Thanks to the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, people are talking about the Indian slums who would never be talking about them otherwise. Guided tours of Mumbai’s slums are on the rise, report London’s TImes and National Geographic Traveler. But Partha Banerjee, an NYC-based writer/activist, needs no such guide — in fact, he could be your […]

When I would tell people that I visited the Greek islands of Santorini, Naxos and Paros last summer, most people would say, “Oh, you went to Paris, too?” And then I would have to explain that I said Paros, not Paris. Obviously if you’re reading it, as opposed to hearing it, you wouldn’t have the […]

Lake Titicaca turned out to be one of the highlights of Amanda Lobell and Neil Roach’s trip to Peru. But they weren’t expecting it to be since when they arrived in Puno from Arequipa (where they had gone following Paracas and Nasca), they were greeted by pouring rain and informed that it was likely to […]

The main point of visiting Santorini is to relax on the cliffs of this crescent-shaped Greek island and admire the view. Santorini is small enough that you feel like you can see the entire coastline from any number of vantage points. As you gaze past the white cubic houses set in the volcanic rock and […]

On a warm-ish sunny day in Barcelona, the best way to appreciate Antoni Gaudi‘s work is definitely to head to Parc Guell. But if the weather isn’t cooperating for a stroll around acres of Gaudi structures and mosaics, you might want to consider visiting Casa Batllo instead. Located on the Passeig de Gracia (which has […]

When people think of Peru, they don’t usually think of sea lions and penguins. But when Amanda Lobell and Neil Roach took a trip to Peru at the end of December, they made Pisco their first stop after they landed in Lima. They found Pisco to be rundown (because of the earthquake in 2007) but […]

Before I left Sarasota last week, I paid a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Because of the time of year, there were hardly any flowers in bloom throughout the grounds — 99% of the flowers I saw there were inside the Tropical Display House, which is the first stop in the gardens so […]

When my friend Nancy heard that I was going to Key West, she told me not to skip The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. Nancy, who writes the crafty blog Belle Epoque, is a great traveler so I knew I needed to include it in my itinerary. Well, the conservatory did not disappoint — […]

Can you guess where this majestic house is located? Nope, it’s not Morocco, although there are Moorish influences in the architecture. And it’s not a Venetian palace, either, although the original owners intended it to look just like one. It’s the Ca d’Zan Mansion and it’s in Sarasota, FL. John Ringling and his wife Mable […]

Naxos, the largest of the Greek Cyclades islands, doesn’t shut down to the extent that Santorini does — there are far more year-round residents. Yet most of the businesses catering to tourists close by the end of October, as many of those are owned by people who live in Athens. The hotels reopen in April, […]