(Feels like) Summer reading: Americanah

Okay, this weekend I had to take my son to the beach for a fun track and field workout session for him, but it also turned out to be a wonderful, relive-the-summer day for me. At Ostia, the beach nearest Rome, the massive summer crowds were gone, but the weather was almost as gorgeous as…

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Sand, sun, sports (and Roman poets) in Formia

I had never been to Formia – in southern Lazio, very close to the border with Campagna – before dropping my son off there for a track and field camp. The seaside town of about 38 000 people is in a dramatic spot, developed along the sea with Mount Altino rising dramatically just behind it.…

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Emperor Tiberius’ impressive seaside villa, Sperlonga

I’ve already written about how much I love the seaside town of Sperlonga,  and wandering its beautiful, twisting streets. Despite all my visits to this gorgeous beach spot, I only recently made it to the museum and ruins of Ancient Rome’s Emperor Tiberius, who ruled from 14-37 AD. For Tiberius, aside from having a great eye…

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Beach reading season 2017 officially begins (for me…)

It’s that wonderful ‘event’ that rolls around each year – the official start of beach reading season! For me, it often happens around the Easter holidays, when the weather in Rome starts turning almost summer-like. I often take my kids to one of our favorite beach spots near Rome – the wonderful town of Sperlonga.…

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Early morning jogs in the Bahamas

When I travel and have space to squeeze my running sneakers into my suitcase, I’m usually happy to start the mornings off with a scenic jog. If it’s an area I don’t know, it also gives my my bearings in a new town or city. On a recent trip to the Bahamas, it turned out…

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A spring day in seaside Sperlonga, Italy

During the Easter weekend, my kids and I had a perfect day in the beautiful beach town of Sperlonga, Italy. I’ve already written about this pretty little beach town on teh Tirrenian Sea, half-way between Rome and Naples. See my earlier post about the resort town once the favorite of Emperors. But my day-long escape…

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Early morning jogs on the beach of Agadir, Morocco

Last week, work found me in the coastal Moroccan city of Agadir, to the country’s south. It was my first time to this city, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960 and rebuilt in a new and modern style. The beach is lined with hotels and the straight,white lines of the modern town have…

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Pining away for the Palm Beach resort, Maldives

I don’t know what it is about the first week of February, but whenever it rolls around I see I’m writing travel posts from tropical locales I’ve visited earlier. Apparently, I’m sick of the cold and want to bask in memories of lounging on warm beaches. This year is no exception. Last Easter, I was…

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Happy as a clam reading on the white sand

Okay, this is completely unfair, but I write this post pre-holiday knowing it will be posted as I return home, happy, relaxed and well-read on gorgeous white sands looking like this. I love the beach, but I generally don’t do the lazy, beach resort kind of holiday. But this year, I really felt I needed…

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