4 In Italia Humorous stories from a year in Italy

The opening line of Anna Karenina, (“All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”) also applies to hotels. Traveling to fifty cities in eight European countries, I can’t remember a single “nice” hotel. But the truly wretched ones are etc...

  L’ho fatto! I did it!  I took the train from Milan to Modena, and I did not end up on an ice floe!  Well, almost. I am logistically challenged and have no sense of direction. I am afraid of many things, including sandwich-stealing emus. My biggest travel-related fear involves Italian ...

Americans are easy to spot in a European crowd because of the way they dress. Paying attention to those differences can help you blend in. In general, Europeans dress more formally than Americans.  Have you seen Mad Men, or Leave it To Beaver? Like Don and Betty Draper, Europeans advertise their adu...

1. Pack light. Unless it’s cold where you’re going. Then pack heavy, so you don’t have to buy another jacket just like the three you left at home. 2. Always pack a bathing suit, so you don’t have to buy one that’s way less flattering than the three you left at home. 3. ...

A  nine-year old boy was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 103 people, including his parents and his eleven-year old brother.  The little boy was photographed in his hospital room, while he was dizzy from anesthesia after 4 1/2 hours of surgery to repair multiple leg fractures. CNN flas...