Food Porn Friday - Super Linda

When I go out to eat, I often indulge even if just a little. I know I should eat healthier most times, but I often save that for eating at home. I was out to lunch with a former work colleague after not seeing him for over a year, and I suggested Super Linda in TriBeCa for a quick lunch.

My choice for that day's lunch was the tuna burger. 

Tuna Burger cooked medium, with pineapple, pickled onion and chipotle aioli with cole slaw on the side

While the burger could have been seasoned a little more, pineapple will make almost anything taste better. I loved that I got a much needed infusion of vegetables from the cole slaw. There was a little too much dressing, but I was happy to have cabbage, carrots, fennel and other crispy veggies to munch on. 

I felt pretty good that this time I'd made the right (read: healthy) choice.

Do you indulge when you eat out, or are you good about eating healthy all of the time? 

Super Linda

109 West Broadway 

New York, NY 

Happy Weekend!

Blogging While Brown 2012 - 5 Reasons I'm Happy I Went

This past weekend I went to a blogging conference called Blogging While Brown. I have to say that I couldn't have had a better experience for my first blogging conference.

I should mention some background. While I've got a lot of "blogging friends" or "internet friends" (as Husband J says), most of my real life friends have no interest in social media (outside of Facebook), don't understand Twitter and think my blogging is my cute little activity. :) I have to admit that I was looking forward to the conference because I'd be surrounded by people who understand what it's like being an internet content creator (it ain't easy!).

While I've been able to meet a variety of great bloggers, in my past blogging life I've often felt like the only one or one of very few Black or Latino bloggers writing about certain topics (like travel!).  That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but I believe in the fact that a variety of perspectives and visual representations of diverse people should be present in all forms of media including emerging media like blogs. My choice to go to Blogging While Brown ("BWB") was not only about learning more about blogging in general but also to get inspired about my role as a blogger of color in an online world that often sidelines us (just my opinion, of course).

Since I often think in lists, here are 5 reasons why I'm glad I went to Blogging While Brown:

1. I met a really nice down to earth, friendly, diverse group of bloggers.
I've not always heard the best things about blogging conferences. I've often heard from some people that the atmosphere can be cliquey, impersonal or just downright unwelcoming. I have to say that I was able to meet so many cool people this past weekend. The conference was small enough that I could have multiple conversations with people throughout the weekend but large enough that I still didn't meet everyone. Bloggers came from all over the country (shout out to my new Jacksonville, Florida  friends!) and wrote about everything from relationships and beauty to health and politics. Some folks had been blogging or writing professionally for years, and others were new to blogging. It was nice to get perspectives from all levels of experience.

Me with Erika Kendall of A Black Girl's Guide to Weight Loss, a great blog about health, exercise, body image, food justice, weight loss and more. Girlfriend has over 72,000 Facebook followers! Talk about reach!!

2. Many of the well-known and successful bloggers openly shared themselves and their experiences. 
I've often heard that when some bloggers hit "the big time", they are not so friendly at conferences like these. Yet at Blogging While Brown, many of the the most successful bloggers with well-known sites were very friendly and accessible. Case in point, one of my favorite bloggers, Patrice Grell Yursik, of the blog Afrobella.

I was such a fan girl when I met Patrice. I'm very happy that she posed with me. 

I started reading Patrice's blog years ago when looking for resources for my wedding blog for Black women with natural hair (i.e., not chemically straightened). While not the first natural hair blogger, she's really the first in that niche to translate her blogging into bigger opportunities. She has partnered with M.A.C. to produce her own shade of lipgloss and has also live tweeted from the red carpet at the Oscars. She's really taken her blogging to another level. She was so nice to me, super down-to-earth and really honest about her experiences during her panel (I missed it, but followed the tweets on the BWB conference hashtag).


3. I learned new things that will help move me forward as a blogger (and even some things I didn't think I needed).
I thought I knew a little about SEO, but I learned a ton about it from Luvvie Ajayi's SEO 101 panel. The panel on blogging and brands was probably the most helpful for the future, and I really liked the honesty of the panelists representing advertising and public relations firms (Big shout out to Jennifer Polk, VP at Edelman Digital, for our nice talk during the conference). Moral of the story for that branding panel: be genuine, honest, and ethical when dealing with public relations agencies and brands. I'll probably never want to publish a book (just being honest), but I thought many of the issues discussed during that panel were important in understanding how to export your blog to another medium. I would have loved a TV panel that talked about more than television news because I think many bloggers can become more than guest talking heads (TV hosts maybe?).

