| Jun 29, 2012 |
| Guide Books for Young Travelers |
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| A terrific book recently fell into my hands; a copy of KidsGo! London. In my years of travel, I've experienced the delight of cracking open a fresh guidebook many times. I remember the first one I ever purchased, Lonely Planet's Nepal Guide, and how I savoured it for weeks leading up to my trip. |
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So naturally, I love the idea of a guidebook designed to help young travelers feel that same anticipation and excitement about an upcoming trip. This is not a "how-to" guide for parents traveling with small children, it's a book for older kids to claim as their own. Armed with information about appealing museums, shopping areas, historical sights, family walks, playgrounds and kid-friendly attractions, KidsGo! encourages kids and young teens to be active participants in trip-planning. Anything that nurtures the travel bug in children is a good thing, in my books!
The slim volume presents just enough information to engage young travelers in decision-making without overwhelming them with choices. (And there are links to attraction websites for those wanting to learn more.) The illustrated maps are easy to read and give young minds a good understanding of the city's layout.
I picked up the London guide because I'm hoping to take my two kids to the British capital to visit their Auntie sometime in the next couple years and want the kids to be a part of the trip-planning. But there are similar KidsGo! guides for Hong Kong, New York, Phuket, Bali and Sydney.
If you've got children and are planning to take a private tour in one of these destinations, I suggest picking up a copy of KidsGo! and then encourage your child to help design an itinerary along with you and your guide. It's a great way to pull everyone into the excitement of an upcoming trip. |
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| Jun 26, 2012 |
| Five Delicious Reasons to Come to Peru |
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| Eating new and unfamiliar foods is one of the great joys of traveling and a wonderful way to explore a different culture. We love it when guides find creative ways to include local food and drink into a tour, whether through cooking classes, a stroll through a local market, or sampling street food and drinks. |
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Aaron a passionate “foodie” guide in Lima, Peru has taken culinary tours to the next level by throwing open the doors of his mother’s kitchen to visitors. (You can read more about that tour here.) Today he’s going to tell us a bit about Peruvian food, including five dishes he thinks every traveler should try.
Peru is becoming well known around the world for its products and food. The people who lived in Lima in 100 B.C. used to worship the wheals and the Pacific Ocean was the major food resource. Today Peru grows around 500 different kinds of potatoes, while asparagus and quinoa cereal (increasingly popular in North America) is exported around the world. Our yellow and purple corn surprises people by its size and taste. And then we have the Aji, our Peruvian chilies that are not just hot but flavorful.
In some point during my life I fell in love with Peruvian food. From my Mother’s kitchen I understood that one of the things that enriches my heart is to see how people enjoy every dish of Peru’s gastronomy. Below, I’m going to share with you five of my favourite Peruvian dishes:
CHICHA MORADA - Purple corn drink
Before starting any tour you must have enough energy for the walking. I always love to start by drinking a glass of refreshing Chicha Morada, a combination of purple corn, cinnamon, cloves and pineapple gives an original and natural taste.
PAPA A LA HUANCAINA – Potatoes in a Peruvian sauce
I think the huancaina sauce can be combined with any potato: white, yellow or native ones. Here in Peru we have around 500 kinds of possible potatoes to mix. To prepare the sauce we use green chilies, crackers, milk, fresh cheese and oil. Huancaina shares the name of the region it’s from, a 12 hour train ride from Lima, spectacular views in an unforgettable train trip.
CEVICHE – Raw fish marinated in key lime juice
The best place to have an original ceviche is along the coast of Peru, where the white fish we use to prepare this dish usually have been fished out of the ocean the same day. Can you find something more fresh than that? To prepare this spectacular dish we need white fish cut in pieces, onions, garlic, aji, key lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.
ARROZ CON POLLO – Chicken with rice
Parsley and cilantro are the two principal ingredients for this dish, they gave the flavor and color to the rice, the green aji give the final touch, but do not be afraid! These chilies are not making this dish hot at all. Carrots, peas and corn are part of the garnish. Personally I love the leg from the chicken - let me know if you like it too when you book the tour!
PISCO SOUR
The grapes arrived in Peru in the 16th century via the Canary Islands, and the perfect place to grow them was the desert lands of Ica. The climate was appropriate to grow a quality of grape perfect to produce a distillation named Pisco. A Pisco Sour is the perfect way to finish a long day tour. I am always in charge of making it for all of my guests. To prepare it I mix Pisco, simple syrup, key lime juice, ice, bitters and egg whites.
Are you hungry already? The variety of dishes is truly diverse around the country: I invite you to visit and taste the flavors of Peru.
Aaron has just introduced a new culinary tour in Lima - you can read all about here: Aaron's Gastronomy Tour. |
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| Jun 22, 2012 |
| Amsterdam Guide Meet-Up |
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| We have a lovely group of local guides in Amsterdam, who had "met" each other online, but not in person. Last week they decided to get together for an evening of shared drinks (courtesy of the TBL office team) and conversation. |
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Vincent, Frank, Karen, Frances and Yvonne met up in the centre of Amsterdam, at an atmospheric café named "De Waag" (weigh house - you can see it in the photos above). Yvonne told us that it was originally a city gate and part of the old walls of Amsterdam. In the past, the building also served as a guildhall, museum and anatomical theatre.
The guides learned that while they are all passionate local experts on their city, their tours are markedly different from one another. Some focus more on art, some on history, some on multi-culturalism, some on food...when you meet up with one of these local guides, you get to harvest the fruits of a lifetime of learning!
They also gave us some great feedback on how the ToursByLocals system is working for them, and what could be changed to make it even better. We thoroughly appreciate the thoughtful suggestions. And we're so glad that we've been able to facilitate the starts of more friendships - not just between guides and travelers, but among the guides themselves.
The Amsterdam guides have already planned to meet up again, and hopefully the missing guides (Stefka, Rino and René) will be a part of that gathering. |
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| Jun 19, 2012 |
| Go Big or Go Home: Why You Can't Miss Hawaii's Big Island |
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| Hawaii has been described as “nature at its most luscious.” No eye-rolling: it really is true! Anyone who has taken a trip to these emerald islands, rooted in the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean, and tickled by warm wafts of hibiscus-scented air, tends to agree: Hawaii really is paradise. |
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One of our newest guides hails from Hilo on Hawaii’s Big Island (Hawai’i), a place deserving perhaps even more superlatives than the rest of Hawaii. The Big Island really is big: it is twice the size of the other Hawaiian Islands combined. It’s also incredibly diverse, boasting nearly every one of the earth’s ecological zones. We’re not done yet: Hawai’i is home to five of the largest and most active volcanoes on earth, including the immense and dramatic Mauna Loa and Kilauea. The Big Island has many well-preserved cultural sites and being the birthplace of Kamehameha, the Great Ruler, it acts as a spiritual home to many Hawaiians.
Scott is our guide on the Big Island. While he’s new to ToursByLocals, he’s not new to the guiding profession, and is experienced at leading small, personal tours around the South and East parts of Hawai’i. Scott is understandably proud of his home, calling it: “the most spectacular place on earth” and he admits to having a bit of an obsession with “showing off this amazing island to as many folks as possible.” We get it! If we lived on Scott’s island, we’d probably want to show it off too.
The only thing travelers find lacking in Hawai’i is time! There will never be time enough to explore all of the island’s ancient stone heiau, lava deserts, steaming craters, fertile rain forests, coastal communities, black sand beaches and welcoming towns. But even if your time is short, Scott will help you make the most of it (although he doesn’t promise you won’t want to come back for more!)
Here’s hoping you’ll be saying “Aloha” sometime soon! |
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