Rome's influence on literature has been perennial. From the time of Ovid and Virgil to the Anglo-Saxon influx of writers such as Charles Dickens, Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne and young John Keats, all the way up to the more recent time of Alberto Moravia and Carlo Emilio Gadda, Rome has…
Washington is a diverse city. There are three distinct versions of this metropolis - the city of politics, the city of tourists, and the city of residents. Today I want to share three equally diverse chocolate experiences I have discovered here in the U.S. capitol.
When I ask people why they don’t like Las Vegas, the answer is usually some variation on the many stereotypes that rise from the commercialization and publicity of Sin City. People who haven’t visited Las Vegas for themselves seem to assume that the streets are paved with slot machines, beer…
Thanks to the recent global popularity of tapas, foreign conceptions of Spanish cuisine are no longer restricted to that oh-so-famous Valencian rice dish, paella. But where does this custom of eating mini morsels stem from?
A time of fun and folly in Venice, and we revelers played our parts. Young and old participated. Stars, divas, jokers, and a cast of minor players filled Saint Mark’s Square and the calle (small streets and alleyways) of Venice day and night to participate in the festivities.
Suddenly, I could clearly envision the last scene of the movie version of the novel. Zorba, alone on the beach; dressed in pants and a shirt with sleeves rolled up, moving across the sand -- full of emotion, life - what the Greeks call kefi.
Isn’t it amazing how we humans always want what we don’t have and not what we do? It’s the reason for the invention of hair straighteners, plastic surgery and tanning salons. It surely plays a big part in the reason why we travel. We find our own little world unbearably…
Travel gear comes and goes. But the memories associated with it remain. If there’s one piece of gear that to me holds my dearest memories it is my 15L Dakine Wonder backpack.
Even a writer is hard pressed to find the right words of expressing the emotions and sentiments caused by a delicious non-stop assault of the senses when you immerse yourself in four days of Carnival in Venice.