Carnival, Holi, Songkran, & More Great Festivals Around the World.

Foreign restrooms, airplane seat-back trays, and the hotel bedspread may induce a deal of anxiety for travelers suffering from mysophobia, a fear of germs. On Doctor Drew’s Lifechangers, mysophobic comedian Howie Mandel told Doctor Drew that he carries his own black lights to use in hotel rooms. Said Mandel, “I remove all the blankets. I order clean towels and I make a path ‘cause I won’t touch the carpets. … I have a cocoon thing that I travel with, like a sleeping bag kind of thing so I don’t touch the [hotel bedding].”

While Mandel admittedly suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, many travelers can identify with his fears on some level. But there’s no need to travel with a cocoon or cover the carpet with towels to stay healthy on the road. (Apologies, Howie.) Wash your hands often, fling off the hotel bedspread (it is seldom washed at many hotels) and, most importantly, check for bedbugs. Our sister site IndependentTraveler.com offers more suggestions for how to find a clean hotel room.

Click here for the full list, via SmarterTravel.

Rules of the Road (courtesy of Round America)

Rule 1: See the real world. Stay off the interstate highways

Rule 2: Eat pie. Eat where the locals eat. Avoid franchised restaurants. “Slow food” rather than fast food.

Rule 3: See the sights that others miss. Don’t visit many theme parks.

Rule 4: Plan to enjoy the unexpected. When something catches your eye, check it out

Rule 5: Try new things - new places, new people, new food, new experiences

Rule 6: Stop and smell the roses - or whatever. No need to rush; enjoy the journey

Rule 7: Think local. Listen to local radio stations; read local paper; watch local TV.

Rule 8: Make the best of every situation. If it seems boring, or ugly or wrong, look again.

Rule 9: Be smart. Be safe. Be prepared. Exercise every day. Keep the gas tank full.

Rule 10: Preserve the experience. Maintain a journal; keep records, and take lots of photos.

Our time in San Francisco was very well spent, but as the sun rose on Day six of  my week in the city, I realized how quickly the time flew. Sure, we filled every day with sightseeing and on-foot exploration, but tt seems like just yesterday I was writing about day one. Now we’re left to re-live the fun through our [thousands of] pictures and reflect on the adventure as it concludes.

I made sure to take in the evening view one last time, and I relished in the radiance of the city on the patio for as long as I could. Of course, the chilly temperatures and aggressive winds forced me to prematurely retreat inside, but not before capturing this lovely photo.

The lighted area in the distance is AT&T park.

Here are some other snapshots of the city’s goodness, all taken with my iPhone when I didn’t feel like whipping out the DSLR

Riding through the Wine Country…

Day five called for a departure from America, deep into the historically mysterious nooks and crannies of… CHINATOWN!*

Lauren  & I arose for a mid-morning walking tour of this charming San Francisco neighborhood. We steadily waltzed by signs upon signs of foreign language and scrambled past hurried residents, as they made their way to their destinations.

Suddenly, WE were the foreigners, and thankfully, the world of Chinatown welcomed us.

The architecture is modeled after ancient Chinese traditions, as is the color scheme. Red, green, and yellow symbolize happiness, fortune, and power, respectively.

We met up with our tour guide, Linda Lee, along with the rest our our group. From there, we set forth on our journey through time and space. Well… not exactly, but it was certainly a journey!

It seems, a live lizard can cure a cold. 

How? 

Just plop it in a pot of boiling water, let it stew, and drink a couple glasses of the juice. Yes, juice. All the lizard-y goodness will chase your pesky symptoms away.

As in American culture, various herbs serve various purposes, but a Chinese apothecary maintains their herbs are all one needs for almost any ailment.

The makings of a prescription

Needless to say, I’ll be sticking to my General Practitioner. However, I’ve gained a greater respect for their alternatives. I can only imagine how much trail & error it took to concoct the proper prescriptions for every sickness.

Next, we continued around the block to the East West Bank building.

When the Chinese first started migrating to San Francisco, they came in droves, and not everyone spoke the same Chinese dialect. While Mandarin Chinese is now the country’s official language, other vernaculars include Cantonese, Taiwanese, Taishanese, Hunanese, and the list goes on. So, even though these immigrants were fellow countrymen, they weren’t necessarily able to communicate with each other.

As you know, wherever there’s a need, there’s someone willing to pay to have it fulfilled. That’s where this building comes into play. During Chinatown’s development stages, it acted as a call center, furnished with a massive switchboard. A room full of lovely young ladies were paid to answer the calls, interpret/translate each dialect, and forward messages if needed.

We also learned about the different associations within the community, often determined by your last name.

And then we headed to one of the religious temples.

Each of these ribbons lists the name of a deceased loved one.

Inside the temple, Linda taught us the truth behind the Chinese Yin-Yang. Buddhists believe it provides the answer to any yes-or-no question, and it can even predict the future.

Lauren was the voluntary guinea pig. 

You hold the pieces together, flat sides facing each other, and drop them to the ground. If it lands with both flat or rounded sides facing up, the answer is no. If one side lands flat and the other rounded, the answer is yes.

Lauren’s question: Will it rain today?

Yin-Yang: one side landed flat and the other rounded, so the answer was yes.

In case you’re wondering, it didn’t rain in San Francisco, but Lauren didn’t specify where it would rain, so the Yin-Yang didn’t have to either. I’m sure it rained somewhere in the world. *wink

The next stop on our Chinatown adventure was a fortune cookie factory.

Ironically, they don’t actually make fortune cookies in China, it’s more of an American tradition, but they sure are tasty.

