InsureMyTrip Blog

Ed. Note: Today’s blog post is contributed by our good friend, traveler and writer extraordinaire Sherry Ott of Ottsworld.  We sent Sherry on the road with our new Lytro camera to capture some images of her adventures.  In her first Lytro post, Sherry showed us the wonders of the Istanbul Grand Bazaar.  Today, she’s showing us the culinary delights of Costa Brava, Spain. Thanks again, Sherry, for taking us with you!

Food glorious food – it’s one of the best things about discovering new countries and cultures.  I spent 4 months in Europe this Spring and ate my way through 6 countries – Malta, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, and Spain.  Each had their own specialty foods that are synonymous with their country; however, my 6 weeks in Costa Brava, Spain provided the biggest culinary surprises.

In addition to learning that the world’s best chefs and restaurants hail from Costa Brava, Spain, I also learned that the Lytro camera loves to take food photos.  Insure My Trip kindly loaned me the new Lytro camera to use as I ate my way through Costa Brava and it turned out to be a great way to photograph food.  Food photography requires you to get close – and that’s what the Lytro does best – close up shots.

I took the Lytro with me to an outdoor fisherman’s lunch.   The fishermen in Costa Brava have fishing huts along the coast which have been passed down through generations.  It’s a place they can store their boats and supplies right on the sea for easy access.  Plus – the huts and surrounding area is also a great place to congregate with friends near the sea and have a huge fresh seafood lunch!  Local fisherman and their families hosted me and a few friends at this picture-perfect afternoon lunch.  It started with homemade Aioli (the famous Catalonia garlic mayonnaise)…

…and soon we were digging into plates of fresh gambas (large shrimp), crabs, clams, and various other local dishes and of course cold beer.  After lunch we all hung out and listened to the retired fisherman sing old fishing songs and enjoyed the view!

The Lytro camera also accompanied me to a place where few get to go – Celler de Can Roca – the 2^nd best restaurant in the world, located in Girona.  I was able to go inside the world famous kitchen and see the 30 some chefs at work creating a fusion of science and food.  When I got out the Lytro it seemed as if the well trained and focused chefs got distracted as they started asking me questions about the funny looking little camera!

I shot away enjoying this special behind the scenes look that few get to experience before we sat down for our 4 hour, 17 course lunch.  The food at Celler de Can Roca was like a work of art – which made photographing it and playing around with the ‘live focus’ on the Lytro even that much more fun!

But the best part about photographing and focusing on food in Costa Brava – someone had to eat it of course!

Today is one of those anniversaries Americans are likely to observe, in one somber way or another, for some time to come.  It was seven years ago that Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast and caused catastrophic damage with long-term impacts — some of which are still being felt even many years after the storm’s actual occurrence.

It may be that some people, and some areas of the country, have not fully recovered from Katrina’s fallout; however, with this tragedy as with so many others, the bright spot is that much was learned.  Even in the travel insurance industry, the idea that people need and deserve to be protected in whatever way possible from the devastation of a storm like Katrina became crystal-clear seven years ago.  Today, we have many of the benefits that are available to travelers during hurricane season largely because of the wake-up call that Katrina provided to our industry.

For example, the Destination Made Uninhabitable benefit is a key asset we try to encourage travelers to investigate during hurricane season.  It wasn’t widely available before 2005, but now it’s much more accessible, and provides travelers with the ability to change their plans if their destination (including their hotel or accommodations) is rendered unfit for their habitation by a hurricane.  Even more to the point, for those who have survived Katrina and other devastating storms, is the coverage that is now available should your primary residence be made uninhabitable.  In other words, if it’s your home, not your vacation spot, that’s been severely damaged by the storm, most travel insurance policies will now recognize that as a covered reason for cancelling your trip.

