The clouds suggest an invasion of the spring storm variety, but I know this spot isn’t spooked. The ancient city of Nora, set up on the southern coast of Sardinia, has seen conquerors come and go, thunderheads included. With a sprinkle of rain, I roam the supposed first town on the Italian island. Founded by the Phoenicians in the 9th century B.C., Nora would change hands between the Carthaginians and the Romans. Most of what I observe are vestiges of Roman rule, proof that no island was isolated enough for the Romans to reach. And like any respectable Roman site, I come upon an Continue Reading
Sorrento, Italy Wishes You Were Here
Knowing my destination and not knowing it at the same time, my taxi driver slammed on his brakes in the middle of a cliff-top road. With a whole line of cars waiting behind him, I knew his yelling and pointing in Italian meant he wanted me to get out of the taxi, admire the view and take a photograph. Traffic can wait for the wide eyed to see the pull of Sorrento. Jet lagged and uncertain, I did as I was told. In many respects, I have to thank that driver. He knew this moment and view would be one I wouldn’t forget. The Greek’s believed Sorrento was the site of the mythical sirens, those Continue Reading
How To Go About Breaking Your Diet in New Orleans
My feet land in New Orleans and I instantly know this city is all about food and drink. While the masses of seemingly underage spring break college kids tote around their green grenade filled drinks hunting for the next bar, I am in search of something a little more innocent, a grape snowball. With a band rocking out on a stage set up in the French Market, people aren’t the only spectators. The scents of crawfish cakes and shrimp balls swarm the crowds. Going on a diet in New Orleans might be the greatest impossibility. With so much food and drink to be had, I brought my empty stomach and Continue Reading
Jackson Square in New Orleans Wishes You Were Here
It was on Good Friday in 1788 that the bells of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans went silent. The silence of the bells for the holy day inadvertently failed to alarm the city of a raging fire that would destroy much of New Orleans, the cathedral included. This would not be the beginning or end of the cathedral’s troubles, but like most aspects to New Orleans, there is an insatiable spirit to move on, fires, hurricanes and all. St. Louis Cathedral sets up in Jackson Square, the center of the original settlement of New Orleans. It boasts of being the oldest continuously active Catholic Continue Reading
A Hurricane and Hope in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans
The French Quarter is just three miles away from where I stand and yet, I feel like I’m in a different world. There is a sobering photograph in front of me: a picture after Hurricane Katrina and a little arrow pointing out, “You are here”. Back in August of 2005 if I had been standing under the arrow’s point, I would have been completely submerged in water and debris. A man mows an empty patch of property nearby, one where you can see the foundations of a house, the place a family used to call home. I am in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, an area of the city that was hit the hardest by Continue Reading
Memphis, Tennessee Wishes You Were Here
“You can always order more,” he says slowly, surely and calmly. Worried about having just the right amount of Memphis barbecue, I was quickly assured to settle down. There is also more to be had. The streets of Memphis seem deserted, until you round the corner to go to Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous. Turn down into the unsuspecting alley and a whole crowd is waiting to sink their teeth into Rendezvous’ famous charcoal-broiled pork ribs. I am no different as I grab a seat at the bar upstairs to wait with the masses for a table. It all began in 1948 when Charlie Vergos decided to convert his Continue Reading
Four Days and Four Nights in Vienna
I wasn’t supposed to be in Vienna and yet I think I was. A city I only briefly visited in college with a school group, from that first meeting, I knew I wanted more. On my recent trip through Eastern Europe, the plan was to head to Romania. However with sub zero temperatures, national road closures and snow, I decided to forgo being a world news story and find the story instead in Vienna. Vienna is utterly effortless. It is a city so grand, so royal, and at the same time, it is unpretentious and kind. For a big city, Vienna is unhurried, appreciated with ever bite of schnitzel and Sacher Continue Reading