This is the Genoa most come to see. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the city was home to some of the wealthiest bankers and merchants in the world. Through financing European royalty - specifically Spain - and continuing the region’s traditions of mercantilism and shipbuilding, Genoa became one of the richest cities anywhere. Its…
The wind is cold atop the Priamar Fortress complex. While the sun is out, making for a beautiful day, January sends a chilly breeze flowing over the stone battlements and down to the city below. I walk around slowly, alternating my view between the Mediterranean and the city of Savona, marveling at the vastness of…
Editor’s note: I spent two full weeks in Santo Domingo a few years back, and while the city wasn’t as well kept up as the historic portions of San Juan or Cartagena, I found my time there to be incredible. (You can read my guide here.) In this piece, Sam - in a way only…
Here I am, in another city and again writing about Christopher Columbus. In some parts of the world, this makes sense. He is buried, after all, split between Seville (from which he embarked on his famous 1492 voyage) and Santo Domingo (click here to read all about that). His life took him to several other…
At the end of the 12th century, the Republic of Genoa was flourishing. Trade routes the city-state built during the early crusades kept money flowing in, and an ambitious building project beautified and fortified the city. (Click here to read about the rise of the Genoese Republic.) But things were about to take a downward…
Editor’s note: traveling for specific events is definitely a thing, and the Super Bowl is one that is on many sports fans’ lifetime bucket list. In this article, TRT writer Morgan teaches us how to see the Super Bowl for FREE (or at least the halftime show) by working the halftime show. For more of…
It’s hard to believe it’s down to my last month of this Europe trip. This month I’ll be based in Toulouse in southwestern France. It’s the first major stop on this trip that isn’t on the coast, not that this is a major consideration for me. I was in Toulouse for part of two days…
This was a day that wasn’t supposed to happen. Today, I was meant to take the train from my base in Genoa to the town of Santa Margharita Ligure, a coastal city best known as the place one catches the bus to the luxury mecca of Portofino. I was going to remain in Santa Margharita…
Editor’s note: back in 2021, as the world was just beginning to open up from COVID, Curacao was my first destination. I spent three weeks on the island, and fell absolutely in love with the place and its people. It is really great to see that Sam felt similarly, even in a much shorter span…
Wandering the narrow alleys (called caruggi in Italian) of Genoa’s old city is magical. Tiny corridors open to small piazzas. Wider streets (though barely enough to fit a car, even if such things were allowed, which they are largely not) lined with shops, restaurants, and cafes host magnificent architecture, buildings with carved stone facades that…