Arriving After Dark

When setting off from A to B, I used to apply the 'early bird gets the worm' mentality. You're flying to Chicago? Then you should DEFINITELY leave on that 5:30am flight. Going camping? Obviously you should leave before the sun comes up. The sooner the better. This ensures that you will be tired and cranky AND almost definitely leave something important behind. 

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Sighișoara, Transylvania: Dracula's hometown

Although Transylvania deserves to have world recognition for it's alpine scenery and medieval charm, mention of the area most often inspires darker connotations. Thanks to the undying work of Bram Stoker, Transylvania has become synonymous with vampires. The basis for the fictional Count Dracula finds it's roots here in Sighasoara -- and is actually a bit scarier than our chocolate cereal spun off Hollywood vampire friend could ever hope to be.

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Soarin' over Cappadocia

We’re going up in a hot air balloon today, and the butterflies in my stomach have begun to spread throughout the rest of my body. By the time we reach the Voyager Balloon offices on the opposite side of the tiny tourist enclave of Göreme, I’m buzzing so hard that the Turkish coffee I quaff down hardly registers on my radar.

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Behind The Scenes of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

There’s no place in the world like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. Exotic textiles, the finest handmade carpets in the world, jewels fit for royalty, aphrodisiacal teas, and treasures recovered from shipwrecks mark only a small portion of the vast selection on offer in this labyrinthine sprawl — it’s as easy to get lost in the colors and smells as it is in the virtually indistinguishable passageways that twist and turn upon each other in every direction here.

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Polish Christmas Foods

Who eats fish for dessert? I'm inordinately open minded, but sweet syrups and savory crusts do not mix with the pesce. Yet here we are in the small town of Markow, about 2 hours east of Warsaw, and every polite guest's nightmare is staring at me with a succession of cold, dead eyes. There are SIX different fish based desserts piled onto the doily laden candle lit table before me. I hate every dish I see, but feel obligated to try all of them.

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