When we were told that we’d be spending the morning at Gladiator School during our visit to Italy’s capital, we immediately said, “Sign me up!”  We love a new adventure and who doesn’t want to learn a little about the Ancient City’s past while getting the chance to wield a sword?

7:00 am came early and we had to check out of our apartment in Rome by 7:30 as we were heading to Umbria that afternoon. We wouldn’t be finished in Gladiator school until after check out, so it was a late night packing our things after rolling ourselves home after our 7 course dinner that Ryan and the House Trip folks booked us into with Context Travel.

We arrived early at the school and nobody was there, so we sat in the tent feeling anxious as if a real gladiator. Although, we were simply waiting for a lesson, the gladiators were waiting to fight to the death.

Our guide came in like a true slave handler and yelled at us and mocked us whenever we answered his questions. He never wavered from his character and it was entertaining to watch him speak even though he wouldn’t allow us to take a photo of him. (We had to sneak photographs whenever he wasn’t looking) “What is this contraption?” He said, “is it from the future?”

Sneaking a photograph of Marcus Aurelis when he's not looking

We all received our smocks and looked almost like a true slave about to enter the ring of death before heading into the museum for a talk about the Colosseum and the ancient celebrities.

I didn’t know what to expect from Gladiator School and as the days events unfolded, I realized that I had something else in mind. I was expecting some hard core workout and fight to the finish, but it was a pretty mellow morning of listening to “Marcus Aurelis” tell us about the history of Rome while staying in the character of Gladiator.

We stood in the cold museum for nearly an hour as he told us the history of the Gladiator and truthfully, it was so long and cold and I had trouble understanding most of what he said. I found myself zoning off into space and when he asked us questions I yelled out incoherent answers.

It was fun to handle the swords though. We learned the proper way to take the sword out of its sheath without chopping off your fellow soldiers head or your own hand. Who knew taking a sword out could be so complicated!

We then looked at a few more artifacts and tried on some helmets. They were extremely heavy and took away all your peripheral vision. I have no idea how these gladiators managed to fight in the ring with heavy metal helmets, heavy metal swords and a constant fear of death.

I guess, I’m going to have to rent Russell Crowe’s Gladiator again to get a sense of what he was talking about.

I did learn that the reason for Gladiators was to clear out the overcrowded jails. Instead of executing criminals, they gave them the opportunity to flight for their lives. Most men said yes since it gave them a second chance at living. Gladiators who won match after match were eventually given their freedom to retire. They became celebrities and even though they had their freedom, most went on to become professional gladiators. I guess they got used to the glory.

It was then back outside where we thankfully didn’t have to run through the obstacle course or jump around on the bleachers. I think that we were all expecting to do some sort of training that involved getting dirty and pushing us to our limits.

Instead, we were given wooden swords where we practiced 5 moves of attacking and blocking. It was when we finally got into the ring to fight that I started to have some fun. I had finally warmed up from the cold of the concrete museum and I was finally feeling like we were in Gladiator School.

Angie of Angie Away and I kicked off the tournament and fought each other with the moves we had learned. Whenever someone made body contact they won a point. First one to three wins and goes on to round two. I have to say Angie and I were a good match and it came down to the final wire. I lucked out when Angie stepped out of the ring and lost by default.

This went on for a few more rounds until the finale came down to Dave who had just barely beat Ryan in an intense match up against Kirsten of Aviators and a Camera. Dave narrowly beat Kirsten which totally upset Marcus Aurelias as I am sure that he wanted to give Kirsten a victory kiss.

After the tournament was over, we all got our diplomas to state that we had graduated from Gladiator School. We were full fledged gladiators and liscenced to fight in any ring around the Roman Empire.

In the end, it was a fun morning with a great group from House Trip. I think that less time could have been spent in the museum and more time could have been spent on the field taking part in different Gladiator activities. I would have loved to try to fight with one of those helmets on!

For more on Gladiator School and your own Private Tours in Rome, check out Context Travel for more Roman Holiday ideas! 

