Jeremy

Jeremy founded Living the Dream in 2008 to chronicle his long-term trip around Asia. Since then he has been on two long-term trips, visited 69 countries, and is just getting started. He is now on a Lifestyle Design quest to build businesses to pursue a life of travel.

Is The MATPRA Marketplace Worth It For Travel Bloggers?

In the past, I’ve written reviews of travel conferences and networking events like TBEX, Travelcon, NATJA, and IMM- a few of which I’ve had in regular rotation for a while. As it has been my goal to broaden my networking horizons, I’m starting to attend more conferences/events beyond these as well.

One of my recent additions was MATPRA (the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance) Media Marketplace. MATPRA is a consortium of tourist boards from the mid-Atlantic, namely within Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia, that comes together for a networking opportunity (the Media Marketplace) for writers and CVBs to meet and discuss publication opportunities.

So, is this one worth it? My short answer is yes. But my long answer would be with a caveat that it depends on where you are coming from and what you want to get out of it.

*Note: Unlike other event reviews, I forgot to take photos at the Marketplace proper (I was too busy networking, whoops). Instead, photos of this one come from the FAM experiences that coincide with MATPRA Media Marketplace.

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Visiting an 18th Century Doctor at the Hugh Mercer Apothecary

Imagine you are transported back to the 18th century, colonial Virginia, in the town of Fredericksburg. You have come down with a sickness. What do you do?

If you’re like most people, you’re going to head to your local apothecary to speak to a doctor and get one of his modern medicines to cure what ails you. This will take you to the Hugh Mercer Apothecary, and your experience could go any manner of direction from there.

Thankfully, we are not alive in the 18th century and do not have to endure what comes next. But at the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Museum in Fredericksburg, you can get a glimpse as to what medicine was like well over 200 years ago to see what may have been your future for curing your ailment.

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Tips for Making Your Ryanair Flight an Enjoyable Experience

If you’ve ever traveled in Europe, odds are good you know about the notoriety of Ryanair flights. 

This UK-based airline is prolific in its advertising absurdly cheap deals, with Ryanair sale promotions often featuring flights for under 10 Euro. Yes, you read that right- 10 Euro.

But where it seems like a wonderful deal to purchase Ryanair tickets, there is one thing to keep in mind- the advertised price is likely not the final price you’ll ultimately pay. This leads to disappointment and a lot of the negative reviews we have seen online.

But after flying Ryanair in Italy from Catania to Rome, I have to say, with a little bit of advanced planning you can make the flight a moderately enjoyable experience. Or, to put it another way, my Ryanair flight wasn’t bad.

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Tips for Driving in Sicily by Car – It Isn’t As Bad As It Seems

My first time with a car in Italy was driving in Tuscany. If you hadn’t read that article (at the previous link), the quick explanation is that it left a bad taste in my mouth with how difficult it was- especially around Florence.

So when I returned to Italy, it was with a bit of reluctance that I opted to see the island of Sicily by car.

After driving in Sicily for five days, and hitting virtually every corner of the island, I look back on it and realize it wasn’t that bad at all!

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