Prolific Living

On the Road

The Case for Micro Vacations: Quick Travels to Far Destinations

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Train Station Interlaken Suisse

Micro vacations are one answer to experiencing the world on limited time and money!

We spent US Labor Day holiday in Switzerland. Before that, we spent President’s Day in London and in Thanksgiving, we will take off for a getaway to the historic city of Berlin. Our home base is the east coast of North America so these destination spots are not exactly a “hop”. Any country in Europe would be 6-8 hours flight from NYC.

Most everyone would immediately dismiss a European vacation more so for lack of time than lack of budget. Perhaps waiting until “someday” is a wise and well-thought-out strategy for some but it won’t do for a travel hungry soul like mine and perhaps, it won’t do for you either. If you share my dilemma, dispel the notions of excuses and adopt a new perspective when it comes to vacations.

Forget setting aside a small fortune and waiting years to find the right two or three week slot of earned vacation. Think instead small, dense, and compact. Think a micro vacation! [Read more…] about The Case for Micro Vacations: Quick Travels to Far Destinations

Travel Like a Pro: 21 Smart Packing Tips

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Smart Packing Tips for Traveling in Style

Packing is not easy. Packing takes time and patience. Packing is psychological. Packing is an emotional response to going away from home. Packing exposes a bit of our identity. Packing decides our comfort zone. Packing shows our measure of handling calculated risk. Packing reveals some of our personality.

Watch my step by step video on how to pack light & not check in luggage here.

pack-light-video

Packing is complicated, time-consuming, stressful and cannot easily be accomplished in one sitting.

Packing Light for Smart Travel

Yet, whether you are frequently on the road, whether you are an expert flyer always on the go, savvy smart travelers are born from supreme packing, one done with efficiency, skill, and knowledge – and this habit will set you apart from the rest, ease your mind and afford you many better travel adventures. (Hint: this savvy traveler can be YOU!)

If you want in-depth insights on traveling light and confidently, grab a copy of my guide: Travel with Confidence: A Roadmap to Build Your Travel Spirit.

NOTE: This is Part 2 of the Travel like a Pro series focusing on skillful packing skills. Part 1 shared 11 reasons why you should never check in luggage, no matter where and how long your travels may be. [Read more…] about Travel Like a Pro: 21 Smart Packing Tips

Travel Like a Pro: 11 Reasons to Not Check Luggage. Ever.

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How to Not Check Luggage on Your Next Trip

In Style at Zurich Train Station“I refuse to compromise my stylish looks, my elegant clothes and having smart outfits for my many moods in exchange for a bit of convenience and a few hours saved on vacation. Is that clear?”

This is what I would retort to my husband, the expert flyer and travel planner of our family, at the onset of every packing stage before a big trip.

He assures me this is not a sacrifice but the liberation of a truly professional traveler.

I do not like to admit it too loudly but unfortunately, he is right!

I may put up a fight but I have rarely ever checked in luggage in the last 3-5 years – check one of many occasions in my post Smart Tips for Travelers, with all my luggage on a 2-week trip to Italy.

I have learned over the years of serious travel – 100,000 flying miles per year is no joking matter – a combination of business and pleasure, national and international – that I can have style, variety, smart looks, all my necessities, a few luxuries and still never check in luggage! [Read more…] about Travel Like a Pro: 11 Reasons to Not Check Luggage. Ever.

A Visual Journey on Why you should Embrace Travel in your Life

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Tell a story without so many words for a change!

There is the newest challenge yet from my spouse. An exercise in brevity and a tall order to my devotion about writing my epic blog posts but variety is the spice of life and so I am up for the challenge. Thomas Jefferson once said: “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” Where words are scarce, I shall rely on the beauty of photography to tell my story.

Should we have a reason to travel? Why, do you have a reason to breathe, to live, to get up in the morning and face your days? You travel to be somewhere else and yet in that place, to find a sense of home and belonging, to explore the fabulous world we live in, to meet your other self, to step an inch closer to another culture and another people, to embrace Mother Nature in its stunning glory, to find out how you get on with your sweetheart, your life companion or most significant of all, just with yourself, to grow, to be fulfilled for months and sometimes years later from memories that you create, to share your stories with others, to open doors that no fantasy or reverie can lavish upon you because this earth is better than any dream and filled with more promises than any heart can behold. So get up, pack your bags, do away with your excuses, put an end to the waiting, pick a destination, and TRAVEL. [Read more…] about A Visual Journey on Why you should Embrace Travel in your Life

Amsterdam Memories and Why to Travel Spontaneously

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Arriving into Holland

The travel fever is upon me again. It is a fever that insists on recurring despite my best intentions to starve it and it seems to be in full swing this summer. We all travel for deeply personal reasons, and I am generally one to love the sights and sounds and all the history and excitement about the place – but my one day visit of Holland’s memorable city of Amsterdam had very little to do with scenery and everything to do with watching life go by on a lazy Saturday in October of 2007.

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” — Miriam Beard
[Read more…] about Amsterdam Memories and Why to Travel Spontaneously