Everyone goes to Paris thinking they'll leave with more love in their hearts... But is that really the case When I go to new places I usually try to go with an open mind without all the expectations the media drill to our brains. See when you don't have expectations you can't be disappointed. You'll never hear the lines I expected more... or This isn't what everyone said it'd be.... It u

No traveling today just a great visit to Mesa Verde National Park. Weather was windy and sometimes a little chilly. Sky was really clear due to the front that moved through here yesterday. Gena I unhooked the Jeep from the trailer and went to the park alone Charlie Kerry have already been to this park and neither one of them were up for any long walks Since we had Mo with us and coul

Morning came early as usual and thankfully mama had a modest offering for breakfast. The coffee is what I call 'campfirestyle' because its just grounds tossed into a small pot of water and boiled like my mom did when camping. It's rather novel to me but at least I was expecting it so I could drink around the grounds. They are perplexed that I water it down and add my milkcocoa mix but quit

In the east moving southWe arrived in Nanjing at some ungodly hour and as there were no busses running settled in to the local 24hr McDonalds to wait. After a stiff coffee and the horror show that was the McD's toilet the busses started up and we were able to get to the hostel.We did a lot of walking in Nanjing. To ticket offices shopping areas museums and back we did it all on foot. Our hos

wandered all around salzberg looking for a camping place that turned out to be kaput...gona..nothing there...very frustrating. but we finally got a place that was closer. i was worried it didnt allow tent camping..but they did..and its nice...camping ina nice soft pitch..pool..but its too cold...bike rental...helpful nice place...mostly older motor home campers.anyway.....got to the hellbrun pala

While doing a voluntary work in Dapitan together with my friend Glenn Balagot we took a side trip to Dakak Resort.

Trinke heien Tee mit Honig...es wird kalt hier...wer htte das gedacht Na ich natrlich Deshalb habe ich mich in den Norden aufgemacht mit der Hoffnung noch ein paar wrmere Sonnenstrahlen einzufangen. Flug gebucht und bei meinem Kumpel Mick eingebucht und schon konnte das Abenteuer welches leider nur 4 Tage dauerte losgehen....endlich wieder ein backpacker sein...Es ging brigens nach Cai

Passport was received yesterday. If you are ever in a passport bind A Briggs Passport and Visa Service is dependable and efficient.I understand that the weather is cool and France so I am repacking.

So I havent written for a while and I have about a billion things to catch up on but first A few notes on life in Colombia....1. I had expected tons of smokers here because thats what I was used to in Spain but no... there are very few smokers here. Most people I see smoking are tourists. However there are tons of guys on the streets who sell snacks and cigarettes not by the pack bu

Hello again everyone I had a fantastic day on my trip up to Cape Reinga 3 days ago We left at about 7am and drove through a town called Taipa the one thing about Taipa is that therersquos a place called Cable Bay there. Apparently in the 40rsquos and 50rsquos there was a cable going all the way across the Pacific to the west coast of British Columbia Canada When the driver was explainin

We slept in until 7 this morning then lazed around enjoying coffee and breakfast. Today we all planned to visit Mesa Verde NP but Bob and Gena were interested in touring the cliff dwellings while Kerry and I knew we couldn't so we agreed to take two separate vehicles. Our first stops in the park were the Montezuma Valley overlook which gave a great view of surprise the Montezuma Valley a

After my flight from Iquitos I had one night in Lima before heading 3500km down the Pacific coast to Santiago de Chile. The bus from Lima to the border town of Tacna took 20 hours and had an inauspicious start with a Peruvian gospel preacher incidentally wearing an Hawaiian shirt giving a sermon as it was Mothersrsquo day before then trying to sell some turrones praline chocolate to ev

We arrived into Australia around3pmlocal time. The flight with Qantas was gooddespite the air steward offering Mark a nutty icelolly. He was not impressed Wefound oyr shuttle to take us into the city centrewithout trouble and having previously planned to meet up with freinds from home who were in Melbourne at the same time we headed to their hostel. As they were out at the time we dropped our b

Today we headed up to Kaikoura. On the way we stopped at Brew Moon Brewery for some snacks and to try some of their beer. It was pretty good. We had a Dark Side of the Moon Stout. We sat outside in a small courtyard and while it was windy it was really nice. They are just a small brewpub right on the side of the road so I'm glad we stopped and didn't just drive by.It was really nice in Ka

I left Cusco and took an overnight bus to Nazca. Without delay it was off the bus after a 14 hour journey on and on to a airplane. Not the ones I am used to this little 4seater Cessna was so rocky I felt I was back flying on Ryanair The Nazca lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs of different animals drawn in the desert that stretch across 80km. They believed to be created by the Nazca

