It’s still weird for me to think of the life I’ve built, and contrast it to where I was less than a decade ago. I was a suit and tie guy, working as the executive director of a large nonprofit organization, spending 60 or more hours a week in the traditional grind. I was also…
Some regular readers have been asking me recently if I really like every place I travel. After all, I seem to call a lot of cities or countries “world-class” or amazing, or any other positive adjective I might happen to use. So today, I wanted to address this. Do I really like every place I…
Editor’s note: this article first appeared on JLiving Media. As always, I am so grateful to have Rabbi Sam Spector as a writer, both for his thoughtful approach to his adventures and for his unique perspective as a rabbi traveling the globe. For more of Sam’s writing, click here to visit his index page. I…
As you read last week, 2022 was a solid travel year, my first since the beginning of Covid. As the pandemic winds down into endemic, 2023 looks like my first year back to my truly intensive travel schedule since 2019, and I couldn’t be more excited! While some things - especially later in the year…
It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. For me, 2022 was the year of a semi return to normalcy. While Covid is still an issue - and I am someone who keeps up to date with boosters and continues to wear a mask indoors - the world has at least opened back…
For regular readers, you’ll know that I don’t write reviews of hotels, airlines, restaurants, or things like that, except as incorporated into a larger story. So why this one? A couple reasons. First, Avelo Airlines generously sponsored my flights to and from Humboldt County on my recent trip, so I actually paid much more attention…
The small Baltic state of Lithuania has been in the news a lot recently, for some pretty cool things. Risking economic backlash from China, the country did the right thing and allowed Taiwan to open an embassy under its own name (rather than the commonly used Chinese Taipei). Second, it became the first European country…
When Covid began - I mean, truly began - in March of 2020, I came home. I was in Spain, and told myself that as soon as cases got out of control (I defined this as more than 100 cases in a single day country-wide) I’d leave Europe and return to Los Angeles until it…
Well, the end of 2021 isn’t exactly quarantine any longer, but neither is it easy to travel as pre-pandemic. So travel date nights are still happening, albeit much much less frequently than before. What was a weekly endeavor became monthly, and has now seemingly become quarterly. Nevertheless, it’s fun! A picked our country this time,…
Another year has come and gone. It is hard to believe 2021 is already over. (Read my year in review here.) I guess it’s time to preview 2022 here on The Royal Tour! A necessary caveat: all travel plans are subject to cancellation due to Covid. Omicron is ravaging the world right now, and the…