So you've come to Granada to see the Alhambra. You spent a day touring the incredible site, one of the finalists for the seven new wonders of the world, and maybe even watched the sun set from one of the view points in the city to see it glow in the twilight. Tomorrow you'll wake…
Words can't accurately describe my feelings as my small tour group departs the office and walks toward the wall. The morning is chilly, but clear here at the top of a hill in the middle of Granada in southern Spain. Our group, headsets on listening to our guide narrate, shows our tickets and enters. Some…
For Americans visiting Spain, Barcelona and Madrid seem the focal points. Both are amazing destinations, but seeing only those two cities misses my personal favorite city in Spain: Seville. The capital of Andalusia is one of the cultural highlights of all of Europe, a mid-sized city, easy to explore and with more to do than…
Spain is awesome. Let's start with that. Pretty much anywhere you go will be amazing, based on my experience. But for most Americans, a trip to Spain is to Barcelona or Madrid. Both cities are wonderful - check out my Madrid guide here and tune in later for some rad Barcelona content - but they…
One of the things I was excited for on my recent trip to Seville, a stunningly beautiful city in Andalusia in the south of Spain, was exploring its Jewish heritage. The city had a Jewish population dating from at least the sixth century, and walking tours of the old Jewish quarter are widely available. In…
First off, don't worry. I don't have the coronavirus - COVID-19 - at least not yet. I am writing this from Barcelona, a week into my stay in this stunning city. By the time you read it, I will be back home in Los Angeles. So what changed? I was supposed to be here another…
Like so many other things in this beautiful southern Spanish city, it appears disjointed at first, three distinct parts, none seeming to match the others, but all coming together in an imperfect perfection that just makes sense. It is an experience that matches the spirit of Seville just as jazz does for New Orleans, capturing…
It's hard to believe my month here in Portugal is coming to an end in just a couple of days, especially when I will be posting articles from Lisbon and its surroundings for at least a few more weeks! But alas, the time on my blog doesn't always match my real life, and so I…
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…
It's Saturday, Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath). The Synagogue of El Transito in Toledo, Spain is crowded, but there is no service taking place. Tourists mill through the sanctuary and the adjoining rooms of the Sephardic Jewish Museum. There is a group of local families gathered with a children's song leader, but they don't sing Jewish…