This post contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission for purchases and bookings made through these links. Read more…

| Jan 5 | Jan 12 | Jan 19 |

Welcome to the third weekly wrap-up of 2020. Read my intro in the first one to see how these came about.

1. In the News

• The 2020 U.S. News Best Countries report is out! This ranking is done annually by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and BAV Group. In this ranking, 73 countries were compared across multiple categories. This year, Switzerland, Canada, and Japan took the top three spots in the overall ranking. Read the full list: Overall Best Countries ranking

• I am baffled by this news! Why would anyone do this to a UNESCO World Heritage site?: Tourists to be deported over alleged damage, defecation at Machu Picchu.

• Airbus demonstrated the world’s first Autonomous Taxiing, Take-Off and Landing (ATTOL) system using an Airbus 350 aircraft. Watch the video in the tweet below and read more from Airbus about this technology: Is autonomy the future of aerial mobility?

An aircraft that can take off by itself thanks to technology alone? Our #ATTOL demonstrator project recently proved just that! Learn how autonomy helped to make it happen: https://t.co/Ij5o15Ybeo pic.twitter.com/WSwCCXPxJC

— Airbus (@Airbus) January 16, 2020

Are you ready for a captain-less flight? Not sure I am ready, yet!

2. Blog Post of the Week

This week’s featured blog is by Marta Azra. In this article, Marta shares the important life lesson she learned last year.

“If you really need to plan something, then plan your happiness, wherever you go, whatever you do, whoever you love, and whatever and whoever you leave behind.”

3. Twitter Activity

3.1 Twitter Chat

On January 19, I participated in the weekly #PTTravel Twitter chat. I answered five out of six questions.

Q1:

A1: I don’t function well in cold weathers 🥶. I live in Arizona for a reason 😊. However, on a recent trip to Amsterdam and Prague, I discovered that I can tolarate it and have fun. Snow is beautiful to capture in shots. But living where it snows, sorry no can’t do! #PTTravel pic.twitter.com/5ir7BBj1Ic

— Moawia Abdelkarim (@WorldTravelWM) January 19, 2020

Q2:

A2: I love my Patagonia Nano Puff jacket, which I got as a gift from work 😍. On a trip last week to Southern California, this jacket saved my ass. It also looks good on me 😂, I get compliments when I am wearing it 😜.
.#PTTravel pic.twitter.com/eA4FIOxVg7

— Moawia Abdelkarim (@WorldTravelWM) January 19, 2020

You can buy the Patagonia Nano Puff jacket from Amazon. This jacket is great for both men and women. It also makes a great gift.

Q3:

A3: This is recent and one of my best winter trips. This past December, I went to Sedona, Arizona. Sedona is beautiful all seasons. Many hiking opportunities, and plenty to do. I can’t get enough of its red rocks.
.#PTTravel pic.twitter.com/I5c2GNIJwd

— Moawia Abdelkarim (@WorldTravelWM) January 19, 2020

Q4:

A4: Hot soup, hot-chocolate, but my favorite is hot tea. This was two years ago in Zhangjiajie, China, where I visited the Zhangjiajie National Forest and it was cold and rainy. Green tea and Chinese music kept me warm 😍.#PTTravel pic.twitter.com/Y6cFVE1jF1

— Moawia Abdelkarim (@WorldTravelWM) January 19, 2020

Q5: Skipped

Q6:

A6: Driving in snow is foreign to me. Several years ago, I was in Fairfax, Virginia, for business. I walk up to go attend a meeting and the hotel parking was under several inches and the roads were icy. I had to attend the meeting from the hotel via conference call 😂.#PTTravel

— Moawia Abdelkarim (@WorldTravelWM) January 19, 2020

For more details on the #PTTravel chat, read this blog post. Also, follow Kate Frankie on Twitter.

3.2 Tweet of the Week

This week, I would like to highlight this tweet by Scott Hefti. This time-lapse video of the Port of Amsterdam is mind-blowing. Watch it and let me know what you think.

Time Lapse of Port of Amsterdam 😊💗 pic.twitter.com/S7P1M4u5Yz

— Scott Hefti 📓 (@Havenlust) January 15, 2020

4. Instagram Shout-out

This week’s Instagram shout-out goes to Abdul Momin. I had a hard time deciding which of his IG posts to feature – I like them all! Visit his profile to judge for yourself. His aerial drone shots of crop fields and men and women working are simply amazing.

5. Let’s Wrap it Up!

Let’s wrap it up with something I learned this week.

This week, I learned from Lola Åkerström, a travel writer and photographer. I learned about the power of asking “Why not?” The ‘aha moment’ for me was when she talked about the strategy of opening closed doors that we face every day:

1. Having the courage to walk up to a closed door.
2. Developing the code of understanding to open a closed door.
3. Breaking the door by force if necessary.

Watch Lola’s powerful TEDx talk.

So long, until next week!

I would love to hear from you on this “It’s a Wrap!” weekly post. What did you like and what I could have done better? Please leave your feedback in a comment below.

---

Want to get notified with similar articles?

Subscribe to receive similar articles sent to your email:

We won’t send you spam. We respect your privacy.

---