Balloon Art

You think you’ve seen it all. That, of course, is never true. Yesterday, at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC, I experienced something totally new to me: balloon art. The Armory is a vast, flexible open space. It is now filled to the rafters (literally) with a show titled “Balloon Story.” Over 200 balloon artists (who knew there was such … Read More

Beautiful Bridges

In a recent article in Conde Nast Traveler, they listed the world’s most beautiful bridges. I didn’t agree with all of their choices and thought they left some iconic bridges off the list. So, I searched to see what bridges other publications chose as the most beautiful. Nearly all mentioned the Brooklyn Bridge, Tower Bridge in London, Széchenyi Chain Bridge … Read More

Lincoln Center Festival

Throughout the year Lincoln Center presents festivals and special events. None is more anticipated than Summer-for-the-City. Every night, and many days, there are concerts in many genres, dance and theatrical performances, a silent disco, special children’s shows, and food vendors. Best of all, every activity is free or pay-what-you-want, so the festival is affordable for everyone. The campus is decorated … Read More

Architectural details

Anyone who has been following me has figured out that architectural details capture my attention. On my recent trip to Greece and Türkiye the details were stunning, and very different from what I’d just seen in Spain and Amsterdam. The shapes and sensibility harkened back to antiquity, though many of the places were built within the last hundred years. When … Read More

Danger, Danger:  White Sands, New Mexico

An excerpt from my new book “Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine,” out October 4th. The White Sands National Monument is about seventy miles from Las Cruces and is notable for two reasons. First, it is the site of one of the world’s largest above ground gypsum deposits. Gypsum is a widely used mineral found in cement and drywall … Read More

For Cod’s Sake: Newfoundland

For the two weeks I traveled around Newfoundland, cod came up in conversation several times a day. I was never the one to bring it up.

Homestay: China 2007

An excerpt from my upcoming book “Wanderlust: Extraordinary People, Quirky Places, and Curious Cuisine,” which is out this October. Our tour itinerary included a homestay in a small farming village ninety minutes outside of Xi’an, the city known for the Terracotta Warriors. While I didn’t know what to expect, I was looking forward to the experience. It was clear that Xi’an … Read More

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango Dancers

I’m at the airport and will be boarding soon for my return flight home. Last night we went to a tango show. It was great fun, if a bit too commercial for my taste. Today, I spent the day on a tour of Tigre, a neighborhood about fifteen miles from Buenos Aires. The area sits at the confluence of two … Read More

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires We disembarked the ship this morning. With no fuss, we grabbed a taxi and went to our hotel. Amazingly, at 9 am, they had a room ready for us. After settling in a bit, we grabbed another taxi (which are inexpensive) and went to the San Telmo neighborhood. On Sundays, there is an open-air market that extends from … Read More

Antarctic Cruise — Day 11

Rainbow

Our weather luck ran out Today was a port everyone was eagerly anticipating — Stanley in the Falkland Islands. It’s a great place to see King penguins. And, of course, to get souvenirs to prove we’d visited there. We’d been told there was a 50:50 chance the ship would allow passengers to go ashore. From where the ship anchors it … Read More