Disqus - Latest Comments for soultravelers3

Re: Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media: lessons from #followmeatsea

toddlucier — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:47:44 -0000

Hi Jeanne, thanks for stopping by. I did catch the blog post you mentioned, didn't feel it added anything to the story I wrote.

Re: Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media: lessons from #followmeatsea

soultravelers3 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:42:07 -0000

Great points Todd! Too bad you missed Madador Networks post on this topic, "Should travel writers care about their environmental impact?"

I think it was the most honest of ALL the posts on this topic and looks at the deeper issues of integrity, comped travel for writers, social media, and environmental issues.

THAT ..."Should travel writers care about their environmental impact?" is THE most important question and surprisingly few are willing to answer it.

Should travel writers who say they care about the environment do freebie press trips tweeting fluffy travel porn that help Billion dollar corporations promote the least sustainable method of travel on the planet?

As Julie wisely asks:

*Is a 5.5 hour tour of the cruise ship led by people who clearly have a stake in presenting the ship in the best light really going to produce compelling evidence about the “REAL environmental impact” of cruising?

It's great that Princess cruises does not have the worst record of Mega-cruise companies and works hard at their "greenwash" spin, but even if it was the greenest Mega-cruise company around (which it is not), that does not change the FACT that Mega-cruise ships do great harm to the environment and are the least sustainable travel method.

We have seen the damage first hand and even my child at six could see this obvious fact. When will travel writers start educating the public in honest ways? I can understand your average 50 something Mega-cruise lover raving about their cruise and being blind to the facts, just as I understand many cigarette smokers who love to smoke and think any thing written against smoking is nonsense. To each his own.

Just as writers have tried to educate the public about the harm of smoking, don't travel writers have an obligation to educate the public about what are the least sustainable travel methods that are destroying many fabulous travel destinations?

Re: #followfriday – Part III – Travel People on Twitter

soultravelers3 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:35:18 -0000

Great list! Thanks so much for including us! I always enjoy what you do Stephen Joyce! We are not quite back to Spain for our 4th winter, but still loving our open ended world tour as a family as we enter our 4th year.

Re: Musee D’Orsay, You Don’t Say!

soultravelers3 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:35:44 -0000

I could'nt agree more! Even a 6 year old can enjoy the many wonderful museums in Paris...ours did! The key is to gear the visits to kids timing and prepare them before hand with kid's books on the topic and add a fun park or kid treat before and after.

If you buy them a fun journal book at the museum shop and let them draw & write about what they see, it not only buys more time for the adults to linger, but makes a precious memoir forever!

Re: Preparing Kids for a Trip: Read! Read! Read!

soultravelers3 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:31:48 -0000

Oh, this is right up my alley since our family world tour is primarily to educate our young child & we are all bookaholics! Here are a few we've used- Around the World with Phineas Frog & Babar's World Tour , The Boy Who Held Back the Sea in the Netherlands,Tales from the Odyssey & D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths for Greek Islands & ancient sites in Turkey including Troy.

Michelangelo's Surprise for Florence & Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook for Venice, Harry Potter books & Royal Diaries for UK, Trumpeter of Krakow made that city extra special, Bram Stoker's Dracula for Romania etc,

Re: Rob Long: Thoughts on Old Media, New Media

soultravelers3 — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:40:14 -0000

It IS a great way to travel and most miss the joys! We did it as a family though not in that direction, just on a big freighter. We did not do it to write, just an excuse to learn more about life on our open ended world tour. Enjoy!

Re: When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.

soultravelers3 — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:40:09 -0000

So very true! One of the things I hope my young daughter gets out of our open ended world tour is to know how lucky she is and how to contribute to the planet by living a simple, green life. Kids in America just have too much stuff and I wanted her raised in more simplicity.

So sorry to hear about your water problem. Thanks for your creativity in making this a valuable, thought provoking heads up to conditions on this planet that we all mostly ignore.

Re: The Obama Plan:Fiasco Potential is High

soultravelers3 — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:44:57 -0000

Yes, indeed! We have been in Europe mostly for the last 3 years and the difference in mass transit is staggering. The U.S. is so far behind in this area.

"Alot of the country now lives in a home that’s too big, in a town too far from work"... crazy, given that oil prices will be sky-high again"

Why is common sense so uncommon?

