Lisa Niver's Blog: We Said Go Travel, page 34

Exploring Chicago in Winter

Lisa Niver in the three story wine tower at Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk

I loved exploring the attractions and dining at Esquire at Cooper’s Hawk in CHICAGO before I spoke at the Travel and Adventure Show in January 2023. Thank you to Chicago CityPASS–I loved everywhere I went but The Bean and the Art Institute of Chicago Impressionists collection were my favorites! I did love the views from SkyDeck and 360Chicago–one has THE LEDGE and the other has TILT and the CloudBar however both have spectacular city views. The Field Museum exhibit, “Life’s Greatest Mystery,” on what happens after we die was provocative and the Shedd Aquarium was having a free weekend so I will explore there further on my next visit! Watch my videos below to join me on my adventures:

CHICAGO CityPASS adventure #1 —Field Museum

“See the world’s wonders at the FieldMuseum. Experience SUE, the largest, most complete, and best-preserved tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered, descend into an ancient Egyptian tomb, and explore over 10,000 years of Chinese history and culture. With 4.6 billion years in one place, you’ll be taken around the world and back in time.”

CHICAGO CityPASS adventure #2 Shedd Aquarium

“Shedd’s exhibits share incredible animals from around the world. Dive deep into coral reefs and flooded rainforests and stroll along the craggy Pacific Northwest coast. Beluga encounters, beach clean-ups and 360 virtual dives with Caribbean reef sharks are all tools that deepen connections with wildlife and inspire you to recognize that our waterways are home to beauty worth saving.”

CHICAGO CityPASS adventure #3: SkyDeck on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower and THE LEDGE

“Step outside the third tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. At 1,353 feet in the air, the Ledge’s glass boxes extend out 4.3 feet from the Skydeck!” Do you feel BRAVE?

THE BEAN

“Cloud Gate, aka The Bean is one of Chicago’s most popular sights. The monumental work of art anchors downtown MillenniumPark and reflects the city’s famous skyline and the surrounding green space.”

CHICAGO CityPASS adventure #4: Art Institute of Chicago

“View the greatest Impressionist collection outside Paris. Stand before classics like Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait, and travel the globe through galleries featuring the art of ancient Greece, Japan, Africa, and the Americas–5,000 years of art and culture in the of Chicago.”

CHICAGO CityPASS adventure #5 360CHICAGO: 94th floor of the John Hancock Building

Ready to TILT in the SKY & DRINK at CloudBar? “Experience breathtaking 360-degree views of Chicago’s skyline and lakefront and four neighboring states from 1,030 feet above The Magnificent Mile. Observatory on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building with a tilting glass lookout!”

Dinner at Esquire by Cooper’s Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk was founded in 2005 –and now has 54 restaurants and counting. Are you part of the largest wine club in the world? There are over 600K members. Guests pick up their wine each month at their local location. At Esquire which is the flagship location in downtown Chicago–there is a three story wine tower as well as tasting room, wine-shop, bar and large dining room. There are celebrity chef dinners which have included Chefs like Tyler Florence, Tom Colicchio, Carla Hall as well as wine collaborations with celebrities like John Legend, Zach Brown Band, Katie Lee, Francis Ford Coppola and global wine club trips!

At Esquire in downtown Chicago, where I ate, there is a Visiting Chef Series which brings celebrity chefs to Chicago – so people can experience their cooking. Brooke Williamson, winner of Top Chef, Judge on Chopped has her menu there RIGHT NOW! Esquire also has the largest wine collection in Chicago with over 1,600 selections of Cooper’s Hawk, Classic & Famous, and Cult wines from around the world. They have won a Best of Excellence Award from Wine Spectator for the last 3 years.

Cooper’s Hawk is the official wine of the SAG Awards – with two custom blends each year that are on the tables and served that night! I loved my dinner and especially the Cooper’s Hawk Prosecco.

Thank you again to Chicago Travel Show, CityPASS and Cooper’s Hawk for an amazing visit to CHICAGO! Lisa Niver at Cloud Gate “THE BEAN” in Chicago’s Millennium Park

The post Exploring Chicago in Winter appeared first on We Said Go Travel.

Meet me in NEW YORK CITY at the Travel and Adventure Show 2023

l will be speaking in NYC at the Travel and Adventure Show!Meet me Sunday Jan 29, 2023 in the Savvy Traveler Theater at 11:15am: “Are You Brave Enough? How to Make Your Dream Trip Happen” I will be speaking LIVE at America’s Favorite Travel Shows! Come see me at  The Travel & Adventure Show 2023CHICAGO –Jan 14-15 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention CenterNEW YORK CITY – January 28-29 at the Javits Convention Center LOS ANGELES— February 18-19 at the Los Angeles Convention CenterDALLAS–April 1-2 at the Dallas Market Hall 

“Discover endless vacation options from the top travel providers and destinations from around the globe. Meet one-on-one with thousands of travel experts who are on hand to help you find, personalize, and book your next trip. Uncover thousands of dollars in savings with exclusive travel deals and show-only specials. Receive expert advice and learn how to travel like an insider from dozens of educational seminars. Plus, meet Samantha Brown, Andrew McCarthy, Peter Greenberg, Pauline Frommer, Patricia Schultz, LISA NIVER and more!” 

Buy tickets at a special rate with my discount code GOTRAVEL23 or use these links for these cities: CHICAGO –NEW YORK CITY —LOS ANGELES–DALLAS Watch my Spotify Video Podcast: Click here for Season 1 with guests: Deepak Chopra, Alka Joshi and Patricia Schultz. Lisa Niver and BJ Korrus at the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism AwardsLearn more about my articles, videos and awards: LisaNiver.com My YouTube channel has nearly two million views. Sign up for my newsletter so you will be the first to know about when you can pre-order my memoir from Simon and Schuster! NYC DISCOUNT TICKETS: See you at my talk! We Said Go Travel is a media partner for the show! Thousands of Vacation Options, Up to Date Travel Information and Top Travel Celebrities – All Under One RoofReady to travel but not sure where to start? The world of travel is ready for you January 28th and 29th in at the Javits Convention Center.