After our taste of good fortune, we made another stop by the town’s Chinese school.

Dreaded by little kids everywhere, this is where students go every weekday, after “American School” and learn the language and traditions of our heritage.

Linda, our tour guide, hated it so much as a child, that she purposely flunked out.

The last stop on our tour was the Chinese Fresh Market.

After our excursion, Lauren suggested we head back to the Wharf for another helping of In-N-Out Burger, and I happily obliged.

After lunch, we jumped aboard the ferry to Alcatraz Island.*

^The Morgue^ 1910-1963

Once ashore, we explored a bit then headed to start the audio tour with the rest of the crowd.

After about an hour and a half on the island, we decided to make our way back to the city and prepare for the evening’s dinner cruise.*

Accompanied by mind-blowing views, outstanding service, and incredible entertainment, we rode off into the sunset.

We had just began to lose ourselves in the surrounding beauty when the first course arrived.

Then the second…

And the third…

And finally, dessert.

Each course was a scrumptious as the last, and before we knew it, the moon had overtaken the sun.

In a full and dreamy daze, we stepped out on the deck and admired the city from afar.

Couldn’t’ve asked for a better ending to the evening.

*Tour Info

Chinatown

Alcatraz

Dinner Cruise

Day 4 called for another escape from the city life.

We boarded a luxury coach at 9am and ventured on down the coast to Monterey & Carmel. The views on this ride are breathtaking.

The Pacific Ocean is a beautiful beast, and each tide washing ashore reminds me why I love escaping to the seaside.

We were able to stop a few times, and take advantage of the most picturesque moments throughout the day.

Once we arrived in Monterey, we de-boarded the bus and explored a few of the small shops around town.

The courtyard below the restaurant echoed with the serene sounds of these fine musicians.

A couple hours later, were were on our way through Pebble Beach, learning about the exclusive and outrageously pricey golf courses on each resort.

Still, nature always finds a way to impress. Check out this lone Cypress tree, growing where no Cypress should ever grow.

The last leg of our tour brought us to the lavish town of Carmel.

All the big names have a shop in Carmel, and they were all buzzing with eager shoppers.

Since we had arrived right in the middle of Monterey Car Week, we were surrounded with exotic automobiles. Pardon me while I continue to drool over this beauty…

If you’re ever in Carmel and looking for a place to lay your head for the night, check out the Normandy Inn, if only for it’s quaint and intimate atmosphere.

We, on the other hand, found comfort on the motor coach and snoozed our way back to the city.

Riding through the lap of luxury is faaar more exhausting than it seems (wink, wink).

*Monterey & Carmel Tours

The San Francisco saga continues…

Our second day in the city was actually spent outside the city limits, in the Wine Country. Lauren & I rose at the crack of dawn, jet lagged and tired from the day before, but it was fine since there was wine!*

We were conveniently picked up about a block from where we’re staying and started our journey to Napa around 9am. First stop, Madonna Estate Vineyards (completely unaffiliated with the pop star, btw).

Our host was wonderful and outrageously informative, and she explained the proper way to sip/taste your wine. Madonna is a smaller winery, and they don’t distribute. If you want a bottle, you have to order direct from their site or visit them like we did.

Next came the tastings! 

Obviously inexperienced, this is how I held the glass when I stepped to the counter. I was promptly corrected.

It seems, holding the glass towards the top causes the wine to warm quicker - nobody wants warm wine.

Here’s the proper way to hold your glass, by the stem. 

It feels a little strange, but it’s easier to swirl the liquid this way, which helps release the aroma. Tasting wine is done through the nose, as well as (if not more than) through the taste buds.

Who knew?!

Hey there, tumblrs!

We (Lauren & I) are in San Francisco. The plan is to have you experience it with us, but spotty internet connections, dead cell phone batteries and the hustle & bustle of the city have all gotten in the way.

We’re finally back in business.

Literally.

The business of travel. And my, oh my, have we been traveling!*

In the words of Fräulein Maria, let’s start at the very begiiiining.

After a smooth landing at SFO, we got settled into our residence for the week and headed out for lunch at Pt. Reyes Station. Cowgirl Creamery has a different grilled cheese special every week, and the Turkey & Fromage Blanc sandwich sounded too good to pass up.

Yes, it was as amazing as it looks, and we savored every. last. bite. I’ve already got the urge to go back, but there are so many other food spots around town calling our name. Pardon me while I continue to re-live the experience through this picture. Feel free to join me.

With out stomachs full and hearts open to the city, we headed out for our first tour - a hop on/off, double-decker sightseeing adventure. Here’s what the buses look like:

They’re big.

They’re red.

They’re FABULOUS.

Frankly, there is no point in exploring a big city if you’re not going to do it big. (Trust me, I’ve done it “small” and it can make an amazing city dreadfully underwhelming)

The view from the top lets you see all the highlights in the best way.

We stopped at Golden Gate Park for some photo ops.

 We also stopped by the wax museum to hang with a few of our favorite celebs.

Next, we headed back to Fisherman’s wharf for a leisurely stroll before our bay cruise. Even though the wind is brutal, the sights are breath-taking. An ominous blanket of fog rolls in every weekend, covering the bay and giving the whole area an irresistibly eerie feeling. 

A full day of touring worked up our appetite, and we decided to check out this tiny little restaurant.

Please stay tuned, this place was so good that I must blog about it by itself.

Stuffed, inspired and worn out from the day, we retreated back to our haven for the evening.

Did I mention the view is amazing?

I’m starting to understand why Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco. 

*Touring Info:

Hop On/Off Bus Tours

Cruises along the Bay

Wax Museum