For many-many years the Paradise Island of Cuba was at the top of my must-see places. All the colorful pictures from travel blogs and magazines just kept teasing my imagination. Needless to say, the degree of my excitement was at an all time high when my tickets were finally booked.

Now that I have had time to reflect, I can attest that this was one of the most vivid and exciting journeys of my life. Cuba lived up to my idealized version of the country. I could tell you about it’s beauty and friendly people, it’s rich culture and thriving nightlife, but instead, I’d like to bust a couple of common myths about Havana, Cuba so that you can visit it with your eyes wide open.

Myth #1:

Cuba is a wallet friendly country.

When you are in Havana the fact that you are a tourist in a foreign land will be constantly chasing you and I have to say that the government does everything to intensify that feeling.  First of all there are two types of currencies on the island. The national peso used by locals and the convertible peso, which is compulsory to use among tourists. Once you pay with convertibles you have a target on your head as a tourist with money and as a result you will have to give tips for every service imaginable. From a person watching for your car at night to an old woman on the street asking money to take her photo while smoking a Cuban cigar.

If you decide to rent a car, you’ll be assigned a special license plate dedicated to tourists, which will basically put a “honey for the bees” marker on you and increase the expected generosity level (measured in tips).

Myth #2:

Cuba Caters to Tourists

While we had the pleasure of meeting some really friendly and genuine people, the rough statistics show that all these people tend to stay out of Havana. The vast majority on the other hand will see you as an instant financial salvation to their needs whether or not they have something to offer. The crime rate is low though and most of these people will not attempt to rob or assault you since the government has very strict penalties. (the police patrols can be seen everywhere along the city). On the other hand be prepared to the fact that there will be plenty of people lining up to part you from your hard earned money.

Myth #3:

Cuba has the best Mojito in the world.

Although this remarkable sparkling drink was one the Hemingway’s favorites, The Cuban mojitos I had were one big disaster since the bartenders didn’t bother to pour anything besides rum and mineral water into my glass. It may be a cool and refreshing drink around the world, but the Mojitos in Cuba are not living up to their reputation.

The main question is…

Is it worth going to Cuba after everything mentioned above? The answer is hell yeah! For all of you “Back to the future” fans: the time machine does exist. In place of the famous Delorean though, it is all the classics you can think of from the golden years of American car manufacturers.

For me as a person who has been born and raised in Russia it was more than exciting to see all these oldies. These cars are rarely seen in Russia but in Cuba they are a part of the daily life.

Now these cars look magnificent in pictures, but there is one little problem. You totally cannot breathe around them. The next picture gives a good impression on the above-mentioned problem.

When it comes to pollution, Havana is the champion of the island. The beaches may be free and clear of the smog and smoke but Havana will make you sick. The only way to avoid the toxic stench is to hang out in the harbor where there’s still some fresh air.

The harbor of Havana is truly magnificent! When you see the beauty of daily life by the water, all the frustrations from the chaos, the scam artists, the bad mojitos and even the smog quickly fade away and disappear. And you remember why you were drawn to this country in the first place.

My name is Max. I am a Russian expat living in Amsterdam. Once my friends and I went to
Cuba I realized that most travel guide books are probably written by people who had actually never seen the place. This has triggered me to start writing my own travel blog.

For many years I’ve been keen on genre photography. I strongly believe that a photo of an average person on the street can give you more information about the culture than a thick ethnographic encyclopedia.

If you have any question about places I’ve been to, using materials of my blog or questions about meaning of life drop me a line at max at saynuclearvessel.com. Don’t hesitate!

We first were introduced to apartment rentals as an alternative to hotels last year during our Mongol Rally adventure. Our teammate Sherry Ott had set us up with a sweet deal downtown London, England for a week where we enjoyed cooking our own meals and watching Top Gear on the Telly while working on the old travel blog.

