Nan Palmero, MBA

Thirteen Photos from Budapest, Hungary

Growing up, I loved playing Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego? That elusive Carmen Sandiego would always end up in far away lands, frequently found in the Soviet Bloc, eluding Interpol. I loved finding her. Later on, with the Bourne movie series, my love for Eastern Europe was rekindled. Prague remains one of the most beautiful cities I’ve visited and I dreamed of seeing Budapest. Well boys and girls, dreams come true. After the Amalfi Coast, we made it to Budapest. A city that Deya repeatedly called “grand.” A fitting adjective for this historic place. The Hungarian Parliament Building is not only larger than the US Capitol Building but more than 88 pounds of gold were used in its construction. Hotel Rum was HQ during our stay and we highly recommend it, especially due to the breathtaking rooftop breakfast. Be sure to not miss the street art and ruin bar tour, it’s awesome. The Szechenyi and Gellert thermal baths are unique and you’ve got to photograph the city from Gellert Hill at night. Find my top thirteen photos below plus the gallery.

Tram Transport at the Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok)

Hungarian Parliament Building at Night in Budapest

Check out the full album below:

Thirteen Photos from the Amalfi Coast, Italy

Deya has been dreaming of going to the Amalfi Coast for years and years. After Portugal, we decided that staying in Positano at La Fenice, recommended by my sister, would be a good idea to relax. In the Bible, it says that creation groans for the restoration of this world. When I looked around in Positano and the absolute rugged beauty of mountains meeting the Tyrrhenian Sea, I find my imagination is too small to comprehend what the infinite beauty of heaven must be. Positano is the jewel of the Amalfi Coast. When you head there, visit Amalfi for the day, but stay in Positano. It’s a polished version of the famous city. Below, enjoy thirteen photos from the Amalfi Coast and the gallery from our visit.

See the entire album below:

Thirteen Photos from Lisbon and Porto, Portugal

Deya and I knew we had to go to Portugal in the summer of 2018 but we were undecided exactly where other than Lisbon and Porto. Both of these cities offer a rich and cultural history that span centuries. The food, people and scenes in Portugal cannot be beat. Below, find my favorite thirteen photos from Lisbon and Porto. I hope you’ll add these spots to your places to travel. When you go to Lisbon, be sure to head across the river to eat at Ponto Final. Take a jacket, the wind is cold! If you want to see the rooftop from Santa Justa Lift, skip the line and take the stairs behind the lift. It’s free and fast. Try a ginjinha drink, it’s a Lisbon classic. Be sure to eat at O Asiático, it’s fantastic. Visit Porto Cruz in Porto and have some tapas with their spicy porto cocktail. The teleferico is touristy, but so what? It’s a beautiful way to see the river and the city. Here are the thirteen photos from the trip and the gallery below.

Teatro Nacional D. Maria II from Rossio Square

Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology - MAAT

Teleférico de Gaia with the Dom Luís I Bridge

Man and Cat Looking Out the Window in Porto

Check out the rest of the album below:

Thirteen Photos from Mexico City

Mexico City was one of those places I never thought about, like say, Iowa. Sure, I knew it existed but nothing about the city ever called to me. Deya and my SIL, Viole, told me that we needed to go. They promised me it was the New York City of Mexico. In recent years, the city has undergone a rebrand from DF to CDMX. Though it sounds like an illicit synthetic drug, CDMX was a vibrant and fantastic city. It’s a quick two hour direct flight from San Antonio and I encourage anyone that’s considering going to Vegas for a long weekend to head to Mexico City instead. One of our Uber drivers put it best when he said that there is a budget for every wallet in CDMX. The food, culture and people were a joy and I was so thankful to have visited. Below, enjoy thirteen photos from CDMX with a bonus of the entire album.

Camel Passing Through the Eye of a Needle at Museo Jumex

Thirteen Photos from New York City

Ah, New York City, the center of the universe. It had been a few years since I’d visited the city, but when my dad sprung the opportunity to visit the New York Auto Show with him for a few days, I couldn’t pass it up. We stayed in the absolutely enormous Marriott Times Square and bounced around town. These photos were taken with the mind-boggling Sony A7RIII. Enjoy my thirteen photos from NYC.

Panorama from the Top of the Rock New York City

This photo is huge and is best seen on a big screen.

New York Public Library Rose Reading Room

Check out the album below:

Thirteen Photos from Paris, Versailles and Rheims, France

Deya’s lifelong dream was to visit Paris, France. She dreamed about it, pinned photos on Pinterest and simply could not wait to go. Thankfully, we had the opportunity to not only visit Paris but we also toured Versailles and Rheims, where proper champagne is made. It was a delight to see Deya light up in having a dream fulfilled. If you’re traveling soon, I highly recommend the Headout app. It’s available in a handful of major cities and it let’s you book tours at a discount with many featuring a “skip the line” option. If you’ve never signed up before, here’s my referral link for $10 off your first booking. We used the app to skip the line into the Paris catacombs, which was especially timely as it started to rain and hail. Below are my favorite thirteen photos from those three cities in France, with a focus on my favorite model.

