I’m almost in tears in the Houston airport. I look at the gate at the E Terminal, the words “Buenos Aires” formed by a collection of red dots behind the gate agents. I can’t breathe. “I can’t get on the plane. I don’t want to go to South America.” I hyperventilate.

I was all over the place this year. Literally. I kicked January off with a trip to the Middle East, wined and dined in France and Georgia (the country not the state), road tripped through Canada (again) and did back to back tours in South America and Japan. 2017 Might be my most continent-packed year ever.

Visiting Red Roof Studio during my road trip through the Canadian Badlands, it occurs to me that Rita Wildschut is more than just an artist. She is the embodiment of art. She’s also the best kind of example of making a difference in a community...

“You know why it was called the Dark Ages don’t you? Because there were so many knights.” A bearded magician in a doublet continues his routine from the small stage. “He really wears on you after awhile.” The woman at my table in a ren-faire blue velvet gown gives the illusionist a long look. She speaks to...

Morning number four in Alberta’s Canadian Badlands and I found myself inside my third Tim Horton’s, grabbing a maple donut and a coffee. Even I was surprised at how fast I had taken to my daily Tim Horton’s stop. Canada, in all of its politeness and maple goodness has a way of swiftly pulling you into its orbit.

“Zaza knows that the wine made in qvevri takes out all concern from the body, it helps the heart to work properly, and all different kinds of diseases. Zaza says to ‘drink wine made in qvevri daily.’” Zaza is not the only one who says this. It’s more or less the slogan of the entire country of Georgia. Maka,...

Colorful and ebullient, filled with music and dance, Georgia is finally on the brink of having the moment it so richly deserves. Georgia the country is a deep well of treasures. The cuisine (one of my favorites on the planet) is a delicious mash up of Eastern European, Western Asian and Middle Eastern. The wine – oh...

Twelve years ago in Moscow I sat inside a restaurant that resembled a small village. Slatted bridges curved up over a stream, and wooden awnings protected booths along the wall as if a rainstorm might break out at any moment. Dark-haired servers twirled in traditional costume. They brought food and dance, sometimes at...

Two years ago I lived in Paris for the month of July while going to the Paris Writing Academy. I rented an apartment in the 5th arrondissment (or, borough) because I am not a morning person and I wanted to be as close to class as possible. My friend Julie got an apartment in the 11th, on the entire other side of the...

If you read last week’s post, you’ll remember I was floating through Burgundy, France on what was basically a buoyant wine-tasting room simultaneously engaged in a cheese-eating contest of one (which I was winning). Everyday my fellow cruisers and I would get off and explore the little towns and villages around...