Travel the World - AirBnB Photography

You've been reading my blog and have now decided that you want to live in Brisbane, Australia. I know, it's pretty awesome, right?! Or maybe you've decided you just want to travel the world more. Luckily, AirBnB has made this easier than ever. The company started in San Fransisco but now has rooms ALL over the world. It crowd sources spare rooms in people's homes and makes it easy for visitors or vacationers to find and rent a room for a weekend, a week, or a whole month! We used it to find two great places to stay for a week at a time here in Brisbane, and one of them ended up letting us do a long-term stay for the five months we're here in an area where we were having a VERY difficult time finding a place to rent! It was a win-win for us and the property owner because she got great flat-mates to share dinners with and we got a place to stay in the middle of everything!



We're also using AirBnB for our summer stay in London when it's close to the Olympic Games and hotels have raised rates and overbooked. We've also reserved a room in Iceland, where we don't really know anyone, but want to stay for a couple nights. After Christmas we'll be renting an entire home in Puerto Rico so we can spend a whole week together with the rest of my family in a different place.



Sharing a room in someone's home is so much more adventurous and cozy than a sterile hotel room. Granted, if you're a control freak and want starched white bleached sheets and a spotless bathroom, you really should just stay in a hotel. However, if what you want is a look inside another culture, the best insider tips on great cafes and restaurants, or even someone you might be able to take an adventure with, than you'll LOVE AirBnB.com!



I think this little video really sums up the experiences I've had while traveling and staying in AirBnB homes...

*The following giveaway ended on:
March 17, 2012
Better luck next time!*

BLOG READER GIVEAWAY!!

1. Think of a place you've always wanted to go.
2. Search AirBnB.com for a place you'd love to stay in.
3. Post a comment here on my blog about why you want to go there and include a link to the AirBnB.com place you'd stay in.
4. One awesome blog reader will win $20 to be used as "get out and have fun money"!
5. Don't forget to include your email in the comment if you want to win the giveaway!
6. Deadline is Friday, March 16th

Full disclosure: If you actually book a room, Alex and I get a little extra AirBnB credit for our travels when you use this AirBnB referral link. However, you do not need to create an account in order to search the service and enter the giveaway, but I think you'll find vacation room shopping to be very addicting!

Unexpected... Dad and the Dress

Most men stay out of the room while women are getting ready together and they rarely ever touch the bride's wedding dress on the wedding day. Perhaps it is that simple fact that makes this one small moment so unique and exceptional. To describe the relationship between a father, daughter, and mother in something as simple and ordinary as helping a bride with her dress, is exactly what makes me so nostalgic about freezing little unexpected slices of life.

Jack Kerouac's 90th Birthday Celerbation in Lowell, MA

I wish I could be in Lowell to celebrate Jack Kerouac's 90th with everyone. I've actually seen a lot of Kerouac traces here in Australia- in cafes, independent bookstores, and even at a recent Bukowski poetry reading. I think he calls to those who live in a state of wanderlust, which are often artists, writers, and adventurers. If you're anywhere near the Boston area and don't already have an adventure planned for today, I'd highly recommend indulging in some Kerouac wanderlust for yourself.

Jack and I feel similarly about the type of people we find interesting...
“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.” - On The Road