Enjoy the entire set:

Thirteen Photos from Kutna Hora and Sedlec, Czechia

When you visit Prague, plan a day trip to Kutna Hora and Sedlec to see some beautiful cathedrals and the UNESCO recognized Sedlec Ossuary or Bone Church. We stopped first in Sedlec and visited the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist, then the Sedlec Ossuary. Since it’s over a mile from Sedlec to Kutna Hoar, we grabbed a beer at a pub while waiting for an Uber to shuttle us. Sedlec Ossuary is simply stunning. The craftsmanship of the art pieces made of bones is like nothing we had ever seen. Don’t miss the family crest of the House of Schwarzenberg, with the raven picking out the eye of a Turk. Oddly, it’s not as macabre as it appears in photos. Check out the My Czech Republic site on traveling to the villages and buy your tickets directly from the train line. Below are my favorite thirteen photos from Sedlec and Kutna Hora.

The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist at Sedlec, Kutna Hora

Enjoy the entire set:

Thirteen Photos from Prague, Czechia

In October 2009 I made my first trip to gorgeous Prague, CZ. I had no idea the impact this trip would have on my life. During the visit, I saw cathedrals, Old Town Square, spires and buildings of the like that I’d never experienced. It was breathtaking and I was angry. My photography was abysmal. Utter frustration. When I returned home I was determined to suck less at photography. For Christmas that year I received my first camera with manual functions-a Canon Powershot S90. I knew that anything larger than that pocket-sized camera would be left at home. The S90 looked like a plain point and shoot camera, but it was groundbreaking at the time. A fast f/2.0 lens, an oversized sensor, full manual controls in a pint size prevented me from excuses. Watching YouTube videos, reading online and practicing, I started to suck less. I memorized the technical aspects of photography when it came to aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Knowing these basics allows anyone to use nearly any camera. In 2012 I made a crazy request to Olympus to send me a camera and lenses, which they did after a humorous call. Then in 2013, I was invited into a group of wonderful photography influencers, much more skilled than me, to participate as a Samsung Imagelogger. An incredible gift! I met photographers and new friends from all over the world and we shot photos in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Marbella, Spain. I still can’t believe it. The Imagelogger program has since been disbanded after Samsung left the camera market, but I’m still shooting with the gear. Speeding forward to 2017, lovely Deya and I planned a two week trip to Europe that had special meaning for both of us. I needed to go back to Prague for unfinished business – photograph this beautiful place with her and she needed to get to Paris, a lifelong dream. I hope you enjoy my thirteen photos from Prague, Czechia.

Deya with Bubbles in Old Town Square Prague

Jan Hus Memorial in Old Town Square Prague

Enjoy the entire set:

Thirteen Photos from Washington DC

Photos from Washington DC captured with the Samsung NX500 and the 16-50mm S Lens by Nan Palmero

Washington DC renewed my sense of pride in our country. Although I spent most of my time inside a conference room during this trip, we had some time to explore in the evening. Here are thirteen photos from Washington DC captured with the Samsung NX500.

Robert Indiana Amor Sculpture at the National Gallery of Art

Deya on the Stairs at the National Gallery of Art

Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial

Cherry Blossoms near the Jefferson Memorial

World War II Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial

Enjoy the entire set:

How To Get Free Boingo Wireless Internet Access

How to connect to a Boingo Wireless Wi-Fi Hotspot for free without paying.

Sitting in an airport, wishing you had a faster connection to the internet via that Boingo hotspot that’s promising you sweet sweet network goodness? Maybe you’re about to go underground in the New York City subway system and you know that your cell phone signal is about to be slapped down by those feet of concrete. Never fear! Many companies have set up roaming agreements with Boingo Wifi to help you continue your Spotify streaming in those pesky dead zones, you just need to know how to get them set up and how to find them.

If you have Time Warner Cable, connect to any of these networks: Boingo or TWCWifi or TWCWiFi-Passpoint (provides WPA2 secure connection) and use your account username and password to gain access to the networks. Here’s the step-by-step guide:

For Boingo:
Look for the Boingo Hotspot network name on your device, or check which network names (SSIDs) are available on our partner hotspots in our TWC WiFi® Coverage Map or WiFi Finder app.

To sign in to Boingo Hotspots:
1. Select the Boingo Hotspot network name on your device.
2. Open your browser.
3. On the Boingo WiFi sign in page, select Time Warner Cable from the dropdown list of Internet service providers.
4. Click Log In.
5. Enter your TWC ID and password and log in.

For TWC WiFi® Hotspots:

1. Be sure WiFi is enabled on your device.
2. Select the “TWCWiFi” network name from the list of your device’s available wireless networks.
3. Open you browser and navigate to a webpage.
4. The TWC sign in portal will appear.
5. Enter your TWC ID and password.
6. Accept the Terms of Service.
7. Click Sign in to finalize the connection.

If you have a different cable carrier as your home internet provider, you can check CableWifi‘s website to find what roaming hotspots are available in your neck of the woods while you travel. Happy connecting to all the things!