Part of the joy of watching the television show The Americans, which is set in the early 1980s, is marvelling at the fashion, design and accoutrement that now are, if not defunct, then at least retro (and not in a chic way). Big hair, shoulder pads, station wagons. The two main characters even own a […]
Recent work
A trip to Veneto — Prosecco’s home — shows why the fizzy drink is an easy favourite
Acqua di Vita is the name of a grappa in Bottega distillery’s product line, but it could — nay, should — be another name for its Prosecco, or for Prosecco in general. The bubbly is a lifeline for vineyards in the Veneto region of northeast Italy, hectares of steep hillsides blooming with glera grapes every […]
A tale of two communities in Dubai
During a work trip to Israel and Palestine in 2008, Dubai-based Lina Nahhas was sitting on a bus when she looked out the window at a passing car and had a startlingly simple realization. “It was just like me car at home — a woman driving in front and her daughter, practically the same age […]
Take a walk on Puerto Rico’s hipster side
New York City has several neighbourhoods that could be classified as Little Puerto Rico, many located in Brooklyn, so it’s only fair that San Juan, Puerto Rico, has a few areas that could be called Little Brooklyn, most of which are located in Santurce. The barrio has 44 neighbourhoods inside it and is home to 90,000 […]
An authentic and exclusive experience in Croatia
Krafne kod Mate (the English translation is “Doughnuts at Mate’s”) is nowhere near Diocletian’s Palace in Split, Croatia — the city’s number one tourist destination. Instead of joining the crowd of sightseers, I find myself at a cozy, one-room spot that is tucked away next to a bus stop, not far from the coastal highway. […]
Why Parma, Italy should be on your travel list
Always up for tasting new foods, I say yes to the horsemeat platter at Osteria Lo Zingaro, a tiny restaurant in Parma, Italy. Actually, they’re all tiny restaurants in Parma. The meat is presented in three versions: cooked à la roast beef, pesto-seasoned tartar and traditional tartar. I eat the first two quite happily; though […]
The Dalmatian coast by bike and boat
I don’t know how many in our group of 23 cyclists were religious, but I’m certain we were all thanking the heavens when we took a short break outside a tiny church in a tiny town on the Adriatic coast. We were halfway through our first ride of a weeklong trip through Croatia’s north and […]
Rum to the hills — a boozy education in Jamaica
Once you get south of the white sand, bottomless drinks and sunburns of the all-inclusives in Montego Bay, Jamaica, you’re surrounded by rolling hills covered in lush green foliage. Of this Nassau Valley landscape in St. Elizabeth, 11,000 acres belongs to Appleton Estate, makers of rum. The Estate is a solid day trip, two and […]
The crater good: New Zealand’s volcano-friendly White Island
Rotorua is alive, by which I mean the earth beneath one’s feet there is ever-shifting. And not in that erosion-over-the-course-of-a-million-years way, but in a come-back-in-four-monthsand-it-will be different way. The city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand’s North Island, a three-hour drive south from Auckland, is a hub of activity. Dubbed the country’s […]
Exotic Canada: Dinosaur hunting in Alberta
“Hi, I’d like to go inside the dinosaur.” As soon as I’d said it, I knew it didn’t sound right. The mortified teenage boy behind the admissions counter knew it didn’t sound right, either, but there was no other way to put it — I wanted to climb the 106 steps inside the World’s Largest […]