Located 45 minutes north of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge is a place where you can find trees older than the USA itself. It’s called Muir Woods and it happens to be the home of thousands of ancient Red Wood trees. Not only is Muir Woods a national park, it is also a […]
San Diego is one of those cities where buzz words like “farm to table, organic, locally sourced” are norms, not novelties. Southern California chefs use mostly seasonal ingredients, unless they source the very best (such as New England scallops or Maine lobsters) from another region. This is, of course quite evident in the healthy and […]
Regarded by critics as one of the finest American movies ever made, Some Like It Hot continues to delight audiences 50 years after it debuted in 1959; in fact, the American Film Institute named it No. 1 on their list of the 100 best comedies of all time. Filmed in 1958, the United Artists movie […]
Ecuadorians like to eat all the time. They don’t follow strict rules about it either. There are no set breakfast, lunch or dinner hours, and most locals eat when they are hungry, which seems to be all day long. If you stroll through Old Quito during the hours of 10am and 4pm, you will see […]
The beautiful city of San Diego, California is located only a few miles north of the Mexico border. In fact, I was driving on Interstate 5 and noticed highway signs that read “Mexico exit is coming up.” My plan was to drive to the end of the US border, park my car at San Ysidro […]
Cruising the Galapagos Islands is for those who seek nature, adventure and an active vacation. One-week cruise aboard The Letty, a 20-passenger yacht run by Ecuador based company, Ecoventura will show you the very best of islands flora and fauna. Expect to get up close with animals and marine life, enjoy delicious meals and learn […]
If you missed my presentation at Taste of Travel stage at the San Diego Travel Adventure Show, you didn’t get to taste my delicious paella. But all is not lost. You can still watch some clips from the show and follow along the recipe below. Paella is a rice based dish that was invented in […]
I never heard of Limpia before I arrived in Ecuador. My guide Giovani with Metropolitan Touring tells me that Limpia is a cleansing procedure which is typical of Andean medicine. It involves the use of natural herbs, oils and rubs to cure diseases, reduce symptoms, and ward off spirits. In Quito, we visit the Mercado de […]
Book early—reserve a room in advance to reap benefits like peace of mind, plenty of selection and discounts that are only available if you book ahead. For example, the oceanfront Courtyard by Marriott in Carolina Beach is currently offering 20% off when you book a weekend stay 14 or more days in advance. Stay standard, but be prepared to […]
Quito is not just Ecuador’s political capital but also a beautiful city with colonial architecture, well preserved Catholic churches, Spanish squares and cobblestone streets. While its easy to get overwhelmed by the must-see attractions Old Quito offers, it is also important to take a behind the scene look into Quito’s artists and traditions. You may […]
Often times, once a destination gains popularity, tour companies and travelers pour in from around the world, threatening the sanctity of the place. Finding a balance between allowing for outside visitors and not destroying the natural habitats, can be a challenging feat. It was however, humbling to see the extent of preservation initiatives in the […]
I was so impressed by the sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, that I decided to post a photo blog just about them. The first time I saw a sea lion in the wild was when we set out to board our Ecoventura cruise “The Letty” on San Cristobal island. All the passengers got very excited […]
The minute I step out of my hostel, I’m engulfed in a tightly packed crowd lining the sidewalk. I push my way through, passing parents hoisting their kids up on their shoulders and volunteers passing out food. Bewildered, I crane my neck to peer through the crowd and see the procession passing. Flashes of multi […]
A bell tolls from a nearby temple, welcoming the rising sun as it seeps through the valleys, illuminating one pagoda at a time. Dawn marks the hours of alms for the novices that inhabit the hundreds of monasteries and nunneries of Sagaing, the holy center of Myanmar. I watched through the bamboo thatches of my […]
A country in the midst of a political transition and geographically placed along the Himalayas, sharing borders with India and Bangladesh and linking a “Golden Triangle” with Thailand and Laos, Burma, now Myanmar, is a fascinating country with the friendliest people in Asia. Yangon I stay near the Sule Paya, a golden pagoda set in […]
The Lagotto Romagnolo is a breed of dog that comes from the Romagna sub-region of Italy. The name means “lake dog from Romagna,” coming from the Italian word lago, lake. Its traditional function is a gundog, specifically a water retriever. However, it is often used to hunt for truffles. Lagotto have been hunting dogs for at least three thousand years, and truffle dogs for maybe a hundred years, if that. […]
Chef, restauranteur and author, Avi Bitton visited Atlanta from Tel Aviv, Israel. Bitton started working in the restaurant business at 14 years of age, and went on to open restaurants – Bucharest (Romanian inspired), Adora (named 10 best restaurants in Israel), Chill (chic bar on Tel Aviv’s famous Dizengoff Street), and Mercado (Kosher restaurant on the top floor of the highest building in Tel Aviv). Bitton is now one of […]
“Now, we go to the supermarket”, says Abdullah, with a smile. We know the smile is ironic and that we are not about to walk into a Safeway. My son Rohan, our Malaysian friend Fazila, and I have hired Abdullah to guide us through the labyrinthine streets of Medina El Bali, the ancient quarter in […]
During my freshman year of college, I spent Spring Break in Utila, Honduras. Utila is one of the Bay Islands located in the Caribbean. It is so small that there is no real airport on the island. Instead, I flew to the nearby island of Roatan. Before I left, an overeager escalator chomped at the airport through […]
While Atlanta braced Snowpocalypse 2014, a 1-2 inch snow accumulation that virtually paralyzed the city’s roads, I kept abreast of the happenings via local TV stations and social media. It was ironic to see a plethora of excitement, panic, frustration and gratitude, all within a matter of minutes. Friends were posting photos of chaotic traffic […]
