We decided to splurge on our hotel in Rome, choosing the beautiful historic Hotel Eden, which we got at a pretty good rate from Hotels.com. We really enjoyed staying there but, like many fancy hotels, Internet access wasn’t free. Nope, it was €25 a day plus tax. We’re somewhat addicted to the Internet — and […]

It’s a commonly held conviction that Venice becomes magical at nighttime. Now, this Italian engineering marvel is quite lovely during the daytime too — you know, thanks to those canals and colorful architecture and all that. So what makes it even more special in the dark? First of all, it’s not as hot at night […]

Our first stop in Italy was Venice. We were there for about 48 hours (Monday to Wednesday) and didn't have one really good meal. This is partly because Venice is completely overrun with touristy restaurants where they show pictures of the food on the menu, partly because the streets of Venice are so confusing that […]

I think it would be impossible to choose which city in Europe is the most beautiful, although Vienna would be a serious contender. But I do feel safe in saying that Vienna is Europe’s sweetest city because everywhere you turn there is a konditorei angling to sell you a dizzying assortment of cake. There’s Aida, […]

Santorini is not known for its beaches. People kept telling me that before I visited Greece and it didn't make any sense to me. Why would Santorini, consistently heralded as one of the world's greatest islands, not be known for its beaches?

Today I'm over at Velvetescape.com guest-blogging about Santorini. Keith Jenkins's travel blog is a terrific read — I especially love his Asia coverage — and I was pleased to contribute to his "World of Inspiration" series. I wrote about an Australian couple that I met one evening in the gorgeous town of Ia (pictured above). […]

Sometimes when you choose an attraction based solely on a short paragraph in your guidebook, you are disappointed when you arrive. Fortunately, that was not the case with the Temple of Demeter on Naxos. Pictured above, the temple was nothing short of spectacular. And it’s a good thing too since it took us a few […]

In Barcelona, everything seems to shut down on Sundays. I found this out the hard way when I was there in late August 2007, as my last full day fell on a Sunday and I was hoping to get in some more shopping and museum-going. But everything turned out just fine because it meant that […]

(photo by LWY/Flickr) When guest blogger Risa Chubinsky visited Paris this spring, she wanted to feel like a local — just like she did when she studied there for her junior year abroad. So, she decided to rent a bike to cruise around the city like the Parisians do. Here, she describes her experience with […]

(photo of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Angela Nickerson) Aside from being a master of plot and suspense, author Dan Brown also excels at giving his readers wanderlust. It's difficult to read (or watch) The Da Vinci Code and not feel the urge to run off to Paris, London and Scotland to save vital […]