Of course, part of what many of us learned during Katrina — and have thought of at least once or twice during every ensuing hurricane season — is that it’s vital to everyone’s safety and peace of mind to practice smart preparation and to play it safe, whenever possible.  So even before anything catastrophic actually takes place, travel insurance still provides two safety nets to you in the interest of being prepared: Cancel for any Reason coverage and Cancellation due to Hurricane Warning benefits.  Cancel for Any Reason is a widely available and quite useful travel insurance benefit that allows travelers to cancel their plans — during hurricane season, or any other time of year — based on their own preferences and their personal comfort level, rather than having to adhere to the insurance company’s list of covered reasons for cancellation.  Cancellation due to Hurricane Warning is a lesser-known coverage that some companies are now offering, much to the benefit of hurricane season travelers.  Its goal is to give travelers the peace of mind that they could cancel their plans should NOAA issue a hurricane warning that would impact their trip.

While it’s important to bear in mind that any kind of travel insurance coverage for a named storm must be purchased well in advance of the storm’s formation, we’re hopeful that the innovations in coverage that have occurred since Katrina’s fateful landfall 7 years ago can provide increased security and peace of mind to travelers whose plans may be impacted by unpredictable weather events.  Our thoughts today are with all those impacted by Katrina and all other catastrophic storms, and particularly with our friends on the Gulf Coast who may be weathering Hurricane Isaac and its effects.  We encourage anyone who has questions about hurricanes and  travel insurance coverage to call us at 800-487-4722.

Ed. Note: Today’s blog post is contributed by our good friend, traveler and writer extraordinaire Sherry Ott of Ottsworld.  We sent Sherry on the road with our new Lytro camera to capture some images of her adventures.  Thanks to Sherry for taking us with her to Istanbul!

Photo credit: Sherry Ott

In my recent trip to the Grand Bazaar, I was surprised to discover that the shopkeepers were interested in something I had  – and it wasn’t money.  It was my Lytro Camera I was carrying on behalf of InsureMyTrip.

Crushing Stereotypes

I couldn’t walk past more than 3 shops before a shopkeeper or sometimes even another tourist, or a tour guide would stop me and ask me what was around my wrist.  The conversations went something like this:

“What is that?”

“A new camera.” I replied.

“Is it from Japan?”

“No, it’s from America.” I answered.

This answer normally received some surprised looks.  One shopkeeper even told me that they normally only see new technology from the Asian tourists.  So I was happy to dispel the stereotype a bit.

But they didn’t just ask questions about it – they wanted to use it, touch it, and see how it worked.  I found myself giving demonstrations and trying to line up shots that would be a perfect way to highlight the ‘living picture’ functionality of the Lytro.  People would then want to have pictures taken of themselves and upon seeing it they would ask for more.  There’s one thing I learned while spending 6 weeks in Turkey – the Turks love to have their photo taken!

A Perfect Place For Photography

The Grand Bazaar is full of little gadgets, souvenirs, pushing shop keepers, tea vendors, evil eye charms, leather goods, and jewelry – there’s so many things to photograph it’s as disorienting as the maze of hallways that make up the bazaar.

However I learned after traveling and playing with the Lytro for the past few months that the Lytro is best for really close up shots of objects – so I mainly tried to focus on that while at the bazaar.  This way you can have the most fun playing with the shot afterwards.  By simply clicking on an object in the image it will reset the focus of the shot – making it appear alive in a way!

My Favorite Photo

My favorite photo I took at the bazaar was at a shop selling magnifying glasses.  They had them hanging overhead and I was able to take the shot sort of through the magnifying glass.  If you click on the object behind the magnifying glass they are in focus – but click right in the middle of the magnifying glass and the image is actually refocused on the magnified jewelry creating this weird effect.

I learned that the closer you get to an image the better for the overall focus effect like this one of a ring .

But overall I learned that if you want to make friends and get noticed in the Grand Bazaar,  just bring in hot new technology and flash it around.  All of a sudden you will be invited into every store and be drinking tea with the shopkeepers!    Now the real key is to leverage that new friendship to bargain down your purchases to the lowest price possible!

Check out the whole story through Sherry’s eyes, told in images she shot with the Lytro camera while at the Grand Bazaar.

Bio:  Sherry is a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer with one goal in mind – to make you wish you were somewhere else.  She seeks out unique travel experiences and writes about her around the world adventures on Ottsworld.  She’s also a co-founder of Meet, Plan, Go!, a website and national travel event teaching you how you can take your very own traveling career break or sabbatical on October 16, 2012.