London, England

The Island of Dominica

The Amateur Traveler talks to Brad Hugg soon to be the host of the Colorado Podcast about his state. He talks about the citieson teh frontal range and gives us a great circle route that takes in 14ers (peaks over 14 thousand feet), huge sand dunes, buttes, Mesa Verde, and the ski resorts near the continental divide.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jose from Caracas Venezuela about a recent trip to Bhutan. Learn about this remote country in the himalayas. Jose, a friend, a tour guide and a drive explored a small portion of the beautiful country on a 5 day trip. They hiked to Buddhist monasteries, watched the national sport (archery) and even saw the youngest king in the world. The flight in may be harrowing but the country itself is peaceful.

The Amateur Traveler talks to George Wendt from Oars.com about white water rafting down the Grand Canyon which is one of Chris’s dream vacations. The Grand Canyon can be traversed in motor pontoon boats, oars rafts, paddle boats or dories. Each has different advantages and disadvantages. The water is fast and cold and the rapids get up to class 5. All the while you are drifting through one of the wonders of the world with massive red stone walls on either side. You come around the corner and are surprised by waterfalls and a green oasis. You explore the side canyons where you can see fossils and the ruins of the ancient people who called this canyon home.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Sam Oppenheim who makes a rare 4th appearance on the show to talk about Bali in Indonesia. Sam started his exploration of Bali in Ubud which is the cultural capital of the area. He met two of the people mentioned in the popular book Eat, Pray, Love: Wayan and Ketut Liyer. In Ubud he attended some of the traditional Balinese dances (Legong, Barong and Kecak). Sam explored the Hindu temples and the resort area of Kuta Beach with its famous nightlife, dove a ship wreck and explored the island by motorcycle. Sam’s does regret was not getting down to Nusa Dua on the southern tip with its wonderful sunsets or out to Komodo.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Christine Cantera about her time living in the Languedoc region of France in the city Montpellier. Montpellier is sometimes called the San Francisco of France. Christine shares with us a few thoughts about cafes, bars, which museums are worth it (and which aren’t), beaches, fortified cities, when to visit, and the one day of the year when nobody in France gets any work done. She discusses what are her favorite 3 places to see in Languedoc including one seaside town that still has jousts but with a very nautical twist.

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Show Notes

France Travel Guide
Montpellier
Languedoc
Jardin des plantes de Montpellier
Le Petit Train Touristique du Centre Historique
Languedoc wine
Le Jardin du Champs de Mars
Paparazzi
La Dolce Vita
Aigues-Mortes
Carcassonne
Parc naturel régional de Camargue
Musee Fabre
Antigone District
Palavas-les-Flots
Sète
Nîmes
Beaujolais nouveau
Bar le Saint-Roch
MissExpatria’s photostream

Community

Sam was looking for a show on Malta
Don't use the first LukeDon’t use the first Luke

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kara Williams of TheVacationGals.com about Aspen, Colorado. Like so many locals who live in that area of Colorado, Kara came for the winters but stayed for the summers. She tells us about this historic silver-mining town that is better known as a winter playground for the wealthy now than for its mining past. Whether you are skiing, hiking or fly fishing it has a wealth of outdoor activities. It offers great, if not always inexpensive, food and a wealth of artistic events set in a gorgeous mountain valley. Kara describes side trips to the Ghost towns of Ashcroft and Independence, to the continental divide at Independence Pass and to the caves at The Grottos. She also tells you whether the Aspen Crud is something you want to get. Aspen also hosts festivals as diverse as the Aspen Institute, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, the Aspen Music Festival and School and Aspen Summer Words.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Lash from LashWorldTour.com about the Island of Java in the nation of Indonesia. She cycled through the countryside and visited the major cities of this populous island in Indonesia.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Photographer Ralph Velasco about two of his favorite cities in Spain, Toledo and Segovia. Both Toledo and Segovia are a short distance from Madrid and both offer interesting and historically significant cities with UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The Amateur Traveler talks to to Gary Arndt about the 4 micro-states in Europe: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino.  "They all have very unique histories and the one thing that they are all very small"

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jim Lutz from Via Adventures about the Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. "The Galapagos has to be one of the most unique and wonderful wildlife destinations in the world."

The Amateur Traveler talks to Amber, an American Tour Guide in London, about her adopted city. Amber is an American expat from London who now takes people on walking tours of London.