This morning we went into the main part of Christchurch for a look around. We watched some guys playing giant chess in Cathedral Square for awhile. They seemed very serious about a giant chess game Then we headed out to walk along the Avon river. It was really pretty there lots of weeping willows and greenery. It was weird to feel so transported from the large town around us to a serene sm

This is a piece I originally wrote for a wider blog for outdoory types living in China. But I think it should be just at home here because at the end of the day noone can travel to China anymore and not pass concern for the air they breath or infact the global effects of Chinarsquos emissions on the environment.If yoursquore reading this blog Irsquom flashing a guess that yoursquore an

Last evening we explored some more...boy this city really comes alive at night

Paris In The Spring

In 2008, Lara Dunston was <a href="interviewed about her life as a travel writer and her experiences traveling with her husband, Terry Carter, who is also a travel writer, photographer and now – an expert in the art of eggs – culinary-style. (You think I’m kidding…)

Together, they have taken on a new project, Grantourismo!, which has them traveling from their home-base-storage-unit in Dubai to a new destination every two weeks over a twelve month period (February 1, 2010 through February 1, 2011). Not only are they investigating new destinations, Terry has found some new egg recipes and still travels with his trusty cleaver.

Being avid travel writers, you’ve just begun yet another journey around the world. How did you choose which countries to visit considering HomeAway Holiday-Rentals’ numerous available locations?

Lara: We’re two months into a 12-month grand tour of the globe, an experiential-cum-local travel project we’ve called Grantourismo. It’s a ‘contemporary’ grand tour, which means rather than learning to paint or do archery as the original grand tourists did way back we’re doing and learning things with contemporary relevance.

Terence Meets Macarons

As Terry is into cooking, he’s learning how to cook a quintessential dish in each place we visit (in Marrakech a local cook taught him how to make tajine) and I’m learning anything from languages to learning about immigration in Paris from an academic who just finished her thesis on the subject. We’re staying in each destination for two weeks, so we’ve traded hotel rooms for rentals this year and partnered with HomeAway Holiday-Rentals. HomeAway Holiday-Rentals had a long list of destinations they wanted us to cover so our choices were based on a combination of places that are popular where they have a lot of properties, destinations that are not as popular that they want to inspire people to visit, and destinations that show the variety of places they have from sleek apartments in Buenos Aires to rustic trullo in Puglia.

You’ve written about “voluntourism”. What types of volunteer opportunities have you planned for yourselves during this endeavor?

We’re ‘parachuting’ into places and using our skills to quickly learn about the place, meet people, get tips as to what we should do and learn, and then arrange things.

Terence: We haven’t planned anything because for Grantourismo we’re not planning much ahead of time. We’re ‘parachuting’ into places and using our skills to quickly learn about the place, meet people, get tips as to what we should do and learn, and then arrange things. One of our missions is to give something back and promote sustainable travel, so they take in a whole lot of things, not just volunteering. The easiest way for people to give something back is to buy, eat and drink local/regional products, to shop locally in small businesses and direct from producers rather than chains owned by multinationals, and to then spread the word about those products by telling their friends, writing about them on their blogs, Facebook pages etc, so that’s what we’ve been doing. In each place we’ve visited so far, we’ve sought out and have raised awareness about local cultural products, local traditions, green initiatives – everything from an ethical fashion boutique in Paris to some small designers in Ceret using a very traditional Catalan fabric, and we’ve just talked to a sustainable travel agent in Montenegro specializing in local travel who is also a member of the Local Travel Movement.

…finding short-term volunteer experiences has actually been one of our greatest challenges…

Lara: Volunteering is another way to give back and can take many forms but we’re mainly looking for short-term volunteer experiences that we can promote, anything from participating in an environmental clean-up day to volunteering to read books to kids at an orphanage to working for a day in a soup kitchen. But finding short-term volunteer experiences has actually been one of our greatest challenges so far because we’re looking for the things that people on holidays could just do for one or two days, as not every one can commit to a 6-week, 3-month or even one year experience. It’s been a challenge finding experiences we can actually *do* in a day or two but we want to get a taste of these things before we write about them. If anyone has any ideas we’d love to hear about them!

You both are passionate about “local produce, local products” and the globalization of crafts. How does one go about discovering the truth behind the souvenirs they’re buying?

