Los Angeles is largely an anti-pedestrian town, so when I travel I try to walk everywhere. By far the best way to get to know a new place (except LA) is usually on foot. This constant movement also provides a guilt-free excuse to eat your way through your destination. And rubbing elbows with the locals over grub is a lot …
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Check your fears at the door
Half of the adventure in traveling is sampling local cuisine. This is often a roadblock for me because of all the culinary rules I follow. No bumpy food like octopus or squid tentacles. I can eat squid but no squiggly parts for me. No milk or yogurt or mayo (eww) or butter. Well, a very thin layer of butter on …
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Storming the castles
There’s particularly good, warm weather the 4 weeks I am in Europe this year, so every weekend I try to find something interesting to do outdoors. On this one Sunday I decide to storm as many castles as possible. Our first stop is Chateau de Freyr, located just outside of the city of Dinant. The castle once sat along the …
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Big Sky
Bright lights, big city and stars in her eyes. That’s basically me in a nutshell. But show me big sky with miles and miles of unspoiled land and I’d feel even more at home. So when my friend suggests that we go visit his uncle’s farm in Hermetton that afternoon, I’m secretly thrilled. What a marvelous treat it turns out …
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Enchanted forests
Belgium is full of enchanted forests. On this particular day we are driving through one in order to reach the Benedictine abbey at Maredsous. Century old trees and dewy sapplings alike hug the narrow roads, their branches swaying back and forth as if to welcome us into the pages of a fairy tale. It does feel like a fairy tale …