Hear about travel to London as the Amateur Traveler talks to Amber from americantourguideinlondon.com. In this second part of a two part episode on London

Hear about travel to Macedonia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kelsey of CineTraveler.com about her recent trip to this country in the Balkans. Macedonia is just north of Greece and probably best known as the home for Alexander the Great but Kelsey found much more to recommend in this much too overlooked country. In a week they were able to see much of the country.

Hear about trekking in Ecuador’s Quilotoa Loop as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kim Mance about her recent trip to that country. Kim spent 3 weeks in Ecuador including one week on the Quilotoa Loop.

Hear about travel to Indonesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to repeat guest Chris Willis about his trip to Indonesia. The main objective of Chris’s trip was to photograph Komodo dragons in the wild. Komodo dragons live on 2-3 islands which are not near any airport so getting there is half the experience.

Hear about travel to Düsseldorf, Germany as the Amateur Traveler talks to Erik and Anne Hess about this city on the Rhine. Carnival, Christmas Markets and one of the most livable cities in the world.

Hear about travel to Denver, Colorado as the Amateur Traveler talks to Lance Longwell from TravelAdicts.net about his home town, the "Mile High City". Denver is the capital of the state of Colorado and sits where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains.

Hear about travel to Orlando, Florida as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jason Cochran who is the editor of Frommers.com and the editor to the Frommer's Guide to Orlando Florida about vacationing in America's favorite destination spot. We talk about Walt Disney World, the increasingly popular Universal Studios, with a mention of some of the other things to do in Orlando.

Hear about hiking Japan's Nakasendo Trail as the Amateur Traveler talks to Dave Grenewetzki about his experiences on this trip into the Japanese countryside between Kyoto and Tokyo.

A special live episode of the Amateur Traveler with three guests, Aaron Saunders, Jonathan Souza and Mary Quincy talking about the recent VikingSocial, Viking River Cruise on the Douro River in Portugal.

Hear about travel to El Salvador as the Amateur Traveler talks to Joe Baur of joebaur.com about his recent visit to this Central American country.

Hear about travel to the Dominican Republic as the Amateur Traveler talks to guidebook author and travel writer Lebawit Lily Girma who is working on the Moon Guide to the Dominican Republic.

Hear about travel to the Dordogne region of France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Laurence Norah about this region known for it's picturesque villages and castles. 

Hear about travel to Loja and Southern Ecuador as the Amateur Traveler talks to Lily Ann Fouts about her visit to this lesser known region of Ecuador. 

Hear about travel to Barbados as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jane and Duncan from totraveltoo.com about the time they spent on the island recently.

Hear about travel to New Caledonia as the Amateur Traveler talks to CJ Johnson from the MOVIELAND ABC Radio Show and Podcast about his recent trip to this part of France in the South Pacific.

Hear about travel to Lombok in Indonesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jason Andrew Jenkins from AnEpicEducation.com about his family's recent 5 week trip to this island paradise.

Hear about travel to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Luke Mackin from wildsumatra.com about this far-flung destination he now calls home.

Hear about visiting Universal Orlando Resort as the Amateur Traveler talks to Eric Stoen from travelbabbo.com about he and his kids favorite theme parks.

Hear about travel to Southwest Colorado as the Amateur Traveler talks to Kelly Beasley and Marshall Wendler about road trips they have made to Durango and Silverton.

Hear about hiking the Kumano Koto trek in Japan as the Amateur Traveler talks to Sherry Ott about her experience on this trail that was used by medieval emperors on the Kii Peninsula. 

Hear about travel to Lombok in Indonesia as the Amateur Traveler talks to Jason Andrew Jenkins from AnEpicEducation.com about his family's recent 5 week trip to this island paradise.

Hear about travel to Moldova as the Amateur Traveler talks to Christina Lutcan from findingelevation.com about her country of origin.

Hear about places to visit in Ecuador on your Ecuador vacation as the Amateur Traveler talks to Keenan Ennis about this country that he now calls home.

Hear about walking the South Downs Way in England as the Amateur Traveler talks to Aaron Millar about this week-long trek.

If you love to travel and have a few million spare dollars, you can buy a condo on any of several luxury cruise ships and live there year-round, taking your home with you as you sail around the world.

The mainstream media is still a powerful entity in America, even as its influence wanes in favor of social media. The evidence of this has come again in recent polls that show Republican Gov. Rob DeSantis’ slipping poll numbers in Florida versus Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s rising numbers in New York. And the curious part…

The post Media Lies at Work: As NY Deaths Go Up, So Do Cuomo’s Polls – As FL Deaths Go Down, So Do DeSantis’ Polls appeared first on The Western Journal.

