Tag: tourist

If Money Machines Could Talk

Wouldn’t it be great to listen to what an ATM gets to hear on any given day? There’s an entire arch of a story line, starting with “Do you suppose this is safe?” to “Does it give out dollars or…

Eternal Newport

Sitting outside at the Castle Hill Inn and sipping a lemon drop martini, I imagine that whoever coined the phrase “lawn party” did so for a place like this. What could be better than sitting on an Adirondack chair, cocktail…

The Wrong Way to Belize

I’m not in Belize for more than a day when I am ready to drop everything and relocate there. I love the jungle, the caves, the thatched roofs, rising waters, wildlife, and the complete lack of people. I also like…

The Ups and Downs of Mont Saint-Michel

First sighting of Mont Saint-Michele. Photo credit: V. Laino

I both love and loathe my experience at Mont Saint-Michel. I’m enamored of its history—how the Archangel Michael appeared to a priest some 700 years ago and told him to build this church in the water, how the priest equivocated…

Quality Time at the Eiffel Tower

Figuring that the Eiffel Tower will be a ho-hum stop on our tour of France, I buy tickets to go see it on the first night we will be in Paris. I’ve seen the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,…

Three Lines Worth Waiting On (and Two to Skip)

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.…

R & R, Nature and Nurture, on Sanibel

Not every vacation can be a jungle adventure in the Amazon. Sometimes, a traveler just needs to get away and for the trip to be unthinkingly stress-free.  For a quick escape, I tend to choose Florida. It’s all too easy…

The Contrasts of Isla Mujeres

Expecting a day of tequila sunrises and snorkeling, the Brawny Sherpa and I set off by catamaran from Cancun to Isla Mujeres. The water was too rough for playing in, though, so, once on the island, we rented a golf…