Souq Walk Marrakech Morocco

Lara: The best thing people can do is simply talk to the owners of shops or the people working on stalls at a market. I think it’s fairly easy to tell who is legit and who isn’t, but key questions to ask are “which town/region is this product from”, “who made it”, “what is it made from” etc. From the answers you can easily tell who is a real producer or who knows the producers as they will come out with the answers straight away and probably speak at great length and passionately and knowledgeably about them, whereas someone who is dodgy and selling things made in China in Paris will probably go “um… well…” Although I will never forget having an argument with a woman in Petra, Jordan, who was selling junk made in Korea and swearing that it was locally made. People should also look for information on tags and labels of course.

You have also written of location independence. What single piece of advice do you have for people wanting to do what you’ve done?

Terence: Take a look at this piece we did for Matador but to be honest we didn’t really think of what we’re doing as location-independent work until a few people started using the term when they asked us about what we do and how we manage what we do. In our opinion there isn’t really any other way to be travel writers except to travel and if you treat your work seriously and you’re a professional and it’s your main source of income you cannot do it any other way than to travel and to travel with all your gear. The best investment anyone can make is to buy a good laptop and use technology they trust. We use Macs and they essentially serve as our offices – we can’t live or work without them.

Do you find it easier to write about your days’ activities the same day, or at a later time?

Lara: It’s not always possible to write up what we’ve experienced on the same day, cause we’re simply so busy sometimes with full schedules from early in the morning right through the day until late at night, so we might have a backlog of work, especially on the Grantourismo trip at the end of a two-week stay when the last few days are really frantic. The key is detailed note-taking and memory-shots. As long as I take detailed notes and take photos, any kind of pics to prod that memory, then I’m fine. Without them though, it can be a challenge.

How easy or difficult has it been to find new external hard drives “on the road”? Or do you pack 10 of them ahead?

…for instance, when Lara’s hard drive in her MacBook (not a portable drive) died when we were in Nicosia, so we searched high and low and eventually found a computer shop that had loads of dust-covered boxes of software we’d never heard of and found a no-name drive, opened and covered in dust, but it was cheap and it worked just fine.

Terence: Our bags are heavy enough as they are, mainly due to the technology, laptops, camera equipment, books and research materials, so we buy hard drives as we go. They’re not always easy to find of course. We had a lot of trouble in Cyprus, for instance, when Lara’s hard drive in her MacBook (not a portable drive) died when we were in Nicosia, so we searched high and low and eventually found a computer shop that had loads of dust-covered boxes of software we’d never heard of and found a no-name drive, opened and covered in dust, but it was cheap and it worked just fine.

Lara in Wadi Rum

In your extensive travels, have you found the world becoming a smaller place, with globalization such as it is, or is there still sufficient variety in countries and cultures to warrant a continued sense of wonder and awe?

Lara: I definitely have a sense that the world is becoming smaller because there is greater connectivity and I’m continually seeing connections, especially cultural, social and economic connections between places and people, and I kind of like that in a way, that I meet people who know other people far far away. But then there are many things about the world that are becoming ’smaller’ in that they’re becoming the same, such as fast food and the stuff sold at markets. You’ll see the same junk in Jerusalem that you’ll see in Paris that you’ll see in Thailand and Beijing. We found that very depressing, especially as so much of it is being sold as being from that destination, and that’s another reason we embarked on this project. When we travel these days we don’t necessarily have to have that sense of wonder and awe all the time as we did when we were younger. We’re happiest when we learn new things and meet new people and really go away feeling more familiar with a place, its people, and its culture.

On a side note – Terence, how DO you explain carrying a cleaver in your luggage to Customs officials?

Terence: As long as the cleaver goes in the bag under the plane, it’s not a problem – you just can’t take sharp objects on board – but I also carry a couple of grinders of my favourite salt and peppers, and a few other kitchen utensils that not all holiday rentals seem to have, so I think they’d get that I was simply into cooking and not a terrorist!

Editor’s notes: All photos courtesy of Lara Dunston and Terence Carter at Grantourismo. Lara also runs the Cool Travel Guide blog.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. |
Grantourismo! An Interview with Lara Dunston & Terence Carter |
No comment |

Post categories: Interviews
Post tags: cultural experiences, educational experiences, location independence, Round the world, travel writing, volunteering, voluntourism, working on the road

Youuu Wah Massaaaaaaaaaaahh No I don't want a massage as you may already know I'm very ticklish and the prospect of an oil massage represents a squirmy hell for me but regardless of the incessant offers for a ldquoCheap Cheaprdquo ldquoMassaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhrdquo I'm having a lovely time here in Thailand.As you have likely already realized while on my travels I am constantly accrui