R

• R&R

Traveling is not a vacation. Vacations include lots of mindless activities and ice cold beverages. When you spend 3 days sitting on a beach, reading a good book, watching the sunset, then you know you are vacationing. When you plan full days of museum visiting, monument hunting, city walking and gift shopping, then you know you are traveling. After most of my travels I would need a vacation. It is exhausting running around Paris for 6 days making sure to catch every important site and photo op. So what did I do? Spent 3 days bathing in Budapest recovering my wits and strength. R&R is crucial to a person's life, I'm pretty sure it can extend it by a couple of years. So when you are planning a trip to Europe or Asia remember to plan a little R&R weekend for when you return. Hit the beach, hit the spa, hit your couch, just make sure you hit something that reclines.

• Roma

I already did I:Italy but I felt like Rome, capitol of the world, deserved its own post. Here's a tip: Rome wasn't built in a day, so your trip won't be either. There is far too much to see and do and experience in Rome, but it all must be done. Period. So pace yourself. And eat lots of gelatto. Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Palazzo Navona, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Trastevere, Villa Borghese, The Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, Bocca della Verita. Don't let the names of the places misguide you. Each place can take up to half a day to explore and get the full experience from (plus get you more bang for your buck.) Rome is crazy. The street vendors with the knock-off bags and sunglasses get in your face, old Italian men whistle, tourists are everywhere. Take a moment from the chaos to sit on a park

bench and breathe and remember where you are and all that has happened in that one city. Let me tell you, you will need it. I don't care how you get there just DO! Let the antiquity and beauty of Rome and Italy fill you up and overwhelm you.

• Research

I know it feels like it is all I talk about, but research really is key to understanding where we will be headed, what the culture is like, who the people are. Of course, research can only take you so far however it is a good, and necessary, starting point. Plus, if you know a bit of the history, some language phrases, the city layout, it helps you look less tourist-y and less of a target, which is always nice. Travel books are always a smart read though sometimes a bit to hefty to take around especially if you are traveling to many different countries. A great thing is that most travel books host online sites where you can just print whatever information you want (sometimes you have to purchase pages but they are really cheap), making it easier to cart around the world. (And if you are a travel nerd like me, helpful when writing down notes about history, art or culture about the host country.) Another option is the country's tourism website, which usually has even more detail about the cities, provinces, towns, history, laws, weather, practically anything you are looking for/want to know (or don't want to know.) For the more internet savvy, blogs are a fantastic way to see what is going on. Travel blogs (like mine hopefully) help other travelers know the "ins" of traveling and other countries.