At a cost of $7.5 million a patient, they were 16 very expensive field hospitals. Yet, according to NPR, those hospitals are now “stand[ing] down.” You probably remember them from headlines early in the pandemic: makeshift medical centers being assembled at breakneck speed by companies contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers in anticipation of…

The post After Treating Barely Any Patients for a Massive $7.5 Million Each, 16 Emergency COVID Hospitals Are Standing Down appeared first on The Western Journal.

Eleven members of the Secret Service have tested positive for COVID-19, according a new report. Yahoo News reported Friday it has seen Department of Homeland Security documents which show that 11 individuals currently have the virus and that 23 members of the Secret Service have recovered from the disease. Another 60 employees of the agency…

The post Report: Secret Service Discovers Nearly a Dozen Coronavirus Cases in Its Own Ranks appeared first on The Western Journal.

Andrew Yang has dropped out, which means the presidential campaign just got a lot less fun (you must watch this appreciation from The Recount, embedded above). The race also lost a credible and important voice on issues related to the impact of technology on our society.  The fact that Yang’s campaign didn’t make it past … Continue reading "For Now, America Just Doesn’t Want to Think That Hard"

A man is in custody following a six-hour standoff in eastern Prince Edward Island that started when police responded to a domestic dispute that quickly escalated when officers learned the suspect could be armed.

Record-breaking high and low temperatures were recorded in parts of Canada going into the weekend, including the nearly 28 C recorded in the Squamish area of British Columbia and the -4.2 C recorded in Kitchener, Ont.

"We're writing off too many people," Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) says in "Immigration Battle," a feature film presentation from FRONTLINE and Independent Lens that airs tonight on PBS.

Between the infamous Peloton commercial, the wild Boyhood wannabe that ended up being a Subway ad, and the endless #girlboss marketing reminding you that even women can be part of the capitalist machine, 2019 was a year for advertising. 

But nothing quite tops this one, which was released in September but resurfaced in a viral tweet on Friday.  

The ad starts off with a bleak statistic: women hold just 10 percent of all patented inventions. Then, it pans over to a delightful montage of ambitious young women. Each one is filmed preparing for their career goals, from mixing delicate chemicals in a laboratory to carefully testing the consistency of soil.  Read more...

Guy Fieri — one of the most popular celebrity chefs— has spent nearly 15 years starring in and hosting entertaining culinary shows. But one of Fieri's favorite things to watch on television isn't food-focused. It's the workplace comedy, The Office.

That's right, the Mayor of Flavortown is obsessed with the employees of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch. And much to his delight, he recently got to team up with one of the show's former stars, John Krasinski, to help lift spirits and raise money for restaurant workers in need.

Fieri guest starred on the potluck episode of Some Good News, in which Krasinski invited famous chefs to cook viewer-submitted recipes on video chat. Fieri made a "Dynamite," which has Big Sloppy Joe Energy. And then Krasnski surprised him by announcing a $3 million PepsiCo donation to his Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, which provides financial assistance to restaurant workers impacted coronavirus. Read more...

The internet is a scary enough place as it is, and now with the added misinformation and panic surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, it's even scarier. Thanks to the United Nations and dozens of artists, however, the internet just got a little more beautiful. 

In late March, the UN put a call out to artists to help combat the spread of COVID-19. They sought creatives to create content around six areas of WHO and UN priority actions: personal hygiene, social distancing, knowing the symptoms, spreading kindness, myth-busting, and doing more/donating. Tens of thousands of artists answered the call in two weeks, and now the COVID-19 Response Creative Content Hub is available for browsing.  Read more...

In a startling turn for a robot that has long haunted your dreams, Boston Dynamics' Spot has been tasked to encourage healthy behavior. 

According to the Straits Times, the robot "dog" has been assigned to patrol the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park in Singapore with the express purpose of encouraging social distancing. 

"Let's keep Singapore healthy," sounds a recording from the robot as it trots by two terrified people relaxing on a park bench in the above video. "For your own safety, and those around you, please stand at least one meter apart. Thank you."

Notably, Spot's jaunt is part of a two-week trial that began Friday. The robot will supposedly not collect any personal information on the people it admonishes.  Read more...

Last year, when we felt interest in artificial intelligence (AI) was approaching a fever pitch, we created a survey to ask about AI adoption. When we analyzed the results, we determined the AI space was in a state of rapid change, so we eagerly commissioned a follow-up survey to help find out where AI stands […]