It was a couple of days later that we were contacted by Roomorama to work together during the Mongol Rally and they became our official sponsor for our travels through Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

We had the chance to stay in an array of apartments from shared accommodations with kitchens in Romania to luxurious hidden gems in Kiev to the ultra modern high rise apartment in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

So now whenever we are traveling the world, they are our go to people for a place to stay!

When we booked our accommodation in Rome, we had no idea about the layout of the city. We just thought, “if we’re close to the river, we must be close to everything.” Little did we know we were booked in one of the most charming areas of the City.

Trastevere

Not Quite Your Regular Tourist Area

The Trastevere area of Rome is central and free of crowds. It has the atmosphere of feeling completely local and if I were to recommend staying anywhere in Rome, this would be the place. Littered with Trattorias, Osterias and Pizzerias you will find that authentic Rome you’ve always been looking for. It is here where people still are allowed to hang their clothing across the street and it is here that you will still see groups of elderly gentlemen sipping cafés while talking loudly to one another.

Directly center to all the attractions, you can put on your hiking boots and check out all the major sites without having to hop on a bus or hire a taxi. 20 minutes to the Vatican and 20 Minutes to the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. We couldn’t believe that we could stroll anywhere we like and truly take in the charm of the city by foot!

Our apartment was small yet super sweet. The owners were so completely nice and welcoming.

Our Apartment Landlord Juan Carlos Showing us where to go!

I love the little details about apartment living. Unlike some of the other apartments we’ve stayed in recently, this one actually felt like someone was living in it. There were several books and magazines for us to peruse, candles and the ever important wine opener.

The bathroom was so clean that we could forgive the fact that our shower was right over the toilet. (We’ve travelled South East Asia, we’re used to that). It is €79 to stay at our apartment in Trastevere and that includes wifi, a kitchen, coffee and tea.

The kitchen, albeit small, was pristine with a spotless stove and sink and an array of dishes and pots and pans to make even the most gourmet of meals.

If you are travelling with close friends, it is a good choice. It sleeps 3 people but it makes for a very tight squeeze. However to be able to split the cost (a 3rd person only costs an extra €20 per night) it makes for a very cheap stay in Rome.

I recommend hanging out in the area for at least a day to enjoy a cappuccino (but only before 11:00) see the magnificent Basilica di Santa Maria one of the oldest churches in Rome and the Ponte Sisto bridge dating back to the time of Marcus Aurelius. (You know, the guy from Gladiator)

A nice stroll along Rome's Tiber River

You have to walk along the waterfront towards the Vatican. It is a wonderful walk and you can pop into the Castle Sant Angelo. One of the most magnificent things about visiting Rome besides witnessing all the monumental historical sites, is to walk through the city and take in the vibe and energy of the locals. In our opinion there is no better place to do that than in Trastevere and there is no better place to stay to actually feel like a local.

For more information on Apartment Rentals Visit Roomorama to book your next trip.

For this particular apartment visit The Charming Apartment in Trastevere

When we told people we were going to on an adventure to Antarctica, the first thing that everyone talked about was how we were going to be able to see penguins. We were very excited about seeing them but we didn’t know a lot about penguins. We never saw March of the Penguins which we hear is excellent and we’ve never been intrigued by these tuxedo clad flipper flyers.

Surrounded by Penguins

We’ve seen penguins in Peru and South Africa and wrote about them in our travel blog, but I have to admit, we weren’t quite prepared for what we were about to see in Antarctica.

Our first landing brought us to a colony of  5000 Gentoo Penguins hanging out on the shores of the Antarctic Peninsula where they waddled in regimented lines towards the water, huddled in groups to catch a nap and played with each other while calling out to their mom’s who eagerly fed them regurgitated fish.

Penguins stink and that is a fact!

I must warn you, a penguin colony is in fact the worst smelling odour you will ever encounter in your life. Think of a mix of rotting flesh and rancid bird poop all wrapped up with a putrid fishy smell. It is not a pleasant experience and we found ourselves gagging on more than one occasion while we took their photos.

However, these guys are so cute, that you quickly forget that you can barely breathe and soon your nose settles into a comfortable tolerance allowing you to interact with the Penguins.