The "Your Personal Brand: It actually IS all about You" panelists from left to right: Adria Richards, Scott Hanselman, and Luvvie Ajayi 

4. The conference paid attention to important social justice issues. While many conferences focus on monetization, branding and content creation, I really did appreciate the fact that the conference emphasized the importance of blogging in moving forward social issues and alternative narratives. From addressing AIDS to community organizing, the conference tackled subjects that are affecting communities of color. I'm working on an online project that has nothing to do with travel or food, and this inspired me to move it forward because the conference reinforced to me the need for vital socially conscious and relevant information online.

5. I never knew what to expect from the engaging speakers and my fellow attendees.
From the hysterical presentation by Scott Hanselman and Luvvue Ajayi, which had me rolling on the floor to the Twitter haterade and in person interrogation of the founder of Media Takeout, Fred Mwangaguhunga, there were definitely parts of the conference that kept you on your toes and laughing in your seat.

Damon Young of Very Smart Brothas. I check out this site from time to time and enjoy the insight. I LURVED his T-shirt. :)

While the conference was great, here are some things I would change:

1. It's not cheap. Although the conference was valuable, it was not cheap ($250 before late registration). Most blog conferences aren't though, so I can't say that BWB was out there in terms of costs. They did include breakfast and lunch both days though. Speaking of food....

2. I'd love more healthy food options for breakfast and lunch. A crudite plate wouldn't be so bad. Some fruit? Help a sister out. ;)

3. I would have liked to know what speakers were going to discuss in the panels beforehand. While I didn't need a full outline, sometimes knowing what was going to be discussed would have helped me make a decision about breakout sessions beforehand.

I have a feeling the conference will be farther away next year, and I hope that I'll be able to attend again some time in the future. I was definitely re-inspired and felt energized about blogging in a way that I haven't been in a long time. At the very least, the conference made me understand my little voice here is important, even if I don't have the hits, Facebook likes and Twitter followers that others say I should to feel important and valued as a blogger.

A big thanks to my fellow conference attendees and to the conference organizers for a stimulating and fun weekend.

Weekend in Reykjavik - The Highlights

My crazy spring of travel finally ended a little over a week ago. Husband J and I headed to Iceland for a long weekend.

Now before you think I've gone a little crazy, let me tell you that Iceland isn't as far away as you think, especially for those of you living in the Northeast United States and Europe. A little over 5 hours going west from New York City, and you're in Los Angeles or San Francisco. You go 5 hours in the opposite direction, and you're in Reykjavik, Iceland. :) This was Husband J's idea and not mine. When HE says, "Hey, let's go somewhere!", what am I supposed to say? No? BWWAHAHAHA. Not happening.

I know he really enjoyed our trip there, and I think a little peek at Iceland made me realize that I miss traveling in Europe. HOWEVER, it also made me realize that I don't miss the EXPENSE of traveling in Europe. Since it's a far from tropical island nation of about 320,000 people, Iceland imports many goods, and food prices are not cheap.

That being said, I will say that Iceland is a beautiful place and a really pleasant travel destination. Its great roads, natural beauty, art scene (which I didn't really take advantage of), geothermal spas, nightlife (we old folks missed that, too), and wonderful food offerings really make for a cool place for a quick visit. Plus, with a language that I was going to butcher anyway (and most times didn't even both to try to pronounce), many, many people I came into contact with spoke accent-less English. I found out most kids there learn four languages simultaneously.

You could easily spend over a week making a circle around the country (the interior is pretty desolate), but even 4 days will give you a nice introduction to it. Here's a little of our experience in Reykjavik and the parts of the countryside close by that we visited. No Bjork sightings though (Actually she lives a few minutes away from us in Brooklyn).

The interior of Hallgrimskirkja Church in downtown Reykjavik. The exterior is even cooler. 

A Baejarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog. One of the most famous restaurants in Iceland is a hot dog stand. I'm not even kidding. 

Iceland is literally a hotbed of geothermal energy (no pun intended). One of the hot springs at Geysir

Hiking Esja, 15 minutes from downtown Reykjavik. It's a long way up, but the views are worth it. 

A statue of Ingolfur Arnarson, Iceland's first resident, in downtown Reykjavik 

Icelandic food is about fresh seafood (and lamb). Cod and grilled lobster from Sjavargrillid (Seafood Grill)

Husband J says to me last night, "No more trips for awhile, right?" I'll have to think about it, dear. :) Just kidding...well, not really.