The New York Travel & Adventure Show is back and ready to give you the tools you need to make your travel decisions for 2023 and beyond.

Explore the hottest destinations and travel providers from around the world that are open for travel now, and meet the experts who are on-hand to:

Give you the most up to date information and new offeringsAnswer all of your travel related questions on where to go, what to do, how and when to get thereHelp you plan your itinerary based on your needs

For a full list of exhibitors and sponsors, click here.

Learn the Latest Travel Tips and Advice, All Included with Your Ticket

The top names in travel are all ready to teach you how to travel like a pro on 3 on-the-show-floor theaters.

On the Travel Theater, you’ll receive advice from the top travel celebrities:

Samantha Brown, Emmy Award Winning Host, PBS’s “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love”Pauline Frommer, Editorial Director of the Fommer’s Travel Guides and Publisher, Frommers.comPeter Greenberg, Emmy Award Winning Investigative Reporter, Producer and CBS News Travel EditorAndrew McCarthy, Award Winning Travel Writer, Actor and DirectorPatricia Schultz, NY Times Bestselling Author of “1,000 Places to See Before You Die”

The post Meet me in NEW YORK CITY at the Travel and Adventure Show 2023 appeared first on We Said Go Travel.

WATCH: Patricia Schultz, Why We Travel

Meet Patricia Schultz and I in person at the New York Travel and Adventure Show January 28-29, 2023! Watch our interview below about her new book, Why We Travel:

Do you wonder why we travel? Find 100 reasons to see the world in Patricia Schultz’s new book! I have been fortunate to meet her in Los Angeles at several travel events and always learn more from the author of the New York Times bestselling series, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die!

Why We Travel is filled with personal stories and anecdotes, quotes that inspire, and reasons to motivate-plus images so lush you can’t wait to be there. For years Patricia Schultz has been telling us where to travel, and we love listening. Now, in telling us why to travel, she reveals what makes her such a compelling guide and what makes travel such a richly rewarding experience. There’s the time she was on safari in Zambia yet found her most lasting memory in a classroom of five-year-olds. The comedy of mishaps that she and friends endured on a canal trip through southern France–and how it brought them together in an unexpected way. She quotes favorite authors and luminaries on the importance of travel and, in a series of memorable aphorisms, gets to the essence of why to travel. And gives us a few travel hacks, too. Travel is, as the writer Pico Iyer says, the thing that causes us to “stay up late, follow impulse, and find ourselves as wide open as when we are in love.” Why We Travel is all about rekindling that feeling. Just book a ticket, pack a bag, and dive headlong into an adventure. (Workman Publishing)

OUR INTERVIEW: Sept 12, 2022

Lisa Niver:

Good morning. I’m so honored to be here today with Patricia Schultz the incredible author of so many books who has taken us so many places. Patricia, welcome. I’m so excited to talk to you today.

Patricia Schultz:

Lisa, thank you. We know each other for so many years, but this is the first Zoom. Doing it in Zoom land is better than no land at all.

Lisa Niver:

You and I have had to make a lot of COVID adjustments and there’s been a lot more Zoom.

Patricia Schultz:

In the beginning I thought, no, I’m not doing Zoom that’ll go away. Little did I know.

Lisa Niver:

We’ve all had to evolve and adapt. So, tell us in this time of adapting what inspired you to write this new book? First, congratulations on your new book, Why We Travel. What inspired a new book of 100 Reasons?

Patricia Schultz:

Well, in fact it was very much prompted by the pandemic, which continues still, because we suddenly had a whole lot of time to step back and reflect. We weren’t going any place except in my case, you know, to the refrigerator back and forth. And speaking of, you know, the kitchen a lot of people were baking Irish soda bread, and you know cleaning out their closets and you know organizing their shelves. And I took the moment to organize my thoughts, because I realized that in all the time I had been traveling and doing these books and updating and revisions and whatnot, 1,000 Places, you know, go here, go there, don’t miss this, don’t miss that. That people were always asking me where are you going next? Where have you just come back from? But nobody had ever asked me why I traveled it was always where and when.

So, there is this wonderful quote about once you understand the why’s in life, then you can deal with everything else and everything else becomes, you know, comes more into focus. And so, I just tried to kind of commit to paper why I felt, and why I’ve always felt that travel is very important to us, and it was actually easier said than done. A 100 Reasons is the tip of that iceberg, but it’s because travel is such a very personal thing. And you ask a hundred different people why they travel you get a hundred different answers, but ofttimes I find that the answers you get really, you know, echo back to one or two different things. And that is that travel makes us better people, travel opens our world and travel is food for the soul. And then how you then interpret that can be done in a million different ways.

But the book is coming out at a very auspicious time, because these past few months have not been easy. There has been a pent-up demand for travel that has created a perfect storm, so that everybody in the world has, you know, been off to the airport, grabbing their passports, wanting to make up for lost time and it’s really, you know, tested our mettle. Do we really want to travel that much? And apparently, we do, because the next many months and hopefully into next year it’s going to be the same quantity, the same numbers of people who are making up for lost time.

Lisa Niver:

Yes! Airports are at capacity, and just like every other industry, airports are suffering from missing staff either due to lack of staff or staff who are ill or staff can’t get from one place to the other. Was there something that really surprised you when you were putting together this list of 100 reasons?

Patricia Schultz:

It kept coming back to me that travel is a journey and the journey without reflects the journey within. These aphorisms and encouragements and thoughts and comments and age-old quotes really reflect as much about our life journey as grabbing your passport and jetting off to Paris for the weekend. So, it became much more philosophical and much more of, as they say, a deeper dive than I had originally thought. I always knew it would be very profound, because travel is very, very much one big life lesson, and the most beautiful and in the most exciting and in the most thrilling and fun way.

