I joined three rambunctious dogs on a truffle hunt in the dense forests of the Istria Peninsula during my recent visit to Croatia. I love the intense, earthy flavor of truffles, a rare type of edible fungi that flourish symbiotically amid the roots of oak and other trees. But I knew little about truffles and I had never been on a truffle hunt. During my truffle-hunting tour, we discovered several black truffles. I learned about the history of truffles and how to cook with...
More than 1,000 bronze dwarves reside in doorways, atop bridges, and on street corners in Wroclaw, a vibrant city in southwestern Poland. Some made me laugh like the dwarf riding a Vespa. Others encouraged reflection, such as the dwarf with a big heart helping children in neighboring Ukraine. Most, well, just made me smile. Some destinations capture your imagination with towering skyscrapers, prestigious art museums, or Michelin-starred restaurants. In Wroclaw, what drew my attention were the statuettes shaped like dwarves or krasnale in Polish. ...
A chance encounter with a stranger in a small town in Poland led me to the world’s tallest statue of Jesus. I was on my way to Berlin after spending 10 wonderful days devouring pierogies and visiting castles and cultural sights in Poland. But my train departed late and I missed my connecting train. I wound up on a train headed in the wrong direction. You can read about what happened next in my story in the latest issue of Food Wine Travel...
A whale-watching tour in Victoria, British Columbia, is an exhilarating experience, especially in an open-air Zodiac boat. A clear, sunny day is preferable. The steep mountains and pine forests surrounding this city on beautiful Vancouver Island create a breathtaking backdrop for the Salish Sea. But even my tour on a rainy, cold day proved that this Canadian city is one of the best places in the world to see whales in the wild. My whale-watching tour was arranged as part of a cruise...
As enticing as the cable cars and cioppino of San Francisco can be, California’s Bay Area is stacked with other options for travelers seeking more rural or small-town adventures. On an excursion south from the city along the bayside of the San Francisco Peninsula, I explored several not-to-be-missed sights. At the serene country estate of Filoli, I enjoyed a wine tasting hosted by the prestigious San Francisco Wine School. Dinner followed in the walkable town of Burlingame at an inventive plant-based restaurant started by a...
Morocco is known for its stunning diversity. The North African Country boasts windswept deserts and ancient cities, craggy mountains and lonely beaches, medieval medinas and modern mosques. Since my visit in early 2023, I have written several stories about Morocco’s many treasures. Recently, I had the chance to talk about my trip to Morocco on Big Blend Radio with Lisa Smith. I am excited to share my YouTube interview below with Lisa! You can also view the podcast on bigblendradio.com. You can...
With more than 400 fortresses still standing, Wales has more castles per square mile than any other European country. Wales is the place to explore lofty towers, secret dungeons, and legends of Camelot. If you love castles, as I do, Wales should be at the top of your travel list. But castles are hardly the only reason to travel to Wales, which is part of the U.K. and shares the island of Great Britain with England and Scotland. Wales has its own story to tell...
The charms of traditional Mexico abound in Tequisquiapan, a small city in the arid highlands of Central Mexico. Indigenous people named it for the steaming hot springs and minerals discovered there in the 1600s. Today, the city is better known as Tequis. It’s also a popular stop on the Querétaro Wine and Cheese Route. To learn more about this pueblo mágico, or magical town, please read my Tequis story in Rovology. For more travel stories, visit the Rovology website–a wonderful resource for anyone who...
California’s Central Coast wine region was in its infancy when the Barton family bought an old farmhouse west of Paso Robles and started a family winery in the 1990s. Today Barton Family Wines includes a winery, a farm-to-table restaurant, and a spirit distillery. Modern indoor tasting rooms and shaded outdoor patios with stunning vineyard views welcome visitors to the original farmhouse. No longer a sleepy inland community, Paso Robles is the state’s third-largest wine region behind Napa and Sonoma. Please read my...
Pictures of a robust Winston Churchill and a young Queen Elizabeth decorated my art-deco stateroom aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. The iconic 1930s ocean liner, now permanently docked on the Pacific Coast, has harbored movie stars, British royals, and prime ministers–as well as more than a few ghosts. In fact, Time magazine designated it one of the most haunted ships in the U.S. I was thrilled to be one of the ship’s first overnight guests when she finally reopened in...
As a journalist, I’ve written about crime for newspapers, business deals for magazines, cruise ship ports for online travel publications and industry trends for websites. My focus now is exclusively on travel.