Napa and San Francisco on a Budget

Napa and San Francisco on a Budget

While every state now has a winery, when one hears the term “wine country,” I’d bet the farm that California is the first thought that comes to mind. Each of California’s wine regions has its charms, and you really can’t go wrong in visiting any of them.  ...
Why Stay at a Bed and Breakfast?

Why Stay at a Bed and Breakfast?

Hotels of all shapes, sizes, and price ranges exist all over the world and you can have privacy, room service, an amazing array of amenities, and the convenience of never having to clean the room yourself. Restaurants, shops, tours, transportation are all available...
That Sinking Feeling

That Sinking Feeling

In which our Far-Flung Correspondent heads for Venice for the world’s greatest muscle-powered nautical event: the Vogalonga.   Four decades ago in a galaxy far, far away—that is to say, Venice, which is, yes, in Italy, but no, not of this world—Toni Rosa Salva...
Simply Seggiano

Simply Seggiano

The little red Fiat took the curves and inclines in 360 degrees of glorious countryside and tiny villages on the Cassia from Firenze.  Spring showed its presence in wildflowers, mustard, shocks of wisteria, roses, supernatural  green quilted fields, and hints of...
The Janiculum: Rome’s Eighth Hill

The Janiculum: Rome’s Eighth Hill

The refrain of the Morcheeba, a British trip hop Band, tells us repeatedly in the most famous hit of their 2000 album, “Fragments of Freedom,” “Don’t you know that Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  Indeed so, Rome, a layer-cake of history built on seven hills, is...
Duluth — An Uncommon Vacation

Duluth — An Uncommon Vacation

Our suite at South Pier Inn, with a warming fire and a jetted tub, commanded a 270-degree view encompassing the blue water of Superior Bay and the Aerial Lift Bridge at the entrance to Lake Superior. In the morning the surface of the bay was a glistening white slab of...
Delicious NOLA

Delicious NOLA

The city beckoned as the 737 landed mid-afternoon at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.  We craved NOLA’s offerings and anticipated people and places prepared to satisfy. Four days and three nights later, ten highlights are too delicious to keep to...

Traveling to Tuscany?

    FutureBrand, the international business evaluation company, surveyed thousands of people to describe countries worldwide in a few words. The three most frequent for Italy were culture, beauty, and food. Without a doubt food is a “driver” when it comes to...
 AUTUMN IN VERMONT

 AUTUMN IN VERMONT

  text and photos ©2012 Driving down nearly deserted roads during the first two weeks of October, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘If this is the busy season, what is Vermont like in the off-season.’ This, after all, was the “high season” as...