by Mary Charleson | Nov 11, 2018 | Europe
Massimo charged his glass in a toast to friendship, “Ad amici e buon cibo.” While we didn’t understand what was said, we all smiled enthusiastically in agreement, intuitively knowing it meant “to friends and good food.” The intense heat of the day had subsided, and in...
by Mary Charleson | Sep 9, 2018 | Europe
Prince’s Purple Rain filled the hot summer night air in Paris, as a chorus of thousands seated on picnic blankets under open skies belted out the well-known lyrics. Fireworks burst from both sides of the Eiffel Tower in an escalading cascade of purple light racing to...
by Mary Charleson | Sep 2, 2018 | USA
I’m always on the look out for tourism marketing examples, since I use them in presentations with clients in the travel industry over on my other business at FiveMinuteMarketing.com A fellow travelling friend put me onto this clever use of a chat bot named Rose being...
by Mary Charleson | Aug 25, 2018 | Europe
Guest post written by Karen Speirs The light is softening, casting a golden glow on the rolling hills, when the call for dinner comes. The teens scramble up the stone stairs from the pool. A quartet of card players rise from the table, pushing back heavy iron chairs....
by Mary Charleson | Jul 10, 2018 | Canada, South Africa
When I was in my final year of high school, I was hospitalized for a week with the sight in one eye threatened after an exercise band broke and impacted my eye, causing an internal bleed. I spent the entire time immobilized in bed with both eyes covered to limit...
by Mary Charleson | Jun 21, 2018 | USA
I don’t take the back seat easily. Being in control, the pilot of road and boating adventures, and seldom the passenger brings me joy. So when I took the back seat to my husband at the helm of a 1200 Triumph motorbike out of Las Vegas to ride historical Route 66, the...
by Mary Charleson | Jun 12, 2018 | South America / Central America
“For the record, I don’t intend to die in a tsunami in Nicaragua.” Those were my words as I tried to think logically in the face of a loud siren blaring in Spanish, “alerta de tsunami evacua inmediatamente” which translates to “Tsunami alert,...
by Mary Charleson | Jun 10, 2018 | South America / Central America
Every year thousands of international travelers visit Machu Picchu, the historic lost city of the Inca in Peru. As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, its popularity is understandable. It’s hard to avoid the crowds at Machu Picchu and scoring a coveted peak season...
by Mary Charleson | May 12, 2018 | South America / Central America
It’s been said that visiting Machu Picchu in Peru is the trip of a lifetime. Perhaps what should be added is that preparing for the trip can feel like a lifetime of planning. I’ll readily admit I had little knowledge of what would be involved when I eagerly said...
by Mary Charleson | May 8, 2018 | Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Europe, USA
Author note: This piece was originally published in the Vancouver Sun in 2017. Having just set my son off at the airport for his 4th trip to Europe, and third time doing it solo, I am struck at the vision I had to travel as I did with him at the time of writing this...
