Author: Karen McCann

“If things don’t go exactly as planned,” a friend told me, “I have a meltdown.” He and his wife were describing their recent visit to Morocco, a place where things rarely go as planned. “I don’t know how you two travel the way you do. If I didn’t know where I was going to stay…

“Is this one of those eat-in-the dark places ?” Rich asked as we stumbled out of the bright heat of late afternoon into the near-black interior. I was taking him out for a birthday drink at Sacramento’s Dive Bar , chosen because Rich loves a casual gin joint with low lighting and slightly seedy charm.…

“We’ve never met,” a guy said to Rich at a recent event. “But I feel I really know you.” My husband looked a bit startled; this being California, the comment could have meant anything from “You give off a good vibe” to “We met on the astral plane” to “I’ve been stalking you for years.”…

If all had gone according to plan , about now Rich and I would have been leaving Albania replete with amusing anecdotes, zingy photos, and shqeto soup from the Lunxheri region of Gjirokaster . Instead, we’re in my home region of California for the next few weeks, possibly months, to support family during a difficult…

I am a latecomer to one of the world’s most spectacular inventions, Cuban café con leche, which is thicker, foamier, and creamier than … well, just about any coffee ever invented. It was love at first sip when I casually ordered one at Miami’s David’s Café in February, and a lifesaver during the final, bumpy…

When I was a young girl, it seemed every Italian restaurant had paintings and/or murals entitled “Views of Palermo.” Often done by the spouse, mistress, or cousin of the owner, these works tended (at best) to look like this. ​ Naturally I grew up thinking of Palermo as having faded colors, blurry edges, and not…

​“If we don’t find something open soon,” I said to Rich, “I’m not going to have much to write about on my blog.” We were standing in front of the massive locked doors of the cathedral in Cagliari, Sardinia , which an online search had assured us was open continuously from 7:30 am to 8:00…

​“When it comes to adventures,” I wrote in a 2013 blog post, “the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You go on an ordinary high school field trip and get bitten by an irradiated spider, giving you special powers. You’re running for shelter from a tornado, and the next thing you…

Ever since Rich and I announced our intention of traveling for four to five months without a fixed itinerary or end date, people have been asking us, 1) “Why?” and 2) “How?” and 3) “Are ya nuts?” The why part is easy. Years ago, Rich and I decided that we didn’t want to spend this…

There is a very, very good chance that Rich and I will soon be heading out on another long, nomadic railway journey , with minimal luggage , a couple of Eurail passes, and only the vaguest idea of our itinerary and possible trip duration (maybe four to five months). But if we’ve learned anything, it’s…