If you didn't catch my interview with Jeannie Yandel last week on KUOW's Sound Focus, you can listen to it here.

Among other things, we chatted about my favorite little ethnic restaurants and shops in Seattle and why coming back to Seattle isn't so bad after a fabulous journey.

And, Debbie Dubrow from Delicious Baby was interviewed on Friday. Her blog is all about traveling with kids so you might want to take a listen to that as well.

Travel Well!

Beth

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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On Monday, I heard on the news about the American Airlines flight out of Seattle that made an unscheduled landing in Chicago on its way to NYC. I gave it a quick thought to determine whether I might know someone on that flight. I drew a blank.

BUT, when I was reading my friend, Pam's, blog yesterday, I realized SHE WAS ON THAT FLIGHT. Holy Cow!

Here's her story.

It's a riveting account from that landing - which ultimately left them off the runway, by the way.

Travel Well!

Beth

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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(Photo courtesy Exeter International)

I receive tons of press releases in my inbox about tours and openings and vacation specials around the world. I generally ignore these, opting to write about travel that I'm directly involved with. However, I couldn't pass this one up.

If you've got some vacation time in June and a little cash to burn, you might consider joining travel writer Paul Theroux for a 14-day tour across the Arctic Circle on the Trans Siberian Railway in a joint program with Exeter International.

It's available to "a few discerning travelers" at an "extraordinary value". This value-priced trip starts at "only" $12,795 per person based on double occupancy.

If Wall Street didn't kill your bank account last week, check your calendar to see if you're available.

Me? I'm waiting to see if they offer a press trip for this one. I'd even be willing to fly myself to the starting point, Moscow, if they'll cover my tab on board the train.

Wherever your travels take you...

Travel Well!

Beth

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Thanks to all you Seattle-area folks who dropped in to the Adventures in Travel Expo on Sunday to listen to some amazing women travelers share their tips.

I moderated the panel which included Pam Mandel who has a personal blog at Nerds Eye View, Mary Jo Manzanares who is the Travel & Culture Channel Editor at b5Media and blogs at Fly Away Cafe, the Travel Product Guide and The Seattle Traveler and Chris MacKay from the responsible tour company, Crooked Trails.

Thanks also to these amazing women who brought decades of travel experience with them and shared some excellent tips based on their world wanderings.

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Dying to get to India but don't know where to start?

Afraid that it's too difficult as a woman to travel there whether with a group or on your own?

Fear not!

I'll be speaking at Wide World Books and Maps on Tuesday night (September 16th) at 7 p.m. about my travels in India and how you can get started on your own adventure.

Come find out how India is very doable for women travelers if you just have the right tools and information in advance.

http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/india_wl-291-x-450.jpg

Oh, and of course I'll be signing copies of my new book, Wanderlust and Lipstick: For Women Traveling to India.

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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The middle dish is Fattet Hummus, a layered dish with pita, chickpeas and yummy spices.

This week I attended a private cooking class at Whole Foods in the Roosevelt neighborhood.

It was arranged through Jon's work - a team-building sort of event where significant others were invited. Yippee.

I'm not much of a cook but I'm starting to get into it. Jon and I both love our breads, hummus and other dips so this Middle Eastern evening really suited our style and taste buds.

Chef Shannon created the "menu" but we did all (OK, most) of the work. Shannon just let us loose in the big kitchen there, directing us as to where the utensils and spices were when we were utterly lost.

After three hours, I couldn't believe the amazing dishes that we had all cooked up together. Here's a sampling:

Shawarma is the meaty filling in this pita bread.

Harrira is traditionally eaten in Morocco after sundown during Ramadan.

I volunteered to make the flatbread (which was amazingly easy) and the ice cream with fruit and syrup topping.

I actually can't wait to cook these up in my own kitchen!

Travel (and eat) Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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Last week, my friend, Sarah, was raving about a new little shop, Agora, in the Phinney neighborhood, that she discovered. She mentioned their Saturday afternoon tastings and pondered how they could possibly make money when they offered such delicious samples of food and wine to so many people..

Jon and I found ourselves in Phinney running errands late on Saturday morning and decided to pop in to see what all the fuss was about.

A sampling of their Mediterranean goods.

Wowwie. We were lured in by the tasting, charmed by the co-owners, Alexis and Nikos, and bowled over by the quantity and quality of the groceries for this little shop.

Nikos and Alexis

Nikos is from Greece and has a background in food and hospitality. Alexis attended Bastyr and approaches food with this healthy perspective. Together they've married (literally) their two backgrounds to create this most amazing of shops. (Agora in Greek, by the way, means "shop".)

More goodies...

A small portion of their wine selection.

One stop at Agora and you'll be taken right to the Mediterranean.

Oh, and I have the answer to Sarah's question about how they could possibly afford to do such amazing tastings... we left with a good-sized bag of food including tzatziki, pesto, wine, and a healthy Nutella alternative.

Find them at:
Agora
6417 Phinney Ave. N
Seattle

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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This is your last chance to get your free tickets to the Adventures in Travel Expo this weekend at the Convention Center in Seattle! Shoot me an email for more info on how to get yours: beth at wanderlustandlipstick dot com!

The Adventures in Travel Expo is September 13th and 14th and will be packed with seminars (including one by moi), a world music stage, adventure activities (including a climbing wall and scuba diving lessons) and booth after booth of information from some of the best-known travel companies in the biz.

This is the first time the event is being held in Seattle, so let's show these folks what kind of travelers we are and that we can rally together just as well as those folks in N.Y., D.C and Southern Cali.

Come on out and say hello to me on Sunday. I'll be moderating a panel of women travelers at 11 a.m. The panel includes Pam Mandel of NerdsEyeView, Mary Jo Manzanares of FlyAwayCafe and Chris MacKay of Crooked Trails.

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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There's something about that Matt Harding video that has us all talking.

Earlier this week, I attended a presentation that Matt gave at Wide World Books. He showed his most recent video and did what he does best, answered questions and danced with the crowd.

Oh, and he even showed us some outtakes:

There was a good sized crowd in attendance and a mix of men and women. A couple gals broached a subject that we must have all been thinking but couldn't exactly formulate.

How has Matt managed to tap into our emotions so (seemingly) easy?

I thought I was the only one moved to tears by his dancing around the world, but apparently not. Two women fessed up to this and I'm sure others, like me, were just quietly agreeing - feeling the emotions but not admitting it to a group of strangers.

Humble Matt simply said that he lets the video do the talking and doesn't try to explain its effect on viewers.

And it really doesn't matter how he's managed to do it. He just has - and we're all a little better for it.

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend, Marcia, flew me down to Santa Fe to visit with her for a few days. She gets free flight coupons from Southwest Airlines (from using her Southwest-branded credit card for her business) and offered a round trip ticket to me.

Couldn't turn THAT down, now could I?

Marcia pretty much knows Santa Fe inside and out. She owns a destination management company, which means that she is responsible for showing large groups of clients (often in the hundreds) the best of Santa Fe while they're in town.

So, she did the same for me!

Although I've been there numerous times (and swear that someday I'll own a second home there :-), she managed to show me a few sides of this small city that I'd never seen before. Here are some places we visited:

Allan House Sculpture Garden

Row of painted mailboxes outside of Santa Fe

Cemetery along the rolling hills outside of Santa Fe

Typical adobe home in Santa Fe. This was along the Canyon Road gallery area.

Travel Well!

Please read about my travels on my Wanderlust and Lipstick blog.

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