Topics

Jun

Quaintness, Rudeness, and Bad Food

by Joyce McGreevy on June 5, 2017

An urban view of the Grand Canal, Dublin counters cultural stereotypes of Ireland as “quaint” and “rural.” (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Beyond quaintness and cottages: This, too, is Ireland.
© Joyce McGreevy

A Travel Guide to Cultural Stereotypes

“Do people in Ireland talk normal?” the 13-year-old girl asked me. “You know, do they say things like cowabunga?” As cultural stereotypes go, this was one of the more intriguing. I’d never thought of cowabunga as a barometer of normality.

Cowabunga is a bundle of cultural stereotypes. Considered surfer slang, it’s a word no real surfer would utter. But actors playing surfers on Gidget, a popular ‘60s TV show, used it frequently. In the ‘90s, animated series like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons resurrected cowabunga. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Life Lessons/Stereotypes/Worldwide Sites

May

Best Trips: Zagreb

by Joyce McGreevy on May 22, 2017

The beautiful entrance of the Moderna Galerija in Croatia’s capital shows why one of the best trips you can take is in one of Europe’s most underrated travel destinations, Zagreb. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Zagreb’s details delight the eye.
© Joyce McGreevy

Lingering in Croatia’s Capital

Do your neighbors include dragons, Romantic poets, and the ghost of Nikolas Tesla? If so, you must be in Zagreb—one of Europe’s most underrated travel destinations.

Croatia’s capital is one of the best trips you can take without dreaming. A place where you exit a museum on a three-story slide, check the time by the noon cannon, and stroll through a traditional market that featured in a Jackie Chan movie.

Zagreb is not your average city. Read more...

Joyce McGreevy 2 Comments

Art of Travel/Croatia/Discoveries

May

Travel Adventures in the Friendly(?) Skies

by Meredith Mullins on May 15, 2017

Plane flying through clouds, offering travel adventures and air travel stories of the memorable kind. (Image © Artem Tryhub/iStock.)

Air Travel Stories to Remember

Air travel customer disasters have peppered the news lately.

A passenger was dragged off an overbooked United flight, a fist fight erupted between two Southwest Airlines passengers, a woman was hit with her baby’s stroller as an American Airlines flight attendant tried to wrestle it away from her. The flight attendant later said “Bring it on” to a passenger who tried to intervene on the woman’s behalf.

We tend to remember the horror stories—the headline makers as well as the travel adventures we have suffered through personally. Read more...

Meredith Mullins Comments

Adventure Travel/Africa/Nepal/Rides (Land, Sea, Air)/USA

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