Shereen Rayle's Blog, page 26

Mardi Gras Destination Potluck

Destination Potlucks are back! And we've started with an easy theme/destination: New Orleans. With Mardi Gras in full swing, I decided we would do our own little Mardi Gras party. As a reminder, everyone brings a dish (or more) or beverage, and dress up if they like. We then all eat and learn about our destination. In this case, we learned facts about Mardi Gras.

I hit up my local dollar store and bought a ton of beads (because what is Mardi Gras without beads?) and both decorated with them and h...

Apps to Celebrate and Support the Black Community

I don't know about you, but I try to support and learn about local businesses in my home city and wherever I travel. I want small businesses to succeed and in particular Black-, Asian-, and women-owned businesses are at the top of that list. At home, I frequent 2 Asian-owned coffee shops quite a lot, not just because they have stellar coffee, though that doesn't hurt. 
Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash
For Black History Month, let's talk about the apps that can help you find Black businesses, ...

Learning Black History Through Travel

I learn things better when I'm immersed in them, especially history. Some of the best things I've learned were through tours and museums while on vacation. If there is a museum where I can learn more about Black History, I will try to make it there, whether it's traditional history or art, I find it's important for soaking up more culture. One of the best, and most heartbreaking, museums I've visited was the tiny Museum of Slavery in Nassau, Bahamas. If you feel as if your education was woefully...

Valentine's Travel Tip Round-Up

For the last two weeks, I've been posting blogs about romantic destinations and Facebook posts to help you plan the ultimate getaway with your luck significant other. If, by chance, you've missed those or just aren't on Facebook, I've done a round-up for you here.

Feb 1: Is Paris on your list of romantic vacations? If so, here's everything you need to know about visiting the Eiffel Tower.
Feb 2: While you may not be ready for this year, you 𝑐𝑎𝑛 work on next year, or later this year, especially if ...

Museums in Paris that Aren't the Louvre

If you're looking at planning a trip to Paris and finding it pretty expensive, I encourage you to try to see the city in a different way. Yes, you probably want to visit the Eiffel Tower (I always do), but there are so many ways to save in the city that most people don't realize. I have a confession: I've been to Paris 3 times and have never visited the Louvre. I've taken photos outside it, but the lines are always crazy.

On previous trips to Paris, we attempted to visit the more mainstream museu...

How To Save Money On Your Romantic Getaway

As someone who hasn't celebrated Valentine's Day since I was a teenager, and even then didn't love it, I say make the holiday whenever you want and skip the crazy prices on the day/weekend/week itself. Take a getaway later in February or even March. Your money will go a bit further and you won't be fighting with a ton of other couples for overpriced "romance packages". 

Here are ways you can get away for less:
Use Groupon for things to do or places to eatGroupon is an amazing site that offers deal...

LGBTQ+ Friendly Palm Springs

Queer/gay couples looking for a quick getaway in a very friendly city should absolutely look to Palm Springs, especially if you want a destination that's warm, easy to navigate, and doesn't require a passport or too much time to get to. The city caters to all types of visitors, including the queer community, and I loved it.

I picked up two city brochures with 'best of' lists when I got to town. The first one was specifically for the Palm Springs gay scene and the other one was, too, though, I did...

Everything Eiffel Tower

So, I've been saving some of my Paris trip for this month, because I wanted to get through the holidays, but I also wanted to post for Valentine's Day, since most people think Paris is a very romantic city. I'm not saying I disagree, just that I think any place can be romantic if you're with the right person. This trip saw us visit the Eiffel Tower. This was our third visit, but the first time we did everything.

We saw so many people taking photos in the middle of the street in front of the Eiffe...

Simple Things That You Can Do To Maintain Your Health While Traveling

Are you interested in staying healthy on your travels? You might think that this is going to be tricky. However, I'm happy to tell you that that’s not the case. There are steps that you can take to remain fit and healthy regardless of where you are heading. You don’t need to let your diet go out the window. Here are the best options that you can explore to ensure that you don’t run into trouble.

Photo by Pixabay

Workout Wherever You Are

First, you might want to make sure that you are working out r...

Happy Lunar New Year 2023

Gung hay fat choy! We have kicked off 2023 with a trip to Palm Springs, and then a little celebration at home for the Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Year, since more Asian countries/people celebrate than just China). You may remember all our activities from 2022 and our at-home celebration from 2021. We didn't go as big this year, but that doesn't mean it wasn't as fun.

We'll be checking in with some local Lunar events, but in the meantime, let's look at our at-home celebration.
Yeah, not sure why...