Top 10 Cities in the World Creating a bucket list of the top 10 cities in the world to visit is tricky! The world is full of amazing cities. It would be easy to put together a list of unique cities that are off the beaten path, or a list… Read More
Positano Italy (and the Amalfi Coast)
Positano Italy Positano always looks amazing in movies and on tv – beautiful and romantic, a hilly beach destination with stunning views and excellent food. In all of my Italy travels though I had somehow never made it to Positano, or anywhere on the Amalfi Coast. It was time to… Read More
My Favorite Travel Shirt (My Favorite Everything Shirt)
The Best Travel Shirt (The Best Everything Shirt) I became an ambassador for Unbound Merino five months ago and they sent me several shirts to wear and promote – in addition to socks and underwear. During that time I traveled to Hawaii, Italy, France, Colorado (twice) and Saudi Arabia, and… Read More
A Week in Florence without Kids (x2)
A New Tradition Five years ago my college roommate texted me out of the blue: “Any chance you’ve got an opening for a quick trip to Florence?” Of course! It would be fun to get back to my favorite city and a great opportunity to reunite with an old friend,… Read More
How To Visit Cinque Terre (And How Not To)
Cinque Terre, Italy In over 40 visits to Italy, somehow I had never made it to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre, a grouping of five towns (plus a couple others) on the Mediterranean, has always been a region based around agriculture – specifically grapes and olives. Then people started hiking from… Read More
The Best Cities in the World (Our 20 Favorite Cities Ranked)
The Best Cities in the World During the first pandemic lockdown, I asked my wife and kids to rate every country that we had traveled to. I added in my votes and ranked them, and the result was my post on the The Best Countries to Visit. Then, as more… Read More
Rosetta Stone – the Best Way to Take Advantage of a Slower Year
2020 2020 isn’t going to be on anyone’s shortlist of favorite years. That doesn’t mean it’s a lost year though. For every cancelled trip, concert and sporting event, there was an opportunity to enjoy a slower way of life, and plenty of time to improve ourselves. In Southern California we… Read More
Italy Unplugged: A Week in Emilia Romagna (and San Marino)
Italy I love Italy. I studied in Florence in college and have returned a few dozen times since then, but I’ve also been branching out the past few years, both with and without my kids. We spent two weeks on Lake Como. We hiked in the Dolomites. I headed to… Read More
11 Amazing Big City Hotels
The Best Big City Hotels This month Travelocity asked me to write about my favorite big city hotels, as a complement to my post on amazing destination hotels. I loved doing this post and thinking through everywhere we’ve stayed in the world’s largest cities, and which hotels really impressed us… Read More
Adventure in Tuscany: Hiking from Torrenieri to Montalcino
Adventure in Tuscany Florence is my favorite city in the world, and I’ve visited dozens of times over the years. But the past few years I’ve been branching out to explore Tuscany’s adventurous side. I’ve cycled. I’ve rented a Vespa and driven around the countryside. And last month I hiked… Read More










