Travel Stories

March 6, 2026

Learning Italian: Through Rome markets, cafés and small talk

Learning Italian is very difficult but learning a little is essential if you’re visiting Italy, particularly Rome where few speak English. Rome is a good place to learn. Markets, bars and public transportation are perfect places to learn and practice a few handy phrases. Here’s a list of tips to study before your next journey.

February 24, 2026

Death in Rome: An ode to a fellow American expat

The most shocking news I got while covering the Winter Olympics in Cortina wasn’t anything an athlete did or didn’t do. It was the death of one of my best American friends in Rome, John Tuthill. They found him dead in his apartment Feb. 13. We still don’t have many details. As we wait, I wrote a tribute to my drinking buddy, fellow Romanista and occasional travel companion.

February 17, 2026

Cortina Olympics memories: From beauty of the Dolomites to the agony of defeat

Covering the Olympics as a sportswriter, I’ve collected a reservoir of memories. I’ve been in Cortina for two weeks and gathered a few new ones. Here they are, from the beauty of the Dolomites to watching athletes crack under the pressure.

February 10, 2026

Cortina during Olympics: Meeting Alberto Tomba and the chic center of Italy

I’m in Cortina d’Ampezzo covering alpine skiing for Colorado Public Radio, The Olympics are always long for reporters. Many 17-hour days. Long bus rides. Major time gaps between food. But Sunday night I hit one of the most chic towns in Italy. I managed to meet three brothers from Bologna who had a pass to a party hosted by Alberto Tomba, Italy’s Olympic medalist skiing hero and eternal playboy. It was the highlight of another memorable Olympic memory.

February 3, 2026

Winter Olympics memories: From U.S.-Canada hockey to freezing my pens off, I’m returning for more

This week I’ll be in Cortina d’Ampezzo to cover my fourth Winter Olympics. This time it’s for Colorado Public Radio and National Public Radio. I hope I collect a memory I can add to my long list of memories. Here I list 10 of them, most of them uplifting, some heartbreaking. But all memorable, from the U.S.-Canada gold medal hockey game in Vancouver to the Russia House in Turin.

January 27, 2026

Bucket list 2026: From the Alps to Vietnam, from Maldive to Iran

What’s on your bucket list for 2026 travel? I’ve got mine down. I have 10 destinations ranging from Grenoble to Northern Vietnam with various deserts and islands scattered in between. I crossed off nearly every item on last year’s bucket list. Check out mine for this year and see if it inspires you to write one of your own.

January 20, 2026

New York Times 52 Places to Go 2026: My list of five that I suggested

Every January the New York Times posts a timely feature entitled 52 Places to Go. It’s one destination per week for that upcoming year. The Times has its part-time writers scour the Internet and phones for interesting places that have big events, celebrations or anniversaries. I am one of them. I send in five a year and this year they chose my suggestion of Assisi, Italy, which is celebrating the 800-year anniversary of the death of St. Francis. I write about it and my other four suggestions as my own personal Places to Go 2026.

January 16, 2026

Unusual places to visit in 2026: Rare corners for serious travelers

Tired of traveling to the “classics”? Get off the beaten path and take a chance on a place you’ve never heard of. Freelance writer Alex Martin gives plenty of suggestions and advice in today’s guest blog.

January 13, 2026

12 years in Rome: Anniversary calls for another list of reasons why I love this city

Twelve years ago Sunday I showed up in Rome with three bags which weren’t nearly as heavy as my dreams. My retirement in Rome has surpassed all of them. Every year around Jan. 11, the date of my arrival in Rome in 2014, I list all the reasons why I love this crazy city. This is my latest edition. Stay tuned for more in coming years.

January 6, 2026

“Emily in Paris”: Playing an extra in Netflix’s global chick flick hit a humble way to spend a sunny day

Resuming my side gig as a film extra, I played an obnoxious tourist in Netflix’s hit series “Emily in Paris.” It filmed Season 5 in Rome and I got to spend a sunny day in May in Ostia Antica’s pretty Piazza della Rocca. The series is a chick flick on estrogen but star Lily Collins is nice, the work is easy and the piazza is beautiful. There are worse ways to make wine money.

December 30, 2025

Christmas in Vienna: Xmas markets, gold palaces and a little snow bring back the spirit lost long ago

For a real Christmas feel, I took Marina to Vienna. Austria is the birthplace of Christmas markets and we perused a few of them. We also viewed the capital’s spectacular lights, ate its yummy wienerschnitzel and visited its many museums. I forgot how beautiful this city was. It was my first visit since 1978.

December 26, 2025

Lebanese wine: How a growing 5,000-year-old tradition was started by a hungry, wily fox

As a lover of wine and Lebanese cuisine, a visit to Lebanon’s biggest and oldest winery was the perfect way to wrap up my five-day trip. Chateau Ksara dates back to 1857 and its storage area is a cave that stretches two kilometers. It produces 70 percent of Lebanon’s growing wine industry and has won more than 200 awards. My Travelers’ Century Club visited and had a wonderful wine tasting.

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