I lived in Phoenix from 2004 to 2006 while working at Arizona State University, and the dining scene was almost exclusively made up of chain restaurants. Finding a good, independent option at which to eat was a struggle. Shortly after I left the city to move to the Bay Area, my best friend, Daniel Warren,…
What if I told you there was a place where green met blue, with forests extending all the way to beautiful shores? What if I told you that this place of immense natural beauty also had a fascinating history? Finally, what if I told you that this place was right here in the United States,…
Solvang looks like any other Danish village. Wildflowers line streets filled with buildings looking like they are straight out of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. Heck, there is even a statue of Anderson in the local park! Bakeries are everywhere, serving danishes and butter cookies. The sun is shining, and the nearby Mission Santa…
France is an amazing country, and one of the easiest for Americans to see and navigate. However, from my extensive experience in the land of croissants and cheese (trademark pending), there are some things foreigners should know before arriving here. 1. France is More than Paris For many people, going to France means going to…
Lyon is France's third largest city and second largest metro area. Sitting at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers in the shadow of the Alps, it is a perfect base to explore eastern France. More than that, it is an incredible destination in its own right, and is easily my favorite city in…
France is known for many things, but good food probably stands out as one of the top reasons visitors flock here. And good food abounds. It can be found everywhere. Yet one city stands out from among the crowd for its gastronomic greatness: Lyon. Lyon sits in between the rivers Rhône and Saône, fetching incredible…
On the border of France, Germany, and Belgium lies Luxembourg, the world's only remains Grand Duchy (being ruled by a Grand Duke or Duchess), and my third tiny country bordering France that I've seen in my three months here. I loved Andorra. I hated Monaco. Where would Luxembourg rank? I arrived in Luxembourg City, the…
Bordeaux is best known for being the wine capital of France - and rightly so. But it is much more than just a place to get good wine. It is a historical center, a bastion of creativity, and a place to just live a good and happy life! In a month spent living in this…
It is my second full day in Oslo, and I find myself on a boat tour of the Oslofjord, the narrow inlet along which the Norwegian capital is laid out. It is cold, especially for a kid from California. We are given thin blankets as we board, which help, but even those, my thick winter…
Camp des Milles isn’t exactly the image one has in mind of southern France. A former tile factory just minutes from the center of Aix-en-Provence, the complex was requisitioned by the French government during World War Two, first to house those suspected of fascist sympathies and later, after the fall of France, as a depot…