It’s not meant to be drudgery of here we go another life lesson. It’s meant to bring us great joy and great pleasure. It is what we do when we have those precious weeks or moments. But I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that this was a book truly for everyone—travelers and for non-travelers.

Because people don’t travel not because they don’t want to, often, just because they’re weighed down with circumstances and logistics, Now boomers are caring for their parents as much as for their children. The sandwich generation is facing these responsibilities and where to spend their money. We’ve been in a pandemic and not everybody sails through it easily, and not everybody received personal loans from the government to support them.

People have been challenged in many different ways and as we come out of this very, very unprecedented, I mean that word has been overused, this unprecedented period and we find ourselves very much still in the midst of it in 2022.

My new book is colorful, it’s bright, it’s encouraging, it’s beautiful. It’s some of my favorite places and some of my all time favorite “aphorisms.” I wasn’t quite sure what that was when my editor said that it would be peppered with aphorisms, but all of these pearls of wisdom and moments of inspiration will be found throughout the book. It’s a smaller book than my 1,000 Places type books that I’ve always attacked previously. But it’s rather a very beautiful gift book for one’s self as well as for the person in your life who you maybe would like to see get off the couch a little bit more.

Lisa Niver:

I agree with you– it’s a very beautiful book. And it is interesting what you’re saying that we have not all had the same experience in the pandemic. One of my Rabbis’s said, “We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat.”

Patricia Schultz:

Oh, for sure. That’s beautiful.

Lisa Niver:

You were talking about how people experience travel and that it’s an inner journey. And I remember someone telling a story about that you find what you look for. So, if you go traveling and you expect to find the good in people, that’s what you see. And if you expect to find a place that’s hard to travel in, full of obstacles and the people aren’t nice, you find that also. Much of the inspiration in your book and the aphorisms are about finding the path– the higher path– the path of well-intentioned travel.

Patricia Schultz:

That’s interesting about finding what you look for. And one of the other encouragements is to get lost, turn off the GPS so that the path reveals itself. Put down the map, throw away the map, just wander and then serendipity will step in. It’s always the best tour guide.

Every trip, be it ever so humble, to the state park down the road that’s an hour from your home or the business trip to Chicago that turns out to be some epiphany of your life that Chicago is the second city. However, it’s the first city in my book. But every trip brings you to another level, and you are a little bit of every place you’ve been to and so you evolve.

And so, you become a different person, and everything stays with you in some manner or form be it superficially or profoundly. So, the more travel has meant to you in the past, the more it becomes almost a guaranteed value with every trip that comes next.

Because you approach each trip very differently with different appreciation, and with different expectations and a different reality view of the world. And I mean I still have trips that I took decades ago, and then trips that I took yesterday, and I come back with a different insight. But you always come back with something. I mean, the worst imaginable trip is always worth its weight in gold. There’s no such thing as a bad trip, right, it’s always a good experience. It’s always an invaluable experience. A good trip is a wonderful trip and a bad trip is experience, we say in retrospect. 

Lisa Niver:

Yes. We say that. But I love the story in your book about your first trip out at the beach when you were 4 years old and your mom was searching for you, pulling out her hair, asking the lifeguards, “Where is my daughter?”

Patricia Schultz:

She never let me forget it. And I don’t know if it was her constantly reminding me decades into my adult life or if I inherently remembered it. But it was very traumatic, not because I thought there was anything unusual about me wandering away down to the beach in Atlantic City that in my eyes just went on until forever. But it was traumatic because she kept reminding me that she thought they’d find me afloat somewhere face down miles away. My poor mother. But I wanted to explore? It was the sand, the surf, the sea and it was a good time. I had enough of the family blanket and off I went. That was my indication that being tethered to the family towel was just not where I wanted to be.

And bring your kids and travel! It doesn’t need to be extravagant. You don’t need to bring your kids to Fiji. We went to Atlantic City every August and I was the luckiest kid on the block. I still remember those vacations. I remember the family time. I remember the smells and the dive-bombing seagulls, and I remember where we went for dinner. It was a special night out with my parents. I saw my father rarely. So, travel and the impressions it makes upon us are indelible whether you’re 4 years old or 40 years old. And this idea that the kids are too young, they won’t remember, I don’t buy that.

Lisa Niver:

I think that’s such good advice on both sides. For young children, it’s a great education. My parents took us traveling and those are some of my earliest memories. And my dad grew up in Margate and in Atlantic City. But I often tell people that your backyard counts. Going outside or driving home from work a different route, you can find something new and great. It doesn’t have to be a thousand-dollar flight and an expensive hotel room, so I agree with you, you can find adventure. Again, you find what you’re looking for.

Patricia Schultz:

At the end of the day, it’s all about one thing and that is curiosity. Because what happens to that curiosity that we have as kids? What encouraged me to just wander off and go look and see and experience and explore?

Where is that curiosity as you grow into your teens and college and post-college life and then Wall Street and the expectations of career advancement?? What happens to that curiosity? And don’t you want to stoke it and keep it alive and keep it active and keep it always forefront in your character?

And whether travel does that or secures that or guarantees that or merely helps it along, I think it does because there’s so much to be curious about. There is no cure for it, then you become even more curious as the decades go by. I always see things that maybe the average person doesn’t. And I don’t know if I was born with that and will die with that or if it’s after, it comes from a lifetime of travel. Hopefully, both.

Lisa Niver:

That’s a really good question. Where does curiosity come from?

Patricia Schultz:

Where does it go, also?

Lisa Niver:

Also where does it go? Good point. So, if people are curious, do you host trips? Can people travel with you?

