Month: November 2022

A quick trip across the Atlantic Ocean brings you straight to United States’ former sister, England. As anticipated, one’s journey to England would include all of the tourist destinations as it is practically required to complete a ride on a double-decker bus and visit Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, or even the London Eye. Each of these is a very popular tourist destination but due to one’s tourist nature, it is a must. One’s trip to London would be recommended during April and June when tourist numbers are low and the temperature is at its best. To truly take in a destination, you should not have to fight to see a clear shot of these landmarks. However, one should prioritize some of the many destinations that are slightly less well-known touristy destinations as they are highly entertaining nonetheless.

For all of the shopaholics out there, pack an extra suitcase in anticipation because Harrods is an absolute dream. This is a seven-floor luxury department store, located in Knightsbridge which is the richest neighborhood in all of London, home to 330 different stores and over 5,000 brands. This building floorplan is very intricate and features multiple restaurants throughout.

Due to my “outside of Philly” nature, I made sure to include a Philadelphia-themed aspect of the trip, with a meal at Passyunk Avenue, a Philly-themed bar in London. This mimicked Philly dive bar can provide a “home away from home” when one is 3,539 miles away. As Passyunk Ave describes on their site, this provides the opportunity to “guzzle down American beer, eat authentic American food, watch the Superbowl and other sports like college football, basketball, and baseball” (Passyunk Avenue London). For those Philly sports fans who need to catch the latest Eagles or Flyers game, this is the perfect spot as it’s “obsessively curated to mimic life in a Philly dive bar” (Passyunk Avenue London). According to many reviews posted online, the food and drinks here are amazing and allow Americans and Europeans to experience a European take on traditional U.S. bar foods.

On a sustainability spectrum, London should be ranked fairly high due to the extreme use of public transportation: commercial flights overseas, trains, and even electric scooters (e-scooters). These scooters will be the newest fab throughout the United State due to the overall success and popularity of these services in England and many other destinations. London has miraculously had a societal shift since the start of the pandemic with the new norm of riding these rental e-scooters. These rental scooters are an efficient, environmentally friendly alternative to typical travel via rental cars, taxis, or even trains. The popularity of these e-scooters has spread like wildfire since these can only way to legally ride a scooter in London- killing a bird with two stones of easy transportation and environmental friendliness. European nations have capitalized on the e-scooter and e-bike market with brands like Bird or Lime, easily controlled with an app on your smartphone. Products like these help keep these popular cities greener with all of the tourists visiting.

Chestertown. You have probably never heard of it, but, this is my happy place. My moments of most peace have been sitting on a dock watching the sunset here. It is a quaint town on the Eastern shore, but boy does it have character. As the town motto describes it perfectly, “Historic colonial town on the Chester River”; this town was founded in 1706 and has endless entertainment opportunities.

This is not necessarily a destination on my bucket list, but currently, I long to be here on a beautiful day. When the weather is cold and I could rather be rocking on a boat on a warm day, it makes me miss it. With not a care in the world just sitting on the dock taking in everything around. The reason I am writing about this is to urge everyone to look into visiting here on their next family vacation and staying at Brampton Inn a very cozy bed and breakfast located right outside of town. I urge you to visit this town and just take in the quietness, there is no other way to describe it. This town is predominantly aged 60+ but has told me so many great lessons. When anyone our age visits this town they come out more mature as one is interacting with strictly adults which forces them slightly out of their comfort zone if they do not normally interact and socialize with the middle-aged community.

But, it is now time to get to the meat of Chestertown and many of the sights this town has to offer. The most well-known aspect of this town is Widehall which is from the 1760s. This house has become a gathering place for a majority of the town due to the huge yard and porches making this the ideal party house for the town’s Tea Party Weekend which brings in Marylanders from all towns. During this weekend, the town is busier than ever with parades and even a reenactment of the 1773 Boston Tea Party. Widehall is even featured on all of the yearly t-shirts due to its prominence in the town.

