The French Wine Country is a fairytale landscape of chateaus and idyllic vineyards. Bordeaux invites everyone to enjoy a tipple and dream altogether.   In many ways a story can always be written and, at times be told. If I have to start mine, I would like to begin in the...

Buzzing and exuberant, the Croatian city of Split, perched on the Adriatic coast, invites all travelers to experience the joys of Dalmatian life and fjaka.   W   hat does a wayfarer see when she climbs the 183 step-bell tower of Saint Domnius Cathedral in the old town of Split? In this thriving city...

Vienna was Freud's perfect place for his theories on the human psyche. Austria's pulsating capital can also be every traveler's waking dream and art aficionado's nirvana.   Otto Ernst Wiesenthal does not need a palace. He is happy in his thriving cosmos in Vienna’s 7th district, not far from the former...

Bulgaria's capital is a city steeped in a layered past, a contemporary urban cool with its sights firmly set on the future.   A t magic hour, when cotton clouds roll in and drape a cool shade over the land below, a girl lights a candle at the St. Nedelya Cathedral. Military...

When trips don't go according to plan, don't panic. Travel mishaps make travelers wiser. The best part is the journey to self-discovery.   Just as summer is about to make its anticipated entrance, our car zoomed along the curvy asphalt, passing several “Ausfahrt” signs with France miles away. The further we...

What can a landscape teach a traveler? In Andalusia, it’s as simple as living like a local and embracing its transportive landscape.   T   o live in southern Spain on the coast of Andalusia - where the occasional sand laden wind blows, is to embrace la calima. It’s been an hour since I...

The effervescent city of Marseille possesses a unique charm and character. The best way to appreciate France's second-largest city is to sample its soup.   Bouillabaisse .  For first timers, getting the correct pronunciation is hard. Spelling it is even harder. For first timers, it’s easier to have a bowl of...

If old dogs can learn new tricks, what are the chances of an aging Asian auntie learning to speak a foreign language?   By the time I reached the part where a woman starts to lie about her age, I decided to return to school.  I have moved to Spain with one...

In travel, there is foreignness and familiarity. It's like flipping a coin, you get one or the other. The most fascinating part? The sense of wonder and surprise.   Every so often, when the occasion arises, I would find myself traveling to one of my favorite European cities. I never get...

Famous for its cuisine, medieval ramparts, and opera, Lucca is Tuscany's best-kept secret that makes for a different kind of Italian drama.   A ugust is coming to a close in Lucca, a masterfully preserved medieval Italian city situated some 50 kilometers to the west of Florence and a short 15-minute drive...