There is a rule in Antarctica that you cannot approach an animal closer than 5 meters. However, if you sit quietly and don’t disturb them, they just might venture over to you and explore what you are up to.

Deb gets up close and personal with the Penguins.

This is presicely what happened to most people in our group. Wearing our waterproof pants and Quark Expedition parkas we happily sat in penguin poop to have the chance to interact with these Antarctica cuties.

Some people had better luck than others and even had penguins jump on their laps!

Who are these Yellow Penguins?

We were in Antarctica at the perfect time of year when baby penguins were molting. They had enough mobility to waddle over to see us, but haven’t been around long enough to lose excitement over seeing something new. A group of giant “yellow penguins” from the ship definitely sparked their interest. Penguins are near sighted so I came to the conclusion that they kept walking up to us to see us better. From far away we looked like big yellow blobs, when they walked closer they saw us as something unexpected and pecked at our pants, rubbed up against us and even snuggled beneath our legs.

There is nothing like seeing them in the wild!

There is nothing as special as seeing an Antarctic Penguin in the Wild and from that first landing on, we saw them repeatedly for the next 10 days. And you no what? We never tired of them. They are just as cute and cuddly as you’d expect and whether it is your first penguin sighting or your thousandth, you can’t help but let out a little “Aw” when you see one.

Check out Quark Expeditions for planning your own Antarctic Expedition. Mention ThePlanetD and receive 5% off your booking - 5% can be redeemed on any voyage and be combinable with any of Quark’s promotions.

When Lindsay emailed us to see if we would like to take part in a tour of Quito Ecuador, we weren’t sure if we would take her up on the offer. We’d already walked through the city and visited many sites in the old town. We’ve never been huge on joining city tours because we find that we love to explore a place on our own. But then we looked at the Urban Adventure options.

The thing about Urban Adventures is that they offer unique tours unlike many other companies. I know that the UB in Toronto has some awesome choice like “Beer Makes History Better” Who wouldn’t want to take part in that tour?

So when we perused our Quito City Tour choices we opted for the Condors Dream in Otavalo.

What a view of San Pablo Lake

We walked over to their office and joined our guide Jose and a fellow traveler from Canada for a ride in a snazzy new 4X4. Comfortably tucked in, we started our drive out to the countryside. It was an amazing way to see the city. We also didn’t realize just how large Quito was. We had spent our time walking between the tourist area and the old town and this tour allowed us to see another part of the city.

With an elevation of 2800 meters, we knew we were feeling the altitude, but it wasn’t until we started our decent into the valleys below that we actually could comprehend the scope of this city built high in the Andes Mountains. It literally is built on the top of a mountain and as we made our way down through the suberbs turning on switchback after switchback, we could understand why it was the first World Heritage Site.

It was a couple of hours to make our way to the condor sanctuary but our time was occupied by stopping at the Equator, grabbing a bite to eat and taking in the views of San Pablo Lake.

The highlight of the day however was our visit to the Condor Sanctuary. Condors are endangered in Ecuador this sanctuary is a centre for not only condors, but hawks, eagles and owls just to name a few. Most of the birds are rescued from illegal trafficking, poachers and injuries.

The Ecuadorian Condor is an endangered species

One hawk that presenters used during the show was found on the side of the road with it’s wings clipped. Never able to fly long distances again, it lives out its life at the sanctuary and comes out for shows to educate and fly around for a little bit.

As for the condors and many birds, they have a wonderful habitat in large enclosures allowing them to live a life in comfort.

There are demonstrations throughout the day where a guide comes out with various species. They are obviously happy because the bird trainer lets them out for a flight each day. Some of them refused to come back when he called and kept on flying throughout the entire demonstration. He didn’t seem to worried though, he joked, “they always come back.”  They know where the food is and really, most of these birds are so tame now, they could never survive in the wild.

