Laundry While Traveling: A Few Tips

Travel Tips

Having enough clean clothes while traveling can be a problem. If you’re traveling on your own, you may be able to get laundry services at your hotel but that also comes at a premium price and can take a day or two. The other alternative is to find a laundromat (more common in the US then overseas) and spend a few hours washing, drying and folding. If you’re on a cruise, laundry services can be pretty costly although “frequent cruisers” on some lines get free or reduced pricing on a limited amount of laundry.

32° Polo Shirt

A better solution is to travel with clothes that wash and dry quickly. There are any number of brands on the market that are lightweight and can be washed in a sink and then hung to dry in the bathtub/shower. The advantage here is that these clothes take up less room in your suitcase, generally wrinkle little or not at all and, because they can be quickly washed, you can pack fewer items. Todays new wonder fabrics and blends make the job of packing for a trip easier than ever too. Warmer, cooler, moister wicking, fast drying clothes for traveling are available from a number of sources. Perfect for layering, they are easy to rinse out in a sink and dry and are ready to wear again in an hour or so. Two of our favorite brands are 32° and Uniqlo’s AIRism.

Travelon Inflatable Hanger Woolite Travel Packets

Some great products to help you handle your own laundry are a universal sink stopper, travel size packs of detergent and an inflatable hanger. The sink stopper is necessary when you end up with a sink that doesn’t have a good stopper. The travel size detergent packs take up little space and, because they are single use, they can be disposed of as you use them. An inflatable travel hanger takes almost no space and can be blown up when needed and then deflated when it’s time to move on. Carrying a couple of plastic clothes pins can also be useful when hanging clothes to dry.

Images of Sydney

Photographic impressions from near and far…

Luna Park Sydney
Opera House at dusk
Sydney Harbor

Sydney Harbor Australia • One of the worlds largest natural harbors is home to one of its greatest cities. From the iconic Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbor Bridge and The historic Rocks neighborhood there is so much to see and do in Sydney. Catch a convenient ferry from Circle Quay to visit harbor destinations like Darling Harbor and Luna Park (pictured above).

Using the regional transit system it’s easy to reach a number of the areas great beaches. From Manley Beach to Watsons Bay and the famous surf center at Bondi Beach.

Additionally a trip to Australia’s Blue Mountains is only an hour train ride from the Sydney Central Station.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The History Behind The Celebration Of Easter Without question the holiest site in all of Christendom is located in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. It represents the location where Jesus was crucified and where his body was laid to rest. Today there is a high level of certainty that the location has been actually identified.…

by The Intentional Traveler
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Spending Time In Gardens

Atlanta Botanical Garden , Gainesville

Gardens are a human obsession. We’re not talking about tomatoes and corn but flowers and trees and ornamental bushes. In traveling there are always gardens to be explored and incredible gems to be discovered. It is difficult to spend time in a garden and not have your soul refreshed. Perhaps Francis Bacon said it best, “God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures”.

As we have traveled there are times when the garden is actually the destination but often they are unexpected surprises stumbled upon as we stroll a city. Spend a minute and let us introduce you to some of our favorite gardens.

KEUKENHOF

Perhaps one of the worlds most extravagant flower shows is Amsterdam’s Keukenhof, held in the Spring. The show was actually created as a commercial exhibition representing Holland’s tulip growers and is now a major attraction.

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” Claude Monet
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE KEUKENHOF
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” – Audrey Hepburn

Some gardens are just pure extravaganzas and one of the biggest is The Gardens By The Sea in Singapore. Just being near the gardens, especially at night, is an experience. If you find yourself in Singapore don’t miss the Singapore Botanical Gardens.

SINGAPORE

VISITING SINGAPORE

The North Carolina Arboretum

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Asheville North Carolina is a public Arboretum. The North Carolina Arboretum is located on The Blue Ridge Parkway near the Asheville entrance at mile marker 393. The site offers acres of cultivated gardens and groomed trails featuring some of the most beautiful, native plants in the region.

“Life begins the day you start a garden.” – Chinese proverb
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” – Abraham Lincoln

Wellington Botanical Garden

New Zealand has been described as a nation of gardners and that honor is probably well deserved.

The Wellington Botanical Garden in New Zealand is a large garden running down the side of a hill sitting above the city. The easiest way to visit the garden is to take the Salamanca – Cable Car up to the top and stroll back down into the city.

MORE IMPRESSIONS OF THE WELLINGTON GARDENS

“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden. ” Thomas Jefferson

To be continued but enjoy the following connections to some garden websites;

American Orchid Society Garden, Florida

New Zealand Gardens Trust – Wellington

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami

Nan Lian Garden, Hong Kong

Wahiawa Botanical Garden, Hawaii

Citadel Jose do Canto Botanical Garden, Azores

Images of Cabo

Photographic impressions from near and far…

Lands End Cabo San Lucas Probably my favorite sunset ever. A place at the tip of Baja, Mexico where the land vanishes into the Pacific. Rugged rock formations stand above azure waters with pockets of beautiful sand beaches just too inviting to resist.

