“Madrid is full of literature, poetry and music on all four sides, so much so that she is a literary character herself.” Ernest Hemingway Gratitude for my excellent friend Dorian with whom I just spent a delightful 24 hours museum hopping, shamelessly shoe shopping, happily feasting and generally admiring...
Sometimes, despite all our scheduling mastery, a travel day delivers setbacks, cancellations, snafus, missed connections, stressy rerouting, delayed luggage, or just really really really long flights home. I gloat about having pretty good travel luck, but every now and then the karmic goddess who holds the scales of the universe (yes I’m a Libra) balance mine as...
“A well-made salad must have a certain uniformity; it should make perfect sense for those ingredients to share a bowl.” – Yotam Ottolenghi OK maybe it’s time to let summer go. Yes, I know it’s almost the holidays, but I’ve been a bit world weary and mentally clinging to more carefree days. Since I’m on a news fast (ahem!) and I’m majorly...
Jazz, vampires, hauntings, mystery, murders, mobsters, madams, Mardi Gras, monster storms, and so much more have always made New Orleans an incredible setting for literature, where fiction and fact can often seem interchangeable. I have pored through many of these, but still have a healthy list of titles vying for stack-top position on the bedside table – not...
“Don’t you just love those long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn’t just an hour, but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hands and who knows what to do with it?” – Tennessee Williams New Orleans is of course famous for its destination events like Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras and the French Quarter Festival, when throngs...
So, honestly I harbored some apprehension and misconceptions about Mexico City (CDMX) for a long while. I had the impression that it was just big hot, smoggy and overcrowded, not to mention terribly dangerous. No thank you. These issues outweighed any interest I had in visiting, beyond the occasional lure from pop foodie “insiders” to go binge on esoteric street...
There is just nowhere on Earth exactly like Morocco. It is so full of beauty and contrast that it’s a little hard to promise exactly what your experience will be. Just accept that it will subtly change your world view and resonate long after your visit. The beloved current king Mohammed VI has spent much of his reign following his father’s efforts to...
“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.” – Douglas Adams Sometimes you just have to drop it all and hit the road, and what better company than your fluffy monster? A few months ago I had major “life challenge” fatigue, worn out from navigating change, finding direction in relentlessly tumultuous...
“If people and their manner of living were alike everywhere, there would not be much point in moving from one place to another.” Paul Bowles
When some people think of northern Arizona they think Grand Canyon (yes go!), Sedona (so awesome), Route 66, and maybe the rest is a cactus desert? Ok you’re not totally wrong, but if you roll through the state and check off your bucket list, do not overlook some of the coolest and less visited treasures of this area! When you get get your jaw off the floor and...