My first trip to Iceland was in June of 2008, and it was among my most favorite travel destinations. The scenery was other-worldly, the peace and quiet appealed to me, and the food, though expensive, was top-notch. Unfortunately, my travels over the years never seemed to bring me back to Iceland, but as I began to plan a European getaway for this fall, the new Icelandic airline called Play offered fares so low that it made my trip entire trip feasible. Since all of Play’s flights pass through Reykjavik, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to revisit Iceland for a few days after visiting Italy and London.
Continue reading “A Long-Awaited Return to Iceland”Category: Blogs
Taking the Voyage with ABBA
I just returned from my first trip to Europe in several years. My primary destination was Italy, but given how easy it is to “hop” around Europe fairly cheaply once you’re across the Atlantic, I decided that while I was in “the neighborhood”, I simply had to go to London to see ABBA’s innovative concert/show/spectacle, and so I planned a two night stop-over in London for that purpose.
Continue reading “Taking the Voyage with ABBA”A Beautiful Reunion with an Old Friend: Italy
Thanks to the gigantic monkey wrench that COVID threw into all of our lives, I haven’t traveled abroad since the summer of 2019. To some, this may not seem like such a big deal, but for me, who was once described by Diletta, my former Italian teacher, as someone who “goes to Europe the way some people go to the grocery store,” this hiatus from international travel was a huge change in my life. Ambiguous and ever-changing COVID restrictions that varied from country to country, uncertainty about the economy and my own finances, and the threat of a larger war developing in Europe all made me wonder whether I would ever get back to Europe, and especially to my beloved Italy again.
Continue reading “A Beautiful Reunion with an Old Friend: Italy”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: Climbing New Hampshire’s Middle Sugarloaf Peak
Autumn. It’s that time of year again when New England achieves its highest level of “New Englandness.” The days begin to shorten, the air has a slight, but noticeable chill in the early mornings, the leaves start turning to a palette of all of my favorite shades of red, orange and yellow, and the smell of cider donuts and “pumpkin spice everything” assails the nostrils. I’ve always loved fall, and in my humble, native New Englander opinion, there is no better place to be in late September and early October.
Continue reading “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: Climbing New Hampshire’s Middle Sugarloaf Peak”The Flight 93 Memorial: A Sobering 9/11 Tribute in Rural Pennsylvania
Today is September 11, 2022, 21 years since the horrible day that changed our world forever. Back in October of 2001, I actually made a pilgrimage of sorts to Lower Manhattan, as I simply had to see what had happened to New York after the events of the prior month.
Who Says You Can’t Go Home?
One of my favorite songs has always been Bon Jovi’s Who Says You Can’t Go Home. I can relate to the lyrics, which talk about coming full circle in life: from wanting to break away from your hometown to explore the world, but ultimately realizing that home is where you really want or need to be. As so often happens with music, this song has taken on new significance for me over the last few months.
Continue reading “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?”A Tale of Two Cabins: Tennessee and North Carolina
Recently, in a desire to find some peace and solitude and to avoid the ever-increasing prices of even a modest hotel room, I spent a week in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.
Continue reading “A Tale of Two Cabins: Tennessee and North Carolina”There’s More to Florida Than the Sand and the Sea
After a few weeks of exploring the panhandle, south Florida, and the Gulf Coast I’m now based on the Atlantic side of the state in Ormond-by-the-Sea, a quiet beach community just north of Daytona.
Continue reading “There’s More to Florida Than the Sand and the Sea”The AirBnB from Heck
I’ve stayed at a couple dozen AirBnB properties over the last few years and though some have been simply amazing and others simply average, I really can’t say I’ve had a truly bad experience with finding lodgings using this website. Until now.
Continue reading “The AirBnB from Heck”Embracing the Bomb Cyclone
Much to the chagrin of most of my friends in New England, I love a good snowstorm. Seeing those first flakes start falling from a steely sky makes me feel like a giddy 5 year old, even at the ripe old age of 63. Granted, I’m staying in a place where there’s a generator to ensure that I still have heat and lights if the power goes out, and my landlord plows out the long driveway on the property.
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