveling, especially for me, is dryness. Air travel is just drying. the recycled air doesn't have any oxygen pumped into it, so basically you are sitting in stale air the whole time you are on the plane. Gross, right? ...

My Kia, My Summer

When you road-trip close to home and bring your own car, it's
pretty important that it's comfortable enough to sit in – for everyone – for
hours at a time. My little blue Kia Rio, that I've named Kip, may be compact,
but he has plenty of room for driving an hour to the beach and even three
hours to Seattle or Bend. Summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn't mean
we have to stop packing up our car and heading out to someplace fun. Though
we tend to take Kip with us during the spring,...