Author Archives: Wendy

¡Visita Islandia!

by Wendy
As I’ve mentioned, Jack and I are trying to learn Spanish. One of the assignments in our class was to create a short tourist brochure. I chose Iceland, and had fun drafting very basic sentences about the country and including a few photos from our trip several months ago. This was right up my alley – kind of like a travel post in Spanish! So I had to share. Continue reading →

Air Travel Basics

by Wendy
As I prepared to go through the security checkpoint during a recent airport visit, a guard approached me and remarked, “Your flight must not leave for an hour or two.”

“Yes…why?” I asked. “Am I in the wrong line?”

“No, you’re just walking like you’ve got all the time in the world,” he shrugged.

I supposed I was fairly relaxed – an ideal state for travel. It was a quiet afternoon in a mid-size airport, my flight was scheduled to depart on time, and I was feeling particularly efficient that day. Continue reading →

Happy Hour at Home

by Wendy
Jack and I have been in town a lot recently. We take advantage of time between trips to enjoy a quiet routine, including delicious home cooked meals that Jack makes and happy hour in our own living room.

Beer and wine are quite portable, easy to pack for a road trip or pop open after returning from a long journey. But you need the right ingredients and a bit more care to mix an excellent drink. So non-travel weekends often include Manhattans, gin cocktails, or my latest favorite, a Bloody Mary. We’ve tried several different recipes, but my go-to is as follows: Continue reading →

March Madness

by Wendy
In honor of March Madness, when basketball fans across the country try to predict which team will win the famous college tournament, I created a “travel bracket” for Jack’s amusement. Various destinations he’s previously visited face off against each other to determine his favorites.

This is procrastination at its finest. The diagram was drawn (badly) on the back of Spanish homework while I was supposed to be studying for a midterm. But it’s fun, and inspires memories of past trips and discussions on where to go next! Jack wanted to draft a travel bracket for me as soon as he saw it – with slightly different categories such as family trips, hotels, beaches and cities. It was a close competition, but in the end I guess it was no big surprise that Madrid won for both of us

How Not to Study Spanish

by Wendy
Jack and I are taking another Spanish class this year. In many ways, we are good students. We arrive on time, we participate, we thank our teacher before leaving. We even brought her a bottle of wine, assuming that she probably needs one after listening to our horrific accent for 3 hours. We can laugh at our mistakes. We have the best of intentions to study in the evenings and on the weekends.

Unfortunately what we refer to as “studying” is a mix of mostly ineffective habits. I told Jack I was working on a post titled, “How Not to Study Spanish.” His response: “Yes, we certainly have that down.” Continue reading →

Three Cheers for Train Travel

by Wendy
Train travel can be nostalgic, modern, adventurous, efficient, rustic, glamorous, educational – provoking many combinations of potentially contradictory impressions. I love planes (and hanging out in airports), and I love road trips. But trains are also cool. And the European high-speed train network is super-cool. Continue reading →

Unpacking Tips

by Wendy
A great vacation often results in a travel-high. You know, that glow from a beachy sun or hike in the fresh mountain air – or the inspiration from a different culture, geography, or language – or simply from the opportunity to relax and recharge. And yet…this feeling threatens to fade, often on the way home. If you’re not careful, your contentedness is quickly replaced by bewilderment as you prepare to face the first week back at work, the pile of mail, and the household chores.

When returning from a trip my Dad always cautions, “Don’t burn up on re-entry.” It’s good advice. Here are a few of my “unpacking” tips to help with the transition. Continue reading →

Happy Second Blog Anniversary

by April, Sunny and Wendy
January marked the second anniversary of the launch of Looks and Leaps! We have a variety of authors writing about a variety of destinations – 2016 included Portland, Philadelphia, Disneyland, Disneyworld, Raleigh, Richmond, New York City, Washington DC, Dewey Beach, Iceland, London, and Dover, England. We love looking through the previous years’ archives, and hope you do too. A big thanks to all readers for stopping by, and anyone who has taken the time to share a (non spam) comment!

While our stories are primarily focused on travel, you’ll also find the occasional style tip, recipe or seasonal post. To celebrate this anniversary, we have a special treat: the Looks and Leaps pets! Interesting articles on travel are one thing, but there’s nothing like cute animal photos, right? We totally get it. Continue reading →