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londonlover   
One does evil enough when one does nothing good. --German Proverb


Real Name: Tara
Lives In: Chicago, US
Birth Date: July 10, 1979
Member Since: Mar 04, 2001
Last Login: Nov 08, 2009   04:39 UTC
Member's Time: Nov 08, 2009   06:21 CST
VT Rank: 745
Deals Rank: Unranked
Travel Interests: Historical Travel, Castles and Palaces, Museum Visits, Music, National/State Park

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Chicago, US  98  118
London, UK  67  74
New York City, US  52  79
Washington D.C., US  28  56
Boston, US  24  25
California, US  22  20
Liverpool, UK  19  19
Broadway, UK  19  19
York, UK  16  17
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Page Views: 16,676            

Onward and upward...

by londonlover - last update: Sep 22, 2009

Life of a Travel Fanatic

Soaking up the local color in Venice...
2009 marks my eighth year as a VT member! I have to admit I've been much less regular about updating recently, but I still enjoy surfing the site on a regular basis. Travel is one of the biggest thrills I know, and I love sharing the excitement with fellow enthusiasts!
Hanging out with Lillian at a B&B in the Cotswolds

The Thrill of Travel and the Joy of VT

I have such fond memories of my travels, and especially my third and most recent visit to the UK, in Fall 2007... My most complete UK pages are London, Paris, Bath, Broadway, Edinburgh, and York.

Also, I must drop a non-so-subtle hint...I'm not inclined to reply to questions or comments from people who post no information about themselves or their travels on their own VT homepages (or those who never even acknowledge a detailed response to a question they've asked through email or in a forum). VT is a travel community, and as most of us know and appreciate, we all have the responsibility (and privilege!) to help each other out with travel plans. This works both ways--so if you want to know something about a place you're going to see, please share a little of your own knowledge in return. Makes sense, right?
With my aunt and sister in San Juan Capistrano

What's new on my VT pages?

NEWEST PAGES:


York, Broadway, AND Bath, England


MOST RECENTLY UPDATED PAGES:


*Venice -- finally added more info

*New York City -- New restaurant, must-see, general, and lodging tips, plus travelogues.

MOST THOROUGH PAGES: Chicago, New York, and London

TRAVEL HISTORY:
Spain, France, and England -- September 2009
Orange County & San Diego -- December 2008
England -- September 2007
Florida -- March 2007
Orange County, California -- December 2006
Varenna/Venice/Rome/Positano/Milan, Italy -- September 2006 (details to come!)
New York City -- May 2006
Banff, Alberta -- July 2005
Chocolate Buffet, Chicago

For the love of food!


You'll notice throughout my VT pages that I tend to take a lot of pictures of restaurants and food. :) I love to eat, and I love various cuisines, and fun or unusual places to dine. I appreciate a great value when dining out, but I will also splurge occasionally if the time and place warrants an exception.

Also, I don't drink, so you won't find tips on bars or clubs in my pages. I honestly don't understand why people spend their trips bar-hopping. You're on vacation!...See the sites, take pictures, savor the local food, soak up the local flavor...don't waste your time getting drunk and not even remembering what you did. But that's just my opinion. :)
Abbotsbury, Dorset

Keeping things sane on VT...(my two cents)

I also want to drop a gentle reminder that VT is not a political forum, not is it a place to parade your opinion about controversial world events, policies, or politicians. There's a place for that type of discussion, and I'm all for free speech, being keenly interested in political activity myself. However, if you have something overtly political to say, (i.e., speaking out against a controversial current issue, not just commenting on political history), then I suggest that you make a non-VT homepage of your own, using a free service like tripod.com, and fire away. Provide a link to that site on VT if you want (you'll see I've done so myself), but please keep inflammatory remarks off what should be a pleasant, non-confrontational VT experience. Just stick to describing the beauty of exploring other cultures, geography, history, and nature, and sharing what you've learned with all of us eager armchair travelers!
Enjoy the journey, but wear good shoes!

P.S. This is not eHarmony.com!

I'm not here to find a guy, okay? :)
Platform "9 3/4" at Kings Cross, London

The Best of Tara's Travels!



Best "Old" Architecture: London
Best "New" Architecture: Chicago
Best Ancient Architecture: Rome
Most Charming Architecture: Paris
Best Restaurants: Le Sept, Edinburgh; Tilley's Bistro, Bath; La Cambusa, Positano, Italy
Best Food Cafe: Cafe Lalo, New York City
Best French Patisserie: Angelina's in Paris
Best Italian Bakeries: Bova's Bakery and Napoli Pastry--North End, Boston
Best Espresso: Caffe Sant' Eustachio--Rome, Italy
Best Cannoli: Veniero's, New York City
Best Gelato: Gellateria della Palma--Rome, Italy
Best Indian Food: Bombay Club, Washington, D.C.
Best Frozen Banana: Dad's on Balboa Island, California
Best Beach: Race Point--Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Best Urban Beach: North Avenue Beach, Chicago
Best Rock Formations: Bryce Canyon, Utah
Best Mountains: Colorado Rockies
Prettiest Lake: Lake Como, Italy
Most Serene Countryside: East Sussex and the Cotswolds, England
Best Public Transportation: London
Best Lakefront Scenery: Chicago
Best Museum: The Met, New York City; The Art Institute, Chicago
Best History: Rome, Italy
Best Drive: Coast Road from Sorrento to Positano, Italy
Best Footpath: The Cotswold Way, north end
Best Clothes Shopping: London and New York
Best Skyline: Chicago
Most Impressive Monument: Statue of Liberty, New York
Best Fall Colors: Door County, Wisconsin
With my sister & Rupert Jee of the Hello Deli NYC

A wee bit about me

Everyone wants to know the person behind the tips, right? I think the focus on VT should be the tips themselves rather than the authors, but here's the short version of me: I'm 30, native to Chicagoland, and a physical therapist. Besides travel, my main interests are Bible study, music (playing violin and piano), classic literature and cooking!


My Favorites:
Food -- Italian, Indian, Mexican, and dessert (yes, it is a food group in my book)
Music -- Classical, Latino (Tommy Torres, Fonseca, Reik, etc.), Celtic, Paul McCartney, the Beatles, classic rock, U2, Sting, Eros Ramazotti, the Corrs
Authors -- Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austen, JK Rowling, JR Tolkein
Sports Teams -- New York Yankees (GO YANKS!!), Detroit Pistons (lifelong fan), Scotland Rugby, Liverpool football
Websites:
The Hunger Site
Pictures of England
Rick Steves

londonlover's Albums
Title [Click to view]Travel YearPictures
Snapshots of Family and Favorite Memories- 8

Comments for londonlover
DAO Sun Aug 2, 2009 22:32 UTC
 Tara, are you comming to Krakow?
Redang Sat Jul 18, 2009 06:47 UTC
 En Sevilla estuve en Enero '09
deecat Fri Jul 10, 2009 23:12 UTC
 Another July 10; another happy birthday to you. May it be a memorable one.
bct341 Fri Jul 10, 2009 17:25 UTC
 Happy Birthday!... I hope you have a great day.... Paul
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