My blog has migrated to a new host and is being painstakingly reconstructed here. Please bear with me as I iron out wrinkles, hammer out the dents, and apply enough spit and duct tape to hold it all together.— Karen
“It has to be right here!” I exclaimed for the tenth time. Yet again, Rich and I walked up and down the sidewalk, around the corner and back, on an obscure street in downtown Athens. The helpful little GPS map on the phone showed a blue dot (us) right next to the red pointer (the…
“Do you realize we’re just 30 minutes from Albania?” I said. “We could take a boat over tomorrow.” Albania — like Naples — is often viewed as one of the least desirable destinations in Europe, so naturally Rich and I have been longing to go. We’ve set out for it twice, only to have our…
Our fellow passengers on the early-morning flight to Naples “I’m not panicking,” I growled at Rich. “I’m just saying all the coffee sellers appear to be on strike.” I’m rarely at my best for early morning flights; I sleep fitfully, sure that I’ll miss the alarm and worried I’ll forget to pack something vital in…
Living in a city that’s rated the number one travel destination on the planet, I often see tourists dragging around enormous suitcases — the kind that, in a certain sort of movie, would likely contain a dead body and/or ancient artifacts stolen from the museum. Incredibly, however, most travelers aren’t forced to buy these behemoths…
“When I plan a vacation, the first thing I look for is a hospital,” a friend told me last night at dinner. Yikes, I thought! That’s not even in my top ten criteria. But her remark got me thinking about the different ways we all structure our journeys — a topic much on my mind…
“Pot promoters eye town as bud hub” read the headline in my local newspaper. And there, leading the charge to bring newly legal recreational marijuana to the sleepy town of San Anselmo, CA, was Patrick Fasano, our family optician. “How’s this going to work?” Rich asked me over morning coffee. “First Patrick makes sure…
Eskimo Pie in her crate, shortly before we took her to Spain. “We’re thinking of taking the dog with us when we go to Portugal for two months,” my sister-in-law said recently. “Like you did with Pie.” Boy, did that spark memories! When we lived in rural Ohio, Eskimo Pie hated to be left behind…
“Oh my God, I can’t drink that!” a British friend exclaimed recently, peering aghast into a cup she’d just fetched from the bar. She’d made the rookie mistake of ordering with a literal translation: té con leche (tea with milk). When I first arrived in Seville in 2001, I learned the hard way that such…
It’s easy to become dazzled by Seville’s gorgeous architecture, passionate flamenco, great food, and vibrant street life. The city’s abundant charms and reasonable prices have made Seville the current darling of international travel, inspiring Rick Steves’ new video , The Independent’s “ 20 Photos that Show Why Seville Was Voted 2018’s Top Place to Visit…
The news that Lonely Planet designated Seville as the #1 Travel Destination of 2018 sent shockwaves through the expat community here. On the one hand, it justifies what we’ve been telling skeptical family and friends for years: this is one of the most delightful places in the world. On the other hand, we’re just a…
CELEBRATING GOOD NEIGHBORS These days I’m writing about Good Neighbors, exploring how the people around me are working to help each other get through these challenging times. My weekly posts appear on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on my travel and research schedule.
THIS BLOG IS A PROMOTION-FREE ZONE. As my regular readers know, I never get free or discounted goods or services for mentioning anything on this blog (or anywhere else). I only write about things I find interesting and/or useful.
