On Wanderlust

2011...the final tally.

2012-01-02T19:53:00.001-05:00

So, it looks like 2011 closes up with 23 cities. Starts with Atlanta, ends with New York City. Three different countries represented. All in all, a GREAT year!

I am SUPER excited to see what 2012 brings! Of course, I already have some great trips planned. Of course, my goal is to be good about blogging them. We'll see how this pans out.

I think I'll definitely do the sidebar again though -- because it's fun! And while I don't think I'll top 23 in 2012, it'll still be fun to see how it does compare.

2012...so it begins.

2011

Book review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

2011-12-29T00:01:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I help run a book review blog: Book Nerds Across America. One of my most recent reads is a book called Wanderlove, which was written by a young adult book author and travel writer, Kirsten Hubbard. Since the book is about travel, I thought I would share my review here as well:

It's no secret among my friends that I am the big Travel Girl. I have been to several states and several countries and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. In fact, I even have a travel blog -- On Wanderlust. I have been really bad with updating it, but I bring it up for this reason. I have always loved the word wanderlust. I feel it describes me so well, and it has this dark, mysterious sound to it as it's coming off of your tongue: wanderlust.

So, along comes Kirsten Hubbard and IMPROVES upon one of my favorite words. Believe it or not, I did not even make the connection to wanderlust and Wanderlove when I first saw the book. I just wanted to read it because I read that Kirsten Hubbard is a young adult author and a travel writer. This basically makes her my hero.

Wanderlove is the story of Bria, a recent high school graduate who has just broken up with her longtime boyfriend Toby. She plans to take an overseas with her two girlfriends, but they tell her they don't think she's ready and back out. But Bria decides to go anyway. She heads to Central America with a travel group, but ends up abandoning them in favor of traveling with two backpackers, Starling and Rowan.

As any good travel writing piece, Wanderlove makes you want to drop your life and run off to Central America. Hubbard is so great with the details of the destinations. She does not just tell you about them -- all five senses are awakened as you see, smell, touch, taste and hear them. Bria (and Kirsten) are artists, so there are some great sketches throughout the book.

Rowan and Bria are both broken characters. They both start traveling to run away from the pain in their pasts and both discover that they learn about themselves through the people and experiences they meet along the way. At points this book felt like it was trying too hard to be deep and meaningful. The insights and life lessons were sometimes too much: too long-winded and too over-stated. But I did like seeing the changes that Bria and Rowan brought about in each other.

Finally, I have not forgotten Wanderlove! Here is how it's described, courtesy of Starling:

"Wanderlust is like itchy feet. It's when you can't settle down. But Wanderlove is much deeper than that. It's a compulsion. It's the difference between lust and love."So, am I in wanderlust or Wanderlove?! Personally, I think I have been in both before and will be in both again. In the meantime, I hope there are books like Wanderlove to keep my spirit traveling between trips.

Wanderlove will be released March 13, 2012. Thank you to Netgalley for provided me with an Advanced Readers Copy.

Matador U

2011-08-03T17:33:00.001-04:00

Go read about my adventures on florence.matadoru.com!

Since I'm doing such a great job keeping this travel blog updated -- yes, that IS sarcasm in use there -- I have decided to start another one!

Okay, what's really happening is that I am finally starting my Matador U Travel Writing Course. I am uber excited about this one! For the next few months I will be learning about the ins and outs of travel writing. I have to upkeep a blog to go along with it, so most likely I will have to ignore this one for a bit and focus on that. If you'd like to keep up with that one, it's also On Wanderlust: http://florence.matadoru.com/.

I will still be updating up my "2011 So Far..." list on this blog, though. I'm really enjoying seeing where all my adventures for the year are taking me, and I hope you are, too!

Road trippin'

2011-06-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

Image from bgsu.edu

I'm taking a mini trip this weekend to see a friend in Naples. Florida, not Italy. I may be going to Naples, Italy next year though! Press your thumbs, as my friend in Germany always says! (It's the same thing as crossing your fingers.) Back but to the trip this weekend: It'll be a nice, sunny (I'm being optimistic, people! The Secret works!) drive to the other side of the state.

