Europe

Gratitude at the Vatican:
An Unexpected Easter Blessing

On a Sunday morning, I stood in a crowd of tens of thousands, damp and entranced, letting both the rain and the reality of the moment hit me. There I was, celebrating Easter Mass at the Vatican, an experience many only dream of, and one I’d stumbled...

The Coast of Cornwall – UK

Turquoise seas and sunny days in Cornwall are not the first things that spring to mind when talking about the UK, known the world over for its rainy days and grey clouds. However, this is exactly what I got when I went to England’s most southern tip of Cornwall. I...

On the Shores of Lake Baikal

I was sitting cross-legged on a pebble beach. My roll mat and sleeping bag were already laid out next to me, in anticipation of the night ahead sleeping under the stars. It was perhaps on the cold side to attempt a bivouac, but the flickering campfire and large pile...

Paris: Beyond the Tourist Trail

Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Champs-Elysee, and the Arc de Triomphe. These are just a few of the major sights that tourists flock to on a trip to Paris. This is understandable of course, everyone wants to see these major sights that Paris has to offer. I myself spent my...

How I Spent Six Hours in Versailles

Versailles - there really aren't words to describe it. Amazing, magnificent, dazzling, over-the-top, breathtaking just don't do it. I had to see it for myself. And it is everything I ever imagined. I made a day trip from Paris to Versailles, twelve miles away and...

The Sixth Village of the Cinque Terra

The ferry boat glided out of the harbor of La Spezia beginning my journey to the famous 5 villages of the Cinque Terra. The weather was perfect and water an indigo blue as we cruised along the Ligurian coast. The famous villages with their small...

Le Crete Senesi –
The Italian Road Trip

In his classic road movie La Strada, Anthony Quinn finds adventure driving Italian roads. On the Crete Senesi I found this adventure too. Driving Le Crete The starting point for the trip begins in Siena, my home base for jet lag recovery and stocking up on road trip...

Eating Ireland

Food in Ireland Fish and Chips in Ireland I am an unapologetic travel addict. So it’s no surprise I jumped at a recent, last minute invitation to stay with friends just outside of Limerick, Ireland. I was eager to see the land of verdant hills, castles, Celtic...

Sparkling Caves and Baby Dragons in Slovenia

Postojna Caves and Baby Dragons in Slovenia My underground journey began with an open-air train ride. I felt like I was in an Indian Jones movie as I flew through narrow subterranean passages, and past wide open spaces with stalactites hanging like crooked teeth. The...

Walking Montepulciano

"Hear, all ye drinkers! Give ear, and give faith, to our edict divine - Montepulciano's the King of all Wine!" - Francisco Redi, 1685 The Wine Vino di Nobile has been celebrated since Etruscan times, but it was only 50 years ago that the wine was officially classified...

Dog-sledding in Svalbard, Norway

After a late night wandering the streets of Longyearbyen, under the midnight sun, I was up early. Waiting in the crisp Arctic morning air, my breath visible despite it being June, I could see the tour van driving towards the guesthouse that I was staying in. This was...

A Hidden Concert
in a Berlin Warehouse

It is a chilly Sunday evening in Berlin. Late October and the trees have shaken off their leaves. I shuffle my feet through piles of golden yellow and approach two steel doors with graffiti scrawled on them. Two smokers huddle in the cold, shifting from one foot to...