Cape Town, South Africa, is a long ways away from many places but its landscapes make the trip worth it. However, it’s more than beautiful views and seascapes. It is also rich culturally and gastronomically. And it isn’t nearly as dangerous as Johannesburg.
On our third trip to Istanbul two weeks ago, Marina and I decided to explore the city’s less-trodden Asian side. We were blown away by how calm, empty and leafy it was. It really felt like a continent away from the crowds and the chaos on the European side. We roamed three neighborhoods and had lunch by the Strait of Bosphorus while a hungry bird joined us from the nearby wall.
Ten years to the day of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum opened on the same plot of land where the World Trade Center stood. I toured it in my first trip back since a month after the tragedy.
Kurdistan is a semi-autonomous region of Iraq that until the Iran War was about the safest place in this war-torn country. But the region is developing and attracted 8 million visitors last year. On Monday I’ll be another. I’m going for five days and will see the sites and talk to the people.
I’m 70 years old and never seen my hometown Oregon Ducks win a national college football title. Neither has anyone else. They never have. I’ve lived in Rome for 12 years and never seen my AS Roma win a Serie A title. Its last was in 2001. But this year, my Ducks are ranked second in the country and my Roma finished third last season and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in eight years. These two upcoming seasons are the most highly anticipated of my lifetime. I await the letdown.
La Campana opened its doors in Rome’s Centro Storico in 1518 and has been operating ever since as Rome’s oldest restaurant. It could lay claim as the world’s oldest restaurant but it has been too busy serving its loyal clientele to hassle the Guinness Book of World Records much. Marina and I went Saturday night for our second time. La Campana is not a tourist trap. The food is too good.
So how do YOU cool off in these blazing hot summer days. Here in Rome, I don’t eat much. He wants to eat, let alone cook, in this heat? But I do get hungry and I found a collection of hot-weather Italian dishes that are not only delicious but healthy and cool. Here’s a list of 10 that you can probably make wherever you are.
The best beauty. The best food. The best beaches. Who ya’ got? I’ve been to 117 countries and on a steaming day in Rome, I wrote my top five countries in the world.in 10 categories. Let the debate begin …
Hot enough for ya’? Italy is steaming again. Temperatures here in Rome have been in the high 90s with 40-50 percent humidity. But Italians are changing. They are finally embracing air conditioning. The number of homes with AC has doubled since 2013 and appliance stores are experiencing brisk sales. I braved the heat to explore the trend and take the temperature of the asphalt. Then I scurried back to my AC flat.
On our seventh trip to the little Greek isle of Skopelos, Marina and I decided to chase down myths that have been passed down on the island for centuries. The first settler was the son of the God of Wine? A man-eating dragon? A sexy female pirate? We rented a car and explored the southern end of Skopelos to see watery graves and beautiful beaches.
As Rome melts into its cobblestones and my water intake skyrockets, everyone in Rome is facing a crisis: water shortage. More than 400 of our beloved nasoni have been turned off. The city has about 2,500 nasoni, meaning 16 percent of these cute, ingenious, thirst-quenching little piles or iron are now dry. We barely avoided water rationing which would’ve turned off water for eight hours a day all over the city. The Vatican turned off 100 of its fountains, including the famous Bernini fountain in the middle of St. Peter’s Square. Excuse all 1.5 million of us Rome residents if we’re sweating this summer for more reasons than one.
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Despite brutal time differences, I’m catching early games of the World Cup here in Rome. I don’t know what shocks me more, the packed stadiums despite larcenous prices or Americans’ arrogance about the event and soccer in general. It’s almost hard to scroll through my Twitter feed. But as I stayed up late watching Lionel Messi turn back time and Paraguay turn back Germany, I jotted down some random thoughts on the world’s most popular sports event.
