Casablanca is a brief 7 hours from JFK, then an hour and a half to Rabat but for the moment, close your eyes and breathe in the pungent spices of North Africa, intersection of vibrant trade routes from all over the world. An agreeable climate, expansive coasts, red deserts and imposing Atlas mountains. African, Arab, Jewish, Persian and French (so love this) cultural confluence with Berber culinary skills. And every …
Who has the time to research these apps? These days, I do. Here are a few of my favorites: Atlas Obscura: Atlasobscura.com online and Free app format I’ve spent hours on this site researching places to visit, reading their daily newsletter, listen to podcasts, watching videos. It’s a completely immersive travel experience. They specialize in the offbeat story, the never heard of destination, the hard to believe facts that make …
Notice I didn’t say cheap. Cheap is for twenty year old back-packers and nomadic unemployed bloggers. Cheap is not for a senior solo female traveler who thinks the journey is a very important part of traveling to the destination. Or at least has its profound effects. Say no to airline hop-scotch, before-dawn over-sold flights from out of the way regional airports. Be airfare wise but not trip foolish. Based on …
It was an afterthought, a stop on the way from Madrid by way of Segovia and Avila to Salamanca. Easy to miss if you weren’t looking for the signpost at the end of a long driveway, mid-vineyard, bathed in a golden Spanish sunset. Had I known more about this little gem, I would have booked a week-long stay to enjoy all that the Hacienda Zorita Wine Hotel, Spa and Organic …
Most travel “bucket lists” lead with an African Safari. Or at least rank as a top three destination experience. The movie, “Out of Africa” and the works of Isak Dinesen were all I needed. Meryl Streep’s rhapsodic soliloquy in the film’s opening scenes, “I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills,” inspired my Kenyan odyssey, a trip I completely under-estimated for sheer wonder. I enjoyed …
There are more famous residents of Malaga, Spain. Picasso for example. For art lovers, put the Picasso Museum Málaga on your must-see list. Several of his works are on display and there are art history and ceramic workshops. The great man is dutifully honored in the city park and you can take the requisite pics sitting on the bench. But for my money, a tapas lunch at El Pimpi offers …