Beaches. Hiking. Villages. Seafood. What’s not to like about St Kitts and Nevis, the two-island nation in the Caribbean? Guest blogger Jama Hansen explores the exotic nation.
Frantic friends and readers have asked me this month how to move to Italy — but also ask what is life like under Giorgia Meloni. The prime minister, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo fascist roots, has been pretty benign. Nothing she has done has repulsed me or affected me. However, I remain cautious as her cozy relationship with Donald Trump and Elon Musk makes me and others in Italy nervous.
The Jubilee has come to Rome for a 13-month stay, meaning about 35 million pilgrims will pour in to walk through one of the four Holy Doors that were opened for the first time in 25 years. Marina and I went through the one in St. Paul Outside the Walls. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but I’m not Catholic. Marina is. It was a big deal to her and it has been for the world’s Catholics since 1500. Myself? I just loved the church’s beauty.
Since retiring to Rome in 2014, I average about 60 days of travel a year. I should top that in 2025. My travel bucket list has a trip either booked or tentatively scheduled nearly every month. They range from Wales this winter to Thailand next November with WAY off-the-beaten-path spots such as Turkmenistan and Syria in between. Take a look at my plan. Hope it inspires you to set sail.
Every year around Jan. 11, the anniversary of my arrival in Rome in 2014, I write all the reasons I love living here. After 11 years, it’s still not a problem finding new reasons. This year I found a whole new list, ranging from the draw Rome’s 930 churches has on me to chocolate-covered frappe served every Easter. Hope this list brings back fond memories or your trip to Rome or inspires you to make some memories of your own.
Today marks the start of the Rome Jubilee, the Vatican’s celebration of reconciliation and spiritual renewal that is held every 25 years. Rome has been under heavy construction for the last year but is finally showing the positive effects. Here’s a preview of what to expect if you’re going to be one of the 35 million people expected to visit.
Gabor Kavocs, a lawyer in London and a friend I’ve known since we met in Florence in 1978, recently took a 10-train ride from Rome to Sicily with his wife, Caroline. It was full of lovely scenery and was a comfortable ride, the long delay notwithstanding. This is a guest blog from a good friend.
Being a former sportswriter, I’m into top 10 lists. Top 10 restaurants. Top 10 wines. Top 10 travel tales from hell. With my annual trip to Skopelos, Greece, approaching, I thought I’d do my top 10 trips of my life. I’ve traveled for 45 years and been to 110 countries. This lists stretches from Ecuador to French Polynesia.
I’ve traveled to 107 countries but none in the last 14 months. I miss it more than anyone can know. Here is why.
Let’s face it, folks. It’s time to punt 2020. You’re not going anywhere. Americans have been banned everywhere from Poland to Pluto and even here in Italy our curve has spiked a bit after a flatlining summer brimming with optimism. It’s time to plan for 2021. Well, at least dream. That’s all many of us […]
Where I went yesterday there was no sun. There was no light. I walked, floated and swam through a half mile of pitch-black darkness while bending over to make sure my 6-foot-3 frame didn’t get gored by a million sharp stalactites. I did a tour of the Rio Secreto, one of the wildest river cruises in the world. The difference is you do it without a boat. It’s just you, a life vest, a wetsuit and a lighted helmet. That and a guide who stood between seven of us being hopelessly lost forever 60 feet underground.
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Tulum isn’t what I expected. A couple years ago I went to Ek-Balam, a former seat of the Mayan kingdom north of here. That featured everything from living quarters to warehouses to an acropolis. Even though Ek-Balam’s influence faded later during the empire, I got a feel for what the complexity of a major Mayan city. At Tulum, the first thing we saw as we pulled into a parking lot was a souvenir emporium the size of Wal-Mart. Is there a country that has more souvenirs than Mexico? This place makes Rome look like a fishing village in Greenland. Mexico seems to have as many different brands of tequila as dirty T-shirt messages.
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