Archive for the ‘cities’ Category

Shrinking Venice

Interesting but somewhat sad article in the International Herald Tribune about the changing face of Venice.  This story has nothing to do with the encroaching sea, and everything to do with rising real estate prices that are driving away lifelong Venetians.  The result is a city with a shrinking population where on many days tourists actually [...]

September 29, 2006 cities 0 Comments

Singapore’s food paradise

If you’re a traveler who counts culinary adventures as one of your favorite means of exploring new cultures, then Singapore may be an appealing destination.  Noted author and chef Anthony Bourdain has a mouth-watering piece in the NY Times Travel Magazine about his experiences with food in Singapore. There’s a fever-dream quality to Singapore, particularly if [...]

September 25, 2006 Asia, cities, culinary cultures 1 Comment

Fading sounds of old Beijing

On a recent trip, Lisa and I spent a memorable afternoon in the hutongs, or alleyways, of old Beijing.  These ancient neighborhoods have streets that are too narrow for modern automobiles, so we visited the area by rickshaw.  We rolled past small shops, men playing board games, schoolchildren in uniform, and dozens of locals who [...]

May 28, 2006 cities 0 Comments

Appreciating Cairo

The Middle East is an underappreciated travel destination.  The region gets a bad reputation because of Islamic radicals and the Israeli-Palestinian issue, among other things, and those realities do have to be considered when planning a trip.  But it’s also true that the people of the Middle East tend to be incredibly hospitable, the ancient [...]

April 26, 2006 cities, Middle East/N.Africa 0 Comments
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