I love New York City. I’ve been so many times I’ve actually lost count.

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to hit a street fair.

New York City Street Fair

Street fairs are a quintessential New York “thing” and are found tucked away in neighborhoods as well as in tourist spots. You’ll mainly find them during the summer because, let’s be honest, who wants to be out there when it’s cold?

I don’t know what it is about these that I love so much because I am NOT a browser normally. And that’s all you do at a street fair – stroll up and down checking out all of the tables and tents lining each side of the road. Maybe it’s the anticipation of – “What will I find?”

Street fairs feature art, clothing, jewelry, and more by local artisans trying to make a mark on their respective industry. What your browsing can be one-of-a-kind stuff!

Best of all, it can be FREAKING CHEAP! Like the wood ring I bought for $5 or the long colorful summer dresses my friends picked up for $5 each as well. I’d kick myself if I failed to mention the amazing photography I’ve discovered at this fairs.

The shopping is just one part of the experience, though. You’ll find delicious food and refreshing drinks available and there’s always music filling the air.

I highly recommend finding a street fair to go to or just stopping at one if you come upon it. Chances are you’ll find something amazing to buy and your friends will LOVE it when you show them. “Oh this? I got it in New York.”

Check out this list of NYC street fairs to find one that fits your calendar.

Photo Credit: Carl MiKoy on Flickr

“Germy” sites? Whatever.

CNN.com reports today on “The 5 Germiest Tourist Attractions.” Must be a slow news day.

Photo Credit: brosner on Flickr

Here’s the list:

• Blarney Stone (Blarney Castle, Ireland) because about 400,000 people kissed it last year alone.
• Market Theater Gum Wall (Seattle) because it’s a wall of chewed gum.
• St. Mark’s Square (Venice, Italy) because pigeons crowd the air and cover the ground here and leave their mark (poop) wherever they please.
• Grauman’s Chinese Theater (L.A.) because people put their hands in the handprints of their favorite celebrities.
• Oscar Wilde’s Tomb (Paris) because of the massive amount of lipsticked kisses covering it.

Yea, you can see the point. But, really, is it a big deal? You probably pick up the same amount of germs using a public restroom, pushing a shopping cart at the grocery store or just by using weights at your gym. I’ve kissed the Blarney Stone and the germs didn’t kill me.

So, don’t let the thought of germs put a damper on your travel plans. Between the rain and scheduled cleanings of the above-mentioned, you’re okay.

Dallas is where I’ve lived the longest and I enjoy it because it has a whole lot to offer, especially when it comes to food.

First off, I really love that there’s more to the Dallas scene than BBQ. BBQ is the food of the cowboys, who you’ll find in Forth Worth (aka COWTOWN). Don’t ask me about BBQ because I don’t eat it. We have plenty of long-established joints around town that, I’ve heard, provide a delicious sampling of this traditional Texas food. Sonny Bryans, Spring Creek BBQ, Babe’s, Colter’s, etc. I personally don’t like it so that’s as much as I know.

Instead I love to feast on delicious burgers and Tex-Mex, which are in abundance around here. But you have to be careful with quantity versus quality.

Photo From TwistedRootBurgerCo.com

Where you’ll find the good stuff:

Twisted Root – A great burger/hot dog joint featured on Diners, Drive In’s and Dives. The menu is limited… on purpose. It keeps your decision-making process simple which is really the theme of this little eatery. Burger, fries, drink and maybe the shake-of-the-day for dessert. The menu is written on a series of chalk boards and with a black sharpie on brown butcher paper and taped to the wall above the cash register. Seriously. Twisted Root is a no-frills place that just wants to offer good food, ice cold beer and a casual chill-out atmosphere. I love it. Each order gets a celebrity name card, so when your order is up, you’ll be known as “Beetlejuice” or  a local favorite like “Dirk Nowitzki.”

Desperados – My favorite Mexican restaurant and a family-owned establishment since the ’80s. It looks somewhat like the Alamo on the outside, but the interior is calming and intimate. Start with chips-n-salsa, get the Steak Argentina for your main course and finish with sopapillas. Don’t forget to wash it all down with a frozen margarita. Desperados has been around for forever but it has only one other location, keeping it a very local establishment. I think of Desperados as a special place – one you save for special occasions.

For your everyday Tex-Mex cravings, hit Blue Goose. For starters, the margaritas here are outstanding. The sour cream chicken enchiladas are always delicious and you have a never-ending supply of chips-n-salsa. There are several locations around Dallas and the suburbs and the location you pick definitely affects the atmosphere. On Lower Greenville Avenue, expect a lot of bikers and bar-hoppers as this is a central location to get your drink on and pub crawl. It’s a lot of fun!

I find it interesting how traveling can really make a difference when it comes to watching sports.

Take baseball for example. I grew up going to Texas Rangers games. You can always get tickets. It’s not a special thing. People don’t stay the entire game and there’s really not a lot of excitement.

Then I spent a weekend in Boston and experienced a Red Sox game at Fenway Park and separately a Cubs playoff game at Wrigley. Um, Rangers who? Everyone was excited to be there – they couldn’t believe they got tickets and knew everything about every player. This was their team, in their stadium and they loved it all. Nobody left before the end of the game. That doesn’t really happen at Rangers games.

I found the same to be true during a recent trip to London. I grew up playing soccer, have seen a few English Premier League games on TV and had an afternoon free. So, a phone call here and an email there and we had a pair of tickets to see Chelsea v. Wigan.

It was amazing and it was NOT the MLS on so many levels. Yes, the skill level was different but let’s not dwell on that. Let’s talk about the fans.

At an MLS game, there’s always just one group out of the entire stadium that tries to act like the game’s cheering squad. If you’ve been, you know who I’m talking about. They make as much noise and make as much of a spectacle of themselves as possible during the entire game. They wear team flags as capes, use blow horns, set off smoke bombs, paint their faces, and, strangely, always speak to each other in the absolute loudest voice possible (I’ve never understood that). They do chant and sing but nobody else in the stadium joins with them. They try to make it a party for themselves as if that’s what cheering for their team is all about. I pity tha fool….

At the Chelsea game, there was none of this. Fans showed up wearing their team’s jersey. That’s it. No face paint, no capes. We sat for most of the game because the stadium not does not allow standing at an excess. There were no noise makers, blow horns or smoke bombs. Nobody yelled at the top of their lungs just to be loud. Instead, you just had an entire stadium of die-hard loyal fans who love their team singing in unison songs they’ve known since they were little. It’s stadium-wide camaraderie. THIS is what a soccer game should be about. Pure love of the game and love of the home team.

It was awesome and I highly recommend it to anyone traveling to a country that plays soccer.