Any Iceland lovers out there? If you were to go to Iceland, what would you want to see or do? Glaciers, wildlife, shopping, going out 'til dawn.....? 

My First Blog Conference/ Happy Birthday, TAO!

Hey, all!

Today is this little old blog's second birthday. Oddly enough to celebrate, I guess, I am at a blogging conference. I've been in a sort of interesting place with blogging lately. I'm figuring out how and what I want TAO to be. Still. Either way, I still have a commitment to writing in this space as who I am. My posts will still be too long, perhaps not with the best pictures and full of my dorky history notes. :)


Thanks so much for your continued support. I hope you all enjoy this space that I've made here as much as I enjoy creating it for you.

Happy Weekend!

Intrepid Travel's Classic Rajasthan Tour/I'm Not Too Proud for a Group Tour, Part 1

At this point in my life, I feel like I've traveled a few places. I feel completely comfortable planning my own trips with multiple destinations, hotels, and local tours and guides, etc.  If that's the case, I'm sure a few of you might be wondering why I decided to go on a group tour for part of my time in India.

Before getting into the whys, let me describe my experience with Intrepid Travel. For those of you not familiar with Intrepid, it's an Australia-based travel company that offers tours all over the world. They pride themselves on small group tours of no more than 12 people and trying to expose their customers to more local "off the beaten track" experiences. I have no interest in being on a large tour bus (nothing wrong with that. It's just not me), and I really was impressed by the company's stated commitment to local charities and causes. Intrepid seemed to fit my travel philosophy, so I picked them.

Walking through the streets of Jaipur. Jaipur is BUSY.

Itinerary

I picked Intrepid's Classic Rajasthan tour through the state of Rajasthan, one of India's largest and most traditional regions. My 15 day (more like 13 day) tour went to the following places:

Delhi
Agra
Madhogarh
Jaipur
Ranthambore National Park
Bundi
Bijapur
Udaipur
Pushkar

I have to admit that Classic Rajasthan wasn't exactly my first choice tour, but I am glad I did it. In addition to the monsoon season that engulfs the country from June to about the end of September, April and May are NOT the easiest times to travel through India. Most of the country, with the exception of the mountain regions, is HOT. April and May are definitely the beginning of the low season for international travelers to India, and therefore many of the tours I wanted were not being offered. Based on my plans for this year, I decided to take my chances traveling to India in late April. Classic Rajasthan is one of Intrepid's most popular India itineraries and had numerous departure dates, so I felt like I would be going on an interesting tour that many other travelers had experienced and critiqued.

In Udaipur, near the banks of Lake Pichola

The tour could be a little whirlwind at times. At many of the places above, we were only there for a night, but I don't think we really needed to be in certain towns any longer than that. I liked that we had a mix of private cars, trains, jeeps and buses. We really got to see Rajasthan's countryside in depth that way.

Accommodations

We weren't in five star accommodations. Not even close (I'll blog about a five star hotel in Delhi though), but the hotels were were always clean, comfortable and often had wifi access, which I wasn't expecting.  Many of the hotels were called heritage properties, i.e, local historic homes and castles (yes, castles) that had been converted for use as hotels. One of the possible drawbacks of a group tour like this is that you don't pick where you stay. If that is of utmost importance to you, then find a company that provides that information up front.

My room at Castle Bijapur 

My Group

Because we were traveling in the off season, my group was tiny. There were only 5 of us. My four other trip mates were actually two Australian couples, one of which was on their honeymoon! Both couples were fairly well-traveled, curious and open people, and I felt very lucky to have been matched with such nice folks. I read another blog post describing this tour that stated that the blogger's group size was 18 people (more than Intrepid advertises). I'll talk more about that later in this post, but I was glad to avoid that. I was very nervous about who would be on the tour (you're spending 2 weeks with these people!), but we had a very nice time. I learned a lot about Australia, and I hope they learned some more about the U.S. I'll refer to them throughout my posts as Team Ozzie. :)  

Team Ozzie walking through Udaipur. You'll see their faces at some point.

