How Street Performers Enhance Travel: A Look at our All-time Favorites

We LOVE street performers! 

Much in the same way that the food of a region can tell a story, we often learn about the culture of destinations we have visited through the art of the busker.

Join us on a journey through the world, through the very talented "man on the street"... CONTINUE READING >>

We are over-the-moon excited about the release of our new book, Going Gypsy, and to celebrate...

We want to see how YOU are #GoingGypsy!

Post your best #GoingGypsy moments on Facebook and Twitter and be automatically entered to win an autographed first edition of Going Gypsy! 

We want to see YOU in a favorite travel moment, celebrating a milestone, hugging your loved ones, conquering a fear, or posing with the cover of Going Gypsy!

We'll be sharing your fun on Facebook and Twitter - and you could even be featured here on GypsyNester.com!.. Click here to see how easy it is to share your #GoingGypsy moments!

Going Gypsy: One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All (find out more) Available from Skyhorse Publishing! Order Now - Wherever Books Are Sold! Also available as an audiobook from Audible.com

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That Time I was Called an Ugly American

I met the meanest woman in the world on cruise ship.

David & I were sitting in a near-empty onboard restaurant after an afternoon cooking class, and had a jovial group of fellow classmates seated with us – new friends from all over the world. 

Yes, we were a bit loud.

 Yes, we were critiquing the food – we had prepared it, after all – and, I was being exceptionally... CONTINUE READING >>



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There was so much we didn't know about the tower until we visited!

Did you know it's been painted a bunch of different colors?

Did you know that you could have lunch there?

 Find out what was creator Gustave Eiffel's real name was - and how different the tower's name would be if he had kept it, why there is a mannequin on the outside of the elevator, and what it looks like to step out on the glass... CONTINUE READING >>

Follow us here too!: Facebook - Twitter - YouTube - Google+ - Pinterest - Instagram - GoodReads - StumbleUpon - RSS Going Gypsy One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All (find out more) Coming in February 2015 from Skyhorse Publishing! Pre-Order Now - Wherever Books Are Sold!

Picture This: Tonic Food & Dried Seafood Streets in Hong Kong

Famous for ancient Chinese medicines, traditional herbal remedies, and tonic foods such as $5,000-per-pound bird's nests, Hong Kong's Wing Lok and Ko Shing Streets are bursting with wonderful oddities.

And trust us, that's the tame stuff!

The life expectancy in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world, so who are we to argue?
Click in to see some truly incredible wonders... CONTINUE READING >>

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Remember that big news we've been spouting off about? The news we were afraid to talk about because we couldn't believe it was actually happening?

Well here it is (drumroll please!):

We have a book coming out! Can you imagine how hard this has been for over-sharing me to not say anything?

 But, before we get into the details, I want to tell you the story about the cover... CONTINUE READING >>

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Yin and Yang: Ancient Meets Modern in Shanghai

How does a city with a jaw-dropping skyline and  the fastest train in the world also embrace its roots?

Join us as we discover Shanghai -- the old and the new -- through her art, religion, architecture and food (soup dumplings!)... CONTINUE READING >>

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Beijing - Forbidden No More

To those of us who grew up in the "eat your vegetables, there are starving kids in China" era, visiting Beijing really seemed like a trip into a forbidden city.

Back then the city was known... CONTINUE READING >>

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Livin' on Hong Kong Time

Hong Kong is the world's most vertical city, with two hundred and ninety-three buildings higher than five hundred feet - sixty more than second-place New York City.

Travel with us as we explore the wonders of this great city - all while taking advantage of a mass transit system that serves eleven million people a day... CONTINUE READING >>

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The Venice of Shanghai - and we have a Florida Getaway Winner!

Zhujiajiao is one of many small cities in China that are built along canals, water towns where transportation mainly involves feet and boats.

And getting around on foot means bridges, at least thirty-six of them, which are a big part of the city's character... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

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Goodness Gracious Great Wall (o' Fire... in our legs)

Bucket List: A group of things to do or places to see before one kicks the bucket.

We have never had an official list ourselves, most likely it would simply read "everything," but when we laid eyes on The Great Wall of China we instantly knew it was near the top of that nonexistent list.

Our first glimpse was... CONTINUE READING >> 
 
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Who's Your Buddha? The Big Buddha of Hong Kong

Up until this year's Asian adventure our entire understanding of Buddha consisted of cheesy gold statues of a smiling, pot-bellied guy we'd seen in some restaurants. We weren't exactly enlightened.

Perhaps we could clear up our conceptions a bit with a visit to The Tian Tan Buddha. He sits atop a hill on the outskirts of Hong Kong.

He stands, oops, I mean sits, one hundred and twelve feet high, and weighs in at... CONTINUE READING > >

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Riding the Fastest Train in the World

Ever think it might be fun to levitate?

That's just fantasy stuff, right? The kind of thing we only see in movies, or magic shows. Not true.

There is a place where floating in midair, and doing it at 200 miles per hour, is not only possible, it happens every day... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Is This the Best Docking Spot Ever?

We got Shanghai-ed - and loved it.

Not only did our ship stay for two full days in the legendary city, but we docked in an absolutely unbelievable location.

The incredible new Shanghai International Cruise Terminal could not be more in... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Jumbo + Floating + Hong Kong = GypsyNester Heaven

Since 1976 one of Hong Kong's top tourist attractions has been Jumbo Kingdom, a floating restaurant.

Wait, floating? Yes, it is moored in the middle of Aberdeen Harbour. Imagine our excitement when we learned that we could combine two of our favorite things... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Fear Conquering & Eating Silkworms

I am no longer an eating-a-bug virgin.

I love sampling new food - the more authentic the better. But, from time to time we are faced with delicacies which may be too authentic.

Find out which of us tried it and who chickened out... CONTINUE READING and watch the video >> 

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Dalian, China. A City of Contrasts

Modern, yet traditional, gleaming, but with a not-so-shiny center, Dalian is a city of many facets.

Join us in old Manchuria, a place with both Russian and Japanese influences, old trolleys and new high rises...and both the best street food we've ever eaten and the worst thing we've ever put in our mouths... CONTINUE READING >> 

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A Tale of Two Flights AND a new contest!

It was the best of planes, it was the worst of planes, that was our feeling after spending nearly thirty hours on two non-stop flights.

The first one, United flight 895, from Chicago to Hong Kong clocked in at sixteen hours. Back when... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Dispatch Two - Our Amazing Asian Cruise!

Our amazing Asian live-blog continues!

Follow along LIVE with us as we discover China, South Korea and Japan. We'll be bring you The Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing, Dalian, Busan, Nagasaki and all the fabulous entertainment, the activities, the food and fun aboard the ms Volendam!... CONTINUE READING >> 

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Dispatch One - Our Amazing Asian Cruise!

We're taking you to Asia!

Follow along LIVE with us as we discover Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan. We'll be visiting Shanghai  Zhujiajiao Watertown with its traditional wooden boat markets, the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing, the culture and beauty of Dalian, the amazing port city of Busan, the Peace Garden... CONTINUE READING >> 

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