HostelBookers, the budget accommodation specialist, works with some of the best and most unusual cheap hotels in the world. Guests could sleep in tree tops in Turkey, shower in a reformed jail in Switzerland or even eat their breakfast while floating on the Danube in Serbia. In Europe, Trulli Holiday Hotel is a charming complex in Alberobello, in the Puglia region. The unique trulli houses are the traditional dwelling of natives and … [Read more...]
Pass the Prosciutto Please!
Having loaded up on fresh prosciutto this morning we were set for the rest of the day. Its not Italy so the prosciutto is not served with melon. Wanting to duplicate our love for the Italian prosciutto experience, we bought a melon from one of the numerous vendors in the fruit/vegetable market for the equivalent of a dollar. Thinly sliced, fresh - makes all the difference in the world. Like most niche foods - go to the source for the authentic … [Read more...]
Along the Dusty Trail
I was on a back road leaving a dust trail behind me that startled rope-pegged donkeys out of their sullen afternoon doze, the way before me stretching into the distance as infinite space. I had traversed miles of nowhere, taking in the lowland marshes of rice paddies where egrets strutted in measured steps collecting minnows for lunch, and the high mountain passes bordered by cliffs where only shaggy wild goats were sure-footed enough to clamber … [Read more...]
Madrid, Once Upon a Time
Maybe it was a bad omen that I'd memorized Cinderella before I could read. By winter 2004, I had to accept that my life was turning to ashes. Single, living alone in Manhattan, I found myself without steady income, and few, if any employment options. My seemingly endless supply of crazy ideas to otherwise help keep me clothed and sheltered had long gone up in smoke. Factor in frequent, lengthy illnesses and my lifelong propensity for being … [Read more...]
A Bunch of Rocks: The Environmental Gutting of Malta
As you look down from the hillside onto the apparent perfection of Malta's Blue Lagoon, you struggle to imagine it in any other condition. Land embraces lagoon like a protective parent. Water shines like a molten blending of sapphires and emeralds. The perpetually cloudless sky appears hazy against such brilliance. Craggy islets guard the entrance like dorsal spines on some mythic leviathan. But you walk the Malta of the modern world, a … [Read more...]
Cruise Clues
This is the season for vacations and probably a goodly number of Dave's Travel Corner readers will take a cruise. Today's cruises-unless they are aboard a river raft on the Amazon-offer our grandest dreams of indulgence. These are floating luxury resorts, dedicated to recreation, education, cultural enrichment-and SHOPPING. I've chalked up my sixth cruise by now on the world's seas, rivers, and through locks and fiords. (I'm not counting the … [Read more...]
“The Day I Was Born”
I take a deep blue look at the Mediterranean Sea. Barcelona is so beautiful in the summer. Everybody knows that; everybody's written about it. Oh no, am I one of them too? It's so beautiful here in Parc de Montjuic; I have the whole hill to myself. I walk inside the fortress, pretend there's still something to protect. I watch the port activity from up high while I eat my juicy nectarines. The containers look like Lego bricks, the cranes are … [Read more...]
Encore!
A spiny lobster crawled on top of the other, lifeless sea creatures displayed on the table. Chef Paul Bartolotta easily picked it up with a gloved hand. The olive skin in his slightly round face glowed as he spoke knowledgably and enthusiastically about the dishes he loves to create-fresh seafood from the waters surrounding Italy, made more savory by his blends of herbs and spices and his techniques. Bartolotta clearly takes the work he … [Read more...]
The Cyprus Tug o War
The first thing that drew me to Cyprus is that they are another of those countries that "doesn't exist". The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey itself. It's also known as "North(ern) Cyprus". According to the European Union (and much of the world), the whole island is one country. The reality of this is pretty clearly in dispute, as the TRNC runs its own border control at its (internationally unrecognized) … [Read more...]
Intro to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is like a bright tapestry, woven from time, and enriched with the colors of history and culture. Some cities grow old and then slowly die. Santa Barbara never grows old, just more elegant and appreciative of its past. Words cannot begin to describe the intimacy and sophisticated flavor of this city, only experience and a stay here, can do that. In 1925 a devastating earthquake left the downtown in ruins. Santa Barbara rebuilt … [Read more...]
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