The Chestertown Marina is home to one of Maryland’s gems, the Sultana, which is a real-life replica of a British Royal Navy ship that is docked in Chestertown when it is not being used. This ship is used for Chestertown’s Tea Party weekend and is another predominant symbol in the town. I would recommend seeing this beautiful wooden ship as it is another core aspect of this area. This ship will sail and take Maryland students out on the water for school trips from Chestertown, Annapolis, Baltimore, St. Michaels, Cambridge, Oxford, Solomons, and Crisfield, all towns in the Chesapeake Bay area. For more information on Sultana, I would recommend looking at their website.

Chestertown is where I have felt the greatest peace. This town is located right on the water as previously mentioned, so I would allot a good chunk of time to just sitting, relaxing, and enjoying a view of the water as this provides an absolute reset and sit with the silence. When I am asked where my happy place is sitting along the water on the dock with family and friends around as well as some music playing. You have to do this. The whole world around you goes silent and nothing in the world can bother you. This is an absolute must- just watching the boats drive by-so start planning your trip to Chestertown.

In the finale of this condensed visit, you have to take a trip to Waterman’s a restaurant in the town over, Rock Hall. This restaurant is the dream. This restaurant is located right on Rock Hall Marina making this ideal for hungry boaters or those just looking to grab a bite. If given the opportunity, reserve here for around sunset and sit outside so you get the full experience of eating right on the water with the sun setting and a view of the Bay Bridge to Annapolis, Maryland. Since this trip will have to take place in the summer to get the full experience, one would have the benefit of the Maryland Blue crabs being in season. This is a rather obvious choice in your time, but the Crabby Burger from here is to die for. This is a loaded burger with pretty much anything you could want with a glob of fresh crab dip on top. This is making my mouth water just thinking about it.

But overall, Chestertown, Maryland is somewhere everyone needs to visit at one point or another. To live in this town you have to have a boat, it is sort of a rite of passage, but maybe if you’re nice I’ll offer you a ride! This is soon to be my full-time residence so I have begun to love this quaint little town.

Bali also known as the Land of the Gods, is a providence of Indonesia with crystal clear waters surrounding its many smaller islands. This providence may only be composed of 2,331 square miles but it is packed with breathtaking sights and activities. Bali is the perfect travel destination in all months of the year due to its warm and humid nature with an average temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is a must-stop destination in Ubud, a popular city in Bali, which provides an opportunity to admire monkeys as they interact with one another in a relatively natural environment. This is governmentally protected land that these monkeys happen to live in, so it does not resemble a zoo, it is merely a huge area for about 700 monkeys to coexist within. These monkeys will get up close and personal with guests so the sanctuary recommends guests hide any personal belongings to valuables well as the monkeys unfortunately tend to gravitate toward these objects. This is a very sustainable activity on the itinerary because you can examine these monkeys without disturbing their natural environment and ways of life while also supporting the agency that protects these animals and allows them to live peacefully.

As previously mentioned, Bali is the land of the gods and is home to many religious sites such as the Saraswati Temple. This is designed to honor the Hindu Goddess Saraswati. The grounds for this temple feature a water garden and lotus pond, providing a sanctuary for religious followers. During travel, one typically adapts a “go, go, go” mindset, so one should find the time to be at peace and sit silently, admiring the surrounding area.

The next destination is the Ubud Kajeng Rice Fields Walk. Rice is a staple in Balinese culture, which makes this activity very immersive in their way of life. This is a relatively cost-efficient activity as donations are encouraged to these individuals but participants are warned to wear shoes that can get wet and muddy. This walk allows one to explore the terraced rice paddies and interact with the individuals who oversee these fields. One can get fully immersed in this way of life both physically and mentally.

For thrill-seekers, the Tegenungan Waterfall is a dream. Guests can either take photos right next to the stream or even have the opportunity to jump from a ledge in the cliffside into the water below. This is the perfect place to cool off and get an adrenaline rush.

Overall, Bali is described as one of the best ecotourism destinations since the government rolled out various programs to correct previous irresponsible decisions of tourists. There is plenty of noise pollution, which is fairly hard to avoid but there are many rules and regulations in place to maintain the pristine state of this region. The waters around Bali offer some of the best scuba diving in the world, however, the coral reefs and other marine ecosystems have declined due to human interaction. Bali has implemented many programs surrounding these ecosystems to ensure citizens and tourists help keep the reefs safe!