Thanks for joining me on the journey.
I’m an American travel writer dividing my time between Seville, Spain and California. I travel the world seeking intriguing curiosities and outrageously delicious comfort food so I can have the fun of writing about them here. — Karen McCann
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Our “In Search of America” Tour
Our route on the “In Search of America” tour When you live abroad, you always worry that you might start to feel a bit disconnected from your home country. America is something you have to stay in practice for, and I don’t want to lose my touch. Arriving in my native California just in time…
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The Moment When You Say, “I Could Do That!”
“I always plan trips to the nth degree,” a reader wrote me last week. “But we’ve decided that for our Greek Island trip next year, we’re just going to follow your lead (plan ahead, but don’t book anything in advance) — we’re just going to hop on the ferry and go. This is a bit…
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Ready to Move Abroad?
“When you were a kid in New Jersey,” I said to Rich, “did you ever think you’d move abroad?” “Never.” “Me either. I thought it was something that people only did in books and movies, not in real life.” So you can imagine how gobsmacked we were a dozen years ago when we found ourselves…
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How to Survive a Worst Case Scenario? Optimism
Would you have answered that ad? Me neither, but it allegedly drew 5000 applicants for Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Antarctic expedition . As it turned out, the ad actually understated the dangers; things went horribly wrong for Shackleton and then they got much, much worse. What was meant to be a triumph — “the last great…
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Where Does an Expat Call “Home” in Dark Times?
Every year, Lola and Rich present the holiday turkey to the assembled guests. “You will never be completely at home again,” said author Miriam Adeney, “because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” This is…
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The Truth About the New Propaganda Museum
“Closed?” I said incredulously. “But the schedule said ten —“ My friend shrugged. “Apparently it doesn’t open until noon.” “Wait, are you telling me they gave out misinformation ? That we didn’t get the straight skinny from these people?” I shook my head in admiration. How subtle! Well played, Museum of International Propaganda. Well played.…
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Dive Bars of Seville
[Update: since I wrote this back in 2016, several of these dive bars have gone out of existence, including the venerable Bodega Virgen de los Reyes. I don’t know where Henry is sipping his morning sherry these days. But these guidelines for spotting a Sevillano dive bar still hold true, and may help you discover…
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Billionaire Aristocrat’s Seville Palace Opens as Museum
“We saw the oddest woman on the train,” my cousin said, when he and his wife arrived in Seville some years ago. “She was tiny with frizzy white hair. Everyone pointed and whispered when she walked by.” “Did she look like this?” I said, picking up a nearby magazine and showing him the cover. “Good…
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Our Long Trip Ends with a Wow Finish
“Barcelona hotels have gotten ridiculously expensive,” said Rich, thumbing through his hotel-finding app as we planned the final night of our three-month railway journey. “But I have one that’s near the train station and quite reasonable.” Hmmm. Convenient and cheap? What were the odds? “Can I take a look?” I asked suspiciously. I was still…
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Dive Bars of Northern Italy
“Forget that one,” I said. “It looks charming, the food smells great, and the liquor is top-shelf. Obviously we can’t go there.” We were walking through Trieste, Italy, passing one adorable trattoria after another. Rich gazed longingly at the cozy interiors and clusters of sidewalk tables loaded with fresh pasta, succulent pork, fried fish, and…
TRAVEL with CURIOSITY
These days I’m cultivating curiosity, which science says will keeps my brain agile. I figure spending more time on the road and indulging my natural nosiness about the world will be good therapy and a cheerful counterpoint to today’s headlines. And I will never run out of quirky stuff to write about.
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