Boldly Go Solo

How to set out solo, but not travel alone: Trips, tips and ideas for the active traveler.

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  • Gifts for a solo traveler from a German Christmas market and the Smithsonian Institution

    Where on Earth, solo travel, Smithsonian Today I got one of those great gifts that a traveler's gotta love. Unusual, one-of-a-kind, retro. On the other end of the continuum from the snazzy travel gadgets and apps available these days. Which are also nice. But this gift was unique.

    It came wrapped in a map, In this case, a map of Germany with tourism information on the inside. Double-sided travel wrapping paper! And tied with string? Hardly. Tied with neon green shoelaces with the word "travel" repeated throughout. They'll be on my sneakers as soon as I finish this post. Travel shoelaces, solo travel, boldlygosolo

    The book, "Where on Earth: A Geografunny Guide to the Globe" was promoted in the 90's by the Smithsonian Institution, where my gift giver works. It has entries such as, "The Silk Road is not a street made of cloth. It doesn't have 'Dry-clean Only' written on it. It isn't even really a road. There are no signs saying, 'Silk Road, Next 3 Exits.' "

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  • Solo hikers on an evening jaunt to the display of lights at the Mormon Temple…and dinner

    Morman Temple, lights, solo travel On Saturday, at 5 pm, under a full moon, a group of us set out in the chilly night air for an eight-mile hike. Along a road called Beach Drive in Maryland. In the dark.

    We brought flashlights but never used them. Between the moon and our eyes adjusting we were able to see enough not to fall into the creek that we walked along for part of the way. Mormon Temple, solo travel, lights

    Six out of eight of us showed up solo. I didn't hang with the companion I came with for long. The leader for this Northern Virginia Hiking Club hike was walking really, really fast. I was not. Neither was Christiane, a French woman who works at the French embassy here in Washington, DC.

    Morman Temple DC, lights, solo travel So we fell to the back. And I got to learn an awful lot about the life of a roving international worker who has lived for three to four years at a stretch in Canada, the U.S., Italy, Spain and elsewhere.

    Stop one: the Mormon Temple in Silver Spring for its 33rd annual Christmas lights display:

    This time of year people arrive at the temple not just for the twice-nightly musical performances or the life-sized nativity scene. No, people of all faiths come to gawk at the lights. More than half a million of them. And 16 Christmas trees. Even pagans would be likely to point and say, "Ooh, pretty."

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  • If traveling solo in Moscow glide into a new museum packed with ice sculptures

    Russian Ice Sculpture-solo travel, boldlygosolo

    Ice, ice everywhere and not a drop, or cube, is random. It's all been pared, whittled and sliced by talented ice carvers into, well, it depends on which story you read.

    A Russian web site explains that the exhibit is inspired by the "best patterns of Russian national culture," from the Ice House of Anna Ioannovna, Empress of Russia to literary characters from Russian tales and fables.

    The Washington Post describes the Gallery of Russian Ice Sculpture as holding works "from the monumental to the minute," from a bunch of grapes to a dinosaur to a complete bedroom (perhaps from the empress's palace?)

    Russian Ice Sculpture, solo travel, boldlygosoloEither way, bring a coat. The temperature remains below 15 degrees inside the indoor gallery. If you visit in the spring or summer and don't happen to have wool or down outerwear, the museum will lend you a coat.

    The artists who opened the indoor museum in Sokolniki Park plan to create new exhibits every year.

    But it remains highly unusual that ice sculptures last even that long. A year must feel like forever for an ice carver. The beauty of ice indoors.

    (In other ice-sculpure news, I wrote in 2009 about Minus 5, an ice bar in New Zealand.)

  • Single supplement waived on cruise lines in 2011

    'Tis the season to go cruising. And, I'm seeing a lot of offers from companies waiving the single supplement. Norwegian Epic, boldlygosolo, solo cruising

    What astounds me is how much people have been willing to pay to travel solo on a cruise. Avalon Waterways' announcement about waiving the single supplement on some 2011 cruises in Europe says that you can save up to $5,396.