Patricia Schultz:

I used to host quite a number of trips, and as with everything with the pandemic, we put the kibosh on that. The last trip was postponed and postponed and postponed again and finally it was the most recent one that was kind of post-lockdown. I don’t want to say post-pandemic, because it’s still very much in the present tense, but it was Romania and Bulgaria. And that was an eye-opener, because Romania is stunningly gorgeous and it’s so much more than Dracula. Bulgaria also was a real eye-opener. It was one of those who knew countries. And they were the last two countries in Europe that I had to visit. I realized in Bucharest that I can check these off and that became my 43rd and 44th European country that I had visited. I’m not much of a country counter, but we were sitting around the table comparing countries and it seems to come up.

Lisa Niver:

It does.

Patricia Schultz:

Yeah. But it follows the question of how many of these thousand places have you been to? And that’s usually followed by how many countries have you been to? Now I’ve been to every country in Europe, and I will start all over again.

Lisa Niver:

I know we’ve seen each other many times at the Travel and Adventure Show. Can people see you there? Will you be at this year’s Travel and Adventure Show?

Patricia Schultz:

The Travel and Adventure Show resumed last year and prior to that they were virtual for that limited period of time. There are 10 or 12 of them across the US, so I hope people can make it to the closest one. I’m only doing a few this year, because I’m in the middle of updating 1,000 Places for our 20th year special edition. I am doing the shows on the East Coast: Boston, New York and DC. On their website, you can see where all the different shows are in LA, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, across the USA.

Lisa Niver:

Thanks to you I might be a speaker at the show in Los Angeles!!!

Patricia Schultz:

I certainly hope so. That’s a great show. That’s one of the biggest shows, which means that there’s the biggest attendance, but it also means that there’s the widest variety of exhibitors. LA has such a great airport and everybody’s 10 minutes away from getting on a plane to go somewhere fantastic in the world. Exhibitors come from all over the world including Nepal, Rio de Janeiro, many US tour operators — there’s food and music and it’s exciting. And the vibe of it, the energy of it will have you rush home and start planning again, hopefully.

Lisa Niver:

Is there an elusive destination that’s still on your list that’s the top of your list? I’m sure you have a long list still!

Patricia Schultz:

I do. And it always amazes me when people say: I have a handful of places on my bucket list. And I think– really a handful? That should be in the triple digits.

I’ve never been to New Zealand. Have you been to New Zealand?

Lisa Niver:

I have been to New Zealand. It’s amazing.

Patricia Schultz:

Yeah. I mean, I’ve never heard anything less than people just gushing upon their return the people, the south islands…

Lisa Niver:

The haka.

Patricia Schultz:

What?

Lisa Niver:

The haka — the war dance.

Patricia Schultz:

Yes! And the difference between the north and south, and more sheep than there are people. And just the physical beauty of it, you know, for its sounds, the national parks. So, I know I’ll go there, I just don’t know when. It’s not all that close.

Lisa Niver:

I agree it’s not all that close. One of the things I found most interesting about New Zealand –was the difference in Australia and the way the aborigines were treated and in New Zealand the way the Māori were treated. Because I was looking at how the people moved through the South Pacific, and how the language changed, and I thought that was a striking difference in the way that the indigenous people were treated.

Patricia Schultz:

That’s very, very interesting. And I’ve found with this update of a 1,000 Places, in doing the Australia chapter with two or three friends of mine who are travel writers living in Australia, and the number, the movement and the sensitivity and the recognition and the honoring of the original first people, first nations, aborigines, the original owners is really very impressive. The younger, the current generation, the government regulations that are switching names and ownership, returning ownership. So, it’s a slow, but steady movement and it seems to be picking up steam within the last years. So, it’s very impressive, and way overdue and very fascinating. So, I hope to go to New Zealand and see it for myself as well.

Lisa Niver:

Well, I hope that you will. I thought it was beautiful and you have to go sand surfing in the north. It was crazy fun. I loved it. I mean, I screamed the whole time, but it was fantastic!

Another thing that’s in your book, Why We Travel, that I think is really important, is you talk about the kindness of strangers and how people along the journey make such a difference. Do you think there’s some way as travelers and as writers of travel that we can help encourage that more?

Patricia Schultz:

I think just the fact that people are traveling more these days. I think the more you travel, I don’t think you travel more and more unless you’ve understood the inherent importance and nature of travel. I think if you’re not a good traveler, you give it a shot, you have a few trips and say: what’s the big deal? You stay home for the rest of your life. The more you travel the more it opens you up to be more respectful and more curious, to explore more and to always go the extra mile. And I think the more you do the more you meet people and the more you understand that at the end of the day we have so much more in common than we do that sets us apart.

And people always ask what do you never travel without? They want to hear Ziploc bags, moisturizer, a charger for my iPhone. But I always say respect, and curiosity and this realization that we are visitors in someone else’s home.

So, consider that your visit to the next region or country or continent is someone else’s home. Always realize that you’re the interloper, you’re the trespasser, you’re just passing through. Would you want to be somebody’s guest and put your feet up on the dining room table? I don’t think so. And you always get in return what you put out, you always reap what you sow, so be respectful.

It doesn’t take much, it’s free, nothing else is that free and that easy. Even if you were raised in a barn, as my father said, the inherent sense of respect should always be with you the minute you…actually, not even the minute you arrive in this country, but the minute you leave your front door, because it’s just as important here in our backyard, in our home country, in our hometown. I think we need a bigger dose of respect in terms of what’s happening in America and what’s happening worldwide. So, it never goes out of fashion, and it’s always appreciated. You are an ambassador of America.

It’s the impression that people get of Americans in general when they walk away from having an exchange with us whether it’s a smile or a purchase or your Uber driver or a nice conversation in broken English. People will walk away with that memory, and you want it to be of you and of how they see Americans to be. And you want it to be positive for many reasons. The idea of the ugly American won’t go away, but I do think it’s less now and I do think it’s not as severe as it was in decades past.

