About Matt Long
Who am I? I am a typical Gen-Xer and recovering cubicle-dweller who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I...
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Visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Sites
11 April 2013 11:55 PM | 15 Comments -
20 Things Every Smart Traveler Should Know
11 March 2013 11:55 PM | 33 Comments -
Five Foods You Must Eat in Europe
12 November 2012 8:10 PM | 23 Comments -
Five Reasons to Stop Dreaming and Travel Now
16 April 2012 11:55 PM | 44 Comments -
So What’s Reykjavik Really Like?
28 February 2012 11:55 PM | 30 Comments
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Destinations Archive
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A New City for Your Travel List: Angoulême, France
Posted on May 22, 2013 | 9 CommentsLast year I had a great chance to explore France, something I am ashamed to say I had never done. Ashamed because Paris is my favorite city in the world and I’ve spent a lot of time there; I even lived there briefly. But until... -
Safari in South Africa: Fact, Fiction and Photos
Posted on May 21, 2013 | 13 CommentsThere they stood in the lobby of the lodge; dressed in khaki and British pith helmets. I imagined that in a few hours they would be taking tea in the savannah while being attended to by their man-servants. I caught a my reflection in a... -
Great Drives – Exploring The Villages and Inlets of Sweden’s West Coast
Posted on May 19, 2013 | 2 CommentsIt was my first time in Sweden and I had an admittedly unusual agenda for a first time visitor. I didn’t visit Stockholm or it famous neighborhoods, instead I was in West Sweden; a beautiful part of the country famous for its coastal getaways. Even... -
Meet South Africa Instagram Video
Posted on May 16, 2013 | 2 CommentsI returned just a few days ago from beautiful South Africa, where I was part of an exciting project designed to promote the country. The campaign included 15 international bloggers following a variety of different routes around the country in order to explore and share... -
Tigers, Leopards and Wolves – Saving Lives at Norden’s Ark in Sweden
Posted on May 15, 2013 | No CommentsThe drive along the E6 from Gothenburg to the small area of Hunnebostrand in Western Sweden was the perfect first introduction to the landscapes of Sweden. Spring had not yet arrived, but it was threatening and the earliest of buds and blades of grass were... -
Quick Thoughts on South Africa
Posted on May 13, 2013 | 6 CommentsAs I board a plane back home to Washington, DC today I find myself reflecting on my second experience traveling through South Africa. After my first visit last year to Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula I fell in love, but I wasn’t sure how... -
42 Things I Love About West Sweden
Posted on May 13, 2013 | 1 CommentI was in Sweden as part of the Car Plus Vacation promotion, highlighting Volvo’s program that allows overseas buyers to receive complimentary tickets to Sweden and to drive their new car around before Volvo ships it home for them. They’re also running a sweepstakes right... -
Travel Obsession: Still Thinking About Paradise and the South Pacific
Posted on May 9, 2013 | 9 CommentsSo a few months ago I wrote about my obsession with the South Pacific and while I’ve never visited, it remains a place I think of often. Well lately it seems as if the universe is conspiring against me and wants to only add fuel... -
Antarctica in Five Words
Posted on May 7, 2013 | 3 CommentsAntarctica isn’t your normal travel experience; it’s extreme in just about every way imaginable from how you get there to what you see during the trip. There are a lot of ways to describe and share this experience, but these five words encapsulate it for... -
Exploring the Colonial Town of St. George’s in Bermuda
Posted on May 5, 2013 | 4 CommentsI didn’t know a lot about Bermuda before I first visited as the guest of Bermuda Tourism, and that’s my fault. I was busy and while I was really excited to visit for the first time, I hadn’t done the normal research I conduct before... -
How to Buy a Car and Visit Sweden for Free (Plus a Sweepstakes!)
