Avoiding Death by Alligator and Other Tragedies The horrific death of Lane Graves, a toddler visiting Disney in Orlando, serves as a reminder to all travelers to remember customs, and dangers unknown to us, in places we visit. There…
Eiffel Is Everywhere—Orlando, Las Vegas, Paris With the turrets of the Excalibur in view, passing the Statue of Liberty of New York New York, cruising past the dancing fountains of Bellagio, taking in the singing gondoliers at the Venetian, the…
Are Disaster Museums Appropriate? Seeing a large portion of the doomed ship Titanic in the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, a part of me thinks that no part of this boat should have been brought back to solid ground. Yes,…
I don’t know how many times I visit Florida’s Epcot before I realize Russia and former Soviet-bloc countries are not represented in its World Showcase pavilions. France and the UK most certainly are on its map, as are Mexico, Morocco,…
The frustration of any trip—especially one taken during peak tourism times—is waiting on line. If only all major world attractions had a FastPass, where I could return at a designated hour and cut right to the front of the line.…
Sitting on the patio of the golf clubhouse at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando and watching the pastel-clad golfers, their carts, and the sand traps, Florida’s dark history seems remote, a dream. Brutal Spanish explorers, Protestants killing Catholics,…
The Brawny Sherpa and I were more than grateful to head out of town after weathering Hurricane Sandy incredibly well—lost power for a few days, had only very minor damage to the purple bungalow, and temporarily hosted some of our…
I travel because I want to try out different lives. Could I remember the names of all the trees and remedies to become a shaman? Would throwing my slop into the streets of medieval Rouen be too much for me?…