Look whom I saw in person last weekend! As a travel blogger, does that mean I have arrived? Well, maybe if he took me to lunch or something, but I was just one of hundreds of guests who heard Rick Steves speak last weekend at the LA Travel Show.
Jennifer Miner, co-creator of The Vacation Gals travel blog, was kind enough to provide me with a ticket to the show and I met her there. She, Brett Snyder (a.k.a. The Cranky Flier), and Kim LaChance Shandrow, a Los Angeles-based tech and parenting journalist, hosted a focus group discussion on travel apps: Best Travel Apps to Help You Plan Your Next Trip. I particularly liked Postcard on the Run, an app that will send real postcards, with your vacation photo on it, by snail mail from your phone to anywhere in the world. LaChance Shandrow recommended her favorite travel apps when traveling with children, one of them Ameba, a TV show and movie streaming service especially designed for children.
I listened to two key speakers, Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and Rick Steves, both of them so inspiring and richly traveled. Rick Steves captivated his audience for two complete hours with hardly a break and I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with his European travel philosophies. "Travel like a temporary local," he insists. My favorite tip was that for the best food in any European city, look for the restaurant with a hand-written menu in only one language. He's passionate about how to "be" in Europe, not just "go" there.
Rick Steves raved about Istanbul, naming it one of the four great cities in Europe (Paris, London, Rome, and Istanbul) and the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office had a very large exhibition booth promoting tourism at the show. (Hmmm . . . possible future destination?)
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| Turkey had a large presence at the LA Travel Show. |
I think if you're planning a trip for the first time, or are looking to comparison shop for different tour operators and such, going to a travel show is a useful and fun way to interact with destination experts.
Sounds like a fun day - I would love to hear Rick Steves speak in person. Happy to say that I have been to his 4 top European cities - you would love Istanbul!
ReplyDeleteWe went to the show on Sat. It's too bad we missed each other. We were a bit disappointed we missed Rick Steves but did catch Peter Greenberg. Istanbul has been high on my list to visit. Do you have a pile of recyclable grocery bags an travel brochures too. It was a great place for travel inspiration.
ReplyDeletehi sonja, nice to meet you. i'm so very excited to have found you due to our travel blog award contest. you were nominated for the 2012 most inspirational travel blog award and are now in the run-offs.
ReplyDeletefrom jan 27 to feb 5, you can ask people to vote for your blog so that you can be one of the 23 out of the nominated 50 to win.
you can check it out here: http://thenomadicfamily.com/2013/01/2012-best-travel-blog-finalistis-need-a-bit-of-help-to-wi/ . good luck to you lauren! happy belated new year... gabi and family, in dalat, vietnam
Thanks for such a fun write-up of my favorite Travel Show! :)
ReplyDeleteDid you add anything to your travel bucket list while you where there?
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