Posted on May 2, 2013 | 6 CommentsLast week I was in Sweden as part of an initiative cosponsored by Volvo, Visit Sweden, West Sweden Tourism and Skåne Tourism. The goal was to highlight a sweepstakes they have going on and to bring more attention to a cool program Volvo runs for... -
I Was Supposed to Like Florence, Italy
Posted on May 1, 2013 | 28 CommentsSo this has happened before. I travel to a destination, sometimes one that is universally loved, but I don’t have a great experience. I’ve written about it before and it happens to everyone, but I was shocked ( and still am) that it happened to... -
Meet South Africa: Adventure Travel Itinerary
Posted on April 30, 2013 | 12 CommentsLast week I received an unconventional invitation in my email inbox from South Africa Tourism. It was a video inviting me to return to South Africa and explore more of this wonderful country. In August 2012, I was part of a remarkable campaign to highlight... -
Seeing the Two Faces of Malmo, Sweden
Posted on April 28, 2013 | 3 CommentsThe last stop on my brief but thorough trip through the regions of West Sweden and the Skåne was Malmö, a city I was a little nervous to visit. I was nervous because I made the mistake of listening to what others thought of the... -
Rum Reimagined – The National Cocktails of Bermuda (Including Recipes)
Posted on April 25, 2013 | 1 CommentIt seems that every place I visit has a special wine, beer or cocktail for which it is famous. Islands tend to have a higher concentration of liquid refreshments, but few have I enjoyed as much as the official, unofficial national drinks of Bermuda –... -
The Law That Isn’t – The American Ban on Travel to Cuba
Posted on April 24, 2013 | 11 CommentsA couple of weeks ago Beyonce and Jay-Z made the news not for their relationship or musical abilities, but because they dared to visit Cuba. One of the very few places in the world where Americans cannot freely visit, Cuba is a frustrating travel consideration... -
42 Things I Love About Bermuda
Posted on April 22, 2013 | 2 Comments1. Avoiding the Triangle 2. Learning very fast that everyone knows each other 3. Exploring the Dockyards area 4. Fresh rockfish (If that’s your thing) 5. Learning how to make a Rum Swizzle 6. Walking around the hip but laid back city of Hamilton 7.... -
Sweden Itinerary and Your Chance to Win A Swedish Adventure
Posted on April 22, 2013 | 3 CommentsSo today I leave for Sweden, a new country for me and one that I’ve wanted to visit for a very long time. Knowing what I do and don’t like, I’ve always thought that I would love Sweden – this week I find out... -
Exploring the Medieval Village of Peratallada, Spain
Posted on April 21, 2013 | 4 CommentsI’ve had the good fortune of exploring Spain’s beautiful Costa Brava and Girona regions a couple of times, thanks to the kind invitation of Costa Brava Tourism. Both regions are tucked into the homey area known as Catalonia. This part of Spain has everything from... -
Ice and Muck: Hiking Experience in Antarctica
Posted on April 16, 2013 | 10 CommentsIt’s easy to lose perspective in Antarctica. Well not personal perspective, that’s heightened; no it’s physical perspective that is hard to maintain. Everything is just so massive and white and seems to go on forever. So when I walked out onto the deck of the... -
The Violet Lady of Toulouse (And Her Boat)
Posted on April 14, 2013 | 3 Comments“Did she just coo?” I asked my guide as we entered the riverboat. “Yes, yes she did,” was the smirk-laden rejoinder and my first introduction to the eccentric but absolutely passionate Violet Lady of Toulouse, Hélène Vié. In a city known for its unique obsession... -
Visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Posted on April 11, 2013 | 15 CommentsSo I’ve been motivated by a couple of other bloggers who have successfully chronicled their adventures visiting the designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world and I have decided to do the same. In 1972 the UN, through the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, began... -
Bologna in Five Bites
Posted on April 10, 2013 | 3 CommentsIn Italy there is a saying about Bologna, it is often labeled as ‘The Fat, the Red, the Learned.’ The red actually refers to the generous use of brick in their architecture (and not their political leanings as some believe) and the learned refers to... -
March of the Penguins – Can You Handle the Cute?
