Travel Stories

October 1, 2024

My Five Favorite Restaurants in Rome 2024: A new No. 1

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I started running a list of my five favorite restaurants in Rome in 2016. I try to do it every year that’s not wiped out by a global pandemic. The 2024 list is a little late but it’s out today. There is a new No. 1 but my usual No. 1, Renato e Luisa, made the list for the fourth time. Keep this list handy for that next trip to Rome.

September 24, 2024

Bodo: European Cultural Capital no longer “Boring Bodo”

Once the butt of bad jokes, “Boring Bodo” has made international headlines this year after being named European Cultural Capital 2024. More than 1,000 events highlight a city that has boomed in the last 12 years. I went on assignment for BBC.com in June and rewrote it for my blog.

September 20, 2024

Shoulder season best time to travel, particularly South Africa

If you want to enrich your travel experience, do not travel during the high tourist season. Go in the shoulder season: right after or before the high season begins. In South Africa, the ideal time is spring and fall. Here is guest blogger Diana Parker looks at why shoulder season is the time for savvy travelers.

September 17, 2024

Skopelos road trip: Car ride around Greece’s greenest island reveals views worthy of Greek gods

Stafilos Beach graces the southeast end of Skopelos.

On our fourth trip to the Greek isle of Skopelos, we drove around the southern end of the island, away from the tourists and the beaches. What we found were spectacular views, quiet monasteries and, yes, more beautiful beaches. I also found a new love for goat cheese.

September 10, 2024

Feta: A trip to Greece and my love affair with its cheese

Ever since my first trip to Greece in 1978, I have been in love with feta cheese. Topped on a Greek salad, it makes for the perfect meal: tasty, healthy and filling. On my most recent trip to Greece, I visited a feta farm where it has been made for six generations.

September 6, 2024

Restaurant reviews: Boosting traveler trust in restaurant recommendations

When you’re traveling and unsure of where to eat, where do you go? First, you go to restaurant reviews. However, how do you know which are authentic or as fake as the food they write about? Here’s a guest blog to give you some helpful tips.

August 27, 2024

Porticoes: These golden arches make Bologna famous

I love Bologna, not just because of its luscious spaghetti bolognese but for its porticoes. Those are the graceful arches that cover 40 miles of Bologna streets. UNESCO awarded them with a World Heritage Site three years ago and they remain one of the most distinct architectural styles in Italy. I visited last month and came away with this report.

August 23, 2024

North American islands perfect for a relaxing retreat

Summer is almost over. If you’re hot and tired and short of time, your ideal island vacation isn’t far away. Why fly to the Caribbean when you can stay in your own country? Here’s a short list of idyllic islands in the U.S.

August 13, 2024

Paso Robles wine: California’s “other” wine center gaining ground on Napa and Sonoma

During our 11-day trip to the U.S. last month, Marina and I did some wine tastings in Paso Robles, a growing California wine center that is rivaling Sonoma and Napa counties in popularity if not price. Indeed, I suffered some sticker shock but the wines were worth it and so were the settings at Halter Ranch and Justin. For a guide, I had an old sportswriting colleague, John Schumacher, who is retired and now works part time in a tasting room near his native Sacramento.

July 30, 2024

Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum: Magnificent complex brings back my 9-11 New York memories as well

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.

July 16, 2024

Italian island guide: From south of Sicily to north of Sardinia, there is something for everyone

I wrote that Capri "is the prettiest island in Europe."

It’s July, the worst time to travel anywhere in the world. But if time restraints limit you to visiting Italy in July, I’m here to help. After living here 10 years, I’ve been to a lot of Italian islands. Here are some of my favorite. They will be crowded. But they will be hot, and they will be clean. They will also be beautiful if you can ignore all the bodies. This is a repost of a blog I wrote in 2017 as I’m trying in the United States.

July 2, 2024

Tastes of Rome food tour sprinkles history on taste buds

I’ve taken food tours all over the world and I highly recommend them. In Rome I recommend the 10 Tastes of Rome. It sprinkles in history with the food. It starts in Campo de’ Fiori and finishes in Trastevere. Along the way I learned why they burned a philosopher at the stake and how a spout of oil the day Jesus was born inspired the construction of Chiesa di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Along the way I tasted some good pizza, gelato and Sicilian cassatina.

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