The Radar: Travel Lately

The Radar – the best of the travel blogosphere – is a regular feature on Intelligent Travel every Wednesday.

You can play, too. Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories #NGTRadar to help us find the crème de la crème on the web.

Here’s this week’s:

• National Geographic’s Digital Nomad, Andrew Evans, is busy exploring his home state of Texas — a journey that includes a stop at Big Bend National Park in the Chihuahuan Desert. @WheresAndrew
• London is a beloved travel hotspot for a reason: because of all it has to offer. It’s romantic, historic, cosmopolitan, fashion-forward, and — wait for it — kid friendly! @TheVacationGals
• Landloper Matt Long shares a surprising, thoughtful list of 20 things he thinks every smart traveler should know — including knowing three good jokes and how to swim. @LandLopers 
• Are you a chocoholic? Learn more about the fascinating history of chocolate — from its earliest roots in Mexico to its present-day status as a worldwide cultural obsession. @1step2theleft
• Can volunteering abroad change your life? It did for this blogger, who “never thought [she] could live without the comforts of home” until she helped build a dam in rural Thailand. @BootsnAll

Got Radar? Follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and tag your favorite travel stories from the web #NGTRadar. Then check back on Wednesdays for our Travel Lately roundup.