Posted on April 7, 2013 | 11 CommentsEver since I returned from Antarctica on my Adventure Life sponsored trip, one of the first things people have asked to see are my penguin photos. I’ve already included quite a few in my coverage so far, but I thought I’d show you the full... -
Mixed Feelings Exploring the Khlongs of Bangkok
Posted on April 2, 2013 | 10 CommentsMy return to Bangkok last year was a dream come true. When I first visited the Thai capital five years ago I fell in love, madly in love with this huge, chaotic and disorienting city and the return visit was just as great as I... -
A Walk Through Aix en Provence
Posted on March 31, 2013 | 4 CommentsThe very word Provence stimulates my prefrontal cortex, which in turn creates a response causing my heart to beat faster and my eyes to twitch, just a bit. Provence is one of those dream locations that many of us dream about. Visions of vast... -
Oh Marseille, What Happened?
Posted on March 27, 2013 | 27 CommentsIt’s partly my fault, I realize that. I was on a crazy schedule around France (which I agreed to) and frankly some cities suffered from lack of time. Marseille was one of those cities. But I refuse to accept all of the culpability, I’d like... -
42 Things I Love About Antarctica
Posted on March 26, 2013 | 5 Comments1. Penguins 2. Putting a GoPro camera on the bow of the ship 3. The fact you can fly there 4. Realizing that Austral summer isn’t ‘that’ cold 5. Going for a swim in the icy waters 6. The gentle sway of the ship at... -
Sex, Slaves and Song: An Unusual Walk Through Cape Town
Posted on March 24, 2013 | 9 CommentsI’ve been on about 4,312,131 walking tours in my life. Well, maybe not that many but definitely close to it. I like them on the whole, but lately I’ve been very picky about which ones I book. No longer am I content for a run... -
Helping Hands in Maui – A Visit to the Boo Boo Zoo
Posted on March 20, 2013 | 4 CommentsI wasn’t sure I was in the right place. I’m not great with directions and as I drove up the wooded drive it didn’t look like what I thought an animal sanctuary should look like. The peacock convinced me otherwise, as did the small army... -
A Walk Through Toulouse, France
Posted on March 19, 2013 | 13 CommentsToulouse was one of those cities that I had heard of many times before, but didn’t actually know anything about. That all changed when I stepped off the train into what is a vibrant, energetic and beautiful city of more than half a million people,... -
Life on an Antarctic Base
Posted on March 17, 2013 | 11 CommentsBefore going to bed, the expedition leader told us to expect rough waters over night as we tried to approach the station. Tried was the key word, they hadn’t been able to visit yet that season due to high winds and an overabundance of ice.... -
Four Things You Don’t Know About Milan
Posted on March 13, 2013 | 2 CommentsI didn’t know quite to expect when I visited Milan for the first time, but I do know that I left with a whole new appreciation for this beautiful northern Italian city. I learned a lot during my stay in Milan, but these facts surprised... -
42 Things I Love About Dublin
Posted on March 12, 2013 | 3 Comments1. Guinness 2. Enjoying the rich music scene in town 3. Eating a giant scone at Keogh Cafe 4. Crossing Ha’penny Bridge, for free nowadays 5. Strolling around beautiful Merrion Square 6. Being surprised by the beauty of City Hall 7. Pub crawl! 8. Learning... -
Walking on Water in Antarctica
Posted on March 10, 2013 | 5 CommentsI hated the life jackets. They were unlike any kind I’ve seen before and demanded priest-like patience and the ability to complete a Rubik’s cube in less than 30 seconds. Adding to this challenging feat of physics was my giant, no, enormous parka I had... -
How to Spend a Day in Punta Arenas, Chile
Posted on March 7, 2013 | 7 CommentsIf you’re doing a fly-cruise to Antarctica (like I did when I partnered with the tour company Adventure Life) or if you’re exploring Patagonia and Torre del Paine National Park, then chances are you will spend at least some time in Punta Arenas, an unlikely... -
Why You Should Give Ghent a Chance
Posted on March 6, 2013 | 6 CommentsWhen it comes to European travel, Ghent is not often the first city that comes to mind. For a multitude of reasons this Flemish city in Belgium has been so badly maligned that many don’t even consider visiting. That’s a shame, a travesty really, because... -