Lisa Niver:

Well, you have been such an incredible ambassador for people to want to travel. Congratulations on 20 years for 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Patricia Schultz:

There is that expression about find what you love to do in life and you’ll never work a moment, which is totally untrue. But I do get the sentiment behind it, because I’ve seen a lot of 5 a.m. deadline submissions, but when you do what you love then it takes on a very different satisfaction and gratification. 20 years has gone by so quickly.

Lisa Niver:

Your new book, Why We Travel, that launches this week—Congratulations. You’re finally getting to answer the why, which I think may help a whole different group of people make the choice to go out and travel.

Patricia Schultz:

You don’t need to look very far for the why. But you must look, otherwise you just are on automatic pilot and you’re booking your next trip and you’re booking your next flight and you’ve got your next four vacations all planned. But I think it’s the moment during the pandemic, following the pandemic to step back and reflect not just on travel, but on life.

And whatever you love to do you need to do more of it, because we saw there are no guarantees and there’s nothing promised to us. And whatever brings you joy you need to really go out there and search for it and make it happen, because you should fill your life with it.

So, I encourage people to travel as far as they can as well, because this 90-year-old woman I met in Machu Picchu, it was her first passport and it was her first stamp. They were celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary and she said to me, “You know, dear, your knees have expiration dates. You have to do the difficult places first.” So, that’s another anecdote in the book, because it’s been many years since I met her and I walked away thinking I need to be her when I’m 70 or 60 or 95. But she wanted something so much her entire life that she finally made it happen. Ideally, we do not wait until we’re 90 to say that, but you’re never too old and it’s never too late.

Lisa Niver:

Oh, my goodness –that’s beautiful. So, you’re never too old, it’s never too late. Where can people look for you and where can they buy the book?

Patricia Schultz:

For the book I’m happy to say, I have the most wonderful publisher, Workman Publishing, and the book is available everywhere. We support our independent bookstores, but it’s also available online at Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million.

And where you can find me, on a book tour! I’m going to a number of different cities in the USA and it’s on my website, which is 1000places.com.

Lisa Niver:

Yes, I’m very excited to see you live in Pasadena at Vroman’s and I just wish you all the success with the new book. And I also want to say, personally, thank you for all your support. Every time I see you you’ve been so supportive of me and my travels and my book and I really, really do appreciate that. So, thank you.

Patricia Schultz:

Oh, Lisa, you’re a kindred spirit. We’re cut from the same cloth.

Lisa Niver:

Thank you and congratulations. And this is such an auspicious time. It’s going to be Rosh Hashanah, it’s the New Year, you have a new book, and the 20th anniversary. And I wish you all the success and to see you on the New York Times Best Seller list, again.

Patricia Schultz:

Thank you, Lisa.

WATCH ON SPOTIFY

The post WATCH: Patricia Schultz, Why We Travel appeared first on We Said Go Travel.

Influencers Podcast interviews Lisa Niver

Dr. Bill: What inspired you to do what you do today?

LISA NIVER: As a teenager my parents took my sister and I on a cruise to the Mediterranean. I felt like all of my history books came to life. We saw the parthenon in Greece, the Pyramids in Egypt,  the Western Wall in Israel and the Ephesus library in Turkey. I was mesmerized and wanted that trip to never end. Later in life, I worked on cruise ships for nearly seven years and have traveled now to over 100 countries. I love sharing my adventures in videos and articles. I have worked as a teacher and a journalist for years sharing stories from the road. Since 2020 and the great pause, I have been at my desk working on a memoir about doing 50 challenges before I turned 50. I cannot wait for your listeners to read it next year when it is published and available in bookstores.

What top 3 Mistakes can you help our listeners AVOID?One mistake is waiting for the right time to start. I think about the Chinese proverb which says: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Start your blog or join YouTube or Pinterest TODAY! Believe you can do it.Another mistake is comparing to other people. Someone will always have more views or be more famous or have more stuff. ONLY compare yourself to yourself—Think about one year from now—do I want to still waiting to get started? Or what goal do you want to have already accomplished.Perfectionism kills so many good ideas. Done is better than PERFECT. Do your best and try something new. Remember you aren’t getting graded on your tasks. There is no A+ in suitcase packing.What is your GREATEST Failure Story? What did you learn and how did you recover from it?

My biggest life reinvention was after my marriage imploded. I had sold my car, quit my job and rented out my condo in order to travel with my then husband for a year in Asia. While we were on the road, I realized we were both fully 1000% on his team doing things his way and there was no space for me. It was very unhealthy. I felt that I was living his dream his way and needed to have a chance to do things that were important to me. It was really hard to start again. I felt like a failure and it was a struggle to keep going but it was necessary to make that change. I made new goals and new friends and started my 50 things before 50 project. I started to go to dance class and art class and little by little I built myself a new even better life.

What are your top 3 success secrets?

**The secret to my success has been to follow my passions. once I learned to scuba dive, I changed everything in order to travel more and explore around the world underwater. 

**Another secret  is to have Faith that you can do it, remember what – Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Believe you can do it and build the steps along the way.

**I loved interviewing 3 time Emmy award winner Gaby Natale she told me that “Starting SMALL does not mean thinking SMALL” small steps can lead to big changes

What is happening NEXT for you?

I am so excited for my book to be published and to go on the road to talk to people about my 50 things project. So far, everyone has been interested to hear more about my challenges and to think about ones they can do themselves

How do you overcome Challenge Life throws at you?

For me, I overcome challenges by always being ready to start again—Listen to the Chinese Proverb which says Fall down 7, Get up 8!

What Are You Grateful For Today?

I am grateful for my family and friends who have believed in me even when I did not believe in myself. I would never have finished my book without their endless support.

Who is Your Living Mentor ?

I have been fortunate to have many mentors who I can call when I feel unsure about my next steps in my career. Everyone has dark moments when they feel uncertain and everyone needs advice from a trusted source.

What do you want to be remembered for?

I want to be remembered for bringing light, love and laughter to my community. I have helped many people to learn about far away places and build bridges of cultural understanding.

How Do You Start Your Day?

