Hey guys! I have a $75 gift code for NOVICA to give to a reader! In conjunction with National Geographic, NOVICA hosts an online fair trade marketplace that showcases thousands (literally thousands!) of hand-crafted gifts from around the world, offering artisans a free platform to develop their businesses and connect to savvy consumers like you and me (who may very well prefer a shopping jaunt to Nepal than to a chain store in the mall, but alas).
Seriously, how cool are those beer glasses? The products above are all offered on NOVICA’s website (and are my picks for under $75!). It is the perfect place to shop for gifts for your gal or fella who loves to travel, and to make it even easier, you can shop by personality (or by hobby, wink wink).
To enter, leave a comment (tell me your favorite place in the world!) and share this post by 11:59pm, 1 February. Be sure input your email address when you comment; I will contact the winner via email. One-time-use promo code must be used by 5 February, and does not include shipping costs (although you may purchase a lower value item and apply the code toward shipping). Please contact me with any questions.
Comments are now closed. Congratulations to Christina for winning the giveaway. Thanks to all who participated.
amanda elsewhere 
Oh that is such a hard question! It’s close between Greece and Turkey. I loved walking along the harbor and dining outside in Nafplio, Greece but I also loved Ephesus and the great people I met nearby in Selcuk, Turkey.
This is a great giveaway! I really love all the amazing things NOVICA has available! Hope I win!
Very cool giveaway! Hmm so far my favorite place I’ve ever been was Italy. I just could really see myself living there. RETIREMENT PLAN haha. Also, the amazing food did not hurt 😛
Sorry, Amanda Elsewhere, but I’m about to idealize AND romanticize a modern European city. My favorite place in the world is Prague, Czech Republic. For a city that is often marketed to tourists in a shiny, easily digestible package, you can tell that Prague is just dying to show you more.
If you listen with a bit of care, you can hear very recent and long past histories clamoring for your attention. Take the Metro a stop or two outside of the city center. You will see modern art literally climbing all over symbols of Soviet oppression, and decades worth of graffiti on crumbling walls begs you to look closer. You can wander through Olšanské hřbitovy, the most beautiful graveyard in the world. “Cemeteries in Bohemia are like gardens” after all. You can even have coffee in the cafe where a young poet discussed plans for revolution, just blocks from the theater where he once staged his absurdist plays.
As you navigate this historical city, you will meet wonderful people living very much in the 21st century. Prague is a city of contradictions and multiple identities. The Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque vie with the modern for space in the narrative. It’s magical and mysterious. Sometimes a bit dark. Always romantic. It’s the type of place that forces you to stay up all night wandering the streets because you want to absorb everything, but because you’re three hours into an argument about Enlightenment philosophers with some Russian expats you met in a centuries-old bar. It’s also the type of place that makes you stay up all night dancing and then jump in the river because that tricky Vltava calls to you just like it called to people when it was called the Moldau. Also, maybe you are drunk.
While there is nothing wrong with being a tourist, I felt like a traveler in Prague. It was the first place I was ever really alone. As I explored the city, I was frequently exploring myself. My love for this city is therefore tied up with an appreciation for what the place did to and for me during the five months I lived there. Also… castles.
My favorite place was London, I had lots of fun there.
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My favorite place in the world is Japan. The biggest reason why is definitely the food. Even in convenience stores that are like U.S 7-Eleven stores, have bento(lunch) boxes that are like U.S. Japanese restaurant food(ex yaki-niku bento, tonkotsu bento,etc) and yummy snacks like ichigo mocchi (mochi with strawberry in the center) that I can’t buy in the US, and cheap breads/cakes that are really delicious. I haven’t gotten to visiting all you can eat kaiten sushi, visiting the shrines(yep, I was busy visiting other places!), and hot springs yet, so I can’t wait to go back again. Oh yeah, and the 100-yen stores have so, so many cute things I’d go back just for those. It started raining suddenly so I bought an umbrella for cheap but it was surprisingly so sturdy and nice for the price, I wish I could have brought it back to U.S (my suitcase was too full for that)!
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Thank you so much for the giveaway!
I would love to visit Switzerland . It would be spectacular for our anniversary. My other place, the Galapagos Islands. I am sharing on tw
oops I didn’t say my contact is mrsrodjac at hotmail dot com
sorry.