Travel
Rock-Rock-Rock- Rockaway Beach – in Queens, New York
Love that when you’re in New York, you can have a fabulous beach day by simply hopping on the subway’s A train. My New York apartment is on this line, so the trip from Harlem to Queen’s Rockaway Beach is one I do frequently in the summer. It’s a long trip, but well worth it.…
Read MoreWalking the medieval walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
The adorable medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber – referring to the Tauber River – dates back to the tenth century. I had been here as a young child, then again as a young teenager – meaning it had been many, many years since my last visit. Since I was nearby in Würzburg with…
Read MoreNew York’s 9/11 Memorial and Museum
This is one of those anniversaries no one wants to mark, but mark it we must. This year marks twenty-five years since 11 September 2001, when terrorists slammed their hijacked planes into New York’s Twin Towers, destroying the towers and killing almost 3000 people. On the same day, another plane crashed into the Pentagon and…
Read MoreHanging out at Todi’s Porchetta Festival
Back in May, I went to Todi with my husband to take part in Todi’s Porchettiamo Festival for its sixteeth edition. Todi is a beautiful Italian hilltown in the Italian region of Umbria, and most of the festival was held on the town’s postcard-perfect medieval square, Piazza del popolo. Porchetta is a pork roast, where…
Read MoreKeeping cool in the mountain air of Abruzzo
It’s been a hot summer in Rome. But then again, every summer is a hot summer in Rome. Come weekends, my youngest son and I were often escaping the heat in the nearby mountains of Abruzzo. Our little town of Ovindoli is 1400 meters from sea level, das are warm but minus humidity, and evenings…
Read MoreCooling off in the sulfuric waters of Tivoli’s springs
Tivoli is a short distance from Rome, and the Acque Albule Springs (also called Terme di Roma) is a great way to cool down in summer. You can arrive easily from Rome by car or bus. The sulphur-rich thermal springs in Tivoli have been well known since the Ancient Roman era, and particularly at the…
Read MoreWhere time stands still, in Ushguli, Georgia
We had a great time driving around Georgia on our Caucasus roadtrip. But when we were staying in Kutaisi and planned to travel to Ushguli, Europe’s highest village, we decided to travel there with an organized tour and driver. And are we glad we did! If you have a four-wheel drive, you could probably manage…
Read MoreBatumi, Georgia: Former Soviet-era Black Sea beach resort with an art deco soul
I’ve already written about our wonderful vacation last summer in Georgia and Armenia. While staying in the western Georgia city of Kutaisi, we took some enjoyable trips, including to Batumi on the Black Sea. Batumi was a well-known beach resort during the Soviet era – and you can see why. This was a great place…
Read MoreMedieval Manhattan … in Tuscany’s San Gimignano
I’ve been a few times to the gorgeous Tuscan town of San Gimignano, but I hadn’t visited in several years. So, earlier this month – the Summer Solstice, to be precise – I was thrilled to get back to this wildly picturesque medieval hilltop town. What makes this town so special are the thirteen narrow…
Read MoreTraipsing through the Ancient Roman cisterns – in Todi
On my last visit to the lovely Umbrian hilltop town of Todi, I made an interesting visit to the Ancient Roman cisterns. You can arrange for a guided visit at the tourist office on the main town square, and the entrance to the cisterns is from the backside of that main square, Piazza del popolo.…
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