A Memorable Day of Doing Nothing in Portsmouth, Virginia

After my tour of beautiful Norfolk, I was ready for round two of quaint American charm. The seaport town of Portsmouth, Virginia, is known for its antique shops, art galleries, and children's museum. Jen, Sebastian, and I visited Portsmouth and spent the day not visiting antique shops, art galleries, or children's museums. Instead, we ate German food and traipsed around in the rain with blue umbrellas. It was perfect.

Our jaunt to Portsmouth from Norfolk began with a ferry ride. That's worth the trip right there.

Classing It Up in Turin

Palaces. Opera houses. Gardens. After getting to know beautiful, rusty Bologna, Turin felt like an extravagance. I arrived knowing little more than the following about the fourth largest city in Italy:

• It is home to the famous Shroud of Turin, which some believe to be the shroud in which Jesus was buried. 
• Italy's royal family, the House of Savoy, lived there.

Given its royal history, I figured that Turin would be elegant, but I'm not sure I bargained for this:

Capture the Colour Photo Contest 2013

For the second year in a row, Travel Supermarket is hosting Capture the Colour, a contest in which travel and photography bloggers showcase five pictures, each featuring a different color -- yellow, red, green, white, and blue. Each blogger then nominates five fellow bloggers to enter the contest, which ends October 9.

Recently, Joe of Cosmic Smudge nominated me. Yay! There's no way I'm winning this thing, but it's fun to participate because 1) it makes me feel like part of the travel blogger community and 2) it gives me an excuse to spell the word colour with a u. So here goes.

Sir Gnome's Paris Highlights

A London resident, Sir Gnome visits Paris as often as his busy life allows. After all, it's an easy trip across the English Channel on the Eurostar. He loves making new discoveries in the "city of lights" -- venturing outside the city center, finding hidden corners, dining at bistros that tourist guides ignore. However, while Sir Gnome loves an adventure, he also finds comfort in the familiar. For this reason, he has chosen to share the three experiences he can never do without in Paris. Below are his photos and descriptions.

Sir Gnome Has Fun Storming the Castle

For years, Sir Gnome had been looking to exact revenge on a six-fingered man who had terribly wronged him. He knew where he would find this man -- at Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon's stunning medieval fortress. Once he spotted the monument from afar, he made his move. It was time to storm the castle.

Sir Gnome at Afternoon Tea

Sir Gnome hails from England and therefore doesn't go a day without his afternoon tea. On his recent visit to London, he indulged in tea and designer cookies at the Berkeley, where he took in the classy atmosphere and even engaged in a little romancing.

Sir Gnome tries not to be confused for one of the treats

What's in a "Nom"?

I'm a travel blogger, so it stands to reason that I love travel. Or does it? What of those travel bloggers who hate travel?

I'm in freaking Beijing. I've been wandering around for three days, and I totally hate it here. Everything's different from back home, and they speak this totally incomprehensible language that only the one billion inhabitants of this country understand. I don't get it. It sucks. Tomorrow I'll be in Shanghai, and I bet that'll suck just as bad. I'll blog about that hellhole when I get there.