Europe

A Scenic Bargain
Bellagio, Italy

As I checked into the Hotel Bellagio, Daniele Leoni, the manager, reassured me. “You will be fine for most of your stay. No crowds” Then he lifted an admonitory finger. “But at the end. Easter Weekend. It will be like summer.” He raised his eyebrows to underline his...

Europe Trip, Part 2 – When Will the Fantasy End?

Zagreb, Croatia I got a piece of an authentic, real cultural experience while attending a basketball match in the historical Drazen Petrovic Basketball Hall in Zagreb. I was obviously enthralled with the action of the game; and in typical fashion coaching from the...

A Different Side of Mostar

The summer sun shone brilliantly over the Mostar Bridge as tourists clambered to its peak. Daredevil young men dove from the high point of the bridge into the Neretva River, egged on by audience applause. This bridge, linking the Muslim and Orthodox sides of town, has...

Europe Trip, Part 1– When Will the Fantasy End?

An inspiring journey made by an American Professional Basketball Player as he backpacked all of Europe I figured if I got 100 bucks for every flight, train, or bus I missed, I’d be a rich man by now. Goodness, you’d think I’d learn my lesson, but I guess as the...

England to Iraq Overland

Returning to England in 2021 after six years in China was a bit of a shock to the system. After spending one year catching up with friends and family, working on various projects and securing a couple of permanent freelance writing gigs it was time to hit the road...

Now for Something Completely Different: Hiking in the UK

Actually, I’m not sure you’d call it hiking—maybe trekking, or even … well … walking. Sure, it sounds pretty tame, as in no rugged trails or big ups and downs. But for me, hiking in the UK was a revelation: fun, ever-changing, an adventure. On the west coast of the...

Finding the Bogs Outside of Riga Latvia

It's not often that there are more highlights outside of a small country's capital city than there are in it. Latvia's capital city Riga is quaint in an ex-soviet, medieval, tourist-hot-spot, type of way. Quite a lot like Estonia's Tallinn, and Lithuania's Vilnius,...

A Break from CoVid-19 in Finland

As the fireworks exploded over Kalajoki Finland, I reflected on the past two weeks of travel, how easy it had been, and how far away CoVid-19 had felt. The Finn's don't wear masks, they don't queue outside of shops, and when I asked them about social distancing and...

Bucharest: What a difference a decade makes!

My first trip to Bucharest, twenty years after the end of Communism, and I'm among few tourists on streets that feel a tad threatening. Now, a decade later, I'm stunned to find Romania's capital as inviting and 'happening' as any Western...

Finding Warmth when Amalfi is Cold

My thick sweater and blue jeans reflected the London winter I left several hours before. Amalfi’s sun now broke through my warm clothes, bringing out a forgotten stickiness. After nearly twenty-seven hours of traveling with two buses, a plane, and a train ride,...

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...

Minsk, Belarus: Different, Beautiful,
and a Little Bit Soviet

Curious to see what life was like under Communism — but not by way of an artificially recreated, kitschy tour? In Minsk you can! All with the convenience of being able to simultaneously access up-to-the-minute supermarkets, restaurants, and shopping malls....