If comparisons between Lisbon and San Francisco are to be believed - and I heard many such statements before coming here, from friends and Rick Steves - this is where they come from. Walking up hills on winding, narrow streets while dodging street cars that rattle by does indeed remind me of San Francisco, at…
How much do we really know about the history of our hometowns? If you are like me - or like most people, I'd imagine - the answer is: not much. I am a native Angeleno (Los Angeles resident), and have lived here all but about a decade of my life, and my knowledge of where…
Who says turning 39 means having to always be an adult? The question runs through my head as I unabashedly bang a large drum in the experience gallery here at the Musical Instrument Museum, an incredible modern institution in north Phoenix. I smile, my beating getting louder as I attempt to accompany the group of…
Panama City bills itself as the hub of the Americas. From a geographical standpoint, it is certainly true. The city sits at the joining of the continents, as well as at the mouth of the Panama Canal which joins the oceans. The city is modern and bustling, vibrant and historic, a financial center, transit hub,…
Ah, Portugal. Mysterious nation at the western end of the Iberian Peninsula. Land of nata tarts, salt cod, and port wine, of fado, salty ocean air, sunsets, and surfing. It is the only continental European country on GMT, and it is also my first stop on my Iberian adventure! For the most part, my month…
I spent the first three months of 2019 in France, living, exploring, and discovering both an amazing country and myself. I can't even begin to describe how life-changing of an experience it was, to realize that I am able to thrive in a foreign country with a language and customs different from my own. I…
This could be Miami. The thought hits me for at least the hundredth time since I arrived here in Panama City, Panama. Blue waters, green parks, and tall glass buildings blend together in, if not harmony, at least a reasonably peaceful understanding. It stands in sharp contrast to most other major Central American cities I've…
This is always one of my favorite posts to write each year. As the year comes to a close, it is a great excuse to think back on all of the amazing places I went, all of the incredible experiences I had, and reflect before moving ahead with the following year. In 2019, I became…
A few articles ago, we spoke at length about the world-changing Panama Canal. However, a mere three million years earlier, Panama played host to an event that changed the world even more: it was born. From volcanos beneath the seas, land rose up, first as islands, and then as an isthmus, joining what would come…
This morning, in a private no-frills ceremony at the Consulate General of Germany in Los Angeles, I got to do something that most Jews have only dreamt of. I got to - in my own small way - give the middle finger to the ghost of Adolf Hitler on behalf of myself and my family.…