A trainer shows us the variety of species at the sanctuary

We were troubled with some of the birds that performed in the show though. After the demonstration we took a walk to look at the birds in the sanctuary. We were surprised that the big predator birds didn’t have a large enclosure like the rest of the birds living in the compoud. They were all hooked up to chains on a pole that only allowed them to walk back and forth from their shelter. I felt sad that they didn’t have a large perch to stand on.

Couldn't understand why some were chained up and others were not?

It was odd to me because the condors and owls and other predatory birds had high perches in huge enclosures. Our guide couldn’t answer why a handful of birds were stuck on the ground as if put on display in a museum. Whatever the case, there must be a reason because so many other birds seem to have it so good while the real show stopper types like the bald eagle and the huge hawks had to sit on a low perch looking at each other in a circle. It was very disturbing.

A Bald Eagle soars high.

Now you have to remember, these birds are all either rescues from poachers and smugglers or animals that were found injured in the wild and nursed back to health, so the sanctuary really is doing good and they must have their reasons for the big birds being chained and only being allowed to have a low perch. The workers seemed to really love their birds and the facility is doing an excellent job educating the public on animal health.

People used to kill condors regularly thinking that they were pests who killed their livestock. Condors are vultures, not predators and it was a common misconception that they were eating farming animals. Sadly, this misconception nearly wiped out this glorious bird that can soar thousands of meters into the air and ride the waves only to come down occasionally to feed.

I look forward to spying one in the wild. It’s a rare sight, but they are slowly coming back.

Take your own Urban Adventure in any city around the world. Use our exclusive discount code for a whopping 20% off your own adventure in either your home town or the next city you visit. Coupon Code: PLANETD12

We are new to using our iPhone for photographs. We only just bought the new iPhone 4s before leaving on our trip to Europe and we have been learning and testing as we go.

Lucky for us, we had the chance to hang out with iPhone photographer extraordinaire, Kirsten Alana while staying at our apartment in Rome with HouseTrip and she shared a lot of her expertise with us. We’ve been playing around with apps and learning how to use a few of them and I really wanted to share what we’ve figured out.

It’s a Whole New World!

I cannot believe the things you can do with an iPhone. We’re taking photos that we never thought possible and are having a blast doing it. It’s finally fun to upload our shots to the Internet and share them with our network we aren’t embarrassed anymore. We have joined the cool kids and now take fun and interesting photographs. So let’s look at what we’ve learned so far.

Instagram 

Photo of the Colosseum with Instagram App

We started using this app last year when Sherry Ott of Ottsworld introduced us to it during the Mongol Rally and have only just started using it regularly.
How it works – Go to the instagram app and either take a photo with your iPhone or choose a photo from your library to share. Then choose a filter of your choice, write a comment to go along with it and choose the social network you want to share it with. (you can hook up your social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Four Square and flickr) It will automatically go up on Instagram and your friends and family will be amazed with your photography skills.

Follow us on Instagram and let’s start sharing photos we’re ThePlanetD

Diptic 

Kirsten Alana at Gladiator School with Diptic

This is a very cool app that we were introduced to by another iPhone uber-expert Jen Pollack Bianco. Diptic allows you to combine several photos into a very cool collage. You can choose the amount of photos you want in the image, what way you’d like them to go – horizontal or vertical and choose the type and width of border you want. If you have a photo series that you want to share, it’s a great way to show it off.

SnapSeed 

 Snapseed is sort of like photoshop for the iPhone. It is a fun tool that allows you to enhance your photos and make them pop out of the computer. You can either take a photo or choose one from your iPhone’s library and then turn your snapshot into a masterpiece.

Tools: you can crop, sharpen an entire image or just a specific location, make a photo black and white, add filters and effects such as vintage or grunge, put frames around he photo and adjust the width. You can straighten your image and even use selective focus.  Get creative and have some fun!