Since reading Michelle Obama’s book, The Light We Carry, I started a new morning tradition where I look at myself in the mirror and say HEY BUDDY! I think very positive happy thoughts while I greet myself.

Why Being Impactful Is Important to you?

We all impact those around us. We have a choice to lift those around us with grace, gratitude and happiness. We can make our corner of the world a more positive and inspiring place.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I would tell my younger self—do not worry so much—our life is like a rollercoaster there are ups and downs and sometimes it seems like we are falling out —but we have a seatbelt on— and everything will work out GREAT in the end.

Once you have a revenue-generating idea, how do you convince your partner?

When I have a new business idea, I take it to my advisory council and listen carefully to their suggestions. I know my blind spots and make sure to have a team who complement me.

How can our listeners find you?

I would love your listeners to pick a video on my YouTube channel @LISANIVER to watch and comment on. They can follow me across social media @LisaNiver. I have a monthly newsletter and two websites: We Said Go Travel and LisaNIver.com that way you can be among the first to know to pre-order my book. Find it in bookstores in the Fall of 2023

Thank you Dr. Bill for the super questions and for inviting me to participate on your show. It is an honor to share this time with you and your listeners. My dad is also a dentist like you and people always ask—do I have to floss all my teeth and he says NOPE only the ones you want to keep! And I think that is great life advice. Whatever you focus on, that will flourish!

What would you say as a final word?

Every culture has a festival of lights in this darkest time of the year. During Chanukah, when we light the candles, I always think of how one candle the leader, lights all of the others but it does not diminish the flame. Make sure to share your light with others. —check on your friends and family, hug them close and tell them how much you love them.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW: LINKS BELOW

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:7014624494203940864/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/611903679/videos/1181281782805438/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drbill_williams/status/1608858645734821888

Twitter broadcast: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1MYGNgBPRXOJw

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcOK2kCUpKk

HOST: Dr. Bill Williams  from Atlanta GA USA is a Founder, Leadership Council member, and Brand Ambassador of ONPASSIVE, a sought-after international speaker and coach, a Master of the Academy of General Dentistry, Host of The Influencers Podcast and the $10,000 A Day Dentist Podcast,  and Author of two #1 Best Selling Books:  Marketing the Million Dollar Practice and The $10,000 A Day Dentist.

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The National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards December 2022

The National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards Honorees: Byron Allen, Jennifer Lee, Ryan Seacrest, Tanya Tucker and Marla Gibbs Embed from Getty Imageswindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'z47Wzwg0Qhpaft0tO6phUA',sig:'j1aqIMJ9g_z6Tbppn0mnWsPiWo4wawqPjT1CZAfjGqc=',w:'386px',h:'594px',items:'1446843391',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});

UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 04: Lisa Niver and BJ Korros attend the 15th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards at Sheraton Universal Hotel on December 04, 2022 in Universal City, California. Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Emmy-award-winning television host, radio personality, mega-producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Ryan Seacrest receives the Los Angeles Press Club’s prestigious Luminary Award for Career Achievement. The Luminary Award was instituted to honor distinguished members of the entertainment media community for their lifetime achievements and contributions to society.
“As someone with deep ties to the Los Angeles entertainment media world, it’s an honor to receive their Luminary Award,” Seacrest said. “The Los Angeles Press Club is one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations connected to the entertainment industry, and to join the list of iconic voices who have come before me is so meaningful.”

⁦@RyanSeacrest⁩ says he is glad he can do what he loves for a living because he doesn’t know how to do anything else. ⁦@LAPressClub⁩ #NAEJAwards pic.twitter.com/RrKtubvvpg

— Lisa Richwine (@LARichwine) December 5, 2022

Byron Allen Final.mp4 from Los Angeles Press Club on Vimeo.

Media mogul, producer and comedian Byron Allen accepts Los Angeles Press Club’s Impact Award for Influential Contributions to Culture and Society. Allen said: “As a member of the entertainment industry and as an Angeleno for over five decades, I am truly blessed to be included with my fellow entertainers and show business peers in receiving such a distinguished award.

⁦@LAPressClub⁩ honoree @tanyatucker says she hasn’t had the nerve to watch the documentary about her life. She says she can’t imagine someone would want to spend 2 hours watching something about her. pic.twitter.com/UrhJBxhycb

— Lisa Richwine (@LARichwine) December 5, 2022

Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios Jennifer Lee will accept Los Angeles Press Club’s Distinguished Storyteller Award for Storytelling Outside of Journalism. “Jennifer upended fairy tales with ‘Frozen’ and broke barriers for women in animation and in Hollywood,” said Los Angeles Press Club President Lisa Richwine. “Her creative storytelling has left a lasting impact on the industry and on audiences around the world.

Jennifer Lee of Disney animation said one of her main notes early in development of Frozen was “kill the snowman.” But then Josh Gad helped bring Olaf to life and she loved the character ⁦@LAPressClub⁩ #NAEJAwards pic.twitter.com/6or9TitOwl

— Lisa Richwine (@LARichwine) December 5, 2022

⁦@LAPressClub⁩ honoree Marla Gibbs says just think about what you want to do and don’t think about age. She is still working at 91. pic.twitter.com/jpx2zbkalN

— Lisa Richwine (@LARichwine) December 5, 2022

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 16: BJ Korros and guest attend the Los Angeles Press Club’s 63rd Annual Journalism Awards Dinner at Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles on October 16, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)

Lisa Niver has won many awards! From 2017 to 2022, in the Southern California Journalism Awards and National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards, she has won five times and been a finalist twenty times for a variety of broadcast, print and digital categories.

