While the islands of the Bahamas, Barbados, St. Martin and the rest can lure you to their glamorous resort lifestyle, the port city of Carta

Well, I'm off to the Caribbean for the holiday. Below is just a little preview of a few destinations I will be visiting. I'll be reporting back in a little over 10 days. Ciao for now! Cartagena Cartagena's old city is its principal attraction, particularly the inner walled town, consisting of the historical districts of El Centro and San Diego. It's one of finest examples of preserved colonial architecture in the Americas, packed with churches, monasteries, plazas, palaces an

The meaning of Christmas has changed for me over recent years as my family has shrunk to barely a handful and the perfect gift is not found

As I explore more about this topic in my The Time to Travel is Now series, I’ll talk about fear of flying, traveling to destinations with pr

A preview of stories to come

I love exploring New York. No, not the isle of Manhattan, but the other New York, the one you don’t see on television shows like Law & O

This edition of Cities of Noir: San Francisco, describes a fun little detour to explore a city in a unique way and getting lost in a murder

Landmark 1. an object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen and recognized from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location. 2. an event, discovery, or change marking an important stage or turning point in something. Synonyms: turning point, milestone, watershed, critical point, benchmark. #1 is the definition we probably use most. It's easy to locate and identify an iconic landmark anywhere we go, and any of them wou

For years, I was never into the World Cup. Even when the U.S. was in it back in 2014, I watched and then watched the U.S. get eliminated. The World Cup only held my interest for a brief moment in time. This year, something changed. I became invested in the World Cup and the U.S. is not even in it. Why did this suddenly happen? Is it because of my recent travels? Maybe. But I’ve been traveling for years and I know that Football (Soccer in the U.S.) is the most popular sport in

My “Bourdain Moment” was in St. Petersburg, Russia with our local guide Vladimir, who took us to a friend’s residence for a home cooked meal. Vladimir didn’t tell me or my parents this in the beginning, he just suggested we follow him up an old staircase to a communal flat at the top of an old building. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I trusted Vladimir (who I just met the day before). I was in a strange land, with I must admit, a strange tour guide, but I wasn’t s

So I was off to see the Shire (of Lord of the Rings fame); however, I must have not set my watch on New Zealand time after hopping a flight from Melbourne, Australia the day before. I missed the bus to where they filmed the Hobbit's home village -- it was probably too touristy anyway, so I took a mindful moment to center myself, not to be disappointed on my best laid plans, breathed in and out and took a bus in the opposite direction. To where? I had no idea, just to the end

I started writing about my travels as a way to hone my writing craft but I also wanted to share some of my adventures and inspire others to get out and see the world. This blog was the way to do it, so I had to let go of my yellow legal pads of scribbles (Okay, I still scribble on yellow legal pads) and delve into my little black Moleskins. It is amazing what you learn about yourself traveling abroad -- puts everything into perspective, and the more I traveled, the more I rea

I have devoured my travel show materials, researched over 100 countries (did you know there are 195 countries in the world right now?), and contemplated where next to get lost. My very “scientific” process of picking my top 10 of ‘18? Pretty pictures. Propensity for mindfulness (will delve deeper on this topic in April). Are there too many tourists? Where on the map is it? Historical and cultural significance. My gut instinct. Compare All The Above in multiple lists (remember