Pro HDR

HDR has been hot these days and now you can do it on your iPhone. The app will automatically take two photos for you at two different exposures. (You can also have it set to automatic and just tap the screen and the camera will do everything for you or you can put it on manual mode and select the areas you want the camera to focus on) It then combines the two photos taken at different exposures. You can then adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, warmth and tint, It almost makes your photograph look like a painting. What I also love is how you can write text on the photo, put a border of choice around the photo and turn it into a post card. Yes, I’m having fun with Pro HDR

Camera Awesome

This app by SmugMug does exactly what it says; it makes your photos awesome with the awesomize app. You can choose from different filters, textures, effects and frames. Camera Awesome does a lot of what instagram does, but it gives you a wider range of choice and you can crop, flip and rotate your photos as well.

What I love is the image stabilizer that steadies the camera while taking a photo in low light.

You can select focus on an object after the photo is taken and change your exposures.

You can do so many things with the apps mentioned above. Each of them has their benefits and we’ve been using them all for different occasions. The one draw back we find is that the apps suck our battery life. However, there is an extra battery pack that you can buy that we’ll be ordering when we get home. We also learned another trick by National Geographic photographer Ken Kaminesky  (yes, I had to throw that in, I know a National Geographic photographer) about getting a mount for the iphone so that you can put in on a tripod or an extender to take photographs of yourself!

In a few weeks, I may have to do a follow up post about all the extra gadgets you can buy for the iPhone. I think I’m converted. It’s iPhone photos for me!

Final Thoughts

There are other apps that we are just starting to play around with like Photosynth which I am loving on the iPhone, but don’t have a clue how to upload onto my computer since we use a mac and it is a microsoft program. We have some awesome 3D images from the Vatican that are so far only being used for our viewing pleasure. We’ve also been playing around with PhotoBox allows us to bulk upload to facebook add photo effects to your pictures.

We’ve only just scratched the surface as to what you can do with iPhone photography and there are several other apps out there as well.

Do you have a favourite iPhone photo app that you’d like to share? 

We’ve received a lot of messages and emails regarding our session at Travel Bloggers Unite asking for more information or to share our presentation online. For those who didn’t make it out to Italy we thought that we would share some of our words of wisdom as to what has helped us make it through the good times and the bad of our travel blogging career.

Inspiration

It was when putting together our presentation for the intermediate session that we found a video that really resonated with our feelings on success. When Steve Jobs talks about passion and how hard it is every day to achieve success, we can see the emotion on his face as if his entire life of struggle and ultimately success just flashed before his eyes. Travel Blogging is hard and it takes a lot of work to be successful, but because we love it so much, we don’t care how much work we have to put into it each day or how long it will take us to reach our goals. We’ll stick with it through the good times and the bad because we love everything about it. We love exploring new destinations and meeting new people, we love being together, we love interacting on Twitter and Facebook and we love sharing our travels and knowledge on our website. If someone reads it, even better!

Passion

To achieve success, you have to find your passion. It took us many years to find our passion and at one point in our lives, we didn’t think we’d ever find it. We always said to each other – “I know we could be successful at something, if only we knew what we wanted to do!” We knew we had passion within ourselves. We had passion for each other and when we were younger we had a passion for life. But over time we lost that passion and work and bills and expectations of what we should have achieved by now got in the way. We let “the noise” keep us from finding our true purpose. But in the back of our minds, we never stopped searching. We never stopped trying new things or looking for ways to make life better and more exciting. When we finally found it, we were so motivated to make the most of it. We embraced this new found energy and excitement. It is a wonderful thing to know your purpose and I am so glad that we never stopped searching. We always knew something was missing, so we kept on looking for our passion and our reason to get up in the morning.

Success

When we spoke to our peers at TBU, we wanted to give them the message that they can achieve anything. If they are passionate about writing or photography or social media or anything, they will be successful at whatever they choose to do. Because when you love something, you will keep working on it to make it a success. We have fears and frustrations and insecurities and questionable moments but when we sit down and think about where we want to be and what we want each day of our lives to be like, we wouldn’t change a thing.

Every day in life is hard.

We were all put on this earth with the knowledge that it will all end one day and that is a difficult thing to live with. I remember reading the Dalai Lama’s Art of Happiness and he said ‘happiness is a choice.’ You have to choose to be happy and it takes a lot of hard work each day to achieve happiness. (I am paraphrasing, but that is the message that I came away with) We feel the same way about success.

