Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast

The Amateur Traveler talks to Eric Schwartzman (author, educator and podcaster) about his hometown of Los Angeles. In this second part of a two part series of episodes Eric will give us the last two days of his sample itineraries for 4 days in the Los Angeles area. In this insider’s look at LA Eric points out the cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and movie locations that he thinks you shoul...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Eric Schwartzman (author, educator and podcaster) about his hometown of Los Angeles. Over a two part series of episodes Eric will give us sample itineraries for 4 days in the Los Angeles area. Be forewarned that no theme parks will be involved in Eric's tour but instead an insider's look at LA. So pack up your swim suit, a sport coat and nice shoes and get in your car...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kara Williams of TheVacationGals.com about Aspen, Colorado. Like so many locals who live in that area of Colorado, Kara came for the winters but stayed for the summers. She tells us about this historic silver-mining town that is better known as a winter playground for the wealthy now than for its mining past. Whether you are skiing, hiking or fly fishing it has a weal...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jeff Jung from Career Break Secrets about a trip to Northwest Argentina that left an impression on this intrepid traveler. Jeff, an expat, who lives in Colombia, traveled to the provinces of Salta and Jujuy, far away from the normal tourist spots of Buenos Aires and Patagonia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amateur Traveler talks to intrepid “20 something” traveler Stephanie Yoder about the country that she thinks is the most beautiful in the world – Bosnia. In an area that was well known for first the winter Olympics and then a devastating war Stephanie found Roman ruins, medieval cities and beautiful mountains. She found a country that has recovered (or at least is recovering) from war and is r...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Andy Dye about his adopted hometown of Melbourne Australia. Andy grew up in England but fell in love with Melbourne. Sure the weather was better but Andy also discovered a city with street art, vibrant cafes, culture and sport. Melbourne is the home of Australian Rules Foolball which was apparently invented by people who thought that rugby was too tame. Andy talks abo...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Ben Dixon about biking the route of the Camino di Santiago in northern Spain. The Camino di Santiago is a an ancient pilgrim trail that runs across northern Spain from the border with France to Santiago di Compostella. The cathedral in Santiago di Compostella reputedly holds the remains of St. James. Modern day pilgrims are sometimes drawn by faith and sometimes just...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Chris Bogdon who talks to us about his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This former steel capital has undergone a renaissance since its steel business went away and Chris tells us some of the reasons to visit this city at the headwaters of the Ohio River. Pittsburgh boasts both historic Fort Pitt and nearby Fort Necessity where George Washington made a name for h...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Brook about her recent trip to Xi’an China. Xi’an is the capital of the Shaanxi province of China and is perhaps best known for the Terracotta Army of Chinese emperor Liu Bang, but what Brook and her husband discovered was a city that warrants more time to explore. Xi’an has a wonderfully rich history as the Chinese terminus of the famous Silk Road trading route. This...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Karl Anders who returns to the show to talk about travel to Western Montana and in particular to the majestic Glacier National Park. Karl encourages us to drive the Going to the Sun Highway but then to get off the blacktop and hick some of the back country of the park (preferably in a group large enough to discourage the curiosity of bears). He describes some of his f...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Matthew Long from LandLopers.com about his trip to the West Bank or the Palestinian Authority. Mathew did day trips into this emerging state from Jerusalem and tells us about visiting Jericho and Bethlehem, the city of David. The Dead Sea was a well known highlight while Hisham’s Palace proved to be an unexpected highlight. The area boasts monuments dating back to the...

Chris, the Amateur Traveler himself, talks about the recent Ralph Velasco / Amateur Traveler Photo Tour of Egypt which was a guided tour of Egypt run by Cosmos. The tour started in Cairo with the Pyramids and the Sphinx, the Egyptian museum, old mosques, churches and synagogues before moving on to the port city of Alexandria. After seeing the historic sites in Alexandria like Pompey’s Column and t...

