Category Archives: Food

Rome by the Dozen: 12 Images of The Eternal City

Anyone who’s ever been to Rome knows that it’s impossible to contain all of its magnificence in a handful of photos, but that doesn’t stop most travelers from trying. There are (quite literally) millennia of things to see, explore, taste, and experience in this city that was once the center of the largest empire inContinueContinue reading “Rome by the Dozen: 12 Images of The Eternal City”

Italian Experiences with Rick Steves

It’s been more than Rick Steves has led one of our Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, but you’d never know it. His enthusiasm, energy, stamina, knowledge, and love of Europe seems only to have increased with those passing years.  Along with 28 happy tour members, my guide colleague Ben Cameron and I (we’re Rick’s assistants onContinueContinue reading “Italian Experiences with Rick Steves”

Market Day in Freiburg: The More Things Change…

Unless today’s Sunday, it’s Market Day in Freiburg. As early as six in the morning, merchants and farmers from near and far descend upon the town, setting up their tents and stalls and artfully displaying their harvests and wares. As sleepy-eyed Freiburgers awake to a new day, the market begins to pulse with activity. ContinueContinue reading “Market Day in Freiburg: The More Things Change…”

It’s All German (and Turkish) to Me

One of my linguistics professors once said to me, “Language is culture.” He didn’t mean that it’s a part of one’s culture but that it both encompasses and permeates the culture. It defines—and is defined by— it. And whenever I travel, discovering the quirky phrases that make a culture tick helps me to get inside theContinueContinue reading “It’s All German (and Turkish) to Me”

Now We’re Cookin’!

Too often when we travel, we frantically fill our schedules with seeing all the major sights, checking things off our bucket lists, and always go-go-going until we’re too exhausted to do much else. Even having a meal is often underappreciated because we rush through it in order to not miss the next thing on ourContinueContinue reading “Now We’re Cookin’!”

12 Hours in San Juan, Puerto Rico Part 2: From Boricua to Mofongo

After Tarzan-ing through Puerto Rico’s tropical forest, we freshened up on the ship and headed back out into the city of San Juan. We opted out of a ship excursion because we craved an authentic feel for the place. But we’d already discovered that the guidebooks we bought were lacking in any real content, context,ContinueContinue reading “12 Hours in San Juan, Puerto Rico Part 2: From Boricua to Mofongo”

Disneyland Haters: Maybe You’re Just Doing It Wrong

Have you ever met someone who’s repulsed by just the thought of going to Disneyland? “How can you stand it? The lines are ridiculous! It’s so fake! It’s too expensive! It’s so commercial! It’s so lame! Have you seen the kind of people that go there? They’re total Disney freaks!” As much as I loveContinueContinue reading “Disneyland Haters: Maybe You’re Just Doing It Wrong”

Disneyland: On the Corner of Main Street and Memory Lane

Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Anaheim, I went to Disneyland five days a week for two years– I’m not saying that I worked there, but one might say that I was a “good friend” of Pocahontas…and an original one at that. ‘Twas a magical place, and even after a full dayContinueContinue reading “Disneyland: On the Corner of Main Street and Memory Lane”

How to Find Great Values in Venice

Centuries-old former palaces crackle and peel away in the thick, briny air. Bottom floors of old merchants’ warehouses sit empty and still cling half-heartedly to their romantic patina of a time long past, slowly but beautifully decaying under the Venetian heat, humidity, and rising waters. As I glide down the canal on a slow vaporetto,ContinueContinue reading “How to Find Great Values in Venice”