Posts Tagged ‘cities’
The lights of Paris
Most people know Paris as the City of Light. Most people don’t know, however, that the city government actually employs people who are solely responsible for designing and lighting Paris’ monuments, bridges and public buildings. The NY Times recently ran a rather interesting profile of Francois Jousse, who is the “chief engineer for doctrine, expertise and technical control” [...]
East meets West in Istanbul
Turkey is the place to go if you want to experience a bit of the Middle East and a bit of Europe in the same country. And Istanbul is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in the world. You can sip apple tea by the shimmering waters of the Golden Horn while gazing [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Contemplating American culture
Happy July 4th, Americans! Today seems like a good day to contemplate some of the many facets of American culture. First, an article from the Journal Star of Lincoln, Nebraska, that examines some of what it means to be an American: Unlike many other countries where blood and birth define citizenship, America is a nation of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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My travel memoir - Two Laps Around the World: Tales and Insights from a Life Sabbatical - is about two round-the-world journeys with my wife.
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