Our hotel, the Altstadt Vienna, looks shabby at first glance. The poorly heated entry with deep red carpeting isn’t dirty exactly, but it’s far from spotless. We shrug and climb the stairs to the tiny reception area, dragging our luggage […]
Umbria and the Strada de Sagrantino
Umbria is a part of Italy few Americans see. We are too focused on Italy’s great historic centers of Rome, Venice, and Florence. If we get beyond these sights, we head to Tuscany, to soak up some rays under their […]
Teruel Exists, and La Zoma With it….
An Abandoned Building in La Zoma Despite being roughly the size of Texas, Spain is home to many thriving regional cultures. The Spanish, more than to Spain as a country, feel a connection first to their neighborhood, then to their […]
Javier and the Making of Las Médulas
Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, in a land called Leon, to the west of Asia and to the east of still undiscovered America, there was a range of tall green mountains. Wolves, foxes, wild boars and hares, and even […]
Las Médulas de Oro: The Handiwork of Giants; Leon, Spain
Views of the Country-side from Las Médulas Every year, at least once a year, I fly to Leon, Spain in order to visit my husband’s grandmother, Obdulia, with him. Obdulia, along with a handful of elderly residents, most of whom […]
Munich Part III: Palaces, Swans and Glockenspiels, Oh My!
Munich’s city slogan is “München mag Dich”- Munich loves you. If Munich loves me, then I love Munich’s coffee, which tastes like home to me. While cappuccinos, espressos and café con leche are available, I feel fortunate that here they […]
Munich Part II: Truth Be Told, I Came for the Castles…
After a long day at Dachau, dinner at one of the Beer Gardens seems like a good idea. Since we took our own food to Dachau, my husband Jesus and I decide to splurge on dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. Once […]
Munich Part I: A Reluctant Visit to Dachau
About Munich: Munich is the third largest city in Germany and the largest city in the region of Bavaria. It’s said (often as a joke) that Bavaria is not part of Germany, but close to it. In fact, Bavaria is to […]
Budapest: Castles at Twilight
View of Budapest from a Distance December in Budapest is frigid and hours of daylight are limited. It gets dark here before 4 in the afternoon, so when I arrive at my hotel around 2 p.m., the temptation to cuddle […]
Aegina: A Comedy of Errors, Greek-Island-Style
Port Aegina Port Aegina After two days in Greece without any rain to speak of, today, Greek Island day, we wake up to a thickly clouded sky and persistent drizzle. We grab our gear and an umbrella and head downstairs […]