Welcome to the Instinct by KITI where we move the world though first-hand, new generation travel and lifestyle storytelling.
All in Travel
In the mood for a little forest bathing, my wife, Kerry, and I make a beeline for Mount Erskine Provincial Park. Truth be told, we really didn't even know what forest bathing was until five minutes earlier. That's when Janet Clouston, executive director of the Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce, told us this Gulf Island between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island was famous for it.
The Surgeons' Hall Museums in Edinburgh is one of the oldest museums in Scotland. Lots of history to be found here: The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was founded in 1505. The collection of medical oddities and surgical equipment began in 1699.
Everyone on the bus was dressed for the heat—shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops predominated. We were in Sicily departing from Taormina en route to Mt. Aetna.
“This is a lucky group,” announced our English-speaking guide. Outside the bus the sky was blue, palm trees swayed gently. “Today the weather is perfect. Often, it is not; and we are forced to cancel the climb. We don’t take chances with Mt. Aetna. ”
One of the things I really love about Edinburgh, Scotland - is the really cool old-timey cemeteries. In Leith, I came across an old maritime cemetery. Many of the surviving gravestones reflect Leith's maritime history. According to the plaque at the gate, the grandparents of 19th century Prime Minister W.E. Gladstone are buried here.
In the fifth century AD, Attila the Hun and other invaders descended upon the northeastern area of what today is Italy. A number of people who were living in the region fled to a group of nearby islands for safety and, over time, established small villages. The towns they founded eventually joined together and that was the birth of Venice.
From that humble beginning grew one of the wealthiest, most refined cities in the then-known world. Those who travel to Venice today see it much as it has looked over centuries.
I told myself ahead of time I would not stare. Even though the bare breasts hung low and large, my eyes instead went to the large, intricate metal jewelry adorning their necks, wrists and ankles. I was relieved that what might have been an embarrassing focus became only a gloss-over glance.
Viewing a live nude show in Vegas? Not quite. Instead, this was my introduction to the beautiful bodies and gentle lifestyle of the Himba people, the last remaining tribe in Namibia, on the southwest coast of Africa, to cling savagely to its native identity dating back over 500 years.
There was a time when the world's greatest hotels from around the world would create the most amazing luggage labels. Crazy, incredible artwork. All this took place during a glamorous era of travel- from around the 1900s to the mid-1960s - to such exotic locales as the sun-baked beaches of Sri Lanka to Saigon watering holes. Luggage labels are now long gone. But AbeBooks has now brought together some of the most stunning examples. Many of the world's most renown hotels produced luggage labels; long, long before the age of budget airlines, TSA lines, and cramped overbooked hotels. The luggage label, slapped onto a suitcase, was a form of advertising for the establishment. So, let's rejoice in the art of luggage labels.
When venturing around Long Island City in Queens - be sure to grab bike and peddle to Socrates Sculpture Park. Located right smack on the East River, Socrates Sculpture Park is dedicated to large-scale sculpture and multimedia installations in a park built on a former landfill site. Yes, this cool artistic hub was once an ugly abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite. All that changed in 1986, when a coalition of artists and community members transformed the eye-sore into an exhibition space and neighborhood park for local residents. Hurrah!
Not a religious nor superstitious man, Ilija Pajovic nevertheless puts his hand on the Madonna rock behind the church's altar and makes a wish. Two months later, his wife is pregnant with the son they've longed for for eight years. "I'm just saying, it seems like a miracle to me," said Pajovic.
"You can see for yourself."
Pilgrimage-worthy dumplings, hot-as-hell devil chicken, stinky tofu, elegant Peking duck, lobster in yellow sauce, oyster omelette, fish eggs fried rice, stir-fried cuttlefish, barbecued pork and cool mango ice. Even with just 72-hours in Taipei, my wife and I manage to devour it all in a high-brow-low-brow culinary romp through the city.