2022 Finalist: Southern California Journalism Awards Book Critic2021 Winner: National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards Book Critic2021 Winner: Southern California Journalism Awards for  TECHNOLOGY REPORTING 2021 Finalist: Southern California Journalism Awards for BOOK CRITICISM2020 Winner: National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards for Book Critic. See all of Lisa’s book reviews here.2020 Finalist: National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards for Book Critic2020 Winner: Southern California Journalism Awards for print magazine article: Hemispheres Magazine for United Airlines2020 Five Time Finalist: Southern California Journalism awards2019 Winner: NAEJ Award for KTLA TV segment2019 Finalist: National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards in three categoriesCategory H2a. Soft News: Ms. Magazine: Polar Bears Can’t Vote So You Have ToCategory F6a. Soft News Feature – Under 5 Minutes—Film/TV: KTLA TV Oscars Countdown to Gold with Lisa NiverCategory C1b. Business, Music/Tech/Art: My Wharton Magazine article: Four Female Founders Share Their Origin Stories2019 Finalist: Southern California Journalism Awards for Broadcast Television Lifestyle Segment: Ogden Ski Getaway2018 Finalist for three categories of Southern California Journalism Awards:SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY REPORTING: Smithsonian TRAVEL REPORTING: Popsugar FitnessPERSONALITY PROFILE: Saturday Evening Post2017 2nd place winner for Southern California Journalism Award Print Column “A journey to freedom over three Passovers” and finalist for Travel Reporting.

More about Lisa Niver: https://lisaniver.com/awards/

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Watch my VIDEO PODCAST on Spotify: “Make Your Own Map!”

Step out of your comfort zone: how being brave can open you up to your dream world. Lisa Niver can show you how small steps can lead to big results. She tackled her own fears and overcame her top 50 challenges before she turned 50. She and her guests will share tips, tricks and tools for how to be courageous in the world of travel, and how that will result in big changes in other areas of your life.

WATCH on ANCHOR or SPOTIFY SEASON ONE: Deepak Chopra, Alka Joshi, Mallika Chopra, Shelley Zalis, Meaghan Murphy, Tiffany Paulsen and Gaby Natale Lisa Niver interviewing Deepak Chopra for Mental Health Awareness Month As of January 11, 2023, in less than two weeks, my podcast has been watched in four countries on two continents! WATCH on ANCHOR or SPOTIFY

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Meet me in CHICAGO with PADI at the Travel and Adventure Show

Meet me in CHICAGO at the Dive & Water Sports Pavilion SAT Jan 14 and SUN Jan 15, 2023 to talk about how “SCUBA Changed My LIFE: Diving Adventures AROUND the WORLD” on behalf of PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors)

“SCUBA Changed My LIFE: Diving Adventures AROUND the World”

SAT Jan 14 11:30am and

SUN Jan 15, 2023 12:45pm

at Donald E Stephens Convention Center – HALL F

Discount Ticket Code: GOTRAVEL23

GIVEAWAY at my TALK: Must be present to WIN– one lucky person will win their PADI e-learning class (value priceless!! $217) and another lucky person will receive two tickets for CityPASS Chicago! (value $228)

I will be speaking 11:30am SAT and 1:45pm SUN at the Dive and Water Sports Theater (1547) near the PADI booth (1739)

TICKETS FOR CHICAGO Travel and Adventure Show with my discount code: CLICK HERE I learned to dive in 1990 and fell madly in love with exploring the underwater world. See my articles and videos all about scuba: CLICK HERE PADI Dive-in LIV+ Beaches Turks and Caicos 2020I will be speaking LIVE at America’s Favorite Travel Shows! Come see me at  The Travel & Adventure Show 2023CHICAGO –Jan 14-15 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention CenterNEW YORK CITY – January 28-29 at the Javits Convention Center LOS ANGELES— February 18-19 at the Los Angeles Convention CenterDALLAS–April 1-2 at the Dallas Market Hall 

“Discover endless vacation options from the top travel providers and destinations from around the globe. Meet one-on-one with thousands of travel experts who are on hand to help you find, personalize, and book your next trip. Uncover thousands of dollars in savings with exclusive travel deals and show-only specials. Receive expert advice and learn how to travel like an insider from dozens of educational seminars. Plus, meet Samantha Brown, Andrew McCarthy, Peter Greenberg, Pauline Frommer, Patricia Schultz, LISA NIVER and more!” Buy tickets at a special rate with my discount code GOTRAVEL23 or use these links for these cities: CHICAGO –NEW YORK CITY —LOS ANGELES

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Best Kept Secret in Long Beach? Naples Canals

Thank you to Redfin for including me in your article about Long Beach! Lisa Niver, founder of We Said Go Travel, was named a top Long Beach, CA, local park expert by Redfin. Check out the article Exploring Parks in Long Beach: A Guide to Nature and Recreation in the City of Long Beach | Redfin

Long Beach, CA is home to some of the most beautiful parks in the country. From stunning coastal hikes to tranquil neighborhood parks, Long Beach offers a variety of outdoor spaces for locals and visitors to explore. 

With its mild climate and stunning landscapes, Long Beach is the perfect destination for outdoor recreation. Whether you are looking for a peaceful picnic close to your Long Beach apartment, or an exciting adventure, you can find something to enjoy in these 13 must-visit parks in Long Beach.

6. Naples Canals

The Naples Canals of Long Beach are a network of man-made canals in the Naples neighborhood. The canals are a popular destination for sightseeing and recreational activities. 

Visitors can explore the canals on foot or by kayak or take a leisurely gondola ride. The canals are also home to various wildlife, including ducks, geese, egrets, and herons. The nearby Naples Island Park offers a variety of amenities, including picnic areas, playgrounds, and a public pool.