Re: louisgray.com: 10 Pointers for Generating Traffic to Your Blog

Soultravelers3 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:08:08 -0000

Excellent! Thank you very much. I just found this on Twitter through my friend @elliottng and am so glad that I read it and "discovered" you. I will be reading more!

Re: I Heart... Christmas Lights

Soultravelers3 — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:38:16 -0000

Loved the photo of the star lights!

We really love the sweet decorations and lights here in our 15th century white village in Andalucia where we are wintering for the 3rd year in a row. Very different from home but very sweet and suits the ocean views, T-shirt weather and snow capped mountains all around.

Re: Daily Travel Photo - Queenstown, New Zealand

soultravelers3 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:54:10 -0000

OMG! We all love roller coasters and traveling the world, but you sure are not going to see me do this at my age! Not with my vertigo....which already has been challenged to the max on our family RTW!

Now if I can just keep my daughter from doing it as she is fearless and loves thrills. ;)

You go Gary!

Re: MuchaCostaRica.Com - Photo Friday: Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

Marina5 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:10:24 -0000

My parents just got back from spain and they fell soooooo in love with it, I'm trying to get my husband to take me there ;-)

Re: Could Twitter’s transcendent clarity trump Facebook?

Soultravelers3 — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:11:18 -0000

Yes, I couldn't agree more! Twitter works because it is the easiest and more valuable social media tool. I am traveling around the world on an open ended journey with my family and just don't have time for more time consuming mediums.

I belong to quite a few, but twitter makes it easiest for me, so that is the one I use most. I would like to put my blog into 140 characters! ;) Stumbleupon is my other favorite social media site, again because of its value for time put into it.

I check twitter before email or anything else and find value & connection no matter what continent I am on or what time of day. I can stay connected even if I happen to only have a few moments of free wifi while roaming the world.

Sadly, I would have missed it entirely had we not decided to take this world tour. It has amazed me that we have learned as much about the web2.0 world as we have the real world in the last 3 years of our unique family journey.

It will be interesting to see how it unfolds as more people find it.

Re: MuchaCostaRica.Com - Photo Friday: Poas Volcano, Costa Rica

soultravelers3 — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:24:56 -0000

Looks like another fabulous volcano to see on our open ended world tour! We travel slow and are in Spain now, so it will be a while, but looks like a fabulous place to be so we will eventually get there, probably after our long stays in Africa and South America.

Thanks for your comment on twitpics about our photo on Photo Fridays! Nice to meet you!

Re: Photo Friday: Storm Clouds over Lake Tahoe

soultravelers3 — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:29:05 -0000

Go cross country skiing in Tahoe, it is peaceful even at the most crowded time and yet a world unto itself. Views from the top on a sunny, white winters day down to the lake are stunning. Thanks for the memories.

Re: Photo Friday: the Backbone of the World

soultravelers3 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:37:45 -0000

I enjoyed your photo and post! It reminds me a little of parts of Andalusia!

Re: Your Questions Answered - Plane or Car for Travels with Baby

soultravelers3 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:35:20 -0000

Good one! We did all traveling by car with out daughter when she was a baby and toddler. She always hated the carseat ( from birth!) so it was a challenge, but we managed.

We did a lot of traveling at night as soon as she was asleep. We also had a pillow case filled with small toys and books to pass to her to keep her occupied when confined in car seat.

Re: Best Chocolate Desserts

soultravelers3 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:24:41 -0000

Mmmm, love it!

You can just never have too much good chocolate can you? We just visited the chocolate factory in Kohn Germany with a fountain of free chocolate! Had a sublime chocolate banana creme pie in Rothenburg recently and adored the chocolate overkill in Brugge our first fall of our world trip:

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2006/09/more-choc...

I can not tell you how much wonderful chocolate we have sampled on our open ended world tour. Still, I think my favorite is from Gayles bakery in our home town of Santa Cruz...truly the best Chocolate mouse cake in the world!

http://www.gaylesbakery.com/index.html

Re: Interview With Traveling Mama Angelina Hart

soultravelers3 — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:27:12 -0000

Great interview! I really enjoyed reading it and agree with so much, especially how important slow travel is and allowing kids to immerse deeply. Yes, playing in dirt and gravel or with local kids is a must!