Penguins: The Hard Truth (And Cute Photos)
Posted on March 3, 2013 | 15 CommentsIf there is one thing that Antarctica has in clear abundance, well aside from ice, it has to be penguins. On the first day of my trip the expedition staff promised we’d be tired of seeing penguins by the end of the trip and while... -
The Good, the Bad and the Insulated – The Truth About Packing for Antarctica
Posted on February 28, 2013 | 2 CommentsI took too much. I knew it before I started packing and it was even clearer after sitting on my suitcase in order to pull the zipper shut. I had a lot of concerns about packing for Antarctica; it’s unlike any other trip I’ve ever... -
VIDEO: Antarctica in Three Minutes
Posted on February 27, 2013 | No CommentsI’ve been tinkering around with video lately and thought I’d share this little montage. It’s a look back at the highlights of my recent trip to Antarctica, an amazing adventure is there ever was one. I visited Antarctica through the sponsorship of Adventure Life, an... -
Surprised by Santiago – A Photo Tour
Posted on February 26, 2013 | 4 CommentsI can only blame my genetic predisposition to labeling broad swaths of the planet with the same cultural brushstroke for my misconceptions about Chile. As an American, when I think of South America certain images come to mind. Call it a form of cultural racism,... -
Antarctica in Five Photos
Posted on February 24, 2013 | 8 CommentsThere is no lack of penguins in Antarctica, they are a constant feature for any visitor. But one day in particular stands out when I think about these cute Antarctic residents. The ship anchored in the quiet bay of Orne Island early in the morning,... -
Milan with HomeAway Vacation Rentals – Video Overview
Posted on February 24, 2013 | No CommentsI’ve been experimenting a little bit with making videos lately and here is my most recent effort. It’s a look at the Milan I saw while staying with HomeAway Vacation Rentals. I’ve used HomeAway Vacation Rentals a couple of times, and each time I’ve been... -
Fly-Cruise to Antarctica – What It Is and Why to Take It
Posted on February 21, 2013 | 13 CommentsI had never heard of a fly-cruise before my recent trip to Antarctica but without it I probably would never have visited my seventh continent. I always thought that people visited Antarctica the same way; by taking a ship from Ushuaia, Argentina across the stormy... -
What Not to Do in Bologna, Italy
Posted on February 20, 2013 | 6 CommentsBologna in Northern Italy is an ancient city, but one that sometimes gets overlooked. Even though I didn’t spend a lot of time there, I grew to love it very quickly and can’t wait to return and explore more of the city. While there’s a... -
Five Things You (Probably) Don’t Know About Antarctica
Posted on February 19, 2013 | 2 CommentsThis is the latest post in my series about Antarctica. The trip was made possible thanks to Adventure Life, the small group adventure tour company that specializes in, among other things, Antarctica cruises. 1. Alive with wildlife – I think most of us realize there... -
My American Bucket List
Posted on February 18, 2013 | 18 CommentsI think most of us are guilty of not properly exploring the areas around where we live. Instead we jet off to new and exciting destinations, forgetting that some of the best places are close to home. I live in the United States, a wonderfully... -
Why I Was Nervous About Antarctica
Posted on February 17, 2013 | 15 CommentsI recently returned from a life affirming, bucket list trip to Antarctica aboard the Ocean Nova as the guest of Adventure Life, the small group adventure travel tour company. Before leaving for my trip the reality of traveling to one of the most remote and... -
GoPro Video of a Zodiac Boat Ride in Antarctica
Posted on February 16, 2013 | 1 CommentZodiac Ride in Antarctica from Matt long on Vimeo. -
Penguins Will Bite – A Visit to Boulders Beach Near Cape Town
Posted on February 14, 2013 | No CommentsOne of the things I remember most about Cape Town is the stunning natural beauty that exists in clear overabundance. I thought that I’d get over the amazing vistas at every turn but I never did, and one of my favorite places to visit combined...