    Yikes. If that's the savings, how much is the cruise? Not only am I not going solo, I'm not going at all unless somebody treats me to it! Then again, some of the cruises are 23 days long so the price may not be outrageous for what you get.

    But clearly the clientele is wealthy and retired. Either that or these cruisers saved vacation days and money to take the trip of a lifetime.

    But there are other, less expensive, cruising choices. USA Today says that MSC Cruises is reducing the cost for solo travelers as much as 30 percent on 7-night Caribbean voyages.


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  • Solo travel in France via the Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous cookbook

    France, Joan Nathan, boldlygosolo
    My friend Joan Nathan has written an amazing cookbook steeped in the traditions of France as well as those of the Jewish culture.

    Through connections and introductions, she made her way into the homes of French Jews all over the country and after nearly five years of research came up with 200 recipes and richly detailed stories to go with them.

    The book is packed with so much – a sense of the country and its history, French-Jewish recipes, fascinating photos of the cooks and residents who shared their life stories and recipes, and the finished dishes.

    For a solo traveler, Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France, Joan's 10th cookbook, provides details that would make any trip to France a richer experience. You could track down some of the establishments she dined in and enjoy them all the more for knowing details about them.Joan Nathan, France, boldlygosolo, solo travel

    I suspect it would be a tad more difficult to make your way into the many kitchens she was invited to! But what impressed me about Joan's travels was her willingness to travel solo and become a part of these people's lives for a short while.

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  • 9 outdoor ice skating rinks for the solo traveler, with bonus rinks slipped in

    The cold weather is starting to settle in here in the Northern hemisphere. Eiffel Tower skating rink, boldlygosolo, jpg

    Instead of settling into your sofa, how about slipping out for some ice skating in the great outdoors? At scenic ice rinks around the world?

    The globalgrasshopper writes about 10 of the world's best outdoor ice rinks, (However, the one in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, is no longer open.)

    Ice skating is a perfect way for solo travelers to people watch and get some exercise at the same time.

    Rinks with magnificent backdrops can be found in front of the town hall in Vienna; beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris; within sight of the stunning El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in the U.S. and elsewhere.

    Vienna ice rink city hall square, boldlygosolo blog

    I'd like to add two others, only because I've personally tested them. Skip the skating at the expensive and packed ice rink at New York City's Rockefeller Center and head straight to the skating rink in Central Park.

    You get views of the city but also feel the spaciousness of the park around you.

    And then there's the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden ice rink in Washington, D.C. Open already. Skate to the music while gazing at the terrific sculptures, by Roy Lichtenstein and others.

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  • Nice cups of tea in London, Edinburgh, Oxford and all around England

    Cornishcreamtea, boldlygosolo Feeling British? Like tea? Then celebrate International A Nice Cup of Tea Day, which I learned about on the Traveldudes web site. It's mostly a Facebook event, so if you're not on Facebook,  you're out of luck.

    Which doesn't mean you can't celebrate tomorrow, November 28.

    Pour yourself a cuppa, relax and treat yourself to some nice biscuits — or cookies — depending on your nationality. But if you find some McVitie's Digestive biscuits, all the better. Covered in plain or milk chocolate? You, my friend, are living large. Lady of the Manor, boldlygosolo

    The British drink 165 million cups of tea daily, according to the Traveldudes' post. But tea for the British is often about more than the steaming brew in the cup.

    It's about the atmosphere you drink it in. What you have with it. What you get to take a break from when brewing and drinking it. And nostalgia.

    Tea doesn't have to mean something fancy. The way the fine hotels in London serve it. Yes, that's nice. But that's not typical. Plenty of down-to-earth tea shops and inns all over the country serve tea in an ordinary or even rustic atmosphere, without the bone china cups and saucers.

