Meet Our New Writer

Bonjour! I’m feeling all kind of Frenchie here because I’d like to introduce Maribeth Clemente, a travel writer that’s already bringing a certain je ne sais quoi to Discovery Map.

Maribeth lived in France (you know, the land famous for its Michelin maps and guides) for over a decade and not surprisingly is also a total map geek. She’s an eighteenth-century kind of gal, which is partly why she loves holding Discovery Maps in her hands. She loves travel writing as much as traveling and has been at her craft for decades. (Don’t worry, she’s still pretty fun-loving and hip.).

Maps, travel stories and websites are an essential part of today’s travel experience. “The good news is that Discovery Map has it going on and this awesome company is in the midst of a full-on development of these travel resources for curious travelers,” says Maribeth. (She can boast about us because she’s a freelancer.)

So here’s the scoop on this gig and pay attention because you never know how childhood friends might reenter your world. (More on that below.) Maribeth has been hired on to write web content for Discovery Map destinations. (Unfortunately, there’s not room on the actual physical maps to include her stories. You know–on our cheery hand-drawn maps that you find at all the best travel spots within the United States. Couldn’t help that mini brag.)

There are more than a hundred of them, so boy, does she have her work cut out for her.

Thankfully it seems as though we have a good fit here. “For the most part, I’m a fun, quirky and optimistic person that loves authentic travel experiences,” Maribeth says. “I try to convey that enthusiasm to Discovery Map peeps in my write ups, which follow a range of themes from Outdoor Activities to Shopping to Instagram-able Moments to Must-Eat Dishes to Favorite Lodging Recommendations and more. There’s so much to be said about each destination that the Discovery Map team and I had to find a way to showcase some of the greatest hits. At this point, I’m doing two pages of content for each destination but as any travel enthusiasts might imagine, I could write volumes for each locale.”

Check out Durango, Colorado, Outer Banks, North Carolina, Lake George, New York and Carefree, Cave Creek and North Scottsdale, Arizona, to read some of Maribeth’s first entries. Be sure to click on Read More to locate her stories.

Speaking of volumes, writing books is Maribeth’s forté. She’s authored four guidebooks on France and one travel memoir, entitled A Tour of the Heart: A Seductive Cycling Trip Through France. “I’m used to dealing with big word counts–that’s writer’s speak–with most of my books ringing it in at about the 200,000-word count mark,” Maribeth tells us. “Indeed, I can be chatty,” she adds. (No kidding!) “With my books and other writing outlets, however, I always try to curate the best information and present it in a concise and entertaining manner,” she continues.

So she asks forgiveness d’avance if she slips in a French word here and there. (I can’t believe how much her franglais is already rubbing off on me.) She can’t help it, since she lived eleven years in Paris and often writes about France. “I’m super down-to-earth though,” she insists. Maribeth has, in fact, been holed up in Colorado since January 2002–not a bad place, mind you.

This dichotomy sometimes shows up in her blog, Bonjour Colorado, where she features stories on travel, beauty, shopping, food & wine and more from Paris to Telluride–and lots of places in between. “I hope you’ll check it out and have fun perusing my posts,” she adds. “As of today, I’ve posted almost 500 stories there, so be sure to dig deep.”

Maribeth is also linking Discover Map write ups to Bonjour Colorado, and in so doing, provides a bit of the back story of her connection to that destination. In her post Top Reasons to Go to Lake George, New York, for example, you’ll find out about her lifelong friendship with Peter Hans, the owner of Discovery Map International, and how he came to ask her to start writing for his company. “Go ahead and check it out,” she teases. “I promise you’ll find a bit of oh-là-là.”

There’s nothing like some Parisian cheekiness to spice up a story. You’re likely to find it in some of the most unexpected ways within Maribeth’s destination write ups.

Welcome, Maribeth. We’re glad you’re on board with making Discovery Map even more of a must.