I am standing at the edge of a 20-foot cliff. I know. Twenty feet down is not so hardcore. Some high dives at country clubs are more elevated, but I am scared. The cliff curves down somewhat into a deep pool of water, or so I’m told. My entire group with me has already made the jump. I got myself up here. I must see my way back down. I am in the middle of what many call the Grand Canyon of Sicily. Rather, I am at the bottom of Cava Grande in southeastern Sicily. Cava Grande may be the ultimate hikers’ paradise in Sicily. A 300-meter hike down can take well over an hour. The limestone carved Continue Reading
Where are you going? Crossing a Red Headed Stranger on Lago Maggiore’s Islands
I have met my match on an island in Italy. It sounds like a dream, but my match is not. The island however is. This match that I speak of totes the same hair color as myself. He is around two feet tall, but he lives in perhaps one of the most beautiful, blooming places on earth. Today, I am wandering the islands that make up Lago Maggiore in Italy. Tourists, for the most part, stop in Lago di Como for George Clooney and company all have mini palaces along its shores. The closest glimpse to their fabulous lives is by boat, but at a distance. However, Lago Maggiore is different. It is just as Continue Reading
The Saints of Travel Drive Three-Wheeled Carts
When you are traveling in a place outside your zone of familiarity and comfort, you are bound to get lost. I don’t mean just actually getting lost, but also that panic, that oh no, I cannot find where my hotel is and they will give my reservation away any minute. You stand in the midst of the unfamiliar as those that live this unknown world daily whiz past you. Some bump into you. Others do not even make eye contact. They do not even notice you are there standing on a corner with a map and face in disarray. “Please help!” you want to scream but you don’t. You are trying not to be that tourist Continue Reading
Where are you going? Crossing off countries by stopping in one of the smallest, San Marino
When you travel with someone crazily intent on knocking off all the countries in Europe, you can bet even San Marino is on their list. My traveling companion today is that said person, almost unhealthy focused upon having his feet stand in every country in Europe. Most people have never even heard of the Republic of San Marino. It is easy to see why. San Marino is the third smallest state in the world. You could miss the country and not even know it, being only 61 square miles in area, only one-third the size of Washington D.C. Landlocked by Italy, San Marino’s foreign policies align with Continue Reading
I found Papier-mâché Paradise at Carnevale in Viareggio
A woman with a plunging neckline welcomes visitors to Carnevale in a Tuscan town. As if her dress does not showcase enough free spirit, her billboard hands flail in the air, hinting at the mandatory carefree atmosphere that surrounds. Confetti covers La Passeggiata, a long stretch in the seaside town of Viareggio. Papier-mâché floats conquer this stretch throughout January and February as people come from all around the world to dress up in outrageous get-ups. Shots ring out. These are not gunshots but rather quite the opposite, innocent shots of silly string. Children and adults with silly Continue Reading
Where are you going? An evening stroll through Cagliari’s Castello Quarter
Tonight, my feet have brought me to the streets of Cagliari on Sardinia’s southern coast. Cagliari, a port city founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century B.C., remains the island’s capital, filled with a mixture of modern and ancient architectures. The city lies in the middle of the Golfo degli Angeli, in other words, the Gulf of the Angels. The heavenly aspect to Cagliari at first glance may seem hard to find with run-down buildings and moderately sketchy accommodations, but the angelic quality to Cagliari seems to be perched a flight of stairs above the town in the Castello Continue Reading
Where Are You Going? Plant your Feet Overlooking Urbino, Italy
What many of us forget about travel is our feet. Without the ability to move, travel would fail to exist. These places around the world we view most likely at a standstill. We are usually standing tall or with bad posture, viewing a place on foot. As a part of this travel site for 2010, posts of the week deemed “Where Are You Going?”, a place viewed on foot while traveling, will be featured, predictably every week. The goal of this segment is to expand the idea of travel, that no matter where your stinky, clean, pedicure, no pedicure, aching feet take you, places will always exist that have Continue Reading