Silent Boundaries: The Belfast Peace Walls
Blech. Gloomy weather. I pushed back the sagging curtains of our Belfast hotel room to reveal gray skies and drizzle – a not uncommon sight in Northern Ireland but a not-so-cheery vision for someone who has a short 2 days to effectively see the city, and hoped to do so under more upbeat circumstances (meteorologically-speaking, of course). Truth be told I knew very little about Belfast. Other than that it is the birthplace of Van Morrison (whom I loooooooove) and the city where the Titanic was built, my historic knowledge of the area was poor at best. Great job with the...
Read MoreCéad míle fáilte! It’s March 17.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I thought I’d share some of my favorite photos from the Emerald Isle, taken between 2009 and 2010. I love being Irish (hi, Grandpa!), but today we truly ALL are. Guinness says so (see photo above). So sláinte! All photos copyright...
Read MoreThe Great Jet-Setters Pub Crawl of 2010
It was inevitable. The allure of well-worn polished wood, the sweet smell of an extra-foamy head, the low murmur of jolly voices, the perfection of lighting just dim enough to hide your lesser features. Nothing beats a great pub, at any time of day, to revitalize the spirit, moisten the palette and rejuvinate the weary body. Even if it’s only 11:00am. If I recall the blurry moments readying for our trip accurately, a pre-departure phone conversation between the 3 of us largely involved concern not over what clothing to pack, what the expected weather would be or where we would be...
Read MoreBeatles Schmeatles: There’s More to Liverpool than Strawberry Fields.
I know what it’s like. LA has been trying to wrench free of cliches for years. (Botox, implants and surfboards come to mind). It’s frustrating to love a place and hear only of what is assumed to be from outsiders. Which is why when I ventured to Liverpool a few weeks ago, I was determined to not spend my time touring the Beatles Museum or riding that silly bus that looks like a Yellow Submarine. Liverpool existed centuries before the Fab Four, it just seems that no one much bothers to take a closer look, foregoing it perhaps in favor of other English cities. Well...
Read MoreMy Love Affair with British Food
“What is a chip butty?” “Why are jackets on a restaurant menu?” “Am I actually supposed to consume something called spotted dick?” Yeah. Call me ignorant. It took a couple voyages to Blighty for me to warm to British cuisine, but not because it isn’t good – but because in the same way Europeans think American food is supersized and beefy, we Americans grow up hearing tall tales of the great blandness of English food, as well as its general unhealthiness. And while YES much of it involves frying and YES I was desperate for a giant salad and...
Read MoreViews of Lugano, Switzerland
I got an email from a great friend from Italy today, which was remarkable timing because I had only just reminisced the other day about my first trip there and wondered if perhaps I should put aside other travel dreams this autumn and return to Il Bel Paese. While I ruminate, I thought I’d share some incredible photos I got on the first leg of that trip back in 2006, at our first stop in Lugano, Switzerland – a lovely town in the Lakes District, in the southern Swiss province of Ticino. Such a magnificent little town :) ...
Read More6 Ways To Survive Harrods
The fact that Harrods in London is one of the busiest, craziest most jam-packed shopping spots in the world probably hasn’t escaped many people. It probably also goes without saying that you can walk into Harrods, eat an entire day’s worth of meals, plus brunch, happy hour and evening cocktails, buy a new wardrobe, furnish your home, buy enough gifts to prevent your ever having to shop again for at least a year AND see some of the most atrociously-dressed people on the planet – all within the store’s daily hours of operation. I have a picture of me giving the...
Read MoreOf Celts, Cliffs and Caves
Say “Ireland” and the first thing most people will picture (aside from perhaps a bar and a foamy Guinness) are the Cliffs of Moher. I couldn’t go to Ireland last November and NOT see them. And since this is a blog and not Frommer’s, I’m going to tell you a few tidbits about what the guidebooks might NOT…before getting to the best part of the day, which was walking through a natural cave! In Ireland….who knew? We took a bus trip leaving Galway early one morning (thank you Kinlay House for the discount) with a delightful local driver. Because of...
Read MoreEurochocolate Festival, Perugia – Una Gustosa Festa
There are lots of things you go to Italy for. Cappuccinos. Wine. Great bolognese. Smooth-talking men. But chocolate? I’d always reserved that for the Belgians, the Swiss and possibly the French, although in France I’m usually too busy eating crêpes to care about much else. Perugia was to change my attitude completely. Held in October, the annual Eurochocolate Festival that crowds the tiny medieval streets of the Umbrian capital with every imaginable form of cocoa-based substances is a feast for the eyes…and of course, the palette. Frankly I stumbled upon...
Read MorePHOTO OF THE DAY: A World of Pure Imagination
At Harrod’s Knightsbridge, Paris-based Ladurée’s newest outpost serves it’s famous double-decker macarons in every color of the rainbow, and then some. I felt like I needed a dentist just looking at it. Photo by CGTravels, February 2010
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