Also I was expecting to be the oldest in the group, but I wasn't by a long shot. For some reason (maybe my American travel biases?), I thought that this style of travel wouldn't appeal to people older than me. One couple of Team Ozzie was in their late 40's/early 50's. Our tour leader, Pancham, said he once had someone in their 80's on one of his trips! According to some members of Team Ozzie, for whom this was their 4th Intrepid trip, they've traveled with a range of ages. I found that pretty refreshing.

[Confession: I was nervous about the group because I'd had a few bad travel group experiences with Australians before. I wasn't worried about me not liking them, but THEM not liking me. Luckily, the travel spirits were with me by giving me very nice travel partners, and I feel like my good travel karma was repaid on this trip. Much love to Team Ozzie!]

Our Tour Leader

I also feel like we lucked out with our tour leader, Pancham. He's born and raised in India but has traveled all over the world working on the Queen Elizabeth II prior to becoming a tour leader with Intrepid. He's super funny, knowledgable beyond belief, and I always felt like he cared about our experience during the trip. We all joked that he tended to crack the whip with the local staff, but I think he was concerned about the level of service our group received. I like to call Pancham a "Walking India Encyclopedia." He could identify wild birds, tell you about the preparation of an Indian dish, rattle off random facts about the Indian economy and Hinduism. Plus, he's super into food. Score! He never led us astray with his restaurant suggestions.

Pancham 

For those considering a group tour like Intrepid, I would think about the following things:

1. Are you traveling during the peak or off season for your destination? There are definitely pros and cons to both. It will affect everything from group size to the atmosphere of the locations you'll visit.

2. Confirm the maximum size of your group, if that's important to you. Size can matter. While my little traveling family of 5 was great, companies like Intrepid have sister companies, and groups may be consolidated together. 18 or 22 people isn't necessarily bad, but it may not be the small group experience you're looking for.

I'm not even sure where this. We drove through this town on the way to Bijapur. 

3.  Confirm that your guide is local. While I'm sure that a non-Indian/non-local guide would have been fine, I think it helped that Pancham was familar with local customs and food, speaks both Hindi and English fluently, and just knows what's up. I'm not saying that a non-Indian/non-local guide can't be helpful, but having someone who can communicate well and knew what was safe for us in a variety of situations made our trip easier.

4. If you're traveling solo, are you willing to pay a "single supplement"? One of the worst things about traveling solo on group or packaged tours is that companies will often charge you for being a single traveler. That makes no sense to me! You're taking up less space and resources. Intrepid gives you the option of paying a single supplement only if you would like to guarantee a private room for all or most of your trip. I paid the single supplement, and, in the end, I probably didn't need to because there were only 5 of us. That being said, I wasn't sure if other people would book after I did. I wanted my own room. I need a little alone time. :)

So that's a little background about the group tour portion of my trip. I'll get into WHY I chose the group tour route in another post.

Have you gone on a small or large group tour? What did you think about your experience, and would you do it again?



I am in no way working in partnership with Intrepid. This post isn't sponsored. I got nothing free from them. Yadda, yadda, yadda. 

Qutb Minar - Sight of the Week

Hey, there! I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day and Whit Monday (and maybe a spring bank holiday?). I had a great one that I hope to tell you about later this week. 

In an effort to not totally drone on and on about sights I saw in India, I'm going to try to spread them out and talk about no more than two each week. At least, that's what I hope. :)

On one of my first days in Delhi, I took the wonderful Delhi Metro (I LOVED Delhi's subway system) to South Delhi to one of the city's most distinctive sights. While India is a majority Hindu country, there has been a long history of Muslim influence and rulers who built gorgeous monuments. You might know one called the Taj Mahal. ;)

One of them, Qutb Minar, is an imposing but beautiful red sandstone tower/minaret inscribed with verses from the Qur'an. It was built in the 14th century after Delhi, and many of the surrounding areas, came under Muslim rule. The Qutb Minar is the ultimate "I am no joke. I just took over your country. Hear me roar" monument. Northern India's new rulers wanted to make a statement, and I think they did.

If it looks tall in the picture, I can confirm that it is.

From afar it may not look like much, but I think you really need to get up close and personal with this tower to see how intricate and beautiful it really is. 

 A close up of one of the cylindrical shafts. I love the different shades of red sandstone. 

The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, a few steps from the Qutb Minar, is pretty special because it's one of the first mosques built by the Delhi Sultans. 

Entrance to the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque

Quwwat-ul-lslam interior 

Intricate pillars inside Quwwat-ul-Islam

When you enter this part of the complex, don't miss the Iron Pillar. Apparently if you can stand with your back to the pillar and encircle it with your arms, you can have your wish granted. So many people tried to do this that the government had to erect a barrier! I'm not that flexible, so I'll keep looking for other ways to fulfill my dreams. 

