17 May 2020
I take long walks in the morning whenever I travel to another city. The best time is just after sunrise when most people are still asleep and the onslaught of daily commuters and excited tourists is still hours away.
Read MoreAugust 2019
Traveling on the Georgian Military Highway left me breathless and awestruck (with a tad of apprehension)! This road along the Greater Caucasus mountains is the only connection of the rest of the country of Georgia to Kazbegi (Stepantsminda), a beautiful mountain town just 7.5 miles from the Russian border. It is a road steeped in history, landmarks and extraordinary landscapes…
This is one of my earliest travel essays, written during a memorable fortnight in 2005 when my friends and I shared a villa in a family-owned vineyard, an agriturismo, near the small Tuscan town of Greve. Tuscany is known for its picturesque landscapes, quaint villages and world-class cities, which are bastions of art and architecture. Many of us dream of spending summers “under the Tuscan sun”. But on days when the weather is less than ideal, summer rain can be surprisingly satisfying…
Tuscan Rain. August 2005
I like the rain. My first and last days in Tuscany were rain-filled. I liked curling up under my blanket on my first night in Greve, listening to the rain as it battered the villa and to the wind as it swatted the doors and windows.
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17 November 2010
Berlin
Berlin had recently piqued my interest as an emerging “world city”, one that has had an exciting transformation and an art and music scene people have compared to 1970s New York. Thus it was to my surprise that I received an invitation from my friend Joel to spend a few days in the German capital in November. I quickly grabbed the opportunity to experience first-hand this intriguing city and its much written about creativity and originality. And there were initial clues that Berliners had that quality in them – the landlords for the two rental apartments we booked were both American artists who have migrated to Berlin, one an African-American dancer in his 40s and the other a 20-something musician from Virginia.
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