The Amateur Traveler talks about his recent fam cruise on the Avalon Luminary down the Rhine River from Basel in Switzerland through France and Germany to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Along the away he visited three UNESCO World Heritage sites: Strasbourgh in France, the Rhine River Gorge in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He talks about the castles, the history and what it is like to t...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jeremy from Palm Beach Gardens Florida who talks to use about cruising up the Norwegian coastline into the Arctic Circle on a Hurtigruten cruise. Jeremy lives someplace warm so when he and his wife travel they often travel someplace cold so cruising into the small fjords of Norway during the Winter appealed to them. Hurtigruten started as the boat that delivered the m...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Fred who talks about a road trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Fred and his wife went to Mt Rushmore for sure, but also to other sites in the area that are less well known like Devil’s Tower, Deadwood, Wall Drug, Wind Cave National Park, Buffalo Gap National Grassland and Wind Cave National Park. There are a surprising number of sites to see in the Black Hills a...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Beth Whitman of Waderlust and Lipstick about her recent Papua New Guinea. Beth was attracted to this remote country that produced more languages than any other country because of people separated by its rugged terrain. She tells us about the wonder, beauty and yes danger of Papua New Guinea. Beth was preparing to take a tour to the island nation and to the Mount Hagen...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Chuck Prevatte about vacationing in the warm waters and on the white beaches of the panhandle of Florida. This is a vacation for those who want to slow down and relax. There are nightclubs in Panama City and water parks but this part of Florida is a good spot to take the family, eat some good sea food, rent a beach house and bath in 90 degree water. Tourism is off bec...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jessica Spiegel of BootsNAll’s Italy blog “Why Go Italy” and the Eye on Italy podcast about one of her favorite cities in Italy: Milan. Jessica tells us about the fashion industry, the spectacular cathedral, and the first mall as well as some quiet neighborhoods and parks. She also tells us how far in advance you should get tickets to see Leonardo di Vinci’s Last Supp...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Corinne from Have Baby Will Travel who is a life-long Torontonian (that is to say that she lives in Toronto, Ontario). Corinne gives us an introduction to her city and its many parks, its great ethnic food, its iconic skyline punctuated by the CN Tower. Its neighborhoods includes two different Chinatowns, Greektown, the Irish-influenced Cabbagetown,  Distillery Distri...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Jodi Ettenberg of legalnomads.com about her trip to Chile. Jodi left the corporate world as a lawyer and started her trip around the world with a visit to Chile. She first went mountain climbing in Patagonia (both in Chile and Argentina) marveling at the glaciers and appreciating the view if not the taste of lama. She then took a 42 hour bus ride to Santiago for a wil...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Seth Oakley about traveling to his birthplace in Northern Ohio. Years ago Ohio and Northern Ohio in particular, had a very bad reputation for pollution that one can only get when a river (the Cuyahoga) catches fire. But these days Lake Erie is cleaner than it has been in maybe a hundred years and boasts sites like the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame, Cedar Point, surfing,...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Kara from Miami about her hometown of Miami. Kara tells us Miami is not as it is pictured in TV shows like Miami Vice and Burn Notice (except perhaps that it is filled with beautiful people). She tells us about some of her favorite hotels and restaurants as well as cafes where you can sit and people watch. Miami is known for its beach life and Kara tells us where the...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Christine Cantera about her time living in the Languedoc region of France in the city Montpellier. Montpellier is sometimes called the San Francisco of France. Christine shares with us a few thoughts about cafes, bars, which museums are worth it (and which aren’t), beaches, fortified cities, when to visit, and the one day of the year when nobody in France gets any wor...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Carla, Jason and Janie about their trip to Nambia. While traveling in southern African to attend some of the games of the World Cup the three made a visit to nearby Namibia after hearing from friends that it was one of their favorite African countries. Come with us as we learn about a country that is perhaps surprisingly prepared for tourists. We will talk about seein...

The Amateur Traveler talks to Italophile Ira Bernstein who returns to the show to talk about day trips in Tuscany that you can take from Florence. We talk about visiting the walled city of Siena and its famous bareback horse race the palio, viewing the many towers of San Gimignano, climbing the leaning tower of Pisa (after you take the obligatory picture of someone holding it up), and walking on t...