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  • 3 years of encouraging readers to travel solo to London to Paris to Rome and all over

     

    Boldlygosolo celebrates its third birthday this month! That's 21 in blog years, to quote "Bake at 350" from whom I co-opted the idea of this post. (Gawd, her cookies are gorgeous.)


    Boldly Go Solo

     

    No gifts please. No, really. (Unless you're offering a round-the-world ticket?) Just comment when the mood strikes. Oh, and talk up the site at all your dinner parties, upcoming holiday events and business meetings. That's not much to ask, is it?

    I've really enjoyed creating and growing this site. My identity feels pretty linked to it now. The first question most people ask me these days is, "Where have you traveled lately?"

     

    Boldly Go Solo

     

    This solo travel blog gives me an outlet to talk about what I love. Without boring unwitting visitors by babbling on and on about my trips. And showing them all my vacation photos.

    Only the people who are interested in solo travel, and loyal family and friends, read the blog. A self-weeding group. (If I'm boring you, it's your own darn fault!)

     

    Boldly Go Solo

     

    But enough about me. If there's something this site is not providing, that you'd like to see and that I'm able to do, let me know.

    Otherwise, happy Thanksgiving, American readers. And all the best to all my other loyal followers.

    ~Ellen

  • Three tips for taking better photos with a mobile phone

    In my previous post on the Washington National Cathedral I wrote that I entered a photo of the cathedral in a photography contest. What I didn't say is that the challenge was to take a photo with a phone. Not an expensive camera. National Cathedral with flowers

    While you're traveling, you'll likely have your camera on board as you wander new cities and tromp down exhilarating hiking trails. But should you ever be out and about without your camera and see a fabulous sight you'd like to capture, keep in mind that a mobile phone can do a decent job.

    And, as a solo traveler, you might be out at night, not planning to take photos of the sights, and end up meeting some fun people. That often turns into a mutual photo-snapping session. 

    Here are three tips for taking the best phone photos possible, offered by photography teacher Lynford Morton, who I took a class with in Adams Morgan in D.C. that I wrote about a few weeks ago:

     1. Use both hands to hold the camera as steady as possible. Good cameras have a feature that helps with that imperceptible shake of the hands. Phones? Not so much.

    2. Avoid using the the zoom. Move closer if you need to. Using the zoom is going to degrade the quality of the photo.

    3. Choose your phone camera's highest resolution. If you can't figure out how to change it, pose the question online.

    When you look at some of the photos entered in the cell-phone photo contest, it's pretty astounding to think they weren't taken with a fine camera. (Now the question is, should I have entered the photo above instead of the one entered in the contest??)

    Photo: Ellen Perlman. South side, Washington National Cathedral. Taken with a Droid.

  • Washington National Cathedral is a popular sight for visitors and photographers

    Washington National Cathedral, boldlygosolo If I were to ask you to name cities around the world that are home to some of the grandest and most beautiful cathedrals would you name Washington, D.C.? If your answer was "no" you might want to revise your list.

    Normally we in Washington take the Washington National Cathedral for granted, driving past it on Wisconsin Avenue or Reno Road, hardly taking a glance. If we were to fly to Europe and see a similar edifice, we'd be snapping photos and buying postcards. And writing home about what a grand sight we'd seen.

    Funny how most of us look past what's in our own back yards.

    But a few weeks ago, I stared the cathedral in the facade. I was going around town looking for photos to take for a photography contest I wanted to enter (Sure! Feel free to vote for "cathedral"). I wound up at the front doors of the sixth-largest cathedral in the world. Darth vader, national cathedral, boldlygosolo

    Some fun facts about Washington National Cathedral, gleaned from its website:

    • The "Space Window" contains a moon rock from one of the U.S.'s lunar missions.
    • The dream of a national cathedral dates back to 1791 when George Washington was president, although plans for building it didn't get traction until 100 years later.

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