The Iron Post

The modern day tourist entrance to the Qutb Minar is actually different from its original entrance, the Alai Darwaza. 

It was starting to rain, so it was pleasant to hang out underneath the Alai Darwaza for a few minutes. 

Right outside the main portion of the complex, another sultan had wanted to build a similar structure to the Qutb Minar called the Alai Minar, but that didn't really work out. Even unfinished, I think it's still pretty cool looking. 

Even if it is a little bit of a trek into the southern most parts of South Delhi, you should definitely take some time to see the Qutb Minar. For me, it was a great way to get some historical perspective on some of the striking Islamic architecture that I'd be seeing throughout Rajasthan. 

Do you ever touch places or things thought to be good luck? Do you throw coins in fountains? I never have change. :(

I Became a Backpacker in my 30's

Okay, the title of this post is kind of pushing it. I now own a backpack, but I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm a backpacker. By the way, many people use the term "backpacker" to refer to a certain way of traveling on a tight budget for long periods of time that usually means traveling light (hence, with just a backpack or very light luggage), staying in hostels, and trying to get away from mass tourism. I'm not going to really touch on that phenomenon in this post, as I've never considered myself a backpacker.

However, I now own a backpack!

A few hours before heading to the airport for my flight to Delhi. Our apartment was a mess with all of the packing. 

For the first two weeks of my trip to India, I was on the Classic Rajasthan tour with Intrepid Travel (more on that experience in another post). One of Intrepid's recommendations was to make sure that we could easily carry our luggage, and their pre-trip materials suggested that we either pack very light or carry a backpack. Pack light? That. Does. Not. Compute. :) Okay, fine. I can pack light to some degree, but for three weeks? 

I really didn't want to spend the money on a backpack. Ones that could hold what I needed for the length of trip I was going on were well over $100 USD. :(  Plus, I usually don't feel the need to carry one for the type of travel I tend to do. I can pack a 20 inch carry-on for almost two weeks worth of travel depending on my destination (warmer places are easier to pack for me).

In the end, I decided to buy a backpack. Here's what I bought:

REI Tour 60 Women's Travel Pack. The smaller day backpack is missing from this picture. 

Did I fit everything into my backpack? Of course not. Especially since I brought an arsenal of products with me, which I will tell you about later. I did have one small additional bag with "stuff" that I probably could have done without but ended up using that bag to fit souvenirs. I also carried my travel purse/daypack (remember that?) to keep important items close to me, like my electronics. 

Was it worth it to have a backpack? Here's what I think:

What I liked about the backpack

-My backpack kept me honest about packing clothes. I only packed 10 days' worth of clothing for three weeks. That was a challenge for me. I did have my laundry done at one point during the three weeks, but I found a way to make do with what I had. I wore many things multiple times; and, unlike some destinations, I didn't feel the need to look fashionable in India. ;)

-I will say that I always felt like I could carry my stuff myself when I wanted to. While we often had help with our bags, my backpack definitely made it easier to get through extremely crowded and frenzied train stations (especially ones with lots of stairs) and other places.  

-We traveled on so many different modes of transportation that I'm glad I had something that I didn't mind taking a beating. It's not like I baby my luggage, but I do want it to last as long as possible. This backpack seemed to do okay getting hit from all sides and enduring Rajasthan's never-ending dust.

Our luggage being packed on top of a jeep. I used to say a little prayer when our stuff was on top of moving vehicles in India. You would, too. Trust me. 

What I didn't like about the backpack

-Sometimes the backpack just felt bulky and cumbersome, although I will be the first to admit that mine was packed to the gills by the end of the three weeks. 

-I felt that it was hard to find some items in the bag when I wanted them. Again, this is probably just my lack of experience efficiently packing a backpack, but sometimes I felt like I had to take out too many things just to find what I needed. I probably should have gotten a bigger bag, but I couldn't justify the money. 

Either way, I feel like I got an understanding of what many travelers experience just by carrying a backpack, even if it's not my usual travel style. I didn't get to backpack through Europe, Latin America, or South East Asia, as many travel bloggers do, but at least I can say I actually own one. :) 

Have you ever used a backpack while traveling? Do/did you like using one? Do you have particular type of luggage that you like to use?