Gifts Travelers Love To Receive

Still Wondering What To Give?

Know somebody who’s planning or wishing to travel next year? I’ve put together a list of gifts travelers love to receive that I personally recommend.

They go a long way to making every aspect of a trip easier, infuse well-being, and ramp up excitement. Great list for any occasion, all year long.

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10 Reasons to Mix Art, Politics and Travel in Paris

Why This Exhibition Matters

The Color Line - African American artists and Segregation - Quai Branly Museum

 The Color Line- African American Artists and Segregation

 I approached The Color Line – African-American Artists and Segregation a bit tentatively, I admit. But quickly enough I was impressed by its scope…

The Quai Branly Museum’s latest and very popular exhibition introduces Black artists and artwork so vital in the quest for equality and the affirmation of black identity. It’s not the big names that are drawing the crowds because frankly, most of them are unknown to the general public. The exhibition brings together a history known mostly in bits and pieces. A journey that’s now powerfully bound up through the brush, the pen, hands, and outrage.

Why Here? The Musée du Quai Branly is a bit of an upstart newbie on the Paris museum scene. For one, it displays its vast permanent collection of art from Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Americas with the same awed respect as the Louvre does its Western-world masterpieces.

Now with this latest temporary exhibition on African American artists and Segregation, it’s particularly gratifying to get to see hundreds of pieces that eloquently, harshly tell a history that rattles and shakes us with its power today.

All the more that several of the artists shown spent time and honed their talents in France.

 

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Travel Photography on a Smartphone, Fancy Camera Optional

 

Travel Photography on a Smartphone, Fancy Camera Optional

travel photography with smartphone

Smartphone cameras have come a long way in quality! While obviously not as professional as a DSLR camera, anyone with a bit of a creative streak can have fun experimenting with different photography techniques when traveling. It’s the perfect opportunity to play around and come back with a bunch of great photos with stories to tell!

 

But there are some tips and tricks you can use to up your travel photography game:

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4 Things Online Booking Engines Don’t Tell You

4 Things Online Booking Engines Don’t Tell You

You’re probably thinking – as a travel consultant I must despise online booking engines and would never recommend using one. Not true!  We even have an online booking engine on our Vision Travel website (although it comes with a big difference to the other online booking engines that I’ll explain later).

There’s a time and place for a quick 1-2 booking transaction. Sometimes all you need is a hotel room for a night and it really doesn’t matter where the hotel is, you just need a bed! You can use an online booking engine for that and you probably won’t encounter any problems. When it comes to booking your group, family or personal special holiday though, you’ll want to stay away from online booking engines.

Read on for 4 Booking Secrets You Need To Know

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10 Ways To Tame Jet Lag

Whether you’re flying cross-country or spanning ten time zones, here are 10 ways you can tame jet lag.  Don’t  lose precious vacation time because your internal clock is begging you to simply lay down and sleep. After all, there are sites to see, experiences to dive into…

plane

1. Rest Assured

To deal with jet lag, pre-emptive strikes are often the most potent. Getting a good night’s sleep before the trip will dramatically help your body maintain its energy levels while traveling.

Also de-stress, exercise, and get your affairs in order before flying. Two days or more before, enter key contact numbers from your vouchers for transfers, accommodations, reservations into your phone contact list, mobile itinerary or travel notes so that they are easy to pull up on site.

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5 Ways to Expand Through Travel

Expand Through Travel. Bench in Eze France

One of the longest lasting effects of travel is that it helps you expand. And I don’t mean your waist line. You bring experiences back with you and layer them into your life. So much more than simply pleasant memories, you can apply and integrate new ways of thinking, of being, and witness yourself grow.  Here are five ways you can expand through travel:

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Black History Month in Paris – What’s On

Here is a listing of publicized events of What’s On for Black History Month in Paris – most in the Anglophone community. I’ve also added a few events that are perfect for spontaneous celebration and appreciation.

But first, did you know that the father of Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson, gained some of his international perspective as a student abroad at

Carter G. Woodson, for blog Black History Month in Paris

Carter G. Woodson, father of Black History Month

the Sorbonne University ? There, already fluent in French, he did graduate work in history with French-speaking professors. He is said to have visited fellow student René Maran, who went on to became the first Black in France to receive the prestigious Goncourt literary prize. There’s also a possibility he was influenced by the vogue of African art that was showing up in public places and in artists’ work.

Of course, there’s no more perfect Black History Month in Paris party than to take a Black heritage tour. If you plan to visit this month or live in Paris and have been putting it off, why not gather some friends and family, make your own party – with our guide!

You can access our list of tours and download the pdf on this page here.

Black History Month in Paris events listed in order by date.
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Family Travel That Helps Your Kids Become Global Citizens

Helping our kids become global citizens through travel is one of the best gifts we can give them.

Travel That Helps Kids Become Global CitizenAs we all realize by now, in today’s reality of the Internet and global economy, our children’s success depends on
understanding different cultures and how to collaborate with people from different backgrounds.

Family travel from the youngest age helps foster those skills :
– helps your children take their first steps out of their comfort zone.
– has the power to educate, encourage, nurture critical thinking, breed cultural tolerance and inspire social responsibility.
– as they begin to study geography,through interactive travel they’ll realize that a country is not just a place on a map. It’s made up of people with feelings, problems and different ways of doing things.

Here are some suggestions for family travel spanning birth to their 18th summer. Then you let them go.

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Where to Find Christmas Music in Paris

Listen to Christmas music on the esplanade of Sacre Coeur Basilica

Sacre Coeur Basilica at Christmas

Where To Find Christmas Music in Paris

Unlike what most of us are used to, in Paris you won’t find Christmas music and seasonal songs broadcast ad nauseum in department stores and public places. You’re actually going to have seek it out beyond the loudspeakers at the Christmas markets. Instead, you’ll not find a more uplifting experience than in one of the city’s landmark churches (eglises) or acoutistically- perfect concert halls.

Imagine the added depth and beauty to your favorite carols inside Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur Basilica on top of Montmartre or while gazing at the stained-glass wonder of the Saint-Chapelle. Here in France, classical music and carols both represent the sounds of the season.

Below is a list of French and American churches where you can hear Christmas music, carols and classical. And because gospel music lifts the spirit at any season and is particularly popular during the holidays, you’ll find a selection at the end.

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Travel Tips To Feel Safer Before You Travel

Eiffel Tower during terrorist attacks lights out, check out our travel tips to feel safe before you travelWe were all terribly shocked by the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13th. Here are some travel tips to feel safer before you travel  for extra peace of mind.

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