Funny though, we have a little opera and Shakespeare lover who has been seeing adult performances of these since she was 18 months old by her request. Seeing opera in Salzburg, Vienna and Shakespeare at the Globe in London have been highlights for her!

So not all young children will sleep through them. Certainly following your child's lead is what is important.

We have had a blast making our Youtube videos as we travel the world as a family, so I really understand that pleasure and how other children and families enjoy and learn from them!

http://www.youtube.com/user/soultravelers3

Can't wait to see where your next location is! Hope it is Europe, Africa or South America, so we might get a chance to meet up with you, Angelina!!

Funny, but we are in Germany right now in gorgeous Rothenburg...heading south! Thanks for stopping by our website, Desert mama as your post brought me here! Glad you are feeling better!!

Re: Interview with a Traveling Mama - Kim Allen-Niesen

soultravelers3 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:29:28 -0000

Wow, another great Traveling Mama post on a very interesting traveling mama! I really could relate to so much that was said.

Have you seen this source?

http://www.bookstoreguide.org/

We are bookstore and library fanatics, even my child acts like she has found a candy store when we find good ones. ;) We have written some reviews on that site and it is a handy site too for travelers.

Might I suggest Turkey to Kim for her ancient civilizations tour coming up? We did a 7 month ancient civilizations tour last year so have lots of info about such on our Soultravelers3 site.

Americans do not tend to think of Turkey, but it is cheap ( LOTS cheaper than Italy with the dollar bound to keep tanking) and they have more Roman and Greek ruins that Greece or Italy. It is also really easy to do independently and the warmest hospitality we have ever encountered.

Re: Best Travel Socks

soultravelers3 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:19:03 -0000

They are cute! BUT we are converts to our Smartwool socks. They are fabulous! Maybe not as cute, but warm in winter, cool in summer, soooo comfy. Best of all, hubby and I have been wearing ONE pair for going on 3 years now during our world tour.

Kidlet would be wearing hers too, but they were lost in the Sahara overnight somehow. Hmm, maybe a camel ate it. ;)

Re: Mamas on the Move: BlogWorldExpo 08

soultravelers3 — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:48:21 -0000

Looks like you had a fantastic time! Wish I could have been there! Thanks for twittering and blogging about it...for us left behind. ;) ( There are some disadvantages of traveling the world) ;)

Re: Las Vegas, Here We Come: Mamas Hit Blog World Expo

Soultravelers3 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:25:59 -0000

Wow, I am jealous! Have a great time and say hello to everyone from me!!

Poor me, I am stuck here in Sweden. ;)Not too shabby, I know, so I should not complain. Still, don't you sometimes wish you could be in 2 places at once?

Guess you will have to have the fun for all of us that won't be there. ;)

Re: Interview with a Traveling Mama - Jamie Pearson

Soultravelers3 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:12:30 -0000

How nice to see 5 of my favorite traveling mamas here!! Great interview with a funny lady!

I had to laugh in recognition at the souvenirs and haircuts. We have to get our hair cut on the road and we never know what we are going to end up with. lol.

Luckily on our open ended world tour, we can only get miniature souvenirs. This year pins are working out well! ;) Still our mini traveling mama kidlet never met a souvenir store that she did not like. LOL!

Thanks for the giggles! Waving from Sweden to you two traveling mama's in my old neck of the woods!

Re: So you want to start a travel blog?

soultravelers3 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:07:55 -0000

Oh, so true! Just keeping up with the pictures that one takes on this kind of a journey is a full time job and hard to do on the road while moving! We are starting our 3rd year of travel as a family and still trying to figure this all out.

It really helps if one is a geek ( we are not). We never set out to have a successful travel blog, so it can happen even to those who are clueless. LOL! I think it is really about finding your niche.

It is far too much work for a short trip, that is for sure. Good content is always the key, but harder to do on the move.

I have to give you kudos for your podcasts! More than what we want to take on, but we are enjoying Youtube and our success there.

If one is on a long extended, open ended world tour as we both are, a travel website and all that goes with that is a fun , creative outlet! Also one learns a lot of great information to pass on....one becomes an expert in a field many are interested in.

We have enjoyed sharing our story with schools and homeschoolers and are thrilled to be taking disadvantaged kids this year from schools in NYC through a non-profit. More work though, so we will see how that goes! ;) Um....I thought I was suppose to be early retired. lol.