Erika Bisbocci
Erika is an avid traveler and explorer of over ninety countries on six different continents. Since 2011, she has spent time studying Arabic in the Middle East, teaching English in Namibia and working as a flight attendant for a major US airline. When not traveling overseas, she loves exploring her own backyard in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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How to Spend 24 Hours in Tokyo
With a population of nearly 40 million and over 6,000 residents packed into each square kilometer, Tokyo—the world’s largest city—is teeming with people. Crowds are everywhere in Tokyo—crossing the streets in hoards, packing udon houses to the brim and swarming in and out of metro stations at all hours of the day and night. And yet, though the city is nearly bursting at the seams, the metros are punctual, the streets are spotless and the city runs like a well-oiled machine. Even Tokyo’s residents seem to move about the city…
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Hong Kong’s Past and Present: A 24 Hour Layover Itinerary
When crew scheduling assigned me a 24 hour Hong Kong layover, I was ecstatic. Hong Kong is, with out a doubt, one of the world’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities. Its modern architecture rivals that of New York, while its culture is deeply rooted in Buddhist tradition. To add to its appeal, Hong Kong houses world-class restaurants, renowned tourist attractions and a vibrant mix of people from all corners of the globe. When I visited Hong Kong as part of a larger trip to China with my family in 2005,…
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Visiting Jasper National Park in Canada
The Canadian Rockies are a hyperbole of beauty and an exaggeration of nature. Home to sparkling lakes, towering mountains, and jaw-dropping vistas, they contain some of the most photographed and revered alpine scenery on Earth. It goes without saying that I had high expectations for the area. But despite these expectations, my four days in Jasper and Banff were everything I had dreamed of. They gave me a break from by hectic summer flying schedule and allowed me to trade my rollaboard for a backpack, my hotel room for a…
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Banff National Park: Jewel of the Canadian Rockies
‘Amazing’ might be one of the most overused words in the English language. We use it to describe everything from food to places to moods to people. Yet, as Dan and I drove into the Canadian Rockies and craned our necks to see the majestic peaks of Banff National Park in Alberta, I could think of no other word to adequately describe what I was seeing. Throughout our short Canadian Rockies road trip, I would try time and time again to come up with words that could convey the majesty…
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Spending One Day in Moscow on a Layover
In 2007, when I visited St Petersburg with my parents as part of a vacation to the Baltic region of Europe, I remember being struck by the city’s elaborate architecture and world-class art. My family and I spent nearly a week walking up and down St Petersburg’s bustling streets and cruising the city’s canals–taking in the sights of glimmering gold-domed churches, world-class museums and grandiose palaces Yet, after a visit to Russia’s cultural capital, I immediately realized that I had barely scratched the surface of what the world’s largest country had to offer. I longed to delve deeper into…
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Day Trip to the Cinque Terre
Set against the backdrop of the Italian Riviera’s dramatic coastline and overlooking the sapphire waters of the Ligurian Sea, the Cinque Terre have soared toward the top of Italy’s list of must-see attractions. The Cinque Terre are five idyllic fishing villages that fall within the boundaries of the Cinque Terre National Park. Thanks in large part to the proliferation of social media and travel blogs, the five heralded villages have become near-permanent fixtures on the Italian tourist trail. And for good reason. The area is stunningly beautiful. I remember visiting the Cinque…