“I think the best-kept secret in Long Beach is the Naples Canals,” shares Lisa Niver, travel expert at We Said Go Travel. “Take your entire family to kayak or paddleboard in calm water.  During the holidays, take your sweetheart for a romantic gondola ride that feels like Venice, Italy, while staying in sunny California.”  Lisa and Jen at the Naples Canals, Long Beach, California

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Niver In PRINT: Blog Bytes Winter 2022 Jewish Journal

Thank you to the Jewish Journal for publishing me online for over twelve years. Since they resumed print publication in Fall 2021, I have been in the Blog Bytes section more than twenty-eight times! Here are the four issues that I was in during October, November and December 2022: Jewish Journal October 21, 2022: p. 28From my article, Shana Tova 5783: Niver’s News: Sept 2022:

Shana Tova 5783! This month starts the Jewish New Year. My family celebrated in Denver with our cousins and at our synagogue, Stephen Wise Temple, in Los Angeles. My parents were honored with an aliyah to say the blessing before reading the Torah.

Jewish Journal Oct 28, 2022: p. 28From my article, Explore Toronto with CityPASS and me!

“For my summer trip to Toronto, I explored all of the CityPASS attractions! I loved all of the activities and was inspired to walk around the outside of CN Tower with EdgeWalk! Are you brave enough?”

Jewish Journal Nov 1, 2022: p. 32From my article, “Luxury Toronto: Fairmont Royal York, Shangri-La Toronto and Four Seasons Hotel Toronto”

I loved my dining experience at Cafe Boulud at Four Seasons Hotel Toronto. The heirloom tomato and whipped feta was presented with edible flowers and I felt like I was eating a work of art. Thank you to Hakim, Cremildo, Yann and the entire team! I am still dreaming about the maple salted butter and your fresh bread.

Jewish Journal December 1, 2022: p. 28

from my article: Where to EAT and STAY in Calgary?

Enjoy refined seasonal Canadian cuisine in the historic riverside home built in 1906 for Captain Richard Burton Deane, the last serving North West Mounted Police Superintendent in Calgary. The gardens are beautiful and the house is located in Inglewood, at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers, in the heart of Blackfoot territory, once known as Moh’Kinsstis.

THANK YOU TO THE JEWISH JOURNALSee my stories that were inthe September print issuesthe October print issuesthe November print issuesthe December print issues

2022

the January print issuesthe February print issues

the April print issues

the July print issues

the August print issues

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VoyageLA: Niver is an Inspiring Story

Thank you VoyageLA for interviewing me for your Inspiring Stories from West LA!Conversation with Lisa Niver: Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Niver.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My Los Angeles story started in 1971 when my family moved to California from the East Coast so there was no more snow to shovel in the winter. While I have traveled extensively and lived in many other states and countries, for me home will always be the city of Angels!

I went to Roscomare Road School, Curtis School and Westlake School for Girls! After the University of Pennsylvania, I returned to California for graduate school and started teaching at Curtis School, Stephen Wise Temple Religious School, Culver City Middle School and Brawerman Elementary School. Once I learned to scuba dive, I started to work at Club Med and then on cruise ships. I sailed the seven seas for seven years and loved every minute of exploring. I started a website, We Said Go Travel, https://www.wesaidgotravel.com/ and writing for many other online and print sites.

My YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@LisaNiver now has over 1.7 million views of my adventure videos! I have shared my travel stories on KTLA TV too! During the COVID Coaster, I signed with an amazing literary agent, Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, Inc., who sold my memoir to a publisher. I cannot wait for you to read my book next year!

Thank you for all of your support for my travels, social media and writing. http://lisaniver.com/one-page/

Enkereri school children in Maasai Mara. Photo by Matt Payne

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all. I have often felt like a derailed train. When I dropped out of USCF Medical school, everyone told me I was making a huge mistake. I knew I had to make a change so I did leave but had no idea what would happen next.

I found a great path in teaching and then traveling while teaching and scuba diving. But my cruise line went bankrupt 7 days after 9/11. I was grateful to be alive but was not sure if I would ever travel again. I went back to teaching and fell in love.

My boyfriend and I traveled the world for a year and decided to get married. After several years and many more travels, our marriage imploded and I left Asia to return home alone. I felt like a failure but I realized it was a success for me to leave a situation that was not working.

Eventually, I found my footing again, rebuilt my travel site, found amazing places to write for and did 50 challenges before I turned 50. You can read about all 50 in my book next year!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Growing up, I loved the library and to read. I was always reading multiple books. I wrote a story where a little girl climbed into her book and played with the characters. I always wanted to know more about how the situation came together. I never thought I would be a writer or create videos but now I do! I cannot wait until my book is available at the library too!

One of my most favorite places in Los Angeles besides the library is Members Only LA Art Studio. https://www.membersonlyla.com/ Since seeing Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze play with clay in the movie Ghost, I wanted to learn to make ceramics. I absolutely love to make art. You can take a class at our sister studio, Good Dirt. I hope you find a way to be creative every week. https://www.instagram.com/simplyceramics2/

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Finding a mentor is very important. I suggest going to conferences, taking classes and asking for help. I recommend that editors, reporters, writers and journalists join us at the Los Angeles Press Club: https://lapressclub.org/. I have met incredible friends and been nominated for 20 awards—5 of which I have won for my broadcast, digital and print stories! https://lisaniver.com/awards/ I also highly recommend UPOD, my writing group which is run by David Hochman https://upodacademy.com/ If you are over 50, you are eligible for Senior Scholars at UCLA. I took 10 classes during the COVID coaster which helped me stay sane. I took classes in screenwriting, producing, geography, history, psychology and meditation. The professors are AMAZING! For most university senior programs, you have to be over 65. This is a superb LA resource! Check it out: https://www.semel.ucla.edu/longevity/senior-scholars-program-longevity-center

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 16: BJ Korros and guest attend the Los Angeles Press Club’s 63rd Annual Journalism Awards Dinner at Millennium Biltmore Hotel Los Angeles on October 16, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)

Contact Info:

Website: https://www.wesaidgotravel.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisaniver/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.niver/Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisaniverYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/WeSaidGoTravelYelp: https://www.pinterest.com/wesaidgotravelOther: https://www.tiktok.com/@lisaniverThank you VoyageLA for interviewing me for your Inspiring Stories from West LA!

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