Out on a boat at Lands End as the Sun sets and the sky turns shades of pale orange. Frigate birds fill the sky as they glide along the rocks looking for places to roost.

One of Mexico’s most popular resorts, Cabo attracts sport fishermen, yachtsmen and Sun seekers from all over. They’re drawn to its luxury hotels and timeshares, restaurants, nightlife and that incredible mixing of land and sea.

Exploring South America

with From Cartagena, Columbia to Ushuaia, Argentina the South American continent is an amazing land of natural wonders and human accomplishments. Explore the islands of the Galapagos or hike around Iguazu Falls, climb up to Machu Picchu or cruise through the Panama Canal. You can even cast off for a trip to Antarctica or walk…

by The Intentional Traveler

Where In The World #5?

It seems so other worldly, like Mars or the Moon but it’s right here on Earth. It’s so alien that the NASA space program uses it to test rovers and other equipment. Find the answer HERE. Here Are A Few Of Our More Recent Postings You might Find Interesting…

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Images of Antarctica

Photographic impressions from near and far…

Humpback Whale in Paradise Bay
Approaching the coast
Elephant Island

Paradise Bay, Antarctica • The very bottom of the planet is now a destination open to everyone. Small expedition boats cruise out of Ushuaia, Argentina putting passengers ashore in Antarctica for up close encounters with penguins and seals. Luxury cruise ships glide through Antarctic waters surrounded by whales and seabirds.

Itineraries often include sailing into Paradise Bay on the Antarctic peninsula, cruising around Elephant Island and a port call in the Falkland Islands located over a thousand miles east of Argentina in the Atlantic. A great place to visit penguins and sea lions.

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Australia’s Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk

BONDI BEACH

Not far from downtown Sydney, Australia is an almost mile long sweep of sandy beach, tucked inside quarter-moon shaped bay with a gently sloping bottom that creates a year long season of good surfing conditions. This is Bondi Beach. While the waves provide surfing for long distances they average only between 2 and 3 feet high. People describe the conditions to be remarkably similar to Hawaii’s Waikiki. Across the street from the beach and behind the beachfront strip known as Campbell Parade, lies an active community of cafés, restaurants and designer shops.

The Coastal Walk

There are plenty of reasons to love Australia’s most famous beach but beyond surfing, swimming and sunbathing there is also the best walking trail in Australia. The coastal walking trail begins at the south end of Australia’s famous Bondi Beach. Bondi is synonymous with surf the world over and its odd name originated with the Aboriginal word “Boondi” which has the same meaning as “the sound of surf” in English.

Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk offers incredible ocean views from its easy 3.7 mile walking trail along the cliffs between Australia’s well-known beaches making this an incredible experience. The trail officially begins above the sand of Bondi Beach at the Bondi Icebergs ocean pool* and travels along a clifftop course between Tamarama and Coogee beaches. Its gradual paved ascents and descents are perfect for a casual walk or an invigorating hike. The walk will take just over an hour each way.

Along the trail are plenty of opportunities to swim at the other beaches and coves. Just past Clovelly is Gordons Bay, a well-known scuba diving and snorkeling location. If you begin the walk at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, you’ll find the highly rated seaside eatery Coogee Pavilion at the other end with more breathtaking views from its rooftop terrace.

Sculpture by the Sea

From October to December each year** the seaside walk takes on a whole new character with the worlds largest outdoor sculpture exhibit. The annual free-to-the-public outdoor sculpture exhibition, named “Sculpture by the Sea” draws artists from around Australia and the world and is very popular with Australians from Sydney and beyond. If you have plans that will take you to Sydney in November make sure you plan a trip out to Bondi Beach.

Getting There – Only about five miles from central Sydney it’s easy to reach. Express buses run to Bondi Beach from the centre of Sydney, and take about 30 minutes to reach the beach. The Metro trains operate from the city centre to Bondi Junction every twenty minutes, which is a 10-minute bus or taxi ride on to the beach. Bondi Beach is also one of many stops on a Big Bus Sydney tour, which allows you to hop on and off.

*Icebergs Dining Room and Bar – Bondi Beach, sits on the rocks above the iconic pool and isfamous for the views of Bondi Beach, by day or night, it makes an unforgettable backdrop while dining to inspired cuisine by Maurice Terzini’s Italian heritage.

**Because of the pandemic the Sculpture by the Sea exhibit is postponed in 2020, date TBD.

https://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-east/bondi/beach-lifestyle

MORE ABOUT BONDI BEACH