Success is different to everyone. For some it could be a mansion in Malibu, for other’s it could be raising a loving family. Other’s may want to give back and dedicate their lives to helping others and some may simply want lead a life of happiness and doing good while hopefully inspiring a few people along the way to take a chance and live their dreams. There is room for everyone and everyone’s version of success.

I don’t know what your goals are and where you want to be in life, but I do know that if you are passionate about something and couldn’t dream of living without that in your life, it is the thing that you should pursue.

Business With Pleasure

;

On a Blog Trip in Jamaica - Our Work is our Pleasure

I have heard many people say that one shouldn’t mix what they like to do with their careers. We disagree. I think of all the successful people I have read about – Michelangelo was obsessed with his art and called a workaholic. But what is a workaholic? Isn’t it just someone who is passionate about what they do? I am pretty sure that Donald Trump loves his work and that is why even though he has all the money in the world, he keeps on building skyscrapers and creating tv shows. Tom Cruise gets a kick out of traveling the world and performing his own stunts and The Rolling Stones will never stop performing because they love being on stage!

It is easy to work hard and put in the long hours and work through the frustrating moments when you love what you do. Sure, we have interests outside of travel blogging, but travel was our passion long before we began blogging. Now we have the joy of not only being able to do something we love every day, we get to make a living doing it.

Have you found your passion? Are you still searching? Do you refuse to give up until you find what you want out of life? You’re never too old to find your passion. Our advice, Keep Looking.

While lying on the beach taking in the rays is undeniably a great way to spend a holiday when you need some time to get away from it all, it isn’t really the best way to engage with a new culture. If you’re looking for a holiday that is a little more meaningful, one that gives you the opportunity to learn new skills and make a positive impact on the community, an archaeological holiday may be the perfect option for you. Archaeological holidays are becoming increasingly popular around the world and are a great option if you’re jonsing for something a little bit different. Plus, it will add a little adventure into your trip as you play out those Indiana Jones Fantasies that we all had as a kid.

With centuries of ancient history it isn’t a surprise that the UK and Ireland are packed full of archaeological sites to visit, but just imagine if you had the opportunity to pick up the trowel and make a discovery of your own? Now that will be something to brag about when you get home!

Take a look at these amazing archaeological dig opportunities that are currently happening around the UK and Ireland and maybe one will be added to your next trip itinerary!

Dig Hungate – York, England

The city of York in the north of England was founded by the Romans in 71 AD and has been inhabited in some way ever since. Ahead of a massive urban regeneration project which began in 2006, the Hungate area of York began to be excavated by York Archaeological Trust and the City of York Council with the aim of uncovering and preserving precious parts of the city’s past. The excavation continues today and allows visitors with the opportunity to become involved in the biggest dig in York for the last twenty five years.

At Hungate you have the opportunity to get as involved as you would like, with courses ranging from one day taster sessions where youíll be introduced to the site and basic excavation techniques, to two week courses during which you can become better acquainted with the site, archaeological techniques, and any finds you may make over the two weeks. You can book your course including accommodation at the University of York, but there are also lots of lovely Yorkshire cottages to rent in the area.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a full day or weeks to dedicate to the project, you can always just head over and take a look at the site and the work that is being done there.

Blackfriary Archaeology Excavations – Trim, Ireland

Only 45 minutes from the Dublin airport you can head back over 750 years in time and participate in the excavation of the Blackfriary site in the heritage capital of County Meath.

The foundation stones for the Dominican Friary were laid in 1263 AD but today the associated buildings and garden plots have all but disappeared below ground where the ancient secrets of the Friary are today held under the earth, awaiting discovery. High tech methods like geophysical prospection have been used to outline the layout of the site before excavation, and the first season of excavation in 2011 revealed that the floor plan of the entire friary may well remain intact underground.

