Insights on Travel & Culture
alley cat: noun 1. a stray cat
2. an adventurous, insatiably curious person
3. verb [intransitive] to explore ~ They love to alley cat around Rome.
When the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City recently opened the exhibit “What Is a Photograph?” the event stopped us in our tracks. Here was a museum whose mission historically was to celebrate the…Continue Reading
During Carnevale, Venice’s 12-day, pre-Lenten celebration, the city becomes the greatest stage on earth.
Revelers, attired in fantastical masks and costumes, act out their fantasy of the moment. Some costumes…Continue Reading
Located in northeastern Italy just two hours from Venice, the Dolomite Mountains are not your everyday alpine range. These knife-edged peaks and towers come in irregular, fantastical shapes, as if formed by the gods during a primordial, Bacchanalian frenzy. Their vertical walls are literally in your…Continue Reading
We visited Syria in the early spring of 2000, when President Hafez al-Assad (Bashar’s father) was in power, and discovered a country with hospitable people and a rich, cultural heritage. It’s tragic now to…Continue Reading
James Michener wrote in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Tales of the South Pacific (1947), “ I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific. The way it actually was. The endless ocean. The infinite specks of coral we called islands. Coconut…Continue Reading
Like most people going to Cuba for the first time, we didn’t know what to expect. Would the hotels be shabby and the food bland? Would the cities feel safe? And…Continue Reading
You might not want to rock your baby over a pool of hungry alligators, but more than a few beautiful wading birds—roseate spoonbills, wood storks and several species of egrets and herons—think…Continue Reading