Author: mattathomeintheworld

I was born and raised in New England, but spent almost 40 years living in southern California and San Francisco. I'm a retired psychology professor with a strong interest in natural disasters, media influences, and travel. I used to teach a specialty course on the Psychology of Travel and created my own travel website at www.mattathomeintheworld.com I recently published my first book: At Home in the World: Reflections of a Travel Addict. Please come check out my site!

Barcelona, the French Riviera, and “The Walking Dead” – All in One Blog Post

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Blogs, Europe

If you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, you know that I was a big fan of The Walking Dead television show. Although the series ended a few years ago, there have been various spin-offs and though none of them have quite measured up to the original, I think The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon has been the most interesting of the bunch. For those of you who don’t know anything about the Walking Dead universe, it’s set in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse where humans must fight off cannibalistic zombies – and one another – to survive in a brutal, post-apocalyptic world. Most of the original series’ action took place in Georgia and Virgina, though more recent spin-offs have ventured to Los Angeles, Mexico, Texas, New York City, and the Pacific Northwest.

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A Merry “Litli” Christmas Eve: Iceland, November 2025

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Blogs, Europe, Iceland

Back in November of 2024 I visited Iceland and one of my planned stops was the town of Geysir, home to a whole slew of the phenomena we know as geysers. To call it a “town” would actually be an exaggeration; other than the field of geysers themselves, there is only a Visitor’s Center that attracts dozens of buses coming up from Reykjavik on a day trip, and two hotels, the mammoth Hotel Geysir and its neighbor, Litli Geysir. The difference in price between the two is considerable, with the big hotel being more than double the price of its smaller neighbor. When I learned that those staying at Litli Geysir are sent to the big hotel for the complimentary breakfast, I decided to save my money and stay at the smaller property.

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My Top 5 Bucket List Suggestions for International Travel and Where to Find the Best Lobster Rolls in New England

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Uncategorized

On two recent episodes of Providence’s WJAR TV’s “Studio 10” program I shared some of my recommendations for places to put on your international travel bucket list and more locally, where to find some of the best lobster rolls in New England. Click on the purple links above to view each segment. Thanks to WJAR and host Christina Erne for continuing to feature me as their show’s Travel Expert and helping me promote my personal appearances and my book!

Thanks to Kurt Ruppersberger for the awesome and somewhat scary meme!

The 10 Best Places for Pancakes in the USA: Updated Summer 2025

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Travel Recommendations, USA, USA Roadtrips

Pancakes. Hotcakes. Griddle Cakes. Flapjacks.

No matter what they’re called, they happen to be one of my favorite ways to start the morning, and when I travel around the country, I make it a point to seek out the very best local places to find these breakfast staples. I personally don’t like a lot of extra stuff on or in my pancakes:  whipped cream, sprinkles, candy, chocolate chips, strawberry sauce, ice cream, hot fudge – in my opinion these are usually just ways to mask a boring or poorly made pancake. A really top-notch pancake should be able to stand on its own, maybe with some simple blueberries in the batter, and always with a little help from butter and real maple syrup.

I’m updating this post again this year. Things change. Even some of the best restaurants may go out of business, some places that used to be good seem to fade in quality, and in my continued travels, I discover new places that I feel obligated to include in my list. So… here are my latest rankings as of June, 2025.

To find the best pancakes in the country, read on!

Berry Picking In Southern New England

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Blogs, New England, Travel Recommendations, USA

In a recent segment of WJAR TV 10’s Studio 10 program, I recommended some local places to pick your own berries this summer. I will post a link to the interview in a couple of days, but here are some of the places I mentioned in the segment. But hurry, strawberry season is short-lived and as soon as the summer heat sets in, it will be over! Click on the link above to watch the segment.)

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Please Come to Boston

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Blogs, New England, New England, U.S.A., United States, USA

I grew up an hour south of Boston, and though my mom would bravely venture into the city to take me to the Science Museum or the Aquarium once in awhile, most of my family and the people I grew up with viewed Boston as a dangerous place, filled with traffic, aggressive drivers, and an indecipherable pattern of narrow, one-way streets. If someone were foolish enough to venture in, they were considered lucky to have found their way out alive and unscathed.

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Some Dining Recommendations for Southern New England

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Blogs, New England, Travel Recommendations, USA

On the latest segment of WJAR TV Providence’s “Studio 10” program I discussed some of my favorite local places for great food. Below is more information about some of these spots and a few more I didn’t have time to get to! Enjoy! (Click on the highlighted link to view the TV segment)

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The Virtual American Road Trip

by mattathomeintheworld, posted in Blogs, U.S.A., USA Roadtrips, USA Roadtrips

As many of you already know, during my 35 years or so living in California, I made over 40 round-trip drives across the USA to visit friends and relatives in Massachusetts, Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida. One of the most freeing experiences for me is to be out on the open road, listening to my music and stopping wherever I choose to sample the local cuisine, take a hike or a swim, or visit some local attractions.

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