I’m deep in the throes of editing ProjectExplorer.org’s Mexico series which has some stunning visuals from Dona Rosa’s Black pottery studio in Oaxaca.

I’m fascinated by this ancient artistic process (dating back as far as 25,000 BCE) and how it is continually practiced throughout the world today.

Filmed at Radika’s Pottery in Chaguanas, Trinidad.

Recently, Queen Rania of Jordan called for people to submit videos telling her what they would like to experience in Jordan. The campaign called Twisit Jordan will provide two lucky foreigners the opportunity to tour the country for 1-week. (First-time visitors only – I wasn’t eligible.)

Visitors to this small Middle Eastern country tend to flock to Petra and Wadi Rum, oftentimes leaving the desert castles overlooked. When driving the desert highway eastward road signs remind travellers of the close proximity to the Iraqi and Saudi borders. Perhaps this is what keeps many tourists from visiting these ancient caravan stations, which were some of my favorite spots to visit.

Built in the 6th century, Qasr Kharaneh (above) is two-story building that seems to magically appear from the desert sand. There is literally nothing else in site but endless desert landscape. For the the finalists in the Twisit Jordan contest, or anyone with plans to travel to Jordan, make sure to put the desert castles on the top of your “must-see” list.

Snippets of sounds that filled the air on an unseasonably warm day in Parc Güell. Barcelona, Spain.

With summertime in full swing and beach holidays on everyone’s mind, I dream of a returning to some of most stunning waters I have ever seen. Ah, Mozambique! Located in the heart of an elephant and crocodile game reserve it took nearly 4 hours to reach this sandy and deserted shore. (My friends and I only encountered one other person.)

The southeastern African country of Mozambique has more than 1,000 miles pristine coastline. Once a destination of Europe’s jet-set, a violent civil war in the 1980′s and early 1990′s led to a sharp decline in tourism. Set on the crystal blue, tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, many of the white sandy beaches still remain secluded. But, the secret is slowing getting out and people are returning.

Dear travel blog (and readers), my apologies for neglecting you. But, it is not without good cause. Over the last three weeks, I’ve been on-location in Mexico producing/directing the next ProjectExplorer.org series. Despite having an entirely new production crew, I was dealing with many of the same problems that nearly all travellers will encounter at some point in their lives: heat-stroke, sub-standard hotels, food poisoning, and unidentifiable bug bites.

In Mexico, I certainly had my fair share of all the aforementioned travel woes, but the team and I kept on ticking. So, Blog, now that I’m back home in NYC I’ll try to give you the attention you deserve.

Chipping away at my 100-country goal means taking advantage of every stop-over opportunity possible. Last week, on my way back from southern Africa, I connected through a country I had yet to visit – Germany.

A day in Frankfurt: I headed straight to the train station and made my way to Mainz, located on the Rhine River. A friend recommended Mainz to me for the Church of St. Stephan – a small church dating back to the 14th century. I found the church to be rather unremarkable from the outside, but what draws nearly 200,000 visitors each year are the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall.

As a New Yorker, I’m familiar with Chagall’s two massive works in the lobby of the MET. Painted in brilliant and bold reds, I marvel at these works whenever at Lincoln Center.

The windows at St. Stephan’s are equally awe-inspiring, but it’s the serene blue light (the window’s predominant color) that floods the church that makes this particular work so breath-taking. Mainz has several other treasures to explore, but this small church kept me happily occupied nearly all day marveling at the beauty and shifts in colour/light.

An adrenaline junkie? Me? Certainly not! Safety is always the name of the game for me. So, what in the world possessed me to attempt bungee jumping?

Well, for filmmakers it’s all about location, location, location. There are two jump sites that call to me from a purely visual perspective. The first is over Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River; believed by many adventurists to be the best spot in the world to bungee jump. The second, the Orlando Towers in Soweto, South Africa. The massive murals spanning the now decommissioned cooling towers have been a photographic obession of mine since visiting the country in 2007.

The towers rise more than 30 stories above ground and have been connected with nothing more than a surprisingly narrow, rope sky-bridge. This bridge makes up the launch platform [Read more →]

With my recent research trip and fast-approaching film production in Mexico, I’m ready to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with some of those tasty churros. (Hey, I’ve got a sweet-tooth.) But wait, what exactly is Cinco de Mayo?

Popular Misconception: Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day.

Fact: Actually, Mexico declared its independence from Spain in September 1810. Cinco de Mayo marks Mexico’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

In Mexico, the holiday is observed only regionally, primarily in Puebla. It is, however, more widely observed in America as celebration of Mexican heritage and national pride. (Think St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish!)

This May 5th, we can all be a little Mexican! Why not, celebrate with a little mariachi music, some cerviche and cerveza. And, now that you are armed with a couple interesting facts on the holiday you will surely impress friends over those 2-for-1 margarita specials.

Being a NYC gal (without a car, of course) I’m accustomed to walking everywhere. I love “walking cities” and those with easy-peasy transport. During my recent visit to Barcelona I marveled at the ease and affordability of getting around. I count the Barcelona Metro system amongst the easiest in the world to navigate; its clean and its quick.

But, one cannot help to notice the hundreds of bright red bikes parked throughout the city. Bicing, the Barcelona bicycle borrowing program, launched in 2007 and has quickly become an integral part of the city’s public transportation system. The Bicing program works a bit like Zipcar . A (fee-based) membership card is needed to release a bike. However, unlike Zipcar, [Read more →]

Today, with good reason, I take a slight departure from my regular travel-related posts. Yesterday, I had the honor of ringing the Closing Bell at the NY Stock Exchange!

The question of the day — “How did you hook that up?” Well, the NYSE occasionally bestows this honor to NYC-based non-profit organizations. So, as Director & Founder of the ProjectExplorer.org kids travel series I was chosen for the task. I guess that all the airline miles logged and passport stamps collected landed me here, in the spotlight for 15 seconds. And, if you were wondering…it was awesome!

Note: It was an great day on the markets! (Second highest DOW close year-to-date.)