Airbnb — Fantastic If You Know the Ropes

2018, Universe, Various, , , View all 6 comments

My Airbnb cottage on the Greek Island of Lesvos where I awoke to clanging sheep bells and made friends with local chickens.

Airbnb has changed the way I travel. I have stayed Airbnb apartments, houses, farms and cottages all over the world, in places as far flung as Japan, Armenia, Peru, and Sweden. Traveling with Airbnb, I have lived in neighborhoods that most tourists never see. I have cooked and shopped like a local. Best of all, I have met wonderful people I never would have met if I had stayed in a hotel.

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Cielito Lindo, Mexico

2018, Mexico, , , , , , , , , , View all 6 comments

“Cielito Lindo” is that song we all know with the refrain “ay ay ay ay….”  I heard it every night in Guanajuato, as the three part harmony of local singers and happy visitors wafted up the hill to my house in Cerro Del Cuarto. “Cielito lindo” is a term of endearment that will always remind me of my six weeks in Mexico, where I leaned a little Spanish and did a little writing and, most important, met a lot of wonderful people.     Continue reading →

La Dulce Vida Mexicana

2018, art, Mexico, , , , , View all 10 comments

I have been in Guanajuato at Casa Palma for almost a month now. The house is beautiful, with walls of tiles and murals, and a veranda that offers a view of the city. There is something special here, the colors and the kindness and, of course, the sounds.  Guanajuato is the noisiest city on earth! But it’s the good kind of noise. Dogs and roosters, music, children laughing, music, fire works, dogs, church bells, goats, whistles, sheep, and music. More music. Dogs. Continue reading →

Ten Incredible Places to Learn World History While Having Fun

2018, England, Israel/Palestine, Italy, Mongolia, Peru, Various, Vietnam, , , , , , , , , , , , , , View all 5 comments

Martin Luther King said “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” I’m not sure about the first half of this quote coming from history-maker Martin Luther King, but I am good with the second half. And for me travel is one of the best ways to learn about what we are made of. Some places are especially good for understanding a little bit about world history, and feeling the past and how it has influenced our world today.

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Da Berry’s Invisible 40%

2018, Louisiana, United States, , , , , , , , , , , , View all 15 comments

Sometimes in my travels, I learn a little more about a place than meets the eye. The small town of New Iberia is one of those places.  It is one of Louisiana’s oldest and most historic.  Straddling both sides of the beloved Bayou Teche, it is the center of the state’s sugar cane production.  Locals are friendly and affectionately call their town “Da Berry.”  Visitors come to tour the elegant plantation house called  Shadows on the Teche, New Iberia’s charming downtown, and the jungle garden on Avery Island.

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