General Travel

February 27, 2024

Uplistsikhe: Hard to pronounce but Republic of Georgia’s 3,000-year-old Cave City is hard to miss

Uplistsikhe is a cave city that dates back to the 2nd millenium B.C. At one time, it had 700 caves that housed 20,000 people. Today it’s a comfortable day trip from the capital of Tbilisi and also near Gori, the childhood home of Joseph Stalin. I took a trip with a group of other travel writers and the journey itself was as entertaining as the site.

February 20, 2024

Georgia: My most underrated country in the world

I visited the Republic of Georgia again earlier this month and marveled at its little-known wonders. From the beautiful Caucuses to its cuisine to its affordable prices, the former Soviet Republic really is one of the lightly trodden destination gems in the world. I list 10 reasons why Georgia is the world’s most underrated country.

February 7, 2024

Baku: The war is over and the city’s flames rise again

On our way to Tbilisi for a travel bloggers conference, Marina and I stopped off in Baku, Azerbaijan’s gleaming capital. It’s a fascinating mix of Middle Ages antiquities with leftover Soviet drabness and 21st century architecture. It lived up to its hype and our hotel in the heart of Old Town only helped.

January 30, 2024

Republic of Georgia: A hike through wine’s birthplace is a yummy treat but Georgians would like a bigger bite

I’m in Azerbaijan on my way to the Republic of Georgia, which I visited six years ago. It was one of the most wonderful surprises of my 46 years traveling overseas. Since I’m out of Rome, I’m re-posting the first blog I wrote about Georgia. I wrote about his pleasures, but also its problems.

January 23, 2024

Termini: Rome’s rough-and-tumble train station has become an international gastro emporium

Rome’s Termini train station has a reputation of being dark and dangerous. It isn’t that bad, a couple of incidents over the last two years notwithstanding. In the last decade, Termini has turned into a place to go instead of a place to escape. Forty eating establishments have been built inside, ranging from hamburger joints to French bakeries. We went through Terrazza Termini Saturday and here’s what we found.

January 2, 2024

Ancient Rome in Algeria: Three North African cities reveal the wealth and depth of the Roman Empire

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The Roman Empire stretched from what is now Great Britain to Iraq and it built 600 cities in North Africa. Three hundred of them were in Algeria, many of which have well-preserved ruins. I visited three of them during my nine-day cross-country trip across the country.

December 26, 2023

Ghardaia: Algeria’s most traditional city likes the way it is

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Traveling to the most conservative city in a conservative country, I was overjoyed with the slice of Islamic culture I didn’t see in the previous 18 Muslim countries I’ve visited. To visit Ghardaia, you need to join a group tour and have permits and a tour guide. Nowhere else in Islam did I see married women covering up everything but one eye. The architecture is uniquely designed to keep houses cool during 120-degree summer temperatures and the food, again, was fabulous.

December 19, 2023

Sahara Desert: Camping in endless sand brings out the beauty and beast of Earth’s intimidating landscape

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The Sahara Desert is the size of China and Algeria’s portion is almost the size of Mexico. My Travelers’ Century Club and I spent a night camping in the desert and a day exploring the vast expanse that covered the southeast part of Algeria. The weather was perfect. We saw no other cars. But we saw plenty, including how intimidating a desert can be.

December 13, 2023

Algeria: In a bloodied nation where tourism isn’t a priority, this intrepid traveler explores an unspoiled culture

Not many tourists go to Algeria. Algeria doesn’t really care. What that leaves intrepid travelers like myself is an authentic country with so much to offer. A bustling capital. A beautiful desert. Ruins of Roman cities better preserved than the ones in Italy. I just spent nine days in Africa’s biggest country. This is the first of a series of blogs.

December 5, 2023

Alaska winter cruises: Escape the crowds and enter frosty serenity

Many people take Alaskan cruises in summer but the winter is too cold for most. Still, it’s an ideal time to visit. The light is better. The crowds are thinner. The landscape is whiter. Guest blogger Jamshaid Ali writes about some of the lures Alaska offers in the off season.

November 28, 2023

Africa: I’m off to Algeria, a rising star in international travel

I’m leaving Saturday for a nine-day trip to Algeria, a return to Africa where I’ve wanted to explore more for so long. I targeted West and Southern Africa but Covid stalled my plan. I’m ready to hop on the bandwagon as African tourism is growing like never before.

November 24, 2023

Business class travel: Three factors that make it worth it

With more people traveling after Covid, more people want to travel comfortably. Business travel has a reputation for being expensive but the comforts make it worth it. Guest blogger Harry Wilson gives three reasons to upgrade.

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