The Friday Five: Jen's Five Best Tips for Enjoying National Parks

Jennifer is a writer and travel enthusiast based in the Sacramento area of Northern California. She has recently given in to the insatiable urge to wander and shares her photos and experiences over on her blog, People + Places + Things. Jennifer has also authored several travel guide apps and creates content for online and print publications.

Stay somewhere comfortable

Deciding where and how you’ll catch some zzzzz’s while you’re visiting a national park is very important and one of the first things we tackle when planning a trip. Do you want to camp and sleep under the stars? What about a nice hotel inside the park? Or perhaps a small rustic cabin in the woods nearby?

Whatever offers you and yours the most comfort and an opportunity for some down time is often the best choice. You’ll be happy to have a place to rest and recover after long days full of hiking, exploring and sightseeing.

The Friday Five: Five Bloggers & Five Favorite Campsites

In continuing to celebrate Let's Go Camping month - I've asked five bloggers to share their favorite campsite and a little bit about why they love to go camping. Enjoy!

Camping in Zion National Park

The Blogger: Lisette of Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary

The Campsite: Watchman Campground in Zion National Park in Utah

Cameron and I love camping because it brings us closer to the trailheads, encourages us to rise early, and gives us spectacular views at the fraction of the cost.

In the process of planning our Southwest adventure we knew we wanted to include Zion National Park. We are familiar with the National Park Service and know they offer easy to navigate websites, helpful rangers and well kept facilities. We chose Watchman Campground because it was located within the park, was located close to the park's shuttle system and offered some tent only walk up sites. In general, we prefer not to pitch our tent right next to our car or someone else's motor home, so we selected the tent only, walk up sites in Loop F. Each site had a picnic table, flat area for your tent and an enormous bear box (large enough to hold two large backpacks, plus additional food).

With a view like this and price point of $16.00 per night, we knew we had scored ourselves not only a deal, but a killer view. Within minutes from leaving our campsite we were boarded onto one of the park's shuttles and heading to the trailhead to begin our hiking adventure for the day.

Location is more important to us than amenities, but there was a bathroom and running water located right next to the Watchman Campground.

Find Lisette around the web: Blog | Instagram | Pinterest | Photography

The Friday Five: Annie's Five Favorite Things About Buenos Aires

Annie Shustrin is a Brooklyn-based travel writer and blogger. She has visited over 30 countries on both long and short term travels and has made a point of tasting wine in all of them. As well as writing for her blog, Travelshus, she contributes articles and photography to other online and print travel publications.

El Ateneo

Half of the books may be in Spanish, but reading is not the only reason to come visit the El Ateneo bookstore. El Ateneo was built in the early 1900s as a theater. It was then converted into a cinema and subsequently converted into a very unique bookshop. Sitting along the balconies looking down upon the layers and layers of books really inspires one to get lost in a novel. English or Spanish.

The stage is now the bookshop’s café. The enormous red curtains are still in tact, which gives the whole room an old-school atmosphere.

The Friday Five: Molly's Five Favorite Restaurants In London

I'm so excited to introduce my first ever guest post here on Gluten Free Travelette!

Currently based in London, Molly is a Holistic Nutrition Consultant and shares recipes and tips on her blog, The Particular Kitchen. Her raw dessert recipes are incredibly drool-worthy and it's wonderful to see how much time she puts into her community though talks and workshops.

Wild Wood Cafe - Source

Molly's Five Favorite Restaurants in London

1. The Gate

This vegetarian restaurant is right up the street from our flat, hidden on a quiet side street near Hammersmith Bridge. We've shared many beautiful meals here, most recently a 5-course set menu for Valentines Day, all with inventive and exciting flavors. The menu offers lots of vegan and gluten-free options, including desserts, so for that reason, we visit as often as possible! Even our friends with non-restricted diets love it here.

Eat OutAdina Marguerite PeaseMay 18, 2012England, Europe, Guest Post, London, The Friday FiveComment

welcome to the blog