It’s not about the castanets. Before my trip to Seville, I misunderstood the art form of Flamenco. I had visions of elaborately ruffled women clicking those little plastic gizmos in a face off with brooding matador-types in mock Andalusian ecstasy. It’s not. Flamenco is an art like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It’s raucous, joyous, passionate and great entertainment. Fun fact: castanets were not part of the original flamenco dance but …
Located in the southwestern corner of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was a thriving trading center and the capital of the Nabataen Empire between 400 BC and AD 106. My first question? Who the heck were the Nabataens? Brilliant, savvy, artisanal nomadic Arabs who performed engineering feats of singular merit. Some scholars feel that the ancient Nabataean gods may have become: Al-Qaum, the male god of the night (moon), Dushara, …
There are a million things to love about Lisbon and Portugal in general. But a recent visit introduced me to the city’s interesting and largely unheralded status as a jewel in the crown of the food and wine culture. Sure, Spain in general gets the nod but Lisbon deserves to be singled out for special distinction. I love this capital city and I’d call it a major player in the …
Here are my favorite, travel-tested tips culled from my own experience as a senior solo female managing her own luggage challenges with a few borrowed from my fav travel companions. Do your homework. Sounds simple, right? Check seasonal temperatures and precipitation for the region where you are traveling. A week or so in advance, add the major cities to your iPhone weather app and note variances in weather. Pack something …
Neve Tzedek, my favorite little neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Got off the bus solo and wandered around Tel Aviv’s first and oldest neighborhood away from the “balagan”, the chaos of city life. A tangle of narrow streets and limitless eclectic portraits, the “artsy section” and oldest of the city with a rich, cultural history. Neve Tzedek was established in 1887, over 20 years before the City of Tel Aviv was …
On my last trip to East Africa, another of my female traveling companions and I were the fortunate guests of a Masai Village at the base of the Ngong Hills in the Masai Mara region of Kenya. This nomadic, warrior tribe which once held vast swathes of pre colonial Kenya, still retain many of their traditions as they live largely unaffected by modern day civilization, in areas surrounding Masai Mara. …