During a trip to Montreal this summer I learned that the term ‘rush hour’ takes on a different meaning in Montreal. If you are cycling in Montreal at 5 p.m. on a weekday, prepare yourself, because you will be part of ‘cycling rush hour’ on the bike paths. Nominated as the only Canadian city in the top twenty of the Copenhagen Index of Bicycle-friendly Cities (Mineapolis is the other North American winner, ringing in at #18), Montreal seems to have everything going for it: great cycling events, and a good network of separated bike lanes and recreational cycling paths that are cleared of snow in the winter.
When I began planning a trip to Alaska, two words came to mind. One was “big,” which many things there are. The other was “mystique,” a sense which pervades the image that people often have of that state. It’s the size of the “Great Land,” as the Aleutian people named the region, which makes the most immediate, and dramatic, impression. Alaska is twice as large as Texas and if cut in half, would be the first and second biggest states in the country. Mount McKinley is the tallest peak in North America, and Denali National Park over which it looms is larger than Massachusetts.
Minneapolis, Minnesota has some of the best cycling trails in the United States. And this isn't according to Minneapolis Cycling Magazine. (If such a magazine existed in reality.) I spent Memorial Day Weekend - exploring all there is to be had about the Twin Cities bike trails. I went north. I went south. I went to the outskirts of the western suburbs and did a few laps around Carver Park. Minneapolis has 83 miles of off-street trails, 44 miles of bike lanes, and an extensive bike rental system.
Without hesitation, Rey Rosales declares the view of Chicago is best from Adler Planetarium. So, we all pile into the Mini Cooper to drive southeast through Chicago's famous skyscraper-choked downtown. We pull up at the planetarium psyched to look back across shimmering Lake Michigan's Monroe Harbour to the Windy City's unmistakable skyline. Far left is tall, dark and handsome, 110-storey Willis Tower (the former Sears Tower and formerly the world's tallest building) and far right is Chicago's second-tallest structure, the 100-storey John Hancock building.
Question: What do staplers, candles and ear rings have in common? Answer: They’re among the items on display at a wacky and wonderful museum in California which claims that it has the largest collection in the world devoted to a single fruit. The International Banana Museum is one of many places around the globe where people may check out exhibits that range from the unusual to the unique, and from serious to hilarious. For starters, the Banana Museum touts itself with a pun, proclaiming that it’s “The most aPEELing destination on the planet.”
Sir Richard Branson, the Maverick1000 group of entrepreneurs and Unite BVI, together with Secret Samurai Productions, Commercial Dive Services, Beneath the Waves, the Association of Reef Keepers and Owen Buggy, have joined forces to create a unique dive site in the British Virgin lslands, called the Maverick BVI Art Reef.
Oku Japan, the tour company specializing in rural Japan and walking adventures, is expanding its portfolio with the exciting launch of its new unique culinary adventure “Japan's Culinary Heritage.” With this new adventure, Oku Japan wants to show travellers the importance of Japanese food culture and how culinary traditions reflect the Japanese way of life. In Japan, food is the best way to engage with local lifestyles and to gain an in-depth experience of regional culture, the daily life of Japanese communities, and individual inhabitants.
McSorley's is one of the oldest Irish taverns in New York City. The Old Ale House opened its doors in 1854. This historic drinking hole was a stop for Civil War soldiers before they went off to fight. In fact, Coopers Union, where Abe Lincoln would give speeches, is right around the corner; and he was known to pop in for a drink. As tradition would have it, soldiers during World War I would hang wishbones over the bar - which can still be seen today.
In 1607, a small band of settlers founded the first permanent English outpost in the Americas, Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia. At that time, another town already had existed since 1565 in a different part of the New World. Last year, St. Augustine, Florida, which traces its roots to that 16th-century settlement, celebrated its 450th anniversary. That supports its claim to be the oldest continuously occupied European community in the country. Given its history, St. Augustine offers visitors a setting which captures not just the stories but also an authentic atmosphere of its colorful past. That comes to life primarily in the city’s 144 square block historic district.
The last 18 miles of the road leading to the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica, full of ruts and potholes by design, takes over an hour and a half to navigate. The locals like it that way. And they choose not to fix it because it would be too easy then for tourists to visit.
