It’s a rainy and cold day in Pisa’s Piazza del Duomo, where I stare at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The weather is only just barely cooperating, and it probably won’t start truly pouring for a few hours. Such is life in Tuscany in January. Few tourists My last trip was in late summer. It…
Barcelona is an incredible place. For most visitors, it is highlighted by the allure of Spanish beaches, a dining scene that is diverse and affordable, and more cool architecture than any city deserves to have - especially the buildings of Antoni Gaudi. (Click here to read about Gaudi and here to specifically learn about Sagrada…
As a writer, I’m rarely lost for words. I pride myself on being able to take in an experience and distill it out onto paper (screen) easily, efficiently, and relatively well. And yet standing here inside the “forest” of columns inside the unique Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, I can only come up…
As of this writing in 2026, I’ve now spent a month or more in each of five French cities, and multiple weeks in Paris. And as of this writing, I can confidently state that while each of them has offered something wonderful, and each of them has been great, Toulouse is my favorite. It’s a…
Anywhere you go in France, you are bound to have good food. Fresh baguettes, the very best cheeses, great wine, rich stews, and more… all of these make France one of the best - if not the absolute top - food destinations in the world. Here in Toulouse, in France’s southwest, you’ll of course find…
France has no shortage of quality wine, and of quality wine regions. It seems like everywhere you might go in the country, you can find incredible local wine. To be fair, basically every glass of the house wine in any restaurant I’ve ever had has been good, if not great. 90% of the bottles I’ve…
I would guess that in the seventeenth century, the completion of this ambitious project would be much like that of the Panama Canal about 250 years later. While the time saved was less, the more or less constant state of war - or at least competition - between European powers meant that for France, the…
There is no question that the medieval walled city of Carcassonne is one of the most unique and beautiful places to see in southwestern France. While the surrounding modern city is home to about 50,000 people now, it is the tiny walled portion that attracts visitors in droves. And it rightly should. This is my…
Cities are never one-dimensional. They aren’t defined by a single aspect, or one industry. And yet, for some - even for some truly major cities - there is one things that stands out above all others for which they are known. Los Angeles and the entertainment industry comes to mind, or Frankfurt and finance. Here…
Friends, we have done it! After two months in the south of France exploring artists via their national museums and homes, we have reached the final one, at least for this trip. (You can find links to articles about Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-August Renoir, and Marc Chagall by clicking on their names.) Welcome to…