The excavation season runs from May through September and you can spend a half day of your vacation exploring the site, or you can spend the entire summer learning all there is to know about the Blackfriary site, nearby Trim Castle, and the local UNESCO World Heritage Site of  Brú na Bóinne.
Reservations are essential as the number of participants is limited to optimize the experience. Cost range from €35 to €125 for the full day experience – a small price to pay for unprecedented access to Ireland’s ancient past!

Dig for Shakespeare at Nash’s House – Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Last, but definitely not least, is an experience like no other, the opportunity to be involved directly with the history of The Bard himself, Sir William Shakespeare. No trip to England is complete without a visit to Shakespeareís Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon and until November 2012 visitors will have the chance to jump into the pit feet first and help to excavate the remains of the house and rubbish pits at Shakespeare’s final home in New Place. Now that is an experience that will be worth writing home about!

As with all of the archaeological holidays mentioned here, participants do not require any previous experience, just enthusiasm and a reasonable level of physical fitness. The Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust, the charitable organization that is overseeing the dig, would prefer participants to commit to a regular schedule of volunteer help but casual visitors can help out as well. If there was ever a reason to spend some time living in England, I would say that helping to excavate the home of Shakespeare would be a pretty good one.

Visit the Volunteer section on the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to find all the information you’ll need.

Your next vacation to the UK and Ireland doesn’t need to be the same as everyone else’s. Step off of the well trod tourist trail and try out something you probably never thought you would have the chance to even consider! There are so many great holiday options out there now, and even if you only have a short time you can still get involved in some amazing work.

This article was provided by Amanda, who writes for Sykes Cottages, providers of self catering holiday cottages throughout the UK and Ireland.

Photo Attribution:

Hungate
Trim
Shakespeare

We love movies. We used to work in the movies and we still have visions of producing our own travel show one day. So when Expedia let us know that they are running the Expedia Film Contest with Travel as the main theme, we just had to share it with our readers.

Tomorrow’s Scorsese? Expedia Sponsors Short Film Contest for Participants at National Film Festival for Talented Youth 

World’s largest youth film festival showcases films by directors 22 and under;
1 million+ Expedia Facebook fans will select finalists

Expedia.com®, the world’s largest online travel agency, today announced that it will sponsor the 2012 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), the premier showcase of the best young directors – aged 22 and younger – from around the world. NFFTY a non-profit organization founded in 2007 has grown to be the world’s largest youth film festival. The 2012 NFFTYs are taking place right now in Seattle, Washington, from April 26 through April 29, 2012.

The Contest

Joe Megibow, Expedia’s vice president and general manager, formally announced the Expedia® Film Contest on NFFTY’s opening day. The Expedia contest will feature short films directed by past and present NFFTY Filmmakers. The films will be 2 – 3 minutes in length and will include travel as a theme, though the directors will have wide latitude on how to incorporate that theme.

How to Enter

To enter, filmmakers must create and upload their videos to Expedia’s Facebook page. The submission period begins on June 11 and ends on June 24. From June 25 – July 6th, Facebook fans will be given the chance to select the ten finalists via vote. Finalists and winners will be posted on the NFFTY site and on the Expedia media room. Expedia has convened a panel of experts to determine the ultimate winner. The winning candidate will earn $10,000. The runner up will earn $5,000 and the third-place winner will earn $2,500.

NFFTY is a Seattle-based organization, as are we, and we think the growth and success of this film festival is terrific,” said Joe Megibow, vice president and general manager, Expedia.com. “We are proud to help support the next generation of filmmakers. The passion and talent of these young artists embody the spirit of travel, a theme that has been a rich source of film material for decades. We can’t wait to see the results.

Jesse Harris, Artistic Director and Founder of NFFTY, said, “We’re so thrilled to have the support of a company we all use and love like Expedia. I know our filmmakers are going to find great inspiration in the theme and create some unbelievable short films.” 

For more information about the Expedia Film Contest, please visit the Expedia media room or NFFTY, and be sure to follow along on Twitter @Expedia or #ExpediaNFFTY.