When I was in high school, my family drove to visit my sister in college every year. It was about a 14 hour drive, I believe. So every year, I made mix tapes (and I just dated myself!) to help make the trip more bearable.

Later on when I went to college and eventually grad school, I started making mixed CDs (see, we've moved up!) of my own for the trips. I literally made a new one every semester, and they're named things like "Christmas [Insert Year]."

Anyway, I was just thinking about all this. Maybe I'll make a playlist for my iPod (this blog post could just be about upgrades in music technology -- lol!) just for this trip.

What would you put on a road trip playlist?

Flo #Fail

2011-05-07T13:57:00.001-04:00

Yeah, so what I said about writing on this blog more than once every six months....? *cough, cough*

Well, I have been keeping the "2011 So Far" list updated, at least. Can I get a cookie for that?

Seriously, though, I have lots of trips in the works (as always!) so stay tuned...

My Daily Horoscope

2011-02-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

Aries - February 2, 2011

Your innate sense of adventure is active today, Aries. Travel is on your mind. You and some friends may kick around ideas for an unconventional trip to an exotic place, such as sailing to Tahiti. The urge could pass, but it might not. Do some research and find out what your options really are. It might not work out as you visualized, but a little adventure could do you some good.

Source

New Years Eve

2011-01-09T03:15:00.001-05:00

For the second New Years Eve in a row, my Seminoles have led me to another city to ring in the New Year. This year was Atlanta, where they were participating in the Chick-Fil-A bowl against the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

I'd never been to the Chick-Fil-A bowl, and between the parade, Fan Fest and game, I had a blast! The showdown ended with an FSU win right after 11 p.m. This gave me and my friends enough time to make it to our optimal viewing spot for the Peach Drop.

It was pretty cool. It reminded me of the New Years Eve I spent in Berlin, because both then and with this, I was able to enjoy the cities festivities from an apartment overlooking the city.

That got me thinking about different New Years Eve's I've celebrated over the years. Besides the two I just mentioned, I've also rung in the New Year at a friend's apartment with a handful of us, downtown with (what seemed like) everyone in the city, and 3 hours later than the rest of my family and friends. (In 2000, actually, when I was in California.)

What have been your most memorable New Years?

2011

2010-12-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there. Yup. I've stopped by for my once-every-six-months post. Except, it's the end of the year now, and you know what that means. New Years Resolutions! One of my resolutions for 2011 is to write more. As I mentioned in an earlier post, writing & travel are my two great loves. Well, I did a lot of traveling in 2010, but not nearly enough writing.

Here's to a new year!

I'm not going to promise that I'll be posting here everyday, as I went from no blogs to now 4 blogs in about a month. But I am going to try. And hopefully that will get me farther than before.

Here are some great trips I have planned for 2011 thus far: The Land Down Under, two weddings, a movie set visit, a celebrity cruise and a theme trip out West. Intrigued? Well stayed tuned! You can hear all about them right here at On Wanderlust.

Elizabeth Gilbert is ON KEY!

2010-11-09T13:55:00.003-05:00

"Still, despite all this, traveling is the great true love of my life. I have always felt, ever since I was sixteen years old and first went to Russia with my saved-up babysitting money, that to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel, as I have not always been loyal and constant in my other loves. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless, newborn baby--I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me."
~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love (emphases are my own)

Split open

2010-07-09T11:40:00.001-04:00

"Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open." Natalie Goldberg

"Travel and writing are my two lovers."

2010-06-06T01:46:00.001-04:00

Let's try this again.

I have attempted to keep up with a blog a few times now. The first one constituted me rambling about my life, and it had a pretty decent run. The second was created solely to motivate me to write. I showed it to no one, and it slithered into obscurity after my task was complete.

But next week, I set out again. This time -- Spain.

While searching some old emails, I found an update I had written to an old friend. In explaining what I'd been up to, I prefaced: "Travel and writing are my two lovers."

So, perhaps, a blog where I write about my travels will stick. Hopefully this blog will inspire the wanderlust within me, as well as prime the words I hold within myself.

We'll see how it goes.

Next stop: Spain.